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fig1 generally illustrates a preferred form of spray gun apparatus embodying the present invention . a conventional liquidous mixture hopper h having a handle 10 is attached to the top of a spray gun , generally designated g . spray gun 11 receives a pressurized air supply by means of a hose 13 connected to fitting 15 at the rear of the spray gun body , and upon depression of trigger 17 , material from the hopper is emitted through orifice 19 disposed at the front end of the body . a pistol grip - type handle 12 integral with spray gun body 11 is used by an operator ( not shown ) to manipulate the spray gun g . with a firm grasp of both the hopper handle 10 and the spray gun handle 12 , the operator can guide the device and control the spray pattern of the material by depressing the trigger 17 . the spray gun apparatus suited for applying for example , acoustic material to ceilings or wall texture to vertical surfaces . fig2 is a detailed vertical sectional illustration of the spray gun &# 39 ; s internal mechanism . an tubular air - transfer plunger 21 extends through the center of a supply chamber 23 formed at the front of the spray gun and disposed below hopper h . the plunger has a threaded end 25 to which is affixed a threaded nozzle 27 . the high velocity flow of pressurized air through the nozzle eventually causes it to wear and consequently , the nozzle requires periodic replacement . the nozzle is preferably hexagonal in shape ( see fig3 ) to facilitate its removal and replacement with conventional tools . the plunger 21 is radially positioned via the plunger guide 29 which is rigidly affixed to the interior of the spray gun body . an o - ring 31 positioned within a groove in the plunger effectively forms a seal to prevent material from leaking out of the chamber 23 through the space between the plunger 21 and the plunger guide 29 . the plunger collar 33 is rigidly affixed to the plunger by a set screw 34 ( fig5 and fig6 ). the trigger 17 is pivotally affixed to the body 11 at 35 and extends downwardly out of the body through body slot 18 , with its intermediate portion 32 engaging the plunger collar 33 to effect retraction of the plunger 21 by rearward depression of the trigger . a hollow plunger stop 37 capable of receiving the rear of the tubular air - transfer plunger 21 is threaded into the rear wall 38 of the spray gun body 11 . a coil spring 39 coaxially disposed about the plunger 21 and stop 37 and compressed between the stop 37 and collar 33 biases the plunger 21 and hence the trigger towards the front of the spray gun . the amount of travel of the plunger is limited by contact of the collar 33 with the stop 37 . consequently , twisting the stop into or out of the spray gun body adjusts the maximum distance the plunger can be retracted . wings 41 radially extending from the stop 37 facilitate rotation of the stop . as mentioned above , the tubular air - transfer plunger 21 and nozzle 27 are biased towards the front of the spray gun with the nozzle sealingly contacting a gasket or washer 45 affixed to the rear of the plate . it is desirable to be able to quickly and easily change orifice plates 43 , as either a different size orifice may be required for a particular job , or the existing orifice and washer may have eroded with use . the exterior of the front wall 44 of the spray gun has a circular depression 47 formed therein capable of removably receiving the orifice plate . in addition , two retainers 49 are disposed at the edges of the depression and extend towards its center , as shown in fig3 and 4 . two corresponding notches 51 in the orifice plate allow insertion of the orifice plate 43 into the depression 47 . once positioned in depression 47 , the orifice plate is twisted whereupon the cammed surface of the plate ( 43a is thicker than 43b ) engages the overhanging retainers 49 and positively wedges the plate into place . the two studs 53 formed on the exterior face of the orifice plate 43 aid in the rotation and tightening of the plate . fig5 and 6 illustrate the design and function of the trigger actuated air valve mechanism . a generally cylindrical valve member 55 is slideably disposed within the coaxial air passage 36 of plunger stop 37 . the valve member 55 has a hollow portion 57 communicating with its exterior by means of a pair of transverse holes 59 . an enlarged valve head 61 on the rear of valve 55 is normally biased against valve seat 63 , formed in the interior of the trigger stop , by coil spring 65 to provide an effective seal utilizing an o - ring 67 . in this position , the flow of compressed air from fitting 15 is shut off . upon rearward movement of the trigger 17 , the plunger 21 is urged against the front of valve member 55 and overcomes the force of spring 65 thereby lifting the valve head 67 off the valve seat 63 to allow passage of the compressed air . the configuration of the valve head 61 and the interior of the trigger stop 37 is such ( fig7 ) so as to allow the flow of air around the valve head near the apexes of its hexagonal geometry . once around the valve head , the air flow proceeds through the holes 59 to the interior 57 of the valve member and to the nozzle 27 , as indicated by the arrows 64 in fig6 . another o - ring 71 seals the plunger 21 within the plunger stop 37 and prevents air pressure from being lost into the interior of the spray gun . in fact , no part of the spray gun body is subjected to super - atmospheric conditions . only the interior of the trigger stop and the tubular air - transfer plunger are exposed to elevated air pressure . the design of the orifice plate mounting , the simplicity of the entire actuation mechanism and the incorporation of only a single relatively large diameter threaded interface within the spray gun body allows the extensive use of synthetic plastics throughout the spray gun &# 39 ; s construction . by way of example , polyethylene plastic is a viable construction material for the spray gun body 11 , the plunger stop 37 , the valve member 55 , the trigger 17 and plunger guide 29 as well as the orifice plate 43 and retainers 49 . the spray gun body incorporating the retainers 49 may be injection molded in two halves which are simply glued together . attachment of the plunger guide 29 to the joined body halves is similarly accomplished by means of a suitable adhesive . in the operation of the afore described spray gun apparatus , upon loading of the hopper 13 with the liquidous mixture material to be sprayed , the material fills the supply chamber 23 below . an compressed air supply is connected to the rear of spray gun g via fitting 15 and the apparatus is ready to be used . prior to depression of the trigger , neither air nor spray material issues from the orifice . spring 39 urges the nozzle 27 against gasket 45 to seal the chamber and spring 65 , as well as the air pressure itself urges the valve head 61 against the o - ring 67 and valve seat 63 to prevent the flow of air through the tubular air transfer plunger . upon depression of the trigger , the plunger 21 and nozzle 27 are retracted from their normal position against the orifice gasket 45 allowing material to gravity feed through the orifice 19 . the same trigger movement lifts the valve head 61 off its seat 63 to allow compressed air to flow past the valve member into the tubular air - transfer plunger and out through the nozzle . when the spray material flowing towards and out the orifice contacts the flow of air , the material is accelerated and carried towards the target surface . the further rearward the trigger is depressed , the greater the gap between the nozzle 27 and the orifice plate 43 thereby allowing more material to issue from the spray gun . once a desired rate of flow has been achieved the trigger stop 37 is rotated to a position where it engages the collar thereby enabling the identical position of the trigger 17 to be attained every time the trigger is depressed . this ensures a uniform coverage rate through an entire job . a precisely repeatable trigger position assures that a precisely repeatable flow rate is achieved . every time the trigger 17 is released the air flow , as well as the material flow , is immediately and completely shut off . complete field maintenance of the aforedescribed apparatus is easily accomplished with a minimum of tools . exchange of orifice plates 43 only requires a manual twisting of the studs 53 . should the nozzle 27 require replacement , both orifice plate 43 and fitting 15 are removed . a socket - type tool can be inserted through the discharge opening 73 to engage the nozzle , while rotation of the plunger 21 is prevented by insertion of a screw driver into the trigger stop 37 to engage the slot 75 atop the valve head 61 of valve member 55 . a force imparted by the screw driver is transmitted from the valve member 55 to the plunger 21 by the complementing coupling configuration 77 at their interface . should leakage indicate wear of either o - ring 31 or o - ring 71 , the entire valve and plunger assembly can be extracted from the rear of the spray gun by completely unscrewing trigger stop 37 , extracting the tubular air - transfer plunger and slipping new o - rings into their respective grooves . various modifications and changes may be made with respect to the foregoing detailed description without departing form the scope of the present invention . | 1 |
referring to fig1 an appliance 10 includes a cabinet 12 having side walls 14 , a front upper wall 16 , a front lower wall 18 , an upper angled wall 20 and a lower angled wall 22 . the appliance also includes a top wall 23 and a rear wall ( not shown ). in the front wall 16 is an upper door 24 and in the lower front wall 18 is a lower door 26 . the appliance 23 is shown to be a washer / dryer assembly , but other types of appliances could be used with the present invention . the present invention is not limited to use with any particular appliance . in fig1 the front face of a coin drop 28 is visible from the outside of the cabinet 12 . coin drop 28 includes coin slots 30 and coin returns 32 . the coin drop 28 is of typical prior art construction and numerous off the shelf coin drops are available for this purpose . also visible in fig1 from the front of cabinet 12 are an outlet chute 34 and a key receptacle 36 . coin drop 28 includes a coin drop discharge 50 shown in fig3 and 4 . below this coin drop discharge 50 is a coin vault 52 having a front wall 54 , a back wall 56 , a top wall 58 , a bottom wall 60 and side walls 62 . the top wall 58 is provided with a vault inlet opening 64 that is registered and in communication with the coin drop discharge 50 . a vault coin guide 66 is provided for directing coins 88 downwardly into the coin vault 52 . the bottom wall 60 of coin vault 52 is provided with a vault outlet opening 68 . the bottom wall 60 and the side walls 62 of vault 52 are sloped downwardly toward the vault outlet opening 68 so that the coins will naturally move by gravity toward the coin outlet opening 68 . a locking member 70 includes an open space 72 intermediate its opposite ends and a curved closure web 74 which in fig3 and 3a is shown to be in covering relation over the outlet opening 68 of coin vault 52 . in this position the coins are not permitted to exit through the outlet opening 68 . locking member 70 is also provided with a key receptacle 36 which is adapted to receive a key for moving the closure web 74 out of covering relation over outlet opening 68 . the key receptacle has a chute locking tab 78 extending downwardly therefrom and is mounted for rotational movement along its longitudinal axis by means of a pivot mounting bolt 80 . while the lock member 70 is shown to be provided with a key receptacle 76 other types of locks may be used , including electrical or mechanical combination locks . the locking member 70 is pivotal about its longitudinal axis from its closed position shown in fig3 and 3a to its open position shown in fig4 . in the open position the open space 72 is registered below the outlet opening 68 of vault 52 , and the coins are permitted to drop downwardly through the outlet opening 68 and the open space 72 as illustrated in fig4 . these coins drop into a chute cavity 86 contained within the inside of cabinet 12 . a chute 34 is pivotally mounted for hinged movement about a chute hinge 82 from its closed position shown in fig3 to its open position shown in fig4 . the upper edge of chute 34 includes a chute locking slot 84 which receives the chute locking tab 78 when the locking member 70 is in its closed position shown in fig3 . when the locking member is moved to its open position shown in fig4 the tab 78 moves out of the slot 84 and permits the chute 34 to pivot to its downward position . in this downward position the chute 34 guides coins 88 into a basket , bag , or other container for carrying the coins away . the vault 52 is located entirely within the cabinet walls of the cabinet 12 so that it is not accessible from outside the cabinet . this differs from the structure of the drawer type construction of the prior art shown in fig5 . furthermore , the use of the vault 52 eliminates the need for a drawer such as drawer 40 . this reduces the cost of the coin handling system . another advantageous feature of the vault 52 is that it can be made of various shapes and configurations to accommodate the particular appliance involved without interfering with the other working components of the appliance . in the drawings and specification there has been set forth a preferred embodiment of the invention , and although specific terms are employed , these are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation . changes in the form and the proportion of parts as well as in the substitution of equivalents are contemplated as circumstances may suggest or render expedient without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as further defined in the following claims . | 4 |
turning now to the details of the drawings , fig1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a preferred embodiment of an imaging system 1 in accordance with the present invention . system 1 broadly comprises an illumination subsystem 10 , an imaging subsystem 12 provided in an housing 14 , and a control subsystem 16 . the imaging subsystem 12 comprises a ccd camera subsystem 18 housed within a camera chamber 20 of housing 14 and a lens subassembly 22 extending between camera chamber 20 and a specimen chamber 24 . in operation , illumination subsystem 10 provides the necessary light energy to be applied to the specimen within chamber 24 . light energy emitted by the specimen is transmitted through lens subsystem 22 to camera 18 , where an image is formed and transmitted to the control subsystem 16 for processing . control subsystem 16 comprises a camera control unit 26 , which is a conventional unit matched to the particular camera 18 and a computer 28 which is programmed to control unit 26 and to receive data from camera 18 , in order to achieve unique control and processing in accordance with the present invention . the light source for the illumination subsystem 10 is preferably an arc lamp 30 . light from lamp 30 is conducted via a liquid light guide 32 to the optical coupler or filter wheel 34 . the liquid light guide 32 is advantageous in that it transmits in the uv range , and in that it acts to diffuse the input illumination more than a fiber optic would do . the optical coupler 34 contains a conventional filter holder ( not shown ) for standard , one inch diameter interference filters . in the preferred configuration , a computer controlled filter wheel is used instead of the optical coupler . the filter wheel can contain a number of filters , which can be rapidly changed under computer direction . a fiber optic bundle 36 carries illumination from the optic coupler or filter wheel 34 to within the light - tight specimen chamber 24 . the bundle 36 passes through a baffle 38 , which allows it to move up and down during focusing of the specimen holder . alternatively , the fiber optic bundle 40 from the epi - illumination ring light in lens 22 may be connected to the optical coupler 34 . three forms of illumination system are described , each fed by a discrete fiber bundle . these are a transilluminating plate ( 42 ), a ring light external to the lens ( not shown ), and a ring light 44 internal to the lens ( 22 ) that performs epi - illumination . the transillumination plate is a rectangular chamber 50 ( see fig6 and 7 ), within which the discrete fibers 52 from bundle 51 are separated and rotated by 90 degrees so that they point laterally , towards the specimen . the fibers 52 are distributed within the chamber in such a way that they minimize shading within the illumination pattern . to this end , a larger number of fibers lie in the peripherally outward portions of the chamber than lie at its center . the rectangular chamber 50 contains a diffusing screen 54 , and a quartz glass diffusing plate 56 . these diffusing elements take as their input the discrete points of light from the fibers 52 , and create a homogenous illumination over the surface of the plate 56 . the chamber 50 may also contain a dark field stop , to allow light to enter the specimen from the side . the external ring light consists of a ring of optical fibers aligned with the axis of the lens , with a hole in the center large enough to encircle the lens 22 . the working distance of the ring light is matched to the focus distance of the lens 22 . the internal ring light 44 consists of a ring of optical fibers , mounted within and axially aligned with the body of the telecentric lens 22 , and behind its front lens element . a diffuser , polarizer , or other circular element may be placed at the front of the fiber ring 44 . the specimen well plate is carried within a holder 58 ( fig6 ) that is mounted to the fiber optic chamber 50 . the holder 58 grips the well plate at its edges . the bottom of the holder 58 is empty , so as not to impede viewing of the wells . the holder 58 is mounted to a jack , which moves it in the vertical dimension . by adjusting the jack 60 , the holder 58 moves relative to the lens 22 and the specimen is focused . the lens 22 is a fast , telecentric lens . the lens contains an emission filter slot 62 , which accepts three inch diameter interference filters for fluorescence imaging . it contains an internal fiber optic ring light 44 , positioned behind the front lens element . the lens 22 is mounted to the camera chamber by a flange 64 ( see fig2 ) at its middle . the back of the lens projects into the camera chamber 20 , providing ready access to the emission filter slot 62 without disturbing the specimen . the front of the lens projects into the specimen chamber 24 . the cooled ccd camera 18 is mounted directly to the lens . because the camera has its own chamber 20 , there is no need for concern regarding light leakage around the cooling , power and data cables that exit the chamber to the camera control unit . all control , imaging , and analysis functions are resident within the computer 28 . the standard technology for monochromatic area illumination is to use gas discharge illuminators ( e . g . uv light boxes ), which can deliver about 5000 uw / cm 2 of surface at the emission peaks ( usually mercury ). the lamps are coated with a filter that limits emission to a specific peak . although fairly bright , gas discharge lamps are limited in wavelength to the peaks emitted by the excited gas within the lamp . other than gas discharge lamps , very few descriptions of area illumination exist . the major problems are selection of wavelength , and that direct entrance of the illuminating beam into the collection optics degrades sensitivity . to avoid this , light can be delivered from above , from the side , or via dark field or refraction into the specimen . all of these techniques have severe limitations . side - mounted fiber optic illuminators are uneven . they are also unsuited to wells or other non - flat specimens , because light enters the specimen at an angle and fails to penetrate deep targets . refractive or dark field illuminators require special optical components at the well plate , and cannot be used with opaque specimens . a more flexible area illumination system would use a broad - band illumination source , and would allow any wavelength of monochromatic illumination to be selected by precision filters ( usually interference filters ). filters are preferred , because variable monochromators or low cost tunable lasers lack sufficient light output when diffused over large areas . mercury or xenon arc lamps are often selected for filter - based monochromatic excitation . the advantage of an arc lamp is that its output can be made into a narrow beam that can be passed through a small and readily available interference filter , before being spread over the entire surface of the specimen . either a lens or fiber optic may be used to transmit the monochromatic light from the filter to the specimen . the present invention is much more flexible than any previous device . it applies diffuse transillumination ( through the specimen ), dorsal illumination ( via ring light or other source ), or epi - illumination ( through the lens ) to the entire surface of the specimen . epi - illumination is preferred , because it usually results in lower backgrounds , broader dynamic range , and more linear fluorescence response under real - world conditions . the ability to deliver large area monochromatic epi - illumination is one critical factor that sets the present invention apart from prior art . a . filter availability โ close - tolerance filters ( e . g . a 10 nm bandwidth filter ), which are readily available in small sizes , are not available for large areas of illumination . this problem is overcome by use of standard interference filters . b . illumination delivery โ application of even , monochromatic , and selectable illumination over an 8 ร 12 cm area is a feature of the present invention . an optical coupler or computer - controlled filter wheel accepts standard interference filters , and is used to select wavelengths . the optical coupler or wheel may be attached to a specially designed fiber optic plate for transillumination , to a fiber optic ring or panel light for dorsal illumination , or to a fiber optic illumination assembly within the lens , for epi - illumination . c . intensity โ the excitation illumination is spread over a large area ( typically 96 cm 2 ). as intensity decreases with the square of the illuminated area , the resulting excitation intensity is very low indeed . in many cases , emitted fluorescence will not be detected with standard , scientific - grade cooled ccd cameras . the very sensitive detector of the present invention is capable of imaging the low levels of fluorescence emitted from large specimens . for the most extreme low light conditions , the present invention incorporates an optional light amplification system that may be inserted between the lens and the ccd camera ( see below ). fig2 shows the general arrangement of illumination and filter components within the telecentric lens 22 . the lens has mounted within it a fiber optic ring light 44 , which projects monochromatic illumination through the front lens element onto the specimen ( leftward in fig2 ). the focus plane of the ring light is at b , while the focus plane of the entire lens is in front of that point , at a . placing the focus of the ring light at a point beyond the specimen minimizes specular reflections from the specimen . the emission filter slot 62 allows insertion of an interference filter that removes excitation illumination from the incoming rays , leaving only the fluorescence emitted by the specimen . fig3 shows best the optical components of the telecentric , macro lens 22 . the lens has 39 surfaces , and the following characteristics : note that light rays are almost parallel at the emission filter slot 62 . this allows the filter to operate at its specified wavelength and bandwidth . although the present invention may be used with any lens , the highest sensitivity is available from its specially designed lens . this lens is fast , telecentric , and incorporates the epi - illumination system appropriate to large specimen formats . epi - illumination is a standard technology in fluorescence microscopy , where small areas are illuminated . the most efficient way to illuminate a small area is to place dichroic beam splitter behind the objective . a dichroic beam splitter or mirror is a partially reflective surface that reflects one wavelength range , while allowing another wavelength range to pass through . on a microscope , illumination enters the dichroic mirror from the side . the mirror is angled to reflect the excitation light down through the objective toward the specimen . fluorescence emitted by the specimen ( shifted up in wavelength from excitation ) is collected by the objective , which passes it upwards towards the dichroic mirror . the dichroic mirror is transparent to the emission wavelength , so that the light proceeds through the dichroic to the detector plane . a different dichroic is required for each excitation / emission wavelength . there are major difficulties in applying the standard form of dichroic - based epi - illumination system to macro imaging . a . the dichroic mirror must be at least as large as the objective it must fill . camera lenses are much larger than microscope objectives , and would need correspondingly large dichroic mirrors . dichroic mirrors this large are not readily available . b . in a fast macro lens , it is critical that the back lens element be mounted as close as possible to the ccd . any increase in the distance between the rearmost lens and the ccd markedly reduces the working f number and the light - gathering efficiency . therefore , there is no room for a dichroic to be mounted behind the lens . c . in a normal epi - illumination system , the dichroic reflects excitation through the entire lens . for this reason , transmission of excitation illumination is highly subject to the optical characteristics of the glasses used in the lens . very costly ( and difficult to work ) quartz glass optics are required for uv epi - illumination . these uv - transparent optics can be constructed in the small sizes needed for a microscope objective , but would be astronomically expensive in the large sizes described for the present invention . d . dichroic beam splitters absorb light . typically , they are 80 - 90 % efficient . a unique property of the present invention is that no dichroic is necessary . the telecentric lens is large , so there is room to install an illumination assembly within its body . the illuminator is mounted so that it shines directly at the front lens element , from behind . this illuminates the specimen , without any need of a reflective dichroic mirror . any stray excitation illumination that is reflected back through the lens is removed by the emission barrier filter , located posterior to the illumination source . further , the lens is designed so that only one of the fifteen internal lens components resides in front of the internal illuminator . this has the advantage that internal flare and reflections are minimized . of equal importance , only the front lens needs to be transparent to uv . a single uv - transparent lens is costly , but not prohibitively so . the front element of the lens is calculated so as to focus the illumination source beyond the plane of the specimen . the defocus of the illumination source at the specimen plane minimizes reflections . as many well plates are constructed of polished plastic , and tend to generate specular reflections , this is an important feature . the lens is highly efficient . the collection f /# of the lens is 4 . 5 . this implies a collection solid angle of 0 . 03891 sr , and a collection efficiency of 0 . 03891 / 4p = 0 . 3096 %. the expected transmission value is 0 . 85 - 0 . 90 , giving an overall collection efficiency of 0 . 263 - 0 . 279 %. in comparison to an f / 1 . 2 photographic lens , the expected improvement with the present lens is about 340 %. the present lens is telecentric . a telecentric lens is free of parallax error . images of deep , narrow targets , made with standard lenses , exhibit parallax error . circular targets at the center of the image are seen as true circles . however , the lens peers into lateral targets at an angle . therefore , these lateral targets are seen as semilunar shapes . in many cases , one cannot see the bottom of a well at all . a telecentric lens collects parallel rays , over the entire area of a well plate . thus , it does not peer into any wells at an angle and is free of parallax error . a critical advantage of the present lens is that the internal beam is collimated at a position appropriate to the insertion of a barrier filter . that is , the lens is calculated so that rays are nearly parallel , at a point about midway in the lens barrel . the lens accepts an interference filter at this point . the filter serves to remove excitation illumination , and other nonspecific light . the collimated beam at this point is critical , because interference filters must be mounted orthogonal to the incoming illumination . if the incoming illumination is at an angle , the filter exhibits alterations in the wavelengths that it passes . in the present invention , light rays are almost parallel when they strike the filter , yielding the best possible performance . the telecentric lens has a fixed field of view ( about 14 . 5 cm diameter , in this case ) but , if larger specimens need to be imaged , a motorized translation table may be mounted within the light - tight chamber . the translation table moves the specimen relative to the lens , under computer control . after each motion , a single โ tile โ is acquired . when the entire specimen has been imaged , all the tiles are recomposed ( by the software ) into a single large image , retaining telecentricity , freedom from parallax error , and high resolution over its entire surface . fig4 shows a modification to system of fig1 addition of an optional intensifier 70 to provide an alternate system useful for extreme low light imaging . in all other respects the system is essentially identical to that of fig1 . the intensifier 70 is mounted between the telecentric lens 22 and the ccd camera 18 . fig5 shows best the intensifier 70 as being of the gen 3 type , and including a photosensitive cathode 72 , a microchannel plate ( mcp ) 74 , a phosphor screen 76 , and a vacuum sealed body or enclosure 78 . the fast , telecentric lens 22 ( fig2 ) is placed in front of this assembly 70 . at its output , the lens is focused on an input window of the cathode 72 so as to transfer the specimen image thereto . the photosensitive cathode 72 is selected to emit electrons in proportion to the intensity of light falling upon it . the mcp 74 is positioned within the vacuum sealed body 78 , between the cathode 72 , and the phosphor screen 76 and coupled to the cathode 72 at each end . the mcp 74 is provided with an array of small diameter mcp channels , each of which is coated with gallium arsenide . the electrons emitted from the cathode 72 are accelerated along the mcp channels to the phosphor screen 76 . as the electrons from the cathode are accelerated along the small diameter channels , they strike the coated channel walls to produce additional electrons . as the multiplied electrons leave the mcp channels , they strike the phosphor screen 76 and produce an intensified image of the specimen on an output window . this image is coupled to the ccd 84 element in the camera by a lens 80 . it has been found that the use of the extended blue gen 3 image intensifier is advantageous over other types of intensifiers in that the image provided on the output screen is sharper , has less shading error , and has less noise than those produced by gen 1 and gen 2 intensifiers . it is to be appreciated , however , that as better intensifier technologies are developed , they may be incorporated into the present system . the integrating camera 18 is configured so that the highly amplified image generated on the output window 78 is focused by the intermediate lens 80 onto the ccd element 84 . to image low light specimens , the ccd element 84 of camera 18 integrates for a period . during the integration period , photons from the output window incident to the ccd element 84 are stored as negative charges ( the signal ) in numerous discrete regions of the ccd element 84 . the amount of charge in each discrete region of the ccd element 84 is accumulated as follows . the greater the relative intensity of the incident light coming from the intensifier 70 , the greater the signal stored in the corresponding region of the ccd element 84 . for the most extreme low light conditions , as with the scintillation proximity assay , the present invention allows a light amplifier to be inserted between the lens and the ccd camera . in the preferred configuration , this light amplifier is an image intensifier . intensification , as for example , is disclosed in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 204 , 533 to simonet , involves the coupling of an image intensifier to a ccd camera . the image intensifier typically includes a photocathode , a phosphor screen , and a microchannel plate ( mcp ) connected between the photocathode and phosphor screen . light amplification factors of up to about 90 , 000 are possible with this type of device . with the intensifier inserted into the optical chain , the present invention becomes an image intensified ccd ( iccd ) camera . in an iccd camera , the image is created at three or four planes . at each of these planes , there is some loss of quantum efficiency . therefore , the image intensifier is operated at high gain to overcome signal losses within the optical chain . at very high gain factors , noise and ionic feedback through the mcp become so severe that further improvement of sensitivity is impossible . even when run at maximum gain , conventional image intensified ccd cameras are not sensitive enough to image the dimmest specimens . faced with a typical very dim specimen , most iccd cameras will fail to produce an image , or will produce a very poor image , in which the target will be difficult to discriminate from background , and the true range of target intensities will not be rendered . in the worst cases , the target will be indiscriminable from background . conventional image intensified ccd cameras use an integration period equal to a single television frame . the short integration period allows the intensifier to be used with standard , low - cost video cameras , as for example , are used in the television industry . in other cases , the intensifier is gated , to use very short integration periods ( e . g . 1 msec ). the use of gating allows the intensifier to be used in a photon counting mode . the present invention offers two methods by which intensified light may be used . the preferred method involves continuous integration of the output of the intensifier onto a cooled ccd camera . this method is fast and efficient , but has limited dynamic range . cooling of the intensifier , or multiple exposures for different times , may be used to improve the dynamic range . a second method involves looking at shorter periods of intensifier output , and photon counting . this method is much slower , but has broad dynamic range . the present invention allows either strategy to be selected , as warranted by the specimen . prior art exists for the use of intensified ccd cameras in well plate assay imaging . martin and bronstein ( 1994 ) and roda et al . ( 1996 ) discuss use of an intensified ccd camera for the imaging of chemiluminescent specimens . only bright specimens can be seen . no provisions are made for imaging deep wells without parallax error , or for applying monochromatic excitation to the specimen . u . s . pat . no . 4 , 922 , 092 ( 1990 ) to rushbrooke et al . discloses the use of an image intensified ccd camera which is coupled to a special fibre optic lens . the fibre optic lens consists of bundles which transmit light between an array of wells and the input of the intensifier . while the invention disclosed by rushbrooke is free of parallax , and may be suitable for standard 96 or 384 well plates , it would be incapable of imaging the very high density well arrays addressed by the present invention . further , the invention disclosed by rushbrooke lacks illumination capabilities . it is also incapable of imaging specimens in free format , because there is space between the input bundles that is not addressed . by using lens input , as opposed to fiber optics , the present invention allows free format imaging . in sum , the present embodiment of the invention allows the use of an optional intensifier placed behind the lens , to detect the most extreme low light specimens . when intensified , the device can be run in continuous integration or photon counting modes . with the system shown in fig4 and 5 , only the ccd sensor is cooled . this is sufficient for most purposes . it is to be appreciated however , that the intensifier photocathode 72 could also be cooled , thereby improving the signal to noise ratio of the intensifier . similarly , the entire photosensitive apparatus ( intensifier + ccd ) can be cooled . however , cooling the entire photosensitive apparatus has the disadvantage that the efficiency of the phosphor on the fibre optic output window is decreased . although a high quality , scientific grade ccd camera can detect about 50 photoelectrons incident to the ccd ( depending on how we set reliability of detection ), this is not an accurate indication of performance in imaging luminescent specimens . real - world performance is complicated by the emission and collection properties of the entire optical chain , as well as by the performance of the ccd camera . therefore , we need to go beyond the qe of the detector , and examine the transfer efficiency of the entire system . three factors dominate the transfer efficiency ( photoelectrons generated / photons emitted ) of the detector system . these are the light collection efficiency of the lens , the quantum efficiency of the ccd detector , and the lens transmittance . we can calculate the number of photoelectrons generated as follows : in a typical scientific grade ccd camera system , using the fastest available photographic lens ( f 1 . 2 ), and with a high quality cooled detector , the ccd will generate 1 photoelectron for about 5 , 000 - 10 , 000 photons generated from a point source in the sample . the lens of the present invention offers a collection efficiency of about 0 . 271 %. the efficiency of the ccd detector is about double that of other ccds . the result is that the present invention has the theoretical ability to generate one photoelectron for about 500 - 1000 photons generated from a point source within the sample . this very high transfer efficiency allows detection of specimens that cannot be imaged with prior art systems . in the alternate embodiment of the invention shown in fig4 and 5 , the system incorporates an extended blue type of gen 3 image intensifier . other types of intensifiers , although less preferred , may also be used . the three major types of intensifier ( gen 1 , gen 2 and gen 3 ) differ in the organization of their components and in the materials of which the components are constructed . in a gen 1 intensifier , illumination incident to a photocathode results in emissions at a rate proportional to the intensity of the incident signal . the electrons emitted from the photocathode are than accelerated through a high potential electric field , and focused onto a phosphor screen using electrostatic or proximity focusing . the phosphor screen can be the input window to a video camera ( as in the silicon intensified target camera ), or can be viewed directly . gen 1 intensifiers suffer from bothersome geometric distortion , and have relatively low quantum efficiency ( about 10 %). the gen 2 intensifiers , like the gen 3 , incorporate a mcp into an image tube , between the cathode and an anode . the gen 2 intensifiers are smaller , lower in noise , and have higher gain than the gen 1 intensifiers . however their quantum efficiency is fairly low ( typically & lt ; 20 %), and they tend to suffer from poor contrast transfer characteristics . in contrast , the gen 3 intensifier tube has a quantum efficiency of about 30 % or higher ( needs less gain ), and very high intrinsic contrast transfer . with recent versions of the gen 3 , gain levels are about equal to those of a gen 2 ( ultimate gain level available is about 90 , 000 ). therefore , a gen 3 intensifier will tend to yield better images than a gen 2 . where necessary for reasons of cost or specific design features , other forms of intensifier could be used . similarly devices with high intrinsic gain ( such as electron bombarded back - illuminated ccd sensors ) could be used in place of image intensifiers . the ccd camera 18 of the present invention could use integration periods locked to a gated power supply in the image intensifier , with the result that the camera could be read out at very short intervals . using the gating and fast readout feature , and with the intensifier run at highest gain or with a multistage intensifier , the present invention can thereby be operated as a conventional photon counting camera . thus , the present system can advantageously be used for both direct imaging of faint specimens , or as a photon counting camera by changing its mode of operation from integration to gating . fig8 is a schematic representation of the ccd camera 18 . the camera 18 includes a ccd element 84 positioned behind a camera aperture . to reduce dark noise produced by electrons within the ccd , the ccd element 84 is mounted to a heat sink 88 , which in turn is thermally coupled to a peltier cooling element and liquid circulation system for providing enhanced heat dissipation . the lens is positioned over the aperture to focus the image on the ccd element 84 . the fast , telecentric lens 22 ( fig2 and 3 ) is mounted directly to the camera body by screws , after removing the photographic lens mount . similarly , the image intensifier 70 ( when present ) is mounted directly to the camera body . area imaging systems use ccd arrays to form images . factors which influence the ability of ccd arrays to detect small numbers of incoming photons include quantum efficiency , readout noise , dark noise , and the small size of most imaging arrays ( e . g . 2 . 25 cm 2 ) quantum efficiency ( qe ) describes the ability of the photodetector to convert incident photons into electron hole pairs in the ccd . consumer - grade ccds typically exhibit qe of about 12 - 15 %. standard , scientific grade cooled ccd cameras exhibit qe of about 40 %. a very limited number of thinned , back - illuminated ccds can achieve qe of as high as 80 % at peak detection wavelengths . readout noise originates in the output preamplifier of the ccd , which measures the small changes in voltage produced each time the charge content of one or more ccd elements is transferred to it . readout noise is directly related to the readout rate , and is decreased by use of slow readout . dark noise is produced by thermally generated charges in the ccd . by increasing the background level , dark noise decreases dynamic range . the constant dark noise level can be subtracted from the image , but dark noise also has a random noise component which cannot be subtracted . this component adds to the noise level of the detector . dark noise is decreased by cooling the ccd . the size of the ccd element is related to its ability to store photoelectrons ( known as the well capacity ) and , hence , its dynamic range . the larger each ccd element in the array , the larger the full well capacity and dynamic range of that element . a broad dynamic range allows the detector to be used for longer exposure times , without saturation , and this enhances the detection of very small signals . further , the signal to noise performance of larger elements is inherently higher than that of smaller elements . most area imaging systems use relatively small ccds . this results in limited resolution for devices in which the discrete ccd elements are large , and limited dynamic range for devices in which the discrete ccd elements are small . devices with limited dynamic range cannot achieve 16 bit precision , and must be used with relatively bright specimens ( e . g . fluorescence microscopy , uv gels , very bright chemiluminescence ). the present invention incorporates a ccd system which is designed to minimize all of the problems just described . the ccd array is unusually large ( 6 . 25 cm 2 ) and efficient ( about 80 % quantum efficient ). the result is very high detector sensitivity with broad dynamic range ( true 16 bit ). the preferred support electronics include a high - precision digitizer , with minimal readout noise . preferably , the camera is cooled to minimize dark noise . an electromechanical shutter mechanism is additionally provided within the camera , for limiting the exposure of the image on the ccd element . preferably the camera is a thinned , back - illuminated 1024 ร 1024 pixel black and white camera with asynchronous reset capability , and high quantum efficiency . the camera provides a 16 - bit digital signal output via digitization circuitry mounted within the camera control unit , and an interface card mounted within the computer . data from the ccd are digitized by the camera control unit at the rate of 200 , 000 pixels / second , and transferred directly to the computer memory . following the integration period , the ccd camera accepts a trigger pulse from the computer to initiate closure of the electromechanical shutter . with the shutter closed , the image is transferred from the ccd to the internal frame buffer of the computer . although this camera could be used without cooling the ccd element , extended periods of integration are achieved by using a ccd camera with an integral cooling element . the effectiveness of integration is limited by the degree of cooling . with a non - refrigerated liquid cooling device , sensor temperatures of about โ 50 ยฐ c . ( below ambient ) can be achieved . at this temperature , dark noise accumulates at a rate of about 7 - 10 electrons / second . this type of cooling has the advantage of low cost and easy implementation . it is to be appreciated , however , that longer periods of integration are possible if refrigerated liquid or cryogenic cooling are employed . the control subsystem 16 comprises , control unit 26 and computer 28 . camera control unit is a computer controllable unit provided by the manufacturer of camera 18 to control the camera . computer 28 is preferably a conventional computer running in the windows ยฎ environment and is programmed to achieve image acquisition and analysis in accordance with the present invention . camera - based imaging systems lack the sort of push - button operation that is typical of counting or scanning systems . focusing the camera , adjusting exposure time , and so forth , can all be inconvenient . in fact , imaging is inherently more complex than counting single targets within wells . nonimaging counting systems have a relatively easy task . they only need to control the scanning process , control internal calibration , and create a small array of data points representing each well . the sequence of steps might be as follows . an area imaging system has a much more difficult task . imaging a well plate might include the following requirements . these tasks can only be performed if the imaging system is equipped with software that performs functions b - h , above . the present invention incorporates such software . in particular , one aspect of the present invention is software which corrects for nonspecific background fluorescence by using two images . the first image is made with an excitation filter that excites as little specific fluorescence as possible , while exciting nonspecific fluorescence . the second image is made with an excitation filter that excites specific fluorescence as much as possible , and as little nonspecific fluorescence as possible . an optimal specific fluorescence image is made by subtracting the nonspecific image from the specific image . fig9 is a flow chart illustrating the primary process performed by computer 28 in controlling the system 1 and acquiring data therefrom . after initiation of the process , an image of the specimen is acquired at block 200 using camera 18 . known processes exist for acquiring bias images of a specimen . such bias images take into account all significant distortions and errors introduced by the system itself when an image is taken . utilizing one of the known methods , a bias image for the specimen is acquired at step 202 . at step 204 , a non - specific image is acquired . this image determines the contribution of non - specimen components , such as the support substrate , to the image . this step is indicated as optional , since it would only be performed in the event that the specimen had to be illuminated in order to acquire the specimen image , in which event some light would also be reflected from non - specimen elements . on the other hand , if the specimen were the source of the light for the image ( as in chemiluminescence ), the non - specific image would not be acquired . similarly , the step at block 206 is optional , since it involves obtaining a non - specific bias image . at block 208 , the specimen bias image is removed or subtracted from the specimen image , and at block 210 the non - specific bias image is subtracted from the non - specific image . this results in two images in which bias effects have been compensated . at step 212 , the compensated non - specific image is removed from the compensated specimen image to produce a working image in which the effects of the specimen are isolated . those skilled in the art will appreciate that if steps 204 and 206 were not performed , steps 210 and 212 would also not be performed . following bias removal , various other corrections are provided ( e . g . for geometric warping originating in the lens ), using known processes . at step 214 , the operator inputs to the computer the nominal โ grid โ spacing and โ probe template โ. the grid spacing is the nominal center - to - center spacing of specimen samples on the substrate . the โ probe template โ is the nominal definition of a single target ( e . g . in terms of shape and area ) corresponding to one dot on a membrane , one well in a plate , or similar target . typically the probe template is a circular area , and there is one probe template for each target in the specimen . a grid is composed of a matrix containing one probe template for each of the targets . optionally , the operator can also define an array of โ anchor points .โ the specimen may include an array of thousands of potential samples . in some instances , a large proportion of these will be populated , and in others relatively few will . in those instances in which relatively few sample points are populated , the specimen will include predefined โ anchor โ points to aid the system locating the probe template positions . in those instances in which a large proportion of the potential sample sites are populated , the samples themselves provide a sufficient population to position the probe templates , and anchor points may be unnecessary . at block 216 , probe templates of the defined size with the defined grid spacing are generated and superimposed over the working specimen image . at this point , the operator can optionally provide a manual adjustment to the superimposed grid of probe templates , in order to bring them into general alignment with the actual specimens . he could do so , for example , by utilizing a mouse to shift the entire array then โ grab specific probe templates and center them over the appropriate targets on the specimen . the operator might , for example , perform a general alignment by centering the probe templates in the four corners of the grid over the appropriate targets of the specimen . although not essential , this manual adjustment will speed and simplify the processing done by computer 28 . at block 218 , a process is performed , described in more detail below , in order to determine more precise locations for the probe templates relative to the actual location of potential targets . at the outset of this process , at block 218 , a determination is made whether the targets or anchor points have been adequately identified or defined . if targets have been well - defined , control is transferred to block 222 , where the array of probe templates is aligned to the defined targets ; if not , but anchors have been well - defined , control is transferred to block 220 , where the array of probe templates is aligned to the anchors ; otherwise , control is transferred to block 224 , where the predefined grid spacing and probe template for the array are utilized . it will be appreciated that , in some instances , it may be desirable to align the array on anchors and then on targets . once the probe templates and targets are aligned , the measurements within the individual probe templates are decoded to different conditions . for example , a probe may be capable of assuming any of n conditions , and the process of block 226 could decode the sample at each probe to one of those conditions . the actual process is performed on a statistical basis , and is best understood from a simple example relating to resolving a binary decision . however , those skilled in the art will appreciate that the process could actually be applied to resolving a multiple condition process . in the simplest case , the binary decision is a โ yes โ or โ no โ decision , which could be related to the presence or absence of a certain condition . in accordance with the process at block 226 , the actual levels at every probe of the specimen are measured , a mean and standard deviation are determined for the set of samples , and this results in a working statistical distribution . the decoding of a โ yes โ or โ no โ could then be done to any level of confidence selected by the operator . the operator &# 39 ; s selection of a level of confidence results in the determination of a threshold level ( e . g . based upon that level being located a calculated number of standard deviations from the mean on the distribution curve ), and any signal above the threshold level would be considered a โ yes โ, while any signal below the threshold level would be considered a โ no .โ at block 228 , a process is performed to generate a report of the array data , based upon the process performed at block 226 . it is contemplated that this may be any form of report writing software which provides the operator a substantial amount of flexibility in preparing reports of a desired format . once the reports are generated , the process ends . attached as appendix a is a more detailed discussion of the process of fig9 . fig1 is a flow chart illustrating the process performed in block 222 of fig9 . after initiation of the process , image background and noise are estimated at block 300 . at block 302 , a determination is made whether a group alignment of the grid to the array of targets is necessary . this could be done either visually by an operator or by the system . the purpose of this test is to determine whether the grid is aligned to the targets overall . if done by the system , it would be performed by a conventional procedure for testing alignment of two regular patterns of shapes . if it is determined that adequate alignment of the group exists , control is transferred to block 306 . at block 304 , a group alignment is performed . the purpose of this operation is to align the probe template grid roughly with the respective targets . the alignment may be done on the basis of the whole grid or part of the grid selected by the operator . this alignment could be done by the process discussed below with respect to block 306 for maximizing id , except that id is maximized over the entire grid . at block 306 , a step - wise process is performed within the area of each individual probe template to locate that point which yields the maximum integrated density , id , within the probe template , given by the formula ( 1 ): id ๎ข ( x0 , y0 ) = โซ s ๎ข ( x0 , y0 ) ๎ข d ๎ข ( x , y ) ๎ข w ๎ข ( x - x0 , y - y0 ) ๎ข ๏ x ๎ข ๏ y where : ( x0 , y0 ) is ๎ข ๎ข the ๎ข ๎ข center ๎ข ๎ข point ๎ข ๎ข of ๎ข ๎ข a ๎ข ๎ข probe ๎ข ๎ข template ; s ๎ข ( x0 , y0 ) is ๎ข ๎ข the ๎ข ๎ข probe ๎ข ๎ข template ๎ข ๎ข area ๎ข ๎ข at ๎ข ๎ข ( x0 , y0 ) ; d ๎ข ( x , y ) is ๎ข ๎ข the ๎ข ๎ข density ๎ข ๎ข value ๎ข ๎ข ( e . g . ๎ข brighteners ) ๎ข ๎ข at ( x , y ) ; ๎ข and w ๎ข ( x , y ) is ๎ข ๎ข a ๎ข ๎ข weighting ๎ข ๎ข function ๎ข ๎ข ( ๎ข e . g . ๎ข a ๎ข ๎ข two ๎ข - ๎ข dimensional gaussian ๎ข ๎ข function ๎ข ๎ข with ๎ข ๎ข its ๎ข ๎ข maximum ๎ข ๎ข value at ๎ข ๎ข ( 0 , 0 ) ) . ( 1 ) this yields an โ a location โ for each probe template , which is that location that provides the maximum value in formula ( 1 ). the probe template location prior to block 306 will be referred to as the โ g location .โ at block 308 , a confidence weighting is performed between the a location and g location , in order to arrive at the final location of the center of each probe template . the confidence weighting factor for each a location is a form of signal - to - noise ratio . that is , the value of id at each point is proportional to the ratio between the id value at that point and the value determined at block 300 for that point . in effect the weighting factors are utilized to determine the position of the probe center along a straight line between the a and g locations , with weighting determining how close the point is to the a location . although the detailed description describes and illustrates preferred embodiments of the present apparatus , the invention is not so limited . modifications and variations will now appear to persons skilled in this art . for a definition of the invention reference may be had to the appended claims . | 6 |
referring to the drawings , fig1 shows one unit of a first form of fish protection system , the unit comprising a guard plate 1 , a support arm 2 , and a connector 3 . the guard plate 1 is a moulded , non - toxic polypropylene sheet of a generally rectangular shape , and having dimensions of 500 mm by 240 mm . the sheet 1 is moulded to depict a group of lily pad leaves ( see fig4 ), and is coloured green so as to give a decorative appearance of lily pad leaves . for added life - like appearance , the plate 1 can be moulded to simulate veins or rays on the lily pad leaves . the polypropylene sheet has a specific gravity of about 1 . 0 , so that the sheet will float on the surface 14 of a pond ( one wall 5 of which can be seen in fig1 ). the support arm 2 is a stainless steel rod which is a friction ( or loose ) telescopic fit within one end of connector 3 , which is a 5 / 8 &# 34 ; diameter polypropylene tube . the other end of the connector tube 3 is pivotally attached to one edge of the guard plate 1 by means of a plastic nut - and - bolt fixing , push - fit rivets or a snap - on fitting . the support arm 2 can be fixed to the side of the pond , and can be bent , at 2a , to position the guard plate 1 closely adjacent to the wall 5 of the pond at the water level 4 . owing to the vast range of pond design , and the wall materials thereof , the rods 2 can be fixed by resin fibre glass strips , by brass screws , or by any other suitable means . the telescopic fit between the connector 3 and the rod 2 enables the guard plate 1 to adjust its floating position to any pond water level within a given range of water levels . the first form of system is constituted by a plurality of units of the type described above . these units are placed side - by - side , with say an overlap of about 25 mm between adjacent plates , along the side walls 5 of the pond . the plates 1 can be cut with scissors to conform to curved wall portions , or where there would otherwise be an excessive overlap with an adjacent plate . this type of system is particularly suitable for rectangular ponds , as the units can be positioned to abut ( or overlap ) at the corners . the polypropylene sheets constituting the guard plates 1 are positioned with their longer sides parallel to the sides of the pond . the width of the plates 1 ( 240 mm ) is chosen to be sufficiently large to prevent a cat stretching a foreleg to reach the surface of the water in the pond beyond the guard plates with its paw . moreover , because the guard plates 1 float on the surface of the pond water , they do not constitute a firm support for a cat &# 39 ; s paw ( that is to say such a plate will sink under the surface of the water if a cat puts any weight onto it ). because of cats &# 39 ; dislike of water , therefore , the guard plates 1 are effective to deter cats from attempting to catch fish by scooping them out of the water with their paws ( the danger area being calculated to be about 175 to 200 mm from the edge of the pond ). the guard plates 1 , each being moulded into the shape of a group of lily pad leaves , are also decorative , and so do not detract from the appearance of an ornamental pond . where a decorative appearance is not essential , the plates 1 may be made of transparent acrylic material . the modification is particularly advantageous for use by fish farmers , where it is important for the farmer to be able to see into the water over the entire pond area , for example to count the fish . if the decorative green plates 1 were used , fish could lie under the plates at the sides of the pond and so fail to be counted . as acrylic has a slightly greater specific gravity than water , guard plates 1 made of transparent acrylic are provided with flotation units ( described below with reference to fig5 ) which ensure that the plates float . the transparent acrylic plates also have the advantage of not providing hiding places for rats , mice , voles or frogs which might enter the pond and cause pollution . in either case , the plates 1 are such that a fish landing on the floating guard will be able to escape , either because it is sufficiently heavy partially to submerge the plate concerned , or by flapping around using its fins . fig2 shows one unit of a second form of fish protection system , which is a modification of the first system . here , each guard plate 1 &# 39 ; is supported by a support arm 2 &# 39 ;, which is made of polypropylene , and a stainless steel rod 3 &# 39 ;. the rod 3 &# 39 ; is fixed to the wall 5 &# 39 ; of the pond , and the support arm 2 &# 39 ; is fixed to the rod . the support arm 2 &# 39 ; is a sliding fit within an aperture 1a formed in the guard plate 1 &# 39 ;, and carries a stop member 2a &# 39 ; which is larger than the aperture 1a &# 39 ;. the sliding fit between the support arm 2 &# 39 ; and the aperture 1a &# 39 ; enables the guard plate 1 &# 39 ; to adjust its floating position to any pond water level within a given range of water levels . fig3 shows one unit of a third form of fish protection system , the unit comprising a guard plate 11 ( identical to the plate 1 of the unit of fig1 ), a support arm 12 having an externally - threaded portion 12a , and a hollow , internally - threaded barrel adjuster 13 . the adjuster 13 is pivotally fixed to a wall 15 of a pond , and the free end of the support arm 12 is connected to a fixing point 11a on the plate 11 by means of a lightly - rated coiled tension spring 16 . the edge portion of the plate 11 adjacent to the wall 15 is formed with fixing points ( apertures ) 17 ( see fig4 ), by means of which the plate is pivotally supported by means of support lugs 18 fixed to the wall . the arrangement is such that the plate 11 is positioned generally horizontally above the surface 14 of the water in the pond . as with the systems of fig1 and 2 , the third form of system is constituted by a plurality of units of this type , the units being placed side - by - side along the side walls 15 of the pond . here again , therefore , this type of system is best suited to a rectangular pond . also , as with the embodiments of fig1 and 2 , the plates 11 can be made of green polypropylene to give a decorative appearance , or they can be made of transparent acrylic for use by fish farmers . because the guard plates 11 are supported by the springs 16 , they do not constitute a firm support for a cat &# 39 ; s paw , that is to say such a plate will give if a cat puts any weight on it . where a fish pond requiring protection does not have straight side walls , particularly where a pond has curved side walls , the fourth form of system ( shown in fig5 and 6 ) is preferable . here , the system is constituted by a plurality of guard plates 21 , each being generally fan - shaped . the narrow end portion 22 of each plate 21 is provided with a pair of lugs 23 which can be snap - rivetted to the lugs of adjacent plates . in this way , a plurality of plates 21 can be pivotally connected together by their lugs 23 , so that the edges 22a of the narrow edge portions 22 can be shaped to follow even fairly intricate curved walls ( as illustrated in fig6 ). if the pond has corners or curves having a very small radius of curvature , the system of fig5 and 6 needs special adaptor plates ( such as the plate 24 shown in fig7 ) to interconnect two series of plates 21 , thereby preventing bunching of the plates 21 at corners or sharp bends . the plates 21 are preferably made of green polypropylene , so that they will float on the surface of the water in a pond . alternatively , the plates 21 could be made of transparent acrylic . in this case , each plate 21 is provided with three flotation units 25 , each of which is constituted by a sealed tube containing air . obviously , the number of flotation units 25 required for a given plate 21 , and their sizes and positions , depends upon the size and shape of the plate . for the plates 21 illustrated ( which have a length of about 230 mm and a maximum width of about 125 mm ) three flotation units 25 , positioned as shown , are required . each plate 21 is also provided with a fixing point 26 , by means of which the plate can be fixed to the side wall of a pond . in practice , not every plate 21 will need to be fixed , and only , say , every fifth plate will need fixing . fig8 and 9 show an add - on decorative member 31 ( a half - open lily pad leaf ), which can be added to any of the four systems described above with reference to fig1 to 7 . the members 31 can be made of green polypropylene or transparent acrylic to suit the system to which they are add - on members , thereby enhancing the ` natural look ` of the system concerned . the member 31 is provided with a steel stalk 32 which is a telescopic friction fit within a plastics tube 33 , to the lower end of which is fixed an encapsulated lead weight 34 . in order to fix the member 31 in position , its stalk 32 is pushed through a hole drilled in a main plate ( 1 , 1 &# 39 ;, 11 or 21 ), and the tube 33 is then slid over the stalk , so that the lead weight 34 holds the member 31 firmly down against the upper surface of the main plate . fig1 shows an alternative form of add - on member 41 , this member being in the form of a lily bud . here again , the member 41 could be made of green polypropylene or transparent acrylic . obviously , modifications could be made to the form of fish protection system described above . thus , the plates 1 , 1 &# 39 ; and 11 could be moulded to depict decorative patterns other than lily leaves . for example , the plates 1 , 1 &# 39 ; and 11 could have a cobbled , rippled , brickwork , basketweave , netting or paved appearance . alternatively , in view of the japanese connection with exotic fish , the plates 1 , 1 &# 39 ; and 11 could be moulded to depict japanese characters or symbols . moreover , the add - on members could take the form of any sort of leaf or bloom of water lily . also , the guard plates 1 , 1 &# 39 ;, 11 and 21 could be made of other types of plastics material than polypropylene , for example expanded polystyrene or bubble insulation material . these plates could also be made of wood or cork . where the plates are made of a material that does not float , they would , of course , be provided with flotation units when the plates are required to float . the guard plates also constitute an ideal resting ledge for frogs . normally , with steep - sided ponds , frogs can get in , but cannot get out . the ledge enables frogs to be noticed resting , when they can be removed . | 8 |
generally , as shown in fig1 the decorative garment is designated by the numeral 12 and is seen to be composed of a sheet of fabric 14 which is rectangular in shape and which has a cutout 16 in the central zone of it . the cutout is bounded by a pocket defining structure 18 , see also fig4 . within this pocket defining peripheral structure about the cutout , there is provided a drawstring 118 which may be , either , of elastic or non - elastic material . in the preferred embodiment , the drawstring is not of elastic material . also , end portions of drawstring 118 extend outwardly from an opening in the pocket for manipulation thereof . extending outwardly from the cutout there are two pairs of opposing wing zones or portions . in the embodiment shown in fig1 these wing portions are designated by the numerals 20 and 21 in the case of the first pair and , in the case of the second pair , these are designated by the numerals 24 and 26 . it is seen that the pairs of wing zones are perpendicular to one another . this is indicated by an imaginary line through the center 28 of the garment and the center of each pair of right angularly arranged wing portions . these imaginary centerlines are designated by the numerals 29 and 30 and define lines of symmetry . in other words , the decorative garment is symmetrical with respect to these centerlines through the wing portions . in a preferred embodiment , the distance around the periphery of the central cutout is about 44 inches . this is so that the garment may be positioned over the head and / or shoulders of a user , or , indeed , about the waist of a user . in use , the garment is capable of being worn in a wide variety of styles . for example , it mauy be worn if rolled upon itself into a string as a belt or sash . additionally , it may be worn as a cape , an overskirt , or in various ways over the shoulders of a wearer . it can also be utilized as a halter and generaly has a wide variety of optional uses whereby a wearer can adapt it for the particular type of garment preferred . also as set forth in greater detail in fig5 the garment can be converted and / or used as a drape for other objects . the fabric is preferably highly decorative and may be of silk or hand - painted . it will be noted that there are no seams except at the center which provides a flowing garment capable of being draped or gathered into a wide variety of styles . in the preferred embodiment , the overall longitudinal dimension of the garment is about 6 foot while the transverse dimension is between 3 and 5 feet . referring now to fig2 there is shown a similar garment 12 &# 39 ; which differs from that previously described only in that the central cutout 16 &# 39 ; is oval . referring to the embodiment shown in fig3 the sheet is of cruciform and preferably has an oval central opening . in this embodiment , the sheet 112 is provided with the oval opening 114 which is bounded by the pocket structure 116 in which there is a drawstring 118 . the first pair of wing portions is designated by the numerals 120 and 122 while the second pair of wing portions are designated by the numerals 124 and 126 . it is seen , once again , that a centerline through the center of the cutout and through the wing portions defines a line of symmetry with respect to each of the pairs of wing portions . as shown in fig4 the pocket structure 18 about the cutout may be composed of the edge 130 . the cutout is folded back upon itself and stitched together as by the seam 132 so that the drawstring 134 may be captivated therein with the ends thereof extending outwardly through a suitable opening , not shown , for tightening the drawstring as also shown in fig3 . fig5 is directed to yet another embodiment of the present invention wherein the garment 12 is converted into a decorative drape positionable over various portions of a lampand / or lamp / table combination generally indicated as 100 . in this embodiment , any of the structural configurations of the garment as appears in fig1 or 3 can be utilized by draping such garment now generally indicated as 12 &# 34 ; over a lampshade structure 102 such that the central orifice 18 substantially surrounds and engages the preferred upper periphery of the shade structure 102 in the manner shown in fig5 . the remainder or the body portion including both wing zones can then hang , due to gravity , along the outer surface of the shade 102 and to a certain extent or length therebeyond as generally indicated as 104 . alternately , a table portion of the lamp structure 100 now being generally indicated as 106 could have its underportion covered by the convertible garment / drape 12 &# 34 ; wherein the cutout portion 18 surrounds a periphery of a horizontal platform or table surface 108 and extends downwardly therefrom in surrounding relation to any type of base used to support the planar table 108 on the floor or like supporting surface . it should be readily apparent therefore that the versatility of the garment 12 &# 39 ;, 12 &# 34 ;, 112 , and 12 &# 34 ; is increased due to the convertibility of the garment into a decorative drape for various objects or pieces of furniture as demonstrated in fig5 . it is thus seen that there has been provided a simple , inexpensive , highly versatile decorative structure which can be worn as a garment in a wide variety of styles and which is either stored when not in use or used as a drape as demonstrated in the embodiment of fig5 . while the instant invention has been shown and described in what is considered to be three practical and preferred embodiments , it is recognized that departures may be made within the spirit and scope of the claims which follow and this invention is therefore not to be limited except as set forth in the claims within the doctrine of equivalents . | 0 |
referring now to fig2 of the drawings , there is shown a bottle container 10 for receiving therein liquid or semifluid material such as cosmetics , pharmaceuticals , foodstuffs and the like . the bottle 10 has an externally threaded neck portion 12 which is opened at the upper end 14 . after filling the bottle 10 with the liquid or semifluid material , the upper open end 14 is closed by an inner closure cap 20 of the present invention . the inner closure cap 20 is enclosed and covered with an outer closure cap 16 which has an internally threaded skirt portion 18 for detachable engagement with the neck portion 12 of the bottle 10 . a cap body 21 of the inner closure cap 20 of this embodiment is formed of synthetic resin material substantially in a cylindrical shape and includes an outer sleeve 22 and an inner sleeve 24 . as in the conventional arrangement , the outer sleeve 22 is provided at its lower end with a ring - like flange 26 which extends inwardly for press - fit with the neck portion 12 at 13 , thereby to prevent the inner closure cap from being removed from the neck portion 12 . the interior surface 28 of the inner sleeve 24 defines a pouring hole 30 which serves to reduce the amount of the material to be discharged from the bottle 10 , which reduction may be achieved by a step 32 for decreasing the diameter of the hole 30 . as better shown in fig3 the upper surface 34 integrally connecting the outer and inner sleeves 22 and 24 is concentrically divided into two parts , i . e . outer , lower part 35 and inner , upper part 36 . the upper part 36 is provided at a substantially radially central portion thereof with a ring - like projection 38 having a rectangular cross section . adhered onto the upper part 36 to hermetically close the pouring hole 30 is a thin sealing member 40 which is formed of a synthetic resin film or an aluminum foil combined with an adhesive layer . the sealing member 40 mainly comprises a circular disc having substantially the same diameter as that of the upper part 36 and is provided with a tongue 42 extending radially outwardly to protrude above the lower part 35 . corresponding to the projection 38 of the upper part 36 a hollow ring 44 is formed in the sealing member 40 and is fitted over the projection 38 in adhesion thereto . thus , the sealing member 40 is adhered to the upper surface , including the projection 38 , of the part 36 . the bonding of the sealing member 40 to the cap body 21 may be made by laying the sealing member 40 on the part 36 and pressing it while applying heat . however , it is preferable , for efficiency and accuracy , that the bonding is carried out when the cap body 21 is molded . if this is desired , a molding die as shown in fig4 is used , which comprises a core block 46 , a stripper plate 48 and a cavity block 50 , such elements together defining a cavity 52 . after the sealing member 40 which is at this time in the form of disc sheet having a diameter larger than that of the upper part 36 to be formed is inserted into the cavity 52 at a position as shown , molten thermoplastic resin 54 is injected through a passage 56 into the cavity 52 to form the cap body 21 and thereby to adhere the sealing member 40 thereto while deforming the member 40 into a ring - shaped recess 58 . the projection 38 of the upper part 36 and the ring 44 of the sealing member 40 provide additional , vertical surfaces for adhesion . this additional adhesion may prevent the member 40 from peeling off from the cap body 21 when the later is fitted to the bottle neck 12 or when the outer cap 16 is engaged with and disengaged from the neck 12 , even if the adhesion strength is relatively weak . thus , it is not necessary in the present invention to increase the adhesive strength to such extent that the sealing member 40 would break when a user desires to remove it by pulling the tongue 42 . the molded cap body 21 tends to contract due to the nature of thermoplastic resin material , as described hereinbefore . however , such contraction may be restrained at the projection 38 on which the ring 44 of the seal 40 is fitted by adhesion , thereby to prevent a slipping or peeling off of the seal 40 . further , in case an internal pressure of the bottle 10 is increased and exerted on the sealing member at the pouring hole 30 , the projection 38 and the ring 44 having vertical surfaces extending in the same direction as the internal pressure will secure the seal 40 in its place . in addition , the outer cap 16 is , when engaged , in touch with the seal 40 only at the ring 44 , thus reducing the amount of frictional force which tends to peel off the seal 40 during the rotation of the outer cap 16 . fig5 illustrates an inner closure cap in accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention , in which the same or corresponding parts are indicated by the same reference numerals as in the first embodiment . in this embodiment , a circular groove 62 is formed in an upper part 60 of the surface 34 for receiving in adhesion a ring 64 engraved in the sealing member 40 , the groove 62 and the ring 64 replacing the projections 38 and 44 in the first embodiment . the step 32 in the interior surface 28 is elongated toward the center of the inner sleeve 24 , thereby to provide a small diameter of the hole 30 and an enlarged surface of the upper part 60 which may naturally increase the area for adhesion . the sealing member 40 may be also adhered to the interior surface 28 at its vertical section , as illustrated in fig6 . thus , in this third embodiment the sealing member 40 is provided , inside of the ring projection 44 , with a stepped lower portion 66 which is fitted into the pouring hole 30 and adhered to the interior surface 28 along a peripheral portion 68 . this further increases the resistance against the internal pressure of the bottle 10 due to the enlarged area for adhesion , particularly in the vertical direction . it should be understood that the above structure may be also applied to the second embodiment , if so desired . although the present invention has been described with reference to the preferred embodiments thereof , many modifications and alterations may be made within the spirit of the present invention . | 1 |
a disc brake incorporating the present invention is shown in the accompanying drawings and is best seen in fig1 . the disc brake comprises a clamp member 1 which straddles a part of the periphery of a braking disc 3 which is rotatable about its central axis , the clamp member 1 being slidably mounted by virtue of sliding pin arrangements 5 , on a torque taking member 7 which , in use , is fixedly mounted on a vehicle of which the disc brake forms a part . the clamp member 1 incorporates an actuating mechanism 9 which is operable by brake applying means in the form of a pneumatic diaphragm / piston unit ( not shown ) to force a pair of tappets 11 to move axially to engage and apply a friction pad 13 against one side of the braking disc 3 , the clamp member 1 thus sliding on sliding pin arrangements 5 to apply another friction pad 15 against the other side of the braking disc 3 . thus , the brake is applied . referring to fig1 and 3 of the accompanying drawings , the brake applying means ( not shown ) is attached to the clamp member so that a piston rod ( not shown ) extends through an aperture 17 in the actuator 9 to engage in a curved recess 19 in one end region of an elongate actuating lever 21 . the other end region of the elongate actuating lever 21 is provided with two laterally extending cam sections 23 , these cam sections 23 extending in opposite directions transverse to the longitudinal axis of the elongate actuating lever 21 . each cam section 23 has a part cylindrical surface 25 , the centers of curvature of these respective surfaces being coaxial with each other . also , each cam section 23 has a part cylindrical channel 27 located in a region facing in the opposite direction to the curved surface 25 . a cylindrical force transmitting member 29 is located in each channel 27 with a bearing material e . g ., a bearing made of a proprietary pvdf , ptfe and lead composition , located therebetween , one end of each force transmitting member 29 engaging in a recess in the form of a cylindrical blind bore 31 in the lever arm 21 , with the other end of each force transmitting member being retained in a cylindrical bore 33 provided in an extension 35 of each cam section 23 . the cylindrical blind bore 31 and the cylindrical bore 33 are coaxial with each other and with the center of curvature of the associated channel 27 , the cylindrical force transmitting member being held axially in position in the respective bores by a retaining disc 34 and a circlip 36 ( see fig5 ) which engages in an annual groove provided in the wall of the cylindrical bore 33 . thus , the force transmitting members 29 are retained in the channels 27 . as best seen in fig1 and 5 , the lever arm 21 is mounted on cam sections 23 engaging via bearings 39 , respective curved supporting surfaces 41 formed in the cover plate 37 . thus , the cam sections 23 are pivotal on the curved supporting surfaces 41 , the cam sections being retained in position on the cover plate 37 by retaining means 43 which are bolted to an inner face of the cover plate 37 , the retaining means 43 taking the form of a metal frame which merely extends over the end of the extensions 35 of the respective cam sections 23 , the retaining means allowing for rotational movement of the cam sections 23 . thus , a modular cover plate 37 and lever arm 21 are formed in accordance with the present invention , it being possible for this assembly to be manufactured and simply assembled in the actuator 9 , facilitating subsequent servicing of the actuator 9 , the cover plate merely being secured in the clamp member 1 by a number of bolts 45 . with the modular assembly 37 / 21 secured in the actuator 9 by the bolts 45 , the respective force transmitting members 29 engage against end regions 47 of the two tappets generally designated 11 . the end regions 47 of each tappet 11 are made of a hardened material and may be rotatably located on the remainder of the tappet 11 . pivotal movement of the lever arm 21 in the direction a ( see fig2 ) as a result of operation of the brake applying means ( not shown ) thus causes the force transmitting members 29 to move to the right in fig2 forcing tappets 11 to move axially and apply friction pad 13 to one side of the braking disc 3 . to cater for pad wear an adjustment mechanism is provided , the location of the adjuster mechanism being evident in fig1 with the adjuster 51 being shown in enlarged detail in fig7 . the adjuster mechanism comprises the adjuster 51 which is activated via a lost motion arrangement by pivotal movement of the lever arm 21 . as evident from fig1 and 2 , a series of gear teeth 53 are provided on an axial end region of one of the cam sections 23 adjacent to the lever arm 21 , these gear teeth 53 meshing with teeth on an annular gear wheel 55 which is mounted for rotation with a hub portion 55 a in a central region of the rear i . e ., inside , face of the cover plate 37 . thus , by pivotal movement of the lever arm 21 , the gear wheel 55 is rotated . extending through the center of the annular gear wheel 55 is an extension 57 of the adjuster 51 ( see fig7 ), this extension having a hexagonal configuration to allow for manual return adjustment of the adjuster 51 as and when pads 13 and 15 are replaced . adjacent to the extension 57 is a first part 59 of the adjuster which has a cut out 61 in which an axial extension of the gear wheel and hub assembly 55 , 55 a engages with clearance , this clearance providing for the lost motion necessary to allow for normal braking with no adjustment occurring , adjustment only occurring as and when sufficient wear has occurred , the clearance then being taken up by the rotation of the gear wheel causing the one part 59 of the adjuster 51 to rotate . the one part 59 has a cylindrical configuration ( see fig7 ) within which another part 65 engages . this other part 65 has an enlarged diameter section , the outer surface of which is of the same diameter as the cylindrical section of the one part 59 . a rap spring 67 engages around these like diameter sections of the parts and causes the parts to rotate together in one direction but to allow the one part 59 to be freely rotatable from the other part 65 in the opposite rotational direction . thus , adjustment can occur only in one rotational direction . the wrap spring 67 is , however , designed to slip at a predetermined load upon brake actuation such that over adjustment is precluded , for example , during a heavy braking operation . mounted on the other part 65 of the adjuster 51 is a gear wheel 69 which , as seen in fig1 meshes with gear wheels 71 on the respective tappets 49 . thus , rotation of the gear wheel 69 causes synchronous rotation of the meshed gear wheels 71 and as the gear wheels 71 are secured against rotation relative to an outer part 73 of each tappet 11 , rotation of the gear wheels 71 causes the outer parts 73 to rotate about their longitudinal axis causing an inner part 75 of each tappet to be moved axially relative thereto , the inner and outer parts of each tappet being threadedly inter - engaged . springs 77 are provided to bias the tappets 11 into engagement with the force transmitting members 29 and to also provide for the return movement of the tappets 11 after brake release . as will be appreciated , the lever arm 21 has a central aperture which can be seen more clearly from fig4 through which the adjuster 51 extends , this central location of the adjuster providing for a balanced construction with the synchronous direct adjustment of the respective tappets by the adjuster 51 . in the embodiment of the present invention described hereinabove the cylindrical force transmitting members 29 are each held axially in the bores 31 , 33 , by the retaining disc 34 and circlip 36 . however , a modified arrangement is shown in fig9 wherein the metal frame forming the retaining means 43 has an indent 79 which extends into the cylindrical bore 33 , the indent 79 axially restraining the force transmitting member and removing the need for the disc 34 and circlip 36 . as seen in fig9 a clearance 81 is provided between the indent 79 and the wall of bore 33 to accommodate articulation of lever 21 and translating movement of the force transmitting member 29 due to its eccentric location relative to the longitudinal axis of the cam sections 23 , about which the lever 21 pivots . in preferred form of brake , as described hereabove , with the adjuster 51 located between the tappets 11 , there is no requirement for the brake to be handled as in previous constructions wherein the adjuster is located on one side of the brake and acts directly only on one tappet with the one tappet being coupled to the other tappet to provide for indirect adjustment thereof . the present invention thus provides for a well balanced construction of this brake with the advantage of a modular assembly for the actuating lever 21 , force transmitting member 29 and cover plate 37 , this modular assembly being readily removeable and replaceable to facilitate servicing as necessary . | 5 |
reference will now be made in detail to some embodiments of the invention , examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings . notation : (.) t , (.) h , (. )* represent the transpose , conjugate transpose , and conjugate of the enclosed items , respectively , vec (.) is the operator that forms one tall vector by stacking columns of the enclosed matrix , whereas diag (.) translate a vector into a diagonal matrix with the vector entries being the diagonal terms . while e {. }, โฅ.โฅ, and โฅ.โฅ f , denote the expectation , vector l 2 - norm , and frobenius norm of the enclosed items , respectively , and โ respectively denote the kronecker and hadamard product operator . denoted by i l , 1 l , and 0 l respectively , are the ( l ร l ) identity matrix , l - dimensional all - one and all - zero column vectors , whereas 1 l ร s and 0 l ร s are the matrix counterparts of the latter two . almost surely convergence is denoted by fig1 illustrates simplified block diagrams of a base station and a plurality of mobile stations in a single - cell massive mu - mimo system 100 in accordance with one novel aspect . massive mu - mimo system 100 comprises a base station bs 101 having an m - antenna array and k single - antenna mobile stations ms # 1 to ms # k , wherein m & gt ;& gt ; k . for a multi - cell uplink system , pilot contamination may become a serious design concern in the worst case when the same pilot sequences ( i . e ., the same pilot symbols are place at the same time - frequency locations ) happen to be used simultaneously in several neighboring cells and are perfectly synchronized in both carrier and time . in practice , there are frequency , phase , and timing offset between any pair of pilot signals and the number of orthogonal pilots is often sufficient to serve mobile users in multiple cells . moreover , neighbor cells may use the same pilot sequence but the pilot symbols are located in non - overlapping time - frequency units , hence a pilot sequence is more likely be interfered by uncorrelated asynchronous data sequence whose impact is not as serious as the worst case and can be mitigated by proper inter - cell coordination , frequency planning and some interference suppression techniques . throughout the present application , the discussion will be focused on the single - cell narrowband scenario . the proposed method , however , is not limited thereto . in the example of fig1 , bs 101 comprises memory 102 , a processor 103 , a scheduler 104 , a mimo codec 105 , a precoder / beamformer 106 , a channel estimator 107 , and a plurality of transceivers coupled to a plurality of antennas . similarly , each ms comprises memory , a processor , a mimo codec , a precoder / beamformer , a channel estimator , and a transceiver couple to an antenna . each wireless device receives rf signals from the antenna , converts them to baseband signals and sends them to the processor . each rf transceiver also converts received baseband signals from the processor , converts them to rf signals , and sends out to the antenna . for example , processor 103 processes the received baseband signals and invokes different functional modules to perform features in the device . memory 102 stores program instructions and data to control the operations of the device . the functional modules carry out embodiments of the current invention . the functional modules may be configured and implemented by hardware , firmware , software , or any combination thereof . fig2 is an exemplary diagram illustrating an uplink mimo system 200 in accordance with one novel aspect . mimo system 200 comprises a base station bs 201 having m antennas , and k mobile stations ms 1 to ms k . in the uplink direction , each k th ms transmits pilot training signals p k to be received by bs 201 via m antennas . we assume a narrowband communication environment in which a transmitted signal suffers from both large - scale and small - scale fading . the large - scale fading coefficients ( lsfcs ) for each uplink channel is denoted as ฮฒ k &# 39 ; s , while the small - scale fading coefficients ( ssfcs ) for each uplink channel is denoted as h k &# 39 ; s . the k uplink packets place their pilot of length t at the same time - frequency location so that , without loss of generality , the corresponding received signals , arranged in matrix form , yฮต m ร t at the bs can be expressed as : y = โ k = 1 k โข โข ฮฒ k โข h k โข p k h + n = hd ฮฒ 1 / 2 โข p + n h =[ h 1 , . . . , h k ] ฮต m ร k contains the ssfcs that characterize the k uplink channels , h k = ฯ k 1 / 2 { tilde over ( h )} k , { tilde over ( h )} k ห cn ( 0 m , i m ), where ฯ k is the spatial correlation matrix at the bs side with respect to the k th user d ฮฒ = diag ( ฮฒ 1 , . . . , ฮฒ k ) contains the lsfcs that characterize the k uplink channels , vector ฮฒ =[( ฮฒ 1 , . . . , ฮฒ k ) t ] whose elements ฮฒ k = s k d k โ ฮฑ describes the shadowing effect , parameterized by independent identically distributed ( i . i . d ) s k &# 39 ; s with log 10 ( s k )ห n ( 0 , ฯ s 2 ), and the pathloss which depends on the distance between the bs and ms d k , with ฮฑ & gt ; 0 p =[ p 1 , . . . , p k ] h ฮต k ร t is the k ร t matrix where m & gt ;& gt ; t โง k and p k is the pilot sequence sent by ms k and p j h p k = 0 , โ j โ k ( orthogonal pilot sequences ) n =[ n ij ], n ij ห cn ( 0 , 1 ) is the noise matrix whose entries are distributed according to cn ( 0 , 1 ). we invoke the assumption that independent users are relatively far apart ( with respect to the wavelength ) and the k th uplink channel vector is independent of the l th vector , โ l โ k . we assume that { tilde over ( h )} k are i . i . d . and the ssfc h remains constant during a pilot sequence period , i . e ., the channel &# 39 ; s coherence time is greater than t , while the lsfc ฮฒ varies much slower . unlike most of the existing works that focus on the estimation of the composite channel matrix hd ฮฒ 1 / 2 , or equivalently , ignore the lsfc , it is beneficial for system performance to know h and d ฮฒ 1 / 2 separately . even though the decoupled treatment of lsfcs and ssfcs has been seen recently , the assumption that the former is well known is usually made . in ordinary mimo systems , mmse or ls criterion cannot be used directly to jointly estimate lsfc and ssfc owing to their coupling , and em algorithm is a feasible alternative . however , em has high computational complexity and convergence is not guaranteed . in accordance with one novel aspect , a timely accurate lsfc estimator for uplink massive mimo without the prior knowledge of ssfc is proposed . fig3 is a flow chart of an uplink lsfc estimator that estimates all accessing mss &# 39 ; lsfcs simultaneously in a massive mimo system 200 of fig2 . in step 311 , each ms k transmits assigned ul pilot p k . in step 312 , the bs receives pilot signals transmitted from all k mss , which becomes the received signals denoted as y . in step 313 , the bs vectorizes finally , in step 314 , the bs derives an estimator of lsfc { circumflex over ( ฮฒ )} by multiplying it with diag (โฅ p 1 โฅ โ 4 , . . . , โฅ p k โฅ โ 4 )ยท(( 1 t t p )โ( p * 1 t t ). the derivation of lsfc { circumflex over ( ฮฒ )} is as follows : 1 m โข y h โข y - i t = 2 m โข โ โข { p h โข d ฮฒ 1 / 2 โข h h โข n } + p h โข d ฮฒ โข p + p h โข d ฮฒ 1 2 โก ( 1 m โข h h โข h - i k ) โข d ฮฒ 1 2 โข p + 1 m โข n h โข n - i t โข โข โข vec โก ( 1 m โข y h โข y - i t ) โข โ a . s โข ( ( 1 t โ p h ) โ ( p t โ 1 t ) ) โข ฮฒ โข โข ฮฒ ^ = diag โก ( ๏
p 1 ๏ - 4 , โฆ โข , ๏
p k ๏ - 4 ) ยท ( ( 1 t t โ p ) โ ( p * โ 1 t t ) ) ยท vec โก ( 1 m โข y h โข y - i t ) ( 1 ) where due to the large number of bs antennas m , the large sample size of the receive signal shows the following convergence : by exploiting the properties of massive mimo , the proposed lfsc estimator has low computational complexity while outperform the one derived from em algorithm . the proposed lfsc estimator is of low complexity , as no matrix inversion is needed when orthogonal pilots are used and does not require any knowledge of ssfcs . furthermore , the configuration of massive mimo makes the estimator robust against noise . fig4 a is a flow chart of an uplink lsfc estimator that estimates the lsfc for each accessing ms individually in a massive mimo system 200 of fig2 . in step 411 , each ms k transmits assigned ul pilot p k . in step 412 , the bs receives pilot signals from all k mss , denoted as y . in step 413 , { circumflex over ( ฮฒ )}=[{ circumflex over ( ฮฒ )} 1 , . . . , { circumflex over ( ฮฒ )} k ] is decoupled as , โ k , and the bs derives an estimator of each lsfc { circumflex over ( ฮฒ )} k for each uplink channel to be : fig4 b is a flow chart of an uplink lsfc estimator that estimates the lsfc for each accessing ms individually using a row of a diagonal matrix as pilot in a massive mimo system 200 of fig2 . in step 421 , each ms k transmits assigned ul pilot p k . in the example of fig4 b , the pilot is chosen to be a row of diagonal matrix , i . e ., p = diag ( s 1 , . . . . , s k ) and t = k , where each pilot sequence p k =[ 0 , . . . , 0 , s k , 0 , . . . 0 ]. in step 422 , the bs receives pilot signals from all k mss , denoted as y , where y =[ y 1 , . . . , y k ]. in step 423 , the bs decouples the lsfc estimator { circumflex over ( ฮฒ )} k for each uplink channel to be : this estimator coincides with our prediction that the instantaneous received signal strength minus the noise power , โฅ y k โฅ 2 โ m , is approximately equal to the strength of the desired signal and thus fairly reflects the gain provided by large - scale fading if it is divided by m s k 2 , the total power emitted by user k ( s k 2 ) times the number of copies received at the bs ( m ). fig5 shows an exemplary schematic view of an uplink lsfc estimator 501 in a massive mimo system 200 of fig2 . in the example of fig5 , a base station having m antennas receives radio signal y from k mobile stations mss , each ms k transmits a pilot sequence p k , and the noise variance is ฯ 2 . the ul lsfc estimator 501 is able to derive the lsfc { circumflex over ( ฮฒ )} k for each uplink channel with low computational complexity and without prior knowledge of the small - scale fading coefficients . fig6 is a flow chart of an uplink lsfc estimator that estimates all accessing mss &# 39 ; lsfcs simultaneously with multiple pilot transmissions in a massive mimo system 200 of fig2 . in step 611 , each ms k transmits assigned ul pilot p k j times . the j - time pilot transmissions can be achieved in different ways . in one example , the ms may transmit the pilot p k by repeating the transmission j times in time domain . in another example , the ms may transmit the pilot p k by repeating the transmission j times in frequency domain . note that , in our example , although the ip k remains the same during the j transmissions , different p k can be used for each of the different transmissions . in step 612 , the bs receives pilot signals from all k mss , denoted as y 1 , . . . , y j , where y i is the i th received signal block at the bs . in step 613 , the bs vectorizes 1 mj โข โ i = 1 j โข โข y i h โข y i - 1 j โข i t . finally , in step 614 , the bs derives an estimator of lsfc { circumflex over ( b )} by multiplying it with diag (โฅ p 1 โฅ โ 4 , . . . , โฅ p k โฅ โ 4 )ยท(( 1 t t p )โ( p * 1 t t )). if the j coherent resource blocks on time - frequency domain in which the lsfcs remain constant are available , then we have : fig7 a is a flow chart of an uplink lsfc estimator that individually estimates the lsfc for each ms with multiple pilot transmissions in a massive mimo system 200 of fig2 . in step 711 , each ms k transmits assigned ul pilot p k j times . in step 712 , the bs receives pilot signals from all k mss , denoted as y 1 , . . . , y j . in step 713 , { circumflex over ( ฮฒ )} k is decoupled from { circumflex over ( ฮฒ )}=[{ circumflex over ( ฮฒ )} 1 , . . . , { circumflex over ( ฮฒ )} k ], โ k , and the bs derives an estimator of each lsfc { circumflex over ( ฮฒ )} k for each uplink channel to be : fig7 b is a flow chart of an uplink lsfc estimator that individually estimates the lsfc for each ms using a row of a diagonal matrix as pilot with multiple pilot transmissions in a massive mimo system 200 of fig2 . in step 721 , each ms k transmits assigned ul pilot p k j times . in the example of fig7 b , the pilot is chosen to be a row of diagonal matrix , i . e ., p = diag ( s 1 , . . . , s k ), where each pilot sequence p k =[ 0 , . . . , 0 , s k , 0 , . . . 0 ]. in step 722 , for each of the i th pilot transmission , the bs receives pilot signals from all k mss , denoted as y i , where y i =[ y 1 ( i ) , . . . , y k ( i ) ]. in step 723 , the bs decouples the lsfc estimator { circumflex over ( ฮฒ )} k for each uplink channel to be : while the diagonal pilots give lower computational burden , the requirement that an ms needs to transmit all pilot power in a time slot to achieve the same performance shows a risk of disobeying the maximum user output power constraint . the decision of a suitable uplink pilot pattern is a trade - off between the computational complexity and maximum user output power . in one alternative example , a hadamard matrix is adopted as the pilot pattern . a hadamard matrix is a square matrix whose rows or columns are mutually orthogonal and of ยฑ 1 entries . it is conjectured that a hadamard matrix or rows of it as the pilot matrix p , the computation effort can be reduced significantly due to the fact that the calculation of yp k in equation ( 2 ) or y i p k in equation ( 5 ) involves only column additions and subtractions of y / y i . fig8 shows an exemplary schematic view of an uplink lsfc estimator 801 with multiple pilot transmissions in a massive mimo system 200 of fig2 . in the example of fig8 , a base station bs having m antennas receives radio signal y 1 , . . . , y j from k mobile stations mss , each ms k transmits a pilot sequence p k j times , and the noise variance is ฯ 2 . the ul lsfc estimator 801 is able to derive the lsfc { circumflex over ( ฮฒ )} k for each uplink channel with low computational complexity and without prior knowledge of the small - scale fading coefficients . fig9 shows the mse performance with respect to bs antenna number and snr of the proposed uplink lsfc estimator without ssfc knowledge using only one training block ( j = 1 ). as shown in fig9 , the mse performance improves as the number of antenna m increases , and as the snr increases . fig1 shows the mse performance with respect to bs antenna number and snr of the conventional single - block uplink lsfc estimator with perfect ssfc knowledge and the proposed uplink lsfc estimator without ssfc knowledge using multiple training blocks . as shown in fig1 , the mse performance of the conventional single - block uplink lsfc estimator with perfect ssfc knowledge is the best , as depicted by the dashed - line . however , the mse performance of the proposed uplink lsfc estimator without ssfc knowledge improves as the number of antenna m increases , and as the number of training blocks j increases . furthermore , the configuration of massive mimo makes the estimator robust against noise . fig1 is a flow chart of a method of estimating uplink lsfc in accordance with one novel aspect . in step 1101 , a base station ( bs ) receives radio signals transmitted from k mobile stations ( mss ) in a massive mimo uplink channel where m & gt ;& gt ; k . in step 1102 , the bs vectorizes the received radio signals denoted as a matrix yฮต m ร t , the transmitted radio signals are orthogonal pilot signals denoted as a matrix pฮต k ร t transmitted from the k mss , and t โง k is the pilot signal length . in step 1103 , the bs derives an estimator of large - scale fading coefficients ( lsfcs ) of the uplink channel without knowing small - scale fading coefficients ( ssfcs ) of the uplink channel . in step 1104 , the bs receives pilot signals that are transmitted for j times over coherent radio resource blocks from the k ms . in step 1105 , the bs derives a more accurate estimator of the lsfcs of the uplink channel based on the multiple pilot transmissions . in step 1106 , the bs calculates element - wise expression of the lsfcs for each of the kth uplink channel based on the lsfcs estimator . fig1 is an exemplary diagram illustrating a downlink mimo system 1200 in accordance with one novel aspect . mimo system 1200 comprises a base station bs 1201 having m antennas , and k mobile stations ms 1 to ms k . in the downlink direction , bs 1201 transmits downlink packets via some or all of its m antennas to be received by some or all of the k mss . we assume a narrowband communication environment in which a transmitted signal suffers from both large - scale and small - scale fading . the large - scale fading coefficients ( lsfcs ) for each downlink channel is denoted as ฮฒ k &# 39 ; s , while the small - scale fading coefficients ( ssfcs ) for each downlink channel is denoted as g k &# 39 ; s . the length - t downlink packets of different bs antennas are placed at the same time - frequency locations so that , without loss of generality , the corresponding received samples , arranged in matrix form , x h =[ x 1 , . . . , x k ] h at mss can be expressed as x h =[ x 1 , . . . , x k ] h = d ฮฒ 1 / 2 g h q + z h g =[ g 1 , . . . , g k ] ฮต m ร k contains the ssfcs that characterize the k downlink channels , g k = ฯ k 1 / 2 { tilde over ( g )} k , { tilde over ( g )} k ห cn ( 0 m , i m ), where ฯ k is the spatial correlation matrix at the bs side with respect to the k th user d ฮฒ = diag ( ฮฒ 1 , . . . , ฮฒ k ) contains the lsfcs that characterize the k downlink channels , vector ฮฒ =[ ฮฒ 1 , . . . , ฮฒ k ] t whose elements ฮฒ k = s k d k โ ฮฑ describes the shadowing effect , parameterized by independent identically distributed ( i . i . d ) s k &# 39 ; s with log 10 ( s k )ห n ( 0 , ฯ s 2 ), and the pathloss which depends on the distance between the bs and ms d k , with ฮฑ & gt ; 0 q =[ q 1 , . . . , q t ] ฮต m ร t is a m ร t matrix where t โฆ m , which can be a pilot matrix containing orthogonal columns q i h q j = 0 , โ i โ j or a data matrix intended to serving different mss z =[ z ij ], z ij ห cn ( 0 , 1 ) is the noise matrix whose entries are distributed according to cn ( 0 , 1 ). we invoke the assumption that independent users are relatively far apart ( with respect to the wavelength ) and the k th downlink channel vector is independent of the l th vector , โ l โ k . we assume that { tilde over ( g )} k are i . i . d . and the ssfc g remains constant during a pilot / data sequence period , i . e ., the channel &# 39 ; s coherence time is greater than t , while the lsfc ฮฒ varies much slower . in accordance with one novel aspect , several accurate lsfc estimators for downlink massive mimo without the prior knowledge of ssfc are proposed . by exploiting the properties of massive mimo , it has low computational complexity . fig1 is a flow chart and schematic view of a downlink semi - blind lsfc estimator 1311 that resides at each ms and estimates the lsfc of the ms using a semi - unitary matrix as pilot in a massive mimo system 1200 of fig1 . in step 1301 , the bs transmits downlink pilot q to the k mss . in step 1302 , the k th ms receives signal x k h . in step 1303 , the k th ms recovers the lsfc { circumflex over ( ฮฒ )} k for each downlink channel to be : ฮฒ ^ k = ๏
x k ๏ 2 - t ๏
q ๏ f 2 ( 7 ) where q is a semi - unitary matrix and ms knows nothing but pilot power โฅ q โฅ f 2 . in the embodiment of fig1 , let q be a pilot matrix of the following form with in the example of fig1 , each k th ms receives radio signal x k from a bs having m antennas . the bs transmits a pilot signal denoted by matrix q , which is a semi - unitary matrix . the pilot power is โฅ q โฅ f 2 , and the noise variance is ฯ 2 . the dl lsfc estimator 1311 is able to derive an estimate of the lsfc { circumflex over ( ฮฒ )} k for each downlink channel with low computational complexity and without prior knowledge of the small - scale fading coefficients . because in a massive mimo system , m โง t & gt ;& gt ; 1 gives z k h โข q h โข g k โข โ a . s . โข 0 , if t โโ, and โฅ x k โฅ 2 โ ฮฒ k g k h qq h g k +โฅ z k โฅ 2 . in addition , ฮฒ k โข g k h โข qq h โข g k + ๏
z k ๏ 2 โข โถ a . s . โข ฮฒ k โข p ยท t + t g k h โข qq h โข g k = p โข โข โ i = 1 t โข ๏ g m - ( t - i + 1 ) โข r + r + 1 , k ๏ 2 โข โถ a . s . โข pt . fig1 is a flow chart and schematic view of a downlink blind lsfc estimator 1411 that resides at each ms and estimates the lsfc of the ms exploiting only the statistics of the unknown broadcast signal in a massive mimo system 1200 of fig1 . in step 1401 , the bs transmits downlink data signal q = wd to a plurality of k โฒ mss excluding ms 1 to k . in step 1402 , the k th ms receives signal x k h . in step 1403 , the k th ms recovers the lsfc { circumflex over ( ฮฒ )} k for each downlink channel to be : ฮฒ ^ k = ๏
x k ๏ 2 - t pt ( 8 ) where each ms using only statistics of unknown broadcast signal to estimate { circumflex over ( ฮฒ )} k . d =[ d 1 , . . . , d t ] ฮต k โฒร t : data entries of d are unknown i . i . d . information intended to k โฒ serving mss excluding ms 1 to k . the power of d entries is p / k โฒ w =[ w 1 , . . . , w k โฒ ] ฮต m ร k โฒ : unknown beamforming or precoding matrix , having unit - norm columns , to those k โฒ serving mss , and w i h w j = ฮด ij in the example of fig1 , each k th ms receives radio signal x k from a bs having m antennas . the bs transmits a pilot signal denoted by matrix q = wd , the power is p , and the noise variance is ฯ 2 . the dl lsfc estimator 1411 is able to derive the lsfc { circumflex over ( ฮฒ )} k for each downlink channel with low computational complexity and without prior knowledge of the small - scale fading coefficients . note that when n & gt ;& gt ; 1 , two independent random vectors u , vฮต n ร 1 has two properties : i ) u h โข au - tr โก ( a ) โข โถ a . s . โข 0 1 m โข u h โข av โข โถ a . s . โข 0 . thus , with large dimensions of { tilde over ( g )} k &# 39 ; s , d i &# 39 ; s , w i โฒ โข s , g ~ k h โข ฯ k 1 2 โข qq h โข ฯ k 1 2 โข g ~ k โข โถ a . s . โข tr ( ฯ k 1 2 โข qq h โข ฯ k 1 2 ) , k โฒ p โข d i h โข ad j โข โถ a . s . โข tra ยท ฮด ij , fig1 a shows the mse performance with respect to snr and training period of the proposed downlink semi - blind lsfc estimators without ssfc knowledge . as shown in fig1 a , the mse performance improves as the snr increases , and as the training period t increases . fig1 b shows the mse performance with respect to snr and training period of the proposed downlink blind lsfc estimators without ssfc knowledge . as shown in fig1 b , the mse performance improves as the snr increases , and as the training period t increases . fig1 is a flow chart of a method of estimating downlink lsfc in accordance with one novel aspect . in step 1601 , a mobile station ( ms ) receives radio signals transmitted from a base station ( bs ) having m antennas in a massive mimo system . the transmitted radio signals are denoted as a matrix q transmitted from the bs to k ms . in step 1602 , the ms determines a received radio signal denoted as a vector x k received by the ms that is the kth ms associated with a k th downlink channel . in step 1603 , the k th ms derives an estimator of a large - scale fading coefficient ( lsfc ) of the k th downlink channel without knowing a small - scale fading coefficient ( ssfc ) of the kth downlink channel . in step 1604 , in a semi - blind lsfc estimation , matrix q is a semi - unitary matrix consisting of orthogonal pilot signals , and the lsfc of the k th downlink channel is derived based on x k and the transmitting power of the pilot signals . in step 1605 , in a blind lsfc estimation , matrix q represents pre - coded data signals transmitted to k โฒ ms that are different from the k ms . the lsfc of the k th downlink channel is derived based on x k and the transmitting power of the data signals with unknown data information and unknown beamforming or precoding information . although the present invention has been described in connection with certain specific embodiments for instructional purposes , the present invention is not limited thereto . accordingly , various modifications , adaptations , and combinations of various features of the described embodiments can be practiced without departing from the scope of the invention as set forth in the claims . | 7 |
referring now to the drawings wherein like reference characters are used throughout the various views to indicate like or corresponding parts , there is shown in fig1 - 5 an impingement device for food products . for purposes of description , the device is designated by reference numeral 10 . the embodiment illustrated in fig1 - 5 is a commercial type and utilizes an endless conveyor to move food products therethrough . the device contains a plurality of upper and lower impingement jets directed toward the top and the bottom of the food product as it moves through the oven . preferably , the conveyor is of a chain mesh material to allow impingement jets to pass therethrough . the present invention is illustrated as a commercial oven but also has application to other types of ovens and in food cooling devices . the description of the present invention with regard to the particular type of ovens illustrated in the figures is by way of example and is not intended by implication to limit the invention to use in this particular type of oven . it should be appreciated that the present invention , for example , has application to smaller ovens such as those used in the home wherein an endless conveyor does not extend through the oven . in the embodiment of fig1 - 5 , the device 10 comprises an insulated enclosure 12 . enclosure 12 can be constructed in any suitable manner well known in the food processing industry to produce an enclosure which forms an insulated chamber . enclosure 12 is an elongated structure with openings 16 in the ends thereof . an endless conveyor 18 extends through these openings 16 . the conveyor 18 is conventionally supported and driven by a motor ( not shown ) in the figures of this embodiment , but see motor 317 of fig1 such that the food supporting surface 20 of the conveyor is moved in the direction of arrow 22 . in operation , food products 24 can be continuously moved through the enclosure 12 in the direction of arrow 22 . as will be described in more detail , food products 24 are carried by conveyor 18 past a plurality of impingement jets to properly cook the food products . a control panel 26 is provided with control means for regulating the speed and operation of conveyor 18 and the temperature of a heater assembly for the air of the impingement jets within enclosure 12 . as can be seen in fig3 the products 24 are moved by the conveyor 18 through the enclosure 12 and pass through successive impingement apparatus assemblies 28 , 30 , 32 and 34 , respectively . each of the impingement assemblies has upper and lower impingement ducts 36 . ducts 36 are positioned in close proximity to the conveyor 18 and define a cooking area or zone 38 between the upper and lower ducts 36 . by varying the location and number of these impingement ducts 36 in each of the cooking areas or zones 38 the cooking rate can be varied . the basic construction of each of the impingement assemblies 28 - 34 is similar in overall construction and configuration . the impingement assemblies 28 - 34 differ in the position in spacing of the respective impingement ducts 36 . in fig4 impingement assembly 34 is shown in section . it should be understood , of course , that the description of impingement assembly 34 is typical for the other impingement assemblies except as noted herein . impingement assembly 34 comprises the following basic elements which cooperate together to supply an even and continuous supply of heated air to the product 24 as the product is moved through the cooking area 38 by conveyor 18 : a heater assembly 40 , a tapering shroud 42 , a driven impeller 44 , a collar 46 , a plenum assembly 48 , and a plurality of tapered impingement ducts 36 defining a cooking area 38 therebetween . in operation , tapering shroud 42 cooperates with collar 46 to direct return air into the impeller 44 . impeller 44 in turn moves the return air into the plenum assembly 48 . plenum 48 acts as a manifold to properly distribute air into the various impingement ducts 36 . air in the impingement ducts exits through nozzles 50 and is directed against the upper and lower surfaces of the products 24 . one embodiment of an impingement duct 36 is shown in fig4 and 5 . as is illustrated , the duct 36 is greater in cross sectional area at the end 36a adjacent to the plenum 48 . the cross sectional area of the duct 36 decreases along the length of the duct as the duct extends away from the end 36a . this configuration provides an even pressure distribution of the air along the length of the duct . duct 36 has a plurality of nozzles or perforations 50 which are arranged in the pattern illustrated in fig5 . the gas supplied to the interior of the duct 36 exits the perforations 50 and is directed into the cooking area 38 in streams or jets as illustrated by arrows 52 . these ducts 36 can be embodied as shown and described in u . s . pat . no . 4 , 154 , 861 and operate as described therein to provide a plurality of spaced discrete streams of gas or impingement jets that contact and cook the food . these jets each contact a discrete area on the food product and will not be substantially diffused prior to impingement against the surface of the food product . as is shown in fig4 impingement ducts 36 are mounted on and supported by the plenum assembly 48 . details of the configuration of the plenum assembly is shown in fig2 and 4 . the plenum assembly is constructed from a suitable sheet of material , such as stainless steel , welded , riveted or otherwise fastened together to form a plenum chamber . plenum assembly 48 is positioned to extend above and below said conveyor 18 . plenum assembly 48 is spaced inwardly from the walls of said enclosure to provide a return flow path for air through spaces 53 and 55 located respectively above and below the plenum . backwall 54 tapers as shown in fig2 to direct air outward to the impingement ducts 36 positioned across the width of the plenum . the frontwall 56 has a plurality of rectangular openings 58 through which air moves into the impingement ducts 36 . in the embodiment shown in fig1 - 5 , a collar 46 surrounds an opening 60 in the backwall 54 of the plenum 48 . this collar is of a size to closely surround the path of impeller 44 without interfering with its movement . the collar 46 may be shaped to reduce turbulence and is small enough to cooperate with the impeller 44 to increase the efficiency and distribution of air into the plenum 48 . a v - shaped deflector 62 extends horizontally across the center of the plenum 48 . this deflector 62 cooperates with the impeller 44 to direct air in a direction above and below the deflector 62 to improve the distribution characteristics of the plenum , reduce turbulence , and supply air to the individual impingement ducts 36 through openings 58 . as can be seen in fig4 tapering shroud 42 is positioned at the rear of impeller 44 . this tapering shroud can be either frusto , conical or pyramid shaped to guide the return air into the collar 46 . in addition , because the return air must change direction as it enters the collar 46 and impeller 44 , tapering shroud 42 cooperates to eliminate dead spaces behind the impeller and forms an annular opening to direct the gas into the impeller . impeller 44 is shown suitably connected and driven by motor 64 through an endless belt 66 . the motor 64 of course could be axial with the shaft of impeller 44 . the shaft of impeller 44 extends through the center of the tapering shroud 42 . in fig4 heater assembly 40 is shown communicating with chamber 14 . as is conventional in ovens , this heater assembly 40 is controlled by a thermostat and control circuitry not shown and operates as required to add heat to the return air before it enters the collar impeller area of the enclosure 12 . thus the temperature of the air in the plenum can be controlled by mixing return air with heated air from the heater 40 . the heater assembly 40 can be conventional gas or electric type . it should be understood that for purposes of description the improved air flow mechanism of the present invention is disclosed in regard to oven . however , the present invention has application and utility in devices which are used to cool food products . in such instance , the heater 40 would be replaced with a suitable cooling device such as a refrigeration coil or the like to cool the air as it flows through the system . such devices could be utilized in freezing or cooling food products . it should therefore be understood that the improved flow mechanism of the present invention would likewise have application in the freezing or cooling of foods in an apparatus of this device . according to a particular feature of the present invention the air flow of the impingement jets and the return air is such that uniform cooking occurs of the product 24 without regard to location across the width of the conveyor 18 . it is believed that this uniform cooking is a result of two primarily cooperating aspects of the apparatus of the present invention . the first aspect is a cooperation of the impeller 44 tapering shrouds 42 , collar 46 , deflector 62 and tapered impingement ducts . these elements of the invention cooperate to provide an even and adequate distribution of flow of return gases into the plenum assembly 48 thus insuring an adequate supply of gases to each of the impingement ducts 36 communicating with the plenum 48 . an adequate and uniform distribution of return air to the various inpingement ducts 36 insures a uniform and adequate supply of air for proper cooking throughout the cooking area 38 . the adequate and even cooking by the impingement jets is further enhanced by the cooperation of the return path of the discharged gas . as is illustrated in fig4 - 5 , the flow path of the air from the impingement jets is schematically shown by arrows 52 . in fig4 the impingement jets are shown contacting the product 24 to sweep away the boundary layer and cause rapid heat transfer between a product 24 and the air of the impingement jet . air from the impingement jet moves in a reverse direction after contacting product 24 . the return air moves up between the impingement ducts 36 as shown in fig3 . by moving the return air in a direction opposite to the vector of the impingement jet , side or transverse drafts are minimized and a uniform cooking occurs across the width of the conveyor 18 in the cooking area 38 . it is believed that transverse or side drafts cause variations in cooking rates which can make the heat transfer rate of the particular impingement jets vary with position across the width of product 24 creating undesirable variations in cooking . by providing a suitable subject space between each of the impingement ducts 36 , the return path 52 of the discharge air can move up or down , respectively , between the impingement jets and out of the cooking area . the return of these gases in this manner minimizes the affect on the uniformity of cooking . return air can move above and below the cooking area , over the plenum assembly 48 , past the heater assembly 40 and into the impeller 44 of the tapered shroud 42 . dividing of the return gases above and below the plenum assembly 48 minimizes undesirable transverse drafts in the cooking chamber . this improvement is surprising in that one would not expect that even cooking would result from the movement of the discharged air in a direction opposite to the vector of impingement flow . it would have been assumed that moving the discharge gases in a direction opposite to the direction of the impingement flow would reduce efficiency and interfere with the flow of the impingement jets . in addition , a more even distribution of the air through the impeller 44 is provided by moving the air over both the top and bottom of the plenum . this increases the efficiency of the system by providing short length air return paths from the product to the impeller . also if the conveyor surface is blocked solid , as when covered cooking pans are used , or when a solid conveyor belt is used , the air from the top and the bottom returns directly to the impeller without passing around the closed conveyor surface systems which return the gases solely to either the top or the bottom of the oven . it is to be understood , of course , that the illustration of the invention in fig1 - 5 is by way of example and that other configurations could be utilized to practice the present invention . for example , alternate embodiments of the present invention are shown in fig6 - 11 . in fig6 an alternate embodiment of an impingement oven 110 is shown . this embodiment would also have the same general configuration of the oven shown in fig1 - 5 and the details of construction of the impeller assembly 144 and plenum assembly 148 . in fig6 the backwall 154 of the plenum 148 is provided with an internally directed flange 146 which forms a collar for the impeller 144 . this internally turned flange 146 extends completely around the periphery of the rear opening 160 in the plenum assembly 148 . flange 146 can be integrally formed with backwall 154 or can be formed by a separate piece fixed to the backwall 154 in a suitable manner . flange 146 cooperates with the impeller 144 and tapering shroud 142 to improve the air flow and distribution into the plenum 148 . the impeller assembly 144 is shown in detail in perspective view in fig7 . the tapering shroud 142 is shown frusto conical shaped and the impeller 144 has a central dome shaped portion with impeller blades 145 on the periphery thereof . impeller assembly 144 is positioned with the concave side of the dome shaped portion 143 facing toward the plenum 148 . the dome shaped portion cooperates with and fits around tapering shroud 42 to assist in directing the flow of air into the plenum 148 . the central dome shaped portion 143 has a cylindrical skirt 147 on the periphery thereof . the skirt 147 extends parallel to the flange 146 to define an annular space therebetween . this annular space between the skirt 147 and flange 146 is the area through which the blades 145 rotate as they are driven in a circle by the motor 164 . the blades 145 are each scoop shaped and provide the unique advantage of causing flow in both the axial and radial direction as shown by arrows 149 . this axial and radial flow distributes the air throughout the plenum and cooperates with the shroud 142 , flange 146 and a deflector 162 to provide uniform distribution of the air and uniform heat transfer rates throughout the impingement ducts 136 . in fig8 an oven 210 is illustrated having a plenum assembly 248 with a tapering shroud 142 and impeller assembly 144 identical to the construction illustrated in fig7 . in the embodiment of fig8 the plenum 148 has a backwall 154 ( not shown ) with an opening 260 therein . fixed around the periphery of the circular opening 260 is a length of tubing 261 positioned as shown in fig8 . this tubing 261 is fixed around the edge of the opening 260 by welding fasteners of the like and operates to form a smooth edge around which the returning air flows . this smooth edge around the opening 260 cooperates with the fan to improve the flow of air into the plenum assembly 248 . in fig9 - 11 , the invention is shown in the embodiment of a cooling device . this cooling device is identified generally by reference 310 and comprises a sealed insulated enclosure 312 forming a chamber 314 therein . openings 316 provide clearance for an endless conveyor 318 to extend through the chamber 314 . the conveyor 318 is suitably driven and controlled as explained in regard to the embodiment of fig1 - 5 and is used to move food product through the chamber 314 . a single impingement assembly 328 is mounted within chamber 314 . impingement assembly 328 has a plurality of impingement ducts 336 . impingement assembly 328 and ducts 336 are similar in construction to those shown in fig1 - 5 . a plurality of refrigeration coils 340 are provided within the chamber 314 in the flow path of the return to the plenum assembly 348 . a conventional refrigeration assembly 341 is connected to the cooling coils 340 and is provided with suitable compressors , evaporators and the like to provide cooling for the return air passing across the coils 340 . in this manner device 310 can be utilized to cool food products 324 carried by conveyor 318 as it moves through cooking area 338 . it is also envisioned that additional cooling could be provided by apparatus not shown to directly inject cooling gases such as nitrogen to the rear of the plenum 348 . thus the improved flow characteristics of the oven of fig1 - 5 can be applied to a food cooling device such as shown in fig9 - 11 . in the cooling device of fig9 - 11 the return air flow path can be identical to that shown and described in regard to fig1 - 5 even though the air is utilized for cooling rather than cooking . the various aspects of the present invention have been described in regard to exemplary embodiments incorporating the present invention . in addition , the invention can , for example , be applied to cooking or cooling apparatus without the presence of an endless conveyor extending through a chamber . the improved flow characteristics disclosed in the present invention could have utility and advantage in devices having a sealed enclosure wherein the food product is , for example , placed in the device for a set period of time . in addition , the food product could be moved within the device by a carrousel or oscillating support . it is a envisioned that the food product could be fixed and the impingement apparatus moved to cause a sweep over the surface of the product . in addition , a closed system which combines microwave or other type of food cooking or processing with the apparatus of the present invention could be used . thus , having described the present invention it is to be understood , of course , that numerous modifications , alterations and changes can be made in the device by one of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed herein . | 0 |
in some embodiments , a mesh electrode can be stamped on a layer by the following method . a die ( e . g ., a hot stamping die ) having a pattern ( e . g ., a mesh pattern ) machined into its surface can be brought into contact with the back surface of a first layer ( e . g ., a flexible substrate ). the front surface of the first layer can be coated with a continuous metal layer . the front surface of the first layer can then be brought into contact with a second layer , which serves as a receiving layer . when a pressure is applied to the die , the metal layer on the front surface of the first layer transfers and adheres to the second layer . the pressure applied to the die can be at least about 100 psi ( e . g ., at least about 1 , 000 psi or at least about 5 , 000 psi ). in some embodiments , the front surface of the first layer can be brought into contact with the second layer before the die contacts the back surface of the first layer . in some embodiments , the die can be heated to a suitable temperature ( e . g ., at least about 100 ยฐ c ., at least about 150 ยฐ c ., at least about 200 ยฐ c ., at least about 250 ยฐ c ., or at least about 300 ยฐ c .) to facilitate transfer of the metal layer from the front surface of the first layer to the second layer . in some embodiments , a release layer can be included between the metal layer and the first layer to aid release of the metal layer . the release layer can include a material that liquefies below the temperature of the die during the stamping process . examples of such materials include wax or a polymer with a low melting point ( e . g ., aliphatic polyesters or low molecular weight polyethylenes ). in some embodiments , the methods described above can be used to prepare electrodes of a multilayer device , such as a liquid crystal display , a light emitting diode , or a photovoltaic module . the photovoltaic module can include one or more photovoltaic cells , such as organic photovoltaic cells , dye sensitized solar cells ( dsscs ), and / or tandem cells . in some embodiments , the methods described above can be used to prepare electrodes of a photovoltaic cell . for example , fig1 ( a ) shows a top view of a receiving substrate 110 containing a plurality of regions 111 coated with a photoactive material . receiving substrate 110 can be used as a substrate in a photovoltaic cell . fig1 ( b ) shows a front surface view of a transfer substrate 120 coated with a metal layer 122 . fig1 ( c ) is a top view of a die 130 having a mesh pattern 133 on a surface . during the stamping process , die 130 can be brought into contact with the back surface of transfer substrate 120 and the front surface of the transfer substrate 120 can be brought into contact with receiving substrate 110 . when a pressure is applied to the die , metal layer 122 on transfer substrate 120 transfers and adheres to the receiving substrate 110 . fig1 ( d ) shows a top view of a substrate 140 with a mesh electrode 144 . as shown in fig1 ( d ), mesh electrode 144 is formed on substrate 140 such that the photoactive material are located in the open regions of mesh electrode 144 . in some embodiments , the methods described above can be used to print an electrode on a substrate for use in an organic photovoltaic cell . fig2 shows a cross - sectional view of an organic photovoltaic cell 200 that includes a transparent substrate 210 , a mesh cathode 220 , a hole carrier layer 230 , a photoactive layer ( containing an electron acceptor material and an electron donor material ) 240 , a hole blocking layer 250 , an anode 260 , and a substrate 270 . fig3 and 4 respectively show an elevational view and a cross - sectional of a mesh electrode . as shown in fig3 and 4 , mesh cathode 220 includes solid regions 222 and open regions 224 . in general , regions 222 are formed of electrically conducting material so that mesh cathode 220 can allow light to pass therethrough via regions 224 and conduct electrons via regions 222 . as shown in fig3 and 4 , mesh cathode 220 includes solid regions 222 and open regions 224 . in general , regions 222 are formed of electrically conducting material so that mesh cathode 220 can allow light to pass therethrough via regions 224 and conduct electrons via regions 222 . the area of mesh cathode 220 occupied by open regions 224 ( the open area of mesh cathode 220 ) can be selected as desired . generally , the open area of mesh cathode 220 is at least about 10 % ( e . g ., at least about 20 %, at least about 30 %, at least about 40 %, at least about 50 %, at least about 60 %, at least about 70 %, at least about 80 %) and / or at most about 99 % ( e . g ., at most about 95 %, at most about 90 %, at most about 85 %) of the total area of mesh cathode 220 . mesh cathode 220 can be prepared in various ways . in some embodiments , mesh electrode can be stamped onto a layer ( e . g ., a substrate ) as described above . in some embodiments , mesh cathode 220 is a woven mesh formed by weaving wires of material that form solid regions 222 . the wires can be woven using , for example , a plain weave , a dutch , weave , a twill weave , a dutch twill weave , or combinations thereof . in certain embodiments , mesh cathode 220 is formed of a welded wire mesh . in some embodiments , mesh cathode 220 is an expanded mesh formed . an expanded metal mesh can be prepared , for example , by removing regions 224 ( e . g ., via laser removal , via chemical etching , via puncturing ) from a sheet of material ( e . g ., an electrically conductive material , such as a metal ), followed by stretching the sheet ( e . g ., stretching the sheet in two dimensions ). in certain embodiments , mesh cathode 220 is a metal sheet formed by removing regions 224 ( e . g ., via laser removal , via chemical etching , via puncturing ) without subsequently stretching the sheet . in certain embodiments , solid regions 222 are formed entirely of an electrically conductive material ( e . g ., regions 222 are formed of a substantially homogeneous material that is electrically conductive ). examples of electrically conductive materials that can be used in regions 222 include electrically conductive metals , electrically conductive alloys and electrically conductive polymers . exemplary electrically conductive metals include gold , silver , copper , aluminum , nickel , palladium , platinum and titanium . exemplary electrically conductive alloys include stainless steel ( e . g ., 332 stainless steel , 316 stainless steel ), alloys of gold , alloys of silver , alloys of copper , alloys of aluminum , alloys of nickel , alloys of palladium , alloys of platinum and alloys of titanium . exemplary electrically conducting polymers include polythiophenes ( e . g ., poly ( 3 , 4 - ethelynedioxythiophene ) ( pedot )), polyanilines ( e . g ., doped polyanilines ), polypyrroles ( e . g ., doped polypyrroles ). in some embodiments , combinations of electrically conductive materials are used . in some embodiments , solid regions 222 can have a resistivity less than about 3 ohm per square . as shown in fig5 , in some embodiments , solid regions 222 are formed of a material 302 that is coated with a different material 304 ( e . g ., using metallization , using vapor deposition ). in general , material 302 can be formed of any desired material ( e . g ., an electrically insulative material , an electrically conductive material , or a semiconductive material ), and material 304 is an electrically conductive material . examples of electrically insulative material from which material 302 can be formed include textiles , optical fiber materials , polymeric materials ( e . g ., a nylon ) and natural materials ( e . g ., flax , cotton , wool , silk ). examples of electrically conductive materials from which material 302 can be formed include the electrically conductive materials disclosed above . examples of semiconductive materials from which material 302 can be formed include indium tin oxide , fluorinated tin oxide , tin oxide , and zinc oxide . in some embodiments , material 302 is in the form of a fiber , and material 304 is an electrically conductive material that is coated on material 302 . in certain embodiments , material 302 is in the form of a mesh ( see discussion above ) that , after being formed into a mesh , is coated with material 304 . as an example , material 302 can be an expanded metal mesh , and material 304 can be pedot that is coated on the expanded metal mesh . generally , the maximum thickness of mesh cathode 220 ( i . e ., the maximum thickness of mesh cathode 220 in a direction substantially perpendicular to the surface of substrate 210 in contact with mesh cathode 220 ) should be less than the total thickness of hole carrier layer 230 . typically , the maximum thickness of mesh cathode 220 is at least 0 . 1 micron ( e . g ., at least about 0 . 2 micron , at least about 0 . 3 micron , at least about 0 . 4 micron , at least about 0 . 5 micron , at least about 0 . 6 micron , at least about 0 . 7 micron , at least about 0 . 8 micron , at least about 0 . 9 micron , at least about one micron ) and / or at most about 10 microns ( e . g ., at most about nine microns , at most about eight microns , at most about seven microns , at most about six microns , at most about five microns , at most about four microns , at most about three microns , at most about two microns ). while shown in fig3 as having a rectangular shape , open regions 224 can generally have any desired shape ( e . g ., square , circle , semicircle , triangle , diamond , ellipse , trapezoid , irregular shape ). in some embodiments , different open regions 224 in mesh cathode 220 can have different shapes . although shown in fig4 as having square cross - sectional shape , solid regions 222 can generally have any desired shape ( e . g ., rectangle , circle , semicircle , triangle , diamond , ellipse , trapezoid , irregular shape ). in some embodiments , different solid regions 222 in mesh cathode 220 can have different shapes . in embodiments where solid regions 222 have a circular cross - section , the cross - section can have a diameter in the range of about 5 microns to about 200 microns . in embodiments where solid regions 222 have a trapezoid cross - section , the cross - section can have a height in the range of about 0 . 1 micron to about 5 microns and a width in the range of about 5 microns to about 200 microns . in some embodiments , mesh cathode 220 is flexible ( e . g ., sufficiently flexible to be incorporated in photovoltaic cell 200 using a continuous , roll - to - roll manufacturing process ). in certain embodiments , mesh cathode 220 is semi - rigid or inflexible . in some embodiments , different regions of mesh cathode 220 can be flexible , semi - rigid or inflexible ( e . g ., one or more regions flexible and one or more different regions semi - rigid , one or more regions flexible and one or more different regions inflexible ). in general , mesh electrode 220 can be disposed on substrate 210 . in some embodiments , mesh electrode 220 can be partially embedded in substrate 210 . substrate 210 is generally formed of a transparent material . as referred to herein , a transparent material is a material which , at the thickness used in a photovoltaic cell 200 , transmits at least about 60 % ( e . g ., at least about 70 %, at least about 75 %, at least about 80 %, at least about 85 %, at least about 90 %, at least about 95 %) of incident light at a wavelength or a range of wavelengths used during operation of the photovoltaic cell . exemplary materials from which substrate 210 can be formed include polyethylene terephthalates , polyimides , polyethylene naphthalates , polymeric hydrocarbons , cellulosic polymers , polycarbonates , polyamides , polyethers , polyether ketones , and combinations thereof . in certain embodiments , the polymer can be a fluorinated polymer . in some embodiments , combinations of polymeric materials are used . in certain embodiments , different regions of substrate 210 can be formed of different materials . in general , substrate 210 can be flexible , semi - rigid or rigid ( e . g ., glass ). in some embodiments , substrate 210 has a flexural modulus of less than about 5 , 000 megapascals . in certain embodiments , different regions of substrate 210 can be flexible , semi - rigid or inflexible ( e . g ., one or more regions flexible and one or more different regions semi - rigid , one or more regions flexible and one or more different regions inflexible ). typically , substrate 210 is at least about one micron ( e . g ., at least about five microns , at least about 10 microns ) thick and / or at most about 1 , 000 microns ( e . g ., at most about 500 microns thick , at most about 300 microns thick , at most about 200 microns thick , at most about 100 microns , at most about 50 microns ) thick . generally , substrate 210 can be colored or non - colored . in some embodiments , one or more portions of substrate 210 is / are colored while one or more different portions of substrate 210 is / are non - colored . substrate 210 can have one planar surface ( e . g ., the surface on which light impinges ), two planar surfaces ( e . g ., the surface on which light impinges and the opposite surface ), or no planar surfaces . a non - planar surface of substrate 210 can , for example , be curved or stepped . in some embodiments , a non - planar surface of substrate 210 is patterned ( e . g ., having patterned steps to form a fresnel lens , a lenticular lens or a lenticular prism ). hole carrier layer 230 is generally formed of a material that , at the thickness used in photovoltaic cell 200 , transports holes to mesh cathode 220 and substantially blocks the transport of electrons to mesh cathode 220 . examples of materials from which layer 230 can be formed include polythiophenes ( e . g ., pedot ), polyanilines , polyvinylcarbazoles , polyphenylenes , polyphenylvinylenes , polysilanes , polythienylenevinylenes and / or polyisothianaphthanenes . in some embodiments , hole carrier layer 230 can include combinations of hole carrier materials . in general , the distance between the upper surface of hole carrier layer 230 ( i . e ., the surface of hole carrier layer 230 in contact with active layer 240 ) and the upper surface of substrate 210 ( i . e ., the surface of substrate 210 in contact with mesh electrode 220 ) can be varied as desired . typically , the distance between the upper surface of hole carrier layer 230 and the upper surface of mesh cathode 220 is at least 0 . 01 micron ( e . g ., at least about 0 . 05 micron , at least about 0 . 1 micron , at least about 0 . 2 micron , at least about 0 . 3 micron , at least about 0 . 5 micron ) and / or at most about five microns ( e . g ., at most about three microns , at most about two microns , at most about one micron ). in some embodiments , the distance between the upper surface of hole carrier layer 230 and the upper surface of mesh cathode 220 is from about 0 . 01 micron to about 0 . 5 micron . active layer 240 generally contains an electron acceptor material and an electron donor material . examples of electron acceptor materials include formed of fullerenes , oxadiazoles , carbon nanorods , discotic liquid crystals , inorganic nanoparticles ( e . g ., nanoparticles formed of zinc oxide , tungsten oxide , indium phosphide , cadmium selenide and / or lead sulphide ), inorganic nanorods ( e . g ., nanorods formed of zinc oxide , tungsten oxide , indium phosphide , cadmium selenide and / or lead sulphide ), or polymers containing moieties capable of accepting electrons or forming stable anions ( e . g ., polymers containing cn groups , polymers containing cf 3 groups ). in some embodiments , the electron acceptor material is a substituted fullerene ( e . g ., c61 - phenyl - butyric acid methyl ester ; pcbm ). in some embodiments , active layer 240 can include a combination of electron acceptor materials . examples of electron donor materials include discotic liquid crystals , polythiophenes , polyphenylenes , polyphenylvinylenes , polysilanes , polythienylvinylenes , polyisothianaphthalenes , and combinations thereof . in some embodiments , the electron donor material is poly ( 3 - hexylthiophene ). in certain embodiments , active layer 240 can include a combination of electron donor materials . generally , active layer 240 is sufficiently thick to be relatively efficient at absorbing photons impinging thereon to form corresponding electrons and holes , and sufficiently thin to be relatively efficient at transporting the holes and electrons to layers 230 and 250 , respectively . in certain embodiments , layer 240 is at least 0 . 05 micron ( e . g ., at least about 0 . 1 micron , at least about 0 . 2 micron , at least about 0 . 3 micron ) thick and / or at most about one micron ( e . g ., at most about 0 . 5 micron , at most about 0 . 4 micron ) thick . in some embodiments , layer 140 is from about 0 . 1 micron to about 0 . 2 micron thick . hole blocking layer 250 is generally formed of a material that , at the thickness used in photovoltaic cell 200 , transports electrons to anode 260 and substantially blocks the transport of holes to anode 260 . examples of materials from which layer 250 can be formed include lif and metal oxides ( e . g ., zinc oxide , titanium oxide ). typically , hole blocking layer 250 is at least 0 . 02 micron ( e . g ., at least about 0 . 03 micron , at least about 0 . 04 micron , at least about 0 . 05 micron ) thick and / or at most about 0 . 5 micron ( e . g ., at most about 0 . 4 micron , at most about 0 . 3 micron , at most about 0 . 2 micron , at most about 0 . 1 micron ) thick . anode 260 is generally formed of an electrically conductive material , such as one or more of the electrically conductive materials noted above . in some embodiments , anode 260 is formed of a combination of electrically conductive materials . in general , substrate 270 can be identical to substrate 220 . in some embodiments , substrate 270 can be different from substrate 220 ( e . g ., having a different shape or formed of a different material or a non - transparent material ). fig6 shows a cross - sectional view of a photovoltaic cell 400 that includes an adhesive layer 410 between substrate 210 and hole carrier layer 230 . generally , any material capable of holding mesh cathode 230 in place can be used in adhesive layer 410 . in general , adhesive layer 410 is formed of a material that is transparent at the thickness used in photovoltaic cell 400 . examples of adhesives include epoxies and urethanes . examples of commercially available materials that can be used in adhesive layer 410 include bynel โข adhesive ( dupont ) and 615 adhesive ( 3m ). in some embodiments , layer 410 can include a fluorinated adhesive . in certain embodiments , layer 410 contains an electrically conductive adhesive . an electrically conductive adhesive can be formed of , for example , an inherently electrically conductive polymer , such as the electrically conductive polymers disclosed above ( e . g ., pedot ). an electrically conductive adhesive can be also formed of a polymer ( e . g ., a polymer that is not inherently electrically conductive ) that contains one or more electrically conductive materials ( e . g ., electrically conductive particles ). in some embodiments , layer 410 contains an inherently electrically conductive polymer that contains one or more electrically conductive materials . in some embodiments , the thickness of layer 410 ( i . e ., the thickness of layer 410 in a direction substantially perpendicular to the surface of substrate 210 in contact with layer 410 ) is less thick than the maximum thickness of mesh cathode 220 . in some embodiments , the thickness of layer 410 is at most about 90 % ( e . g ., at most about 80 %, at most about 70 %, at most about 60 %, at most about 50 %, at most about 40 %, at most about 30 %, at most about 20 %) of the maximum thickness of mesh cathode 220 . in certain embodiments , however , the thickness of layer 410 is about the same as , or greater than , the maximum thickness of mesh cathode 220 . in general , a photovoltaic cell having a mesh cathode can be manufactured as desired . in some embodiments , a photovoltaic cell can be prepared as follows . electrode 260 is formed on substrate 270 using conventional techniques , and hole - blocking layer 250 is formed on electrode 260 ( e . g ., using a vacuum deposition process or a solution coating process ). active layer 240 is formed on hole - blocking layer 250 ( e . g ., using a solution coating process , such as slot coating , spin coating or gravure coating ). hole carrier layer 230 is formed on active layer 240 ( e . g ., using a solution coating process , such as slot coating , spin coating or gravure coating ). mesh cathode 220 is partially disposed in hole carrier layer 230 ( e . g ., by a stamping method described above ). substrate 210 is then formed on mesh cathode 220 and hole carrier layer 230 using conventional methods . in certain embodiments , a photovoltaic cell can be prepared as follows . electrode 260 is formed on substrate 270 using conventional techniques , and hole - blocking layer 250 is formed on electrode 260 ( e . g ., using a vacuum deposition or a solution coating process ). active layer 240 is formed on hole - blocking layer 250 ( e . g ., using a solution coating process , such as slot coating , spin coating or gravure coating ). hole carrier layer 230 is formed on active layer 240 ( e . g ., using a solution coating process , such as slot coating , spin coating or gravure coating ). adhesive layer 410 is disposed on hole carrier layer 230 using conventional methods . mesh cathode 220 is partially disposed in adhesive layer 410 and hole carrier layer 230 ( e . g ., by disposing mesh cathode 220 on the surface of adhesive layer 410 , and pressing mesh cathode 220 ). substrate 210 is then formed on mesh cathode 220 and adhesive layer 410 using conventional methods . while the foregoing processes involve partially disposing mesh cathode 220 in hole carrier layer 230 , in some embodiments , mesh cathode 220 is formed by printing the cathode material on the surface of hole carrier layer 230 or adhesive layer 410 to provide an electrode having the open structure shown in the figures . for example , mesh cathode 220 can be printed using stamping , dip coating , extrusion coating , spray coating , inkjet printing , screen printing , and gravure printing . the cathode material can be disposed in a paste which solidifies upon heating or radiation ( e . g ., uv radiation , visible radiation , ir radiation , electron beam radiation ). the cathode material can be , for example , vacuum deposited in a mesh pattern through a screen or after deposition it may be patterned by photolithography . multiple photovoltaic cells can be electrically connected to form a photovoltaic system . as an example , fig7 is a schematic of a photovoltaic system 500 having a module 510 containing photovoltaic cells 520 . cells 520 are electrically connected in series , and system 500 is electrically connected to a load . as another example , fig8 is a schematic of a photovoltaic system 600 having a module 610 that contains photovoltaic cells 620 . cells 620 are electrically connected in parallel , and system 600 is electrically connected to a load . in some embodiments , some ( e . g ., all ) of the photovoltaic cells in a photovoltaic system can have one or more common substrates . in certain embodiments , some photovoltaic cells in a photovoltaic system are electrically connected in series , and some of the photovoltaic cells in the photovoltaic system are electrically connected in parallel . in some embodiments , photovoltaic systems containing a plurality of photovoltaic cells can be fabricated using continuous manufacturing processes , such as roll - to - roll or web processes . in some embodiments , a continuous manufacturing process includes : forming a group of photovoltaic cell portions on a first advancing substrate ; disposing an electrically insulative material between at least two of the cell portions on the first substrate ; embedding a wire in the electrically insulative material between at least two photovoltaic cell portions on the first substrate ; forming a group of photovoltaic cell portion on a second advancing substrate ; combining the first and second substrates and photovoltaic cell portions to form a plurality of photovoltaic cells , in which at least two photovoltaic cells are electrically connected in series by the wire . in some embodiments , the first and second substrates can be continuously advanced , periodically advanced , or irregularly advanced . in some embodiments , the stamping methods described above can be used to print an electrode on a substrate for use in a dssc . fig9 is a cross - sectional view of dssc 700 that includes a substrate 710 , an electrode 720 , a catalyst layer 730 , a charge carrier layer 740 , a photoactive layer 750 , an electrode 760 , a substrate 770 , and an external load 780 . examples of dsscs are discussed in u . s . patent application ser . nos . 11 / 311 , 805 filed dec . 19 , 2005 and ser . no . 11 / 269 , 956 filed on nov . 9 , 2005 , the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference . in some embodiments , the stamping methods described above can be used to print an electrode on a substrate for use in a tandem cell . examples of tandem photovoltaic cells are discussed in u . s . patent application ser . no . 10 / 558 , 878 and u . s . provisional application ser . nos . 60 / 790 , 606 , 60 / 792 , 635 , 60 / 792 , 485 , 60 / 793 , 442 , 60 / 795 , 103 , 60 / 797 , 881 , and 60 / 798 , 258 , the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference . as one example , while cathodes formed of mesh have been described , in some embodiments a mesh anode can be used . this can be desirable , for example , when light transmitted by the anode is used . in certain embodiments , both a mesh cathode and a mesh anode are used . this can be desirable , for example , when light transmitted by both the cathode and the anode is used . as another example , while embodiments have generally been described in which light that is transmitted via the cathode side of the cell is used , in certain embodiments light transmitted by the anode side of the cell is used ( e . g ., when a mesh anode is used ). in some embodiments , light transmitted by both the cathode and anode sides of the cell is used ( when a mesh cathode and a mesh anode are used ). as a further example , while electrodes ( e . g ., mesh electrodes , non - mesh electrodes ) have been described as being formed of electrically conductive materials , in some embodiments a photovoltaic cell may include one or more electrodes ( e . g ., one or more mesh electrodes , one or more non - mesh electrodes ) formed of a semiconductive material . examples of semiconductive materials include indium tin oxide , fluorinated tin oxide , tin oxide , and zinc oxide . as an additional example , in some embodiments , one or more semiconductive materials can be disposed in the open regions of a mesh electrode ( e . g ., in the open regions of a mesh cathode , in the open regions of a mesh anode , in the open regions of a mesh cathode and the open regions of a mesh anode ). examples of semiconductive materials include tin oxide , fluorinated tin oxide , tin oxide and zinc oxide . other semiconductive materials , such as partially transparent semiconductive polymers , can also be disposed in the open regions of a mesh electrode . for example , a partially transparent polymer can be a polymer which , at the thickness used in a photovoltaic cell , transmits at least about 60 % ( e . g ., at least about 70 %, at least about 75 %, at least about 80 %, at least about 85 %, at least about 90 %, at least about 95 %) of incident light at a wavelength or a range of wavelengths used during operation of the photovoltaic cell . typically , the semiconductive material disposed in an open region of a mesh electrode is transparent at the thickness used in the photovoltaic cell . as another example , in certain embodiments , a protective layer can be applied to one or both of the substrates . a protective layer can be used to , for example , keep contaminants ( e . g ., dirt , water , oxygen , chemicals ) out of a photovoltaic cell and / or to ruggedize the cell . in certain embodiments , a protective layer can be formed of a polymer ( e . g ., a fluorinated polymer ). as a further example , while certain types of photovoltaic cells have been described that have one or more mesh electrodes , one or more mesh electrodes ( mesh cathode , mesh anode , mesh cathode and mesh anode ) can be used in other types of photovoltaic cells as well . examples of such photovoltaic cells include photoactive cells with an active material formed of amorphous silicon , cadmium selenide , cadmium telluride , copper indium sulfide , and copper indium gallium arsenide . as an additional example , while described as being formed of different materials , in some embodiments materials 302 and 304 are formed of the same material . as another example , although shown in fig5 as being formed of one material coated on a different material , in some embodiments solid regions 222 can be formed of more than two coated materials ( e . g ., three coated materials , four coated materials , five coated materials , six coated materials ). | 8 |
fig1 shows one embodiment an it management system 100 comprising a management computer system 102 a and a plurality of computer systems 102 b - 102 n ( only one shown in detail for clarity ) that are managed by the management computer system 102 a . each computer system 102 has one or more central processing units 110 (โ cpu โ) connected to a main memory 112 , a mass storage interface 114 , a display interface 115 , a network interface 116 , and an input / output (โ i / o โ) interface 118 by a system bus 122 . the mass storage interfaces 114 in the computer systems 102 connect the system busses 122 to one or more mass storage devices , such as a direct access storage device 140 and a readable and a writable optical disk drive 141 . the network interfaces 116 allow the computer systems 102 to communicate with each other and to a plurality of other computers ( not shown ) over an appropriate communications medium 106 . the main memory 112 a in the management computer system 102 a contains an operating system 124 a and a configuration manager 132 . the configuration manager 132 , in turn , is capable of generating a plurality of control widgets 134 and an inheritance manager 136 in conjunction with the operating system 124 a . the main memory 112 b - 112 n in the managed computer systems 102 b - 102 n contains an operating system 124 b and one or more application program instances 126 , such as web server application program , an ecommerce application program , a virtual desktop program , or the like , each of which has a plurality of associated settings 128 . in operation , each setting 128 of each application program instance 126 is uniquely associated with a control widget 134 . the control widgets 134 provide the user of the management computer system 102 a ( typically the it administrator ) with a graphical summary of its setting &# 39 ; s 128 current value and its inheritance status ( e . g ., currently inheriting , currently being inherited , etc ). the inheritance manager 136 , in turn , provides the user with a graphical indication of exactly how the each setting 128 interacts with other settings 128 , and provides an interface that will allow the it administrator to easily change each setting &# 39 ; s 128 current value , inheritance properties , and inheritance interactions . that is , the inheritance manager 136 provides a graphical display that allows the it administrator to manage inheritance relationships on a setting - by - setting basis . in some embodiments , the inheritance manager 136 will also show all related , but non - inheriting , settings 128 . this feature is desirable because , by selecting a particular setting 128 โฒ, the it administrator can see those settings 128 that have an inheritance relationship with the selected setting 128 โฒ as well as any other logically - related settings 128 that do not currently have an inheritance relationship with the selected setting 128 โฒ. fig2 a - 2 e illustrates several control widgets 134 in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention . in general , the control widgets 134 may be any programmatic device that , alone or in combination with other programmatic devices , can receive and respond to input from a user input device , indicate the setting &# 39 ; s current value and inheritance properties , and communicate with other applications ( possibly another widget ) by means of a call , for example . each control widget 134 in this embodiment comprises a current value widget 202 and a graphical inheritance indicator 204 . the current value widget 202 displays or graphically indicates the current value of the selected setting 128 . suitable control types ( e . g ., a table , radio button group , check box , etc .) include , without limitation , the control type typically used by the managed application 126 to control that particular type of setting 128 , a control type common to the inheritance manager 136 or to the operating system 124 , or another user - selected control type . the inheritance indicator icon 204 graphically indicates the setting &# 39 ; s current inheritance properties . the inheritance icon 204 in this embodiment comprises a superposition of two graphical elements . one graphical element , best shown in fig2 a - 2 b , indicates : ( i ) that the associated setting 128 โฒ can inherit or be inherited ( as shown in fig2 a ); or ( ii ) that the associated setting 128 โฒ can neither inherit nor be inherited ( as shown in fig2 b ). the other graphical element , best shown in fig2 c - 2 e , indicates : ( i ) that the associated setting 128 โฒ is currently inheriting from another application program instance 126 or configuration file ( as shown in fig2 c ); ( ii ) that another application program instance 126 is currently inheriting from the associated setting 128 โฒ ( as shown in fig2 d ); or ( v ) that the associated setting 128 โฒ is both inheriting from another application program instance 126 or configuration file , and is being inherited by another application program instance 126 ( as shown in fig2 e ). those skilled in the art will appreciate that the particular graphical elements used by the inheritance manager 136 in fig2 a - 2 e are merely illustrative , and that other graphical elements are within the scope of the present invention . when a user selects one of the control widgets 134 , for example by double - clicking , the configuration manager 132 causes the management computer 102 a to display the inheritance manager 136 . fig3 a - 3 c illustrate one embodiment of the inheritance manager 136 . as best shown in fig3 a , the currently selected control widget 134 โฒ ( i . e ., the control widget 134 associated with the setting 128 โฒ in which the user is interested ) is shown in the middle of an inheritance manager display pane 302 . the control widget 124 in this embodiment uses the control type ( e . g ., a table , radio button group , check box , etc . . . ) normally used by the associated application program 126 to display that setting 128 โฒ, which is desirable because it provides the user with a uniform way to interact with that particular variable . surrounding the currently selected control widget 134 โฒ are a plurality of related property widgets 304 , each of which is associated with their own control widgets 134 ( which , in turn , are associated with their own settings 128 ). the inheritance manager 132 in this embodiment displays โ above โ the currently selected display widget 134 โฒ those property widgets 304 a associated with settings 128 from which the currently selected setting 128 โฒ is inheriting . the inheritance manager 302 displays โ below โ the currently selected widget 134 โฒ those the property widgets 304 b associated with settings 128 that can inherit from the currently selected setting 128 โฒ; and displays to the โ left โ and โ right โ of the currently selected widget 134 โฒ those property widgets 304 c that can inherit ( but are not currently inheriting ) from the same settings as the currently selected setting 128 โฒ. also shown in fig3 are one or more inheritance indicators 306 , such as a line or arrow , that connect each widget 134 , 304 with any other widget 134 , 304 that currently inherits its setting 128 . as best shown in fig3 b , when an user selects one of the property widgets 304 , the inheritance manager 132 replaces the selected property widget 304 with its associated control widget 134 , complete with its associated current value widget 202 and inheritance indicator icon 204 , and reduces the old currently display widget 134 into a property widget 304 . as best shown in fig3 c , the user can then change the inheritance relationship of the newly selected display widget 134 โฒ by selecting and dragging the appropriate inheritance line 306 so that it interconnects the appropriate widgets 134 , 304 . as best shown in fig3 d , the user can delete an inheritance relationship in this embodiment by โ right clicking โ the appropriate inheritance indicator 306 โฒ, which causes the inheritance manager 136 to display a context - sensitive pop - up menu . the user can then select โ delete โ from the context - sensitive pop - up menu , which causes the configuration manager 132 to eliminate the inheritance relationships between the two settings 128 that were previously connected by the selected inheritance connector 306 โฒ. users can also delete inheritance relationships in this embodiment by selecting and dragging an inheritance indicator 306 โฒ away from a property widget 304 . thus , as best shown in fig3 c , as the inheritance indicator 306 โฒ is dragged from server 2 to server 3 , the โ security level โ setting for server 2 automatically changes to โ 10 โ ( the default setting ). with continuing reference in fig3 d , if a user changes the setting 128 in one of the control widgets , e . g ., 304 b , the configuration manager 132 automatically breaks the inheritance relationship with the selected display widget 134 because the settings 128 now differ . the inheritance indicators 306 are then immediately and automatically updated by the inheritance manager 136 . these embodiments also immediately and automatically update all instances 126 of the application that inherit from that changed setting 128 , and highlight the associated widgets 134 , 304 to indicate that they recently changed . these embodiments are desirable because they provide the user with instant feedback about what their actions accomplished . in a highly functional user interface embodiments , the inheritance indicators 306 could be also be animated to reflect the changes are being propagated to each instance 126 . the user in this embodiment can select multiple control widgets 304 and then change the inheritance relationships for all of the items in the group . one suitable method to add inheritance to all of the selected items is to hold the โ control โ key while selecting the desired property widgets 304 , followed by right - clicking on one of the selected widgets 304 and by selecting โ inherit โ from the resulting pop - up context menu . the it administrator can also use this procedure to remove inheritance relationships from a group of widgets 304 . when the it administrator is finished managing the inheritance of a setting 128 โฒ, he can then click โ ok โ from an appropriate menu . the inheritance manager 136 will then close , and the configuration manager 132 will then apply the changes will be applied across all the affected instances 126 and will return the it administrator to the location from which he or she invoked the configuration manager 132 . fig4 illustrates one method of visually tagging each setting 128 using the configuration manager 136 so that the it administrator can know at a glance whether the setting 128 can inherit from a global setting , if it is currently inheriting its value , and / or if another setting 128 is currently inheriting from it . in this embodiment , these acts are performed for each widget before the page is initially displayed . at block 402 , the it administrator requests the configuration manager 132 to display the current configuration in the inheritance manager 136 . at block 404 , the configuration manager 132 determines whether or not each setting can be inherited . if the setting 128 โฒ can not be inherited , the inheritance manager 136 indicates this condition using , for example , the inheritance indicator icon 204 shown in fig2 b . if the setting 128 can be inherited , the configuration manager 132 determines ( at block 406 ) whether or not the setting 128 โฒ is currently being inherited by or is currently inheriting from another setting 128 . the configuration manager 132 then connects ( at block 408 ) those settings 128 using the configuration indicators 306 described with reference to fig3 a - 3 b one suitable way to determine and track the inheritance state for a setting 128 is to embed tags into a configuration file that contains the setting 128 . the tag in one such embodiment comprises an 2 - bit number ( i . e ., an integer between 0 - 3 ), where โ 0 โ indicates that the setting is not able to inherit ; โ 1 โ indicates that the setting can inherit but is not currently inheriting ; โ 2 โ indicates that the setting 128 is currently inheriting from a global setting or the like ; and โ 3 โ indicates that a lower setting is currently inheriting from the current setting . at block 412 , he configuration manager 132 determines if there are any more settings to display and repeats blocks 404 - 410 if necessary . fig5 illustrates one method of managing the inheritance of a setting 128 in more detail . at block 502 , the it administrator selects a display widget 134 , which causes the configuration manger to open the inheritance manager 136 . at block 504 , the inheritance manager displays the layout of the setting 128 across every instance 126 of the application . at blocks 506 - 508 , the inheritance manager 136 scans all the configuration files for every instance 126 of the application to find inheritance information for a selected setting 128 . if the inheritance manager 136 finds an inheritance relationship , the inheritance manger 136 indicates the relationship ( at block 512 ) using , for example , the inheritance indicators 306 described with reference to fig3 b . if the inheritance manager 136 does not find an inheritance relationship for the selected setting 128 , it adds a displays a display widget 134 at block 510 . next , at block 514 , the inheritance manager displays the selected field in the original control type . the original control type may be received from the user interface and / or operating system that launched the inheritance manager 136 . in one embodiment , this information is described and communicated using xml . this markeup language is desirable because it allows widgets to be setup and rendered within a variety of applications . this , in turn , allows the present invention to present the inherited values to the administrator using their familiar control type ( i . e ., complex table , graph , custom widget , check box , or simple edit box ). however , other communication and description protocols , such as hyperttext markup language (โ html โ), user interface markup language (โ uiml โ), xml user - interface language (โ xul โ), and other user interface markup languages , are also within the scope of the present invention . if it cannot be automatically detected , the developer has the option of providing a custom control to input into the inheritance manager . fig6 illustrates one method of modifying a setting 128 within the inheritance manager . in this embodiment , the it administrator has the ability to modify a value of any of the fields displayed in the inheritance manager 136 by selecting the associated display widget 134 and then changing the setting in the resulting control 202 . the setting 128 will show up in its familiar format ( i . e ., table , edit box , check box ) and will be updated directly from the inheritance manager 136 . one feature and advantage of this embodiment is that there is no need for the it administrator to exit out of the configuration manager 132 and open a new user interface window just to change a setting 128 . accordingly , at block 602 , the it administrator selects a property widget 304 โฒ associated with the setting 128 โฒ that he wants to modify . this action causes the inheritance manager 136 to display ( at block 604 ) a display widget 134 containing a control 202 for the setting 128 . at block 606 , the it administrator modifies this setting 128 โฒ using the control 202 . at block 608 , the inheritance manager 136 determines whether the selected setting 128 โฒ was previously inheriting from another setting 128 . if so , at block 612 , the inheritance manager 136 breaks the inheritance relationship from above because the setting 128 โฒ was just overridden and indicates the new relationship by deleting the inheritance indicators 306 ( e . g . modifying a property indicates an implicit desire to change inheritance ). next , at block 614 , the inheritance manager 136 highlights the property widgets 306 associated with any setting that inherit from the modified setting 128 and proceeds to block 614 . at block 616 , the inheritance manager 136 updates the affected configuration files with the new inheritance settings ( i . e ., the setting 128 โฒ that was manually changed , the setting 128 from which the selected setting 128 โฒ previously inherited , and the setting ( s ) 128 that inherited from the selected setting 128 โฒ and have now been modified ). fig7 a - 7 c illustrate methods of modifying inheritance in this embodiment . more specifically , fig7 a illustrates one method of modifying modify inheritance through direct manipulation of inheritance indicators 306 . at block 702 , the it administrator selects an inheritance indicator 306 connecting two settings 128 . at block 704 , the inheritance manager 136 displays a context - sensitive โ right - click โ menu to the it administrator and receives a desired operation selection . if the user requested a delete operation , the inheritance manager 136 deletes the inheritance indicator 306 from the view ( at block 706 ). the configuration manager 132 then updates the affected configuration files at block 712 . if the it administrator requested a change inheritance operation at block 704 , the inheritance manager 136 ( at block 708 ) waits for the it administrator to identify a new setting 128 โณ and then ( at block 710 ) deletes the old inheritance indicator 306 and creates a new inheritance indicator 306 to the new setting 128 โณ. any setting ( s ) 128 that are no longer inheriting from any of the selected settings 128 โฒ can be changed to a default value or can remain at their current value , which ever the it administrator prefers . fig7 b illustrates one method of modifying inheritance by selecting display widgets . at block 720 , the it administrator selects two settings 128 โฒ. at block 722 , the configuration manager 132 determines the current inheritance state for the two selected settings 128 โฒ. if neither of the settings 128 โฒ is currently inheriting or being inherited , the inheritance manager 136 displays a context sensitive menu to the it administrator at block 724 asking which of the selected settings 128 โฒ should inherit and which should be inherited ( e . g ., โ instance 003 inherit from instance 004 โ or โ instance 004 inherit from instance 003 โ). next , at block 728 , the configuration manager 132 updates the configuration files and the inheritance manager 136 creates a new inheritance indicator 306 . if exactly one of the settings 128 selected at block 720 is being inherited , the inheritance manger 136 automatically causes the โ non - inherited โ server to inherit from the โ inheriting โ server ( at block 725 ). if both of the settings 128 selected at block 720 are currently being inherited , the inheritance manager 136 does not create any new links and may display an error message ( at block 726 ). fig7 c illustrates one method of deleting inheritance links . at block 740 , the user selects one or more inheritance indicators 306 . at block 742 , the configuration manager 132 determines the current inheritance state for every setting 128 interconnected by the selected inheritance indicators 306 โฒ. next , at block 744 , the inheritance manager 136 displays a context sensitive menu to the it administrator containing an option to โ stop inheriting .โ after the it administrator selects the stop inheriting option , ( at block 746 ) the configuration manager 132 updates the configuration files for the settings to indicate the changed inheritance state and the inheritance manager 136 removes the selected inheritance indicators 306 โฒ. in all three methods illustrated in fig7 a - 7 c , when the it administrator is done managing the inheritance of a particular setting 128 โฒ, the configuration manager 136 will automatically apply the changes across any instance ( s ) that inherit from the modified setting 128 โฒ. the configuration manager 132 will then close and the it administrator will be returned to the initial place in the user interface from which he or she came , with all of the settings 128 updated . referring again to fig1 , the computer systems 102 in this embodiment utilizes well known virtual addressing mechanisms that allow the programs of the computer systems 102 to behave as if they only have access to a large , single storage entity instead of access to multiple , smaller storage entities such as main memory 112 and dasd device 140 . therefore , while the operating systems 124 , the configuration manager 132 , and the application program instances 126 are shown to reside in main memory 112 , those skilled in the art will recognize that these items are not necessarily all completely contained in main memory 112 at the same time , and may even reside in the virtual memory of other computer systems coupled to the computer system 600 . the central processing units 110 may be any device capable of executing the program instructions stored in main memory 112 , and may be constructed from one or more microprocessors and / or integrated circuits . when one of the computer systems 102 start up , the cpu 110 initially execute the program instructions that make up the operating system 124 , which manages the physical and logical resources of the computer system 102 . these resources include the central processing unit 110 , the main memory 112 , the mass storage interface 114 , the display interface 115 , the network interface 116 , and the system bus 122 . further , although each computer system 102 is shown to with only a single processing unit 110 and a single system bus 122 , those skilled in the art will appreciate that the present invention may be practised using a computer system 102 that has multiple processing units 110 and / or multiple system buses 122 . in addition , the interfaces 114 , 115 , 116 , and 118 may each include their own separate , fully programmed microprocessors , which may be used to off - load compute - intensive processing from the main processing units 110 . the display interface 115 is used to directly connect one or more displays 180 to the computer system 102 . these displays 180 may be non - intelligent ( i . e ., dumb ) terminals or fully programmable workstations , and are used to allow it administrators and users to communicate with computer system 102 . note , however , that while the display interface 115 is provided to support communication with one or more displays 180 , the computer system 102 does not necessarily require a display 180 because all needed interaction with users and other processes may occur via network interface 116 . the communication medium 106 can be any device or system that allows the computer systems 102 to communicate with each other . the network interfaces 116 , accordingly , 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 . suitable communication mediums 106 include , but are not limited to , the internet , intranets , cellular transmission networks , wireless networks using the ieee 802 . 11 specification , and the like . those skilled in the art will appreciate that many different network protocols can be used to implement the communication medium 106 . the transmission control protocol / internet protocol (โ tcp / ip โ) is an example of a suitable network protocol for internet communication . the embodiment described with reference to fig1 - 7 generally uses a client - server network architecture . these embodiments are desirable because the management computer systems 102 a can utilize the service of the managed computer systems 102 b without either computer system 102 requiring knowledge of the working details about the other . however , those skilled in the art , will appreciate that other network architectures are within the scope of the present invention . examples of other suitable network architectures include peer - to - peer architectures , grid architectures , and three - tier architectures . one suitable management computer system 102 a is an eserver โข iseries ยฎ computer running the os / 400 ยฎ multitasking operating system , both of which are produced by international business machines corporation of armonk , n . y . one suitable managed computer system 102 b is an eserver โข bladecenter computer running the linux โข operating system . however , those skilled in the art will appreciate that the mechanisms and apparatus of the present invention apply equally to any computer system 102 and operating system 124 , regardless of whether the computer system 102 is a complicated multi - user computing apparatus , a single workstation , embedded control system . the present invention applies and its inheritance manager 136 may be used to manage any device capable of processing information , including without limitation , pervasive computing devices , such as cellular telephones , personal digital assistants (โ pda โ), and 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 signal bearing media used to actually carry out the distribution . examples of suitable signal bearing media include , but are not limited to : ( i ) information permanently stored on non - writable storage media ( e . g ., read - only memory devices within a computer such as cd - rom disks readable by a cd - rom drive ); ( ii ) alterable information stored on writable storage media ( e . g ., floppy disks within a diskette drive , a cd - r disk , a cd - rw disk , or hard - disk drive ); or ( iii ) information conveyed to a computer by a communications medium , such as through a computer or telephone network , including wireless communications , and specifically includes information downloaded from the internet and other networks . such signal - bearing media , when carrying computer - readable instructions that direct the functions of the present invention , represent embodiments of the present invention . also , although the present invention was generally described as a stand - alone management system , it may also be integrated in whole or in part into the operating system 124 of the computer system 102 , and may be may be used advantageously with converged user interfaces and / or in heterogeneous environments . in addition , although the present invention has been described with reference to managing individual settings 128 , those skilled in the art will appreciate that it administrators could use the configuration manager to manage groups of settings simultaneously by , for example , using the control widgets to select a configuration file . the present invention offers numerous advantages over conventional computer management systems . for example , the those skilled in the art will appreciate that the present invention and its inheritance manager 136 is desirable because it provides the it administrator with instant access to all instances of the same setting 128 in order to manage both the setting and its inheritance properties . this , in turn , allows the it administrator to : ( i ) instantly see if a particular instance 126 of the application program is inheriting from another setting ( global or otherwise ); ( ii ) instantly edit the selected setting 128 โฒ; ( ii ) edit from where the setting 128 โฒ inherits its value ; and ( iv ) edit what other settings 128 inherits from the currently selected setting 128 โฒ. the present invention and its control widgets 134 are also desirable because they allow the it administrator to edit the selected setting 128 โฒ in its original control , which allows for consistency and improves usability . that is , if the user interface normally displays the setting as part of a list a drop down menu , the display widget 134 also shows the setting 128 โฒ as a drop - down menu . in addition , the present invention is desirable because it can allows the it administrator to easily determine from where a setting 128 inherits and easily link to that location . those skilled in the art will appreciate that the present invention may be used to manage information other than application settings . for example , some embodiments may be used in conjunction with identity management software , such as the enterprise identity mapping (โ eim โ) software described in u . s . patent application ser . no . 09 / 818064 , filed mar . 21 , 2001 , which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety . in these embodiments , the configuration manager 132 could be used to show which enterprise identity a particular user profile inherits from , as well as creating relationships between a profile and an identity . other embodiments may be used to manage intelligent agents . the configuration manager 132 in these embodiments could be used to display and manage the working relationship between agents ( e . g ., which agents are controlling other agents , which agents are being controlled ). 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 . 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 |
the reference symbols used in the two circuit diagrams are identical for structurally and functionally equivalent components . lines are named in such a way that the reference numeral used for the upstream element is placed in front of the reference numeral for the downstream element ( e . g . line 1311 is the line wherein the fluid flows from element 13 to element 11 ): referring now to the figures of the drawing in detail and first , particularly , to fig1 thereof , there is shown a stack 1 which is connected to the evaporator 2 firstly via the process - medium feed line 21 and secondly via the process - medium discharge line 12 . for the sake of clarity , the figure only shows one stack 1 of the direct methanol fuel cell installation , although a facility with a plurality of stacks is under certain circumstances advantageous , inter alia with low - voltage modules for on - board power supply . a process - medium feed line 31 leads from the compressor 3 to the stack 1 . a heat exchanger or condenser 4 is connected upstream of the compressor 3 , which is controlled in a load - dependent manner via the control unit 6 , and this heat exchanger or condenser 4 for its part is connected to the stack 1 via the process - medium discharge line 14 in such a way that the waste heat from the anode chamber of the stack 1 is utilized to preheat the oxidizing agent air , since the consumed fuel is introduced into the heat exchanger 4 through the line 14 at a temperature of approx . 160 ยฐ c . in the heat exchanger 4 , water and / or unused methanol is separated from the carbon dioxide and other gaseous impurities by condensation . the liquid phase which is obtained in the heat exchanger 4 is fed into the mixer 5 via the line 45 . direct feed into the methanol tank 8 ( via a non - illustrated line 48 ) is also possible . in that case , a sensor in the line 48 is advantageous for analyzing the composition . the line 45 has a sensor 46 which supplies the control unit 6 with information about quantity , pressure , temperature and / or composition of the mixture which is carried in the line 45 . further sensors , which depend on the particular embodiment , are arranged in the lines 12 and / or 14 and supply the control unit with information about quantity , pressure , temperature and / or composition of the mixture carried in the line , are not shown for the sake of clarity in the drawing . the gas phase which has been separated off from the anode off - gas is introduced via the line 411 into the gas - cleaning facility 11 , where undesirable emissions are removed , before the gas phase leaves the facility as off - gas which contains carbon dioxide co 2 . the mixer 5 is connected via the lines 85 and 95 to the two fuel tanks , the methanol tank 8 and the water tank 9 . the lines 85 and 95 each have a metering valve which is controlled by the control unit 6 . consequently , only a load - dependent quantity , which is set by the control unit 6 , of methanol and / or water passes via the lines 85 and 95 into the mixer 5 . from the mixer , the fuel mixture passes via the pump 7 into the evaporator 2 and , from there , into the anode - gas chambers of the fuel cell stack 1 . the cathode off - gas is introduced into the evaporator 2 via the line 12 , so that , in a similar manner to the circuit for the anode outgoing air via the line 14 , the waste heat from the used oxidizing agent is utilized to evaporate the unused fuel . according to one embodiment of the method , the evaporation temperature is lower than that of the stack off - gas . the evaporation temperature depends on the stoichiometry of the methanol / water mixture and is , for example , below 100 ยฐ c . in the evaporator 2 , product water is condensed out of the cathode off - gas , and this water is separated from the gaseous phase in the water separator 10 . undesirable emissions are removed from the gas phase obtained in this way by means of a gas - cleaning facility 11 , before the gas phase is released to the environment as waste air exhaust via the line 110 . the liquid phase from the water separator 10 is fed into the water tank 9 via the line 109 , which has a sensor 106 . the sensor 106 is connected to the control unit 6 , which it supplies with information about the quantity , pressure , temperature and / or composition of the liquid phase from the water separator 10 . the evaporator 2 is fed not only via the line 72 but also via the line 122 . line 122 connects the evaporator 2 to the preheater 12 , wherein , during the cold - start phase , methanol which flows into the preheater 12 via a metering valve controlled via the control unit 6 , is preheated and / or filtered . by way of example , the following information flows into the control unit 6 : the quantity , pressure , temperature and / or composition of the liquid phase recovered from the anode off - gas , via the sensor 46 . the quantity , pressure , temperature and / or composition of the liquid phase obtained from the cathode off - gas , via the sensor 106 . the quantity , pressure , temperature and / or composition of the water in the water tank and / or of the methanol in the methanol tank , via a sensor arranged in the tank or some other analysis unit installed in that position . the control unit then uses an existing algorithm or a manual input to determine setpoint values and controls the connected control devices , such as the pump 7 , the compressor 3 , the metering valves into the lines 85 , 95 and 812 , i . e . the line from the methanol tank 8 to the preheater 12 , the evaporator 2 , the stack 1 , the preheater 12 and the gas - cleaning facilities 11 . [ 0072 ] fig2 shows a circuit diagram of a further dmfc installation . a significant difference from the facility shown in fig1 is that both cathode off - gas and anode off - gas from the stack 1 are introduced into the evaporator 2 ( lines 12 a and 12 b ), wherein the oxidizing agent , preferably the air , is heated before it enters the compressor 3 and the fuel mixture is evaporated before it enters the stack 1 . the anode off - gas , which has been cooled in the evaporator 2 , is introduced via the line 213 into the water separator 13 , where water and / or methanol which are still present are separated out before the liquid phase is introduced via the line 135 into the mixer 5 and the gaseous phase is introduced via the line 1311 into a gas - cleaning facility 11 , wherein undesired emissions are removed . for the sake of clarity , the fuel lines are indicated by lines made up of short dashes and the oxidizing - agent lines are indicated by lines made up of long dashes . in both embodiments which are shown , the way wherein the cooling circuit is incorporated into the utilization of the stack waste heat has been omitted for the sake of clarity . the cooling circuit , if present , is preferably also passed through the evaporator or a unit for preheating the process media . the term โ fuel cell installation โ denotes a system which comprises at least one stack with at least one fuel cell unit , the corresponding process - medium feed and discharge ducts , electrical lines and end plates , if appropriate a cooling system with cooling medium and all the fuel cell stack peripherals ( reformer , compressor , preheater , blower , heater for process - medium preheating , etc .). the term โ stack โ denotes a stack comprising at least one fuel cell unit with the associated lines and , if present , at least a part of the cooling system . an antifreeze which is not electrically conductive may be contained in the cooling system . other modules are kept at temperatures which are higher than the freezing point , which may differ according to the particular module ( for example the freezing point for a water line differs from that for a water / methanol mixture line ) either by the insulation methods ( cf . above ) and / or by local heater units . the invention described herein provides for a dmfc installation which , at high operating temperatures ( htm fuel cell ), optimizes the energy and fuel - related efficiency by utilizing the waste heat of the stack . | 7 |
the positive characteristics and advantages of the inventive matrix are numerous and important for the various administration forms that can be formulated and the following may be mentioned without being limited thereto . whatever the final implemented form may be , such as tablets , extemporaneous preparations , oral soluble sachets and so on , the matrix always shows the same predeterminated characteristics of progressive , constant and gradual release by diffusion with time . even when formulated as a tablet , the matrix always covers a broad surface of the gastrointestinal tract due to the immediate tablet disintegration , with a minimal concentration of the active substance around each particle , with the above mentioned advantages in respect of the traditional tablets , even superior to pellets and minipellets , in view of the finer particle size . the behavior of the matrix is not affected by the tabletting operation in view of the very reduced particle size and the greater pressure resistance in comparison with the traditional pellets and minipellets as well . the tablet formulation of the matrix does not cause phenomena of surface polymerisation , that are very frequent with some low melting active ingredients such as thioptic or alpha lipoic acid , a classic problem found with traditional tablets , with consequent release interruption and modification of the retard effect . independently from the processed active substance , the matrix components have flavor masking properties , thus allowing the formulation of administration forms having a direct contact with taste buds . flavoring or sweetening ingredients may also be added to the matrix components , so that ingestion of these final forms such as fractionable or crumbling tablets , extemporaneous suspensions , single dose sachets and so forth , is also palatable , with clear advantages especially in case of pediatric use . the components of the matrix have such a specific weight , in view of their minimal size and absence of weighing down inert supports , as to allow a uniform suspension in the liquid used for the extemporaneous suspensions or single dose sachets , for the time required for its ingestion after a minimal shaking of the container , eliminating the product foot remaining in the emptied container , as it frequently happens when administering minipellets . as a merely illustrative and non limiting example of the general application of the present invention , the method of preparation of a polymeric polyvalent matrix of thioptic acid is given hereinafter , a food supplement which is well adapted to be an illustrative example . to obtain a matrix with the mentioned characteristics it is necessary to have at disposal a starting material with a particle size between 200 and 700 ฮผm . the method of production to carry out direct application on the active substance of one or more layers of polymeric membrane regulating the release is as follows : 3 . 0 kg of a starting material having the above stated particle size is charged in a 10 l revolving pan . while the pan is rotating , the active ingredient is covered using a 30 % solution of 300 g shellac in ethanol and 300 g talc . the covering operation may be effected continuously or in various stages until the required release rate is attained . at the end of said operation the product is sieved with a 790 ฮผm mesh and dusted with a 425 ฮผm mesh . the product is left drying in the pan for 3 hours at room temperature . the finished product has a final titer of 880 mg / g and the release data obtained using the methodology โ dissolution test for solid oral forms โ described in the european pharmacopoeia are the following : after 1 hour : 18 . 9 %; after 2 hours : 36 . 0 %; after 4 hours : 62 . 3 %; after 8 hours : 86 . 9 %. the bulk density results to be between 0 . 3 - 0 . 5 , so that the product obtained as above stated , can be blended with excipients like cellulose , maize starch , powdered flavors and others , to make a compression obtaining a matrix where the active substance is distributed homogeneously , according to the criteria set by the european pharmacopoeia . matrices produced using a mixture of excipients by direct compression , analysed according to the above described methodology , did not show release variations , so that the method of preparation of the matrices is such as not to cause degradation of lipoic acid and the whole production process keeps the chemical integrity of this active substance . finally it is to be pointed out that many variations , additions and / or substitutions may be resorted to the polymeric matrix , more particularly concerning the nature of polymers used as a function of the kind of modified release to be obtained and its method of production , without departing however from its characteristics nor falling out of its scope of protection , as defined in the appended claims . | 0 |
the control device of the present invention eliminates the need for other control techniques currently in use such as tethered cables , integrated gripper contacts , wireless control transmission , or pre - deployment activation of the external device . in the present invention , a printed circuit board ( pcb ) equipped with a microcontroller , motion sensing device ( i . e . tilt switch or accelerometer ) and smart sensing switch controls an external device such as power tools used in robotics applications . as used herein , the term โ tilt switch โ and the like refer to a device that contains a switch and a gravity element , wherein the gravity element remains vertical when the device is inclined and turns the switch when inclination passes a preset or predetermined threshold . many kinds of tilt switches exist in the market , which differ by operation method and specifications . a tilt switch has proven to be reliable during high vibration environments when data filtering techniques are also employed . examples of accessory devices include but are not limited to reciprocating saws , grinders , circular saws , rotary tools , drills , auto - hammers , camera systems and disrupters . an exemplary on / off signal is 360 degree rotation of a tool in a robot &# 39 ; s gripper in a set period of time . the tilt switch senses the clockwise rotation of the gripper in a set period of time and turns the tool on . when the gripper is rotated 360 degrees counterclockwise in a set period of time the power tool is turned off . the set period of time is equal to the amount of time the robot can dynamically move its gripper holding the external device . the specific amount of time is used to activate the tool only when the operator intends to turn the tool on or off . the tilt switch monitors rotation with a resolution of 90 degrees . the switch monitors which of the 4 quadrants the device has been rotated through and determines the proper sequence and timing . during a quadrant transition the tilt switch &# 39 ; s signal will oscillate between the two outputs . the microcontroller will monitor this transition and neglect it from the reading . the large resolution of the sensor in conjunction with a proper timing sequence create a robust system that is immune to high vibrations that would otherwise cause unexpected deactivation . when a human uses a power tool that becomes stuck in the work piece , they release the switch or promptly withdraw the tool from the material . such monitoring is not possible when the tool is being activated via indirect movements of a robot . without integrated current monitoring within the control device , the operator would not be able to stop operation of the control device equipped tool in enough time to prevent electronic failure . thus , a further advantage of the present invention is that the microcontroller monitors current through the power tool motor by use of a smart sensing switch . this prevents tool failure by sensing a stall condition in which electronics would fail due to a maintained spike in electrical current . when a stall current is detected by a measurement greater than a predefined threshold current ( specific to the individual tool ), the controller disconnects the electrical circuit through the tool &# 39 ; s motor . the tool cannot be restarted until a specific motion input is sensed by the device . the self - contained control device of the present invention controls a power tool without using a cabled connection to the robot chassis , integrated slip ring connections in the robot &# 39 ; s gripper , or auxiliary ports on the robotic controller . it can be controlled indirectly through the motion of the gripper . this is a large advantage over using a separate wireless transmission controller within the tool because it utilizes the range of the robot &# 39 ; s expensive and powerful wireless transmitter . in at least one embodiment there are few to no auxiliary channels on the robotic radio transmitter itself . the control device of the present invention can be used with any robot equipped with a two - jaw gripper mechanism regardless of the auxiliary port configuration . only mechanical modifications of the power tool are necessary to adapt to any robotic platform equipped with a two jaw gripper . electrical modifications of the robotic platform would be significantly more difficult , requiring teaming arrangements between all robot suppliers to develop a standard electrical interface . because the tool is not tethered to the robot , it can be withdrawn from a tool changer , used , and placed back onto the rack to enable the gripper to be used elsewhere . this feature saves battery energy if the tool has to be enabled before deployment down range . this feature also saves time . for example , it allows the gripper to drop a tool downrange , providing for further utility and saving battery energy without requiring that the robot be brought back for reconfiguration . the control board also features a current sensing smart switch used to prevent electrical damage to the tool . this current sensing switch deactivates the power tool &# 39 ; s motor when a current spike above a tool specific current threshold is exceeded . the system does not require a physical cable or electrical connection ( through the gripper ) to the robotic platform . thus , as mentioned above , tools equipped with the control device of the present invention can be powered down and simply placed onto the ground leaving the grippers on the robot to perform any other task . additionally , the robot chassis can be equipped with a tool rack . in robotics , a tool rack &# 39 ; s function is to store tooling in a predefined location for the robot to [ automatically ] acquire various tooling . tools can be picked and placed in seconds allowing the robot increased functionality and efficiency . similarly , once use of a tool is complete , the tool can be stowed , or if the tool has been put down it can be picked up when required . by adding additional tools that perform various functions , the robot &# 39 ; s capability is thus more robust and efficient . the control device feature is an inexpensive and easy method to implement effective control of power tools . particularly as compared to typical gripper designs widely used in the industry . integrated contacts in the gripper would not exclude these robotic platforms from utilizing the proposed control circuit on any external auxiliary device . the proposed invention does not require any electrical connection between the robot and tool . the tool is controlled by placing a circuit board in series between the tool &# 39 ; s motor and battery . in one embodiment , the circuit of the present invention controls the power to the motor based on feedback from a tilt switch wired to the printed circuit board . the operator simply rotates the robot &# 39 ; s gripper holding the control device equipped tool 360 degrees clockwise to turn the tool โ on โ. to turn the tool โ off โ, the robot &# 39 ; s gripper holding the control device equipped tool is rotated 360 degrees counterclockwise . since the power and control is integrated into the tool the operator is now able to pick up or put down tools without the need for a tether cable to activate the device . this will allow for automatic tool exchange without the need for human intervention . as described herein , the example embodiments provide a circuit that activates auxiliary devices through a prescribed motion sequence . while the examples concern power tools for robotic applications , it is contemplated that other types of devices may be used with the control device circuit . it is also assumed that the example activation motion sequences could be modified for translation , rotation and various time schemes . in one embodiment the circuit of the present invention is a circuit board that has a tilt switch , micro controller and current sensing switch . the circuit board is added in line between the controlled device and its battery . this supplies battery power to the circuit board and allows the circuitry to control power to the tool . the micro controller monitors the tool &# 39 ; s orientation and recognizes when the board is being rotated clockwise or counter - clockwise . if a full 360 degree clockwise rotation occurs in a pre - determined time period window , then the micro controller activates the current sensing switch and turns on the tool . if the rotation does not occur within a specified pre - determined time period window , then the micro controller will not switch on the tool and it waits for a full 360 degree rotation to occur within the designated time period . if the device is rotated 360 degrees counter - clockwise within a second predetermined time period , then the circuit board cuts off the power to the tool . the range of time required to initiate an event is specific to the robot providing the motion input to the controller ; the dynamics of the robotic gripper rotation axis provides a specific rotation is a specific amount of time . measuring both the rotation input and the time of this event allows the controller to prevent false โ on โ or โ off โ logic decisions . in alternative embodiments the predetermined time period for proper rotation is between 5 - 10 seconds . hardware and software must be defined to properly monitor the orientation during high vibration . this requires that the software implements adequate data filtering and buffering of the motion sensor input to negate false events caused by random vibration . the orientation resolution required for โ on โ/โ off โ control circuitry is significantly lower than for output speed control circuitry . although sensors such as a tilt switch have lower positional resolution they are more resistant than accelerometers and gyroscopes to high amplitude vibrations . fig1 , illustrates an exemplary control device equipped system including an external device 100 . in one exemplary embodiment , the external device is a cordless grinder . in an alternative exemplary embodiment , the external device 100 is a dewalt ยฎ 18v grinder , part number : dc411 . the external device 100 is mounted within a mechanical housing 104 used to mount the external device 100 securely in the robotic gripper or the external device itself 100 . the attachment to the robotic gripper is aided by the use of vertical blocks 108 and lateral blocks 106 custom machined to fit the robotic gripper available on common robot platforms in this embodiment . the external device 100 is powered by a battery 102 . in one exemplary embodiment , battery 102 is available by dewalt ยฎ as distributed by the company for use in any of the company &# 39 ; s 18v cordless tools . fig2 , illustrates an exploded view of the external device 100 and its housing 104 . in general there are many ways to adapt an external device to be mounted within the grippers of a robot . in the example shown in fig2 , a bar 204 is inserted through the external device &# 39 ; s plastic housing while another plate 202 is mounted on the rear of the housing to prevent rotation of the external device within the housing 104 . in some embodiments of the present invention , mechanical housing 104 allows the square geometry of robotic grippers to grasp rounded features comprised in external device 100 . in one embodiment a printed circuit board 200 is mounted within the housing 104 . in one embodiment , mounting is achieved using electrical potting epoxy . in a further exemplary embodiment the electrical potting epoxy is loctite part number 11c . the housing 104 can also protect the printed circuit board 200 from foreign objects or impact from typical use . the custom brackets are designed to hold each individual device in the robot &# 39 ; s gripper . the circuit board is embedded into the housing in a manner that forced air cooling from the tool passes over the circuit board to reduce thermal shutdown of the switch . in one embodiment of the printed circuit board 200 , a microprocessor , a tilt switch and a smart current switch integrated circuit are populated onto a printed circuit board . in alternative illustrative embodiments the microprocessor is a freescale semiconductor part number mc9s08qg8cdter , the tilt switch rohm rpi - 1031 and the smart switch integrated circuit is an infineon technologies bts555 e3146 . fig3 illustrates operation of an embodiment of a controller of the present invention . as illustrated , when the printed circuit board 200 is powered , the motion sensing device is constantly monitored ( step 300 ) to sense an input to the system . when a change has been detected ( step 302 ), a decision is made as to whether the change was a rotation about axis 114 in the clockwise rotation 110 or counter clockwise rotation 112 ( step 306 ). where it is determined that the detected change is a rotation about axis 114 in the clockwise rotation 110 , the system quantifies if the rotation was a full 360 degrees ( step 308 ). if the full 360 degrees is not achieved , the processing circuitry goes back to step 300 to continue monitoring the tilt switch for sequential inputs . if the rotation was a full 360 degrees ( step 308 ) and if the rotation occurred in the prescribed amount of time ( step 312 ) the processing circuitry turns the device on ( step 316 ). once step 316 has occurred and the device &# 39 ; s motor 408 ( fig4 ) is running , the motion about axis 114 is still continually monitored . where it is determined that the detected change is a rotation about axis 114 in the counter clockwise rotation 112 ( step 306 ), the system quantifies if the rotation was a full 360 degrees ( step 304 ). if the full 360 degrees is not achieved , the processing circuitry goes back to step 300 to continue monitoring the motion sensing device for sequential inputs . if the rotation was a full 360 degrees ( step 304 ) and the rotation occurred in the prescribed amount of time ( step 310 ) the processing circuitry turns the device off ( step 314 ). once step 316 has occurred and the device &# 39 ; s motor 408 is running , the current is monitored in step 318 by the current sensing smart switch 400 ( fig4 ). when the device is activated the current sensing switch monitors the circuit to ensure that the current stays below a threshold value that would otherwise damage the tool . if the current exceeds the threshold value then the circuit board disables the power to the device to protect it . if a current measurement made in step 318 is determined to be over a specified limit in step 320 , the device is turned off . if no overcurrent is measured , the device continues to run and monitor current in step 318 . while the current sensing device is monitoring current in step 318 , the microprocessor is simultaneously monitoring the measurements of the tilt switch ( step 300 ). these loops are continuous during normal operation until the processing circuitry determines steps 302 , 306 , 304 and 310 have been fulfilled to turn the device off in step 314 . in one embodiment , the current sensing device is a current sensing switch . in an alternative embodiment , the current sensing device inputs current level into the microprocessor . another aspect of the present invention relates to a control device for activation or deactivation of an auxiliary device of a robotic system . briefly , rotation of an auxiliary device of a robotic system is used to control activation or deactivation of the auxiliary device . this type of control scheme requires the controller to know when the auxiliary device is ready for activation or deactivation . when the robotic system &# 39 ; s gripper holding the auxiliary device is rotated , rotational motion is detected and the control device powers up or powers down the auxiliary device . rotational motion is detected and acted upon only when the robotic system &# 39 ; s gripper holding the auxiliary device is rotated . in an exemplary embodiment , rotational motion of the auxiliary device about a longitudinal axis is monitored using a motion sensor disposed in the auxiliary device . exemplary motion sensors that can be used in embodiments of the present invention include tilt switches , accelerometers , compasses , inertial sensors , and the like . in some embodiments of the present invention , a combination of two or more motion sensors can be used to detect rotational motion . motion sensors used in embodiments of the present invention measure the angular velocity , angular displacement , and / or direction of rotation , which is used by the controller as a basis for switching โ on โ or โ off โ the auxiliary device . during operation , the motion sensor monitors rotational motion of the robotic system &# 39 ; s gripper with respect to the longitudinal axis of the auxiliary device . a microcontroller implemented by the control device receives input from the motion sensor , monitors the robotic system &# 39 ; s gripper orientation and recognizes when the robotic system &# 39 ; s gripper is being rotated clockwise or counter - clockwise . if the microcontroller recognizes that the robotic system &# 39 ; s gripper rotates the auxiliary device a full 360 degree clockwise rotation in less than a pre - determined time period , then the micro controller activates the current sensing switch and turns on the auxiliary device . if the rotation does not occur within a pre - determined time period , then the micro controller will not switch on the tool and will wait for a full 360 degree rotation to occur within the designated time period . if the microcontroller recognizes that the robotic system &# 39 ; s gripper rotates the auxiliary device a full 360 degree counter - clockwise within a second predetermined time period , then the then the micro controller deactivates the current sensing switch and turns off the auxiliary device . in some embodiments of the present invention , the microcontroller monitors angular displacement of the auxiliary device based upon input received from the motion sensor and compares the angular displacement to an upper threshold . when the angular displacement of the auxiliary device exceeds an upper threshold , then the microcontroller activates a power conditioning module to drive the auxiliary device &# 39 ; s motor at a first predetermined speed . in other embodiments of the present invention , the microcontroller monitors angular displacement based upon input received from the motion sensor and compares the angular displacement to lower threshold . when the angular displacement is less than the upper threshold but exceeds a lower threshold , then the microcontroller activates a power conditioning module to drive the auxiliary device &# 39 ; s motor is at a second predetermined speed . it is readily understood that the control device may employ more or less displacement thresholds as well as drive the motor at other speeds . when the angular displacement of the auxiliary device remains above a desired threshold , then the operating speed of the auxiliary device &# 39 ; s motor is maintained . when the robotic system &# 39 ; s gripper rotates the auxiliary device in the opposite direction and angular displacement of the auxiliary device is lowered below the lower threshold , then the micro controller activates a power conditioning module to reduce or discontinue the voltage applied to the auxiliary device &# 39 ; s motor . fig4 further illustrates the printed circuit board 200 . in one embodiment , the hardware includes a battery 102 and a printed circuit board 200 . the printed circuit board 200 includes power conditioning module 406 , microprocessor 402 , motion sensing device 404 and current sensing switch 400 . the battery 102 includes negative terminal 410 and positive terminal 412 . motor 408 within the external device 100 and microprocessor 402 receive power from the positive terminal 412 of battery 102 . conditioning circuit 406 ( e . g . voltage regulator ) can condition the power from the battery to protect the electronic circuits on the controller . during operation , the motion sensing device 404 is constantly monitored by the microprocessor 402 to determine if a predetermined sequence similar to the clockwise rotation 110 and counter clockwise rotation 112 shown in fig1 . if the configured circuitry determines that the correct input was measured by the motion sensing device 404 , the microprocessor 402 sends a signal to the current sensing switch 400 to activate the motor 408 by passing current through to the negative terminal 410 of battery 102 . microprocessor 402 converts the received input from the tilt switch 404 to a value indicating angular or quadrant displacement . by comparing this angular displacement with time gates , the microprocessor determines if a physical movement event has elapsed in a predetermined amount of time . based on the known amount of time and other parameters such as rotation about x , y , or z specified by various channels from the motion sensing device , the microprocessor determines which direction it was moved or axis it was rotated about . using the stated parameters , processing circuitry ( e . g . microprocessor 402 ) computes movement displacements quantitatively and compares to the time parameters . it is noted that the input to the printed circuit board 200 is the movement induced by the robot or other operating system / individual similar to clockwise rotation 110 and counter clockwise rotation 112 . in alternative embodiments there can be more than one input to the microprocessor , causing an external device to turn on . for example , in one embodiment , the external device is a tool and the external device holder is spring loaded in the forward direction with a pressure switch located at the back of the housing . when the tool makes contact with an object it is then pushed backwards until it closes the pressure switch . the switch initiates an input into the control circuit to turn on the tool ( s ). as the tool begins to cut through the material the spring loaded housing will advance the tool at a natural rate . the tool will not turn off until the operator removes the tool from the material and rotates the tool in the โ off โ motion sequence . alternatively , release of pressure in the forward direction can cause a release of the pressure switch causing the tool to turn off . in another embodiment , the external device holder is equipped with a contact switch that connects the circuit to the tools battery supply . when the robot grippers make contact with the switch it then activates the circuit and begins to monitor motion . this ensures that an external device such as a power tool cannot activate unless held in the gripper and will automatically shut off if it is dropped from the robotic gripper assembly . having now described a few embodiments of the invention , it should be apparent to those skilled in the art that the foregoing is merely illustrative and not limiting , having been presented by way of example only . numerous modifications and other embodiments are within the scope of one of ordinary skill in the art and are contemplated as falling within the scope of the invention and any equivalent thereto . it can be appreciated that variations to the present invention would be readily apparent to those skilled in the art , and the present invention is intended to include those alternatives . further , since numerous modifications will readily occur to those skilled in the art , it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation illustrated and described , and accordingly , all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to , falling within the scope of the invention . each reference cited herein is hereby incorporated in its entirety . | 1 |
the therapeutic method in accordance with the present invention is suited for use in various body cavities including , but not limited to , the stomach , the bowel , the lungs , the peritoneal cavity , the urinary tract , and can also be used with various devices , fabrication methods , arrangements , systems and methods of employment which irradiate the walls of various body cavities or interior sites within the body of a patient by means of ionizing radiation in sufficient amount to debilitate or kill microorganisms lining the body cavity in which the invention is used . in one preferred form of the invention , an x - ray device is provided which includes components for producing localized x - ray radiation within a vacuum housing or tube and , optionally , including an inflatable balloon surrounding the vacuum housing and preferably connected near the distal end of the device for positioning the source of ionizing radiation as well as for expanding the walls of the body cavity . while the invention can be employed for killing or debilitating various pathogenic microorganisms , it can be used to advantage in treating helicobacter pylori infections of the gastrointestinal system and other ailments in which ionizing radiation is to be delivered to portions of the body that are not easily accessible . in order to provide a better understanding , the present invention will be described by way of example in the treatment of helicobacter pylori infections within the stomach . it should be understood , however , that the invention is not limited to specific apparatus or methods described . [ 0022 ] helicobacter pylori is an infection of the stomach and duodenum and the major cause of stomach ulcers . various forms of ionizing radiation , including x - rays , radiation from isotopes , radio waves , microwaves , or light radiation , e . g ., ultraviolet light in accordance with the invention provide an advantageous method of treating such infections . the x - ray device , for example , produces ionizing radiation that penetrates the lining of the body cavity , in this case the columnar epithelial lining of the walls of the stomach , or the epithelium of any other passage or lumen that is being treated . during this treatment , the ionizing radiation produces apoptosis or programmed cell death in which the dna of the microorganism is rendered unable to divide . the apoptosis that occurs in the microorganisms is different from necrosis , another type of cell death . in apoptosis produced by the ionizing radiation , a disruption of the gene structure of the microorganism prevents it from further replication . consequently , the microorganisms die by mutation and , in some cases , by the disruption of metabolic processes at the cellular level . some fraction of the microorganisms may also be killed immediately by the radiation . an important advantage of the invention lies in the fact that many organisms , such as bacteria , are exquisitely sensitive to ionizing radiation , sensitive to a much greater degree than the surrounding human cells . accordingly , the bacteria can be killed or debilitated by apoptosis without serious destruction of the host cells . in one aspect of the present invention , a source of ionizing radiation such as an x - ray device is positioned in a body cavity , e . g ., the stomach , for treating h . pylori infections by inducing apoptosis in the bacterial cells carried on or within in the epithelium lining the stomach . the x - ray or other ionizing radiation of the present invention can therefore be used to prevent the escalation of the infection to stomach ulcers and cancer . refer now to the figures wherein the same numbers refer to corresponding parts in the several views . fig1 - 4 illustrate by way of example one method of use in accordance with the present invention ; the treatment of helicobacter pylori infections of the stomach designated by the numeral 5 . numeral 5 a indicates the esophagus and numeral 5 b indicates the pyloric sphincter . in this case , an instrument 6 is provided which includes a flexible supporting cable or shaft 7 and a distal ionizing radiation distribution head 8 from which radiation emanates as shown by rays 9 that strike the adjacent lining of the stomach where the h . pylori infection thrives in the epithelium and mucous lining the stomach 5 . in this case , the source of ionizing radiation is an x - ray device 10 that includes a cathode 16 , an anode 18 , and a getter 24 , all disposed within a vacuum chamber or tube wall 28 ( see especially fig3 and 4 ). the cable or shaft 7 permits a physician to maneuver the x - ray device 10 to the treatment site in the body . it is contemplated that different types of maneuvering devices could be employed to position the head 8 containing the x - ray device 10 which provides the ionizing radiation , depending upon the particular site to be treated . in the embodiments showing the use of the instrument 6 in the stomach and gastrointestinal system , it is helpful for the shaft 7 to be flexible , to have a reduced diameter and rounded forward end such that it can be easily introduced into the esophagus and stomach , either by itself or , if desired , through an appropriate flexible endoscope ( not shown ). in one particular embodiment , the shaft 7 will have an outer diameter of less than or equal to approximately 3 mm , allowing it to fit easily within a standard endoscope that typically has a working lumen diameter of about 3 mm . in other applications , the properties and dimensions of the shaft 7 may vary to meet the requirements of the task . for many disorders , an annular or donut - shaped radiation pattern 9 is ideally suited for treatment . in order to achieve this pattern , many passages and other interior portions of the body need to be dilated while treatment is carried out with ionizing radiation from the x - ray device 10 . the stomach is very soft and , except after a meal , is in a collapsed state . rugae or folds 5 c are present on its inner walls . stomach ulcers resulting from an h . pylori infection are shown at 5 d . in one preferred embodiment of the present invention an optional dilating balloon 20 can be provided , if desired , to dilate the passage of the body , such as the stomach , and thereby distend the stomach wall and hence spread the rugae 5 c apart and thus flatten the stomach wall so that a uniform annular radiation pattern can be created . the balloon 20 can also be important in positioning and holding the distribution head 8 in the desired location , especially in a central position that is equidistant from all parts of the surrounding stomach wall so as to provide the same dose of radiation to all portions of the stomach 5 surrounding the distribution head 8 . when using a small x - ray emitter , a problem is sometimes encountered when too much heat is produced at the anode during operation . if water circulates through the balloon interior , it further serves to cool the x - ray emitter and dissipate the potentially damaging heat . if desired , the balloon 20 can be in fluid communication with a fluid loop 22 that is disposed within the shaft 7 to carry fluid from outside the body to the interior of the balloon 20 , and provide a return path for the fluid . if desired , the fluid in loop 22 can circulate in the interior of the balloon 20 , inflating the balloon 20 , and can then be returned to the proximal portion of the shaft 7 through the fluid loop 22 . a circulating pump 34 can be used to circulate the fluid and maintain the pressure required to achieve the desired balloon size . the pump 34 can be coupled to the fluid loop 22 via fluid ports 35 . other methods and devices known in the art may also be used to circulate the fluid and inflate the balloon 20 . since it is generally desirable to provide independent control of the balloon size and cooling rate , a separate inflation lumen 40 and port 42 are shown in fig3 and 4 in fluid communication with the balloon 20 . the fluid loop 22 is positioned to circulate cooling fluid in heat conducting relationship with the anode 18 . in the embodiment shown in fig3 the fluid loop 22 extends to surround a portion of the anode 18 . the circulating action of the fluid loop 22 can thus provide a constant cooling rate , regardless of the extent of balloon dilation . the separate inflation lumen 40 can be coupled to a fluid source of adjustable pressure for the balloon 20 via the inflation port 42 . in one embodiment , the fluid loop 22 and the inflation lumen 40 are created using plastic extrusion techniques . this arrangement has the advantage of allowing a liquid , e . g ., water , to be used in fluid loop 22 for cooling and a gas , e . g ., air , to be used for balloon inflation via lumen 40 so that the radiation from head 8 is not absorbed before reaching the stomach wall . different cooling mechanisms could also be used . thus , during use , an inflation fluid is provided to expand the balloon 20 via lumen 40 , inflation port 42 and a line 33 which is connected to the pump 34 . if a liquid is used instead of a gas such as air , the liquid , e . g ., water or saline , can be supplied from tank 35 which is connected to the inlet of pump 34 . a gas is , however , preferred for filling the balloon 20 , since it will have a negligible tendency to attenuate the radiation 9 emitted from the energy supply head 8 . the coolant is circulated separately through the fluid loop 22 via lines 37 and 39 by means of circulating pump 34 โฒ. the pumps 34 and 34 โฒ are controlled by the power supply 36 which also supplies the high voltage current through the coaxial cable via coupling 38 to a cathode 16 and an anode 18 that are contained within a vacuum tube or chamber 28 . the power supply 36 also includes an x - ray detector of suitable known construction that is used to calibrate the output of the device and control dosimetry , as well as an electronic display , if desired , for monitoring the therapy . in order to apply an electrical field across the anode 18 and cathode 16 , the anode 18 and cathode 16 are coupled to the power supply or high voltage source 36 . in this embodiment , a coaxial cable is disposed within the flexible shaft 7 and coupled to the high voltage source 36 at the proximal end of the shaft 7 . an internal conductor 30 of the coaxial cable is coupled to the anode 18 at the appropriate voltage and is enclosed in an insulating layer 31 . an external conductive layer 32 of the coaxial cable is held at ground and coupled to cathode 16 . a conductive solder on the outside of the vacuum chamber wall 28 may be used to couple the cathode 16 to the external conductive layer 32 . other known methods may also be used to apply an electric potential across the anode and cathode . the vacuum tube 28 containing the cathode 16 and anode 18 can be of the thermonic type , with x - ray energies of , say , 8 kev to 20 kev . the tube can be powered to utilize 3 watts or less to produce soft x - ray radiation . a typical treatment time at 3 watts is about one to 20 minutes . when the prescribed dose of ionizing radiation has been delivered , the x - ray tube is turned off and the x - ray distribution head 8 is removed . when a radioactive isotope source is used instead of an x - ray source , the tissue is exposed to ionizing radiation for a few minutes , usually from about 15 minutes to 30 minutes . the stomach in its relaxed state has a diameter of about 5 - 6 centimeters and cannot accommodate a rigid structure . in one embodiment , the device of the present invention can be inserted by being passed through a standard flexible laryngoscope or endoscope ( not shown ) that has a working lumen about 3 millimeters in diameter . therefore , a coaxial cable used in this device must have a diameter small enough to be accommodated within the passage to be treated or within the scope - device used , and it must be able to carry the required voltages and have sufficient flexibility to make turns as it follows the passage . a diameter of less than or equal to 3 millimeters may be used for most applications . standard high voltage coaxial cables are generally not flexible enough . miniature high frequency coaxial cables are available with an outer diameter of approximately 1 . 0 mm to 3 . 0 mm which also exhibit sufficient flexibility and can carry the required voltage without breakdown . in one embodiment of the invention , a cable with an outer diameter of less than or equal to about 3 mm is used . cables approximately 1 - 2 mm in diameter are also available , and are used in other embodiments . such cables are manufactured by , for example , new england electric wire corporation , lisbom , n . h . in one embodiment , a getter 24 is disposed within the vacuum housing 28 in order to aid in creating and maintaining a vacuum condition of high quality . the getter 24 has an activation temperature at which it will react with stray gas molecules in the vacuum . after the vacuum housing is assembled under vacuum conditions and the housing pumped out or baked out , the device is heated to the activation temperature and maintained at that temperature for several hours . it is desirable that the getter used have an activation temperature that is not so high that the x - ray device will be damaged with heated to the activation temperature . an saes st 101 alloy getter may be used , which has an activation temperature in the range of 750 ยฐ c . to 900 ยฐ c . and is composed of approximately 64 % zirconium and 16 % aluminum . an st 707 alloy getter also may be used , which has an activation temperature in the range of 300 ยฐ c . to 500 ยฐ c . and is composed of approximately 70 % zirconium , 18 . 6 % vanadium , and 5 . 4 % iron . other suitable getters such as alkali metals can be used , if desired . in order to most effectively decelerate the electrons striking the anode , a heavy metal material such as tungsten or gold can be used for the anode 18 . the cathode and anode will be shaped to produce the desired radiation pattern . in the embodiment of fig1 and 2 , the anode 18 is cylindrically shaped with a flat , circular side disposed toward the cathode 16 , and the edge is rounded . the cathode 16 of this embodiment is cone - shaped . a wall of the vacuum chamber 28 should be transparent to x - rays in order to allow the full dosage to reach the wall of the body cavity being treated . the wall 28 can comprise pyrolytic boron nitride , or another metal or ceramic material which is transparent to x - rays . other possibilities include beryllium , beryllium oxide , aluminum , aluminum oxide , or graphite . in one embodiment , the outer diameter of the x - ray device is sized as large as , say , 1 centimeter to deliver the localized radiation to the interior of the stomach . in another embodiment , the outer diameter of the x - ray device is less than or equal to about three millimeters . in some applications , such as use in the stomach , the diameter of the dilated balloon 20 should be able to vary with the pressure applied , so that the diameter of the balloon can be adjusted to fit the size of the patient &# 39 ; s stomach or other passage . therefore , an elastic balloon is particularly suited to gastric applications , where the elastic material will conform to the many surface features of the stomach and dilate the stomach more completely . however , in other applications , it may be desirable to employ an inelastic balloon with a fixed dilated diameter . it should be noted in fig1 that the balloon 20 , when present , is preferably secured to the flexible shaft 7 , e . g ., by means of a suitable adhesive 21 at a distance 7 a spaced from the radiation head 8 . the distal end of the balloon 20 is free rather than being connected to the distribution head 8 or to anything else and is spaced from the source 8 a of radiation by a distance 7 b that is equal to 7 a . the distance 7 a + 7 b equals the approximate radius of the balloon 20 so as to locate the source 8 a of the radiation 9 at the center of balloon 20 , thus equalizing radiation flux in all directions . a round balloon is shown in fig1 . in the x - ray device , an electric field exists at the cathode 16 , while on the outside of the vacuum housing a conductive braid or solder is held at ground . these two potentials can be insulated from each other to reduce the chance of electrical flashover . a vacuum tube wall of pyrolytic boron nitride can provide some insulation . if a metal is used as the wall of the vacuum chamber 28 , an insulating layer is beneficial to decrease the chance of electrical flashover . as additional protection against electrical flashover , an electrically insulating material can be placed at the joints on the outside of the vacuum chamber wall 28 . the insulating material could be a potting compound , an injection - molded polymer , and other materials with electrically insulating properties . the vacuum chamber further includes a biocompatible outer coating , such as polyethylene or teflon ยฎ material . the joints between the vacuum chamber wall 28 and the anode 18 may be vacuum furnace brazed , or may be sealed by conventional crimping methods . the cathode 16 of the present invention consists of a material which displays emission characteristics when an electrical field is applied . one possible cathode material is a thin diamond film , which can be formed using conventional chemical vapor deposition techniques . a diamond film also may be formed using a laser ion source as described in u . s . pat . 4 , 987 , 007 to wagal , the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference . a graphite target and the substrate to be coated are disposed in a vacuum chamber . between the two is an accelerating grid held at a high negative potential . the graphite target is radiated with a focused laser beam from a pulse laser . the laser beam ejects a plume of carbon vapor from the graphite target . a portion of the atoms in the plume are ionized by the focused laser beam , and the positive carbon ions are accelerated towards the substrate by the accelerating grid . one possible cathode material is described in u . s . patent application entitled โ device for delivering localized x - ray radiation to an interior of a body and method of manufacture โ, having ser . no . 08 / 806 , 244 , the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference . the cathode material is a coating of carbon having diamond - like bonds which demonstrate negative electron affinity . it is also desirable to have sufficient conductivity to create a constant supply of electrons to the surface of the cathode . the presence of some graphite bonds in the diamond film will contribute to conductivity . thus , a combination of a diamond film having both sp3 carbon bonds , to function as a cathode , and some sp2 carbon bonds , to facilitate conductivity , is particularly suited for use in many applications . other elements may also be present in the film in small quantities . the diamond film will have the property that it can emit electrons at electrical fields greater than or equal to about 20 kv / micron . this required electric field is significantly lower when compared to that required for metal emitters such a molybdenum or silicon , which require greater than 1 , 000 kv / micron . if desired , the x - ray device and method can be constructed as described in co - pending patent application ser . no . 09 / 027 , 010 ( in which i am a co - inventor ) and is incorporated herein by reference . when used to radiate the walls of an interior passage of the body , according to one embodiment of the invention , the x - ray device may be placed within a standard endoscope or laryngoscope . the x - ray device or other ionizing radiation described herein is introduced into the passage to be treated . the x - ray device , etc ., is then guided through the passage , using techniques known in the art , until it is positioned near the area to be irradiated . the site to be irradiated may be viewed through the endoscope , and the area around the device may be flushed using the endoscope , if necessary . the dilating balloon 20 is then inflated by fluid , either liquid or gas , from the fluid pump to the desired diameter to expand the body cavity , in this case the stomach so as to hold the radiation distribution head 8 in the desired location and spread the rugae 5 c apart so as to thereby flatten the stomach wall to insure uniform irradiation . during operation , the high voltage generator is activated and an electrical field is established across the cathode 16 and the anode 18 . the cathode 16 emits electrons which are accelerated toward the anode 18 . as the electrons are decelerated by the anode 18 , electromagnetic ionizing radiation is emitted . in this manner , x - ray radiation is produced by the bremsstrahlung effect . as the x - ray radiation impinges upon the wall of the body cavity , such as the stomach , the h . pylori living on the surface of the passage are killed or debilitated by apoptosis as discussed above . in h . pylori infections , for example , the apoptosis eliminates the bacterial cells and reduces inflammation as well as the biochemical results of inflammation , thereby preventing ulcers , gastritis and cancer . when the desired dosage has been delivered , the voltage source is turned off and the balloon 20 , when present , is deflated . the device is then withdrawn from the body . the dosage of x - ray radiation to be applied to the interior of a body will generally be within the scope of the attending physician &# 39 ; s judgment and will be based on individual conditions , such as the severity of the infection and the damage that has occurred at the site to be treated and the particular patient . in order to treat h . pylori , only the surface of the epithelium needs to be irradiated . according to the present invention , x - ray radiation typically in the range of 0 . 1 to 50 grays , and most preferably 1 - 2 grays , may be applied . the treatment is typically structured to last about 2 to 10 minutes , and most preferably , 3 to 5 minutes . the x - ray emitter may be repositioned by moving it from one part of the stomach to another , either continuously or intermittently during the course of radiation treatment , depending on the length of the area requiring treatment . it will be noted that because the source of radiation in the distribution head 8 is at the center of the balloon 20 , all of the rays 9 will be of the same length when they strike the microorganisms , thereby assuring uniform radiation flux and , consequently , uniform exposure to radiation wherever the radiation strikes the wall of the cavity that is being treated . uniform radiation exposure is also aided through the flattening of the stomach wall that is accomplished by the expansion of the balloon 20 . the expanded balloon 20 also locks or wedges the radiation - supplying head 8 in place within the stomach 5 , so that stomach contractions , which take place normally , cannot displace the instrument 6 . during use , the balloon 20 should not be expanded to the point where the blood supply to the epithelium lining the stomach is cut off , since oxygen is necessary in forming free radicals which are important in the destruction of the microorganisms . refer now to fig2 which illustrates a positioning balloon 20 of a different shape . in this case , the balloon 20 is generally elliptical in shape and is secured as already described in fig1 by means of adhesive 21 at a distance 7 a from the energy - supplying head 8 , the space 7 a being a substantial distance that is determined so as to place the energy distribution head 8 in approximately the center of the elliptically - shaped balloon 20 . the axis of the ellipse is aligned with the distribution head 8 . if desired , in order to prevent the head 8 from dangling away from the center of the balloon 20 , optional radially extending tethers 23 that serve as positioning ligaments can be bonded at each end to extend between the distribution head 8 and the wall of the balloon 20 . the tethers 23 can be formed from short lengths of cord , tape or narrow strips of cloth , etc . other positioning means for locating the head 8 at the center of the balloon 20 will be apparent to those skilled in the art . the tethers 23 can be attached to the balloon 20 by adhesive during assembly while the balloon is inverted , i . e ., inside out over the distal end of the distribution head 8 . refer now to fig6 and 7 illustrating a modified form of the invention in which the same numerals refer to corresponding parts already described . in this case , ultraviolet light rays 60 are provided by the energy distribution head 8 which is formed from a transparent material , e . g ., glass or fused quartz . the ultraviolet light 60 is projected both laterally at 61 as well as passing forwardly at 62 through the balloon 20 striking the wall of the stomach 5 . the balloon 20 holds the radiant energy distribution head 8 in the desired position and also distends the wall of the stomach 5 so as to spread out the rugae 5 c and thereby allow uniform exposure of the portion of the wall of the stomach that is being treated . as the ultraviolet light rays 60 strike the columnar epithelium lining the stomach , the h . pylori infecting the cells is killed or debilitated . the part of the stomach exposed to the ultraviolet light rays 60 can be changed by the physician , either by moving the balloon 20 and head 8 along the length of the stomach 5 toward the esophagus 5 a or by changing the angle of the head 8 with respect to the longitudinal axis of the stomach 5 as will be described more fully below . the position of the instrument can also be confirmed using fluoroscopy or a cat scan , if desired . in this case , the cathode 16 and anode 18 , as well as the conductor 30 , are eliminated and replaced by a fiber optic bundle 64 ( fig7 ) which extends from a light source 66 ( fig6 ) through the entire length of the flexible shaft 7 via the esophagus 5 a into the stomach 5 , so as to carry ultraviolet light from the source 66 through the distribution head 8 to a light reflector or diffuser , e . g ., of conical shape , inside the distribution head 8 which spreads the ultraviolet light rays 60 so that they pass through the balloon 20 , string the wall of the stomach 5 to the side and in front of the distribution head 8 . as shown in fig7 the inflation fluid for the balloon 20 is supplied through a lumen 40 as already described . the flexible shaft 7 can be provided with a plurality of longitudinally extending , radially spaced apart cables 68 that are slidably mounted in the flexible body portion 70 of the shaft 7 . using a suitable commercially available steering mechanism for shortening or lengthening the cables 68 , the distribution head 8 can be made to point toward the right , left or up and down as directed by the physician to distribute the beam of ultraviolet light to various parts of the stomach as desired . the shaft 7 can be enclosed in a protective cover or sheath 74 , e . g ., polypropylene plastic that will slide easily through the esophagus 5 a . the ultraviolet light source 66 can comprise any suitable commercially available lighting source , e . g ., a mercury vapor lamp . there are three classes of ultraviolet light : uva ( 320 nanometers to 400 nanometers ), uvb ( 290 nanometers to 320 nanometers ), and uvc ( 200 nanometers to 290 nanometers ). uva can be provided from an incandescent source such as a tungsten , halogen or quartz iodide lamp . uvb can be provided by means of a suitable arc lamp such as a high pressure mercury lamp or a hot quartz lamp . uvc can be provided from an arc lamp using mercury vapor , a cold quartz lamp or a carbon arc lamp which mimics sunlight with a spectrum of from 280 nanometers to near infra - red . while any suitable ultraviolet light beam can be provided , it is preferred to use uvb or uvc light because of their greater effectiveness in killing or debilitating microorganisms through apoptosis . to use the apparatus of fig6 and 7 , the shaft 7 and head 8 are passed through the esophagus 5 a conventionally with the balloon 20 in a collapsed position surrounding the head 8 . after the head 8 is properly positioned in the stomach 5 under the control of the physician , the balloon 20 is inflated by passing a suitable fluid , e . g ., air , through the inflation lumen 40 until the balloon 20 has expanded the stomach s at the desired location , thereby distending the rugae so that the pockets otherwise present are spread out evenly over the surface of the balloon 20 . the light source 66 is then turned on , causing the uv light to pass through the fiber optic bundle 64 and out through the distribution head 8 . the distribution head 8 and the balloon 20 can then be repositioned in the stomach as desired to expose all of the infected areas or , alternatively , the control cables 68 can be manipulated so as to point the head 8 toward the areas of the stomach that require treatment . observations can be carried out by means of a viewing port and eyepiece 72 of known construction or through a separate endoscope ( not shown ) that is passed through the esophagus 5 a into the stomach s alongside the flexible shaft 7 . in another form of the invention , the same apparatus is employed as already described in fig6 and 7 , except that the light source 66 comprises a suitable commercially available infrared light source . the light source 66 can , for example , be an erbium laser , which is preferably operated intermittently and on low power compared to the power used for removing skin blemishes , scars , tattoos , etc ., to enable the microorganisms to be killed without damaging the surrounding tissue . refer now to fig8 which illustrates the use of the invention with radioactive isotopes to provide ionizing radiation for killing or debilitating h . pylori or other microorganisms through apoptosis . radioactive isotopes provide the ionizing electromagnetic radiation through radioactive decay that can expose healthcare workers to radiation and require a shielded room . the present invention provides a way of shielding the isotope before and after use . in this case the flexible shaft 7 has a body portion 80 that is uniform throughout and contains a longitudinally extending lumen 82 in which a control cable 84 is slidably mounted . the distal end 86 of the control cable 84 is secured to a cylindrical slug 88 that is formed mostly of a shielding material such as lead but has a central portion 90 which is formed from a radioactive isotope . the slug 88 is slidably mounted in a bore 92 within the energy supply head 8 which includes two shielding portions including a distal portion 94 and a proximal portion 96 , both formed of a suitable shielding material such as lead that is useful in shielding radioactive material . the shields 94 , 96 are joined by an annular central portion 98 formed from a radiation - transparent material such as a suitable ceramic or plastic resinous material which allows radiation to be emitted when the slug 88 is moved under the direction of the physician distally so that the radioactive isotope 90 is exposed in the radiation transparent area 98 at the center of the distribution head 8 . the distribution head 8 is enclosed in a sheath or coating of biocompatible material 100 such as polyethylene or teflon ยฎ. during use with the cable 84 pulled up , the shaft 7 and head 8 are inserted through the esophagus sa into the stomach 5 conventionally , with the balloon 20 in a collapsed condition . inflation fluid is then forced through the inflation lumen 40 into the balloon 20 to expand it sufficiently to spread out the walls of the stomach as described above . the cable 84 is then moved distally so as to shift the slug 88 containing the radioactive isotope 90 downwardly in fig8 until the radioactive material 90 is aligned with the annular radiation - transparent wall 98 , thereby allowing the ionizing radiation to pass from the radioactive isotope 90 radially in all directions from the head 8 . after passing through the balloon 20 , the radiation will strike the wall of the stomach 5 or other body cavity , killing or debilitating the h . pylori or other pathogenic microorganisms lining the wall of the cavity being treated . as treatment progresses , the balloon 20 and / or head 8 are repositioned under the control of the physician so as to redirect the ionizing radiation to the desired areas and for the length of time required to accomplish the required treatment . because bacteria are much more sensitive to ionizing radiation than human tissue , the h . pylori and other bacteria can be killed or debilitated by apoptosis with little , if any , damage to the host tissue . as soon as the treatment is completed , the cable 84 is pulled , causing the slug 88 to slide proximally in the head 8 until the isotope 90 is completely surrounded by the lead shielding . the balloon 20 is then deflated and the instrument is withdrawn . as described above , the instrument shown in fig8 can be positioned in any suitable manner , e . g ., by observation through an endoscope ( not shown ) that is inserted through the esophagus alongside the shaft 7 into the stomach 5 . any of the instruments 6 ( including the shaft 7 , head 8 and balloon 20 ) of fig1 can be inserted into the body cavity alone or , if desired , through the lumen of a commercially available endoscope of suitable known construction . isotopes emit ionizing radiation through the phenomenon of nuclear disintegration the ionizing radiation supplied by the isotope 90 can be either beta or gamma radiation . the beta radiation does not have the penetrating power of the gamma radiation , which will pass entirely through the body and into the room surrounding the patient , therefore requiring a radiation - shielded operating room . it is preferred that the ionizing radiation used have relatively shallow penetrating power , since there is usually no reason to go to any substantial depth . h . pylori , for example , is located on the surface of the epithelium lining the stomach . it is contemplated in accordance with the present invention to select the penetration depth of the ionizing radiation so that it penetrates only into the surface layer where the h . pylori is located , thereby protecting the patient from unnecessary radiation damage . for that reason , when an isotope is used to supply ionizing radiation , beta radiation is preferred to gamma radiation because of its reduced penetrating power . in general , the use of non - radioactive sources is preferred to the radioactive source described in connection with fig8 since the use of radioactive sources requires special handling , environmental considerations , and is subject to greater radiation danger . in the united states , only radiation oncologists can prescribe a therapy and dose involving radioactive isotopes . moreover , gamma sources require a shielded catheterization laboratory . because of the penetrating power of gamma radiation , the healthcare workers must leave the room while the patient is being treated . when gamma radiation is employed , the isotope 90 can comprise radioactive iridium - 192 ( ir 192 ) which is available in the hospital because of its use in cancer treatment . alternatively , a suitable beta radiation source such as potassium - 32 or strontium - 90 can be used as the isotope 90 . beta sources typically have a soft tissue penetration depth of less than one - half inch and therefore reduce the unwanted exposure of health tissue compared to gamma radiation . beta sources are also easier to handle than gamma sources and pose a smaller risk to the patient and healthcare worker . radio waves and microwaves can also be used in accordance with the invention for destroying pathogenic microorganisms such a h . pylori in the lining of a body cavity . microwave energy can be supplied to the distribution head 8 of the device shown in fig6 and 7 by removing the fiber optic bundle 64 to provide a hollow wave guide through the flexible shaft 7 for conveying microwave energy from a suitable thyratron at the source 66 to the radiant energy distribution head 8 where it is directed through the balloon 20 onto the walls of the body cavity surrounding the head 8 . the microwave energy is preferably adjusted to heat the inner surface of the body cavity so as to preferentially kill bacteria and other microorganisms living at the surface or lining of the body cavity . radio wave energy can be provided using the apparatus of fig3 and 4 , but without a vacuum in the tube 28 between the electrodes 16 and 18 . instead , a radio frequency field can be set up between the electrodes 16 and 18 to produce heating of the body tissue when the body tissue is placed adjacent to or between the electrodes . to provide the radio frequency field , a powerful rf oscillator can be applied across the electrodes 16 and 18 so as to heat the body tissue between them , as the body tissue acts as a dielectric of a capacitor in which dielectric losses cause heating within the tissue . the rf oscillator can , if desired , be followed by rf amplifier stages for generating high frequency currents that produce heat within the part of the body cavity that is being treated for destroying the pathogenic bacteria on or within the tissue . other forms of radio wave energy known to those skilled in the art can also be used for destroying microorganisms . in this embodiment of the invention , the balloon 20 can be eliminated since it is generally desirable to position the tissue being treated against or between the electrodes 16 and 18 . all publications and patents are herein incorporated by reference to the same extent as if each individual publication or patent was specifically and individually indicated to be incorporated by reference . many variations of the present invention within the scope of the appended claims will be apparent to those skilled in the art once the principles described herein are understood . | 0 |
the present invention will now be described more specifically with the experiment results of the following embodiments . it is to be noted that the following descriptions of preferred embodiments of this invention are presented herein for the purposes of illustration and description only ; it is not intended to be exhaustive or to be limited to the precise form disclosed . concretely speaking , the method for manufacturing the heteroannelated anthraquinone derivative includes cyclization and condensation reactions . 1 , 2 - diaminoanthraquinone ( 1 . 19 g , 5 mmol ) is dissolved in 30 ml of n , n - dimethylformamide , and chloroacetyl chloride ( 0 . 5 ml , 6 mmol ) is added thereinto . after ten hours of mixing and reacting by a reverse flow , the mixture is transferred into 200 ml of icy water . after filtering , the precipitate is collected and washed by hot alcohol , so as to obtain the black compound no . 2 . the compound no . 2 has the following characterstics : mw 262 . 0724 ( c 16 h 9 n 2 o 2 ); r f : 0 . 79 ( ethyl acetate : dichloromethane = 1 : 4 ); ir ( kbr ) cm โ 1 : 1667 ( co ); ei - ms m / z : 262 ( m + , 100 %); 1 h - nmr ( 300 mhz , dmso - d 6 ) ฮด ( ppm ): 2 . 72 ( 3h , s , โ ch 3 ), 7 . 75 - 7 . 82 ( 2h , m , ar โ h 7 , 10 ), 7 . 93 ( 1h , d , j = 8 . 4 hz , ar โ h 5 ), 8 . 13 ( 1h , d , j = 8 . 4 hz , ar โ h 4 ), 8 . 19 - 8 . 23 ( 1h , m , ar โ h 8 , 9 ), 11 . 01 ( 1h , br , โ nh ); and 13 c - nmr ( 75 mhz , dmso - d 6 ) ฮด ( ppm ): 23 . 89 , 120 . 23 , 121 . 22 , 125 . 29 , 126 . 19 , 126 . 75 , 127 . 19 , 128 . 17 , 128 . 87 , 132 . 98 , 134 . 18 , 134 . 42 , 148 . 22 , 158 . 09 , 182 . 43 ( c o ), 185 . 13 ( c o ). except controlling the reacting temperature in 50 - 60 ยฐ c ., all steps are identical with the steps for manufacturing the compound no . 2 , and the yellowish brown compound no . 3 can be obtained . the compound no . 3 has the following characterstics : mw 296 . 0353 ( c 16 h 9 n 2 o 2 cl ); r f : 0 . 5 ( ethyl acetate : dichloromethane = 1 : 4 ); ir ( kbr ) cm โ 1 : 3359 ( nh ), 1660 ( co ); hrms ( esi - tof ) m / z : calcd for c 16 h 10 n 2 o 2 cl + [ m + h ] + : 297 . 0425 . found : 297 . 0426 ; 1 h - nmr ( 300 mhz , cdcl 3 ) ฮด ( ppm ): 4 . 92 ( 2h , s , โ ch 2 cl ), 7 . 80 - 7 . 83 ( 2h , m , ar โ h 7 , 10 ), 8 . 08 ( 1h , d , j = 8 . 4 hz , ar โ h 5 ), 8 . 24 ( 1h , d , j = 8 . 4 hz , ar โ h 4 ), ฮด8 . 26 - 8 . 35 ( 2h , m , ar โ h 8 , 9 ), ฮด11 . 21 ( 1h , br , โ nh ); and 13 c - nmr ( 75 mhz , dmso ) ฮด ( ppm ): 37 . 80 , 119 . 35 , 121 . 27 , 125 . 95 , 126 . 83 , 127 . 40 , 129 . 06 , 132 . 35 , 133 . 47 , 133 . 64 , 134 . 88 , 135 . 10 , 148 . 89 , 156 . 93 , 183 . 04 ( c o ), 183 . 83 ( c o ). 1 , 2 - diaminoanthraquinone ( 1 . 19 g , 5 mmol ) was dissolved in dimethylformamide ( 30 ml ), and propionaldehyde ( 0 . 29 g , 5 mmol ) is added thereinto . concentrated sulfuric acid ( 0 . 1 ml ) is added thereinto for catalyzation . after mixing and reacting at room temperature for one hour , the reacted mixture is transferred into 200 ml of icy water and is extracted by using dichloromethane . the extract is dried , and crystallized by using alcohol , so as to obtain the brown compound no . 4 . the compound no . 4 has the following characterstics : mw 276 . 0899 ( c 17 h 12 n 2 o 2 ); r f : 0 . 75 ( ethyl acetate : dichloromethane = 1 : 4 ); ir ( kbr ) cm โ 1 : 1669 ( co ); hrms ( esi - tof ) m / z : calcd for c 17 h 13 n 2 o 2 + [ m + h ] + : 277 . 0971 . found : 277 . 0975 calcd for c 17 h 12 n 2 o 2 na + [ m + na ] + : 299 . 0971 . found : 299 . 0794 ; 1 h - nmr ( 300 mhz , cdcl 3 ) ฮด ( ppm ): 1 . 51 ( 3h , t , j = 7 . 5 hz , โ ch 3 ), 3 . 05 ( 2h , q , j = 7 . 5 hz , โ ch 2 โ), 7 . 73 - 7 . 81 ( 2h , m , ar โ h 7 , 10 ), 7 . 99 ( 1h , d , j = 8 . 4 hz , ar โ h 5 ), ฮด8 . 16 ( 1h , d , j = 8 . 4 hz , ar โ h 4 ), ฮด8 . 21 - 8 . 23 ( 1h , m , ar โ h 9 ), ฮด8 . 27 - 8 . 31 ( 1h , m , ar โ h 8 ), ฮด10 . 85 ( 1h , br , โ nh ); and 13 c - nmr ( 75 mhz , cdcl 3 ) ฮด ( ppm ): 11 . 87 , 22 . 89 , 117 . 74 , 121 . 50 , 125 . 21 , 126 . 47 , 127 . 55 , 128 . 21 , 132 . 72 , 133 . 24 , 133 . 72 , 133 . 99 , 134 . 37 , 148 . 90 , 161 . 64 , 182 . 81 ( c o ), 185 . 15 ( c o ). all steps for manufacturing the yellow compound no . 5 are identical with the steps of embodiment 3 , except that propionaldehyde is substituted by isobutyraldehyde ( 0 . 41 g , 5 mmol ). the compound no . 5 has the following characterstics : mw 290 . 1055 ( c 18 h 14 n 2 o 2 ); r f : 0 . 7 ( ethyl acetate : dichloromethane = 1 : 4 ); ir ( kbr ) cm โ 1 : 3445 ( nh ), 1662 ( co ); hrms ( esi - tof ) m / z : calcd for c 18 h 15 n 2 o 2 + [ m + h ] + : 291 . 1120 . found : 291 . 1123 ; 1 h - nmr ( 300 mhz , cdcl 3 ) ฮด ( ppm ): ฮด1 . 56 ( 6h , d , j = 6 . 6 hz , โ ch 3 ), ฮด3 . 40 ( 1h , sp , j = 6 . 6 hz , โ ch โ), ฮด7 . 78 - 7 . 85 ( 2h , m , ar โ h 7 , 10 ), ฮด8 . 11 ( 1h , d , j = 8 . 4 hz , ar โ h 5 ), ฮด8 . 23 ( 1h , d , j = 8 . 4 hz , ar โ h 4 ), ฮด8 . 25 - 8 . 36 ( 2h , m , ar โ h 8 , 9 ), ฮด10 . 88 ( 1h , s , โ nh ); and 13 c - nmr ( 75 mhz , cdcl 3 ) ฮด ( ppm ): 21 . 15 , 29 . 21 , 117 . 66 , 121 . 36 , 125 . 21 , 126 . 32 , 127 . 42 , 128 . 05 , 132 . 49 , 133 . 10 , 133 . 61 , 133 . 86 , 134 . 24 , 148 . 71 , 165 . 35 , 181 . 05 ( c o ), 182 . 73 ( c o ). all steps for manufacturing the brown compound no . 6 are identical with the steps of embodiment 3 , except that propionaldehyde is substituted by pentanal ( 0 . 45 g , 5 mmol ). the compound no . 6 has the following characterstics : mw 304 . 1212 ( c 19 h 16 n 2 o 2 ); r f : 0 . 65 ( ethyl acetate : dichloromethane = 1 : 4 ); ir ( kbr ) cm โ 1 : 1669 ( co ); hrms ( esi - tof ) m / z : calcd for c 19 h 17 n 2 o 2 + [ m + h ] + : 305 . 1276 . found : 305 . 1282 calcd for c 19 h 15 n 2 o 2 โ [ m โ h ] โ : 303 . 1131 . found : 303 . 1135 ; 1 h - nmr ( 300 mhz , cdcl 3 ) ฮด ( ppm ): ฮด1 . 00 ( 3h , t , j = 7 . 2 hz , โ ch 3 ), ฮด1 . 50 ( 2h , sx , j = 7 . 5 hz , โ ch 2 โ), ฮด1 . 93 ( 2h , qt , j = 7 . 8 hz , โ ch 2 โ), ฮด3 . 04 ( 2h , t , j = 7 . 5 hz , โ ch 2 โ), ฮด7 . 62 - 7 . 83 ( 2h , m , ar โ h 7 , 10 ), ฮด8 . 03 ( 1h , d , j = 8 . 4 hz , ar โ h 5 ), ฮด8 . 20 , 1h , d , j = 8 . 1 hz , ar โ h 4 ), ฮด8 . 24 - 8 . 35 ( 2h , m , ar โ h 8 , 9 ), ฮด10 . 83 ( 1h , s , โ nh ); and 13 c - nmr ( 75 mhz , cdcl 3 ) ฮด ( ppm ): 12 . 98 , 21 . 78 , 28 . 60 , 29 . 27 , 117 . 32 , 121 . 07 , 124 . 64 , 125 . 98 , 127 . 08 , 127 . 83 , 132 . 17 , 132 . 84 , 133 . 20 , 133 . 61 , 133 . 86 , 148 . 25 , 160 . 29 , 182 . 31 ( c o ), 184 . 78 ( c o ). all steps for manufacturing the yellow compound no . 7 are identical with the steps of embodiment 3 , except that propionaldehyde is substituted by methylbutyraldehyde ( 0 . 46 g , 5 mmol ). the compound no . 7 has the following characterstics : mw 304 . 1212 ( c 19 h 16 n 2 o 2 ); r f : 0 . 57 ( ethyl acetate : dichloromethane = 1 : 4 ); ir ( kbr ) cm โ 1 : 1665 ( co ); hrms ( esi - tof ) m / z : calcd for c 19 h 17 n 2 o 2 + [ m + h ] + : 305 . 1276 . found : 305 . 1280 calcd for c 19 h 15 n 2 o 2 โ [ m โ h ]: 303 . 1131 . found : 303 . 1137 ; 1 h - nmr ( 300 mhz , cdcl 3 ) ฮด ( ppm ): ฮด1 . 00 ( 3h , t , j = 7 . 2 hz , โ ch 3 ), ฮด1 . 52 ( 3h , d , j = 6 . 9 hz , โ ch 3 ), ฮด1 . 82 - 2 . 02 ( 2h , m , โ ch 2 โ), ฮด3 . 04 ( 1h , sx , j = 7 . 2 hz , โ ch โ), ฮด7 . 62 - 7 . 83 ( 2h , m , ar โ h 7 , 10 ), ฮด8 . 03 ( 1h , d , j = 8 . 4 hz , ar โ h 5 ), ฮด8 . 20 ( 1h , d , j = 8 . 1 hz , ar โ h 4 ), ฮด8 . 24 - 8 . 35 ( 2h , m , ar โ h 8 , 9 ), ฮด10 . 83 ( 1h , s , โ nh ); and 13 c - nmr ( 75 mhz , cdcl 3 ) ฮด ( ppm ): 11 . 09 , 18 . 09 , 28 . 40 , 35 . 71 , 117 . 39 , 121 . 07 , 124 . 75 , 125 . 95 , 127 . 09 , 127 . 84 , 131 . 92 , 132 . 83 , 133 . 22 , 133 . 59 , 133 . 87 , 148 . 06 , 164 . 30 , 182 . 31 ( c o ), 184 . 82 ( c o ). all steps for manufacturing the yellow compound no . 8 are identical with the steps of embodiment 3 , except that propionaldehyde is substituted by trimethylacetaldehyde ( 0 . 46 g , 5 mmol ). the compound no . 8 has the following characterstics : mw 304 . 1212 ( c 19 h 16 n 2 o 2 ); r f : 0 . 8 ( ethyl acetate : dichloromethane = 1 : 4 ); ir ( kbr ) 3568 ( nh ), 1664 ( co ); hrms ( esi - tof ) m / z : calcd for c 19 h 17 n 2 o 2 + [ m + h ] + : 305 . 1276 . found : 305 . 1283 calcd for c 19 h 15 n 2 o 2 โ [ m โ h ] โ : 303 . 1131 . found : 303 . 1136 ; 1 h - nmr ( 300 mhz , cdcl 3 ) ฮด ( ppm ): ฮด1 . 58 ( 9h , s , โ c ( ch 3 ) 3 ), ฮด7 . 77 - 7 . 84 ( 2h , m , ar โ h 7 , 10 ), ฮด8 . 08 ( 1h , d , j = 8 . 4 hz , ar โ h 5 ), ฮด8 . 21 ( 1h , d , j = 8 . 4 hz , ar โ h 4 ), ฮด8 . 25 - 8 . 28 ( 1h , m , ar โ h 8 ), ฮด8 . 33 - 8 . 36 ( 1h , m , ar โ h 9 ), ฮด10 . 83 ( 1h , s , โ nh ); and 13 c - nmr ( 75 mhz , cdcl 3 ) ฮด ( ppm ): 29 . 24 , 117 . 79 , 121 . 47 , 125 . 41 , 126 . 39 , 127 . 56 , 128 . 17 , 132 . 70 , 133 . 23 , 133 . 74 , 133 . 96 , 134 . 37 , 148 . 73 , 168 . 00 , 182 . 77 ( c o ), 185 . 26 ( c o ). all steps for manufacturing the brown compound no . 9 are identical with the steps of embodiment 3 , except that propionaldehyde is substituted by octanal ( 0 . 29 g , 5 mmol ). the compound no . 9 has the following characterstics : mw 346 . 1681 ( c 22 h 22 n 2 o 2 ); r f : 0 . 85 ( ethyl acetate : dichloromethane = 1 : 4 ); ir ( kbr ) 3447 ( nh ), 1664 ( co ); hrms ( esi - tof ) m / z : calcd for c 22 h 23 n 2 o 2 + [ m + h ] + : 347 . 1754 . found : 347 . 1752 ; 1 h - nmr ( 300 mhz , cdcl 3 ) ฮด ( ppm ): ฮด0 . 87 - 0 . 91 ( 3h , m , โ ch 3 ), ฮด1 . 26 - 1 . 35 ( 6h , m , ฮด1 . 56 ( 2h , sx , j = 7 . 0 hz , โ ch 2 โ), ฮด2 . 36 ( 2h , q , j = 7 . 0 hz , โ ch 2 โ), ฮด2 . 71 ( 2h , t , j = 7 . 0 hz , โ ch 2 โ), ฮด7 . 75 - 7 . 81 ( 2h , m , ar โ h 7 , 10 ), ฮด8 . 04 ( 1h , d , j = 8 . 0 hz , ar โ h 5 ), ฮด8 . 17 ( 1h , d , j = 8 . 0 hz , ar โ h 4 ), ฮด8 . 23 - 8 . 25 ( 1h , m , ar โ h 8 ), ฮด8 . 31 - 8 . 33 ( 1h , m , ar โ h 9 ), ฮด10 . 93 ( 1h , s , โ nh ); and 13 c - nmr ( 75 mhz , cdcl 3 ) ฮด ( ppm ): 14 . 08 , 22 . 63 , 27 . 99 , 28 . 79 , 29 . 24 , 29 . 46 , 31 . 79 , 117 . 49 , 121 . 66 , 125 . 28 , 126 . 37 , 127 . 54 , 130 . 56 , 133 . 27 , 133 . 67 , 134 . 06 , 134 . 31 , 137 . 37 , 149 . 40 , 158 . 89 , 182 . 69 ( c o ), 185 . 25 ( c o ). all steps for manufacturing the brown compound no . 10 are identical with the steps of embodiment 3 , except that propionaldehyde is substituted by trans - 2 - pentenal ( 0 . 46 g , 5 mmol ). the compound no . 10 has the following characterstics : mw 302 . 1055 ( c 19 h 15 n 2 o 2 ); r f : 0 . 57 ( ethyl acetate : dichloromethane = 1 : 4 ); ir ( kbr ) cm โ 1 : 1664 ( co ); ei - ms m / z : 302 ( m + , 100 %); 1 h - nmr ( 300 mhz , cdcl 3 ) ฮด ( ppm ): ฮด0 . 98 ( 3h , t , j = 6 . 9 hz , โ ch 3 ), ฮด1 . 94 - 1 . 98 ( 2h , m ฮด6 . 16 - 6 . 29 ( 1h , m , โ ch โ), ฮด6 . 51 ( 1h , d , j = 18 hz , โ ch โ), ฮด7 . 68 ( 1h , d , j = 8 . 4 hz , ar โ h 5 ), ฮด7 . 82 - 7 . 89 ( 2h , m , ar โ h 7 , 10 ), ฮด8 . 14 ( 1h , d , j = 8 . 1 hz , ar โ h 4 ), ฮด8 . 27 - 8 . 35 ( 2h , m , ar โ h 8 , 9 ), ฮด10 . 74 ( 1h , s , โ nh ); and 13 c - nmr ( 75 mhz , cdcl 3 ) ฮด ( ppm ): 14 . 39 , 27 . 40 , 117 . 37 , 120 . 03 , 121 . 07 , 124 . 75 , 125 . 95 , 127 . 09 , 127 . 84 , 131 . 92 , 132 . 83 , 133 . 22 , 133 . 59 , 133 . 87 , 134 . 90 , 135 . 37 , 149 . 06 , 182 . 73 ( c o ), 185 . 18 ( c o ). 1 , 2 - diaminoanthraquinone ( 1 . 19 g , 5 mmol ) is dissolved in n , n - dimethylformamide ( 30 ml ), and triethylamine ( 3 ml ) is further added thereinto after carbon disulfide ( 0 . 4 g , 5 mmol ) is added thereinto . after mixing in room temperature and performing reverse flow for ten hours , the reacted mixture is transferred into 200 ml of icy water . after filtering , the precipitate is collected and washed by hot alcohol , so as to obtain reddle compound no . 23 with melting point of 407 - 409 ยฐ c ., and the production rate is 80 %. the compound no . 23 has the following characterstics : mw 280 . 0306 ( c 15 h 8 n 2 o 2 s ); r f : 0 . 80 ( ethyl acetate : dichloromethane = 1 : 4 ); ir ( kbr ) 3221 ( nh ), 3192 ( nh ), 1665 ( co ); hrms ( esi - tof ) m / z : calcd for c 15 h 9 n 2 o 2 s + [ m + h ] + : 281 . 0379 . found : 281 . 0389 ; 1 h - nmr ( 300 mhz , dmso - d 6 ) ฮด ( ppm ): ฮด7 . 54 ( 1h , d , j = 8 . 1 hz , ar โ h 5 ), ฮด8 . 02 ( 1h , d , j = 8 . 1 hz , ar โ h 4 ), ฮด7 . 91 - 7 . 94 ( 2h , m , ar โ h 7 , 10 ), ฮด8 . 18 - 8 . 22 ( 2h , m , ar โ h 8 , 9 ), ฮด12 . 73 ( 1h , s , โ nh ), ฮด13 . 29 ( 1h , s , โ nh ); and 13 c - nmr ( 75 mhz , dmso - d 6 ) ฮด ( ppm ): 113 . 89 , 115 . 27 , 122 . 41 , 126 . 26 , 126 . 76 , 126 . 88 , 130 . 95 , 132 . 89 , 133 . 06 , 134 . 25 , 134 . 47 , 138 . 19 , 172 . 89 , 181 . 79 ( c o ), 182 . 46 ( c o ). 1 , 2 - diaminoanthraquinone ( 1 . 19 g , 5 mmol ) is dissolved in dimethylformamide ( 30 ml ), and concentrated sulfuric acid ( 0 . 1 ml ) is further added thereinto for catalyzation after benzaldehyde ( 0 . 6 ml , 5 mmol ) is added thereinto . after mixing and reacting in room temperature for one hour , the reacted mixture is transferred into 200 ml of icy water . after filtering , the precipitate is collected and washed by hot alcohol , so as to obtain yellowish brown compound no . 11 . the compound no . 11 has the following characterstics : mw 324 . 0899 ( c 21 h 12 n 2 o 2 ); r f : 0 . 55 ( ethyl acetate : dichloromethane = 1 : 4 ); ir ( kbr ) cm โ 1 : 3296 ( nh ), 1660 ( co ); ei - ms m / z : 324 ( m + , 100 . 00 %), 325 ( 19 %); hrms ( esi - tof ) m / z : calcd for c 21 h 13 n 2 o 2 + [ m + h ] + : 325 . 0971 . found : 325 . 0973 ; 1 h - nmr ( 300 mhz , dmso - d 6 ) ฮด ( ppm ): ฮด 7 . 57 ( 3h , t , j = 3 hz , ar โฒโ h 3 , 4 , 5 ), ฮด7 . 89 ( 2h , m , ar โ h 7 , 10 ), ฮด8 . 03 ( 1h , d , j = 8 . 4 hz , ar โ h 5 ), ฮด8 . 08 ( 1h , d , j = 8 . 4 hz , ar โ h 4 ), ฮด8 . 16 ( 2h , m , ar โ h 8 , 9 ), ฮด8 . 40 ( 2h , dd , j = 6 . 3 hz , ar โฒโ h 2 , 6 ); and 13 c - nmr ( 75 mhz , dmso - d 6 ) ฮด ( ppm ): 119 . 62 , 121 . 72 , 125 . 06 , 126 . 85 , 127 . 42 , 128 . 79 , 128 . 86 , 129 . 41 , 129 . 50 , 131 . 72 , 133 . 72 , 133 . 77 , 134 . 92 , 135 . 07 , 149 . 26 , 158 . 25 , 183 . 06 ( c o ), 183 . 79 ( c o ). all steps for manufacturing the deep brown compound no . 12 are identical with the steps of embodiment 11 , except that benzaldehyde is substituted by 4 - dimethylaminobenzaldehyde ( 0 . 77 g , 5 mmol ). the compound no . 12 has the following characterstics : mw 367 . 1321 ( c 23 h 17 n 3 o 2 ); r f : 0 . 6 ( ethyl acetate : dichloromethane = 1 : 4 ); ir ( kbr ) cm โ 1 : 3404 ( nh ), 1659 ( co ); ei - ms m / z : 366 ( 27 %), 367 ( m + , 100 . 00 %), 368 ( 20 %); hrms ( esi - tof ) m / z : calcd for c 23 h 18 n 3 o 2 + [ m + h ] + : 368 . 1393 . found : 368 . 1393 ; 1 h - nmr ( 300 mhz , cdcl 3 ) ฮด ( ppm ): ฮด3 . 09 ( 6h , s , โ n ( ch 3 ) 2 ), ฮด6 . 81 ( 2h , d , ar โ h ), ฮด7 . 79 - 7 . 82 ( 3h , m , ar โ h ), ฮด8 . 03 - 8 . 22 ( 3h , m , ar โ h ), ฮด8 . 27 - 8 . 36 ( 2h , m , ar โ h ), ฮด11 . 10 ( 1h , br , โ nh ); and 13 c - nmr ( 75 mhz , cdcl 3 ) ฮด ( ppm ): 39 . 95 , 111 . 65 , 115 . 23 , 117 . 13 , 121 . 83 , 124 . 24 , 126 . 33 , 127 . 37 , 127 . 44 , 128 . 27 , 133 . 27 , 133 . 45 , 133 . 54 , 134 . 12 , 150 . 11 , 152 . 10 , 157 . 59 , 182 . 47 ( c o ), 185 . 09 ( c o ). all steps for manufacturing the deep brown compound no . 13 are identical with the steps of embodiment 11 , except that benzaldehyde is substituted by 4 - nitrobenzaldehyde ( 0 . 78 g , 5 mmol ). the compound no . 13 has the following characterstics : mw 369 . 0750 ( c 21 h 11 n 3 o 4 ); r f : 0 . 6 ( ethyl acetate : dichloromethane = 1 : 4 ); ir ( kbr ) 3460 ( nh ), 1657 ( co ), 1517 , 1345 ( no 2 ); ei - ms m / z : 249 ( 100 %), 369 ( m + , 35 %); hrms ( esi - tof ) m / z : calcd for c 21 h 12 n 3 o 4 + [ m + h ] + : 370 . 0822 . found : 370 . 0823 ; 1 h - nmr ( 300 mhz , dmso - d 6 ) ฮด ( ppm ): ฮด7 . 79 - 7 . 82 ( 3h , m , ar โ h 7 , 10 ), ฮด7 . 14 ( 1h , d , j = 8 . 1 hz , ar โ h 4 ), ฮด8 . 23 ( 1h , d , j = 8 . 1 hz , ar โ h 5 ), ฮด8 . 23 - 8 . 32 ( 2h , m , ar โ h 8 , 9 ), ฮด8 . 39 ( 2h , d , j = 8 . 1 hz , ar โฒโ h 2 , 6 ), ฮด8 . 58 ( 2h , d , j = 8 . 1 hz , ar โฒโ h 3 , 5 ), ฮด10 . 15 ( 1h , br , โ nh ); and 13 c - nmr ( 75 mhz , dmso - d 6 ) ฮด ( ppm ): 117 . 81 , 122 . 43 , 123 . 62 , 125 . 24 , 125 . 88 , 126 . 10 , 127 . 92 , 133 . 22 , 133 . 36 , 134 . 53 , 143 . 08 , 146 . 39 , 146 . 77 , 155 . 89 , 172 . 18 , 178 . 35 , 179 . 40 , 183 . 20 ( c o ), 185 . 56 ( c o ). 1 , 2 - diaminoanthraquinone ( 1 . 19 g , 5 mmol ) is dissolved in dimethylformamide ( 30 ml ), and concentrated sulfuric acid ( 0 . 1 ml ) is further added thereinto for catalyzation after vanillin ( 0 . 77 g , 5 mmol ) is added thereinto . after mixing and reacting in room temperature for one hour , the reacted mixture is transferred into 200 ml of icy water . after filtering , the precipitate is collected and washed by hot alcohol , so as to obtain brown compound no . 14 . the compound no . 14 has the following characterstics : mw 370 . 0954 ( c 22 h 14 n 2 o 4 ); r f : 0 . 2 ( ethyl acetate : dichloromethane = 1 : 4 ); ir ( kbr ) 3411 ( oh ), 3411 ( nh ), 1664 ( co ); ei - ms m / z : 369 ( 57 %), 370 ( m + , 100 %) hrms ( esi - tof ) m / z : calcd for c 22 h 15 n 2 o 4 + [ m + h ] + : 370 . 1026 , found : 370 . 1025 ; 1 h - nmr ( 300 mhz , dmso - d 6 ) ฮด ( ppm ): ฮด3 . 91 ( 3h , s , โ och 3 ), ฮด6 . 90 ( 1h , d , j = 8 . 4 hz , ar โฒโ h 5 ), ฮด7 . 81 - 7 . 88 ( 3h , m , ar โ h 7 , 10 , ar โฒโ h 2 ), ฮด7 . 92 - 7 . 96 ( 3h , m , ar โ h 4 , 5 , ar โฒโ h 6 ), ฮด7 . 99 ( 1h , s , โ nh ), ฮด8 . 11 ( 2h , td , j = hz , ar โ h 8 , 9 ), ฮด9 . 78 ( 1h , br , โ oh ); and 13 c - nmr ( 75 mhz , dmso - d 6 ) ฮด ( ppm ): 56 . 57 , 112 . 72 , 116 . 37 , 119 . 21 , 119 . 65 , 122 . 05 , 122 . 95 , 123 . 88 , 126 . 81 , 127 . 41 , 128 . 42 , 133 . 50 , 133 . 64 , 134 . 87 , 135 . 09 , 148 . 48 , 150 . 87 , 158 . 33 , 182 . 85 ( c o ), 183 . 79 ( co ). all steps for manufacturing the twany compound no . 15 are identical with the steps of embodiment 14 , except that vanillin is substituted by p - tolualdehyde ( 0 . 7 ml , 5 mmol ). the compound no . 15 has the following characterstics : mw 338 . 1055 ( c 22 h 14 n 2 o 4 ); r f : 0 . 65 ( ethyl acetate : dichloromethane = 1 : 4 ); ir ( kbr ) cm โ 1 : 3397 ( nh ), 1659 ( co ); ei - ms m / z : 338 ( m + , 100 %), 339 ( 24 %) hrms ( esi - tof ) m / z : calcd for c 22 h 15 n 2 o 4 + [ m + h ] + : 339 . 1128 . found : 339 . 1128 ; 1 h - nmr ( 300 mhz , cdcl 3 ) ฮด ( ppm ): ฮด2 . 46 ( 3h , s , ar โฒโ ch 3 ), ฮด7 . 37 ( 2h , d , j = 8 . 1 hz , ar โฒโ h 3 , 5 ), ฮด7 . 79 ( 2h , t , j = 3 . 6 hz , ar โ h 7 , 10 ), ฮด8 . 03 ( 2h , d , j = 7 . 8 hz , ar โฒโ h 2 , 6 ), ฮด8 . 08 ( 1h , d , j = 8 . 4 hz , ar โ h 5 ), ฮด8 . 21 ( 1h , d , j = 8 . 4 hz , ar โ h 4 ), ฮด8 . 24 - 8 . 34 ( 2h , m , ar โ h 8 , 9 ), ฮด11 . 21 ( 1h , s , โ nh ); and 13 c - nmr ( 75 mhz , cdcl 3 ) ฮด ( ppm ): 21 . 58 , 117 . 89 , 121 . 96 , 125 . 44 , 125 . 75 , 126 . 46 , 127 . 00 , 127 . 58 , 128 . 43 , 130 . 00 , 133 . 20 , 133 . 26 , 133 . 72 , 133 . 99 , 134 . 38 , 142 . 05 , 149 . 50 , 156 . 86 , 182 . 60 ( c o ), 185 . 16 ( c o ). all steps for manufacturing the red brown compound no . 16 are identical with the steps of embodiment 14 , except that vanillin is substituted by 4 - bromobenzaldehyde ( 0 . 93 g , 5 mmol ). the compound no . 16 has the following characterstics : mw 402 . 0004 ( c 21 h 11 n 2 o 2 br ); r f : 0 . 4 ( ethyl acetate : dichloromethane = 1 : 4 ); ir ( kbr ) cm โ 1 : 3391 ( nh ), 1658 ( co ); ei - ms m / z 402 ( m + , 100 %), 404 ( 97 %), hrms ( esi - tof ) m / z : calcd for c 21 h 12 n 2 o 2 br + [ m + h ] + : 403 . 0085 . found : 403 . 0073 calcd for c 21 h 10 n 2 o 2 br โ [ m โ h ] โ : 400 . 9939 . found : 400 . 9923 ; 1 h - nmr ( 300 mhz , cdcl 3 ) ฮด ( ppm ): ฮด7 . 72 ( 2h , d , j = 8 . 7 hz , ar โฒโ h 3 , 5 ), ฮด7 . 80 - 7 . 83 ( 2h , m , ar โ h 7 , 10 ), ฮด8 . 06 ( 2h , d , j = 8 . 7 hz , ar โฒโ h 2 , 6 ), ฮด8 . 13 ( 1h , d , j = 8 . 4 hz , ar โ h 4 ), ฮด8 . 25 ( 1h , d , j = 8 . 4 hz , ar โ h 5 ), ฮด8 . 27 - 8 . 36 ( 2h , m , ฮด11 . 29 ( 1h , s , โ nh ); and 13 c - nmr ( 75 mhz , cdcl 3 ) ฮด ( ppm ): 122 . 18 , 125 . 86 , 126 . 11 , 126 . 57 , 127 . 64 , 127 . 69 , 128 . 50 , 128 . 89 , 132 . 61 , 133 . 20 , 133 . 35 , 133 . 87 , 134 . 01 , 134 . 57 , 149 . 40 , 155 . 62 , 182 . 63 ( c o ), 185 . 25 ( c o ). all steps for manufacturing the yellowish brown compound no . 17 are identical with the steps of embodiment 14 , except that vanillin is substituted by 4 - cyanobenzaldehyde ( 0 . 67 g , 5 mmol ). the compound no . 17 has the following characterstics : mw 349 . 0851 ( c 22 h 11 n 3 o 2 ); r f : 0 . 65 ( ethyl acetate : dichloromethane = 1 : 4 ); ir ( kbr ) cm โ 1 : 3341 ( nh ), 2229 ( cn ), 1667 ( co ); hrms ( esi - tof ) m / z : calcd for c 22 h 12 n 3 o 2 +[ m + h ] + : 350 . 0924 . found : 350 . 0925 ; 1 h - nmr ( 300 mhz , cdcl 3 ) ฮด ( ppm ): ฮด7 . 80 - 7 . 85 ( 2h , m , ar โ h 7 , 10 ), ฮด8 . 06 ( 2h , d , j = 8 . 1 hz , ar โ h 3 โฒ, 5 โฒ ), ฮด8 . 18 ( 1h , d , j = 8 . 4 hz , ar โ h 5 ), ฮด8 . 27 - 8 . 32 ( 4h , m , ar โ h 4 , 8 , 2 โฒ, 6 โฒ ) ฮด8 . 35 - 8 . 38 ( 1h , m , ar โ h 9 ), ฮด11 . 46 ( 1h , s , โ nh ); and 13 c - nmr ( 75 mhz , dmso - d 6 ) ฮด ( ppm ): 114 . 71 , 118 . 04 , 118 . 52 , 122 . 39 , 126 . 39 , 126 . 63 , 127 . 57 , 127 . 75 , 129 . 45 , 132 . 76 , 133 . 04 , 133 . 11 , 133 . 34 , 133 . 93 , 133 . 99 , 134 . 70 , 149 . 17 , 154 . 25 , 182 . 56 ( c o ), 185 . 21 ( c o ). all steps for manufacturing the red brown compound no . 18 are identical with the steps of embodiment 14 , except that vanillin is substituted by 2 , 5 - dimethoxybenzaldehyde ( 0 . 89 g , 5 mmol ). the compound no . 18 has the following characterstics : mw 384 . 1110 ( c 23 h 16 n 2 o 4 ); r f : 0 . 4 ( ethyl acetate : dichloromethane = 1 : 4 ); ir ( kbr ) cm โ 1 : 3417 ( nh ), 1660 ( c โ o ), 1226 ( c โ o ); hrms ( esi - tof ) m / z : calcd for c 23 h 17 n 2 o 4 + [ m + h ] + : 385 . 1183 . found : 385 . 1181 ; 1 h - nmr ( 300 mhz , cdcl 3 ) ฮด ( ppm ): ฮด3 . 93 ( 3h , s , ar 2 โฒ โ och 3 ), ฮด4 . 21 ( h , s , ar 2 โ och 3 ), ฮด7 . 09 ( 2h , d , j = 1 . 2 hz , ar โ h 3 โฒ, 4 โฒ ), ฮด7 . 79 - 7 . 82 ( 2h , m , ar 7 , 10 ), ฮด8 . 13 ( 1h , d , j = 8 . 1 hz , ar โ h 5 ), ฮด8 . 13 ( 1h , s , ar โ h 6 โฒ ), ฮด8 . 25 ( 1h , d , j = 8 . 1 hz , ar โ h 4 ), ฮด8 . 29 - 8 . 36 ( 2h , m , ar โ h 8 , 9 ), ฮด12 . 37 ( 1h , s , โ nh ); and 13 c - nmr ( 75 mhz , cdcl 3 ) ฮด ( ppm ): 56 . 08 , 56 . 69 , 113 . 13 , 113 . 36 , 116 . 86 , 118 . 14 , 119 . 98 , 121 . 92 , 124 . 92 , 126 . 46 , 127 . 54 , 129 . 92 , 132 . 57 , 133 . 43 , 133 . 70 , 134 . 06 , 134 . 24 , 135 . 39 , 152 . 20 , 154 . 23 , 155 . 18 , 182 . 82 ( c o ), 184 . 88 ( c o ). all steps for manufacturing the red brown compound no . 19 are identical with the steps of embodiment 14 , except that vanillin is substituted by piperonal ( 0 . 77 g , 5 mmol ). the compound no . 19 has the following characterstics : mw 368 . 0797 ( c 22 h 12 n 2 o 4 ); r f : 0 . 45 ( ethyl acetate : dichloromethane = 1 : 4 ); ir ( kbr ) 3444 ( nh ), 1670 ( c โ o ), 1257 ( c โ o ), 1210 ( c โ o ); hrms ( esi - tof ) m / z : calcd for c 22 h 13 n 2 o 4 + [ m + h ] + : 369 . 0867 . found : 369 . 0887 ; 1 h - nmr ( 300 mhz , cdcl 3 ) ฮด ( ppm ) ฮด6 . 11 ( 2h , s , โ och 2 o โ), ฮด7 . 00 ( 1h , d , j = 7 . 8 hz , ar โ h 5 โฒ โ), ฮด7 . 67 ( 1h , s , ar โ h 2 โฒ ), ฮด7 . 79 - 7 . 82 ( 2h , m , ar โ h 7 , 10 ), ฮด8 . 13 ( 1h , d , j = 8 . 1 hz , ar โ h 5 ), ฮด8 . 24 ( 1h , d , j = 7 . 8 hz , ar โ h 6 โฒ ), ฮด8 . 25 ( 1h , d , j = 8 . 1 hz , ar โ h 4 ), ฮด8 . 29 - 8 . 36 ( 2h , m , ar โ h 8 , 9 ), ฮด11 . 18 ( 1h , s , โ nh ); and 13 c - nmr ( 75 mhz , cdcl 3 ) ฮด ( ppm ): 101 . 93 , 107 . 37 , 108 . 96 , 117 . 86 , 121 . 83 , 122 . 05 , 122 . 78 , 125 . 35 , 126 . 52 , 127 . 62 , 128 . 40 , 133 . 27 , 133 . 43 , 133 . 76 , 134 . 08 , 134 . 44 , 148 . 71 , 149 . 62 , 150 . 56 , 156 . 55 , 182 . 66 ( c o ), 185 . 27 ( c o ). 1 , 2 - diaminoanthraquinone ( 1 . 19 g , 5 mmol ) is dissolved in thf ( 30 ml ), and triethylamine ( 3 ml ) is further added thereinto for catalyzation after thionyl chloride ( 0 . 15 g , 20 mmol ) is dripped thereinto . after mixing and reacting in room temperature for one hour , the reacted mixture is transferred into 200 ml of icy water . after filtering , the precipitate is collected and recrystallized by hot alcohol , so as to obtain yellow compound no . 22 with melting point of 227 - 228 ยฐ c ., and the production rate is 74 %. the compound no . 22 has the following characterstics : mw 266 . 0150 ( c 14 h 6 n 2 o 2 s ); r f : 0 . 8 ( ethyl acetate : dichloromethane = 1 : 4 ); ir ( kbr ) 1671 ( co ); ei - ms m / z : 210 ( 57 %), 238 ( 64 %), 266 ( m + , 100 %), hrms ( esi - tof ) m / z : calcd for c 14 h 7 n 2 o 2 s + [ m + h ] + : 267 . 0223 . found : 267 . 0226 ; 1 h - nmr ( 300 mhz , cdcl 3 ) ฮด ( ppm ): ฮด7 . 84 ( 1h , dd , j = 12 . 15 , 6 . 9 hz , ar โ h 7 ), ฮด7 . 85 ( 1h , dd , j = 13 . 2 , 7 . 5 hz , ar โ h 10 ), ฮด8 . 33 ( 1h , dd , j = 22 . 5 , 7 . 2 hz , ar โ h 8 ), ฮด8 . 33 ( 1h , dd , j = 22 . 5 , 7 . 2 hz , ar โ h 9 ), ฮด8 . 41 ( 1h , d , j = 9 . 3 hz , ar โ h 5 ), ฮด8 . 56 ( 1h , d , j = 9 . 3 hz , ar โ h 4 ); and 13 c - nmr ( 75 mhz , cdcl 3 ) ( ppm ): 125 . 07 , 126 . 35 , 126 . 99 , 127 . 34 , 127 . 61 , 132 . 08 , 133 . 47 , 134 . 15 , 134 . 75 , 135 . 16 , 150 . 93 , 157 . 99 , 181 . 97 ( c o ), 183 . 31 ( c o ). 1 , 2 - diaminoanthraquinone ( 1 . 19 g , 5 mmol ) is dissolved in dry acetone ( 100 ml ), and concentrated sulfuric acid ( 0 . 1 ml ) is further added thereinto . after mixing and reacting in room temperature for 48 hours , the reacted mixture is transferred into a potassium carbonate column . the product is collected and recrystallized by methanol , so as to obtain the purple compound 20 , and the production rate is 31 %. in the purification steps of the embodiment 21 , regular extraction method will reduce the production rate , and thus the basic column is used to remove the acid in the rough extract , so as to increase the production rate . the compound no . 20 has the following characterstics : melting point : 235 - 237 โก, mw 278 . 1055 ( c 17 h 14 n 2 o 2 ); r f : 0 . 5 ( ethyl acetate : dichloromethane = 1 : 4 ); ir ( kbr ) cm โ 1 : 3419 ( nh ), 3239 ( nh ), 1639 ( co ); ei - ms m / z : 263 ( 100 %), 278 ( m + , 8 . 6 %), hrms ( esi - tof ) m / z : calcd for c 17 h 15 n 2 o 2 + [ m + h ] + : 279 . 1128 . found : 279 . 1133 ; 1 h - nmr ( 300 mhz , dmso - d 6 ) ฮด ( ppm ): ฮด1 . 48 ( 6h , s , โ ch 3 ), ฮด6 . 26 ( 1h , d , j = 7 . 8 hz , ar โ h 4 ), ฮด7 . 37 ( 1h , d , j = 7 . 8 hz , ar โ h 5 ), ฮด7 . 73 - 7 . 76 ( m , 2h , ar โ h 7 , 10 ), ฮด8 . 05 ( s , 1h , โ nhc โ), ฮด8 . 08 - 8 . 12 ( m , 2h , ar โ h 8 , 9 ), ฮด8 . 79 ( s , 1h , โ cnh โ); and 13 c - nmr ( 75 mhz , dmso - d 6 ) ฮด ( ppm ): 30 . 18 , 81 . 70 , 104 . 02 , 108 . 04 , 120 . 99 , 123 . 54 , 126 . 32 , 127 . 07 , 133 . 41 , 133 . 54 , 134 . 79 , 135 . 46 , 143 . 05 , 148 . 12 , 179 . 89 ( c o ), 182 . 47 ( c o ). 1 , 2 - diaminoanthraquinone ( 1 . 19 g , 5 mmol ) is dissolved in n , n - dimethylformamide ( 30 ml ), and concentrated sulfuric acid ( 0 . 1 ml ) is further added thereinto after acetophenone ( 0 . 5 ml , 6 mmol ) is added thereinto . after mixing and reacting in room temperature for 72 hours , the reacted mixture is transferred into icy water ( 200 ml ) for precipitation . the precipitate is collected and recrystallized by hot alcohol , so as to obtain the black compound 21 , and the production rate is 28 %. the compound no . 21 has the following characterstics : melting point : 368 - 371 โก, mw 340 . 1212 ( c 22 h 16 n 2 o 2 ); r f : 0 . 8 ( ethyl acetate : dichloromethane = 1 : 4 ); ir ( kbr ) 3348 ( nh ), 1671 ( co ); hrms ( esi - tof ) m / z : calcd for c 22 h 17 n 2 o 2 + [ m + h ] + : 341 . 1284 . found : 341 . 1033 ; 1 h - nmr ( 300 mhz , dmso - d 6 ) ฮด ( ppm ): ฮด1 . 22 ( 3h , s , โ ch 3 ), ฮด7 . 56 - 7 . 62 ( 3h , m , ฮด7 . 90 - 7 . 94 ( 2h , m , ar โ h 7 , 10 ), ฮด8 . 08 ( 1h , d , j = 8 . 1 hz , ar โ h 5 ), ฮด8 . 22 ( 1h , d , j = 8 . 1 hz , ar โ h 4 ), ฮด8 . 18 - 8 . 22 ( 2h , m , ar โฒโ h 3 , 5 ), ฮด8 . 40 - 8 . 42 ( 2h , m , ar โ h 8 , 9 ); and 13 c - nmr ( 75 mhz , dmso ) ฮด ( ppm ): 28 . 79 , 83 . 56 , 103 . 62 , 109 . 74 , 119 . 13 , 121 . 35 , 124 . 03 , 126 . 20 , 1267 . 76 , 128 . 32 , 128 . 77 , 131 . 31 , 132 . 99 , 134 . 30 , 134 . 45 , 143 . 05 , 157 . 25 , 182 . 60 ( c o ), 182 . 89 ( c o ). 1 , 2 - diaminoanthraquinone ( 1 . 19 g , 5 mmol ) is dissolved in n , n - dimethylformamide ( 30 ml ), and concentrated sulfuric acid ( 0 . 1 ml ) is further added thereinto after methyl vinyl ketone ( 0 . 36 g , 5 mmol ) is added thereinto . after mixing and reacting in room temperature for 72 hours , the reacted mixture is transferred into icy water ( 200 ml ) for precipitation . the precipitate is collected and recrystallized by hot alcohol , so as to obtain the black compound 24 , and the production rate is 25 %. the compound no . 24 has the following characterstics : melting point & gt ; 400 โก, mw 288 . 0899 ( c 18 h 12 n 2 o 2 ); r f : 0 . 6 ( ethyl acetate : dichloromethane = 1 : 4 ); ir ( kbr ) cm โ 1 : 1671 ( co ); hrms ( esi - tof ) m / z : calcd for c 18 h 13 n 2 o 2 + [ m + h ] + : 289 . 0988 . found : 289 . 0970 ; 1 h - nmr ( 300 mhz , dmso - d 6 ) ฮด ( ppm ): ฮด2 . 72 ( 3h , s , โ ch 3 ), ฮด2 . 88 ( 3h , s , โ ch 3 ), ฮด7 . 91 - 7 . 94 ( 2h , m , ar โ h 8 , 11 ), ฮด8 . 07 ( 1h , d , j = 8 . 4 hz , ar โ h 5 ), ฮด8 . 16 ( 1h , d , j = 8 . 4 hz , ar โ h 4 ), ฮด8 . 19 - 8 . 21 ( 2h , m , ar โ h 9 , 10 ); and 13 c - nmr ( 75 mhz , dmso - d 6 ) ฮด ( ppm ): 14 . 91 , 30 . 74 , 120 . 19 , 125 . 46 , 126 . 21 , 126 . 26 , 127 . 16 , 128 . 18 , 128 . 87 , 133 . 01 , 133 . 10 , 134 . 19 , 134 . 27 , 134 . 42 , 158 . 87 , 162 . 28 , 182 . 49 ( c o ), 183 . 37 ( c o ). 1 , 2 - diaminoanthraquinone ( 1 . 19 g , 5 mmol ) is dissolved in n , n - dimethylformamide ( 30 ml ), and 40 % glyoxal ( 0 . 8 g , 5 mml ) in etoh ( 50 ml ) is added thereinto . after reverse flow for 16 hours , the water is evaporated out , and the reacted mixture is transferred into icy water ( 200 ml ) for precipitation . the precipitate is collected and washed by hot alcohol and dichloromethane repeatedly , so as to obtain the black compound 25 , and the production rate is 23 %. the compound no . 25 has the following characterstics : melting point : 270 - 272 โก, mw 260 . 0586 ( c 16 h 8 n 2 o 2 ); r f : 0 . 45 ( ethyl acetate : dichloromethane = 1 : 4 ); ir ( kbr ) 3413 ( nh ), 3365 ( nh ), 1626 ( co ); ei - ms m / z : 150 ( 54 %), 238 ( 73 %), 260 ( m + , 100 %); hrms ( esi - tof ) m / z : calcd for c 16 h 9 n 2 o 2 + [ m + h ] + : 261 . 0659 . found : 261 . 0663 ; 1 h - nmr ( 300 mhz , cdcl 3 ) ฮด ( ppm ): ฮด7 . 82 - 7 . 87 ( 2h , m , ar โ h 8 , 11 ), ฮด8 . 29 - 8 . 36 ( 2h , m , ar โ h 9 , 10 ), ฮด8 . 48 ( 1h , d , j = 8 . 7 hz , ar โ h 5 ), ฮด8 . 72 ( 1h , d , j = 8 . 7 hz , ar โ h 6 ), ฮด8 . 99 ( 1h , d , j = 1 . 5 hz , โ n โ ch โ), ฮด9 . 25 ( 1h , d , j = 1 . 5 hz , โ ch โ n โ); and 13 c - nmr ( 75 mhz , cdcl 3 ) ฮด ( ppm ): 126 . 72 , 127 . 05 , 127 . 46 , 130 . 05 , 131 . 98 , 133 . 77 , 134 . 76 , 135 . 18 , 135 . 88 , 135 . 93 , 136 . 03 , 145 . 42 , 146 . 40 , 147 . 77 , 183 . 21 ( c o ), 183 . 61 ( c o ). 1 , 2 - diaminoanthraquinone ( 1 . 19 g , 5 mmol ) is dissolved in n , n - dimethylformamide ( 30 ml ), and oxalic acid ( 0 . 46 g , 5 mmol ) and concentrated sulfuric acid ( 0 . 1 ml ) is added thereinto . after reverse flow for 16 hours , the reacted mixture is transferred into icy water ( 200 ml ) for precipitation . the precipitate is collected and washed by hot alcohol and , so as to obtain the black compound 26 , and the production rate is 30 %. the compound no . 25 has the following characterstics : melting point : 245 - 246 โก, mw 292 . 0484 ( c 16 h 8 n 2 o 4 ); r f : 0 . 25 ( ethyl acetate : dichloromethane = 1 : 4 ); ir ( kbr ) cm โ 1 : 1710 ( co ), 1671 ( conh ); ei - ms m / z : 248 ( 100 %), 292 ( m + ) hrms ( esi - tof ) m / z : calcd for c 16 h 9 n 2 o 4 + [ m + h ] + : 293 . 0557 . found : 293 . 0568 ; 1 h - nmr ( 300 mhz , dmso - d 6 ) ฮด ( ppm ): ฮด7 . 71 ( 1h , d , j = 8 . 0 hz , ar โ h 5 ), ฮด7 . 93 - 7 . 98 ( 2h , m , ar โ h 8 , 11 ), ฮด8 . 04 ( 1h , d , j = 8 . 0 hz , ar โ h 6 ), ฮด8 . 17 - 8 . 24 ( 2h , m , ar โ h 9 , 10 ), ฮด8 . 99 ( 1h , d , j = 1 . 5 hz , โ nh โ), ฮด9 . 25 ( 1h , d , j = 1 . 5 hz , โ nh โ); and 13 c - nmr ( 75 mhz , dmso - d 6 ) ฮด ( ppm ); 118 . 08 , 120 . 52 , 122 . 87 , 126 . 26 , 126 . 34 , 126 . 78 , 127 . 71 , 128 . 17 , 129 . 58 , 134 . 48 , 134 . 55 , 135 . 07 , 154 . 64 ( nh c o ), 154 . 73 ( nh c o ), 180 . 08 ( c o ), 181 . 07 ( c o ). the chemical formula , production rates and melting points of the above - mentioned heteroannelated anthraquinone derivatives of series a are illustrated in table 1 , and the chemical formula , production rates and melting points of the above - mentioned heteroannelated anthraquinone derivatives of series b , c and d are described in the embodiments , respectively . telomeric repeat amplification protocol ( trap ) is employed to detect the effect of the heteroannelated anthraquinone derivatives synthesized in the present invention for inhibiting the telomerase activity . in the first stage of this method , the telemerase is used to prolong the oligonucleotide with telomere sequence in the conditions of 90 ยฐ c . for 10 minutes , 72 ยฐ c . for 3 minutes , 50 ยฐ c . for 60 seconds and 94 ยฐ c . for 30 seconds ( tsg4 primer : 5 โฒ- ggg att ggg att ggg att ggg tt - 3 โฒ) in the second stage , different compounds are added into the telomerase reacted product to further replicate the telomere product by pcr ( cx primer : 5 โฒ- ccctta ccctta ccctta ccctaa - 3 โฒ). when the compound inhibits the telomerase activity , the replication reaction can not be resumed . the pcr conditions includes 39 cycles of pcr reaction in 50 ยฐ c . for 30 seconds , 72 ยฐ c . for 60 seconds for 39 pcr cycles , followed by one cycle of reaction in 94 ยฐ c . for 30 seconds , 50 ยฐ c . for 30 seconds , 72 ยฐ c . for 30 seconds and 72 ยฐ c . for 1 minute , and the reaction is ended in 4 ยฐ c . the pcr product is analyzed by electrophoresis using 10 % acrylamide gel . in the electrophoresis results , the positive control ( p ) is sterile water ( dddh 2 o ), and the negative control ( n ) is 5 ฮผl 0 . 1 mg / ml rnase a ( clontech ). the positive control ( p ) produces lots of telomere fragment , while the negative control ( n ) does not . the compounds provided by the present invention inhibit the telomerase activity by stabilizing g - quadruplex structures and blocking the interaction between telomerase and telomere , or directly inhibit the telomerase activity , so as to inhibit the prolongation of telomere . it is found in the present experiments that the embodiments a4 and a5 have better inhibition effects . in addition , it is found in the in vitro experiments performed by the development therapeutics program of us cancer research center that the heteroannelated anthraquinone derivatives synthesized in the present invention have various inhibition effects on different cancer cell lines at 1 . 0 ร 10 โ 5 molal concentration ( m ) as shown in table 2 . for example , the embodiment a2 of the present invention inhibits the growth of breast cancer cell hs578t , and the embodiment b1 has overall and the most obvious inhibition on different cancer cells . therefore , the heteroannelated anthraquinone derivatives synthesized in the present invention are potential drugs for inhibiting cancer cells . the detailed in - vitro testing results of dose response of the compound no . 22 obtained from national cancer institute developmental therapeutics program are shown in tables 3 - 1 to 3 - 9 . the detailed in - vitro testing results of dose response of the compound no . 4 obtained from national cancer institute developmental therapeutics program are shown in tables 4 - 1 to 4 - 9 . the detailed in - vitro testing results of dose response of the compound no . 25 obtained from national cancer institute developmental therapeutics program are shown in tables 5 - 1 to 5 - 9 . while the invention has been described in terms of what is presently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiments , it is to be understood that the invention needs not be limited to the disclosed embodiments . on the contrary , it is intended to cover various modifications and similar arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims which are to be accorded with the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and similar structures . 1 . bestilny , l . j . ; brown , c . b . ; miura , y . ; robertson , l . d . ; riabowol , k . t . selective inhibition of telomerase activity during terminal differentiation of immortal cell lines . cancer res . 1996 , 56 , 3796 - 802 . 2 . bodnar , a . g . ; ouellette , m . ; frolkis , m . ; holt , s . e . ; chiu , c . p . ; morin , g . b . ; harley , c . b . ; shay , j . w . ; lichtsteiner , s . ; wright , w . e . extension of life - span by introduction of telomerase into normal human cells . science . 1998 , 279 , 349 - 52 . 3 . urquidi , v . ; tarin , d . ; goodison , s . role of telomerase in cell senescence and oncogenesis . annu . rev . med . 2000 , 51 , 65 - 79 . 4 . smogorzewska , a . ; de lange , t . regulation of telomerase by telomeric proteins . annu . rev . biochem . 2004 , 73 , 177 - 208 . 5 . peng , x . ; wu , y . ; fan , j . ; tian , m . ; han , k . colorimetric and ratiometric fluorescence sensing of fluoride : tuning selectivity in proton transfer . j . org . chem . 2005 , 70 , 10524 - 31 . | 2 |
for the purpose of promoting an understanding of the principles of the invention , reference will now be made to the embodiments illustrated in the drawings and specific language will be used to describe the same . it will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of the invention is thereby intended , such alterations and further modifications in the illustrated device and such further applications of the principles of the invention as illustrated therein being contemplated as would normally occur to one skilled in the art to which the invention relates . one embodiment of the present invention comprises a charge amplifier , referred to herein as a โ digital charge amplifier ,โ which removes the problem of drift in the system output more efficiently than an analog charge amplifier . the digital charge amplifier , or dca , is so designated because it converts the charge to an equivalent numerical value . the dca performs integration numerically after digital sampling the short - circuit sensor current or an approximation thereof . more specifically , the dca passively short - circuits the sensor terminals as shown in fig6 . the sensor is not perfectly shorted . rather , the method employs a shunt resistor as illustrated . from equation ( 3 ) it can be seen that the short circuit current is proportional to the time derivative of the applied force . integrating the short circuit current then provides the calculated force as f calc ( t )= k i โซ i piezo ( t ) dt + f i . c . ( 7 ) the constant k i is a gain that is a function of the sensitivity of the piezoelectric sensor , and its value can be found experimentally while calibrating the system . for simplicity here , the continuous time equations are displayed . in actuality , the measured signal is sampled and integrated in discrete time . if a shunt is used , the above equation can be modified to f calc ( t )= k v โซ v i ( t ) dt + f i . c . ( 8 ) here , the constant k v is related to k i by the second term to the right of the equal signs in equation ( 7 ) and equation ( 8 ) represent the initial condition , or a zero point of reference . the dca uses lines of code to reset this value . the software algorithm that removes drift is disclosed herein along with the sensitivity of the system . measurement of the short circuit current can be accomplished readily using a shunt resistor . from ohm &# 39 ; s law the current is calculated to be voltage drop across the resistor divided by the resistance fig6 shows an example of the measurement chain . the unity gain op amp provides impedance buffering . the rc network provides a low pass filter to prevent aliasing during sampling with the analog to digital converter ( adc ). fig7 represents an approximate equivalent circuit of the measurement chain above including the connecting cable and input impedance of the op amp buffer . the shunt resistor &# 39 ; s value should be as small as possible such that the other insulating resistances are insignificant . it must also be large enough to produce a measurable amount of voltage from the very low amount of current . a shunt resistor may have a value of less than an ohm . however , a value of 100 kฯ proves to be quite satisfactory for the first embodiment disclosed herein . despite the large resistance , the shunt is still several orders of magnitude smaller in resistance than the insulating resistance of the sensor and cable which is usually in the tฯ range . using the shunt resistor designed to be the only significant resistance , the equivalent model becomes that of fig8 . the equivalent capacitance imposes a high frequency roll off with a cut off frequency of f upper = 1 2 โข ฯ โข โข r shunt โข c eq ( 10 ) using a 2 cm square piece of pvdf film with a thickness of 110 ฮผm and a relative permittivity of 12 , the sensor capacitance is around 390 pf . with one half meter of coaxial cable with a rating of 100 pf / m , an additional 50 pf is added . the upper cut off frequency in this situation would be around 3 . 6 khz . other high frequency limits such as the sampling rate will define the overall bandwidth of the system . for frequencies well below this cut off however , the voltage , v i , present across the shunt proportionally represents the short circuit current of the sensor . in order to bring the continuous analog voltage , v i , from fig8 into the discrete digital world , an analog to digital converter , or adc , is employed . fig6 provides a generic example of an adc . it is important to note that the sensor produces positive and negative voltages depending upon the sign of the change in force applied . therefore , the adc in this figure is required to measure bipolar voltages . if the adc measures only positive voltages , additional op amps can be inserted before the adc to apply a dc offset as well as amplify the signal further . any subsequent dc offset can be removed in software . the nyquist rate defines a hard limit on the minimum sampling frequency required to fully reconstruct an original signal . in practice , it is difficult to determine the highest frequency component that the sensor is capable of observing . to restrict a maximum frequency before sampling , an rc filter is inserted prior to the adc as illustrated in fig6 this filter controls the dominant higher frequency limit of the system . if the sampled signal is directly integrated , the system may be subject to drift . the calculated force applied will either tend to drift up or down independent of the actual force . there are several possible sources that lead to drift , including non - zero input voltage bias of op amp , leakage current on the input device , voltage fluctuations in the power supplying the op amps , and dielectric memory effect in capacitors . in general terms , the drift is caused by bias errors in the input . small biases may at first seem insignificant , but any small error that is integrated over a long time accumulates . bias is estimated and eliminated prior to sensor signal integration . estimating the bias error superimposed on the measured short circuit current of a piezoelectric sensor in a dca system can be approached using several different methods . three methods are provided with the goal of eliminating the problem of drift : each of these methods is intended to find v bias in f calc ( t )= k v โซ( v i ( t )โ v bias ( t )) dt + f i . c . ( 11 ) where v i is the voltage measured from fig8 the second term to the right of the equal sign is the initial condition that can be reset in software . if the estimated bias is accurate , then the integral will only operate on the signal that is a function of the applied force . the simplest estimation of the bias is to consider only the low frequency content of the input signal . this is achieved by inputting the sensor signal into a low pass filter ( lpf ) that has a very low cut off frequency . when this bias is subtracted from the original signal , only the higher frequency content remains . in this way , the method functions as a high pass filter in order to remove the bias errors . fig9 shows the bias estimator inserted prior to the integrator . the input , v i , represents the short circuit current of the sensor . the first filter is the sampling filter prior to the adc . the sampled voltage is then scaled by k v according to equation ( 11 ). from this , the estimated bias value is created using the low pass filter with the time constant ฯ b . last of all , the bias value is subtracted away , and this signal is integrated . it is noted that the block diagram is considered with continuous signals rather than discrete signals for simplicity . this is a reasonable approximation if the signal is sampled fast enough . the transfer function of this system is therefore f calc โก ( s ) v i โก ( s ) = k v r f โข c f โข s + 1 โข ( 1 - 1 ฯ b โข s + 1 ) โข 1 s = k v โข ฯ b ( r f โข c f โข s + 1 ) โข ( ฯ b โข s + 1 ) ( 12 ) it is apparent that v i in terms of charge is substituting q ( s ) in place of v i in equation ( 12 ) produces the overall transfer function of this method provides a basis for comparison with the other bias estimation methods described herein . a simulated load force was used to test the performance of the various bias estimation methods . a ramp up to 2 , 000 lbs and then ramp down to zero is depicted in fig1 the force is then held constant at zero for a remaining 40 seconds . the sampling rate is 1 khz . the time derivative of this signal is then shown in fig1 a . a pure integration of the signal in fig1 a would yield the original force from fig1 fig1 b shows the signal corrupted using a gaussian random noise with a standard deviation of 25 lbs / s and a constant increasing slew rate of 2 lbs / s / s . the relatively high slew rate helps to accentuate the performance differences between the bias estimation methods . the low pass filtered signals of the corrupted piezoelectric sensor current are shown in fig1 a . fig1 b shows a zoomed in view with respect to time . three different time constants of ยฝ , 5 and 50 seconds were selected for ฯ b . for the sampling rate of 1 khz , these values correspond to 500 , 5 k and 50 k samples , respectively . with a shorter time constant , the bias estimate more closely follows the actual bias slew , but it is heavily affected by the transient conditions of the actual load force . longer time constants are not as affected by transient applied forces , but poorly track the actual bias . fig1 displays the resulting calculated force using equation ( 11 ). the long time constant provides the best transient response but suffers a significant drift . the short time constant gives the least amount of drift in the output but has a relatively poor transient response . that is , the shorter time constant provides great bias error estimation , but the long time constant is better for calculating transients . thus , it is preferable to use a long constant during transitions and a short one otherwise . for any time constant using the lpf method above , the bias estimate is affected by the transient conditions due to the applied load . however , if the transients can be detected , a different time constant can be switched in place to provide better bias estimation during these transitions . if one lets a transient in the short circuit piezoelectric current be defined as a significantly large amplitude change in the signal compared to the random noise and slew that corrupts it , then detection of a transient involves watching for signals that leave a user defined noise margin . equation ( 15 ) defines the difference to be the absolute value of the measured piezoelectric current minus the present bias estimate . equation ( 16 ) is used to select which time constant should be used for ฯ b . the noise margin is represented as nm . the short time constant , ฯ 2 can be optimized to track the bias and produce an acceptable amount of drift . drift is not completely eliminated using this method , but can be significantly attenuated . the long time constant , ฯ 1 , is set very long , and may be set to infinity . this means the bias value does not change at all during a transition period . fig1 combines the switched lpf bias estimator with the dca . an improved bias estimate is shown in fig1 a . fig1 b is a zoomed in view with respect to time . it can be seen that the bias estimate does a much better job at following the slew rate through the transients than the lpf method did in fig1 even with a time constant of 50 seconds , the normal lpf method had a large overshoot in its bias estimation during the transients . after integration , fig1 shows the calculated force over the whole time period studied while fig1 a and fig1 b show zoomed - in views . two different time constants for ฯ 2 are studied . each one provides significant improvements in calculating the force compared to the regular lpf method shown in fig1 . from fig1 a one can observe that the longer time constant produces a better transient response than the shorter one . it can be seen from fig1 b that the shorter time constant bias estimation jumps up quickly before transferring to ฯ 1 . this produces a larger offset to the integrator which yields a lower calculated peak force shown in fig1 a . fig1 b tells a different story in that the shorter time constant for ฯ 2 performs better . the drift rate is much shallower , but is still prevalent . both values also have a force error starting at 10 seconds before drifting . this can be accounted for by the lack of bias tracking during the force transients . if the slew noise was negative going , then the force offset would be negative when time is at 10 seconds , and then the output would drift negative instead . it can be appreciated from the above that the switched lpf method contributes to a substantial improvement in force calculation over the normal lpf method by introducing two dynamically selectable time constants . with this method , however , the drift is not eliminated when exposed to a constant slew . the state machine bias error estimation method presented here is a modification of the switched lpf method . the switched lpf method compromises between a ฯ 2 time constant that produces good transient responses and one that yields minimal steady state drift qualities . although the drift may be minimized , it is not stopped completely . the state machine method removes the drift problem completely while maintaining an excellent transient response . it does this in three ways . first , it determines in a better way when to transition between ฯ 1 and ฯ 2 . second , it stops all integration while the force is assumed constant . finally , it keeps a record of previous values of the estimated bias . this is beneficial when transitioning back to the idle condition where the force no longer changes . the state machine method , whose block diagram is outlined in fig1 , operates in four different states or modes of operation . a diagram of the states is shown in fig1 with its corresponding next state equations and state functions described in table 1 and table 2 . the two primary states , 1 and 3 , are similar to the two states of the switched lfp bias estimation method . the additional two states , 2 and 4 , deal with transitioning between states 1 and 3 . state 1 is the idle state where force is assumed to be constant . the bias value is estimated to be the low pass filtered value of the input signal using the time constant ฯ 2 . in this state no integration takes place , therefore drift occurs due to phase shifts in the bias estimation or numerical round off . state 3 is the opposite . integration takes place and the time constant of the bias estimator switches to ฯ 1 . as before , ฯ 1 can be chosen to be infinity such that the bias value is no longer updated , but instead is frozen . therefore , integration only takes place when transients occur , and bias estimation only updates when there are no force transients . states 2 and 4 are de - bouncing states that help to thwart false triggering of force transients or idle conditions . if not dealt with , random noise and spikes on the measurement line that exceeds the specified noise margin will be interpreted as a transient and then integrated . over long time periods this may appear as another form of drift . instead , states 2 and 4 have counters that only allow transitions between states 1 and 3 when the required next state conditions are met for a user defined period of time . the timing is handled in software with counters that increment until a trip point is reached . further , the bias estimation happens at the transition from state 2 to 3 . during the transition , the bias estimate is reset to a previous value of the estimate . in one example study , a time constant of ยฝ second was used for ฯ 2 but values of 1 / 10 to 1 second yield similar results to the study shown . again , ฯ 1 is infinity . the noise margin amplitude is 75 lbs / s . the trip value for state 2 counter is 5 ms and that of state 4 is 125 ms . these were chosen based upon experiment . in fig2 the corrupted input used in the previous two studies is again utilized . fig2 a depicts the bias estimate over the whole time period of interest while fig2 b is a zoomed in view in time and magnitude . specifically , b looks at the bias estimate at the time instant around 3 seconds when the first forced transient occurs . the estimate momentarily tracks the force , but then suddenly jumps back down . at this point in time , the state machine has transitioned from state 2 to 3 , and the bias estimate has reverted back to a previous value . thus , the bias estimate is less affected by the force transient with the state machine . additional results are shown in fig2 the calculated force closely matches the force in the transient and is free of drift in the output for the remainder of the study . fig2 provides more zoomed in views of the calculated force to better show the response . in fig2 a , the peak of the force transient is shown with very little error in contrast to the applied force . fig2 b shows the output unchanging after the transient finishes . the drift shown in previous sections has now been removed completely as shown by fig2 b . with the integrator shut off in the idle state , phase shifts and numerical errors do not creep into the output . fig2 shows the state position throughout the study . there are several instances before and after the transients that the position toggles between states 1 and 2 . with state 2 acting to de - bounce a transient triggering event , the specified noise margin can be held fairly tight around the noise carried atop the input signal . in the same manner , the state position doesn &# 39 ; t immediately change from tracking a transient in state 3 to the idle state 1 as soon as the input signal resides inside the boundaries of the noise margin . this is because the potential for lost integrating signal information could cause large steady state errors in the calculated force . the noise should be characterized when calibrating the overall system . if the amplitude of the noise changes depending on its environment , a dynamically updated noise margin may be employed . the digital charge amplifier , with its drift compensation algorithms , imposes certain limitations on the sensitivity of the system . specifically , there is a minimum rate of change in force necessary for the switched and state machine bias estimation algorithms to detect a force transient . in this section the sensitivity is derived for these two bias estimation methods . the plot in fig2 shows a simulated time derivative of the force , f โฒ( t ), compared to the bias estimate using the state machine method . the simulated f โฒ( t ) increases as a quadratic . the point at which the bias estimate stops increasing and the state machine assumes a transient force condition has arrived is depicted at around 5 . 5 seconds . the slope of the quadratic signal at this point is important . it signifies a sensitivity of the algorithm to small changing forces . in order for the algorithm to transition to a tracking state , a certain minimum second derivative of the force , f โณ( t ), is required . if f โณ( t ) is not sufficiently large enough , the bias estimate will assume the signal is noise and thus squelch it . to mathematically determine the minimum slope required for the drift algorithm to switch to a tracking state , an example system is constructed . given a first derivative force input , u ( t ), defined as u ( t )= f โณ min r ( t ) 1 + ( t ) ( 17 ) where f โณ min is the minimum required second derivative of force , r ( t ) is the ramp function and 1 + ( t ) is the unit step function . the laplace transform of this signal is therefore u โก ( s ) = f min โณ s 2 ( 18 ) with the drift algorithm in the idle state , the bias estimate will be the low pass filtered value of this input . the transfer function of the filter is given by equation ( 19 ). h โก ( s ) = 1 ฯ b โข s + 1 ( 19 ) y โก ( s ) = h โก ( s ) โข u โก ( s ) = 1 ฯ b โข s + 1 โข f min โณ s 2 = f min โณ โก ( ฯ 2 ฯ b โข s + 1 - ฯ b s + 1 s 2 ) ( 20 ) the input and output traces of a generic signal are plotted in fig . with a time constant of ฯ = 1 second and f โณ min = 1 lbs / s / s . the output , y ( t ), approaches a constant ramp function . in the steady state , the first term in equation ( 21 ) drops out yielding equation ( 22 ). y s . s . ( t )= f โณ min ( r ( t )โ ฯ b ) ( 22 ) the difference equation defined by equation ( 15 ) in units of lbs / s then becomes diff s . s . โก ( t ) = u โก ( t ) - y s . s . โก ( t ) = f min โณ โข ฯ b ( 23 ) this difference , once greater than the noise margin , causes a transition to a tracking state . therefore , the minimum required second derivative of force is f min โณ = nm ฯ b ( 24 ) referring now to 26 , a schematic of the analog and adc portions of a dca according to the present invention is shown . in order to maintain small amplitudes of voltage across the sensor , the disclosed circuit employs a shunt resistor value of 100 kฯ . to take full advantage of the measuring range of the analog to digital converter ( adc ), an additional op amp scales the signal by a magnitude of 10 . because this specific adc measures a range between 0 - 5 volts , an offset of 2 . 5 volts is added to the measured signal as well . this offset allows bipolar short circuit currents to be measured . r116 and c73 form the required low pass filter before sampling . with these values , the cut off frequency is approximately 33 hz . the adc has a resolution of 16 bits that equates to 76 . 3 ฮผv per unit . the digital signal is then communicated to a microcontroller via a serial peripheral interface ( spi ). a commercial off the shelf load cell was used as a basis of comparison for the piezoelectric sensor . the cell incorporates a wheatstone resistive bridge providing a differential signal . the cell is calibrated from honeywell sensotec with an output of 2 mv / v at a rated force of 10 , 000 lbs . with a given excitation of 5 volts , this produces 10 mv at rated force . fig2 shows the differential instrument op amp configuration which provides a gain of 250 . the signal is then sampled with a 22 bit adc at a slower sampling rate of about 4 hz . the piezoelectric sensor for one example of the dca of fig2 was pvdf with a thickness of 110 ฮผm and electrodes of silver ink . the sensor , shown in fig2 , was cut from a sheet of this flexible material and the piezoelectric material was sandwiched between two blocks of aluminum and in turn sandwiched between blocks of uhmw plastic . the applied force to the sensor is through the vertical axis and is indicated by the arrows in the drawing . data logging with a personal computer is achieved via a serial port connection . the microcontroller used is a microchip dspic30f5016 , from microchip &# 39 ; s line of digital signal controllers that feature a 16 bit architecture that improves computational time of floating point numbers compared to 8 bit micros . a main interrupt loop is cycled at 1 . 131 khz where the short circuit current is sampled and the dca algorithm is updated . an example of source code for the microcontroller is documented in the appendix . several experimental studies were run with the load cell and piezoelectric sensor described above , compressed in a hand - operated press . fig2 through fig3 exhibit responses of the prototype dca to various force profiles . in fig2 a step load of force is applied and held constant . notice that while constant , the dca prevents any drifting to occur over the 150 second study . fig3 shows another step up followed by a step down . fig3 displays several step forces applied in succession , while fig3 shows the response to ramping forces . fig3 and fig3 demonstrate the response of the dca to more dynamic applied loads . in both cases , the final steady state value has some offset that has accumulated over time during the transients . this results from stopping integration within the noise margin . another experiment was conducted to investigate the system response over longer periods of time . a mass that presents a force of 1 , 500 lbs due to gravity was placed on top of the sensor near the beginning of the test . the system was then left alone for about 3 , 000 seconds . as shown in fig3 , the calculated piezoelectric force using the dca remains constant after the mass is applied , and no drift appears . although it has been shown that the steady state drift is eliminated , error still accumulates in the output over time , and so the initial reference point may be reset periodically or in response to certain conditions to improve the dca performance in tracking the actual applied load . for example , if the system were applied to torque measurement of an electric drive , this reference point may be reset momentarily whenever zero torque is commanded to the machine drive with the machine at zero speed . while the invention has been illustrated and described in detail in the drawings and foregoing description , the same is to be considered as illustrative and not restrictive in character , it being understood that only preferred embodiments have been shown and described and that all changes and modifications that come within the spirit of the invention are desired to be protected . | 6 |
referring more specifically to the drawings , for illustrative purposes the present invention is embodied in the apparatus generally shown in fig3 through fig6 . it will be appreciated that the apparatus may vary as to configuration and as to details of the parts , and that the method may vary as to the specific steps and sequence , without departing from the basic concepts as disclosed herein . the new sram cell structure and related sensing scheme are configured for overcoming a number of the problems which arise with conventional sram architectures . one improvement is an architecture in which specific functional blocks can be designed with different threshold voltages to control leakage . for example , the transistors of the read circuit being configured with a lower voltage threshold than the storage transistors . as a second example , the write circuit is configured with a lower voltage threshold than the storage transistors , and the transistors of the read circuit are configured with a lower threshold than the write circuit transistors . it will be appreciated that the inaccuracies in fabrication lead to small differences in threshold voltages between devices , however , these slight random variations are not what is being addressed herein . in the present invention , the differences in threshold voltages are in response to the design of the transistors being fabricated , and the difference in threshold is preferably over about five to ten percent . fig3 illustrates an example embodiment 10 of a new sram cell structure and related sensing scheme according to the present invention . the new cell structure can be utilized within any size of memory block ( i . e . 128wl ร 256bl ). the new structure comprises storage cells 12 ( data latches ), a reference read path 14 and a sense amplifier 16 . unlike the conventional six transistor sram cell structure shown in fig1 , the new sram cell shown in fig3 comprises eight transistors ( mpa , mpb , mna - mnf ). six transistors ( mpa , mpb and mna - mnd ) are used to store the cell data and a write path to change the cell data while two transistors ( mne , mnf ) are used for the cell read operation . the source of the cell read transistors ( mne , mnf ) are connected together with that of adjacent cell read transistors and are linked to a sense amplifier . the source node of all transistors in the entire memory block or part of the entire memory block can be connected together depending on different design targets . in this embodiment the logic threshold voltage levels are shown with storage cell 18 having a normal or high voltage threshold , for the given operating voltage , while the cell read transistor section 20 is configured with a lower voltage threshold . in a precharge state , when wwli ( write word line ) and rwli ( read word line ) are at logic low , mnc , mnd and mne are turned off . when c 1 is at a high level and c 1 b is low , mpb and mna are turned off and mpa and mnb are turned on . thereby , the data c 1 and c 1 b are maintained . since rwli is low , mne is off and there is no current path through mne and mnf from a bit line ( blbi ) even though this bit line is precharged at v dd which is similar to that of fig1 . one of the differences between the embodied cell structure and conventional cell structures is the use of separate paths for read and write operations . in the conventional structure , the cell access transistor and the pull - down transistor need to be large for fast read and write operation . however , in that case the cell leakage current becomes a concern . in the new cell structure of the present invention , since the read ( mne and mnf ) and write paths ( mnc and mnd ) are preferably separate and the storage portion of the circuit ( mpa , mpb , mna and mnb ) are isolated from the read path , a fast read speed is achieved along with a significantly suppressed cell leakage current . in the conventional cell structure , the cell transistors cannot be readily configured to support different threshold voltages due to a trade - off between leakage current and the cell read speed . when the cell transistors have a high threshold voltage to suppress the cell leakage current , the cell read speed is degraded due to the reduced current driving capability of transistors , especially the cell access and pull - down transistors . however , in the new cell structure of the present invention , the threshold voltage of transistors can be controlled more adaptively . for example , the storage block transistors ( mpa , mpb , mna and mnb ) and the cell access transistors ( mnc and mnd ) are preferably configured as high threshold voltage elements to suppress the leakage current since these parts are not related with the cell read operation . instead , the cell read transistors ( mne and mno are configured to have lower threshold voltages to improve cell read speed . in the new cell structure of the present invention , each section of the circuit can be configured with different threshold voltages to meet design requirements . by way of example , the threshold voltages of the storage part ( storage functional block ) and the write path ( write functional block ) can be configured at higher threshold levels than that of the cell read path ( read functional block ). by establishing the different threshold levels the cell leakage current through the turned - off transistors of the storage part and the cell access transistors from the bit lines can be suppressed significantly while the cell read speed can be improved . it should be appreciated that the leakage current of the transistor is reduced exponentially in response to increasing the threshold voltage of the transistor . therefore , the circuit can utilize different threshold voltages , such as for the storage part and the read and write access transistors , to arrive at a range of desired characteristics for the sram device . the sram cell structures depicted in fig3 having three separate functional blocks , storage , write and read paths . due to the design of the present sram each of these functional blocks can be designed with transistors having different threshold voltages depending on the design requirements . another important aspect of the invention is a sensing scheme related with the cell structure explained above . in the inventive cell scheme , the read path is connected to one of the bit lines . for example , in the top cell , the read transistors are connected to the bit line bar ( blbi ) and for the next cell below , the read transistors are connected to the bit line ( bli ). therefore , the sensing scheme to detect the signal difference on the bit line pairs is also important . the bit line sensing scheme can realize two important design requirements , suppressing leakage current through the read transistors and increasing the speed by which signal differences on the bit line are sensed . it should be noted that the common signal bli is preferably placed only in the submemory block or connected to the entire block . sense amplifier 16 may be placed in respect to the bit line or shared with multiple bit lines . a principle objective of the present invention is to suppress leakage current in the storage portion and the write path by using smaller transistors with higher threshold voltages than utilized in conventional sram cell structures . a separate read path is also preferably utilized which has a lower voltage threshold than utilized in the storage cell . there is another current path in the new cell , which is related with the read transistors . when the bit line pairs are precharged to v dd as in the conventional cell structure shown in fig1 , even though one of the read transistors is off since the read word line ( rwli ) is low , there is also leakage current flowing through these transistors . for example , c 1 is set v dd , mnf is turned on but mne is turned off since rwli is low . however , a leakage current through transistor mne flows even though this transistor is turned off . in one embodiment of the present invention , sram cell read speed is aided by increasing the size of the read transistors to about four times the conventional sizing . according to the invention , the read transistors are configured with a lower threshold voltage to improve the read speed , the leakage current flowing through the read path is much larger than that flowing through other parts . therefore , the new sensing scheme related with the new sram cell structure can suppress the leakage current flowing through the read path . one way to further suppress the leakage current is to configure the bit lines as floating in a precharge state , which results in eliminating the power supply source from the bit line . that is , the bit line precharge transistors ( mpp1_i and mpp2_i ) are turned off during the precharge state and then are activated prior to the read operation by setting the bit lines to v dd as in the conventional scheme . although this structure can suppress leakage current , a problem arises with so - called โ bit - line hurting โ to the cell , during the write operation . when there is no power supply , the voltage of bit lines are virtually ground due to junction leakage current . when the write word line ( wwli ) is enabled , transistors mnc and mmd are turned on and node c 1 and cb 1 are connected to bit lines bli and blbi , respectively . since the bit line capacitance is substantially larger than that of cell transistors , around twenty times larger , when the write transistors are switched on , node c 1 and c 1 b are discharged due to a charge sharing effect until node c 1 is restored by transistor mpb . since node c 1 is high and node c 1 b is low , the degree of discharging is different . so , in the ideal case , even though node c 1 and c 1 b is discharged due to charge sharing effect , node c 1 is discharged less and due to signal difference on node c 1 and node c 1 b , the voltage of c 1 and c 1 b can be eventually restored to v dd and v ss . however , in the case of mismatches in transistor size and threshold voltages , a different situation can occur . for example , node c 1 can be discharged more or less , the stored data information can be changed , because the threshold voltage of transistor mpb is lower than that of transistor mpa due to fabrication process variation . that is , data on node c 1 and node c 1 b can be changed from high and low to low and high , respectively . this is a possibility which can occur in the new cell structure of the present invention . there are additional things to consider regarding sensing operations when the bit line is floating . for instance , in order to eliminate a mismatch in the voltage of the bit line pair , it is necessary to perform an extra precharge operation to assure that invalid sensing does not arise . this extra operation represents a speed penalty as it delays the actual sensing process . the new cell structure of the present invention does not require the use of this extra precharge operation . the embodiment shown in the figure ( fig3 ) provides a novel sensing scheme which doesn &# 39 ; t require the precharge operation mentioned above and which can suppress the leakage current flowing through the read transistors . the sense amplifier scheme which eliminates the precharge operation and suppresses leakage current , can be implemented utilizing a new novel circuit incorporating what is referred to herein as a reference read path . the main idea of the reference read path is to provide a current path having current driving capability equal to about half that of the cell read transistors . in fabricating the sram device embodiment shown in fig3 , the width of each cell read transistor is โ w โ as shown by the area of cell read section 20 surrounded by the dotted lines . wherein two transistors having width of w are stacked and the drain of two stacked transistors is connected to a bit line and the source of two stacked transistors is connected to a virtual ground signal which is also connected to the source of two stacked transistors in other sram cells . in the top cell of fig3 , mne and mnf are two stacked transistors having width of โ w โ, wherein one terminal of transistor mne is connected to blbi and one terminal of transistor mnf is connected to a virtual signal v g , shown represented as a dotted line interconnecting the two cell read sections with transistor mse ( a ). the other terminal of the two transistors , mne and mnf , are connected with each other . the virtual signal line is connected to a source transistor , mse , which is turned - on in read operations depending on input condition . in the reference read path two transistors , ( e . g ., msa , msb , msc and msd ) are stacked . one terminal of each pair of transistors is connected to each bit line . for example , the drain of transistor msa is connected to bli , and the source of transistor msb is connected to v g , which is at the drain of source transistor mse . the other two terminals of transistors msa and msb are connected together . the gate of transistor msa is connected to reference read word line ( rrwla ) and the gate of transistor msb is connected to a read signal ( rsi ). transistors msb , msc and msd are shown placed similarly to transistor msa . the drain of transistor msc is connected to bit line blbi and the source of transistor msd is connected to the virtual ground signal v g . the source of transistor msc and the drain of transistor msd are connected together . the gate of transistor msc is connected to another reference read word line signal ( rrwlb ) and the gate of transistor msd is connected to the read signal ( rsi ). rrwla and rrwlb are enabled selectively with address information , or enabled when the read path at the other line is enabled ( i . e . rwli is selected when rrwla is selected ). it should be noted that rrwlb and rrwla are enabled selectively with address information and are enabled when the read path on the other line . is enabled ( i . e . rwli is selected when rrwla is selected ). the source of the source transistor mse is connected to the source of transistors msb and msd , while its gate is connected to the read signal rsi and the drain of source transistor mse is connected to a power source v ss note that the source transistor mse is a pmos transistor in this example , however an nmos transistor may be alternatively utilized . the order of stacked transistors , msa , msb , msc and msd , can be changed according to design implementation without departing from the invention . the width of stacked transistors in the normal cell is โ w โ, but the width of a transistor ( i . e . msa ) is โ w / 2 โ. it means that current driving capability of stacked transistors in the reference read path is half of stacked transistors in the normal cell . actually , the current driving capability of stacked transistors is not exactly half of stacked transistors in the normal cell but it is required to have smaller current driving capability of stacked transistors in the normal cell . the sizing of transistors in the reference read path is determined according to the desired operation ( i . e . half that of read path transistors ). fig4 a through fig4 d illustrate timing aspects of the new sensing scheme . fig4 a - 4b depict sensing timing when rwli is enabled . fig4 a depicts the case when c 1 is high and c 1 b is low , while fig4 b depicts c 1 being low and c 1 b being high . in a precharge cycle , bit line pairs are set to a voltage , typically v dd . when a word line ( i . e . rwli ) is enabled the data of c 1 is high and c 1 b is low ( fig4 a ) wherein transistor mnf is turned on . there is a current path established through transistor mne and mnf from blbi . the stacked transistors connected to bli are selected in the cell that has the read transistors connected to blbi . in other words signal rrwla is enabled to turn on transistor msa . to read the cell data , read signal rsi is enabled . when wwli , rrwla and rsi are enabled , bit lines discharge at different rates seen as the varying slopes of bli and blbi . note that the width of transistor mnf is โ w โ while that of transistor msa is โ w / 2 โ. therefore , the discharging slope of blbi is faster as shown in fig4 a than in fig4 b due to its larger transistor size and larger current driving capability . hence , the signal difference on the bit lines is developed when the cell is selected . when the data of c 1 is low , as a result of transistor mnf being turned off , there is no current path through stacked transistors from the bit line bar . therefore , blbi remains high and only the bit line , bli , is discharged through the reference current path , msa and msb . hence a signal difference on the bit lines is developed . fig4 c - 4d depict sensing timing when rwlj is enabled . fig4 c depicts the case when c 2 is low and c 2 b is high , while fig4 d depicts c 2 being high and c 2 b being low . when the other cell having the cell read transistors connected to the other bit line is enabled , the stacked reference current path is selected to develop a signal difference on the bit lines . for example , when rwlj is enabled and the data of c 2 is low and c 2 b is high , transistor mnf โฒ is turned on and there is a current path through transistors mne โฒ and mnf โฒ. since the cell having stacked transistors is connected to bli , the stacked transistors connected to blbi are selected . that is , when rwlj is enabled , rrlwb is enabled and transistor msc is turned on . when the read signal , rsi , is enabled , a current path through transistors msc and msd from blbi is formed to discharge blbi . as explained earlier , due to smaller current driving capability of stacked transistors in the reference path , the discharging slope of blbi is slower than that of bli and there is a signal difference on bit lines . when the data of c 2 is high and c 2 b is low , mnf โฒ is turned off and there is no current path through mne โฒ and mnf โฒ. only the bit line bar , blbi , is discharged through msc and msd . a signal difference is developed on the bit line pairs . since the virtual ground signal v g is connected to the source transistor , the amount of leakage current of the cell is not the sum of the leakage current flowing through turned off read transistors of each cell but is limited by the leakage current of the source transistor mse . it will be appreciated that the above describes read word lines activating transistors coupled to the bit lines for developing signal differences on the bit lines for detecting memory storage cell state . this sense amplifier scheme can suppress leakage current significantly . in this example , the use of a pmos source transistor mse reduces leakage current by making all transistors in the reference read path reverse - biased . in the active mode , when rsi signal is enabled , the voltage of v g is discharged to v tp , where v tp is the threshold voltage of the source pmos transistor . when rsi goes to low in the standby mode or when the related cell is not selected , such as when rrwla and rrwlb are low and rsi is also low , the gates of msa , msb , msc and msd are low and the gate of the pmos source transistor mse goes to high . since the voltage of v g is v tp , v gs of msb and msd is โ v tp , which means that transistors msb and msd are reverse - biased . since the gate voltage of the pmos source transistor mse is v dd and the source voltage is v tp , v gs of transistor mse is v dd โ v tp , which also means that the source transistor mse is reverse - biased . since the voltage of v g is v tp , the voltage of the source of transistor msa and the drain of transistor msb and the voltage of the source of transistor msc and the drain of transistor msd are also positive voltages . since the gate voltage of transistors msa and msc is low , v gs of transistors msa and msc is a negative voltage , which means that these two transistors are reverse - biased . even when one of the reference word lines , such as rrwla or rrwlb , is high when rsi is low , transistors msb , msd and mse are reverse - biased . therefore , the leakage current flowing through transistors in the reference read path is suppressed significantly . one issue related with the reference read path above is the use of different types of mos transistors . one embodiment can be created with transistors for carrying the reference current being nmos transistors , while the source transistors are pmos transistors . however , creating a pmos transistor requires an nwell structure which results in an area penalty . to solve this problem , the pmos source transistor can be replaced by an nmos transistor . in this case , all transistors in the reference read path have the same type , the area penalty due to the formation of nwell for pmos transistors can be minimized . in case of the nmos source transistor , when the gate voltage is low to turn off the source transistor , since the source of the nmos source transistor is v ss , v gs of the nmos transistor is about zero volts instead of a negative voltage . therefore , the leakage current flowing through the reference read path can be increased somewhat , however , it is still much smaller since the leakage current of the cell block is limited by that of this nmos source transistor . a principal objective of the inventive sensing scheme is to have a reference read path which can be selected alternatively , that is , a current path is formed from a bit line in the normal cell and a reference current path is formed from the other bit line to develop a signal difference by different current driving of each current path . when a signal difference is developed on the bit lines , the sensing enable signal sae is enabled to amplify the signal difference . a reference read path is placed per a pair of bit lines or can be shared by multiple bit line pairs . a sense amplifier is also positioned by a pair of bit lines or can be shared by multiple bit line pairs . it should be appreciated that the novel sram device can be implemented with a number of sense amplifier structures without departing from the teachings of the present invention . fig5 a through fig5 f illustrate by way of example embodiments having different arrangements for the placement of the reference read path and sense amplifiers . in fig5 a the reference read path is shown placed per small memory block ( distributed ) or per a memory block which is controlled by the address decoder ( lumped ). the sense amplifier is also placed per smaller ( sub ) memory block ( distributed ) or per a whole memory block ( lumped ), as shown in fig5 b . the reference read path and the sense amplifiers can be placed in a distributed form as in fig5 c or a lumped form as depicted in fig5 d . the sense amplifier can be shared by multiple reference read paths as shown in fig5 e or the reference read path can be shared by multiple sense amplifiers as depicted in fig5 f . it should be recognized that combinations of the above may be implemented and that variations can be introduced by one of ordinary skill in the art according to the teachings herein without departing from the present invention . another aspect of the invention provides a sensing scheme for the cell structure which has a read path only from one bit line . the inventive sensing scheme contains a reference read path which can provide a reference current to make a signal difference on the bit lines . the reference read path can provide a different current driving capability to eliminate an unnecessary precharge step and to generate a signal difference on the bit lines . the reference read path can be any structure to provide a reference current to develop a signal difference on bit lines . fig6 depicts a dual - port sram variation of the sram previously described . it can be seen from the schematic that the reference line is split and that two separate sense circuits are provided with the dual data outputs generated from comparisons against v ref1 and v ref2 thus providing two separate outputs . it can also be seen in the figure that the functional blocks of the circuit are configured with different voltage thresholds , for example the read sensing blocks are shown incorporating low v t transistors , which have a lower voltage threshold than the transistors of the static memory latch to reduce leakage while increasing speed . it should be appreciated that numerous similar variations of the present invention can be implemented without departing from the teachings herein . the present invention provides new cell structures for sram devices and the like . the structures can incorporate separate functional blocks for write paths , read paths and storage which are preferably designed with different threshold voltages to suppress leakage current in the storage part while improving read speed . the use of separate read and write word lines is also described for reducing power requirements and facilitating low leakage read operations . a form of differential read sensing is also described in which one terminal of stacked transistors is connected to a bit line and another terminal is connected to a virtual source node which is connected to a source transistor to suppress the total leakage current of memory cell block . although the description above contains many details , these should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention but as merely providing illustrations of some of the presently preferred embodiments of this invention . therefore , it will be appreciated that the scope of the present invention fully encompasses other embodiments which may become obvious to those skilled in the art , and that the scope of the present invention is accordingly to be limited by nothing other than the appended claims , in which reference to an element in the singular is not intended to mean โ one and only one โ unless explicitly so stated , but rather โ one or more .โ all structural and functional equivalents to the elements of the above - described preferred embodiment that are known to those of ordinary skill in the art are expressly incorporated herein by reference and are intended to be encompassed by the present claims . moreover , it is not necessary for a device or method to address each and every problem sought to be solved by the present invention , for it to be encompassed by the present claims . furthermore , no element , component , or method step in the present disclosure is intended to be dedicated to the public regardless of whether the element , component , or method step is explicitly recited in the claims . no claim element herein is to be construed under the provisions of 35 u . s . c . 112 , sixth paragraph , unless the element is expressly recited using the phrase โ means for .โ | 6 |
in reference to fig1 the sphere according to the invention has an external envelope 1 , for example metallic , having in general , a somewhat flattened form . the envelope 1 comprises an upper part 11 and a lower part 12 which are separated by an interface region 13 . the lower part 12 has an approximately hemispherical shape , truncated at its base for the attachment of the connection fitting 14 . in the embodiment example illustrated in fig1 the upper part 11 of envelope 1 has a convex form where the curvature is oriented toward the interior of the sphere . the sphere also comprises a deformable flexible membrane 2 which is fixed at the interior of the envelope 1 at the interface region 13 . in the embodiment illustrated in fig1 the membrane 2 is fixed at the interior of the envelope by means of the insert 3 . thus , the rigid annular insert 3 is shaped in such a way to retain the peripheral edge 21 of the membrane 2 against the interior surface of the envelope 1 . it is also used for the purpose of filling the ullage situated particularly above peripheral edge 21 . the membrane 2 thus defines the upper chamber 4 containing for example , a gas , and the lower chamber 5 for receiving , for example , a liquid . when the sphere is intended for being used in hydropneumatic suspension of an automotive vehicle , the upper chamber 4 contains a gas under pressure which is injected through an opening 15 situated at the summit of the envelope 1 . in the example represented in fig1 the membrane 2 is multilayered . it is impermeable , and it is therefore not necessary to re - inject gas , after the manufacture of the sphere . this is the reason the opening 15 is closed by irremovable element 16 which can be welded . the lower chamber 5 of the sphere communicates , by the intermediary of a connection fitting , with the hydraulic circuit of the suspension of the vehicle ( not represented ). the sphere according to the invention also comprises a cap 6 which is placed against the upper part 11 of the envelope 1 , at the level of its summit . this cap 6 is retained in the position illustrated in fig1 by means of the insert 3 . in the example illustrated in fig1 the edge 65 of the cap 6 is fixed to the interior of a recess in the upper edge of the insert 3 . the cap 6 comprises , on its convex surface 60 , a hole 61 and a groove 62 which extends from the summit 63 of the cap facing the opening 15 to the hole 61 . as illustrated more precisely in fig2 the cap 6 preferably includes three holes 61 and three radial grooves 62 , each extending from the summit 63 of cap 6 to one of the holes 61 . these grooves 62 are for the purpose of facilitating the passage of the gas to the interior of the upper chamber 4 , when it is injected through the opening 15 . under the effect of the pressure of the liquid which passes through the connection fitting 14 , the membrane 2 is displaceable toward the interior of the envelope 1 between an extreme low position , represented in the right half - view of fig1 and an extreme high position , represented in fig5 . in extreme low position , the membrane 2 presents a generally hemispherical form . fig1 shows that membrane 2 is thicker in its central region 22 , in which is embedded an attachment pin 23 , tightly with a plate in the form of disk 24 which is attached under this central region 22 . when the membrane is in extreme low position , this plate 24 is in contact with the connection fitting 14 . in the extreme high position illustrated in fig5 it is the upper part of the central region 22 of the membrane 2 which is in contact with the center of the cap 6 . the membrane is not in contact with the orifices 61 in this position . in the left half - view of fig1 the membrane 2 is represented in an intermediate position . in normal conditions of operation , the membrane 2 is therefore displaced between its extreme low position and its extreme high position . the pressure at the interior of the envelope 1 is then between 0 and 250 bar . exceptionally , the pressure of the liquid at the interior of the envelope 1 can increase considerably . in this case , the membrane 2 flattens itself against the cap 6 , and one part of the membrane penetrates to the interior of the holes 61 . under the effect of the pressure which prevails in the lower chamber 5 , the membrane 2 is punctured at the level of the orifices 61 . thus , if the external envelope 1 cracks under the effect of the pressure , the gas escapes from the envelope without the creation of a deterioration , and then the liquid flows from the envelope 1 . the puncturing of membrane 2 , in case of overpressure at the interior of the envelope 1 , permits the progressive liberation of the hydraulic energy by making the pressure in the chamber 5 drop , which eliminates any risk of ejection of pieces of debris and particularly of the plate 24 . another embodiment of the cap of the sphere according to the invention will now be described in reference to fig3 . the cap 7 presents an approximately hemispherical form . it is intended to be placed against the internal wall of the upper chamber 4 of the sphere according to the invention . at its upper part , the cap 7 has elements similar to those of the cap 6 illustrated in fig1 . it thus includes on its convex surface 70 , three radial grooves 72 , each of which extends from the summit 73 of the cap to the hole 71 . the lower part of the cap 7 fulfills the same function as the annular insert 3 provided in the embodiment illustrated in fig1 . thus , the cap 7 retains the peripheral edge 21 of the membrane 2 against the internal surface of the envelope 1 , thanks to its lower edge 74 . additionally , the cap permits the filling of the ullage situated above the peripheral edge of the membrane . in case of overpressure , the sphere according to the invention including the cap 7 behaves as explained for the sphere illustrated in fig1 . fig4 illustrates yet another embodiment of the cap and of the insert of the sphere according to the invention . the cap 8 is intended to be tightly connected with the insert 9 , like the cap 6 illustrated in fig1 which is supported by the insert 3 . in this embodiment example , the cap 8 comprises , projecting on its concave surface , at least one claw 81 or the like . in the example illustrated in fig4 the cap 8 comprises three claws 81 . the cap 8 also comprises , on its convex surface 80 , three grooves 82 , each of which extends from the summit 83 of the cap to a hole 84 . in the example illustrated in fig4 the claws 81 border the holes 84 . the annular insert 9 comprises a flange 91 intended to maintain the peripheral edge of the membrane against the internal surface of the envelope 1 . the insert 9 comprises , on its upper edge 92 , the orifices 93 , engageable by the claws 81 of the cap 3 , which is then tightly connected with the insert 9 by its edge 85 . the assembly formed by the cap 8 and the insert 9 presents then an approximately hemispherical form , like the assembly formed by the cap 6 and the insert 3 illustrated in fig1 . the behavior of the sphere according to the invention , including the cap and with the insert illustrated in fig4 is the following . in normal operation , the deformable membrane 2 can be displaced toward the interior of the envelope 1 between an extreme low position in which it is in contact with the connection fitting 14 and an extreme high position in which the upper part of its central region 22 comes in contact with the center of the cap . nonetheless , in this extreme high position , the membrane 2 never comes in contact with the claws 81 . one is in the situation illustrated in fig5 for the cap 6 represented in fig1 . nonetheless , in case of overpressure in lower chamber 5 , membrane 2 flattens itself against the cap 8 . the membrane is then punctured by the claws 81 . as in the embodiment of the sphere illustrated in fig1 the puncturing of the membrane in case of overpressure at the interior of the sphere avoids the ejection of pieces of debris from the sphere . in the examples illustrated in the figures , the means permitting the puncturing of the membrane in case of overpressure is associated with the envelope . one could also provide other means for puncturing the membrane , associated with the membrane itself . in these examples , the upper part 11 of the envelope 1 presents a convex form , and an insert is provided for filling the ullage situated above the peripheral edge of the membrane . nevertheless , the invention is not limited to this embodiment . one may provide other forms of the envelope , permitting also the reduction of the ullage and therefore the fatigue of the membrane . in particular , the upper part of the envelope can form , in section , an s - shaped line , the peripheral edge of the membrane being then retained by a circular collar fixed at the interface between the upper and lower parts of the envelope . one may especially refer in this regard to the french patent application no . 2 741 913 the contents of which are included in the present application as a title of reference . the invention can also apply to conventional spheres which do not comprise particular arrangements for reducing the fatigue of the membrane . furthermore , the external envelope 1 can be wholly realized from appropriate materials , for example , from steel or steel . the membrane can have multiple layers , for example , with two layers of rubber sandwiching one layer of polyvinyl alcohol . it can also be a single layer of polyurethane or nitrile . finally , one qualified the different parts of the sphere as โ upper โ or โ lower ,โ but the sphere can be disposed in any manner whatever , for example , inclined , horizontal or upside down . although the invention has been described in connection with particular embodiments , it comprises all the technical equivalents of the means described . | 5 |
fig1 illustrates a typical injection molding nozzle 10 which receives molten plastic or &# 34 ; melt &# 34 ; from a melt passage 12 . the nozzle 10 has a generally cylindrical bore 14 extending between an outer end 16 and a nozzle tip 18 of the nozzle 10 . a generally cylindrical valve pin 20 having a pin axis 22 extends axially through the bore 14 . the valve pin 20 has an upper end 24 extending from the outer end 16 of the nozzle 20 and a lower end 26 terminating approximately at the nozzle tip 18 . as illustrated in fig2 the valve pin 20 is movable back and forth along the pin axis 22 in the direction of arrows 28 between an open position and a shut position . in the open position , clearance exists between the lower end 26 of the valve pin 20 and a gate orifice 19 adjacent the nozzle tip 18 to permit melt flow through the gate orifice 18 . in the shut position , the lower end of the valve pin 20 substantially seals the gate orifice 18 to prevent melt flow through the gate orifice 18 . the configuration illustrated in fig1 is typical of a single cavity mold in which the melt passage 12 has an inlet 30 generally co - axial with the pin axis 22 . a valve pin actuator , generally indicated by reference 32 , is provided to move the valve pin 20 between its open and shut positions . the valve pin actuator includes an annular piston 34 mounted in an annular bore 40 in fig2 and 3 ( not shown in fig1 ) and an actuator bar 36 extending generally diametrically across and rigidly secured to the piston 34 . the upper end 24 of the valve pin 20 is secured to the actuator bar 36 to constrain the valve pin 20 to move with the actuator bar 36 . the annular piston 34 is movable in its bore 40 , by pneumatic pressure , in the direction of arrows 38 in a direction generally parallel to the pin axis 22 . back and forth movement of the annular piston 34 in the direction of arrows 38 is therefore transferred by the actuator bar 36 to the valve pin 20 to cause the valve pin 20 to move between its open and shut positions . the annular shape of the piston 34 and its bore 40 and the use of a diametrically extending actuator bar 36 provides ample room to accommodate a melt passage 12 configured to extend between the actuator bar 32 and the piston 34 to fluidly communicate with the bore 14 of the nozzle 10 . this avoids having to locate the valve pin actuator 32 in the path of the melt thereby avoiding exposure of the valve pin actuator 32 to direct heating from the melt . furthermore , the size of the annular piston 34 is generally unaffected by melt flow considerations , thereby enabling the annular piston 34 to be of a size to permit actuation by pneumatic rather than hydraulic means . in fig2 and 3 , the piston 34 is shown mounted in an annular bore 40 . the annular bore 40 may , in a first embodiment , have a broader inner portion 42 distal the actuator bar 36 and a narrower outer portion as shown at reference 44 adjacent the actuator bar 36 . in an alternative embodiment as described in more detail below , the bore 40 may consist simply of a substantially enclosed chamber with cylindrical openings 72 in fig3 enabling the actuator bar 36 to be secured to the piston 34 . in the first embodiment , the piston 34 has a broader portion 48 which slidably engages the broader portion 44 of the bore 40 and a narrower portion 50 which slidably engages the narrower portion 44 of the bore 40 . suitable seals such as &# 34 ; o &# 34 ; ring seals indicated by reference 46 may be used between the piston 34 and the bore 40 to ensure a fluid tight sliding seal therebetween . the actuator bar 36 may be secured to the piston 34 by fasteners such as indicated by reference 52 . the inner portion 42 of the bore 40 has an outer face 56 adjacent the outer portion 44 and an inner face 58 opposite the outer face 56 . a first fluid inlet 54 is shown extending into the bore 40 through the inner face 58 to allow pressurized fluid , such as air , to be introduced into the bore 40 between the inner face 58 and the piston 34 . this will cause the piston 34 to move away from the inner face 58 toward the outer face 56 to move the tie bar 36 to the right as shown in fig2 and 3 . the actuator bar 36 is connected to the upper end 24 of the valve pin 20 by a suitable connector such as a &# 34 ; t &# 34 ; shaped socket 60 which receives the correspondingly shaped upper end 24 . the connector will cause the valve pin 20 to move along with the actuator bar 36 in the direction of arrows 28 . accordingly , when fluid is introduced through the first fluid inlet 54 , the piston 40 and the actuator bar 36 will move the valve pin 20 to the right as illustrated thereby moving the valve pin into its &# 34 ; open &# 34 ; position . a second fluid inlet 62 is shown as extending through the outer face 56 to admit pressurized fluid into the bore 40 between the piston 34 and the outer face 56 . the introduction of pressurized fluid through the second fluid inlet 62 will cause the piston 34 and the actuator bar 36 to move to the left as illustrated thereby moving the valve pin 20 to the left toward its &# 34 ; shut &# 34 ; position . the alternate embodiment is operationally similar to the first embodiment described above differing only in that the narrower outer portion 44 of the bore 40 and the narrower part 50 of the piston 34 are substituted respectively with diametrically opposed pair of cylindrical openings 72 in fig3 referred to as a &# 34 ; connector guide &# 34 ; which slidably engage corresponding cylindrical &# 34 ; connectors &# 34 ; 70 in fig3 extending between the actuator bar 36 and the piston 34 . &# 34 ; o &# 34 ; rings 74 or other suitable sealing members may be used to form a substantially fluid tight slidable seal between the cylindrical connectors 70 and connector guides 72 . fig4 illustrates the use of conventional pin actuators , generally indicated by reference 80 , in a stack mold arrangement . each of the valve pins 20 associated with respective nozzles 10 is actuated by a respective actuator 80 . the height of each actuator 80 requires that the nozzles 10 be staggered one above the other rather than &# 34 ; back - to - back &# 34 ; with the pin axes 22 coaxial . this produces undesirable bending moments in the mold structure as respective parts 84 are correspondingly staggered one above the other and the forces arising from mold filling will not cancel each other because of the staggered arrangement . fig5 illustrates the improved stack mold arrangement possible with valve pin actuators 32 according to the present invention . the relatively low height of the valve pin actuators 32 enables the nozzles 10 to be arranged &# 34 ; back - to - back &# 34 ; with the pin axes 22 coaxial thereby avoiding undesirable bending moments . the above description is intended in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense . variations to the exact arrangements described above may be apparent to those skilled in the relevant art without departing from the spirit and scope of the claims set out below . | 1 |
in the following explanation , n - channel mos transistors are employed as transistors , and a power voltage v cc serves as a high level while ground potential serves as a low level . with reference to fig1 the general structure of a dynamic memory will be briefly explained . the memory is the so - called multi - strobe type in which row address signals and column address signals are incorporated through the same set of address input terminals ta to an in response to a row strobe signal ras and a column strobe signal cas in a time divisional way . a buffer 23 receives ras and generates an internal signal rasa . in response to rasa , a timing signal generator 20 generates timing signals ฯ 1 and ฯ 2 in a predetermined sequence . namely , in response to a high level of rasa , the generator 20 produces the signal ฯ 1 first which controls a reset operation of the address buffer 11 , and then produces the signal ฯ 2 for precharging the decoder 12 which is connected to word lines wl of a memory cell array 13 . the array includes a plurality of memory cells mc at intersections of the word lines wl and digit lines dl in a known manner . a column timing signal generator 21 receives cas and an output signal of the timing signal generator 20 and generates timing signals ฯ 3 and ฯ 4 for controlling reset operations of a column address buffer 16 and a column decoder 15 , respectively , and also generates a signal ฯ c for controlling a read - write control signal generator 22 . the generator 22 controls a switch circuit 17 which selectively connects a data output circuit 18 and a data input circuit 19 to a column selection circuit 14 . in this memory , the signal rasa serves as a basic timing signal to control the whole memory directly and indirectly . the operations based on rasa will be explained hereinbelow . fig2 shows a one bit structure of the buffer 11 . a flip - flop f / f receives the address input ao and generates its true signal ao and complementary signal ao . here , transistors q 1 and q 2 are connected between the outputs ao , ao and a ground potential , respectively . the transistors q 1 and q 2 operatively clamp the outputs ao and ao to the ground potential in response to the timing signal ฯ 1 for resetting . fig3 shows a one bit structure of the decoder 12 . the decoder is basically composed of a nor circuit including transistors q 4 , q 5 , q 6 receiving the outputs from the buffer 11 in a predetermined combination , a precharge transistor q 3 and a word line drive transistor q 7 . here , the time relation between the signal ฯ 1 and the signal ฯ 2 is determined such that the signal ฯ 2 will be at the high potential level after the reset signal ฯ 1 is at the high potential . if the signal ฯ 2 is at the high potential when the reset signal ฯ 1 is at the low potential , at least one of the or transistors q 4 , q 5 , q 6 conducts because one of the outputs a i or a i is necessarily at the high potential . in this circumstance , it sometimes happens that when the signal ฯ 2 is produced , a large quantity of current flows through the address decoder so that a protection circuit of the power source is switched and the operation of the dram is stopped . fig4 is a block diagram of a part of the conventional timing signal generator 20 in the dram . delay circuits 31 and 32 are composed of dynamic logic circuits . the delay circuit 31 generates the signal ฯ 1 with a time lag of t 1 with respect to the input signal rasa , and the delay circuit 32 generates the signal ฯ 2 with a time lag of t 2 with respect to the signal ฯ 1 . transistors q 10 and q 11 are pull - up transistors for initializing the states of ฯ 1 and ฯ 2 . the current capacity of transistors q 8 and q 9 is made about 100 times that of the q 13 . in the quiescent state , signals p 1 and p 2 are complementary to each other so that one of the transistors q 8 and q 9 conducts while the other is cut off . therefore , in the quiescent state the level of the signal ฯ 2 is dependent on the signals p 1 and p 2 , which are , in turn , determined solely by the signal ฯ 1 . at the time of turning on the power voltage , however , the level of the signal rasa is uncertain and may be either high or low level and the levels of the signals p 1 and p 2 are indefinite . therefore , the signals ฯ 1 and ฯ 2 are set comparatively slowly to a high level by the pull - up transistors q 10 and q 13 . since the gates of the pull - up transistors q 10 and q 13 are conncted to the terminals of the power source , the characteristics of the transistors q 10 and q 13 and their loads determine which one of the signals ฯ 1 and ฯ 2 will rise first in potential when the power voltage is switched on . however , to accurately obtain the necessary manufacturing characteristics relative to the pull - up transistors q 10 and q 13 , particularly current capacity , and to conveniently determine the load , are extremely difficult if not impossible . therefore , an abnormality in timing between the signals may occur with the effect that the signal ฯ 2 may become high earlier than the signal ฯ 1 . as described above , this timing abnormality disadvantageously leads to excessive current supply . an embodiment of the invention will now be described with reference to fig5 . according to the invention , the gate of the transistor q 10 &# 39 ; , which is analogous to transistor q 10 of fig4 is connected to receive the signal rasa and the gate of the transistor q 13 &# 39 ; , which is analogous to the transistor q 13 of fig4 is connected to the output ( ฯ 1 ) of the delay circuit 31 . here , rasa is the signal which takes a high level during at least a part of the stand - by period after the power is switched on . therefore , the signal ฯ 1 rises in potential first in response to a high level of rasa applied to the delay circuit 31 and gate of transistor q 10 &# 39 ; . then , in response to the rise of ฯ 1 , the transistor q 13 &# 39 ; becomes conducting to raise ฯ 2 to a high level directly after the power is switched on . in this instance , the states of the delay circuits 31 and 32 are unstable and cannot properly drive their outputs . accordingly , the transistor q 13 , never conducts unless the reset signal ฯ 1 assumes the high level . consequently , when initializing immediately after turning on the power , the order of the generation of signals , in which after the signal ฯ 1 becomes high level , the signal ฯ 2 should become high level , is steadily preserved . with reference to fig6 a detailed example of the timing signal generator of the invention will be explained with a detailed example of the buffer 23 of fig1 . the buffer 23 is composed of three stages of inverters 23 - 1 to 23 - 3 connected in cascade . the inverter stage 23 - 1 generates ras and raso having the opposite phase to ras . the stage 23 - 2 generates pxo of the opposite phase to raso in response to raso and the stage 23 - 3 generates rasa . the delay circuit 31 is made of transistors q 53 through q 60 , q 8 and q 9 in which q 8 and q 9 form a push - pull type output section . the delay circuit 32 has a structure similar to that of the circuit 31 . next , operations of the circuit of fig6 will be explained with reference to fig7 a and 7b for the cases where ras is at a high level and a low level when the power voltage is switched on , respectively . with reference to fig7 a , the operation when ras is at a high level will be explained . the power voltage is switched on at ton . ras and raso generated from the stage 23 - 1 are at a low level because the transistors q 34 and q 36 are conducting , and hence pxo and rasa rise in potential in proportion of the rise of the power voltage v cc through the pull - up transistors q 44 and q 52 . since rasa is high and ras is low , the gas of the transistor q &# 39 ; 8 of the delay circuit 31 becomes low . although rasa is at a high level , a boot capacitor c 1 does not store any charge in this instance , and therefore , the gate potential of q &# 39 ; 8 is at a low level . accordingly , the transistors q &# 39 ; 8 and q &# 39 ; 9 are non - conducting so that the output of the delay circuit 31 is in a floating state unless the transistor q &# 39 ; 11 is present . but , in this instance , the transistor q &# 39 ; 11 is conducting in response to a high level of rasa applied to its gate so that the signal ฯ 1 gradually rises along with rasa . in the delay circuit 32 , the gate potentials of the transistors q 8 and q 9 are at a low level . after ฯ 1 becomes high , ฯ 2 rises gradually through the transistor q 13 &# 39 ; . thus , the order in which ฯ 1 and ฯ 2 rise is established . with reference to fig7 b , the operation when ras is at a low level when the power is switched on will be explained . after the power voltage is switched on at a time point ton , ras and raso rise in proportion to the rise of v cc while pxo and rasa becomes low because the transistors q 40 , q 43 , q 44 , q 49 and q 51 become conducting . here , the drivability of the pull - up transistors q 44 and q 52 are very small as compared to those of q 40 , q 50 and q 51 . in this instance , the transistor q 55 is conducting in response to a high level of ras and the transistors q 60 and q 9 become conducting so that the ฯ 1 is kept at a low level irrespective of q &# 39 ; 11 . also , in the delay circuit 32 , the transistors q 63 , q 68 and q 9 become conducting so that ฯ 2 is set low . as long as ras is at a high level , the memory cannot introduce the access operation . therefore , ras is changed from a low level to a high level at a time point t 2 . then , ras and raso become low while pxo and rasa become high . with rasa high , the transistors q 53 and q 50 conduct so that the gate protentials of q 60 and q &# 39 ; 9 are kept at a low level and also the gate potential of q 58 is kept at a low level . consequently , the transistors q &# 39 ; 8 and q &# 39 ; 9 become non - conducting so that ฯ 1 starts to rise through the transistor q &# 39 ; 11 . while the delay circuit 32 , after ฯ 1 becomes high , the gate potentials of q 66 , q 68 and q 9 are at a low level because the transistor q 64 is conducting . consequently , the transistors q 67 , q 68 , q 8 and q 9 become non - conducting and the delay circuit 32 itself does not drive the signal ฯ 2 . in response to the rise of ฯ 1 , the transistor q &# 39 ; 13 becomes conducting so that ฯ 2 starts to rise in potential . as described above , the timing signal generator of the invention can generate a plurality of timing signal in a desired order when the power voltage is switched on . while the invention has been described in detail and with reference to specific embodiments thereof , it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that various changes and modifications can be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope thereof . | 7 |
fig2 shows the iptv system for delivery of regional television channels in accordance to the present invention . equivalent equipment is found at the headend 200 , middleware equipment 202 and the customer premises end 204 similar to what was previously described with reference to fig1 . the headend equipment 200 and middleware equipment 202 are connected via networks 206 , dslam 208 and pstn connection 210 to the customer premises . as previously indicated customer premises equipment 204 includes equipment such as pc 214 , phone 216 , set top box 218 and television monitor 220 . in addition to the standard equipment of an iptv system , the present invention includes two additional features which are used to adapt multicast 222 transmitting from headend equipment 200 . these two new additional elements are a switch regional channel server ( src server ) 224 which is found in middleware equipment 202 and connects into network 206 ; and a switch regional channel client ( src client ) 226 found in dslam 208 . the function of src server 224 and src client 226 will now be described in greater detail . multicast 222 broadcast from the headend equipment 200 will include a plurality of channels . each channel will generally have a name and a channel slot on which it is broadcast . for example in france the multicast will include a plurality of channels for example tf 1 , tf 2 , tf 3 and many others . tf 3 may have timeslots during which a regional version of tf 3 may be broadcast . there may be a plurality of different regional tf 3 channels for many different areas of france , for example region 1 may relate to nice , region 2 may relate to alsace and region 3 may relate to toulouse . at certain times the broadcaster may decide to switch from the national tf 3 channel to broadcast a regional tf 3 channel . this may be to provide regional advertising or regional programming as the case may be . for example there may be a number of regional football games and each regional area may wish to watch the regional game . also advertisers may wish to target regional customers at specific times of the day , for example a pizza delivery company may wish to target regional customers an hour before lunch or dinner . in accordance with the present invention , multicast 222 broadcast from headend equipment 200 may include not only the national channel of tf 3 , but also all possible regional channels for tf 3 and any other channel where regional television may be anticipated or provided . multicast 222 of multiple channels is broadcast and received at dslam 208 in any appropriate manner . fig3 shows a table 300 having a row showing channel names 302 and a row 304 showing the received channel number or slot on the dslam for the corresponding channel names . at the dslam if a regional channel is required to be broadcast to the end - users , the channel number for the regional channel is converted to replace the national channel number for the period of time over which the regional channel is to be transmitted . the new channel numbers or slots from the transmission end of the dslam are shown in row 306 of table 300 . at a time when a regional broadcast is happening it can be seen that the new channel slot for tf 3 national ( nat ) has become 100 and the new channel slot for tf 3 region 1 ( r 1 ) ( the location of the user in question ) is now channel 3 . the regional channel has thus temporarily taken the slot of the national channel . this provides an advantage for the user that when a regional program is available , the user does not need to search for the right channel to view that regional program , instead the regional program replaces the normal national transmission for that particular channel . in the case of advertising , the user will be unaware of the fact that targeted and specific advertising material in the breaks between television programs is being received . this is because , certain advertising material may be sent at certain times in accordance with advertisers requirements for a particular region . as will be described in greater detail below there is also a record kept of the number of users at any time watching a specific channel to assist with the scheduling of regional advertising or regional television programs to a time when the maximum number of users are watching . as previously mentioned , the manner in which the regional channel and the national channel are exchanged at specific periods of time are dependent upon a new protocol which is called the switch regional channel protocol ( srcp ). fig4 shows in more detail how the srcp operates and makes the changes illustrated above . src server 224 of fig2 is shown at the middleware point in the system , however it could be found at different places , for example at the headend or at the dslam as is appropriate for various circumstances . src server 400 is shown in fig4 and includes an srcp server 402 , an src dslam table 404 and a scheduler 406 . src server 400 sends and receives commands 408 over network 410 . commands 408 in this instance are received by dslam 412 . the dslam supports the src client ( previously identified in fig2 ) 414 . src client 414 includes a channel table 416 and a proxy internet group management protocol ( igmp ) 418 . the srcp allows a central point to request dslam 412 to switch to regional channel ( igmp port ) for a specific period of time for the end - user connected to a given national channel ( for example tf 3 as described above ). as all the regional channels and national channels are multicast at all time on the network to dslam 412 from the headend equipment it is at the dslam that the decision is made to which channel to communicate and onward broadcast to the user . this choice at dslam 412 is controlled by the srcp . srcp server 402 manages the protocol to control and demand when all requests should be sent to dslam 412 . src dslam table 404 includes all the information on how to switch a channel from one slot to another . the scheduler is composed of an agenda to launch the action per hour or day as appropriate . referring now to fig5 , src dslam table 500 is shown in more detail . the table includes a number of columns . these columns include location 502 , dslam identifier ( ip address ) 504 , main channel ( igmp address ) 506 , regional channel ( igmp address ) 508 , start session time and duration of session 510 and on line switch status 512 . table 500 has been completed for two locations , namely nice 514 and strasbourg 516 where the regional channel is tf 3 nice and strasbourg respectively . the broadcaster wishes to transfer to the regional channel in each case at 11h30 for a duration of twenty minutes . in each case the national tf 3 channel is replaced with respective channel tf 3 nice and tf 3 strasbourg . the full details of all ip addresses and igmp addresses are not shown but the nature and format of these will be understood by the persons skilled in the art . the table as previously indicated will be sent in the communication between the src server and src client . the table will be used by the dslam on receipt to transfer channel slot 3 on the dslam output from tf 3 national to tf 3 nice or strasbourg as appropriate at 11h30 for twenty minutes . the on line switch status on / off will be set as appropriate depending on whether the regional channel is off or on . referring now to fig6 , src dslam client table 600 is shown . table 600 includes a main channel ( igmp address ) 602 , a regional channel ( igmp address ) 604 ; a start session time and duration session 606 and again an on line switch status 608 . the content of this table will be made up in accordance with the content of the earlier presented src dslam tables as transmitted from the server . in order for the server and client to communicate effectively , the requests and answers as carried out in accordance with the src protocol are now described with reference to fig7 . the protocol is shown in general as 700 . reference numeral 702 shows an arrow indicating a communication from server to client while the reference 704 shows an arrow indicating the direction of communication from client to server . the server is the src server and the client is the dslam or src client in the dslam . the protocol commences with the server switch request screquest . this request comprises the information related to main channel , second channel , start time and duration . the client answers with an accept screquest switch that indicates the number of users ( nbuser ) or rejects the request ( error code ). if the request is accepted and the number of users is below a certain threshold , the broadcaster may change the switch request to be a stop request which will be described in more detail below . as previously indicated , the number of users is used by the broadcaster to determine whether there are sufficient viewers to justify broadcasting certain information or advertisements or whatever . if the src server wishes to send a stop request , the stop request will be sent in the from of a stopsc request which will include the same details as in the screquest . a client answer will be accept - stop request and again indicates the number of users that apply . as previously described there are possibilities that the user may require a different regional channel than the one usually available based on the user &# 39 ; s region . for example the user in nice may prefer to watch the regional channel of strasbourg . in these instances the protocol uses the third identified description (( 3 ) in fig7 ). here a client request is sent to the server subscribing to or requesting a different regional channel than that to which it would normally receive . this request is in the form of a tableinfoquery . the server will then answer with an accept - tableinfoquery which will include the dslam table extension information . in the alternative , the server may for some reason or another , reject the request and send an error code with the dslam table extension information again . the request from the user which is transmitted to the dslam may be made via any appropriate means for example the ip telephony link between the dslam and the user or any other appropriate means including e - mail , etc . where such has been received at the server , the src server will generate an additional dslam table extension 800 as is shown in fig8 . src dslam table extension 800 and the src dslam table ( shown in fig5 ) are identical with the exception of column 802 . 802 the mobile subscriber isdn number ( msisdn number ) is included . this indicates the number on which the user has called to request a variation in the regional channel which is transmitted to it . this enables the dslam to send over the msisdn channel between the user and the dslam , the requested alternative regional channel in the form of a unicast as opposed to the multicast of all other channels . if a user makes a request for a change to the regional channel or an additional regional channel , the user may be charged for on an independent basis . the result of the above system and method is that the user receives regional television over iptv without the requirement of having separate encoders in regional locations . in addition , since the src dslam tables are generated at the middleware equipment , the local provider can have some knowledge of the user requirement for the regional channel based on the number of users that is sent back from the dslam . this enables the middleware isp service providers to manage and control the advertising and programming provider to the user in order to maximize the number of users to which the relevant material is broadcast . this may be achieved by statistical analysis of the times at which the regional channel is generally watched . in addition , the provision of requests for the user for an alternative and / or additional regional channel means that people who are away from home or living in a new environment may still watch television programs that they enjoyed in the region from which they came . referring now to fig9 , the main steps carried out by the method of the invention are now described . in the first step 900 , a multicast is generated and broadcast from the headend equipment of the broadcaster 900 . thereafter in step 902 the middleware equipment under the control of the isp or other intermediary service provider generates an src server control signal including the elements set out in fig4 . the remote dslam receives both the multicast and the control signal in step 904 . the dslam then uses the control signal to convert channel numbers in accordance with fig2 in step 906 so that the user is broadcast on the regional channel rather than the national channel . at a certain point in time at the end of the duration in the src dslam tables , for example , the regional programming ends at step 908 . the dslam reconverts channel numbers to their original position in step 910 so that the user will now view the national channel rather than the regional channel . the dslam then returns to the position of step 902 where it is a waiting the reception of an src server control signal . the regional programming may end at step 908 due to the transmission of a server sc stop request as previously described . the description has shown transmission of both the multicast and the control signals from the src server to only one dslam . however , it would be appreciated that the same multicast and control signal could be sent to multiple dslam in the same region . in addition , both the middleware and the head end equipment could be located in the same place and be controlled by the same service providers . the service providers providing the services of both multicast and regionalisation could be any relevant body . the customer premise equipment set out in the figures and descriptions are shown only by way of example and may be replaced or augmented with any other equipment . while the invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to a preferred embodiment , it will be understood that various changes inform and detail may be made therein without departing from the spirit , and scope of the invention . | 7 |
the operation of optical systems 10 of the present invention will be described generally with reference to the drawings for the purpose of illustrating present embodiments only and not for purposes of limiting the same . as shown in fig3 the system 10 includes an optical transmitter 12 configured to transmit information , i . e ., data , etc ., via one or more information carrying optical wavelengths ฮป i to an optical receiver 14 through one or more segments of optical fiber 16 j . the system 10 may also include one or more dispersion compensating components 18 and feedback controllers 20 , as well as other optical components such as optical amplifier 22 , add / drop devices 24 , and the like . as shown in fig4 the system 10 can be embodied as a network including a plurality of transmitters 12 and receivers 14 in optical communication through one or more optical switches 26 , combiners 28 , and / or distributors 30 . for example , optical and digital cross connect switches and routers , multiplexers , splitters , and demultiplexers can be employed in the system 10 . the transmitters 12 and receivers 14 can interface directly with electrical transmission systems or via electrical switches or interfaces to other optical systems that operate using the same or different wavelengths . in an embodiment , the transmitter 12 is configured to electrically distort an electrical signal carrying data to compensate for chromatic dispersion that occurs as an optical signal ฮป o carrying the data is transmitted through the optical fiber 16 i . the electronic data signal ฮป e can be in a baseband ฮป b ( i . e ., binary , direct current ), coded ฮป c , or a modulated electrical carrier ฮป e format . in an embodiment of the transmitter 12 shown in fig5 an electronic signal distorter 32 is configured to produce a distorted electrical signal ฮป ed . a distorted optical signal ฮป od is produced using an electrical to optical converter 33 to impart the the electrical signal ฮป ed onto an optical carrier lightwave ฮป o . the electrical to optical conversion can be performed by upconverting the electrical signal ฮป ed onto a subcarrier lightwave of an optical carrier lightwave ฮป o provided by an optical source 34 . alternatively , the conversion of electrical signal ฮป ed can be performed by directly modulating the optical source 34 or externally modulating the optical carrier lightwave ฮป o to produce the optical data signal at the carrier frequency . one or more signal lasers , or other appropriate optical sources as may be known in the art , can be used as the optical source 34 . the distortion of the electronic data signal is generally in the form of an electronically induced time delay that varies as a function of the optical wavelength ฮป i in the optical signal ฮป o . the group delay can be used to provide varying amounts of dispersion compensation for each wavelength and for each bit rate in the system 10 . the time delay characteristics can be controlled to provide linear and nonlinear , as well as positive , negative , and varying delay profiles with respect to the wavelength of the signal . [ 0043 ] fig6 ( a ) shows an example of a typical relative time delay at the receiver versus wavelength plot for an optical signal being transmitted with zero dispersion at a transmission time t t . dispersion of the signal during transmission results in the different wavelengths in the signal reaching the receiver 14 at different time during a reception time interval , ฮดt r . the time delay in signal reception is one source of signal distortion that degrades system performance . in the present invention , distorted optical signals can be produced by introducing distortion as a group delay function of frequency , which results in the signal being transmitted over a transmission time interval ฮดt t . the electronic distortion is offset by dispersion in the transmission path resulting in the different frequencies reaching the receiver 14 at the same reception time t r ( fig6 ( b )), or over a reception time interval of choice ( fig6 ( c )). one skilled in the art will appreciate that in the present invention the distortion profile of the electronic data signal can be varied as desired to control the shape of optical signal at the receiver 14 . for example , given the interrelation of chromatic dispersion and nonlinear interactions , the electrical distortion characteristics can be shaped to minimize the total distortion at the receiver 14 as opposed to minimizing only the chromatic dispersion . in addition , electronic dispersion compensation can be used in conjunction with dispersion compensating elements 18 , such as negative dispersion slope fiber , grating - based elements , etc . as are known in the art . fig7 ( a - c ) show embodiments of signal distorter 32 of the present invention . in fig7 ( a ), the distorter 32 includes one or more serial electrical circulators 36 having an input to an input port 1 that circulates the electrical signal to an equalizer port 2 . a resonator 38 can be connected to port 2 to serve as an all - pass transmission filter that reflects all incident power in a frequency dependent manner back to the port 2 , thereby distorting signal . the distorted electrical signal ฮป ed exits an output port 3 of the circulator 36 from which it can be passed into another distortion element or exit the signal distorter 32 . an example of resonators 38 , which are suitable for use in the present invention are impedence resonators following the general equation : d ( ฯ )=โ d / d ฯ ( arg ( h ( j ฯ ))), where z = impedance c = capacitance d ( ฯ ) = group delay l = inductance f 0 = frequency h ( s ) = equalizer r = resistance q = q factor transfer function one skilled in the art will appreciate that the circulator / resonator embodiments shown in fig7 ( a ) can be cascaded to provide desired group delay characteristics and that other networks may be used in the present invention . for example , in fig7 ( b ), the signal distorter 32 includes one or more electrical loop couplers 35 configured to introduce the desired group delay into the electical carrier signal ฮป e . various configurations of loop couplers suitable to achieve the desired group delay can be used in the distorter 32 . fig7 ( c ) shows an embodiment of the signal distorter 32 for distorting the baseband signal ฮป b . the distorter 32 is used to separate the baseband signal ฮป b into i and q components by configuring the inductors 37 and capacitors 39 to approximate the following general transfer function over the frequency range of interest : | h i ( j ฯ )| 2 +| h q ( j ฯ )| 2 = constant . the amount of dispersion in optical fiber 16 i is generally well documented as a function of fiber length and optical wavelength . for example , transmission fiber can typically be in the range of 15 - 20 ps / nm / km in the 1550 nm wavelength range . thus , the amount of distortion necessary to produce a desired dispersion profile at a point in the optical transmission system can be calculated and adjusted as may be necessary in the system 10 . in addition , the shape of the distortion profile can be tailored to be linear or nonlinear functions of frequency to compensate for the interrelation of chromatic dispersion and nonlinear interactions . [ 0049 ] fig8 shows an embodiment of the transmitter 12 in which an electrical modulator 40 is used to modulate the baseband electric signal ฮป b onto an electrical carrier at a frequency ฮฝ e from an electrical carrier source 42 . the modulator 40 can be a double balanced mixer as is known in the art . the electrical carrier signal ฮฝ e will be of the general form a ( sin ( ฯ + ฯ ) and the baseband signal ฮป e of the form v ( t ) resulting in an output signal of the general form kv ( t ) a ( sin ( ฯ + ฯ + ฯ 1 ). thus , if the mean of the baseband signal is zero , the carrier frequency will be suppressed . likewise , if v ( t ) has essentially two state ยฑ a , the output will be in psk format . the electrical carrier frequency can be any suitable frequency for the data rate being transmitted , for example , rf or microwave carriers . the signal distorter 32 receives the modulated electrical carrier signal ฮป e at frequency ฮฝ e and provides the distorted electrical carrier signal ฮป ed . an upconverter 44 combines the distorted modulated electrical carrier at ฮฝ e with an optical lightwave carrier at a central wavelength ฮป o ( frequency ฮฝ o ) supplied by an optical source 34 . the resulting distorted optical signal ฮป od has a frequency ฮฝ o ยฑ ฮฝ e (โ ฮฝ o ยฑ e โ) and central wavelength at ฮป o ยฑ e , which is equal to c /( ฮฝ o ยฑ ฮฝ e ), where c is the speed of light . in embodiments shown in fig8 ( b ) and 9 , the baseband electrical signal ฮป b is provided to the signal distorter 32 , which is configured to separate the signal ฮป b into in - phase (โ i โ) and quadrature (โ q โ) components and distort the signal . the iq components of the distorted electrical signal ฮป bd are provided to an iq modulator 46 . in the fig8 ( b ) embodiments , the i and q components are modulated onto the electrical carrier ฮฝ e which is upconverted onto the optical carrier ฮฝ o to produce the distorted optical signal ฮป od at the central wavelength at ฮป o ยฑ e . in fig9 embodiments , the i and q components are modulated onto the optical carrier having a central wavelength ฮป o and frequency ฮฝ o to provide the distorted optical signal ฮป od having the same central wavelength at ฮป o . conversely in fig1 , the baseband signal ฮป b is modulated onto a portion of the electrical carrier ฮฝ e , which is passed through the signal distorter 32 to produce the distorted electrical signal ฮป ed . another portion of the electrical carrier ฮฝ e is provided as input along with the distorted electrical signal ฮป ed to an iq demodulator 48 , which separates the distorted electrical signal ฮป ed into its iq components . the iq components of the electronic signal are provided to the iq modulator 46 which modulates the data onto the optical carrier at the central wavelength ฮป o and frequency ฮฝ o provided by the optical source 34 . in the transmitter 12 of fig1 , the electrical baseband signal ฮป b can be encoded along with a clock signal ฮป clk using a data encoder 50 to provide an encoded data signal ฮป c c . the encoded data signal ฮป c may be further passed through a filter 52 , such as a low pass filter , to shape the signal before being passed to the signal distorter 32 . in the transmitter 12 of fig1 , the iq modulator 46 can be used to modulate the distorted electrical signal onto the electrical carrier frequency ฮฝ e . the electrical carrier can be amplified using an electrical amplifier 54 , split through electrical coupler 56 , and upconverted onto the optical carrier to produce the distorted optical signal ฮป od having its center wavelength at ฮป o ยฑ e . one of the controllers 20 in the system 10 can be used to provide feedback control of the upconverter 44 , as well as the other components such as the amplifier 54 . in embodiments of fig1 , the electrical coupler 56 is used to split the signal from each input path between two output paths and impart a phase shift , i . e . 90 ยฐ in a 2 ร 2 3 db coupler , between signals on the respective output paths . the phase shift between the two output paths depends upon which input path the signal was introduced . thus , the frequency of the resulting distorted optical signal ฮป od will be either ฮฝ o + e = ฮฝ o + ฮฝ e or ฮฝ o โ e = ฮฝ o โ ฮฝ e depending upon which input of the coupler 56 the electrical signals are introduced . data encoding techniques , such as duobinary , qpsk , and others , are useful to decrease the bandwidth of the resulting optical signal . these formats can also affect the extent of distortions that arise from signal dispersion and non - linear interaction between the signals . the detection of duobinary and other differential psk - type signals using direct detection can be enhanced using an optical filter 58 before the receiver 14 in the optical system 10 . the optical filter 58 can be matched , i . e ., comparably shaped , to the received optical spectrum of the signal , which can be controlled in the present invention using the electrical filter 52 . the optical filter 58 can be a fabry - perot filter or other appropriate filter as may be known in the art . the electrical filter 52 can be design to account for and match the properties of the optical filter 58 so as to minimize the bandwidth of the optical signal . it will be appreciated that the electrical filter 52 can be positioned at different locations within the transmitter 12 and modified accordingly . in another aspect of the invention shown in fig1 , the transmitter 12 of the present invention can be used to simultaneously upconvert a plurality of electrical signals ฮป en onto one optical carrier . a plurality of baseband electrical signals ฮป b1 - ฮป bn are modulated onto a corresponding plurality on electrical carriers provided by sources 42 1 - 42 n to provide modulated electrical carriers . signal distorters 32 can be provided to distort either the baseband signal or the modulated electrical carrier , if dispersion compensation is desired . the modulated electrical carriers are passed through the electrical coupler 56 , which divides the electrical signals between the two output paths leading to the upconverter 44 . numerous combinations of electrical carriers can be upconverted using the transmitter configuration of fig1 . for example , electrical sources 42 1 through 42 n can provide the same or different electrical carrier frequencies and depending upon how the carriers are coupled into the upconverter 44 . if more than two electrical carriers are to be upconverted using the same upconverter 44 , the additional carriers can be combined , or multiplexed , onto the appropriate coupler input . the resulting optical signal can be produced at longer or shorter wavelengths than the optical carrier wavelength ฮป o as previously discussed . in addition , it may also be possible to use one or more electrical subcarriers to carry additional data along with , or in lieu of , data on the electrical carrier frequency depending upon the electrical subcarrier frequency spacings . the upconverter 44 in embodiments of fig1 and 13 is configured to upconvert the electrical signal onto a single sideband subcarrier frequency , either ฮฝ o + e or ฮฝ o โ e , while suppressing the mirror image sideband subcarrier frequency . the upconverter can be operated without or with carrier wavelength suppression , although carrier suppression eliminates unwanted signals that could produce signal interference . [ 0059 ] fig1 shows an embodiment of the single side band suppressed carrier upconverter 44 suitable for use in the present invention . other suitable single side band embodiments include those described by olshansky in u . s . pat . nos . 5 , 101 , 450 and 5 , 301 , 058 , which are incorporated herein by reference . as shown in fig1 , the optical carrier lightwave at frequency ฮฝ o is split using an optical splitter 60 into two respective optical paths , 62 1 and 62 2 , which are further split into optical paths 62 1 โฒ and 62 1 โณ . the split lightwaves in optical paths 62 1 are passed between first upconverter input electrode 64 1 and a pair of ground electrodes 66 . likewise , the split lightwaves in optical paths 62 2 are passed between second upconverter input electrode 64 2 and a pair of ground electrodes 66 . electrical input signals v 1 and v 2 are provided to the upconverter respective input electrodes 64 1 and 64 2 via first and second inputs , 68 1 and 68 2 , respectively . the input signals v 1 and v 2 are upconverted onto the respective split lightwaves passing between the electrodes and combined in cascaded optical combiners 70 to produce the upconverted optical signal ฮป o . in an embodiment , linbo 3 is used to form the optical paths 62 i โฒ and 62 i โณ , which can be used to produce linearly polarized optical signals . in addition , bias electrodes can be provided in optical paths 62 i โฒ and 62 i โณ and / or 62 i after passing through the input electrodes 64 1 and 64 2 . the bias electrodes can be used to trim the phase difference of the optical signals upconverted onto the subcarrier lightwaves in each path before the signals are combined . the electrical input signals v 1 and v 2 introduced to the upconverter 44 carrying the same electrical data signal , except that the data signals have a relative phase shift between the first and second inputs , 68 1 and 68 2 , according to the relation : v 1 = v 2 ยฑ phase shift . the sign of the phase shift determines whether the electrical data signal will be upconverted onto lightwave subcarriers that are greater or less than the carrier frequency of the lightwave . thus , the upconverter 44 can be configured to receive and simultaneously upconvert electrical signals at the same or different electrical frequencies onto different subcarrier lightwave frequencies of the same lightwave by introducing the appropriate phase shift between the electrical input signals . for example , in embodiments of fig1 and 13 , 3 db electrical couplers 56 provide a ยฑ 90 ยฐ phase shift , which allows electrical signals to be upconverted onto optical frequencies that are greater or less than the carrier frequency . one skilled in the art will appreciate that other techniques for imparting the phase shift are suitable within the scope of the invention . the transmitter 12 shown fig1 provides a configuration that can be used to symmetrically place two different optical signals around the central wavelength ฮป o of the optical carrier . the electrical carrier 42 supplies the electrical carrier ฮฝ e that is split into two paths , each of which is modulated using a corresponding modulator 36 1 or 36 2 with electrical baseband signals ฮป b1 and ฮป b2 , respectively . the two signals are passed through the electrical coupler 56 which splits and couples the signals from each of the two coupler input paths to each of the two output paths . the coupler 56 introduces a 90 ยฐ phase shift into the coupled portion of the signal , shown as ฮป e1 p and ฮป e2 p on fig1 and 13 , to produce upconverter input signals v 1 and v 2 . for example in fig1 , v 1 includes ฮป e1 p and ฮป e2 , whereas v 2 includes ฮป e1 , and ฮป e2 p . the opposite phase shifts of v 1 and v 2 results in one of the two electrical signals being upconverted onto an optical subcarrier frequency ฮฝ o + e and the other electrical signal is upconverted onto the optical subcarrier frequency ฮฝ o โ e , symmetric to the optical carrier frequency ฮฝ o . a skilled artisan will recognize that distorted and undistorted optical signals can be produced using the embodiment of fig1 and similar embodiments . an embodiment of the transmitter 12 , shown in fig1 , can be also used to provide control over proximate optical wavelengths by upconverting one or more electrical frequencies onto a plurality of optical carriers provided by the common optical source 34 . the optical carrier lightwave is split using the optical splitter 60 into split lightwaves carried on a plurality of optical paths 62 1 - 62 n . a corresponding plurality of the upconverters 44 1 - n are disposed along the optical paths . a plurality of electrical baseband signal ฮป b1 - ฮป bn are correspondingly modulated onto electrical carrier ฮฝ e1 - ฮฝ en via modulators 40 1 - n . the electrical carrier signals ฮป e1 - ฮป en are provided to the upconverters 44 1 - n and converted to subcarrier lightwave optical signals ฮป o1 - ฮป on at frequencies ฮฝ oe1 - ฮฝ oen and combined using an optical combiner or multiplexer 68 . when only one electrical signal is upconverted onto a split lightwave optical carrier in a path 62 i , single or double sideband upconverters , with or without carrier suppression , can be used in the invention . optical filters 58 can be employed to remove any undesired remnant carrier wavelengths or mirror image sidebands that are output from the particular modulator used in the transmitter 12 . [ 0064 ] fig1 shows an embodiment of the transmitter 12 that is configured to transmit four optical signals using a single optical source 34 , such as a laser 72 , emitting the optical carrier at a central wavelength ฮป o and frequency ฮฝ o . the baseband electrical signal ฮป b1 - ฮป b4 are provided as input to corresponding data encoders 50 1 - 4 from an electrical transmission path or from the optical receiver 14 in a short or long reach optical system . the encoded electrical signal is passed through the shaping filter 52 1 - 4 to respective electrical modulators 40 . encoded electrical signals ฮป c1 - ฮป c2 and ฮป c3 - ฮป c4 are modulated onto the electrical carrier at frequency ฮฝ e1 and ฮฝ e2 , respectively . the modulated electrical signals ฮป e11 - ฮป e24 are passed through respective signal distorters 32 1 - 4 and electrical amplifiers 54 1 - 4 to provide amplified distorted electrical signals ฮป e11d - ฮป e24d . electrical signals ฮป e11d and ฮป e23d can be routed through electrical coupler 56 1 to upconverter 44 1 . likewise , electrical signals ฮป e12d and ฮป e24d can be routed through electrical coupler 54 2 to upconverter 44 2 . the upconverted optical signals ฮป oe1d - ฮป oe4d are combined in the combiner 62 prior to transmission . the interleaving of the electrical frequencies being upconverted allows for the use of optical filters 58 , with either single or double sideband modulators , to remove any unwanted sidebands or carrier wavelengths from the optical signals ฮป oe1d - ฮป oe4d . transmitters 12 of the present invention can also be used to modulate data onto the lightwave carrier wavelength , in addition to upconverting electrical frequency onto the lightwave . in the present invention , transmitters 12 configured to provide multiple optical signals , can be further configured to impart opposite polarization to pairs of optical signals being generated by upconverting the electrical signals . for example , the optical combiner 62 in embodiments such as those shown in fig1 and 16 can be a polarizing component , such as a polarizing beam splitter / combiner . the orthogonal polarization of adjacent signals will reduce or eliminate nonlinear interaction between the signals , thereby providing for more closely spaced signal wavelengths and high power signals . alternatively , as shown in fig1 , a separate polarizing element 74 can be included in the combiner 62 . an embodiment of the polarizing element 74 can includes two oppositely configured polarizing beam splitters 76 connected in series by two parallel paths 78 that produce a differential travel time between the splitters 76 . the first beam splitter 76 splits the optical signal into two equal amplitude polarization components . the second beam splitter 76 is used to recombine the two polarization components . the time differential introduced by the parallel paths 78 can be established and / or controlled to introduce differences in the polarization of the channels . for example , optical signals having sufficiently narrow bandwidths can be introduced to the first beam splitter 76 at a 45 ยฐ polarization angle to allow optical signal power to propagate equally in both paths 78 . the resulting combined signals emerging from the second splitter 76 would be orthogonal if the time differential were equal to 1 /( 2 * frequency difference between the signals ). similarly , polarization maintaining fiber can be used in lieu of the splitters 76 and parallel path 78 to introduce the time differential between the polarization components of a linearly polarized optical signal . it will be appreciated that the present invention provides for optical systems having increasing the number of channels and the transmission performance of optical systems . those of ordinary skill in the art will further appreciate that numerous modifications and variations that can be made to specific aspects of the present invention without departing from the scope of the present invention . it is intended that the foregoing specification and the following claims cover such modifications and variations . | 7 |
the present invention comprises a system for delivering one or more bioactive agents to the urinary tract and maintaining the bioactive agent at a therapeutic concentration in contact with the tissue to be treated . a bioactive agent is meant to include any compound intended to alter a physiological condition or treat a disease . examples of bioactive agents include diagnostic agents , drugs , prodrugs , proteins , peptides , and genetic material , including plasmids , nucleic acids and nucleic acid derivatives , dna , rna , recombinant dna , recombinant rna , and small interfering rna ( sirna ). the bioactive agent is either dissolved or suspended in an aqueous medium . other substances such as ions , salts , buffering agents , solubilizing agents , suspending agents , solvents , or cosolvents may be added to the aqueous medium to maintain the solubility , stability , and availability of the bioactive agent in the aqueous medium . in one embodiment , the viscosity of the aqueous medium is adjusted by adding at least one biocompatible , water soluble polymer to the aqueous medium . examples of appropriate polymers include , but are not limited to , synthetic polymers such as polyethylene glycol , poloxamer , poloxamine , polyvinyl alcohol , polylactic acid , and naturally occurring polymers such as alginate , chitosan , and collagen . adding these polymers , alone or in combination , to the aqueous medium increases the viscosity of the aqueous medium and , thereby reduces the rate at which the urine in the urinary tract mixes with the aqueous medium and dilutes both the aqueous medium and the bioactive agent contained within the medium . this in turn , extends the length of time that a therapeutic concentration of the bioactive agent is in contact with the tissue to be treated . in some embodiments , polymers or polymer combinations are selected that form thermogelling solutions . the viscosities of such solutions change in a well defined manner as a function of temperature . particularly useful for medical applications , such as drug delivery , are polymer solutions that are flowable liquids at ambient temperatures , ranging from about 10 c to about 30 c , but above a characteristic gelation temperature , the viscosity of the solution increases , so that the solution is no longer able to flow , and becomes a gel . suitable polymers include polyoxyalkylene block copolymers such as poloxamers including poloxamer 407 , poloxamer 338 , poloxamer 288 , poloxamer 238 , or poloxamer 188 , and poloxamines such as poloxamine 1107 and poloxamine 1307 . for example , the viscosity of aqueous solutions of about 12 % to about 25 % ( w / w ) poloxamer 407 are flowable liquids at or below 20 c , but become highly viscous liquids or gels at or above about 30 c . by flowable liquid is meant a fluid substance having the ability to assume the shape of the space containing it . such compositions may be applied to the target site by spraying , injection , or delivery through a catheter . upon delivery , the solution flows over the target site and forms a coating on the target site and surrounding tissues . as the solution is warmed to body temperature , the viscosity of the solution increases , and when the gelation temperature is reached , the solution is no longer able to flow , and becomes a gel mass that adheres to the surface of the target site . because the polymers are water soluble , the gel mass slowly erodes as the polymer molecules on the surface of the mass dissolve into surrounding aqueous bodily fluids , such as blood , peritoneal fluid , extracellular fluid and urine . the rate at which the mass dissolves depends on the thickness and surface area of the gel mass , and the volume of fluid bathing the gel . in one embodiment , the fluid is urine , and the gel mass erodes within one to three hours . in one embodiment , a delivery medium is prepared by dissolving or suspending the bioactive agent in a flowable aqueous solution that is a nonflowable gel at body temperature . as shown in fig3 a , the solution is delivered to the target site within the urinary tract by catheter 302 , a syringe or any other appropriate device . in this example , distal tip 304 of flexible catheter 302 is inserted through urethra 108 , and advanced through bladder 106 and right ureter 104 and into renal pelvis 212 of right kidney 102 . upon delivery , the aqueous solution containing the bioactive agent forms gel mass 306 that coats the target site . in this embodiment , the target site is in the upper urinary tract and includes renal pelvis 212 , calyces 210 and ureter 104 . the bioactive agent contacts the target site for a defined period of time depending on the thickness of the gel coating . finally , gel mass 306 , containing the bioactive agent erodes from the outer surface , the gel dissolves into the urine and is removed from the body via the bladder and urethra by urine outflow . similarly , tccs in urethra 108 may be treated by delivering the bioactive agent in a flowable liquid to the target site within urethra 108 . as described above , the aqueous solution containing the bioactive agent forms a gel mass upon reaching body temperature , and remains where placed . after a defined treatment period , the gel is flushed from the urethra during urination . in another embodiment , a two phase delivery system is used . the bioactive agent is dissolved or suspended in a liquid medium . as shown in fig3 b , using flexible catheter 302 , liquid medium 308 is instilled in the upper urinary tract in contact with the tissue to be treated . next , catheter 302 is partially withdrawn so that distal tip 304 is proximal to the liquid formulation , and a thermogelling composition is placed in the urinary tract , proximal to the liquid medium , where the thermogelling composition forms gel mass 310 . gel mass 310 remains in place for a defined period of time , between about one and about six hours , and prevents liquid medium 308 from being washed from the upper tract during that time . the length of time the gel mass remains in place is determined by the volume of the gel mass . during the drug delivery period , the gel mass is eroded by the urine bathing it , and is finally dissolved into the urine and flushed from the body . when gel mass 310 is no longer blocking ureter 104 , liquid medium 308 is washed down ureter 104 , and into bladder 106 where it is further diluted with urine , and finally is flushed from the body via urethra 108 during urination . fig4 is a flowchart illustrating method 400 for treating tccs in the urinary tract , in accordance with the present invention . the distal portion of delivery catheter 302 is inserted into the urinary tract of a patient and is advanced so that distal tip 304 is adjacent to the target site in the upper urinary tract such as the renal pelvis or the distal ureter . a bioactive agent in a fluid medium is then delivered into the upper urinary tract from distal tip 304 of catheter 302 , as indicated in block 402 . the fluid containing the bioactive agent bathes the target site and provides contact between the bioactive agent and the treatment site ( block 404 ). next , catheter 302 is withdrawn slightly so that distal tip 304 is proximal to the fluid medium containing the bioactive agent . a thermogelling aqueous polymer solution is then delivered into the urinary tract so that the gel fills the orifice of the body cavity proximal to the fluid medium , as indicated in block 406 . this orifice may be the ureter or the junction between the ureter and the kidney . the gel mass blocks the ureter and prevents the bioactive agent from flowing down the ureter , and maintains the bioactive agent in the renal pelvis or distal ureter , as indicated in block 408 . however , urine is constantly forming in the kidney , and bathing the surface of the gel mass . this in turn causes the gel to erode , and after a period of time depending on the size of the gel mass , the ureter is reopened . the bioactive agent is then washed down the ureter , through the bladder and out of the body , ending treatment , as indicated in block 410 . poloxamer 407 was dissolved in water to prepare a 20 % w / w solution . approximately 20 cc of the poloxamer solution was placed in a flexible plastic tube having a diameter similar to an adult human ureter and maintained at 37 c . the poloxamer solution quickly formed a gel mass . normal saline solution was added to the system at a rate of 0 . 5 ml per minute to simulate the formation of urine . the surface of the gel mass was bathed in the increasing volume of saline , and the gel mass slowly eroded . after approximately 1 . 5 to 2 hours , the gel mass was entirely eroded , and the saline solution flowed freely down the tube . poloxamer 407 was dissolved in water to a 20 % w / w ratio and mixed with methylene blue to form a miscible dark blue liquid . this liquid was injected using a 20 ml syringe through a 5 french pollack catheter into a freshly harvested porcine ureter and kidney . the ureter and kidney were distended to fullness with a total volume of 15 ml and this was kept at 37 c in an aqueous medium . the mixture slowly seeped out of the ureteral orifice , during a period of approximately 180 minutes for complete evacuation . if a solution of 37 c normal saline is infused at a rate of 0 . 5 ml per minute via a 22 gauge needle placed into the renal collecting system , the mixture is completely evacuated within about 100 minutes . poloxamer 407 was dissolved in water to a 20 % w / w ratio and mixed with methylene blue to form a miscible dark blue liquid . this liquid was injected using a 20 ml syringe through a 5 french pollack catheter into a freshly harvested porcine ureter and kidney . the ureter and kidney were distended to fullness with a total volume of 15 ml , and maintained at 37 degrees in an aqueous medium . a solution of 37 c normal saline was infused at a rate of 0 . 5 ml per minute via a 22 gauge needle placed into the renal collecting system . the mixture slowly seeped out of the ureteral orifice , requiring at least 180 minutes for complete evacuation . poloxamer 407 was dissolved in water to a 20 % w / w ratio and mixed with methylene blue to form a miscible dark blue liquid . this liquid was injected using a 20 ml syringe through a 5 french pollack catheter into a freshly harvested porcine ureter and kidney . the ureter and kidney were distended to fullness with a total volume of 15 ml and this was kept at 37 degrees in an aqueous medium for five minutes . at this point a 5 french pollack catheter was passed through the gel into the renal pelvis and cold saline was infused via a 20 ml syringe . after three minutes the kidney and ureter were cut open through the long axis from lateral to medial exposing the cortex and renal collecting system . no residual gel was observed . poloxamer 407 was dissolved in water to a 20 % w / w ratio and mixed with methylene blue to form a miscible dark blue liquid . this liquid was injected using a 20 ml syringe through a 5 french pollack catheter into a freshly harvested porcine ureter and kidney . the ureter and kidney were distended to fullness with a total volume of 15 ml and were kept at 37 degrees in an aqueous medium for five minutes . at this point , the kidney and ureter were cut open through the long axis from lateral to medial exposing the cortex and renal collecting system . visual inspection confirmed that the gel was present throughout the entire collecting system . all parts of the urothelium within the kidney and ureter were in contact with the gel . poloxamer 407 was dissolved at 25 % weight / weight formulation and injected into the lower portion of a vertical 6 mm inner diameter clear tube to form a 3 cm clear plug . a solution of 0 . 25 % methylene blue in normal saline was instilled at 37 c into the upper portion of the tube forming a column height of 20 cm , overlaying the gel layer . the plug and solution were kept at 37 c and each remained in place for 135 minutes after which time the plug dissolved into the solution , and the solution flowed out of the tube . poloxamer 407 was dissolved in water at 25 % weight / weight formulation and injected into the lower portion of a 6 mm inner diameter clear tube to form a 3 cm clear plug . a solution of 0 . 25 % methylene blue in normal saline was instilled at 37 c into the upper end of the tube for a column height of 20 cm over laying the plug . the plug and solution were maintained at 37 degrees c ., while normal saline ( 37 c ) was continuously infused at the top of the column at a rate of 0 . 5 ml per minute . the plug and column remained in place for periods of time that varied between 70 minutes and 110 minutes , depending on the rate at which small amounts of fluid flowed over the plug and the rate at which the column height increased . at no point did the plug remain in place if the column height reached 35 cm or greater . while the invention has been described with reference to particular embodiments and examples , it will be understood by one skilled in the art that variations and modifications may be made in form and detail without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention . | 0 |
referring to fig1 a conveyor for a combine harvester 8 is generally indicated by a reference numeral 10 . the forward end 11 is positioned in a harvester such as a combine 8 toward the crop gathering forward end of the combine . an auger 9 may feed the conveyor . the rearward end 12 discharges the crop into an additional processing step in the combine such as a cylinder 7 , straw walker , or separation and sieve mechanisms . the harvester conveyor 11 includes a shroud 13 which completely encloses the conveyor during operation . the shroud 13 includes an inclined conveyor bottom surface 14 . the conveyor shown in fig1 and fig2 includes two or more juxtaposed , adjacent belts 15 and 15 &# 39 ; which are rotatably mounted on drive and idler means which are shown in fig1 as a pair of toothed pulleys 25 and 25 &# 39 ; and an idler drum 5 . positioned transversely between the belts 15 and 15 &# 39 ; are connecting links 16 . the belts 15 and 15 &# 39 ; and connecting links 16 are shown in isolation in fig2 . the belts 15 and 15 &# 39 ; are identical in construction . referring now to fig4 the belt 15 is composed of an elastomeric body 20 made from an elastomeric and resilient material suitable for the working environment . the elastomeric body 20 may be a unitary structure or may include a first layer 21 and a second layer 22 which are substantially parallel and composed of the same or different elastomeric and resilient materials . representative of examples , elastomeric materials which may be used include thermosetting natural or synthetic rubbers , thermoplastic elastomers and urethanes . the first layer 21 includes integrally molded elastomeric cleats 23 to form the top surface 41 . the cleats 23 are spaced regularly around the full longitudinal or circumferential length of the belt 15 . the second layer 22 forms a positive driving portion of the belt 15 and includes a plurality of longitudinally spaced lugs 24 , integrally molded to the second layer to form the bottom surface 42 . the lugs may have any desired spacing for meshing with a tooth pulley or sprocket . a single row of lugs may be utilized , however , it is preferable that there be two rows of lugs on the second layer spaced transversely apart . the lugs of each longitudinal row should be preferably aligned transversely with lugs of the adjacent lug row . the sprockets 25 , 25 &# 39 ; utilized in the crop conveying assembly of fig2 contain lug engaging teeth 26 . while fig2 shows two rows of lugs 24 on each belt , it may be desirable to have three or more such rows or a single row of lugs recognizing that the sprocket utilized would be complementary to the lug configuration . special tough , abrasion resistant elastomers may be utilized for the first layer 21 and / or the second layer 22 to provide extra shear force resistance to the lugs 24 and cleats 23 . oriented fiber reinforced rubber compounds are particularly adapted for meeting these requirements . imbedded within the polymeric body 20 or alternatively positioned between the first layer 21 and second layer 22 is a longitudinal load bearing tensile member 31 . the tensile member should be substantially inextensible in the range of working tension exerted during use in a crop conveying assembly . the tensile member 31 may be composed of any conventionally used high modulus of elongation material which exhibits elongation in an acceptable range for the tension which is exerted on the belt 15 during operation . steel wire , fiberglass , or aromatic polyamide are preferred high modulus load bearing members due to their low elongation at high tensile stresses . other conventional tensile members such as polyester , nylon and rayon may be used for lighter duty applications where the working tension placed on the belt during operation is relatively low . the tensile member may be formed in any conventionally known manner including spiralling one or more strands onto a forming mandrel to form a continuous , endless tensile member . alternatively , strips of reinforcement having a longitudinally oriented tensile material such as tire cord fabric may also be overlap spliced to form a continuous tensile member , which has sufficient splice strength to remain substantially inextensible at operating tensions . additional plies of reinforcing fabric may be positioned over and / or under the load bearing tensile member 31 . the reinforcement layers may be formed of any conventional belt fabric such as square - woven , bias fabrics or cords to impart additional longitudinal and transverse strength and to protect the tensile member from damage during service . the cleats 23 , as shown in fig4 must contain therein an aperture 27 adapted to accommodate the complementary shaped end cross - section of connecting links 16 . the cleats 23 contain an aperture 27 extending transversely through the cleat , having an axis generally parallel to the top surface of the belt and perpendicular to the direction of the cords in the tensile member or the longitudinal axis of the belt . connecting links 16 are positioned such that the extreme ends 17 of the connecting links 16 are adapted to extend through the cleat aperture 27 , which is complementary thereto . connecting links 16 form the crop engaging portion of the crop conveying assembly . the connecting links 16 scrape along bottom surface or pan to trap the grain in front of the leading edge to transport the grain up the inclined bottom surface . the connecting links 16 are elongated structures having a relatively uniform cross - section through the central portion of their length . the cross - section may be any shape , including rectangular , trapezoidal , square , round , oblong , triangular , or t - shaped 60 as shown in fig5 . the axially extreme end portions 17 of each connecting link may preferably have a cross - section of lesser height than the central portion 18 of the link . height refers to that dimension of the connecting link which lies perpendicular to the plane of the belt tensile member . the cross - section of the end portions may either be of the same shape as the central portion or it may be a different shape . choice of shape will be made to assure sufficient structural strength of the link to withstand the external load stresses during operation of the crop conveying assembly and also to minimize the shearing stresses on the portion of the cleat surrounding aperture . the necessity for a lesser height for the end portions of the link extending into the aperture is important in a drag conveying assembly as shown in fig1 and fig2 to assure that the central portion of each connecting link can scrape along the bottom 14 of the conveyor housing , thus efficiently pulling or dragging the grain up the inclined bottom surface 14 . in this configuration , the top surfaces of the cleat and connecting link , that is , the surfaces distal the tensile member , lie in an imaginary plane parallel to the plane of the tensile member . it is understood that in an application such as a round baler compacting and forming chain this requirement for the termination of the connecting link at the same height as the top of the cleat is not a necessary limitation and the connecting link may have a uniform cross - section through its length . the connecting links 16 may be composed of metal , rubber , rubber reinforced with a rigid rod extending through its length , reinforced fiberglass , rubber or urethane . any material which is suitably resistant to deformation may be utilized . the most preferred embodiment is a reinforced rubber connecting link due to its ability to deflect during severe impact and rebound to the original shape with no permanent disformation . the connecting links may optionally be secured in position within the aperture 27 through the use of set screws , pins extending therethrough or other means for limiting movement in the transverse direction to the belt . a preferred configuration is shown in fig4 where the aperture 27 is reinforced by use of hard rubber , metal or plastic inserts 28 which are bored to accommodate and match the cross - sectional profile of the end of the connecting links 16 . the inserts improve the capability of each cleat to resist ripping during the application of severe longitudinal shear stresses during harvesting operations . an optional cleat reinforcement layer 48 is shown extending within the elastomeric cleat body over the aperture 27 and extending down to run generally parallel to the load bearing tensile member 31 . it follows a generally sinusoidal path essentially parallel to the top surface 41 of the belt . this cleat reinforcement layer 48 is useful in dissipating shear stresses which develop during operation of the crop conveying apparatus around the aperture 27 . specially reinforced elastomeric compounds may be utilized in the molding of the cleat portion in order to provide additional resistance to these shear stresses . fig1 and fig2 shows a conveyor having a single crop conveying assembly consisting of two parallel belts with connecting links extending between the two belts . fig3 shows an alternative embodiment of a wide conveyor system which utilizes several side by side crop conveying assemblies in the conveyor . the outermost two belts 51 and 51 &# 39 ; contain a single row of longitudinally spaced cleats 53 and 53 &# 39 ; around their circumference while the center belts 52 and 52 &# 39 ; contain double the number of cleats 54 and 54 &# 39 ; on each belt to accommodate the juxtaposed sets of connecting links 56 positioned in the cleat apertures . each successive cleat along the circumference of each center belt 52 and 52 &# 39 ; receives the end of a connecting link from the opposite direction with all links being positioned transversely of the belt . another alternative embodiment would be to have cleats on the center belts which have transverse widths great enough to accommodate connecting links ends inserted from both sides , wherein the innermost belts would have an equal number of cleats as the outermost belt . the belts useful in this invention can be made according to conventional techniques for producing endless belts . a preferred endless belt uses a natural and styrene - butadiene rubber blend for the elastomeric body with a continuously wound , aromatic polyamide filament tensile member . the uncured belt composite is formed then subjected to heat and pressure to complete formation of the cleats and driving lugs and to cure the elastomer . assembling the crop conveying assemblies is accomplished by inserting one end of the connecting links into the aperture provided in the cleats of one belt of the assembly , then sliding the opposite end of the connecting link into a transversely aligned aperture in a cleat of the second belt of the assembly . replacement of connecting links which become bent , chipped or broken during routine crop gathering operations may be accomplished quickly in the field by simply loosening the belts of the assembly and inserting a replacement connecting link into the cleat aperature and then tightening the belt members . the belts on a combine of fig1 can be easily loosened by slackening the idler drum 5 shown in fig1 . the crop gathering assembly of this invention is free of the operational difficulties associated with a belt assembly wherein a connecting link or a cleat is attached through a punched hole in the belt carcass . any time a hole is punched through a belt carcass , this attachment point becomes a stress center during operations under tension , and the hole in the belt carcass will inevitably be the failure point . this invention allows for thinner , lighter weight belts , which can be run over small diameter sprockets and idlers at high speed , due to the relatively thin belt carcass required . when a hole is being punched through the belt carcass and tensile member , the carcass must be made correspondingly thicker and more heavily reinforced to accommodate the loss in load bearing capabilities . this thicker cross - section of the belt in prior art assemblies where bolting of the cleat and / or the connecting link may be done through the belt carcass leads to inferior performance when compared to the crop gathering assembly of this invention . actual field testing of the crop gathering assembly of this invention on a combine harvester demonstrated that conveyor speeds of 800 feet per minute were easily attainable using the rubber belt and connecting link assembly of this invention . this is in contrast to conventional mechanical chain connecting link configurations where 400 feet per minute is the maximum conveyor speed which may be obtained . maximum longitudinal stretch may be limited to between 1 / 2 and 4 percent by use of the preferred very high modulus load bearing tensile members such as an aromatic polyamide , fiberglass , or steel cord . if other conventional tensile members material such as nylon or polyesters is used , stretch may exceed 4 percent . the degree of stretch is also dependent on working tension . the crop conveying assemblies composed of two belts spaced apart with connecting links extending between the longitudinally aligned cleats of the belts offer a greatly improved system for conveying grain within a harvester , or for forming and compacting large cylindrical bales in a hay baler . each assembly is lightweight , requires no lubrication , has no metal parts , and with proper selection of the load bearing tensile member , exhibits virtually no stretching during crop gathering operations . all these attributes lead to low maintenance , long life , operating economy and quiet conveyor operation . additionally , the conveyor can be run at greatly increased speeds when compared to the prior art mechanical chain link systems . further , the weight saving is substantial ; a metal chain conveyor for a small combine weighs 200 pounds while the rubber crop conveyor of this invention weighs only 90 pounds . | 1 |
in fig3 through 5 each illustrating embodiments of this invention , reference numeral 1 refers to a brush ; 2 to a brush base ; 3 to a commutator slide ; 4 to a terminal portions ; 5 to a fixing bent piece ; 6 to a fixing hole ; 7 to a motor case cover ; 8 and 9 to brush supporting portions ; 10 to a brush insert hole ; 11 to a projection ; 12 to a commutator ; 13 to a bent portion ; 14 to a rigid reinforcing portion ; 15 to an auxiliary supporting portion , respectively . as described with reference to fig2 one of the causes of unwanted vibration or rocking of the commutator slide 3 is a change in the position of the bent portion 13 . consequently , this invention has such a construction that a reinforcing means is provided on the bent portion 13 so as to prevent the bending angle ฮธ from being changed even when a force is exerted to the commutator slide 3 in a direction shown by an arrow c or t in fig2 during the rotation of the commutator 12 . that is , the brush 1 used in the small electric motor of this invention has a rigid reinforcing portion 14 on the bent portion 13 , as shown in fig3 to reinforce the bent portion 13 and provide rigidity to the brush 1 . the rigid reinforcing portion 14 shown in the embodiment of fig3 is a long bead formed by embossing the bent portion 13 in a direction perpendicular to the bending line . in manufacturing the brush 1 , a long bead is formed in advance by embossing the brush material at the boundary portion between the brush base 2 and the commutator slide 3 , and then the brush material is bent at the bent portion 13 , with the bulged side of the bead facing inside , to form the brush 1 as shown in fig3 . the brush 1 thus formed can satisfactorily prevent the unwanted vibration or rocking of the commutator slide 3 , as described with reference to fig2 since the bent portion 13 is reinforced by the rigid reinforcing portion 14 . in the embodiment shown in fig3 one rigid reinforcing portion 14 is provided . however , it is needless to say that a plurality of the rigid reinforcing portions may be provided , or any construction that can provide equal rigidity to the brush base 2 ( by bending the side edges , for example ) may be used , instead of the embossed bead . furthermore , in order to more positively prevent the rocking of the commutator slide 3 , an auxiliary supporting portion 15 as shown in fig4 may be provided on the brush supporting portion 9 as necessary to support the reinforcing portion 14 . in view of the fact that a strip of thickness approximately 0 . 08 mm is usually used for the brush base 2 , it is virtually impossible to precisely form the brush insert hole 10 so that the terminal portion 4 of the brush base 2 can be snugly forced into the brush insert hole 10 . that is , the brush insert hole 10 is very apt to become larger than the thickness of the brush in practical forming operation , thus resulting in play of the terminal portion 4 and the brush base 2 inside the brush insert hole 10 . even in such a case , however , unwanted movement of the brush 1 can be prevented by providing the auxiliary supporting portion 15 to support the rigid reinforcing portion 14 provided on the bent portion 13 . provision of the rigid reinforcing portion 14 and the auxiliary supporting portion 15 , therefore , ensures the firm support of the bent portion 13 without unwanted rocking or movement of the bent portion 13 and prevents the commutator slide 3 from causing unwanted friction with the commutator 12 even during the high speed rotation of the commutator 12 . as described with reference to fig2 the commutator slide 3 tends to be bent sharply , as shown in fig2 when the rotation of the commutator 12 in a direction shown by an arrow f or r in fig4 exerts a force to the commutator slide 3 in a direction shown by an arrow t or c in fig2 . in order to prevent the bending of the commutator slide 3 , it is desired that the commutator slide 3 assumes a straight line as shown in fig4 when the commutator slide 3 is brought into elastic contact with the commutator 12 . to attain this , the commutator slide 3 in an unconstrained state is bent an advance as shown by a dotted line d in fig4 to such an extent that the commutator slide 3 assumes essentially a straight line when it is in elastic contact with the commutator 12 . fig5 shows another embodiment of this invention . in this embodiment , the central part of the brush base 2 is supported by a central projection 16 provided on the brush supporting portion 9 , both sides of the brush base 2 are supported by two points k and k of the brush supporting portion 8 . that is , this is an embodiment where the brush base 2 is subjected to a bending force and resiliently supported by the so - called three - point support . even in such a case where the brush 1 is supported by the three - point support , the same effect as in the embodiments shown in fig3 and 4 can be achieved by supporting the brush 1 as shown in fig5 by providing the rigid reinforcing portion 14 on the bent portion 13 between the brush base 2 and the commutator slide portion 3 , or extending the brush supporting portion 9 to form the auxiliary supporting portion 15 for supporting the rigid reinforcing portion 14 as necessary . as described in the foregoing , this invention makes it possible to reduce unwanted friction between the commutator slide 3 and the commutator 12 of a small electric motor due to the rocking of the commutator slide 3 even during the high speed rotation of the commutator 12 , and to reduce local wear of the commutator 12 to improve the service life thereof by forming the rigid reinforcing portion on the brush base bent portion 13 , supporting the brush bent portion 13 by the auxiliary supporting portion 15 from the bottom as necessary , or bending the commutator slide 3 in an unconstrained state so that the commutator slide 3 assumes a straight line when it is brought into elastic contact with the commutator 12 . | 7 |
the present invention is based in part on the discovery that employing fillers that include lithiated zeolite and , optionally , silica , alumina , titanium dioxide , and / or zirconium oxide significantly improves the structural integrities of the polymeric matrix of the electrolyte layer . in addition , electrochemical cells incorporating the inventive polymer electrolyte are expected to demonstrate superior electrochemical performance . preferred electrochemical cells include ( 1 ) a cathode comprising an active material , ( 2 ) an intercalation based carbon anode , with each electrode comprising a polymer binder and capable of reversibly incorporating ( e . g ., intercalating ) an alkali metal ion , and ( 3 ) a polymeric matrix containing an electrolyte solution comprising lithiated zeolite and optionally said fillers , an organic electrolyte solvent and a salt . each electrode preferably has a current collector . particularly preferred electrochemical cells and batteries use lithium and salts thereof . preferably , the anode comprises an anode film that is laminated onto one or both sides of a current collector which is a thin metal foil or grid . typically , each anode film is from about 100 ฮผm to about 250 ฮผm in thickness , preferably about 110 ฮผm to about 200 ฮผm , and more preferably about 125 ฮผm to about 175 ฮผm . similarly , preferably the cathode comprises a cathode film that is laminated onto one or both sides of the current collector which is a thin foil or grid . typically , each cathode film is from about 100 ฮผm to about 200 ฮผm in thickness , preferably about 130 ฮผm to about 175 ฮผm , and more preferably about 140 ฮผm to about 165 ฮผm . the anode and cathode each also preferably includes a current collector that comprises , for example , a screen , grid , expanded metal , woven or non - woven fabric formed from an electron conductive material such as metals or alloys . preferably , the current collector has a thickness from about 25 ฮผm to about 75 ฮผm , preferably about 35 ฮผm to about 65 ฮผm , and more preferably about 45 ฮผm to about 55 ฮผm . each current collector is also connected to a current collector tab which extends from the edge of the current collector . in batteries comprising multiple electrochemical cells , the anode tabs are preferably welded together and connected to a copper or nickel lead . the cathode tabs are similarly welded and connected to a lead . external loads can be electrically connected to the leads . current collectors and tabs are described in u . s . pat . nos . 4 , 925 , 752 , 5 , 011 , 501 , and 5 , 326 , 653 , which are incorporated herein . prior to describing this invention in further detail , the following terms will be defined . the term &# 34 ; lithiated zeolite &# 34 ; refers to a crystalline aluminosilicate which may be represented by the empirical formula li m m . sub . ( 2 - 2 / n ). o . al 2 o 3 . ysio 2 . wh 2 o , where 0 & gt ; m & gt ; 2 , preferably 1 . 6 โฆ m โฆ 1 . 96 , and more preferably 1 . 9 โฆ m โฆ 1 . 96 . y is an integer or non - integer 2 or greater and w is an integer representing the water contained in the voids of the zeolite . w will vary depending on the source of zeolite . such water is shielded from the solid electrolyte and for our purposes , will not be considered part of the water content of the solid electrolyte . typically , w ranges from about 0 to about 13 and preferably from about 0 to about 3 . m is any suitable alkaline metal ( other than lithium ) or alkaline - earth metal cation that is compatible in a lithium ion electrochemical cell and preferably includes , for example , sodium or potassium and n represents the valence of the cation m . sodium is most preferred . structurally , zeolites are complex , crystalline inorganic polymers based on a framework of alo 4 and sio 4 tetrahedra linked to each other by the sharing of oxygen ions . this framework structure contains channels or interconnected voids that are occupied by cations , such as lithium ions , and water molecules . the cations are mobile and undergo ion exchange . the water may be removed reversibly by the application of heat which leaves intact a crystalline host structure permeated by micropores which may amount to 50 % of the crystal &# 39 ; s volume . zeolites are widely used as drying agents to remove water . any zeolite in lithium form is suitable for use in the present invention if ( a ) it is substantially lithiated , e . g . if the zeolite was synthesized in sodium form , it has been ion exchanged with a lithium salt so that the preponderance of exchangeable cations in the zeolitic voids are lithium ions ; and ( b ) the zeolite is available as a fine particulate for inclusion in the solid electrolyte . there are many such zeolites known to the art , such as zeolite a and zeolite x in lithium form . in general , zeolites meeting the requirement of this invention are drawn , for example , from the group consisting of zeolite type a , zeolite type x , zeolite type y , zeolite type l , omega , zsm - 5 , chabazite , mordenite , erionite , faujasite and clinoptilolite or mixtures thereof . preferably , the lithiated zeolites and fillers have a diameter of about 50 ฮผm or less , more preferably of about 25 ฮผm or less . a preferred inorganic filler is fumed silicon dioxide available as aerosil ยฎ r812 from degussa ag , frankfurt germany . this silicon dioxide has been treated so that silanol groups on the surface have been replaced by hydrophobic groups . the ( 1 ) lithiated zeolite or ( 2 ) blend of lithiated zeolites and one or more inorganic fillers selected from silica , alumina , titanium dioxide zirconium oxide , and mixtures thereof , typically comprises about 1 % to about 30 %, preferably about 5 % to about 25 %, and more preferably about 10 % to about 20 % of the polymeric electrolyte . when a blend is employed , the weight ratio of lithiated zeolite to inorganic filler ( s ) typically ranges from 95 : 5 to 10 : 90 and more preferably 90 : 10 to 50 : 50 . the term &# 34 ; plasticizer &# 34 ; refers to an organic solvent , with limited solubility of polymers , that facilitates the formation of porous polymeric structures . by &# 34 ; porous structure &# 34 ; is meant that upon extraction of the plasticizer the polymer remains as a porous mass . suitable plasticizers have high boiling points typically from about 100 ยฐ c . to about 350 ยฐ c . a number of criteria are important in the choice of plasticizer including compatibility with the components of the electrochemical cell precursor , processability , low polymer solubility and extractability by liquid solvents including , for example , diethyl ether , dimethyl ether , methanol , cyclohexane , and mixtures thereof or by supercritical fluids . preferred plasticizers include , for example , dibutyl phthalate , dioctylphthalate , and acetates , glymes and low molecular weight polymers . the plasticizer is preferably first well mixed with a polymer and a solvent . thereafter the plasticizer is removed by extraction and in the process the porous structure is formed . preferably the weight ratio of plasticizer to polymer is from about 1 to about 50 , more preferably about 10 to about 30 , and most preferably about 20 to about 25 . the term &# 34 ; electrochemical cell precursor &# 34 ; or &# 34 ; electrolytic cell precursor &# 34 ; refers to the structure of the electrochemical cell prior to the addition of the electrolyte solution . the precursor typically comprises ( each in precursor form ) an anode , a cathode , and polymeric matrix . the anode and / or cathode may each include a current collector . the polymeric matrix can function as a separator between the anode and cathode . the term &# 34 ; activation &# 34 ; refers to the placement of a salt and electrolyte solvent into an electrochemical cell precursor . after activation , the electrochemical cell is charged by an external energy source prior to use . the term &# 34 ; electrochemical cell &# 34 ; or &# 34 ; electrolytic cell &# 34 ; refers to a composite structure containing an anode , a cathode , and polymeric matrix with a electrolyte solution that is interposed therebetween . the term &# 34 ; battery &# 34 ; refers to two or more electrochemical cells electrically interconnected in an appropriate series / parallel arrangement to provide the required operating voltage and current levels . the term &# 34 ; a solid matrix forming monomer &# 34 ; refers to inorganic or organic materials which in monomeric form can be polymerized , preferably in the presence of an inorganic ion salt , lithiated zeolites , and / or fillers , and a solvent to form solid matrices which are suitable for use as solid electrolytes in electrolytic cells . suitable solid matrix forming monomers are well known in the art and the particular monomer employed is not critical . the solid matrix forming monomers may also comprise heteroatoms capable of forming donor acceptor bonds with inorganic cations ( e . g ., alkali ions ). examples of suitable organic solid matrix forming monomers include , by way of example , propylene oxide , ethyleneimine , ethylene oxide , epichlorohydrin , acryloyl - derivatized polyalkylene oxides ( as disclosed in u . s . pat . no . 4 , 908 , 283 which is incorporated herein ), urethane acrylate , vinyl sulfonate polyalkylene oxides ( as disclosed in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 262 , 253 , which is incorporated herein ), and the like as well as mixtures thereof . examples of suitable inorganic solid matrix forming monomers include , by way of example , phosphazenes and siloxanes . phosphazene monomers and the resulting polyphosphazene solid matrix are disclosed by abraham et al ., proc . int . power sources symp ., 34th , pp . 81 - 83 ( 1990 ) and by abraham et al ., j . electrochemical society , vol . 138 , no . 4 , pp . 921 - 927 ( 1991 ). the term &# 34 ; a partial polymer of a solid matrix forming monomer &# 34 ; refers to solid matrix forming monomers which have been partially polymerized to form reactive oligomers . partial polymerization may be conducted for the purpose of enhancing the viscosity of the monomer , decreasing the volatility of the monomer , and the like . partial polymerization is generally permitted so long as the resulting partial polymer can be further polymerized , preferably in the presence of a solvent , such as , a mixture of organic carbonate ( s ) to form solid polymeric matrices which are suitable for use as solid electrolytes in electrolytic cells . the term &# 34 ; cured &# 34 ; or &# 34 ; cured product &# 34 ; refers to the treatment of the solid matrix forming monomer or partial polymer thereof under polymerization conditions ( including cross - linking ) so as to form a solid polymeric matrix . suitable polymerization conditions are well known in the art and include by way of example , heating the monomer , irradiating the monomer with uv light , electron beams , and the like . the resulting cured product may contain repeating units containing at least one heteroatom such as oxygen or nitrogen which is capable of forming donor acceptor bonds with inorganic cations ( alkali ions ). examples of suitable cured products suitable for use in this invention are set forth in u . s . pat . nos . 4 , 830 , 939 and 4 , 990 , 413 which are incorporated herein . the solid matrix forming monomer or partial polymer can be cured or further cured prior to or after addition of the salt , solvent , lithiated zeolite and / or fillers and , optionally , a viscosifier . for example , a composition comprising requisite amounts of the monomer or partial polymer , salt , organic carbonate solvent and viscosifier can be applied to a substrate and then cured . alternatively , the monomer or partial polymer can be first cured and then dissolved in a suitable volatile solvent . requisite amounts of the salt , organic carbonate solvent and viscosifier can then be added . the mixture is then placed on a substrate and cured ; removal of the volatile solvent would result in the formation of a solid electrolyte . in either case , the resulting solid electrolyte would be a homogeneous , single phase product which is maintained upon curing , and does not readily separate upon cooling to temperatures below room temperature . alternatively , the solid polymeric matrix can be formed by a casting process which does not require the use of monomers or prepolymers , that is , no curing is required . a preferred method employs a copolymer of vinylidenedifluroide and hexafluoropropylene dissolved in acetone or other suitable solvent ( s ). upon casting the solution , the solvent is evaporated to form the solid polymeric matrix . the solution may be casted directly onto a current collector . alternatively , the solution is casted onto a substrate , such as a carrier web , and after the solvent ( e . g ., acetone ) is removed , an electrode film is formed thereon . the term &# 34 ; salt &# 34 ; refers to any salt , for example , an inorganic salt , which is suitable for use in a non - aqueous electrolyte . representative examples of suitable inorganic ion salts are alkali metal salts of less mobile anions of weak bases having a large anionic radius . examples of such anions are i - , br - , scn - , clo 4 - , bf 4 - , pf 6 - , asf 6 - , cf 3 coo - , cf 3 so 3 - , n ( so 2 cf 3 ) 2 - , and the like . specific examples of suitable inorganic ion salts include liclo 4 , liscn , libf 4 , liasf 6 , licf 3 so 3 , lipf 6 , ( cf 3 so 2 ) 2 nli , ( cf 3 so 2 ) 3 cli , nascn , and the like . the inorganic ion salt preferably contains at least one cation selected from the group consisting of li , na , cs , rb , ag , cu , mg and k . the electrolyte typically comprises from about 5 to about 25 weight percent of the inorganic ion salt based on the total weight of the electrolyte ; preferably , from about 10 to 20 weight percent ; and even more preferably from about 10 to about 15 weight percent . the percentage of salt depends on the type of salt and electrolytic solvent employed . the term &# 34 ; compatible electrolyte solvent &# 34 ; or &# 34 ; electrolytic solvent ,&# 34 ; or in the context of components of the non - aqueous electrolyte , just &# 34 ; solvent ,&# 34 ; is a low molecular weight organic solvent added to the electrolyte and / or the cathode composition , which may also serve the purpose of solvating the inorganic ion salt . the solvent is any compatible , relatively non - volatile , aprotic , relatively polar , solvent . preferably , these materials have boiling points greater than about 85 ยฐ c . to simplify manufacture and increase the shelf life of the electrolyte / battery . typical examples of solvent are mixtures of such materials as dimethyl carbonate , diethyl carbonate , propylene carbonate , ethylene carbonate , methyl ethyl carbonate , gamma - butyrolactone , triglyme , tetraglyme , dimethylsulfoxide , dioxolane , sulfolane , and the like . when using propylene carbonate based electrolytes in an electrolytic cell with graphite anodes , a sequestering agent , such as a crown ether , is added in the electrolyte . for electrochemical cells where ( 1 ) the cathode comprises lithiated cobalt oxides , lithiated manganese oxides , lithiated nickel oxides , li x ni 1 - y co y o 2 , where x is preferably about 1 and y is preferably 0 . 1 - 0 . 9 , linivo 4 , or licovo 4 , and ( 2 ) the anode comprises carbon , the electrolytic solvent preferably comprises a mixture of ethylene carbonate and dimethyl carbonate . the term &# 34 ; organic carbonate &# 34 ; refers to hydrocarbyl carbonate compounds of preferably no more than about 12 carbon atoms and which do not contain any hydroxyl groups . preferred organic carbonates include , for example , aliphatic carbonates and cyclic aliphatic carbonate . suitable cyclic aliphatic carbonates for use in this invention include 1 , 3 - dioxolan - 2 - one ( ethylene carbonate ); 4 - methyl - 1 , 3 - dioxolan - 2 - one ( propylene carbonate ); 4 , 5 - dimethyl - 1 , 3 - dioxolan - 2 - one ; 4 - ethyl - 1 , 3 - dioxolan - 2 - one ; 4 , 4 - dimethyl - 1 , 3 - dioxolan - 2 - one ; 4 - methyl - 5 - ethyl - 1 , 3 - dioxolan - 2 - one ; 4 , 5 - diethyl - 1 , 3 - dioxolan - 2 - one ; 4 , 4 - diethyl - 1 , 3 - dioxolan - 2 - one ; 1 , 3 - dioxan - 2 - one ; 4 , 4 - dimethyl - 1 , 3 - dioxan - 2 - one ; 5 , 5 - dimethy - 1 - 1 , 3 - dioxan - 2 - one ; 5 - methyl - 1 , 3 - dioxan - 2 - one ; 4 - methyl - 1 , 3 - dioxan - 2 - one ; 5 , 5 - diethyl - 1 , 3 - dioxan - 2 - one ; 4 , 6 - dimethyl - 1 , 3 - dioxan - 2 - one ; 4 , 4 , 6 - trimethyl - 1 , 3 - dioxan - 2 - one ; and spiro ( 1 , 3 - oxa - 2 - cyclohexanone - 5 &# 39 ;, 5 &# 39 ;, 1 &# 39 ;, 3 &# 39 ;- oxa - 2 &# 39 ;- cyclohexanone ). several of these cyclic aliphatic carbonates are commercially available such as propylene carbonate and ethylene carbonate . alternatively , the cyclic aliphatic carbonates can be readily prepared by well known reactions . for example , reaction of phosgene with a suitable alkane - ฮฑ , ฮฒ - diol ( dihydroxy alkanes having hydroxyl substituents on adjacent carbon atoms ) or an alkane - ฮฑ , ฮณ - diol ( dihydroxy alkanes having hydroxyl substituents on carbon atoms in a 1 , 3 relationship ) yields an a cyclic aliphatic carbonate for use within the scope of this invention . see , for instance , u . s . pat . no . 4 , 115 , 206 , which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety . likewise , the cyclic aliphatic carbonates useful for this invention may be prepared by transesterification of a suitable alkane - ฮฑ , ฮฒ - diol or an alkane - ฮฑ , ฮณ - diol with , e . g ., diethyl carbonate under transesterification conditions . see , for instance , u . s . pat . nos . 4 , 384 , 115 and 4 , 423 , 205 which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety . additional suitable cyclic aliphatic carbonates are disclosed in u . s . pat . no . 4 , 747 , 850 which is also incorporated herein by reference in its entirety . the term &# 34 ; viscosifier &# 34 ; refers to a suitable viscosifier for solid electrolytes . viscosifiers include conventional viscosifiers such as those known to one of ordinary skill in the art . suitable viscosifiers include film forming agents well known in the art which include , by way of example , polyethylene oxide , polypropylene oxide , copolymers thereof , and the like , having a number average molecular weight of at least about 100 , 000 , polyvinylpyrrolidone , carboxymethylcellulose , and the like . preferably , the viscosifier is employed in an amount of about 1 to about 10 weight percent and more preferably at about 2 . 5 weight percent based on the total weight of the electrolyte composition . the anode typically comprises a compatible anodic material which is any material which functions as an anode in a solid electrolytic cell . such compatible anodic materials are well known in the an and include , by way of example , lithium , lithium alloys , such as alloys of lithium with aluminum , mercury , manganese , iron , zinc , intercalation based anodes such as those employing carbon , tungsten oxides , and the like . preferred anodes include lithium intercalation anodes employing carbon materials such as graphite , cokes , mesocarbons , and the like . the carbon intercalation based anode precursors typically include a polymeric binder and extractable plasticizer suitable for forming a bound porous composite having a molecular weight of from about 1 , 000 to 5 , 000 , 000 . examples of suitable polymeric binders include epdm ( ethylene propylene diamine termonomer ), pvdf ( polyvinylidene difluoride ), eaa ( ethylene acrylic acid copolymer ), eva ( ethylene vinyl acetate copolymer ), eaa / eva copolymers , and the like . the polymeric binder of the anode for the present invention preferably comprises a polymer blend which includes fluoropolymers as further described above . in one preferred embodiment , the carbon intercalation anode precursor ( that is , the anode structure prior extraction ) comprises from about 40 to about 70 weight percent of a carbon material ( e . g ., graphite ); from about 8 to about 20 weight percent of a polymeric binder ; and from about 15 to about 40 weight percent plasticizer . the anode may also include an electron conducting material such as carbon black . the cathode typically comprises a compatible cathodic material ( i . e ., insertion compounds ) which is any material which functions as a positive pole in a solid electrolytic cell . such compatible cathodic materials are well known in the art and include , by way of example , transition metal oxides , sulfides , and selenides , including lithiated compounds thereof . representative materials include cobalt oxides , manganese oxides , molybdenum oxides , vanadium oxides , sulfides of titanium , molybdenum and niobium , the various chromium oxides , copper oxides , lithiated cobalt oxides , e . g ., licoo 2 and licovo 4 , lithiated manganese oxides , e . g ., limn 2 o 4 , lithiated nickel oxides , e . g ., linio 2 and linivo 4 , and mixtures thereof . cathode - active material blends of li x mn 2 o 4 ( spinel ) is described in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 429 , 890 which is incorporated herein . the blends can include li x mn 2 o 4 ( spinel ) and at least one lithiated metal oxide selected from li x nio 2 and li x coo 2 wherein 0 & lt ;รโฆ 2 . blends can also include li y - ฮฑ - mno 2 ( 0 โฆ y & lt ; 1 ) which has a hollandite - type structure and is described in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 561 , 007 , which is incorporated herein . in one preferred embodiment , the compatible cathodic material is mixed with an electroconductive material including , by way of example , graphite , powdered carbon , powdered nickel , metal particles , conductive polymers ( i . e ., characterized by a conjugated network of double bonds like polypyrrole and polyacetylene ), and the like , and a polymeric binder to form under pressure a positive cathodic plate . the polymeric binder may comprise epdm , pvdf , eaa , eva , or eaa . eva copolymers , and the like . suitable binders for use in the cathode have a molecular weight of from about 1 , 000 to 5 , 000 , 000 . the polymeric binder of the cathode for the present invention preferably comprises a polymer blend which includes fluoropolymers as further described above . in one preferred embodiment , the cathode is prepared from a cathode paste which comprises from about 35 to 65 weight percent of a compatible cathodic material ; from about 1 to 20 weight percent of an electroconductive agent ; from about 1 to 20 weight percent of a suitable polymeric binder comprising the polymer blend ; from about 0 to about 20 weight percent of polyethylene oxide having a number average molecular weight of at least 100 , 000 ; and from about 10 to 50 weight percent of solvent comprising a 10 : 1 to 1 : 4 ( w / w ) mixture of an organic carbonate and a glyme . also included is an ion conducting mount of an inorganic ion salt . generally , the amount of the salt is from about 1 to about 25 weight percent . the electrolyte composition typically comprises from about 5 to about 25 weight percent of the inorganic ion salt based on the total weight of the electrolyte ; preferably , from about 10 to 20 weight percent ; and even more preferably from about 10 to about 15 weight percent . the percentage of salt depends on the type of salt and electrolytic solvent employed . the electrolyte composition further typically comprises from 0 to about 80 weight percent electrolyte solvent ( e . g ., organic carbonate / glyme mixture ) based on the total weight of the electrolyte ; preferably from about 60 to about 80 weight percent ; and even more preferably about 70 weight percent . the electrolyte composition moreover comprises from about 5 to about 30 weight percent of the solid polymeric matrix based on the total weight of the electrolyte ; preferably from about 15 to about 25 weight percent . in a preferred embodiment , the electrolyte composition further comprises a small amount of a film forming agent . suitable film forming agents are well known in the art and include , by way of example , polyethylene oxide , polypropylene oxide , copolymers thereof , and the like , having a numbered average molecular weight of at least about 100 , 000 . preferably , the film forming agent is employed in an amount of about 1 to about 10 weight percent and more preferably at about 2 . 5 weight percent based on the total weight of the electrolyte composition . electrochemical cells are known in the art . see , for example , u . s . pat . nos . 5 , 300 , 373 , 5 , 316 , 556 , 5 , 346 , 385 , 5 , 262 , 253 , 4 , 472 , 487 , 4 , 668 , 595 , and 5 , 028 , 500 , all of which are incorporated herein . the following illustrates a method of how an electrolytic cell could be fabricated with the inventive process . lithiated zeolites are preferably synthesized by an ion exchange process which replaces some or essentially all of the cation m in the zeolite with li . a method of fabricating the lithiated zeolite is ion exchange using sodium or other metal cation based zeolites . for instance , zeolite type 4a ( aldrich ) which is sodium based and has a particle size of less than 5 ฮผm can be used . ion exchange is also applicable to lithiate other zeolites such as zeolite x described above . in this method , sodium cation in the zeolite is replaced by lithium cation as shown by the following equation , taking the sodium form of zeolite type 4a ( designated naz 4a ) as the example : although this reaction illustrates that li + replaces na + , in practice some na + will remain in the zeolite . the degree of lithiation can be increased by repetitive addition of concentrated , fresh li + aqueous solutions until the lithium content in the zeolite reaches the desired level . preferably , at least about 80 % of sodium is replaced by lithium , more preferably about 90 % and most preferably about 98 %. the equilibrium of the reaction can be confirmed by atomic absorption ( aa ) analysis of the li + solution . the lithium content in the zeolite can also be determined by aa . the lithium in the zeolite can be extracted with an acid solution ( e . g ., hcl ) followed by aa of the resulting solution . in this fashion , the level of lithiation can be controlled , that is , lithiated zeolite having the desired value m in the formula li m m . sub . ( 2 - 2 / n ) o . al 2 o 3 . ysio 2 . wh 2 o can be synthesized . as an illustration of this technique , to a 500 ml beaker are added 100 g of zeolite powder and 300 ml 2m licl solution . the mixture is stirred until equilibrium is established as confirmed with by aa . the solid residue is collected after filtration and mixed again with 300 ml of a fresh licl solution . the same procedure is repeated until the desired lithium content in the zeolite is reached . thereafter , the wet solid is dried in a vacuum oven at 200 ยฐ c . before use . the following illustrates a method of how an electrolytic cell could be fabricated with the inventive process . examples 1 and 2 describe the process of preparing the anode and cathodes , respectively . example 3 describes the procedures for fabricating a solid electrolytic cell . the invention will be described using the anode and cathode structures wherein electrode materials ( or films ) are laminated onto both sides of the current collectors , however , it is understood that the invention is applicable to other configurations , for example , where one side of the anode and / or cathode current collector is laminated . the anode current collector employed is a sheet of expanded copper metal that is about 50 ฮผm thick . it is available under the designation 2cu5 - 125 ( flatten ) from delker corp ., branford , conn . the anode slurry is prepared as follows : a polymer mixture comprising a copolymer of vinylidenedifluoride ( vdf ) and hexafluoropropylene ( hfp ) is prepared by mixing 6 . 8 grams of the copolymer in 20 grams of acetone . the copolymer ( ave . mw 125k ) is kynar flex 2801 โข from elf atochem north america , in philadelphia , pa . the mixture is stirred for about 24 hours in a milling jar available from vwr scientific , in san francisco , calif ., model h - 04172 - 00 . the copolymer functions as a binder for the carbon in the anode . a graphite mixture is prepared separately by first adding 23 . 4 grams of graphite into 0 . 9 grams of carbon black into a solution containing 60 grams acetone , and 10 . 5 grams dibutyl phthalate . a preferred graphite comprises a 50 : 50 ( by weight ) mixture of a synthetic graphite available under the designation sfg - 15 โข from lonza g & amp ; t , ltd . ( sins , switzerland ) and graphitized mesocarbon microbeads available under the designation mcmb25 - 28 โข from osaka gas co ., japan . a preferred carbon black is available under the designation super p โข from m . m . m . carbon , willebrock , belgium . the graphite mixture is then vigorously mixed in a high shear mixer until a substantially homogeneous blend is formed . a suitable mixer is available from ross model me100dlx , hauppauge , new york , operating at its highest setting ( about 10 , 000 rpm ) for 30 minutes . the anode slurry is prepared by mixing the polymer mixture and the graphite mixture together under low shear conditions to form the anode slurry wherein the components are well mixed . a portion of the acetone is allowed to evaporate from the slurry before it is laminated onto each side of the current collector . anode films form when the remaining portion of the acetone evaporates . the cathode current collector employed is a sheet of expanded aluminum that is about 50ฮผm thick . the aluminum grid is available under the designation 2al5 - 077 from delker corp . the cathode slurry is prepared as follows : a polymer mixture comprising a copolymer of vinylidenedifluoride ( vdf ) and hexafluoropropylene ( hfp ) is prepared by mixing 4 . 4 grams of the copolymer in 15 ml of acetone . the copolymer was kynar flex 2801 โข. the mixture is stirred for about 24 hours in a milling jar . a cathode mixture is prepared separately by mixing 28 . 9 grams of limn 2 o 4 , 2 . 4 grams of carbon black ( super p โข) into a solution containing 60 grams acetone , and 8 . 7 grams dibutyl phthalate . the mixture is then vigorously mixed in the a high shear mixer until a substantially homogeneous blend is formed . the cathode slurry is prepared by mixing the polymer mixture and the cathode mixture together under low shear conditions to form the cathode slurry wherein the components are well mixed . a portion of the acetone is allowed to evaporate from the slurry before it is laminated onto each side of the current collector . cathode films form when the remaining portion of the acetone evaporates . the above anode and cathode films are formed directly on the current collector by laminating the slurry mixtures onto the current collector surfaces . alternatively , each film can be prepared by first casting a slurry onto a substrate or carrier web and allowing the solvent to evaporate thus leaving the film . thereafter , the films can be laminated onto each side of the current collector . a solid electrochemical cell is prepared by first positioning a polymeric matrix between the anode and cathode and thereafter fusing the structures under moderate pressure and temperature ( e . g ., 130 ยฐ c .) to form an electrochemical cell precursor . the polymeric matrix is formed by casting a polymeric slurry comprising acetone , dibutyl phthalate , lithiated zeolite ( and optionally a filler such as fumed sio 2 ), and the vdf / hfp copolymer on a suitable substrate or carrier web and allowing the acetone to evaporate . no curing by radiation is required . it is believed that the lithiated zeolite and / or filler assists the activation process by creating physico - chemical conditions such that the electrolyte solution quickly and completely fills the pores created by the extraction of the dibutyl phthalate . preferably , the polymeric slurry is mixed under low shear conditions as not to degrade the copolymer . preferably in preparing the polymer mixture for both the anode and cathode slurries is that the polymer ( or copolymer ) not be subject to high shear so as to be degraded . furthermore , preferably the polymer or copolymer employed has a high average molecular weight . preferably the average molecular weight is between 50k to 750k , more preferably 50k to 200k , and most preferably 50k to 120k . furthermore , it is preferred that polymer or copolymer has a narrow molecular weight have range . preferably ## equ1 ## next the dibutyl phthalate plasticizer is extracted from the precursor . extraction can be accomplished using conventional organic liquid solvents such as diethyl ether or by a dense fluid or gas which refers to a gas compressed and heated to either supercritical or subcritical conditions to achieve liquid - like densities . dense gases and fluids are known in the art . see , for example , u . s . pat . nos . 5 , 013 , 366 , 5 , 267 , 455 , 4 , 219 , 333 , 4 , 012 , 194 , and 3 , 969 , 196 , which are incorporated herein . a preferred dense gas is carbon dioxide . the precursor is than pre - packaged in moisture - impermeable material which is described , for example , in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 326 , 653 which is incorporated herein , before being activated . activation preferably occurs in an inert ( e . g ., argon ) atmosphere . finally , the packaging of the electrochemical cell is sealed . while the invention has been described in terms of various preferred embodiments , the skilled artisan will appreciate the various modifications , substitutions , and changes which may be made without departing from the spirit hereof . the descriptions of the subject matter in this disclosure are illustrative of the invention and are not intended to be construed as limitations upon the scope of the invention . | 7 |
fig4 shows the general first stage power circuit of a solar power generator with mppt control . for most of the solar power generator , the first stage is a boost converter as shown in fig4 . it contains an inductor l . one end of the inductor l is connected to the positive terminal of the solar cell . the other end of the inductor l is connected to the anode of a diode and the drain of a mosfet . the cathode of the diode is connected to the positive terminal of the bulk capacitor c and the positive terminal of the load . the source of the mosfet is connected to the negative terminal of the bulk capacitor c , the negative terminal of the load , and the negative terminal of the solar cell . the downstream circuit is the load , which is at the right side of the capacitor c , and is expressed as the dashed line . it can be a dc / ac converter or a charge controller . no matter what topology is used in the downstream circuit , the main concern in the mppt circuit is only to extract as much power as possible from the solar cell . the gate of the mosfet is the control output of the mppt circuit . there is a voltage sensor connected at the output terminals of the solar cell . the output of the voltage sensor is sent to the mppt circuit . there is a current sensor connected in series with the solar cell . it can be a current sense resistor , a hall - effect sensor , or any kind of dc current sensor . the output of the sensor is sent to the mppt circuit . the mppt circuit received the outputs from the voltage and current sensors , and sends out the gating signal s to the drive circuit . the drive circuit receives the signal s and converts it to gate drive g for the mosfet , and thus closes the control loop . the block diagram of the present invention for mppt circuit is shown in fig5 . the outputs of the voltage sensor and the current sensor , vin and iin , are connected as the inputs to the mppt circuit . they are sent to an analog multiplier . the output of the analog multiplier is the instantaneous power p . p is passed on to a differential circuit to get the derivative dp / dt . dp / dt is sent to a zero cross comparator . the output of the comparator is a logic signal , named as d . the signal d is logic high if the instantaneous power p is increasing ; and it is logic low if p is decreasing . the signal d is not sensed continuously . it is sampled only at the falling edge of the gate signal s . the mosfet in the power circuit is turning on and off periodically during each switching cycle . during the period when the mosfet is on , the current is always increasing , which means di / dt & gt ; 0 . at the end of the period , di / dt is still greater than 0 . at this moment , check the sign of dp / dt . if dp / dt & gt ; 0 , it indicates dp / di & gt ; 0 , which means the output power is increased if the current is increased . as a result , the current reference iref should be increased to get more power from the solar cell ; if dp / dt & lt ; 0 , it indicates dp / di & lt ; 0 , which means the output power is decreased if the current is increased . as a result , the current reference iref should be decreased to get more power . therefore , the falling edge of the gate signal s serves as a clock signal to the d flipflop in fig5 . since the d flipflop is usually triggered at the rising edge of its clock input , the actual clock signal is the inverse of the gate signal , which is s . the output of the d flipflop , q , records the sign of dp / dt at the falling edge of the gate signal s . q is passed on to the block called โ controlled incremental circuit โ, which generates the current reference iref . from the previous description , q determines the change of iref . when q is logic high , iref should increase by a small amount within one switching cycle ; when q is logic low , iref should decrease by a small amount within one switching cycle . a circuit example to achieve the function is shown in fig6 . in fig6 , there is an op - amp circuit with six identical resistors of 100 k each , and a capacitor of 1 uf . the input of the circuit is q , and the output is iref . let the input voltage be v q , the output voltage be v 1 , the op - amp terminal voltages be v + , v โ and v o , for the positive , the negative and the output terminals . the power supply voltage is v cc . where t0 is the moment of falling edge of the gate signal for the main mosfet . in this example , r6 = 100 k , c1 = 1 uf . in actual application , the capacitance value can be tuned according to the required response time . the main purpose of r6 is to limit the current and to keep c1 in a reasonable range . the simulation results with the above example are shown in fig7 . iin is the input current from the solar cell in fig4 . iref is the reference current generated with the mppt circuit shown in fig5 and fig6 . the whole system starts at time 0 . initially , there is an inrush to charge the output capacitor c in fig4 . the short circuit current of the solar cell is assumed to be 15 a . after the initial charge of the capacitor is over , iref keeps ramping up to search for the mpp of the solar cell . after 0 . 05 second , mpp is reach , and the current reference stays almost constant , and the solar cell current is following the current reference with a small ripple . at 0 . 2 seconds , an environment change is simulated . the short circuit current of the solar cell is assumed to reduce to 13 a suddenly at 0 . 2 second . it can be seen that it takes the mppt circuit less than 0 . 01 second to find the new mpp . therefore , the method of tracking mpp at real time with fast response and almost no disturbance to the system is proven to be achievable . the complete mppt circuit as shown in fig5 and fig6 is composed of simple op - amp circuits and logic circuits . it can be integrated to a single integrate circuit to improve reliability and reduce cost . if making the mppt circuit into an integrated circuit , the โ switching control โ block in fig5 can either be included or be removed . if it is to be included in the integrated circuit , fig8 shows an example of tile implementation . iin and iref are sent to a hysteretic comparator , which is composed of the op - amp and two resistors , rin and rhys . the hysteretic band is set using the resistor rhys . the output of the comparator vc can be the switching signal . however , to ensure the switching can be continued all the time , a maximum off time is set using the circuit composed of the diode d 1 , resistor roff , capacitor coff , and the schmitter trigger logic inverter . if vc stays at low level for long time , the voltage of capacitor coff will be discharged through roff , which will lead to the output of the logic inverter becoming high . the logic or of vc and the output of the logic inverter becomes the switching signal s . so a complete mppt circuit example has a block diagram shown in fig5 , with the โ controlled incremental circuit โ block shown in fig6 , and โ switching control โ block shown in fig8 . the switching control block can also be outside of the integrated circuit , to facilitate other switching control circuit . in this case , simple disable the block shown in fig8 , and use external connection for switching signal s . while exemplary embodiments described hereinabove , it should be recognized that these embodiments are provided for illustration and are not intended to be limitative . any modifications and variations , which do not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention , are intended to be covered herein . | 6 |
fig2 shows the basic structure of a system of growth of an sic single crystal by the solution method which is suitable for performing the method of the present invention . a high frequency heating coil 12 which surrounds a graphite crucible 10 is used to heat and melt the base materials in a crucible 10 to form a solution 14 . an sic seed crystal 18 which is supported above that at the bottom end of the graphite support rod 16 is brought into contact with the solution surface s of the solution 14 to form an sic single crystal at the bottom face of the sic seed crystal 18 in an ar gas or other inert atmosphere 20 . the graphite crucible 10 is covered overall by a heat insulating material 22 . the temperature of the solution surface s is measured by a radiant thermometer 24 by a non - contact method , while the temperature of the back surface of the seed crystal 18 is measured by an w โ re or other thermocouple 26 by the contact method . a ccd camera 24 is set at an observation window above the solution surface from which the solution surface s can be directly viewed . the solution surface s during sic growth can be directly observed . the radiant thermometer , like the ccd camera 24 , is set at the observation window above the solution surface from which the solution surface s can be directly viewed and can measure the temperature of the solution surface before and after bringing the seed crystal 18 into contact with the solution 14 . the thermocouple 26 is fastened at its detecting end to the inside of the bottom end of the graphite support rod to which the seed crystal 18 is bonded ( position about 2 mm from bonded surface of seed crystal 18 ) and can measure the seed crystal temperature from right after the seed crystal 18 is brought into contact with the solution 14 . in general , the graphite crucible 10 is charged with the base material of the si solution , that is , si . the high frequency heating coil 12 is used to heat this to form the si solution . from the inside walls of the graphite crucible 10 , c dissolves into this si solution whereby a si โ c solution 14 is formed . in this way , the source of the c of the sic is basically the graphite crucible 10 , but it is also possible to supplementarily add a graphite block . further , the crucible 10 may also be made of sic . in this case , as the source of c , a graphite block must be added . depending on the case , to raise the growth rate , first , the graphite crucible 10 can be charged with not only si , but for example cr , ni , etc . to form an si โ cr solution , si โ cr โ ni solution , etc . the above configuration has been used in the past , but the present invention is further characterized in that a control device 30 is provided for growth while maintaining the wetting height of the solution to the side faces of the sic seed crystal within the range where the sic single crystal which grows from the crystal growth face and the sic single crystal which grows from the side faces grow as an integral sic single crystal . in a best mode , only the growth face of the seed crystal is brought into contact with the solution and the wetting height is made 0 . the control device 30 is electrically and / or mechanically connected with a not shown solution surface height detector and seed crystal support rod drive apparatus and controls the height of the crystal growth face of the seed crystal from the solution surface to a suitable value at each instant . the method of the present invention provides a method of growing an sic single crystal by using a system of the basic configuration of fig2 to maintain a temperature gradient in an si solution in a graphite crucible where the temperature falls from the inside toward the solution surface while using the sic seed crystal which is brought into contact with the solution surface as a starting point , characterized by bringing only the crystal growth face of the sic seed crystal which forms the starting point of growth of the sic single crystal into contact with the solution surface . the characterizing feature of the present invention will be explained in comparison with the prior art . fig3 ( 1 ) schematically shows the relationship between the seed crystal and solution surface in the solution method of the prior art . ( a ) first , the bottom end of the support rod 16 is made to hold the seed crystal 18 , then the crystal growth face g is brought into contact with the solution surface s of the solution 14 . at this time , as illustrated , the crystal growth face g and the solution surface s match or the crystal growth face g is slightly immersed in the solution 14 somewhat below the solution surface s . ( b ) if held in this state , the solution 14 wets the side faces of the seed crystal 18 whereby , as illustrated , a meniscus 40 is formed . ( c ) in the seed crystal 18 , the bottom face is the preferential growth orientation [ 0001 ] or [ 000 - 1 ] crystal growth face , while the side faces are not the preferential growth orientation of the sic single crystal , so from the parts contacting the side faces and forming the meniscus 40 , polycrystals 42 comprised of a large number of single crystals with scattered orientations result . that is , polycrystallization such as shown in fig1 occurs . therefore , the present invention controls the wetting height to the seed crystal side faces such as shown in ( b ) of fig3 ( 1 ) to prevent polycrystallization . in a best mode , the wetting height is made 0 . that is , in a best mode , as shown in fig3 ( 2 ), at the time of contact shown in ( a ), the crystal growth face g and the solution surface s are made to match and the crystal growth face g is strictly prevented from being immersed in the solution 14 below the solution surface s . in addition , preferably , immediately after the contact of ( a ) occurs ( for example , within 2 minutes ), some pull - up is performed ( pull - up height โ h โ: fig4 ) and , as shown in ( b ), a meniscus 50 is formed between the crystal growth face g and the solution . that state is maintained to grow the sic single crystal . more preferably , the contact angle ฮฑ between the meniscus 50 and the side faces of the seed crystal 18 is 200 degrees or less . due to this , it is possible to advantageously prevent polycrystallization . in a general aspect , the crystal is grown while maintaining the wetting height of the solution to the side faces of the sic seed crystal within the range where the sic single crystal which grows from the crystal growth face and the sic single crystal which grows from the side faces grow as an integral sic single crystal . in many cases , the crystal which grows from the crystal growth face and crystal which grows from the side faces will not become integral along with macrodefects between them . this is the understanding from the past . as explained in the above best mode , only the crystal growth face has been brought into contact with the solution surface . wetting of the side faces by the solution has been strictly avoided . as opposed to this , as a new discovery by the present invention , it was observed that even if the wetting height is not necessarily 0 , sometimes no macrodefects result and the crystal which grows from the side faces ( side face crystal ) and crystal which grows from the crystal growth face ( main crystal ) become integral . fig5 shows one example . fig5 ( 1 ) shows the case where the wetting height reaches the height of the seed crystal of 1 mm . macrodefects occur between the side face crystal and main crystal , penetration by the solution ( inclusions ) end up occurring , and the side face crystal and main crystal grow as separate crystals . this not only causes polycrystallization , but also blocks expanded growth of the sic single crystal . expanded growth is essential for growing an sic single crystal of a shape which has a practical straight barrel part . fig5 ( 2 ) shows the case where wetting occurs up to a height of 0 . 3 mm at the side faces of the seed crystal , but the side face crystal and the main crystal grow as an integral single crystal without macrodefects . fig5 ( 3 ) shows the case of the best mode of a wetting height of 0 mm , that is , the case where only the crystal growth face contacts the solution surface . no macrodefects are formed . in this way , it is learned that there is an allowable range to the wetting height of a solution to the side faces of a seed crystal . therefore , it is possible to run preliminary experiments to find the relationship between the formation of macrodefects and the wetting height and follow that relationship to adjust the pull - up height etc . to thereby grow the crystal in the allowable range of the wetting height . the existence of an allowable range in the growth parameters in this way is extremely significant from the viewpoint of industrial growth of an sic single crystal . in the present invention , preferably , the angle ฮฒ formed by the crystal growth face g of the seed crystal 18 and the side faces ( fig4 ) is 90 degrees or less . due to this , it is possible to advantageously prevent polycrystallization . preferably , the seed crystal 18 is pulled up to form a meniscus 50 , then rotation of the seed crystal 18 with respect to the solution surface s is started . due to this rotation , the temperature and composition of the solution become more uniform . when the solution surface s is vibrating , this vibration is utilized to make the solution surface s and the crystal growth face g of the seed crystal 18 contact each other . in this case as well , it is possible to pull up the seed crystal 18 to form the meniscus 50 immediately after contact . furthermore , the shape of the bottom end of the support rod 16 which holds the seed crystal 18 is preferably not one where wetting by the solution 14 readily occurs . as a bad typical example , as shown in fig6 ( a ) , if the seed crystal mounting part of the front end face of the support rod 16 is recessed , the other parts ( projecting parts ) of the front end face approach the solution surface s first . when , as shown in fig6 ( b ) , the crystal growth face g of the seed crystal 18 is made to contact the solution surface s , the projecting parts also end up contacting the solution surface s . in the end , in the illustrated example , the solution 14 of the seed crystal ends up contacting the front end part of the support rod 16 and the side faces of the seed crystal 18 . the front end face of the support rod 16 is preferably flat . most preferably , the outer shape of the seed crystal 18 and the outer shape of the front end face match . due to this , transmission of heat from the seed crystal to the support rod , which has a direct effect on the crystal growth , becomes uniform . a system for growing a single crystal which has the basic configuration which is shown in fig2 was used . a crucible 10 was charged with solid si , cr , and ni , then a heating coil 12 was used to melt them to form an si - 20cr - 5ni solution . here , the cr and ni are additive elements for raising the solubility and do not contaminate the grown sic single crystal . the sic seed crystal 18 uses the [ 0001 ] face as the crystal growth face . the angle ฮฒ between the crystal growth face and side faces was made the most desirable 90 ยฐ. after the charged solids were completely melted and a solution was formed , the solution was held at a temperature of 1900 ยฐ c . in that state , only the crystal growth face of the seed crystal was brought into contact with the solution surface . after contact , crystal growth was performed for 2 hours . at this time , the crystal was grown while changing the height โ h โ of the crystal growth face g of the seed crystal 18 from the solution surface s to ( a ) 0 mm , ( b ) 1 . 5 mm , and ( c ) 2 . 5 mm . the state of growth of the obtained crystal is shown in fig7 . ( a ) in the case of a pull - up height โ h โ= 0 mm , the solution 14 wetted not only the crystal growth face g but also the support rod 16 . as a result , polycrystals 42 formed from the support rod 16 and the seed crystal 18 were completely covered . ( b ) in the case of a pull - up height โ h โ= 1 . 5 mm , polycrystals are not formed from the support rod 16 , but polycrystals are formed from portions other than the crystal growth face g of the seed crystal 18 . ( c ) in the case of a pull - up height โ h โ= 2 . 5 mm , crystal growth occurred from only the crystal growth face g of the seed crystal 18 . polycrystallization from the support rod 16 and the side faces of the seed crystal 18 could be prevented . the contact angle ฮฑ formed by the side faces of the seed crystal 18 and the meniscus 50 changes in accordance with the pull - up height โ h โ. in addition to this example , the relationship between the contact angle ฮฑ when changing the pull - up height โ h โ in the range of 0 to 3 . 5 mm and the presence of polycrystallization is shown in table 1 . as shown in table 1 , if the pull - up height โ h โ is 2 . 0 mm or more and the contact angle ฮฑ is 200 degrees or less , polycrystals are not formed . among the parameters relating to polycrystallization , compared with the pull - up height โ h โ, it is considered that the contact angle ฮฑ is the more basic in relationship . table 1 further shows an expansion angle ฮณ which shows the expansion of the diameter of the crystal which is grown . as shown in fig8 , the expansion angle ฮณ is the angle between the pull - up axis of the seed crystal 18 ( vertical direction ) and the meniscus 50 during crystal growth . if the expansion angle ฮณ is a positive value , the crystal expands in diameter along with growth , while conversely if it is negative , the crystal contracts in diameter along with growth . the relationship between the expansion angle ฮณ and the pull - up height โ h โ which is shown in table 1 is plotted in fig9 . as shown in table 1 and fig9 , along with the increase in the pull - up height โ h โ, the expansion angle ฮณ is reduced . when the pull - up height โ h โ is less than 3 . 0 mm , the expansion angle ฮณ becomes 0 ยฐ and the crystal diameter is maintained in diameter in the growth . in this way , by setting the pull - up height โ h โ, expansion of the diameter , contraction of the diameter , and maintenance of a constant diameter at the time of crystal growth can be selectively controlled . the same procedure was performed as in example 2 to grow an sic single crystal . however , the angle ฮฒ between the crystal growth face g of the seed crystal 18 and the side faces was made 60 degrees . further , the pull - up height was made 1 . 0 mm . the contact angle ฮฑ was 180 degrees or under 200 degrees . fig1 shows the obtained sic single crystal . there was no crystal growth other than from the crystal growth face g . polycrystallization is prevented . the same procedure was performed as in example 2 to grow an sic single crystal . however , the angle ฮฒ between the crystal growth face g of the seed crystal 18 and the side faces was changed in various ways . the obtained results are shown in table 2 . as shown in table 2 , when the angle ฮฒ between the crystal growth face g of the seed crystal and the side faces is 90 degrees or less , polycrystallization is prevented . the same procedure was performed as in example 1 to grow an sic single crystal . however , the angle ฮฒ between the crystal growth face g of the seed crystal 18 and the side faces was made 30 degrees . the crystal growth face g of the seed crystal and the solution surface s were brought into contact , then immediately the meniscus was formed . the pull - up height โ h โ was changed in the range of 0 . 5 to 1 . 5 mm and the crystal was grown for 2 hours . the rest of the conditions were made ones similar to example 1 . due to this , as shown in fig8 and fig1 , an sic single crystal which was enlarged in diameter from the seed crystal 18 was obtained . there was no crystal growth other than from the crystal growth face g . it can be confirmed that polycrystallization from the side faces can be suppressed . the contact angle in this case is ฮฑ = 180 ยฐ which satisfies the condition of being 200 ยฐ or less . the obtained results are summarized in table 3 and fig1 . however , in fig1 , the black diamond plot shows the result of the above example 1 ( ฮฒ = 90 ยฐ). it is learned that the pull - up height can be adjusted to control the expansion angle . the same procedure was performed as in example 1 to grow an sic single crystal . however , an si - 23 % ti solution was used and the angle ฮฒ between the crystal growth face g of the seed crystal 18 and the side faces was made 30 degrees . the crystal growth face g of the seed crystal and the solution surface s were brought into contact , then immediately the meniscus was formed . the pull - up height โ h โ was changed in the range of 2 to 5 mm and the crystal was grown for 2 hours . the rest of the conditions were made ones similar to example 1 . due to this , an sic single crystal which was enlarged in diameter from the seed crystal was obtained . there was no crystal growth other than from the crystal growth face g . it can be confirmed that polycrystallization from the side faces can be suppressed . the contact angle in this case is ฮฑ = 180 ยฐ which satisfies the condition of being 200 ยฐ or less . the obtained results are summarized in table 4 and fig1 . in fig1 , for comparison , the result of the si โ cr โ ni solution which is shown in fig1 are also shown . however , the ordinate and abscissa are switched . from the results of table 4 and fig1 as well , it will be understood that the pull - up height can be adjusted to control the expansion angle . at the same time , it is learned that the curve of the relationship between the expansion angle and the pull - up height shifts due to the composition of the solution . one reason of the shift is believed to be the viscosity of the solution . in this case , an si โ ti solution is much more viscous than an si โ cr โ ni solution . the same procedure was performed as in example 1 to grow an sic single crystal . the angle ฮฒ between the crystal growth face g of the seed crystal 18 and the side faces was made the same 90 degrees . the crystal growth face g of the seed crystal and the solution surface s were brought into contact , then immediately the meniscus was formed . the pull - up height โ h โ was made 3 . 5 mm ( constant ), while the contact angle ฮฑ between the side faces of the seed crystal 18 and the solution surface s was made 158 . 5 ยฐ. during growth , the contact angle ฮฑ was gradually made to increase and was made 195 ยฐ at the time of the end of growth . the rest of the conditions were made ones similar to example 1 . fig1 shows the obtained sic single crystal . it was confirmed that thru was no crystal growth other than at the crystal growth face g and that polycrystallization from the side faces could be suppressed . further , it could be confirmed that the grown crystal diameter , if viewed over time , first was contracted , then was held constant , and finally was expanded . the above examples followed the best mode of the present invention which makes only the crystal growth face of the seed crystal contact the solution , that is , made the wetting height 0 , to grow the sic single crystal . in the present example , the general aspect of the present invention was used to find the allowable range of the wetting height . that is , the same procedure was followed as in example 1 to grow an sic single crystal . however , the angle ฮฒ between the crystal growth face g of the seed crystal 18 and the side faces was made 90 degrees . further , the pull - up height was adjusted ( 1 . 0 mm to 3 . 0 mm ) to change the wetting height in various ways ( 0 mm to 0 . 9 mm ). the contact angle ฮฑ was 180 degrees , that is , was less than 200 degrees . fig1 ( 1 ) to ( 4 ) show the obtained sic single crystals . the results are shown together in table 5 . ( 1 ) when making the wetting height 0 mm ( pull - up height 3 . 0 mm ), that is , when bringing only the crystal growth face of the seed crystal into contact with the solution surface ( best mode in the present invention ), there was no crystal growth from portions other than the crystal growth face and an excellent sic single crystal which is prevented from formation of macrodefects and polycrystallization was grown . ( 2 ) when making the wetting height 0 . 3 mm ( pull - up height 2 . 0 mm ), the crystal which grows from the crystal growth face of the seed crystal ( main crystal ) and the crystal which grows from the side faces of the seed crystal ( side face crystal ) grew as an integral single crystal and , in the same way as ( 1 ), an excellent sic single crystal which was prevented from formation of macrodefects and polycrystallization was grown . ( 3 ) when making the wetting height 0 . 68 mm ( pull - up height 1 . 5 mm ), macrodefects formed between the main crystal and the side face crystals and a good sic single crystal could not be grown . ( 4 ) when making the wetting height 0 . 9 mm ( pull - up height 1 . 0 mm ), in the same way as ( 3 ), macrodefects formed between the main crystal and the side face crystals and a good sic single crystal could not be grown . in the case of the present embodiment , the allowable upper limit of the wetting height is a value in the range of 0 . 3 mm to 0 . 68 mm . furthermore , if finely setting the wetting height and running experiments , a more detailed upper limit can be found . that is , it is possible to run preliminary experiments to find the upper limit of the wetting height and set the pull - up height and other manufacturing parameters so that this is not exceeded and thereby grow the sic single crystal . in this way , the angle ฮณ between the pull - up axis of the seed crystal 18 and the meniscus 50 can be used to control the rate of expansion or the rate of contraction of the diameter of the crystal which is grown . further , the pull - up height โ h โ of the seed crystal 18 can be used to control the angle ฮณ between the pull - up axis and the meniscus 50 . furthermore , a map which shows the relationship between the pull - up height โ h โ and the angle ฮณ between the pull - up axis and the meniscus 50 can be prepared in advance and this map used to adjust the pull - up height โ h โ to adjust the angle between the pull - up axis and the meniscus 50 . according to the present invention , there are provided a method of production of an sic single crystal by the solution method , which method of production of an sic single crystal prevents polycrystallization where a large number of crystals grow in a scattered manner from faces of the seed crystal other than the crystal growth face or from a graphite rod which supports the seed crystal and a system of production by the same . furthermore , the parameters of the angle ฮฑ between the side faces of the seed crystal and the solution surface , the angle ฮฒ between the crystal growth face g of the seed crystal and the side faces , the angle ( expansion angle ) ฮณ between the pull - up axis of the seed crystal and the meniscus during crystal growth , and the pull - up height โ h โ can be adjusted to prevent polycrystallization while performing selective control to expand , contract , or maintain constant the diameter of the grown crystal . 40 meniscus ( formed by side faces of seed crystal and solution ) 50 meniscus ( formed by crystal growth face of seed crystal and solution ) | 8 |
referring to fig1 a preferred combination mri / hyperthermia body coil and dipole antenna arrangement includes an array 1 of antenna elements 2 connected in a cylindrical configuration , the ends of the cylinder being defined by circular rf feed members 3 . circular rf members 3 are connected to a source of rf energy for supplying an mri imaging field to the antenna elements when they are electrically connected together through mode switches 4 and mode switch / feedthrough elements 5 . the individual antenna elements 2 are simultaneously connected to each other via mode switches 4 and mode switches ( described below ) in the switch / rf feedthrough elements 5 . when mode switches 4 and the mode switches in the rf feedthrough elements 5 are closed , energy is supplied from one of the circular rf feeds 3 through each of the antenna elements and switches to form a conventional mri imaging apparatus . however , when the mode switches 4 and additional mode switches in the mode switch / rf feedthrough elements 5 are open , the antenna elements are disconnected from each other and instead are connected to individual sources of rf energy at frequencies suitable for hyperthermia treatment , the rf feedthroughs being individually controllable to focus rf energy on a selected area for hyperthermia treatment . by alternatively opening and closing the switches , the tissues targeted for hyperthermia treatment can be monitored in real time as treatment progresses . the operation of the system is illustrated in more detail in fig2 . when each of the mode switches 4 and 5 is closed by means of respective control signal inputs 6 and 7 , rf energy flows through the antenna elements 2 and the switches in a complete circuit . however , when each of the switches is open , the individual elements form axially polarized dipole antennas to which an appropriate hyperthermia frequency may be selectively via rf inputs 8 . examples of mode switches and mode switch / feedthrough elements suitable for use in the antenna configuration described above are shown in fig3 and 4 . it should be appreciated by those skilled in the art , however , that numerous alternative mode switches and feedthroughs could be used in the arrangement of fig1 and 2 , and that the invention is not intended to be limited to any particular switch or feedthrough design . the exemplary mode switch shown in fig3 includes an rf input 18 and rf output 19 for receiving rf energy from and supplying rf energy to adjacent antenna elements at a frequency suitable for mri imaging . the switch itself is preferably in the form of a vmos field effect transistor 20 having a control electrode or gate connected to a bias power supply 27 through a resistor 28 and a bias circuit consisting of inductor 22 , capacitor 25 , and resistor 26 in known manner . the bias voltage , which controls whether transistor 21 is switched on or off , is provided by a bipolar transistor 23 , the source and drain of transistor 20 being connected to the rf input and output . when transistor 23 is switched on by applying a control signal through resistor 26 to the base of the transistor , the collector and emitter of transistor 23 are shorted and the vmos bias power supply is shunted to ground causing transistor 20 to be switched off . those skilled in the art will appreciate that the control signal applied to the base of transistor 23 may be supplied by a controller ( not shown ) programmed to alternate between hyperthermia and mri configurations , either automatically or in response to operator input . since hyperthermia energy is generally applied in the form of pulses , the mri imaging can occur between the pulses and an image can thereby be obtained simultaneously with the treatment . the feedthrough switch illustrated in fig4 includes a feedthrough vmos field effect transistor q2 having a gate connected to bias power supply 35 through a resistor 31 and to bipolar transistor t2 via bias circuitry including inductors 33 and 34 , and a source and drain connected between adjacent antenna elements 2 via blocking capacitors 30 . like control transistor 23 of mode switch 4 , the base of control transistor t2 is connected to receive control signals from a controller via input 36 , preferably simultaneously with the supply of control signals to transistor 23 , the application of the control signals causing the gate of the corresponding transistor q2 to be connected to ground and thereby switched off . when the bias voltage supplied by the control signal is switched to a low level , and transistor t2 is switched off , transistor q2 is switched on , electrically connecting the source and drain to permit mri rf energy to pass between the individual antenna elements 2 in the same manner as described above in connection with transistor 20 . at this time , the mri rf energy is supplied to all of the antenna elements in the cylindrical array . however , when a control signal is supplied to transistor t2 , the bias power supply 35 for the gate of the corresponding switching transistor q2 is connected to ground and transistor q2 is thereby switched off , transistor t3 , the base of which is connected to power supply 35 through a bias resistor 48 , is also switched off , causing a bias voltage from power supply 40 to be applied via resistor 41 to the respective gates of vmos field effect transistors q1 and q3 through bias inductors 42 and capacitors 43 ( the latter via a jumper 44 ), as a result of which an rf input may selectively be applied through transformer 50 to the pairs of individual antenna elements controlled by the feedthrough to form axially polarized dipole antenna elements . finally , additional power supplies 51 filtered by capacitors 52 and resistor 53 are provided to establish a dc offset for the hyperthermia signal . in summary , each of the exemplary mode switches 4 is controlled by supplying a bias voltage to a bipolar transistor 23 , which in turn controls the gate of a vmos transistor 20 to selectively connect and disconnect adjacent antenna elements from each other depending on the control signal . the control signal also supplies a bias voltage to a transistor t1 in each of the mode switch / rf feedthrough elements 5 , transistor t1 in turn controlling the gates of a vmos transistor q2 to selectively connecting and disconnecting adjacent antenna elements from each other , and also the gates of respective vmos transistors q1 and q2 for permitting hyperthermia energy to be separately supplied to the individual antenna elements , the antenna elements having been disconnected from each other by the switching off of transistors 20 and q2 . having thus described a particular preferred embodiment of the invention in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to make and use the invention , it will be appreciated by those same skilled in the art that numerous variations and modifications of the preferred embodiment are possible within the spirit and scope of the invention , and consequently it is intended that the invention not be limited to the illustrated embodiments , but that the invention be defined solely by the appended claims . | 6 |
referring first to fig1 and 2 , the present invention generally relates to a device - implemented method for inspecting each of a plurality of containers 10 moving along a path past an inspection station generally indicated by the numeral 16 . the containers 10 are moved by a conveyor 12 or the like in the direction of the arrow 14 . the containers 10 may comprise , by way of example , glass jars filled with food products which must be inspected for foreign particles . the method and apparatus of the present invention are well suited to inspecting containers 10 which move through the inspection station 16 at very high rates of speed , e . g ., in excess of 1200 containers per minute . the system broadly includes an x - ray source 22 , an image amplifier 24 , a camera 26 , control logic 28 , and an image processor 30 . the x - ray source 22 and image amplifier 24 are positioned on opposite sides of the path of travel of the containers 10 such that x - rays from the x - ray source 22 which inundate the container 10 result in an x - ray image which is received by the image amplifier 24 . the x - ray source 22 may be of a conventional type such as that available from the x - cel corporation and designated by the model &# 34 ; ureka .&# 34 ; the x - ray source 22 is a full - wave rectified ac type with a pulsed output and therefore has a relatively low duty cycle . as will be discussed later in more detail , the x - ray source 22 is pulsed in response to a control signal delivered from the control logic 28 on line 52 . this control pulse is shown in fig2 c . the control logic 28 generates the x - ray control pulse on line 52 in response to a part - in - place ( pip ) control signal received on line 38 from a photosensor 20 . the photosensor 20 is positioned on one side of the conveyor 12 opposite a light source 18 . the light source 18 delivers a beam of light to the photosensor 20 , which beam is interrupted as a result of the containers 10 passing therethrough . the light source 18 and photosensor 20 are of a conventional type well known in the art . the image amplifier 24 , sometimes referred to in the art as an image intensifier , is of a type well known in the art such as that available from precise optics of bay shore , new york and identified by the manufacturer &# 39 ; s model no . ad - 493 . the image amplifier 24 includes an input phosphor ( not shown ) and an output phosphor ( not shown ). x - rays striking the input phosphor produce electrons which are accelerated and focused on the output phosphor , resulting in the production of a visible image on the output phosphor for a predetermined length of time , e . g ., much less than five milliseconds . the image amplifier normally retains a displayed image . consequently , in connection with the present invention , the image amplifier 24 is pulsed , i . e ., turned on and off , using a control signal pulse received on line 13 from the control logic 28 . the control signal pulse delivered to the image amplifier 24 is depicted in fig2 d and is coincident in time with the peak of the x - ray pulse 27 shown in fig3 . the waveform of the image amplifier output is designated as 35 . the resulting image on the output phosphor of the image amplifier 24 is picked up by the camera 26 which is preferably of a ccd ( charge couple device ) type , such as that manufactured by nec and identified by the manufacturer &# 39 ; s model no . t125a . the length of time of the exposure of the camera 26 to the x - ray image output by the image amplifier 24 generally depends on the rise time of the image amplifier 24 , but may be , in the present example , between 2 microseconds and 5 milliseconds . it has been discovered that by exposing the camera 26 for only a portion of the time that the x - ray image remains on the input phosphor of the image amplifier 24 . a more highly focused , clearer image is recorded . the recording interval , which is depicted in fig3 as less than 5 milliseconds , occurs during the peak of the 8 millisecond half - wave output of the image amplifier 24 . the camera 26 produces a single image field of 480 non - interlaced lines which is scanned at a standard rate of 16 . 6 milliseconds per field . the last three lines of each camera field are blanked out to allow transfer of the data ( charges ) from the camera &# 39 ; s sensor array to the image processor 30 . even at relatively high rates of container movement , the amount of displacement of the container during each camera field is not sufficient to seriously diminish the stored image quality . the camera 26 receives vertical and horizontal synchronization control pulses on lines 40 and 42 respectively from the image processor 30 . video signals representing each camera field are delivered on line 44 to an edge enhancer , thence to the image processor 34 for processing . the edge enhancer 32 is a conventional device such as that manufactured by for - a and identified by the manufacturer &# 39 ; s model no . iv - 530 . the edge enhancer 32 is operative to operate on the video signals received on line 44 in a manner which increases the resolution of the edges of the video image . the image processor 30 may comprise , by way of example , a videk , model no . 150 , and is employed to process and analyze each video field recorded by the camera 26 . the processor 30 includes conventional software for analyzing the video image and detecting the presence of foreign particles in the contents of the containers 10 . the image processor 30 is activated by an image processor pulse shown in fig2 e and received from the control logic 28 on line 48 . in the event that the image processor 30 detects the presence of foreign particles in the container 10 , a reject signal is issued on line 46 to the control logic 28 . the control logic 28 is responsive to this reject signal to issue a control signal on line 52 to conventional reject mechanism 34 . the reject mechanism 34 may comprise any of various known designs and is effective to remove the container 10 having contaminants therein by displacing the container from the conveyor 12 to a lateral position 36 . the details of the control logic 28 are depicted in fig4 and will be discussed in more detail later . before discussing the control logic 28 , a description of the operation of the system will now be provided , and reference is concurrently made now to fig1 - 3 . the presence of a container 10 at the inspection station 16 is detected by the photosensor 20 which produces the pip control signal on line 38 . the leading edge of the pip control signal , which is depicted in fig2 b , is sensed by control logic 28 . the control logic 28 also senses the line voltage ( fig2 a ) which is used to pulse the x - ray source 22 . the control logic 28 produces a positive and negative clock control signal respectively corresponding to the commencement of the positive and negative half cycles of the ac line voltage , thereby keeping track of the polarity of the ac line voltage as a function of time . polarity sensing of the ac line voltage is important for the following reason . in connection with relatively high - speed pulsing of the x - ray source 22 , after the source 22 is pulsed , the core of the high - voltage transformer forming part of the x - ray source 22 retains a portion of its magnetic field . due to the high - speed pulsing of the system , this excess field does not have time to dissipate sufficiently and , as a result thereof , when the x - ray source 22 is pulsed again , there is a delay before x - rays are generated . this delay in x - ray generation lasts until the excess field is dissipated . the problem of excess field retention is eliminated in connection with the present system by reversing the ac current flow to the high - voltage transformer after every pulse applied to the x - ray source 22 . by reversing the ac current flow , the excess field is very rapidly dissipated , thereby allowing immediate generation of x - rays without delay . thus , by sensing the polarity of the ac line voltage , it is possible to alternate the current flow through the high - voltage transformer in half - wave segments . in connection with a 60 hz power system , each half - wave segment is approximately 8 milliseconds in duration . thus , in the particular system illustrated herein , after the rising edge of the pip control signal is detected , there is a zero to 1 / 60th second wait until the rising edge of the next positive or negative clock ( depending upon the polarity of the last pulse ) before the source 22 generates x - rays . as shown in fig2 c - 2e , the control logic 28 simultaneously delivers synchronized gating pulses to the x - ray source 22 , image amplifier 24 and image processor 30 , respectively on lines 52 , 13 and 48 . the output phosphor of the image amplifier 24 is blanked until the gating pulse is received on line 13 . as previously mentioned , the image amplifier 24 is pulsed for a duration of much less than 5 milliseconds , as shown in fig3 . during this latter - mentioned pulse while the image is present on the output phosphor , the sensor array of the camera 26 is exposed to such image for a short interval , e . g ., 2 milliseconds , during that portion of the x - ray pulse when the image has the greatest intensity . the relationship of the x - ray pulse and the 5 millisecond exposure is shown in fig3 . after the pulsing of the image amplifier 24 , the electrons impinging on the output phosphor are defocused , thereby blanking the output phosphor until a subsequent pulse is received by the image amplifier 24 . as will be discussed later in more detail , the width of the short duration pulse supplied to the image amplifier 24 is readily adjustable using a later - discussed monostable multivibrator . as previously mentioned , the image processor 30 supplies the camera 26 with horizontal and vertical synchronizing control pulses on lines 40 and 42 respectively . these horizontal and vertical synchronizing pulses are not synchronized with the ac line current , but rather are synchronized to the independent clock of the image processor 30 . when the image processor 30 receives its gate pulse on line 48 from control logic 28 , the internal clock of the image processor 30 is reset , and the image processor 30 in turn resets the horizontal and vertical clocks which produce the synchronizing signals on lines 40 and 42 . the resetting of the horizontal and vertical clocks of the image processor 30 is depicted by the numeral 56 in fig2 g . as shown during the timing interval indicated by the numeral 58 in fig2 g , the camera 26 then integrates the image formed on the output phosphor of the image amplifier 24 for a preprogrammed time period which is typically from 5 to 250 times the horizontal clock rate . following integration , a vertical pulse is issued at 60 in fig2 g during which the charges stored on the sensor array are read and placed into a buffer ( not shown ) forming part of the camera 26 . following the vertical pulse 60 , the buffer is read line by every other line into a memory ( not shown ) of the image processor 30 until an image field is formed . this latter - mentioned interval is designated by the numeral 62 in the timing diagram of fig2 g . after the formation of a complete field in the memory of the image processor 30 , the processor 30 stops receiving video information from the camera 26 and proceeds to analyze the image . at this point , the camera 26 continues to receive normal horizontal and vertical synchronizing pulses and creates a black base image on the target , as indicated at 64 in fig2 g , until the next pulse is issued on line 13 by the control logic 28 . as previously mentioned , the video data passes from the camera 26 on line 44 through an edge enhancer 32 . the edge enhancer 32 employs a high pass filter to sense steep gradients of gray scale and expands them in time . in the event that the image processor 30 detects foreign particles or contaminants in the contents of the container 10 , a command is issued on line 46 to the control logic which in turn generates a reject signal on line 50 , thereby activating the reject mechanism 34 to eject the container 10 from the conveyor line 12 . attention is now directed to fig4 which depicts the details of the control logic 28 ( fig1 ). the ac line voltage employed to pulse the x - ray source 22 is converted by a pair of opto - isolators 66 , 68 into a pair of clock signals respectively representing the positive and negative halves of the ac line voltage . these two clock signals are respectively delivered to the corresponding inputs of nand gates 70 and 72 which form a part of a logic array 65 . nand gates 70 and 72 are selectively enabled by the output of a flip - flop 82 . flip - flop 82 effectively operates as a toggle in order to invert the positive or negative clock signal and disable the other . upon disablement , the disabled one of the gates 70 , 72 goes high , thereby enabling nand gate 74 which effectively inverts the clock signal which was inverted by the enabled one of the gates 70 , 72 . at this point , the circuit has selected either the positive or negative clock to pulse the x - ray source 22 , and the circuit then waits for receipt on line 38 of the pip signal . the pip control signal on line 38 sets the flip - flops 78 , 80 which in turn enable the nand gate 76 , thereby inverting the selected clock signal at the output of nand gate 76 . the pip control signal effectively forms the clock signal for flip - flop 78 . on the rising edge of the pip control signal , flip - flop 78 outputs a 1 and zero to the corresponding inputs of flip - flop 80 . the outputs of flip - flop 78 do not change state until reset by a reset signal generated by a one shot 84 ( monostable multivibrator ). the one shot 84 is actuated by the clock control signal output from nand gate 76 . the next rising edge of the clock signal at the output of nand gate 74 causes flip - flop 80 to output a 1 , thereby enabling nand gate 76 . flip - flop 80 remains high until reset by the one shot 84 . enablement of nand gate 76 effectively inverts the clock signal to its output , and the inverted clock signal is inverted again by an inverter 90 . as previously mentioned , the rising or back edge of the clock signal output from nand gate 76 actuates the one shot 84 to produce a pulse which resets flip - flops 78 and 80 . disabling flip - flops 78 and 80 effectively disables the pip signal on line 38 , thereby disabling nand gate 76 . this arrangement has the effect of allowing only one pulse of the clock to be processed , which corresponds to a single half - wave segment of the ac line voltage which , in the case of a 60 hz system , is 8 . 3 milliseconds in pulse width . the pulse inverted by the inverter 90 enables current to flow through the led portion of either opto - isolator 96 or 98 , depending upon the state of flip - flop 82 . flip - flop 82 turns on one of the drivers 104 and 106 , thereby sinking current through the corresponding opto - isolators 96 , 98 . current flowing through either of the opto - isolators 96 , 98 results in the firing of corresponding scrs 100 , 102 which in turn allow either a positive or negative ac half - wave to energize the x - ray source 22 . upon the termination of the clock signal output by nand gate 76 which results in the pulses shown in fig2 c - 2e , the flip - flop 82 is toggled by the one shot 84 , thereby conditioning the flip - flop 82 . toggling of the flip - flop 82 has the effect of alternately enabling the drivers 104 , 106 in accordance with the polarity of the half - wave of the ac line voltage . the single pulse passing through the inverter 90 also passes through a buffer inverter 92 which fires an interface driver 94 to produce the pulse on line 48 which is delivered to the image processor 30 . the pulse passing through the inverter 92 fires a one shot 86 . the one shot 86 is adjustable , for example , from one - tenth to ten milliseconds and delivers an output pulse through a driver 88 onto line 13 which is delivered to the image amplifier 24 . adjustment of the pulse output by the one shot 86 determines the time period that the image amplifier 24 remains unblanked . from the description immediately above , it may be appreciated that the image processor 30 , image amplifier 24 and x - ray source 22 are pulsed simultaneously . reference will now be made to fig5 through 7 , which show a second embodiment of the disclosed invention . fig5 shows a plurality of containers 110 moving along a path past an inspection station generally indicated by the numeral 116 . the containers 110 are moved by a conveyor 112 or the like in the direction of the arrow 114 . the containers 110 may comprise , by way of example , glass jars filled with food products which must be inspected for foreign particles . the method and apparatus of the present invention are well suited to inspecting containers 110 which move through the inspection station 116 at very high rates of speed , e . g ., in excess of 1200 containers per minute . the system broadly includes an x - ray source 122 , an image amplifier 124 , a camera 126 , control logic 209 , and an image processor 130 . the x - ray source 122 and image amplifier 124 are positioned on opposite sides of the path of travel of the containers 110 such that x - rays from the x - ray source 122 which irradiate the container 110 result in an x - ray image which is received by the image amplifier 124 . the x - ray source 122 may be of a conventional type such as that available from the x - cel corporation and designated by the model &# 34 ; ureka .&# 34 ; the x - ray source 122 is of a pulsed type driven by a direct current source . as will be discussed later in more detail , the x - ray source 122 is pulsed in response to a control signal pulse delivered to the x - ray source 122 from the control logic 209 on line 152 . this control pulse is shown in fig6 b . the control logic 209 generates the x - ray pulse on line 152 in response to a part - in - place ( pip ) control signal received on line 138 from a photosensor 120 . the photosensor 120 is positioned on one side of the conveyor 112 opposite a light source 118 . the light source 118 delivers a beam of light to the photosensor 120 , which beam is interrupted as a result of the containers 110 passing therethrough . the light source 118 and photosensor 120 are of a conventional type well known in the art . the image amplifier 124 , sometimes referred to in the art as an image intensifier , is of a type well known in the art such as that available from precise optics of bay shore , new york and identified by the manufacturer &# 39 ; s model no . ad - 493 . the image amplifier 124 includes an input phosphor ( not shown ) and an output phosphor ( not shown ). x - rays striking the input phosphor are accelerated and focused on the output phosphor , resulting in the production of a visible image on the output phosphor for a predetermined length of time , e . g . approximately one - half of a millisecond . the resulting image on the output phosphor of the image amplifier 124 is picked up by the camera 126 which is preferably of a ccd ( charge couple device ) type , such as that manufactured by nec and identified by the manufacturer &# 39 ; s model no . t125a . the length of time of the exposure of the camera 126 to the x - ray image output by the image amplifier 124 generally depends on the duration of the x - ray pulse but may be , in the present embodiment , between 2 microseconds and 0 . 5 milliseconds . the camera 126 produces a single image field of 480 non - interlaced lines which is scanned at a standard rate of 16 . 6 milliseconds per field . the last three lines of each camera field are blanked out to allow transfer of the data ( charges ) from the camera &# 39 ; s sensor array to the image processor 130 . even at relatively high rates of container movement , the amount of displacement of the container during each camera field is not sufficient to seriously diminish the stored image quality . the camera 126 receives vertical and horizontal synchronization pulses on lines 140 and 142 respectively from the image processor 130 . video signals representing each camera field are delivered on line 144 to an edge enhancer , thence to the image processor 134 for processing . the edge enhancer 132 is a conventional device , such as that manufactured by for - a , and identified by the manufacturer &# 39 ; s model no . iv - 530 . the edge enhancer 132 is operative to operate on the video signals received on line 144 in a manner which increases the resolution of the edges of the video image . the image processor 130 may comprise , by way of example , a videk , model no . 150 , and is employed to process and analyze each video field recorded by the camera 126 . the processor 130 includes conventional software for analyzing the video image and detecting the presence of foreign particles in the contents of the containers 110 . the image processor 130 is activated by an image processor pulse shown in fig6 c and received from the control logic 209 on line 148 . in the event that the image processor 130 detects the presence of foreign particles in the container 110 , a reject signal is issued on line 146 to the control logic 209 . the control logic z09 is responsive to this reject signal and issues a delayed reject control signal on line 150 to a conventional reject mechanism 134 . the reject mechanism 134 may comprise any of various known designs and is effective to remove the container 110 having contaminants therein by displacing the container from the conveyor 112 to a lateral position 136 . in addition to analyzing image data for the presence of foreign particles in the container , the image processor 130 determines if the x - ray image being captured by camera 126 is brighter or darker than a preprogrammed image brightness threshold . this determination is conducted by using the following technique . upon every other pip pulse ( fig6 a ), the image processor 130 analyzes the brightness of the x - ray image and issues a brighten image pulse ( fig6 d ), if appropriate , to counter 226 along line 211 . upon every remaining pip pulse ( fig6 a ), the image processor 130 analyzes the darkness of the x - ray image and issues a darken image pulse ( fig6 e ), if appropriate , to counter 227 along line 213 . the x - ray control 209 uses the darken image pulses ( fig6 e ) and the brighten image pulses ( fig6 d ) to control the iris adjustment on camera lens 210 . the x - ray controller accomplishes this iris control by counting brighten pulses in counter 226 and counting darken pulses in counter 227 . these pulse counts are acted upon by a standard stepper motor logic circuit 228 to genera ( e the proper drive phases to control the rotation direction and speed of the stepper motor 239 used for iris adjustment . the details of the control logic 209 are depicted in fig7 and will be discussed in more detail later . before discussing the control logic 209 , a description of the operation of the system will now be provided and reference is concurrently made now to fig5 - 7 . the presence of a container 110 at the inspection station 116 is detected by the photosensor 120 which produces the pip control signal on line 138 . the leading edge of the pip control signal , which is depicted in fig6 a , is sensed by x - ray control logic 209 . in connection with relatively high - speed pulsing of the x - ray source 122 , after the source 122 is pulsed , the core of the high - voltage transformer forming part of the x - ray source 122 maintains a portion of its magnetic field . due to the high - speed pulsing of the system , this excess field does not have sufficient time to dissipate and when , as a result thereof , the x - ray source 122 is pulsed again , there is a delay before x - rays are generated . this delay in x - ray generation lasts until the excess field is dissipated . the problem of excess field retention is eliminated in connection with the present system by reversing the current flow to the high - voltage transformer after every pulse applied to the x - ray source 122 . by reversing the current flow , the excess field rapidly dissipates , thereby allowing immediate generation of x - rays without delay . the x - ray control 209 accomplishes this current reversal after every pulse by alternately amplifying the positive and negative waveforms supplying the x - ray tube head 122 with current . the period of waveform may be adjusted from 0 . 1 msec to โ msec with the preferred range being from 0 . 5 msec to 10 msec . unlike the first embodiment shown in fig1 - 4 , x - ray control logic 209 experiences virtually no variation of delay between the part in position pulse 138 and the x - rays produced by source 122 . this causes the x - ray image to appear motionless on the camera 126 , easing inspection test configuration and allowing more accuracy in detecting foreign particles within containers 110 . when the x - ray control 109 receives the pip signal 138 , it fires the x - ray source 122 and sends out the image processor enable pulse 148 . the image processor 130 supplies the camera 126 with horizontal and vertical synchronizing control pulses on lines 140 and 142 respectively . these horizontal and vertical pulses are synchronized to the independent clock ( not shown ) of the image processor 130 . when the image processor 130 receives its gate pulse on line 148 from control logic 209 , the internal clock of the image processor 130 is reset , and the image processor 130 in turn resets the horizontal and vertical clocks which produce the synchronizing signals on lines 140 and 142 . the resetting of the horizontal and vertical clocks of the image processor 130 is depicted by the numeral 156 in fig6 g . as shown during the timing interval indicated by the numeral 158 in fig6 g , the camera 126 then integrates the image formed on the output phosphor ( not shown ) of the image amplifier 124 for a preprogrammed time period which is typically from 5 to 250 times the horizontal clock rate . following integration , a vertical pulse is issued at 160 in fig6 g during which the charges stored on the sensor array are read and placed into a buffer ( not shown ) forming part of the camera 126 . following the vertical pulse 160 , the buffer is read line by every other line into a memory ( not shown ) of the image processor 130 until an image field is formed . this latter - mentioned interval is designated by the numeral 162 in the timing diagram of fig6 g . after the formation of a complete field in the memory of the image processor 130 , the processor 130 stops receiving video information from the camera 126 and proceeds to analyze the image . at this point , the camera 126 continues to receive normal horizontal and vertical synchronizing pules and purges the stored image in preparation for the next inspection cycle . this purge time is indicated at 164 . as previously mentioned , the video data passes from camera 126 on line 144 through an edge enhancer 132 . the edge enhancer 132 employs a high pass filter to sense steep gradients of gray scale and expands them in time . in the event that the image processor 130 detects foreign particles or contaminants in the contents of the container 110 , a command is issued on line 146 to the control logic , which in turn generates a delayed reject signal on line 150 , thereby activating a conventional reject mechanism 134 to eject the container 110 from the conveyor line 112 . attention is now directed to fig7 which depicts the details of the control logic 109 . the part - in - place signal ( pip ) input is a positive square pulse which rises upon the detection of a container 110 to be x - rayed . the pip signal &# 39 ; s rising edge initiates a positive square pulse with one shot 212 on line 235 having a time duration equaling that needed to fire one x - ray pulse . the pulse on line 235 enables driver 207 . the rising edge of the driver 207 output signal which appears on line 148 enables the image processor 130 to capture images from camera 126 and begins testing . the output of driver 207 is also used to enable operation of the op - amp 214 . op - amp 214 is a waveform generator . three capacitors and three resistors 215 are configured in a feedback network around op - amp 214 . this circuit configuration is known by those skilled in the art as a twin - tee oscillator circuit . twin - tee circuit 215 is the feedback loop of op - amp 214 . by adjusting the resistance and capacitance values 215 , various waveform contours can be produced such as a one millisecond half - wave sinusoid . the signal from op - amp 214 enters op - amp 216 . op - amp 216 buffers the waveform from the rest of the circuit and supplies two buffered waveforms identical to the waveform from op - amp 214 . one of the buffered waveforms from op - amp 216 is sent to op - amp 217 which inverts the waveform and sends the inverted waveform to op - amp 221 . the other buffered waveform from op - amp 216 is sent to op - amp 220 . when one shot 212 receives the rising edges of the pip signal , two one - shot pulses are created . one of the pulses goes to the driver 207 , the other goes to flip - flop 218 along line 237 . the one - shot signal sent to flip - flop 218 has a time duration greater than that needed to fire one x - ray pulse . the falling edge of the one - shot pulse causes the output of flip - flop 218 to toggle . the flip - flop 218 toggling output is received by opto - isolator 219 . opto - isolator 219 alternately enables the output signals of op - amp 220 and op - amp 221 to drive power transistor groups 230 and 231 . power transistor group 230 is connected to an adjustable positive dc voltage supply ( 0 v to 170 v ) and amplifies the signal it receives from op - amp 220 , producing waveforms typically ranging from + 20 v dc to + 120 v dc and at power ratings of 1000 watts . the amplified waveforms are sent to the x - ray source 122 which amplifies the waveform to the kilovolt region , thus producing x - rays in the x - ray tube ( not shown ). power transistor group 231 is connected to an adjustable negative dc voltage supply ( 0 v to - 170 v ). power transistor group 231 amplifies the signal from op - amp 221 , producing waveforms typically ranging from - 20 v dc to - 120 v dc and at power ratings of 1000 watts . the amplified waveforms are sent to the x - ray source 122 which amplifies the waveform to the kilovolt region , thus producing x - rays in the x - ray tube ( not shown ). image acquisition and testing by the image processor is initiated by the rising edge of the driver pulse appearing on line 148 . during the inspection process , the image processor 130 monitors the image brightness and sends a pulse to either counter 226 or counter 227 along line 211 or 213 respectively . when a preset count is exceeded , the stepper motor 139 is operated to counteract discrepancies in image brightness by adjusting the camera lens iris 210 . the reject control signal present on line 150 is delayed from that issued on line 146 by a conventional time delay circuit 147 well known to those skilled in the art . this time delay between reject signals 146 and 150 is necessary to accommodate the time it takes a container to travel from the photosensor 120 to the reject mechanism 134 . driver 149 receives the delayed reject signal from delay circuit 147 and provides the proper current to reject mechanism 134 . from the foregoing , it is apparent that the method and apparatus of the present invention provide for the reliable accomplishment of the objects of the invention and do so in an economical manner . it is recognized , of course , that those skilled in the art may make various modifications or additions to the preferred embodiments chosen to illustrate the invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the present contribution of the art . accordingly , it is to be understood that the protection sought and to be afforded hereby should be deemed to extend to the subject matter claimed and all equivalents thereof fairly within the scope of the invention . | 6 |
now , a magnetic recording medium according to this invention will be described in conjunction with specific examples . referring to fig1 illustration is made of a magnetic recording medium according to the example 1 . the magnetic recording medium according to the example 1 includes a substrate ( glass substrate ) 1 on which a precoat layer 2 , a seed layer 3 , an underlying layer 4 , a first magnetic layer 5 , a spacer layer 6 , a lower magnetic layer 71 , an upper magnetic layer 72 , a protection layer 8 , and a lubrication layer 9 are successively laminated in this order . a combination of the substrate 1 , the precoat layer 2 , the seed layer 3 , and the underlying layer 4 is referred to as a base body . a combination of the lower magnetic layer 71 and the upper magnetic layer 72 forms a second magnetic layer 7 . the glass substrate is made of an aluminosilicate glass chemically strengthened and mirror - polished to surface roughnesses ra = 0 . 3 nm and rmax = 3 . 2 nm ( measured by an inter - atomic force microscope ). the surface roughness ra is representative of a center - line - mean roughness defined in japanese industrial standard jis b0601 . the center - line - mean roughness ra will now be described with reference to fig2 . a portion having an evaluation length lm is sampled from a roughness curve illustrated in fig2 along a direction of a center - line of the roughness curve . the center - line - mean roughness ra is represented by the following equation : ra = 1 lm ๎ข โซ 0 lm ๎ข ๏ f ๎ข ( x ) ๏ ๎ข ๏ x , where the roughness curve is represented by y = f ( x ) when the center line of the sampled portion is defined as the x axis and when the direction of vertical magnification is defined as the y axis . that is , the center - line - mean roughness ra is defined as a value which is obtained by integrating an absolute value of deviation between the center - line and the roughness curve by the section of the evaluation length into an integrated value and by averaging the integrated value with the section . in other words , the center - line - mean roughness ra is defined as an average value of an absolute value of deviation between the center - line and the roughness curve . the surface roughness rmax is a maximum height representative of a difference between a highest point and a lowest point of the surface as also defined in japanese industrial standard jis b0601 . the precoat layer 2 comprises a crta amorphous layer ( having a thickness of 300 angstroms ). in this amorphous layer , the atomic ratio of cr and ta is 60 : 40 . the seed layer 3 comprises an al alloy film ( having a thickness of 250 angstroms ). the underlying layer 4 comprises a crw thin film ( having a thickness of 100 angstroms ) and is intended to improve a crystal structure of the first magnetic layer . the crw underlying layer 4 has a composition ratio of cr : 90 at % and w : 10 at %. the crw underlying layer 4 is deposited by sputtering in a mixed gas atmosphere of 0 . 75 % co 2 and ar in order to promote miniaturization of crystal grains of the crw underlying layer 4 . the first magnetic layer 5 comprises a co - based alloy thin film ( having a thickness of 25 angstroms ) of a ferromagnetic hcp structure . the spacer layer 6 comprises a ru film ( having a thickness of 7 angstroms ). the lower magnetic layer 71 comprises a cocrptta alloy thin film ( having a thickness of 5 angstroms ). the contents of co , cr , pt , and ta are equal to 70 at %, 19 at %, 9 at %, and 2 at %, respectively . the upper magnetic layer 72 comprises a cocrptb alloy thin film ( having a thickness of 150 angstroms ). the contents of co , cr , pt , and b are equal to 61 at %, 20 at %, 12 at %, and 7 at %, respectively . the protection layer 8 serves to prevent deterioration of the magnetic layer due to the contact with a magnetic head . the protection layer 8 comprises a hydrogenated carbon ( or a carbon hydride ) film having a thickness of 45 angstroms . the lubrication layer 9 comprises a liquid lubricator of perfluoropolyether . the lubrication layer 9 serves to buffer the contact with the magnetic head . the lubrication layer 9 has a thickness of 8 angstroms . next , description will be made of a method of producing the magnetic recording medium having the above - mentioned structure . at first , the glass substrate was chemically strengthened by low - temperature ion exchange . a principal surface of the glass substrate was subjected to precision polishing to produce a mirror surface ( rmax = 3 . 2 nm , ra = 0 . 3 nm ). then , on the principal surface of the glass substrate , the precoat layer 2 , the seed layer 3 , the underlying layer 4 , the first magnetic layer 5 , the spacer layer 6 , the lower magnetic layer 71 , the upper magnetic layer 72 , and the protection layer 8 were successively deposited by the use of a static opposed sputtering apparatus . the underlying layer 4 was deposited by sputtering in a mixed gas atmosphere of ar + co 2 . the protection layer 8 was deposited by sputtering in a mixed gas atmosphere of ar + h 2 . the remaining layers were deposited by sputtering in an inactive gas atmosphere of ar . then , the perfluoropolyether lubricant was applied on the protection layer 8 by dipping to form the lubrication layer 9 . thus , a magnetic disk was obtained . the magnetic disk thus obtained had the coercive force ( hc ) of 3698 oe , the coercive force squareness ratio ( s *) of 0 . 65 , the output ( lf ) of 1 . 52 mv , the pulse width ( pw ) of 12 . 3 nsec , the s / n ratio of 30 . 38 db , the overwrite characteristic ( ow ) of โ 33 . 34 db , and the thermal decay characteristic in terms of the signal output attenuation of 0 . 12 - db / decade . thus , the thermal decay characteristic was excellent . in addition , excellent results were obtained for all of the recording / reproducing characteristics including the coercive force squareness ratio ( s *), the pulse width ( pw ), the s / n ratio , and the overwrite characteristic ( ow ). these characteristics were measured in the following manner . also in following examples and comparative examples , measurement was made by the same methods . the coercive force ( hc ) and the coercive force squareness ratio ( s *) were measured by a magnetometer head ( hr / mrt disk mapper manufactured by dms corporation ). in view of the improvement in pw and thermal decay characteristic , the coercive force ( hc ) is preferably as high as possible in a writing range of a head . the coercive force squareness ratio ( s *) is an index representing in - plane orientation and magnetic separation between the magnetic grains . generally , a higher value is preferable . the output ( lf ) was measured by a read write analyzer ( guzik ). as far as other electromagnetic conversion characteristics are maintained , the output ( lf ) is preferably as high as possible in improving the error rate . the pulse width ( pw 50 : half width of an isolated signal waveform ) was measured in the following manner . by the read write analyzer ( guzik ) with an mr ( magnetoresistive ) head for pw 50 measurement mounted thereon , an isolated reproduction signal was extracted . pw 50 was obtained as the width of an isolated waveform at 50 % of a peak value of the output signal with respect to ground ( 0 ). for a high recording density , pw 50 is preferably as small as possible . this is because a smaller pulse width allows a greater number of pulses ( signals ) to be written in a same area . on the other hand , a greater value of pw 50 causes an interference between adjacent pulses ( signals ) to produce an error upon reading the signal . this waveform interference deteriorates the error rate . the s / n ratio was obtained by measuring recording / reproducing outputs in the following manner . by the use of a mr head having a head flying height of 0 . 025 ฮผm , the recording / reproducing outputs at a linear recording density of 520 kfcl ( 520000 bits / inch ) were measured when the relative speed between the mr head and the magnetic disk is equal to 10 m / sec . at the carrier frequency of 100 mhz and the measuring band of 120 mhz , noise spectra upon the recording / reproducing operations were measured by a spectrum analyzer . the mr head used in this measurement had track widths of 2 . 0 and 0 . 5 ฮผm m and magnetic head gap lengths of 0 . 20 and 0 . 11 ฮผm on write and read sides , respectively . a higher s / n ratio prevents a signal reading error due to a noise to improve the error rate and achieves a high recording density . the overwrite characteristic ( ow ) was similarly measured by the use of the read write analyzer ( guzik ). the overwrite characteristic is preferably as high as possible in the sense of improving the degradation in yield due to an insufficient writing ability of the head upon assembling the hdd . the thermal decay characteristic was measured in the following manner . in order to accurately evaluate only the signal attenuation due to the thermal decay of the magnetic recording medium without the influence of thermal - off - track ( the phenomenon such that thermal expansion of a head suspension causes deviation of the magnetic head with respect to the track on the magnetic recording medium , resulting in signal attenuation ), preparation is made of an mr head having a read / write device in which a write track width is at least twice a read track width . the mr head is set in a head / disk mechanism in a system together with the magnetic disk as the magnetic recording medium obtained as mentioned above . then , the head / disk mechanism is put into an environmental tank controllable in temperature in order to expose the head / disk mechanism to a high - temperature environment . when the interior of the environmental tank is stabilized at a preselected temperature , a read / write circuit sends a write signal to a write device of the mr head to write the signal into the magnetic disk . immediately after the signal is written , the signal written in the magnetic disk is read through a read device of the mr head , amplified by the read / write circuit , and then measured by a signal evaluating portion . the signal evaluating portion records an amplitude value of the read signal at a predetermined time interval . the signal evaluating portion carries out measurement , for example , by the use of a spectrum analyzer . as the condition of the above - mentioned measurement , the environmental tank is kept at a temperature of 60 ยฐ c . and the recording density of the signal written in the magnetic disk is 100 kflux / inch . the head used in this measurement has a write track width of 2 . 0 ฮผm , a read track width of 0 . 5 ฮผm , a write gap length of 0 . 20 ฮผm , a read gap length of 0 . 11 ฮผm , and a read / write device floating height of 20 nm . next , a magnetic recording medium was produced in the manner similar to example 1 except the lower magnetic layer 71 in example 1 is omitted . the magnetic disk thus obtained had a coercive force ( hc ) of 3639 oe , the coercive force squareness ratio ( s *) of 0 . 54 , the output ( lf ) of 1 . 39 mv , the pulse width ( pw ) of 12 . 6 nsec , the s / n ratio of 30 . 35 db , the overwrite characteristic ( ow ) of โ 26 . 44 db , and the signal output attenuation of 0 . 17 - db / decade as the thermal decay characteristic . it will be understood that , as compared with the existing afc structure , the film structure of this invention is excellent in thermal decay characteristic and particularly improved in coercive force squareness ratio ( s *), pulse width ( pw ), and overwrite characteristic ( ow ). in particular , the magnetic disk is generally required to have the overwrite characteristic ( ow ) of โ 30 db or more , desirably , โ 33 db or more . it will be understood that writing was difficult in the existing afc structure and that the structure of this invention achieves the overwrite characteristic ( ow ) in a sufficiently usable range . referring to fig3 various magnetic recording media are evaluated for the relationship between the s / n ratio and the signal output attenuation ( decay ). in the figure , the symbols โฆ, โก, and * correspond to the magnetic disk having an afc structure according to the example of this invention , the existing magnetic disk having an afc structure , and the existing magnetic disk which does not have an afc structure , respectively . the plotted values are obtained for each magnetic disk when the film material and the film composition of the underlying layer 4 or the magnetic layer are changed . generally , in order to increase the recording density , the improvement of the s / n ratio is essential . however , as seen from the graph , if the s / n ratio is improved ( i . e ., the magnetic grains are miniaturized ) in case where the afc structure is not used , the signal output attenuation is increased ( thermal decay is deteriorated ) so that the improvement of the s / n ratio is limited . the allowance for the signal output attenuation is different in each drive maker . generally , the signal output attenuation greater than โ 0 . 2 db / decade is not acceptable . therefore , the afc structure has been proposed . however , even the existing afc structure is insufficient in thermal decay characteristic and encounters the limitation in improvement of the s / n ratio . on the other hand , with the novel film structure of this invention , it is possible to achieve a thermal decay resistance characteristic with the s / n ratio improved . this shows that the recording density can further be improved . with respect to the limit of the existing afc structure , the improvement in recording density corresponding to two generations is possible ( in the magnetic disk , the improvement in s / n ratio required for one generation is about 2 db ). next , a magnetic disk was produced in the manner similar to example 1 except that the lower magnetic layer 71 had a thickness of 80 angstroms and the upper magnetic layer 72 had a thickness of 70 angstroms . the result is shown in table 1 . as seen from table 1 , a greater thickness of the lower magnetic layer 71 than that of the upper magnetic layer 72 results in remarkable improvement in coercive force squareness ratio ( s *) and overwrite characteristic ( ow ) as well as improvement in pulse width ( pw ) as compared with the existing afc structure ( comparative example 1 ) although the coercive force ( hc ) is decreased . next , a magnetic disk was produced in the manner similar to example 1 except that the cr concentration and the pt concentration of the lower magnetic layer 71 are increased as shown in table 1 . the result is shown in table 1 . as seen from table 1 , a greater anisotropic magnetic field of the lower magnetic layer 71 than that of the upper magnetic layer 72 brings about remarkable improvement in overwrite characteristic ( ow ) although the thermal decay characteristic is substantially similar to that of the existing afc structure next , magnetic disks were produced in the manner similar to example 1 except that the cr concentration of the lower magnetic layer 71 was changed ( the saturated magnetic flux density of the lower magnetic layer 71 was changed ) in example 2 and that the pt concentration of the lower magnetic layer 71 was changed ( the anisotropic magnetic field of the lower magnetic layer 71 was changed ) in example 3 . the results are shown in table 1 . by changing the cr concentration of the lower magnetic layer 71 in example 2 , the saturated magnetic flux density of the lower magnetic layer 71 is yet smaller than that of the upper magnetic layer 72 as compared with example 1 . thus , with respect to the magnetic disk of example 1 , the overwrite characteristic ( ow ) and the s / n ratio are further improved . by changing the pt concentration of the lower magnetic layer 71 in example 3 , the coercive force ( hc ) and the thermal decay characteristic were improved . next , magnetic disks were produced in the manner similar to example 1 except that the composition of the lower magnetic layer 71 was changed as shown in table 1 ( the content of ta was increased and the content of pt was decreased ). the results are shown in table 1 . as seen from table 1 , both of the examples 4 and 5 are further improved in s / n ratio by the increase in content of ta . in example 4 , the thermal decay characteristic and the overwrite characteristic ( ow ) were particularly improved by the decrease in content of pt although the coercive force squareness ratio ( s *) was equivalent to that of the existing magnetic disk of the afc structure ( comparative example 1 ). next , a magnetic disk was produced in the manner similar to example 1 except that the cr concentration of the lower magnetic layer 71 was reduced as shown in table 1 . the result is shown in table 1 . as seen from table 1 , the anisotropic magnetic field of the lower magnetic layer 71 is smaller than that of the upper magnetic layer 72 . however , the saturated magnetic flux density of the lower magnetic layer 71 is greater than that of the upper magnetic layer 72 so that the s / n ratio is deteriorated . as compared with the above - mentioned examples 1 - 5 , it will be understood that , when the anisotropic magnetic field of the lower magnetic layer 71 is smaller than that of the upper magnetic layer 72 and when the saturated magnetic flux density of the lower magnetic layer 71 is smaller than that of the upper magnetic layer 72 , a magnetic disk excellent in thermal decay characteristic and excellent in coercive force squareness ratio ( s *), pulse width ( pw ), overwrite characteristic ( ow ), and medium noise ( s / n ) is obtained . next , a magnetic disk was produced in the manner similar to example 1 except that the precoat layer 2 of an alloy containing cr and ta was not formed . the result is shown in table 1 . as will be understood from comparison with the data in the examples , by forming the precoat layer 2 made of the alloy containing cr and ta on the glass substrate , it is possible to improve the coercive force ( hc ), the coercive force squareness ratio ( s *), the pulse width ( pw ), and the s / n ratio . referring to fig4 illustration is made of a magnetic recording medium according to example 6 . in fig4 the magnetic recording medium according to example 6 was produced in the manner similar to example 1 except that an intermediate layer 42 having a hcp ( hexagonal close - packed ) structure was interposed between a crw thin film 41 ( cr : 90 at % and w : 10 at %) of the underlying layer 4 and the first magnetic layer 5 . in this case , the intermediate layer 42 of the underlying layer 4 was made of a cocrptta alloy having a composition of co : 71 at %, cr : 19 at %, pt : 8 at %, and ta : 2 at %. the intermediate layer 42 has a thickness of 10 angstroms . the intermediate layer 42 has the hcp structure and is intended to adjust the crystal orientation of the magnetic layer having the hcp structure . except the presence of the intermediate layer 42 , example 6 is similar to example 1 . the cocrptta alloy is a ferromagnetic material . as a result , the excellent characteristics were obtained , i . e ., the coercive force ( hc ) of 3668 oe , the coercive force squareness ratio ( s *) of 0 . 80 , the output ( lf ) of 1 . 50 mv , the pulse width ( pw ) of 12 . 0 nsec , the overwrite characteristic ( ow ) of 33 . 21 - db , the s / n ratio of 29 . 79 db , and the thermal decay of 0 . 07 - db / decade . as compared with the result of example 1 , example 6 is remarkably improved in coercive force squareness ratio ( s *), pulse width ( pw ), and the thermal decay characteristic . presumably , this is because the presence of the intermediate layer 42 serves to adjust the crystal orientation of the magnetic layer having the hcp structure . a magnetic disk was produced in the manner similar to example 6 of fig4 except that an additional intermediate layer made of a cocr alloy was interposed between the crw thin film ( cr : 90 at % and w : 10 at %) 41 of the underlying layer 4 and the intermediate layer ( co : 71 at %, cr : 19 at %, pt : 8 at %, ta : 2 at %) 42 . the cocr alloy had a composition of co : 80 at % and cr : 20 at %. the additional intermediate layer had a thickness of 25 angstroms . in example 7 , the content of pt is increased away from the substrate towards the upper magnetic layer 72 so that the crystal orientation with the magnetic layer is improved . except this respect , example 7 is similar to example 1 . as a result , the excellent characteristics were obtained , i . e ., the coercive force ( hc ) of 3659 oe , the coercive force squareness ratio ( s *) of 0 . 81 , the output ( lf ) of 1 . 48 mv , the pulse width ( pw ) of 12 . 0 nsec , the overwrite characteristic ( ow ) of 33 . 15 - db , the s / n ratio of 29 . 55 db , and the thermal decay of 0 . 06 - db / decade . as compared with examples 1 and 6 , the coercive force squareness ratio and the thermal decay characteristic are further improved . in addition , the crystal orientation of the magnetic layer is further improved . next , a magnetic recording medium according to example 8 was produced in the manner similar to example 1 of fig1 except that a glass substrate having a surface roughness given by rmax of 5 . 5 nm and ra of 0 . 6 nm was used as the glass substrate 1 . the surface roughness was measured by an inter - atomic force microscope ( afm ). the substrate with the spacer layer 6 formed last was measured for the surface roughness . as a result , the surface roughness was similar to that of the glass substrate 1 in this example . the thermal decay was 0 . 13 - db / decade which is substantially equal to that of example 1 . other characteristics than the thermal decay are also similar to those of example 1 . next , a magnetic recording medium according to example 9 was produced in the manner similar to example 1 of fig1 except that a glass substrate having a surface roughness given by rmax of 7 . 2 nm and ra of 0 . 7 nm was used as the glass substrate 1 . the substrate with the spacer layer 6 formed last was measured for the surface roughness . as a result , the surface roughness was similar to that of the glass substrate 1 in this example . the thermal decay was 0 . 16 - db / decade , which is considerably deteriorated as compared with example 1 . other characteristics than the thermal decay were similar to those of example 1 . comparing the thermal decay characteristics in examples 1 , 8 , and 9 , it will be understood that the thermal decay characteristic is improved if the glass substrate 1 has the surface roughness given by rmax of 6 nm or less and ra of 0 . 6 nm or less . this is because the surface roughness of the spacer layer 6 inducing the antiferromagnetic exchange interaction is smoothed and flattened so that its function is uniform in a plane . in order to investigate an advantageous composition of the first magnetic layer 5 of fig1 magnetic recording media were produced with the composition of the first magnetic layer 5 adjusted as follows within a range of a co - based alloy thin film having a ferromagnetic hcp structure . the seed layer 3 in each of examples 10 to 14 comprises an al alloy thin film having a composition of al : 50 at % and ru : 50 at % and having a thickness of 250 angstroms . in example 10 , the first magnetic layer 5 has a composition of co : 93 at % and cr : 7 at %. in example 11 , the first magnetic layer 5 has a composition of co : 90 at % and cr : 10 at %. in example 12 , the first magnetic layer 5 has a composition of co : 85 at % and cr : 15 at %. in example 13 , the first magnetic layer 5 has a composition of co : 80 at % and cr : 20 at %. in example 14 , the first magnetic layer 5 has a composition of co : 78 at % and cr : 22 at %. in each example , the thickness is equal to that in example 1 . as a result , examples 10 to 14 are similar in coercive force ( hc ), coercive force squareness ratio , output ( lf ), pulse width ( pw ), overwrite characteristic ( ow ), and s / n ratio . on the other hand , the thermal decay characteristics are 0 . 10 - db / decade in example 10 , 0 . 11 - db / decade in example 11 , 0 . 12 - db / decade in example 12 , 0 . 12 - db / decade in example 13 , and 0 . 16 - db / decade in example 14 . it will be understood that the thermal decay characteristic depends upon the content of cr in the first magnetic layer 5 and that the thermal decay is discontinuously deteriorated when the content of cr is 22 at % ( example 14 ). therefore , the material of the first magnetic layer 5 preferably contains cr less than 22 at %. in case where cr is less than 22 at %, the function of the first magnetic layer to control the antiferromagnetic exchange interaction is advantageously effective . on the other hand , if the content of cr is equal to 22 at %, the function of controlling the antiferromagnetic exchange interaction is degraded . therefore , in order to suppress the thermal decay , the first magnetic layer preferably has the cr content less than 22 at %. as described above , according to this invention , it is possible to obtain a magnetic recording medium excellent in thermal decay characteristic . furthermore , it is possible to obtain a magnetic recording medium excellent in coercive force squareness ratio ( s *) as well as in recording / reproducing characteristics ( pulse width ( pw ), overwrite characteristic ( ow ), and medium noise ( s / n )). | 8 |
the compounds of the present invention contain a quadricoordinate , divalent platinum atom , two of whose coordinate positions are occupied by amino groups derived from one diamino or two monoamino compounds ( represented by a and b ) and the other two of whose coordinate positions are occupied by a carboxy oxygen atom and an amino nitrogen atom or by two carboxy oxygen atoms . where a and / or b represents a primary alkylamine , the alkyl part thereof has from 1 to 4 carbon atoms and examples of such compounds include methylamine , ethylamine , propylamine , isopropylamine , butylamine , sec - butylamine and t - butylamine . where a and / or b represents a secondary alkylamine , each alkyl part contains from 1 to 4 carbon atoms , more preferably from 1 to 3 carbon atoms , and the two alkyl groups may be the same or different , but are preferably the same . examples of such compounds include dimethylamine , diethylamine , dipropylamine , diisopropylamine , methylethylamine and methylpropylamine . where a and / or b represents an aromatic amine , the aromatic part is a carbocyclic aryl group having from 6 to 10 ring atoms and is preferably a phenyl or naphthyl ( 1 - or 2 - naphthyl ) group . such aryl groups may be unsubstituted or they may be substituted and , if substituted , the substituent ( s ) is or are selected from the group consisting of c 1 - c 4 alkyl groups . there is , in principle , no limitation on the number of such substituents , the number being only limited by the number of substitutable positions and , possibly , by steric considerations ; in general from 1 to 3 substituents are preferred , a single substituent being most preferred in this case . examples of such aromatic amines include aniline , the toluidines ( especially p - toluidine ) and ฮฑ - or ฮฒ - naphylamine , of which aniline and p - toluidine are preferred , as an alternative , a and b together may represent a diamino compound , as defined above . for example , where a and b together represent a compound of formula h 2 n -- y -- nh 2 , y represents a c 2 - c 7 alkylene group , which may be a straight or branched chain group . the two &# 34 ; free &# 34 ; valencies of the alkylene group may be attached to the same carbon atom ( in which case such groups are sometimes referred to as &# 34 ; alkylidene &# 34 ; groups ) or , and more preferably , they may be attached to different carbon atoms . examples of such diamino compounds include ethylene diamine , trimethylene diamine ( 1 , 3 - diaminopropane ), 2 - methyltetramethylene diamine ( 1 , 4 - diamino - 2 - methylbutane ) and 2 , 2 - diethyltrimethylene diamine ( 1 , 3 - diamino - 2 , 2 - diethylpropane ). an alternative class of diamines which may be represented by a and b are c 5 - c 8 alicyclic diamines in which each amino group is provided by an amino substituent on the alicyclic ring or by a c 1 - c 4 aminoalkyl substituent on the alicyclic ring ; if desired , the compound may contain two such amino substituents , two such aminoalkyl substituents or one such amino substituent and one such aminoalkyl substituent . in the case of the aminoalkyl substituents , the alkyl part has from 1 to 4 carbon atoms , more preferably 1 or 2 carbon atoms and most preferably 1 carbon atom . examples of such aminoalkyl groups include the aminomethyl , 2 - aminoethyl , 3 - aminopropyl and 4 - aminobutyl groups , of which the aminomethyl group is preferred . the alicyclic ring system itself is preferably a cycloalkyl ring and may be a single , optionally bridged , ring or it may be provided by two fused rings , the total number of carbon atoms in the ring or rings being from 5 to 8 . examples of such ring systems include the cyclopentane , cyclohexane , cycloheptane , cyclooctane , bicyclo [ 2 . 1 . 1 ] hexane , 8 , 9 , 10 - trinorcarane , 8 , 9 , 10 - trinorpinane and 8 , 9 , 10 - trinorbornane systems , of which the cyclopentane , cyclohexane , cycloheptane , cyclooctane and bicyclo [ 2 . 1 . 1 ] hexane systems are preferred . examples of particularly preferred such diamines include 1 , 1 - bis [ aminomethyl ] cyclohexane , 1 , 2 - diaminocyclopentane , 1 - amino - 2 - aminomethylcyclopentane , 1 , 2 - diaminocyclohexane , 1 - amino - 2 - aminomethylcyclohexane , 1 , 2 - diaminocycloheptane , 1 , 2 - diaminocyclooctane and 2 , 3 - diaminobicyclo [ 2 . 1 . 1 ] cyclohexane . another series of diamines which may be represented by a and b together are the aromatic diamines , in which the amino groups may , as with the alicyclic diamines , be provided by an amino substituent directly on the aromatic ring and / or by an aminoalkyl substituent in which the alkyl part has from 1 to 4 carbon atoms . examples of such aminoalkyl substituents are as given above in relation to the alicyclic diamines . as with the alicyclic diamines , the compound may contain two amino groups directly attached to the aromatic ring , two aminoalkyl groups or one amino group attached to the aromatic ring and one aminoalkyl group . in this case , the preferred option is two amine groups attached directly to the aromatic ring . the aromatic ring is a c 6 - c 10 ring , more preferably a c 6 or c 10 ring , i . e . benzene or napthalene . examples of such aromatic diamines include m - phenylenediamine , 2 , 3 - naphthylenediamine , 1 - amino - 2 - aminomethylbenzene and 1 , 2 - bis ( aminomethyl ) benzene . as a further alternative , the diamine may be a compound in which one of the amine groups is provided by a nitrogen hetero - atom in a heterocyclic compound having the nitrogen atom as one hetero - atom and optionally having an oxygen atom as another hetero - atom . the heterocyclic ring may be aromatic or non - aromatic in character and contains , in total , 5 or 6 ring atoms . the other amine group is provided by an amine or aminoalkyl , preferably aminoalkyl , substituent on the heterocyclic ring , the alkyl part of which contains from 1 to 4 carbon atoms and examples of which are as given in relation to alicyclic diamines . examples of such heterocyclic ring systems include pyrrole , isoxazole , pyridine , pyrrolidine , pyrroline , piperidine and morpholine . specific examples of preferred such diamines include 2 - aminomethylpyrrolidine , 3 - aminomethylmorpholine , 2 - aminomethylpiperidine and 2 - aminomethylpyridine . another class of heterocyclic diamines are those in which the heterocyclic ring contains one or two oxygen or sulfur hetero - atoms but no nitrogen hetero - atoms and hence the two amine groups have to be provided by substituents on the heterocyclic ring . as with the alicyclic diamines , the compound may contain two amine groups directly attached to the heterocyclic ring , two aminoalkyl groups or one amine group attached to the heterocyclic ring and one aminoalkyl group . examples of such heterocyclic rings include the thiophene , furan , pyran , 1 , 3 - dioxane and 1 , 3 - dithiane ring systems . specific examples of such compounds include those corresponding to the alicyclic diamines exemplified above , but in which the alicyclic ring is replaced by one of the aforementioned heterocyclic rings . the most preferred of this class of heterocyclic diamines is 5 , 5 - bis ( aminomethyl )- 1 , 3 - dioxane . compounds of the present invention in which z represents a group of formula ( 1i ) may be represented by the formula ( ia ): ## str6 ## ( in which a , b , r 1 , r 2 and n are as defined above ) and similarly those compounds of formula ( i ) in which z represents a group of formula ( iii ) may be represented by the formula ( ib ): ## str7 ## ( in which a , b , r 1 , r 7 and x are as defined above ). in the compounds of the invention , where r 1 , r 2 , r 3 , r 4 , r 7 substituent ( b ) or substituent ( c ) represents a c 1 - c 4 alkyl group , this may be a straight or branched chain group and examples include the methyl , ethyl , propyl , isopropyl , butyl , sec - butyl and t - butyl groups . in the case of r 1 , such an alkyl group may be unsubstituted or may have at least one substituent selected from the group consisting of substituents ( a ), as defined above , and as exemplified in greater detail hereafter . in the case of the alkyl groups represented by r 2 and r 7 , these may be unsubstituted or may have one or more substituents selected from the group consisting of substituents ( c ), as defined above , and as exemplified in greater detail hereafter . where r 1 , r 2 , r 3 or r 4 represents an aryl group , this is a carbocyclic aryl group having from 6 to 10 , and preferably 6 or 10 , ring atoms , for example a phenyl or naphthyl ( 1 - or 2 - naphthyl ) group . such groups may be unsubstituted or may have one or more substituents selected from the group consisting of substituents ( b ), in the case of r 1 , or substituents ( c ), in the case of r 2 ; in the case of r 3 and r 4 , the aryl group represented by these symbols may be unsubstituted or have at least one substituent selected from the group consisting of substituents ( b ) and ( c ). where r 1 , r 2 or r 4 represents an aralkyl group , the aryl part is a c 6 - c 10 carbocyclic aryl group ( which may be unsubstituted or have one or more substituents as defined above in relation to the aryl groups represented by the corresponding symbol ) and the alkyl part is a c 1 - c 4 alkyl group , e . g . as exemplified above in relation to r 1 . the alkyl group more preferably has from 1 to 3 , still more preferably 1 or 2 and most preferably 1 , carbon atoms . examples of such aralkyl groups include the benzyl , phenethyl , 1 - phenylethyl , 2 - phenylpropyl , 3 - phenylpropyl , 4 - phenylbutyl and benzhydryl groups . such groups may be unsubstituted or substituted as defined above . where r 1 represents a heterocyclic group , this contains from 5 to 10 ring atoms , of which from 1 to 4 , in total , are hetero - atoms selected from the group consisting of nitrogen , oxygen and sulfur atoms . in the case of nitrogen atoms , there may be up to 4 such hetero - atoms , whereas , in the case of oxygen and sulfur atoms , there may be up to 2 such atoms . the heterocyclic groups may be saturated ring systems or they may be unsaturated : we prefer those that are fully unsaturated . examples of such heterocyclic groups include the furyl , thienyl , tetrazolyl , dioxanyl , pyranyl , chromenyl , pyrrolyl , imidazolyl , thiazolyl , isothiazolyl , oxazolyl , isoxazolyl , pyridyl , pyrazinyl , pyrimidinyl , pyridazinyl , indolizinyl , indolyl , isoindolyl , purinyl , quinolyl , isoquinolyl , cinnolinyl , furazanyl , chromanyl , pyrrolidinyl , pyrrolinyl , imidazolidinyl , imidazolinyl , pyrazolidinyl , pyrazolinyl , piperidyl , piperazinyl , indolinyl , isoindolinyl and morpholinyl groups , of which the furyl , thienyl and tetrazolyl groups are preferred . such groups may be unsubstituted or they may have one or more substituents ; if substituted , the substituents are selected from the group consisting of substituents ( b ), as defined above and as exemplified in greater detail below . where r 1 represents an aliphatic acylamino group , the acyl part as a carbocylic acyl group , which may be a straight or branched chain group , having up to 4 carbon atoms . the acylamino groups are preferably alkanoylamino groups , and examples of such groups include the acetamido , propionamido , butyramido and isobutyramido groups , of which the acetamido group is preferred . such groups may be unsubstituted or may have one or more , preferably one , substituents selected from the group consisting of c 6 - c 10 carbocyclic aryl groups , which may themselves be substituted or unsubstituted and , if substituted , may have one or more substituents selected from the group consisting of substituents ( b ) and ( c ), as defined above and exemplified below ; however , the aryl groups in this case are preferably unsubstituted . examples of such aryl - substituted acylamino groups include the phenylacetamido , 3 - phenylpropionamido , 4 - phenylbutyramido and ฮฑ - naphthylacetamido groups , of which the phenylacetamido group is preferred . where r 1 represents an aromatic acylamino group , the aromatic part is a c 6 - c 10 carbocyclic aryl group , which may be substituted or unsubstituted and , if substituted , preferably has one or more substituents selected from the group consisting of substituents ( b ) and ( c ). the acylamino group may be derived from monocarboxylic or dicarboxylic acids and examples of such groups include the benzamido , toluamido , ฮฑ - naphthoylamino , ฮฒ - naphthoylamino and phthalimido groups , of which the phthalimido group is preferred . where r 1 represents an alkoxycarbonyl group , this contains from 2 to 6 carbon atoms in total and may be a straight or branched chain group . examples of such groups include the methoxycarbonyl , ethoxycarbonyl , propoxycarbonyl , isopropoxycarbonyl , butoxycarbonyl , sec - butoxycarbonyl , t - butoxycarbonyl and pentyloxycarbonyl groups , of which the methoxycarbonyl , ethoxycarbonyl , butoxycarhonyl and t - butoxycarbonyl groups are preferred . where r 1 represents an alkoxy group , this contains from 1 to 4 carbon atoms and may be a straight or branched chain group . examples of such groups include the methoxy , ethoxy , propoxy , isopropoxy , butoxy , sec - butoxy and t - butoxy groups , of which the methoxy , ethoxy and propoxy groups are preferred . where r 1 represents an alkylthio group , this contains from 1 to 4 carbon atoms and may be a straight or branched chain group . examples include the methylthio , ethylthio , propylthio , isopropylthio , butylthio , sec - butylthio and t - butylthio groups of which the methylthio and ethylthio groups are preferred . where r 1 represents a halogen atom , this may be a fluorine , chlorine , bromine or iodine atom , preferably a fluorine , chlorine or bromine atom . where r 2 represents ah alkyl group , this may be as exemplified above in relation to the alkyl groups which may be represented by r 1 etc ., but is preferably a methyl , ethyl , propyl or isopropyl group . such a group may be substituted or unsubstituted , and , if substituted , the substituents are preferably selected from the group consisting of substituents ( c ), as defined above and as exemplified hereafter , but are most preferably alkoxyalkyl or alkoxyalkoxyalkyl groups . examples of such substituted groups include the methoxymethyl and methoxyethoxymethyl ( especially 2 - methoxyethoxymethyl ) groups . where r 2 represents a c 6 - c 10 carbocyclic aryl group , this is preferably a phenyl or naphthyl ( e . g . 1 - or 2 - naphthyl ) group , which may be substituted or unsubstituted , and , if substituted , may have one or more substituents selected from the group consisting of substituents ( c ), as defined above and exemplified below . where r 2 represents a c 1 - c 4 alkyl group having at least one aryl substituent , the aryl part may be as defined and exemplified above , and the alkyl part , which may be a straight or branched chain alkyl group , is preferably a methyl , ethyl or propyl group . examples of the resulting aralkyl groups include the benzyl , phenethyl , 1 - phenylethyl , 1 - phenylpropyl , 2 - phenylpropyl , 3 - phenylpropyl , benzhydryl , ฮฑ - naphthylmethyl and ฮฒ - naphthylmethyl groups , of which the benzyl group is most preferred . where r 7 represents an alkyl group , this may be substituted or unsubstituted , and may be as defined and exemplified in relation to r 2 , above . where r 7 represents an alkoxycarbonyl group , this has in total from 2 to 6 carbon atoms including the carbon atom of the carbonyl group , i . e . the alkoxy part has from 1 to 5 carbon atoms . this may be a straight or branched chain group , and examples include the methoxycarbonyl , ethoxycarbonyl , propoxycarbonyl , isopropoxycarbonyl , butoxycarbonyl and t - butoxycarbonyl groups , of which the ethoxycarbonyl group is preferred . where x represents a c 1 - c 3 alkylene group , this may be a straight or branched chain group , and the two &# 34 ; free &# 34 ; valencies may be on the same carbon atom ( in which case , the group is sometimes referred to as an &# 34 ; alkylidene &# 34 ; group ) or on different carbon atoms . examples of such alkylene groups include the methylene , ethylene , ethylidene [-- ch ( ch 3 )--], isopropylidene [-- c ( ch 3 ) 2 --] and trimethylene groups , of which the methylene , ethylidene and isopropylidene groups are preferred . however , x is more preferably a direct carbon - carbon bond or a methylene group . in the compounds of the present invention where z represents said group of formula ( ii ), i . e . the compounds of formula ( ia ), n may be 0 , 1 or 2 , but is preferably 0 , i . e . the compounds are azetidene derivatives . where substituent ( a ) is a silyloxy group , this has from 1 to 3 , preferably 3 , substituents selected from the group consisting of c 1 - c 4 alkyl groups ( e . g . as exemplified above in relation to r 1 ) and c 6 - c 10 aryl groups ( e . g . as exemplified above in relation to r 1 ). specific examples of preferred such silyloxy groups include the dimethyl - t - butylsilyloxy , trimethylsilyloxy , triethylsilyloxy , dimethyl ( phenyl ) silyloxy , methyl ( diphenyl ) silyloxy and triphenylsilyloxy groups , of which the dimethyl - t - butylsilyloxy and trimethylsilyloxy groups are preferred . where substituent ( a ) is an alkoxy group , this has from 1 to 4 carbon atoms and may be a straight or branched chain group . examples include the methoxy , ethoxy , propoxy , isopropoxy , butoxy , sec - butoxy and t - butoxy groups , of which the methoxy , ethoxy and propoxy groups are preferred . where substituent ( a ) is a halogen atom , this is preferably a fluorine , chlorine , bromine or iodine atom , preferably a fluorine , chlorine or bromine atom . where substituent ( a ) is a group of formula -- opo ( or 3 ) 2 , r 3 may be : an alkyl group , e . g . as defined and exemplified in relation to r 1 ; or an aryl group , which may be unsubstituted or have at least one substituent selected from the group consisting of substituents ( b ) and ( c ), e . g . as defined and exemplified in relation to r 1 ; most preferably , in this formula , r 3 represents a methyl , ethyl , propyl , phenyl or tolyl group . where substituent ( a ) represents a group of formula -- oso 2 r 3 , r 3 may be as defined above . where substituent ( a ) represents a group of formula -- o -- cor 4 , r 4 may represent : a c 1 - c 9 alkyl group , e . g . a methyl , ethyl , propyl , isopropyl , butyl , sec - butyl , t - butyl , pentyl , isopentyl , hexyl , heptyl , octyl or nonyl group , of which the c 1 - c 7 groups are the more preferred alkyl groups , the c 7 group being most preferred ; a c 2 - c 5 alkoxyalkyl group , e . g . a methoxymethyl , ethoxymethyl , propoxymethyl , isopropoxymethyl , butoxymethyl , t - butoxymethyl , 2 - methoxyethyl , 1 - methoxyethyl , 2 - ethoxyethyl , 2 - propoxyethyl , 2 - isopropoxyethyl , 3 - methoxypropyl , 3 - ethoxypropyl , 2 - methoxy - 1 - methylethyl or 2 - ethoxy - 1 - methylethyl group ; a phenoxyalkyl group in which the alkyl part is c 1 - c 4 , e . g . a phenoxymethyl , 2 - phenoxyethyl , 3 - phenoxypropyl , 4 - phenoxybutyl , 1 - phenoxyethyl , 2 - phenoxy - 1 - methylethyl or 3 - phenoxy - 2 - methylpropyl group ; an aralkyl group in which the alkyl part is c 1 - c 4 and the aryl part is a c 6 - c 10 carbocyclic aryl group which is unsubstituted or has at least one substituent selected from the group consisting of substituents ( b ) and ( c ), e . g . as exemplified above in relation to r 2 ; a c 6 - c 10 carbocyclic aryl group which is unsubstituted or has at least one substituent selected from the group consisting of substituents ( b ) and ( c ), e . g . as exemplified above in relation to r 2 ; or a heterocyclic group having 5 or 6 ring atoms of which 1 or 2 are hetero - atoms selected from the group consisting of oxygen , sulfur and nitrogen hetero - atoms , said heterocyclic groups being unsubstituted or having at least one substituent selected from the group consisting of substituents ( b ) and ( c ), e . g . a furyl , thienyl , tetrazolyl , dioxanyl , pyranyl , pyrrolyl , imidazolyl , thiazolyl , isothiazolyl , oxazolyl , isoxazolyl , pyridyl , pyrazinyl , pyrimidinyl , pyridazinyl , pyrrolidinyl , pyrrolinyl , imidazolidinyl , imidazolinyl , pyrazolidinyl , pyrazolinyl , piperidyl , piperazinyl and morpholinyl groups , of which the furyl , thienyl and tetrazolyl groups are preferred and the furyl and thienyl groups are most preferred . where substituent ( b ) or ( c ) represents an alkyl or alkoxy group or a halogen atom , this may be as defined and exemplified above in relation to r 1 . where substituent ( c ) represents an alkylthio group , this may be as defined and exemplified above in relation to r 1 . where substituent ( c ) represents an alkoxyalkoxy group , this may be as defined and exemplified above in relation to substituents ( a ). examples of preferred compounds which may be represented by a and / or b include ammonia , isopropylamine , ethylenediamine , trimethylenediamine , 2 - methyltetramethylenediamine , 2 , 2 - diethylpropylene - 1 , 3 - diamine , 1 , 2 - diaminocyclohexane , 1 , 2 - diaminocycloheptane , 1 , 2 - diaminocyclooctane , 1 - amino - 2 - aminomethylcyclohexane , 1 , 1 - bis ( aminomethyl ) cyclohexane , 5 , 5 - bis ( aminomethyl )- 1 , 3 - dioxane , 2 - aminomethylpyrrolidine and 2 - aminomethylpyridine . examples of preferred groups which may be represented by r 1 include the hydrogen , bromine and chlorine atoms and the methyl , ethyl , isopropyl , phenyl , benzyl , methoxymethyl , 1 - hydroxyethyl , 1 - trimethylsilyloxyethyl , 1 -( t - butyldimethylsilyloxy ) ethyl , 1 -( dimethylphosphonoxy ) ethyl , 1 -( diethylphosphonoxy ) ethyl , 1 -( diphenylphosphonoxy ) ethyl , 1 - methoxyethyl , 1 - methoxymethoxyethyl , 1 -( 2 - methoxyethoxymethoxy ) ethyl , 1 -( ethoxymethoxy ) ethyl , 1 - acetoxyethyl , 1 - propionyloxyethyl , 1 - butyryloxyethyl , 1 - valeryloxyethyl , 1 - hexanoyloxyethyl , 1 - heptanoyloxyethyl , 1 - octanoyloxyethyl , 1 - nonanoyloxyethyl , 1 -( methoxyacetoxy ) ethyl , 1 -( phenoxyacetoxy ) ethyl , 1 -( phenylacetoxy ) ethyl , 1 -( 3 - phenylpropionyloxy ) ethyl , 1 -( 2 - thienylacetoxy ) ethyl , 1 -( 2 - furylacetoxy ) ethyl , 1 - methanesulfonyloxyethyl , 1 - ethanesulfonyloxyethyl , 1 - benzenesulfonyloxyethyl and methoxy groups . examples of preferred groups which may be represented by r 2 include the methyl , ethyl , isopropyl , methoxymethyl , phenyl and benzyl groups . examples of preferred groups which may be represented by r 7 include the hydrogen atom and the methyl , ethyl and ethoxymethyl groups . preferred classes of compounds of the present invention are exemplified as follows : a and b are independently selected from the group consisting of ammine groups , c 1 - c 3 alkylamine groups and arylamine groups in which the aryl part is a phenyl group which is unsubstituted or has at least one substituent selected from the group consisting of c 1 - c 4 alkyl groups ; or a and b together represent a compound of formula h 2 n -- y -- nh 2 , where y represents a c 3 - c 7 alkylene group , a c 6 aromatic compound , a nitrogen - containing heterocyclic compound having from 5 to 8 ring atoms of which 1 is a nitrogen hetero - atom and 0 or 1 is an oxygen hetero - atom , a nitrogen - free heterocyclic compound having from 5 to 8 ring atoms of which 1 or 2 are hetero - atoms selected from the group consisting of oxygen and sulfur hetero - atoms or an alicyclic compound having from 5 to 8 ring atoms in a single ring or in a bridged ring , wherein said aromatic compound , said nitrogen - free heterocyclic compound and said alicyclic compound have two substituents selected from the group consisting of amino groups and c 1 - c 4 aminoalkyl groups and wherein said nitrogen - containing heterocyclic compound has one substituent selected from the group consisting of amino groups and c 1 - c 4 aminoalkyl groups ; and z represents a group of formula ( ii ): ## str8 ## or a group of formula ( iii ): ## str9 ## wherein : r 1 represents a hydrogen atom , a c 1 - c 4 alkyl group , a substituted c 1 - c 4 alkyl group having at least one substituent selected from the group consisting of substituents ( a ), a c 6 carbocyclic aryl group , a c 1 - c 4 alkyl group having at least one c 6 carbocyclic aryl substituent , a heterocyclic group having from 5 to 8 ring atoms of which in total from 1 to 4 are hetero - atoms selected from the group consisting of 0 , 1 , 2 , 3 or 4 nitrogen atoms and 0 , 1 or 2 oxygen or sulfur atoms , a c 2 - c 4 aliphatic carboxylic acylamino group , a c 7 aromatic carboxylic acylamino group , a c 2 - c 4 aliphatic carboxylic acylamino group having at least one c 6 carbocyclic aryl substituent , a c 2 - c 6 alkoxycarbonyl group , a c 1 - c 4 alkoxy group , a c 1 - c 4 alkylthio group , a halogen atom , a cyano group or a phthalimido group , said heterocyclic groups and said c 6 carbocyclic aryl groups and substituents being unsubstituted or having at least one substituent selected from the group consisting of substituents ( b ); r 2 represents a hydrogen atom , a c 1 - c 4 alkyl group , a substituted c 1 - c 4 alkyl group having at least one substituent selected from the group consisting of substituents ( c ), a c 6 carbocyclic aryl group , a c 1 - c 4 alkyl group having at least one c 6 carbocyclic aryl substituent , said c 6 carbocyclic aryl groups and substituents being unsubstituted or having at least one substituent selected from the group consisting of substituents ( c ); r 7 represents a hydrogen atom , a c 1 - c 4 alkyl group , a substituted c 1 - c 4 alkyl group having at least one substituent selected from the group consisting of substituents ( c ), a c 2 - c 6 alkoxycarbonyl group or a cyano group ; x represents a single carbon - carbon bond or a c 1 - c 3 alkylene group ; substituents ( a ) are selected from the group consisting of hydroxy groups , silyloxy groups having from 1 to 3 substituents on the silicon atom selected from the group consisting of c 1 - c 4 alkyl groups and c 6 carbocyclic aryl groups which are unsubstituted or have at least one substituent selected from the group consisting of substituents ( b ), c 1 - c 4 alkoxy groups , halogen atoms , groups of formula -- opo ( or 3 ) 2 , -- oso 2 r 3 and -- o -- cor 4 , and c 2 - c 5 alkoxyalkoxy groups ; r 3 represents a c 1 - c 4 alkyl group , a c 6 carbocyclic aryl group or a c 6 carbocyclic aryl group having at least one substituent selected from the group consisting of substituents ( b ) and ( c ), and r 4 represents a c 1 - c 9 alkyl group , a c 2 - c 5 alkoxyalkyl group , a phenoxyalkyl group in which the alkyl part is c 1 - c 3 , an aralkyl group in which the alkyl part is c 1 - c 3 and the aryl part is a c 6 carbocyclic aryl group which is unsubstituted or has at least one substituent selected from the group consisting of substituents ( b ) and ( c ), a c 6 carbocyclic aryl group which is unsubstituted or has at least one substituent selected from the group consisting of substituents ( b ) and ( c ), or a heterocyclic group having 5 or 6 ring atoms of which 1 or 2 are hetero - atoms selected from the group consisting of oxygen and nitrogen hetero - atoms , said heterocyclic groups being unsubstituted or having at least one substituent selected from the group consisting of substituents ( b ) and ( c ); substituents ( b ) are selected from the group consisting of hydroxy groups , c 1 - c 4 alkyl groups , c 1 - c 4 alkoxy groups and halogen atoms ; and substituents ( c ) are selected from the group consisting of c 1 - c 4 alkyl groups , c 1 - c 4 alkoxy groups , c 1 - c 4 alkylthio groups , c 2 - c 5 alkoxyalkoxy groups and halogen atoms ; provided that substituents ( b ) and ( c ) are not said alkyl groups when they are substituents on alkyl groups . ( c ) compounds as in ( b ) above , wherein n is 0 . a and b are independently selected from the group consisting of ammine groups and c 1 - c 3 alkylamine groups ; or a and b together represent a compound of formula h 2 n -- y -- nh 2 , where y represents a c 4 - c 7 alkylene group , a nitrogen - containing heterocyclic compound having from 5 to 6 ring atoms of which 1 is a nitrogen hetero - atom and 0 or 1 is an oxygen hetero - atom , a nitrogen - free heterocyclic compound having from 5 to 6 ring atoms of which 1 or 2 are oxygen hetero - atoms or an alicyclic compound having from 5 to 8 ring atoms in a single ring or in a bridged ring , wherein said nitrogen - free heterocyclic compound and said alicyclic compound have two substituents selected from the group consisting of amino groups and c 1 - c 2 aminoalkyl groups and wherein said nitrogen - containing heterocyclic compound has one substituent selected from the group consisting of amino groups and c 1 - c 2 aminoalkyl groups ; r 1 represents a hydrogen atom , a c 1 - c 4 alkyl group , a phenyl group , a substituted c 1 - c 4 alkyl group having at least one substituent selected from the group consisting of substituents ( a &# 39 ;), a c 1 - c 4 alkyl group having at least one phenyl substituent , a halogen atom or a cyano group , said phenyl group or substituent being unsubstituted or having at least one substituent selected from the group consisting of substituents ( b ); r 2 represents a hydrogen atom , a c 1 - c 4 alkyl group , a substituted c 1 - c 4 alkyl group having at least one substituent selected from the group consisting of substituents ( c &# 39 ;) or a c 1 - c 4 alkyl group having at least one phenyl substituent , said phenyl substituent being unsubstituted or having at least one substituent selected from the group consisting of substituents ( b ); substituents ( a &# 39 ;) are selected from the group consisting of hydroxy groups , silyloxy groups having from 1 to 3 substituents on the silicon atom selected from the group consisting of c 1 - c 4 alkyl groups and phenyl groups which are unsubstituted or have at least one substituent selected from the group consisting of substituents ( b ), c 1 - c 3 alkoxy groups , halogen atoms and groups of formula -- opo ( or 3 ) 2 , -- oso 2 r 3 and -- o -- cor 4 ; r 3 represents a c 1 - c 4 alkyl group , a phenyl group or a phenyl group having at least one substituent selected from the group consisting of substituents ( b ), and r 4 represents a c 1 - c 9 alkyl group , a c 2 - c 5 alkoxyalkyl group , a phenoxyalkyl group in which the alkyl part is c 1 - c 3 , an aralkyl group in which the alkyl part is c 1 - c 3 and the aryl part is a phenyl group which is unsubstituted or has at least one substituent selected from the group consisting of substituents ( b ), a phenyl group which is unsubstituted or has at least one substituent selected from the group consisting of substituents ( b ), or a heterocyclic group having 5 or 6 ring atoms of which 1 or 2 are hetero - atoms selected from the group consisting of oxygen and nitrogen hetero - atoms , said heterocyclic groups being unsubstituted or having at least one substituent selected from the group consisting of substituents ( b ); and substituents ( c &# 39 ;) are selected from the group consisting of c 1 - c 4 alkyl groups , c 1 - c 4 alkoxy groups , c 2 - c 5 alkoxyalkoxy groups and halogen atoms ; provided that substituents ( b ) and ( c &# 39 ;) are not said alkyl groups when they are substituents on alkyl groups . a and b are independently selected from the group consisting of ammine groups and c 1 - c 3 alkylamine groups ; or a and b together represent a compound of formula h 2 n -- y -- nh 2 , where y represents a c 5 - c 7 alkylene group , a nitrogen - containing heterocyclic compound having from 5 to 6 ring atoms of which 1 is a nitrogen hetero - atom or an alicyclic compound having from 5 to 8 ring atoms in a single ring or in a bridged ring , wherein said alicyclic compound has two substituents selected from the group consisting of amino groups and c 1 - c 2 aminoalkyl groups and wherein said nitrogen - containing heterocyclic compound has one substituent selected from the group consisting of c 1 - c 2 aminoalkyl groups ; r 1 represents : a hydrogen atom ; a c 1 - c 4 alkyl group ; a substituted c 1 - c 4 alkyl group having at least one substituent selected from the group consisting of c 1 - c 3 alkoxy groups , c 2 - c 5 alkoxyalkoxy groups and silyloxy groups having 3 substituents on the silicon atom selected from the group consisting of c 1 - c 4 alkyl groups and phenyl groups ; a phenyl group ; a halogen atom ; or a cyano group ; r 2 represents a hydrogen atom , a c 1 - c 2 alkyl group or a substituted c 1 - c 2 alkyl group having at least one substituent selected from the group consisting of c 1 - c 2 alkoxy groups and c 2 - c 5 alkoxyalkoxy groups ; and a and b are independently selected from the group consisting of ammine groups and c 3 alkylamine groups ; or a and b together represent a compound of formula h 2 n -- y -- nh 2 , where y represents a c 3 - c 4 straight chain alkylene group having one or two substituents selected from the group consisting of methyl and ethyl groups , a nitrogen - containing heterocyclic compound having from 5 to 6 ring atoms of which 1 is a nitrogen hetero - atom or an alicyclic compound having from 5 to 8 ring atoms in a single ring , wherein said alicyclic compound has two substituents selected from the group consisting of amino groups and aminomethyl groups and wherein said nitrogen - containing heterocyclic compound has one substituent selected from the group consisting of aminomethyl groups ; r 1 represents a hydrogen atom , a c 1 - c 4 alkyl group , a substituted c 1 - c 4 alkyl group having at least one substituent selected from the group consisting of c 1 - c 2 alkoxy groups , c 2 - c 5 alkoxyalkoxy groups and silyloxy groups having 3 substituents on the silicon atom selected from the group consisting of c 1 - c 4 alkyl groups , a phenyl group or a halogen atom ; r 2 represents a hydrogen atom , a c 1 - c 2 alkyl group or a substituted c 1 - c 2 alkyl group having at least one substituent selected from the group consisting of c 1 - c 2 alkoxy groups and c 2 - c 5 alkoxyalkoxy groups ; and a and b are independently selected from the group consisting of ammine groups and c 1 - c 3 alkylamine groups ; or a and b together represent a compound of formula h 2 n -- y -- nh 2 , where y represents a c 4 - c 7 alkylene group , a nitrogen - containing heterocyclic compound having from 5 to 6 ring atoms of which 1 is a nitrogen hetero - atom and 0 or 1 is an oxygen hetero - atom , a nitrogen - free heterocyclic compound having from 5 to 6 ring atoms of which 1 or 2 are oxygen hetero - atoms or an alicyclic compound having from 5 to 8 ring atoms in a single ring or in a bridged ring , wherein said nitrogen - free heterocyclic compound and said alicyclic compound have two substituents selected from the group consisting of amino groups and c 1 - c 2 aminoalkyl groups and wherein said nitrogen - containing heterocyclic compound has one substituent selected from the group consisting of amino groups and c 1 - c 2 aminoalkyl groups ; r 1 represents a hydrogen atom , a c 1 - c 4 alkyl group , a c 1 - c 4 alkoxy group , a phenyl group , a substituted c 1 - c 4 alkyl group having at least one substituent selected from the group consisting of substituents ( a &# 34 ;), a c 1 - c 4 alkyl group having at least one phenyl substituent , a halogen atom or a cyano group , said phenyl group or substituent being unsubstituted or having at least one substituent selected from the group consisting of substituents ( b ); r 7 represents a hydrogen atom , a c 1 - c 4 alkyl group or a c 2 - c 6 alkoxycarbonyl group ; substituents ( a &# 34 ;) are selected from the group consisting of hydroxy groups , silyloxy groups having from 1 to 3 substituents on the silicon atom selected from the group consisting of c 1 - c 4 alkyl groups and phenyl groups which are unsubstituted or have at least one substituent selected from the group consisting of substituents ( b ), c 1 - c 3 alkoxy groups , c 2 - c 5 alkoxyalkoxy groups , c 3 - c 7 alkoxyalkoxyalkoxy groups , halogen atoms and groups of formula -- opo ( or 3 ) 2 , -- oso 2 r 3 and r 3 represents a c 1 - c 4 alkyl group , a phenyl group or a phenyl group having at least one substituent selected from the group consisting of c 1 - c 4 alkyl groups , and r 4 represents a c 1 - c 8 alkyl group , a c 2 - c 5 alkoxyalkyl group , a phenoxyalkyl group in which the alkyl part is c 1 - c 3 , an aralkyl group in which the alkyl part is c 1 - c 3 and the aryl part is a phenyl group which is unsubstituted or has at least one substituent selected from the group consisting of substituents ( b ), a phenyl group which is unsubstituted or has at least one substituent selected from the group consisting of substituents ( b ), or a heterocyclic group having 5 or 6 ring atoms of which 1 or 2 are hetero - atoms selected from the group consisting of oxygen and nitrogen hetero - atoms , said heterocyclic groups being unsubstituted or having at least one substituent selected from the group consisting of substituents ( b ). ( i ) compounds as in ( h ) above , wherein x is a direct bond or a methylene group . a and b are independently selected from the group consisting of ammine groups and c 1 - c 3 alkylamine groups ; or a and b together represent a compound of formula h 2 n -- y -- nh 2 , where y represents a c 5 - c 7 alkylene group , a nitrogen - containing heterocyclic compound having from to 6 ring atoms of which 1 is a nitrogen hetero - atom or an alicyclic compound having from 5 to 8 ring atoms in a single ring or in a bridged ring , wherein said alicyclic compound has two substituents selected from the group consisting of amino groups and c 1 - c 2 aminoalkyl groups and wherein said nitrogen - containing heterocyclic compound has one substituent selected from the group consisting of c 1 - c 2 aminoalkyl groups ; r 1 represents a hydrogen atom , a c 1 - c 4 alkyl group , a c 1 - c 4 alkoxy group , a substituted c 1 - c 4 alkyl group having at least one substituent selected from the group consisting of substituents ( a &# 39 ;&# 34 ;), a halogen atom or a cyano group : r 7 represents a hydrogen atom or a c 2 - c 5 alkoxycarbonyl group ; substituents ( a &# 39 ;&# 34 ;) are selected from the group consisting of silyloxy groups having 3 substituents on the silicon atom selected from the group consisting of c 1 - c 4 alkyl groups and phenyl groups , c 1 - c 3 alkoxy groups , c 2 - c 5 alkoxyalkoxy groups , c 3 - c 7 alkoxyalkoxyalkoxy groups and groups of formula -- opo ( or 3 ) 2 , -- oso 2 r 3 and -- o -- cor 4 ; r 3 represents a c 1 - c 3 alkyl group or a phenyl group , and r 4 represents a c 1 - c 8 alkyl group , a c 2 - c 5 alkoxyalkyl group , a phenoxyalkyl group in which the alkyl part is c 1 - c 3 , an aralkyl group in which the alkyl part is c 1 - c 3 and the aryl part is a phenyl group or a phenyl group which is unsubstituted or has at least one substituent selected from the group consisting of c 1 - c 4 alkyl groups . ( k ) compounds as in ( j ) above , wherein x is a direct bond or a methylene group . a and b are independently selected from the group consisting of ammine groups and c 3 alkylamine groups ; or a and b together represent a compound of formula h 2 n -- y -- nh 2 , where y represents a c 3 - c 4 straight chain alkylene group having one or two substituents selected from the group consisting of methyl and ethyl groups , a nitrogen - containing heterocyclic compound having from 5 to 6 ring atoms of which 1 is a nitrogen hetero - atom or an alicyclic compound having from 5 to 8 ring atoms in a single ring , wherein said alicyclic compound has two substituents selected from the group consisting of amino groups and c 1 - c 2 aminoalkyl groups and wherein said nitrogen - containing heterocyclic compound has one substituent selected from the group consisting of c 1 - c 2 aminoalkyl groups : r 1 represents a hydrogen atom , a c 1 - c 2 alkyl group , a c 1 - c 2 alkoxy group , a substituted c 1 - c 4 alkyl group having at least one substituent selected from the group consisting of substituents ( a iv ) or a halogen atom ; r 7 represents a hydrogen atom or a c 2 - c 5 alkoxycarbonyl group ; substituents ( a iv ) are selected from the group consisting of silyloxy groups having 3 substituents on the silicon atom selected from the group consisting of c 1 - c 4 alkyl groups , c 1 - c 3 alkoxy groups , c 2 - c 5 alkoxyalkoxy groups , c 3 - c 7 alkoxyalkoxyalkoxy groups and groups of formula -- opo ( or 3 ) 2 , -- oso 2 r 3 and -- o -- cor 4 ; r 3 represents a c 1 - c 3 alkyl group or a phenyl group , and r 4 represents a c 1 - c 8 alkyl group , a c 2 - c 3 alkoxyalkyl group , a phenoxymethyl group or a benzyl group . ( m ) compounds as in ( h ) above , wherein x is a direct bond or a methylene group . ( n ) compounds of formulae ( i ), ( ia ) and ( ib ), wherein r 3 represents a c 1 - c 4 alkyl group , a c 6 - c 10 aryl group or a c 6 - c 10 aryl group having at least one substituent selected from the group consisting of c 1 - c 4 alkyl groups . ( o ) compounds of formulae ( i ), ( ia ) and ( ib ), wherein r 4 represents an unsubstituted heterocyclic group . ( p ) compounds of formulae ( i ), ( ia ) and ( ib ), wherein r 4 represents a thienyl or furyl group . in general above , where reference is made to &# 34 ; substituted &# 34 ; groups , there is no restriction upon the number of substituents , except , as would be well recognised by those skilled in the art , those imposed by the number of substitutable positions and / or by steric constraints . in most cases , however , we generally would not expect to exceed 3 such substituents ( although only for reasons of convenience and not associated with the essence of the invention ), and normally , in the present case , one such substituent is preferred , except where otherwise noted . the compounds of the present invention can exist in the form of various geometric isomers about the platinum atom and possibly because of asymmetric carbon atoms in groups within the compounds . the present invention embraces both the individual isolated isomers , as well as mixtures thereof . individual isomers may be prepared by stereo - specific synthesis techniques , or they may be prepared by separation of mixtures of isomers , as is well recognised in the art . it is also well known that some isomers may be more active than others , and this may be determined with ease in respect of any particular pair of isomers , using standard laboratory techniques . examples of specific compounds of the invention are given in the following formulae ( i - 1 ) to ( i - 5 ), in which the substituents are as defined in the corresponding one of tables 1 to 5 [ i . e . table 1 relates to formula ( i - 1 ), table 2 relates to formula ( i - 2 ) and so on ]. in the tables , the following abbreviations are used : ______________________________________ac acetylbes benzenesulfonyltbu t - butylbyr butyrylbz benzylet ethyl or ethylene , as the context requireshpo heptanoylchx cyclohexylhxo hexanoylme methyl or methylene , as the context requiresmes methanesulfonylcoc cyclooctylocto octanoylph phenylpr propylipr isopropylprn propionylpyrd pyrrolidinylva valeryl______________________________________ in tables 4 and 5 , in the column for x , a dash (--) indicates a direct bond . ## str10 ## table 1______________________________________cpd . no . n a . sup . 1 r . sup . 1 r . sup . 2______________________________________ 1 - 1 0 h . sub . 3 n h h 1 - 2 0 h . sub . 3 n me h 1 - 3 0 h . sub . 3 n h me 1 - 4 0 h . sub . 3 n me me 1 - 5 0 h . sub . 3 n h meome 1 - 6 0 h . sub . 3 n h 2 - meoetome 1 - 7 0 h . sub . 3 n br h 1 - 8 0 h . sub . 3 n ph h 1 - 9 0 h . sub . 3 n ipr h1 - 10 0 h . sub . 3 n ipr me1 - 11 0 h . sub . 3 n ipr meome1 - 12 0 h . sub . 3 n meome h1 - 13 0 h . sub . 3 n bz h1 - 14 0 h . sub . 3 n 1 - meoet h1 - 15 0 h . sub . 3 n 1 - meoet me1 - 16 0 h . sub . 3 n 1 - meoet meome1 - 17 1 h . sub . 3 n h h1 - 18 2 h . sub . 3 n h h1 - 19 0 iprnh . sub . 2 h h1 - 20 0 iprnh . sub . 2 me h1 - 21 0 iprnh . sub . 2 h me1 - 22 0 iprnh . sub . 2 me me1 - 23 0 iprnh . sub . 2 h meome1 - 24 0 iprnh . sub . 2 h 2 - meoetome1 - 25 0 iprnh . sub . 2 br h1 - 26 0 iprnh . sub . 2 ph h1 - 27 0 iprnh . sub . 2 ipr h1 - 28 0 iprnh . sub . 2 ipr me1 - 29 0 iprnh . sub . 2 ipr meome1 - 30 0 iprnh . sub . 2 meome h1 - 31 0 iprnh . sub . 2 bz h1 - 32 0 iprnh . sub . 2 1 - meoet h1 - 33 0 iprnh . sub . 2 1 - meoet me1 - 34 0 iprnh . sub . 2 1 - meoet meome1 - 35 1 iprnh . sub . 2 h h1 - 36 2 iprnh . sub . 2 h h______________________________________ table 2______________________________________cpdno . n r . sup . 1 r . sup . 2 a . sup . 2______________________________________2 - 1 0 h h h . sub . 2 n ( ch . sub . 2 ). sub . 2 ch ( me ) ch . sub . 2 nh . sub . 22 - 2 0 me h h . sub . 2 n ( ch . sub . 2 ). sub . 2 ch ( me ) ch . sub . 2 nh . sub . 22 - 3 0 h me h . sub . 2 n ( ch . sub . 2 ). sub . 2 ch ( me ) ch . sub . 2 nh . sub . 22 - 4 0 me me h . sub . 2 n ( ch . sub . 2 ). sub . 2 ch ( me ) ch . sub . 2 nh . sub . 22 - 5 0 h meome h . sub . 2 n ( ch . sub . 2 ). sub . 2 ch ( me ) ch . sub . 2 nh . sub . 22 - 6 0 h 2 - h . sub . 2 n ( ch . sub . 2 ). sub . 2 ch ( me ) ch . sub . 2 nh . sub . 2 meoetome2 - 7 0 br h h . sub . 2 n ( ch . sub . 2 ). sub . 2 ch ( me ) ch . sub . 2 nh . sub . 22 - 8 0 ph h h . sub . 2 n ( ch . sub . 2 ). sub . 2 ch ( me ) ch . sub . 2 nh . sub . 22 - 9 0 ipr h h . sub . 2 n ( ch . sub . 2 ). sub . 2 ch ( me ) ch . sub . 2 nh . sub . 22 - 10 0 ipr me h . sub . 2 n ( ch . sub . 2 ). sub . 2 ch ( me ) ch . sub . 2 nh . sub . 22 - 11 0 ipr meome h . sub . 2 n ( ch . sub . 2 ). sub . 2 ch ( me ) ch . sub . 2 nh . sub . 22 - 12 0 meome h h . sub . 2 n ( ch . sub . 2 ). sub . 2 ch ( me ) ch . sub . 2 nh . sub . 22 - 13 0 bz h h . sub . 2 n ( ch . sub . 2 ). sub . 2 ch ( me ) ch . sub . 2 nh . sub . 22 - 14 0 1 - meoet h h . sub . 2 n ( ch . sub . 2 ). sub . 2 ch ( me ) ch . sub . 2 nh . sub . 22 - 15 0 1 - meoet me h . sub . 2 n ( ch . sub . 2 ). sub . 2 ch ( me ) ch . sub . 2 nh . sub . 22 - 16 0 1 - meoet meome h . sub . 2 n ( ch . sub . 2 ). sub . 2 ch ( me ) ch . sub . 2 nh . sub . 22 - 17 1 h h h . sub . 2 n ( ch . sub . 2 ). sub . 2 ch ( me ) ch . sub . 2 nh . sub . 22 - 18 2 h h h . sub . 2 n ( ch . sub . 2 ). sub . 2 ch ( me ) ch . sub . 2 nh . sub . 22 - 19 0 h h 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 chx2 - 20 0 me h 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 chx2 - 21 0 h me 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 chx2 - 22 0 me me 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 chx2 - 23 0 h meome 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 chx2 - 24 0 h 2 - 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 chx meoetome2 - 25 0 br h 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 chx2 - 26 0 ph h 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 chx2 - 27 0 ipr h 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 chx2 - 28 0 ipr me 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 chx2 - 29 0 ipr meome 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 chx2 - 30 0 meome h 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 chx2 - 31 0 bz h 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 chx2 - 32 0 1 - meoet h 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 chx2 - 33 0 1 - meoet me 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 chx2 - 34 0 1 - meoet meome 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 chx2 - 35 1 h h 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 chx2 - 36 2 h h 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 chx2 - 37 0 h h 1 - nh . sub . 2 - 2 - nh . sub . 2 mechx2 - 38 0 me h 1 - nh . sub . 2 - 2 - nh . sub . 2 mechx2 - 39 0 h me 1 - nh . sub . 2 - 2 - nh . sub . 2 mechx2 - 40 0 me me 1 - nh . sub . 2 - 2 - nh . sub . 2 mechx2 - 41 0 h meome 1 - nh . sub . 2 - 2 - nh . sub . 2 mechx2 - 42 0 h 2 - 1 - nh . sub . 2 - 2 - nh . sub . 2 mechx meoetome2 - 43 0 br h 1 - nh . sub . 2 - 2 - nh . sub . 2 mechx2 - 44 0 ph h 1 - nh . sub . 2 - 2 - nh . sub . 2 mechx2 - 45 0 ipr h 1 - nh . sub . 2 - 2 - nh . sub . 2 mechx2 - 46 0 ipr me 1 - nh . sub . 2 - 2 - nh . sub . 2 mechx2 - 47 0 ipr meome 1 - nh . sub . 2 - 2 - nh . sub . 2 mechx2 - 48 0 meome h 1 - nh . sub . 2 - 2 - nh . sub . 2 mechx2 - 49 0 bz h 1 - nh . sub . 2 - 2 - nh . sub . 2 mechx2 - 50 0 1 - meoet h 1 - nh . sub . 2 - 2 - nh . sub . 2 mechx2 - 51 0 1 - meoet me 1 - nh . sub . 2 - 2 - nh . sub . 2 mechx2 - 52 0 1 - meoet meome 1 - nh . sub . 2 - 2 - nh . sub . 2 mechx2 - 53 1 h h 1 - nh . sub . 2 - 2 - nh . sub . 2 mechx2 - 54 2 h h 1 - nh . sub . 2 - 2 - nh . sub . 2 mechx2 - 55 0 h h 2 - nh . sub . 2 mepyrd2 - 56 0 me h 2 - nh . sub . 2 mepyrd2 - 57 0 h me 2 - nh . sub . 2 mepyrd2 - 58 0 me me 2 - nh . sub . 2 mepyrd2 - 59 0 h meome 2 - nh . sub . 2 mepyrd2 - 60 0 h 2 - 2 - nh . sub . 2 mepyrd meoetome2 - 61 0 br h 2 - nh . sub . 2 mepyrd2 - 62 0 ph h 2 - nh . sub . 2 mepyrd2 - 63 0 ipr h 2 - nh . sub . 2 mepyrd2 - 64 0 ipr me 2 - nh . sub . 2 mepyrd2 - 65 0 ipr meome 2 - nh . sub . 2 mepyrd2 - 66 0 meome h 2 - nh . sub . 2 mepyrd2 - 67 0 bz h 2 - nh . sub . 2 mepyrd2 - 68 0 1 - meoet h 2 - nh . sub . 2 mepyrd2 - 69 0 1 - meoet me 2 - nh . sub . 2 mepyrd2 - 70 0 1 - meoet meome 2 - nh . sub . 2 mepyrd2 - 71 1 h h 2 - nh . sub . 2 mepyrd2 - 72 2 h h 2 - nh . sub . 2 mepyrd2 - 73 0 h h 1 , 3 - dinh . sub . 2 - 2 , 2 - dietpr2 - 74 0 me h 1 , 3 - dinh . sub . 2 - 2 , 2 - dietpr2 - 75 0 h me 1 , 3 - dinh . sub . 2 - 2 , 2 - dietpr2 - 76 0 me me 1 , 3 - dinh . sub . 2 - 2 , 2 - dietpr2 - 77 0 h meome 1 , 3 - dinh . sub . 2 - 2 , 2 - dietpr2 - 78 0 h 2 - 1 , 3 - dinh . sub . 2 - 2 , 2 - dietpr meoetome2 - 79 0 br h 1 , 3 - dinh . sub . 2 - 2 , 2 - dietpr2 - 80 0 ph h 1 , 3 - dinh . sub . 2 - 2 , 2 - dietpr2 - 81 0 ipr h 1 , 3 - dinh . sub . 2 - 2 , 2 - dietpr2 - 82 0 ipr me 1 , 3 - dinh . sub . 2 - 2 , 2 - dietpr2 - 83 0 ipr meome 1 , 3 - dinh . sub . 2 - 2 , 2 - dietpr2 - 84 0 meome h 1 , 3 - dinh . sub . 2 - 2 , 2 - dietpr2 - 85 0 bz h 1 , 3 - dinh . sub . 2 - 2 , 2 - dietpr2 - 86 0 1 - meoet h 1 , 3 - dinh . sub . 2 - 2 , 2 - dietpr2 - 87 0 1 - meoet me 1 , 3 - dinh . sub . 2 - 2 , 2 - dietpr2 - 88 0 1 - meoet meome 1 , 3 - dinh . sub . 2 - 2 , 2 - dietpr2 - 89 1 h h 1 , 3 - dinh . sub . 2 - 2 , 2 - dietpr2 - 90 2 h h 1 , 3 - dinh . sub . 2 - 2 , 2 - dietpr2 - 91 0 h h 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 coc2 - 92 0 me h 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 coc2 - 93 0 h me 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 coc2 - 94 0 me me 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 coc2 - 95 0 h meome 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 coc2 - 96 0 h 2 - 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 coc meoetome2 - 97 0 br h 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 coc2 - 98 0 ph h 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 coc2 - 99 0 ipr h 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 coc2 - 1000 ipr me 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 coc2 - 1010 ipr meome 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 coc2 - 1020 meome h 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 coc2 - 1030 bz h 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 coc2 - 1040 1 - meoet h 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 coc2 - 1050 1 - meoet me 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 coc2 - 1060 1 - meoet meome 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 coc2 - 1071 h h 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 coc2 - 1082 h h 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 coc______________________________________ table 3______________________________________cpdno . x a . sup . 1 r . sup . 1______________________________________3 - 1 -- h . sub . 3 n 1 - hoet3 - 2 -- h . sub . 3 n 1 -( osime . sub . 3 ) et3 - 3 -- h . sub . 3 n 1 -( osime . sub . 3 tbu ) et3 - 4 -- h . sub . 3 n 1 -[ opo ( oet ). sub . 2 ] et3 - 5 -- h . sub . 3 n 1 -[ opo ( oph ). sub . 2 ] et3 - 6 -- h . sub . 3 n 1 - acoet3 - 7 -- h . sub . 3 n 1 - prnoet3 - 8 -- h . sub . 3 n 1 - byroet3 - 9 -- h . sub . 3 n 1 - vaoet3 - 10 -- h . sub . 3 n 1 - hxooet3 - 11 -- h . sub . 3 n 1 - hpooet3 - 12 -- h . sub . 3 n 1 -( octoo ) et3 - 13 -- h . sub . 3 n 1 - bzoet3 - 14 -- h . sub . 3 n 1 -( meoaco ) et3 - 15 -- h . sub . 3 n 1 -( phoaco ) et3 - 16 -- h . sub . 3 n 1 -( phaco ) et3 - 17 -- h . sub . 3 n 1 - meoet3 - 18 -- h . sub . 3 n 1 -( meomeo ) et3 - 19 -- h . sub . 3 n 1 -[ meoetomeo ] et3 - 20 -- h . sub . 3 n 1 - mesoet3 - 21 -- h . sub . 3 n 1 - besoet3 - 22 ch . sub . 2 iprnh . sub . 2 1 - hoet3 - 23 ch . sub . 2 iprnh . sub . 2 1 -( osime . sub . 3 ) et3 - 24 ch . sub . 2 iprnh . sub . 2 1 -( osime . sub . 2 tbu ) et3 - 25 ch . sub . 2 iprnh . sub . 2 1 -[ opo ( oet ). sub . 2 ] et3 - 26 ch . sub . 2 iprnh . sub . 2 1 -[ opo ( oph ). sub . 2 ] et3 - 27 ch . sub . 2 iprnh . sub . 2 1 - acoet3 - 28 ch . sub . 2 iprnh . sub . 2 1 - prnoet3 - 29 ch . sub . 2 iprnh . sub . 2 1 - byroet3 - 30 ch . sub . 2 iprnh . sub . 2 1 - vaoet3 - 31 ch . sub . 2 iprnh . sub . 2 1 - hxooet3 - 32 ch . sub . 2 iprnh . sub . 2 1 - hpooet3 - 33 ch . sub . 2 iprnh . sub . 2 1 -( octoo ) et3 - 34 ch . sub . 2 iprnh . sub . 2 1 - bzoet3 - 35 ch . sub . 2 iprnh . sub . 2 1 -( meoaco ) et3 - 36 ch . sub . 2 iprnh . sub . 2 1 -( phoaco ) et3 - 37 ch . sub . 2 iprnh . sub . 2 1 -( phaco ) et3 - 38 ch . sub . 2 iprnh . sub . 2 1 - meoet3 - 39 ch . sub . 2 iprnh . sub . 2 1 -( meomeo ) et3 - 40 ch . sub . 2 iprnh . sub . 2 1 -[ meoetomeo ] et3 - 41 ch . sub . 2 iprnh . sub . 2 1 - mesoet3 - 42 ch . sub . 2 iprnh . sub . 2 1 - besoet3 - 43 ch . sub . 2 h . sub . 3 n 1 - hoet3 - 44 ch . sub . 2 h . sub . 3 n 1 -( osime . sub . 3 ) et3 - 45 ch . sub . 2 h . sub . 3 n 1 -( osime . sub . 2 tbu ) et3 - 46 ch . sub . 2 h . sub . 3 n 1 -[ opo ( oet ). sub . 2 ] et3 - 47 ch . sub . 2 h . sub . 3 n 1 -[ opo ( oph ). sub . 2 ] et3 - 48 ch . sub . 2 h . sub . 3 n 1 - acoet3 - 49 ch . sub . 2 h . sub . 3 n 1 - prnoet3 - 50 ch . sub . 2 h . sub . 3 n 1 - byroet3 - 51 ch . sub . 2 h . sub . 3 n 1 - vaoet3 - 52 ch . sub . 2 h . sub . 3 n 1 - hxooet3 - 53 ch . sub . 2 h . sub . 3 n 1 - hpooet3 - 54 ch . sub . 2 h . sub . 3 n 1 -( octoo ) et3 - 55 ch . sub . 2 h . sub . 3 n 1 - bzoet3 - 56 ch . sub . 2 h . sub . 3 n 1 -( meoaco ) et3 - 57 ch . sub . 2 h . sub . 3 n 1 -( phoaco ) et3 - 58 ch . sub . 2 h . sub . 3 n 1 -( phaco ) et3 - 59 ch . sub . 2 h . sub . 3 n 1 - meoet3 - 60 ch . sub . 2 h . sub . 3 n 1 -( meomeo ) et3 - 61 ch . sub . 2 h . sub . 3 n 1 -[ meoetomeo ] et3 - 62 ch . sub . 2 h . sub . 3 n 1 - mesoet3 - 63 ch . sub . 2 h . sub . 3 n 1 - besoet______________________________________ table 4______________________________________cpdno . x r . sup . 1 a . sup . 2______________________________________4 - 1 -- 1 - hoet h . sub . 2 n ( ch . sub . 2 ). sub . 2 ch ( me ) ch . sub . 2 nh . sub . 24 - 2 -- 1 -( osime . sub . 3 ) et h . sub . 2 n ( ch . sub . 2 ). sub . 2 ch ( me ) ch . sub . 2 nh . sub . 24 - 3 -- 1 -( osime . sub . 2 tbu ) et h . sub . 2 n ( ch . sub . 2 ). sub . 2 ch ( me ) ch . sub . 2 nh . sub . 24 - 4 -- 1 -[ opo ( oet ). sub . 2 ] et h . sub . 2 n ( ch . sub . 2 ). sub . 2 ch ( me ) ch . sub . 2 nh . sub . 24 - 5 -- 1 -[ opo ( oph ). sub . 2 ] et h . sub . 2 n ( ch . sub . 2 ). sub . 2 ch ( me ) ch . sub . 2 nh . sub . 24 - 6 -- 1 - acoet h . sub . 2 n ( ch . sub . 2 ). sub . 2 ch ( me ) ch . sub . 2 nh . sub . 24 - 7 -- 1 - prnoet h . sub . 2 n ( ch . sub . 2 ). sub . 2 ch ( me ) ch . sub . 2 nh . sub . 24 - 8 -- 1 - byroet h . sub . 2 n ( ch . sub . 2 ). sub . 2 ch ( me ) ch . sub . 2 nh . sub . 24 - 9 -- 1 - vaoet h . sub . 2 n ( ch . sub . 2 ). sub . 2 ch ( me ) ch . sub . 2 nh . sub . 24 - 10 -- 1 - hxooet h . sub . 2 n ( ch . sub . 2 ). sub . 2 ch ( me ) ch . sub . 2 nh . sub . 24 - 11 -- 1 - hpooet h . sub . 2 n ( ch . sub . 2 ). sub . 2 ch ( me ) ch . sub . 2 nh . sub . 24 - 12 -- 1 -( octoo ) et h . sub . 2 n ( ch . sub . 2 ). sub . 2 ch ( me ) ch . sub . 2 nh . sub . 24 - 13 -- 1 - bzoet h . sub . 2 n ( ch . sub . 2 ). sub . 2 ch ( me ) ch . sub . 2 nh . sub . 24 - 14 -- 1 -( meoaco ) et h . sub . 2 n ( ch . sub . 2 ). sub . 2 ch ( me ) ch . sub . 2 nh . sub . 24 - 15 -- 1 -( phoaco ) et h . sub . 2 n ( ch . sub . 2 ). sub . 2 ch ( me ) ch . sub . 2 nh . sub . 24 - 16 -- 1 -( phaco ) et h . sub . 2 n ( ch . sub . 2 ). sub . 2 ch ( me ) ch . sub . 2 nh . sub . 24 - 17 -- 1 - meoet h . sub . 2 n ( ch . sub . 2 ). sub . 2 ch ( me ) ch . sub . 2 nh . sub . 24 - 18 -- 1 -( meomeo ) et h . sub . 2 n ( ch . sub . 2 ). sub . 2 ch ( me ) ch . sub . 2 nh . sub . 24 - 19 -- 1 - h . sub . 2 n ( ch . sub . 2 ). sub . 2 ch ( me ) ch . sub . 2 nh . sub . 2 [ meoetomeo ] et4 - 20 -- 1 - mesoet h . sub . 2 n ( ch . sub . 2 ). sub . 2 ch ( me ) ch . sub . 2 nh . sub . 24 - 21 -- 1 - besoet h . sub . 2 n ( ch . sub . 2 ). sub . 2 ch ( me ) ch . sub . 2 nh . sub . 24 - 22 ch . sub . 2 1 - hoet h . sub . 2 n ( ch . sub . 2 ). sub . 2 ch ( me ) ch . sub . 2 nh . sub . 24 - 23 ch . sub . 2 1 -( osime . sub . 3 ) et h . sub . 2 n ( ch . sub . 2 ). sub . 2 ch ( me ) ch . sub . 2 nh . sub . 24 - 24 ch . sub . 2 1 -( osime . sub . 2 tbu ) et h . sub . 2 n ( ch . sub . 2 ). sub . 2 ch ( me ) ch . sub . 2 nh . sub . 24 - 25 ch . sub . 2 1 -[ opo ( oet ). sub . 2 ] et h . sub . 2 n ( ch . sub . 2 ). sub . 2 ch ( me ) ch . sub . 2 nh . sub . 24 - 26 ch . sub . 2 1 -[ opo ( oph ). sub . 2 ] et h . sub . 2 n ( ch . sub . 2 ). sub . 2 ch ( me ) ch . sub . 2 nh . sub . 24 - 27 ch . sub . 2 1 - acoet h . sub . 2 n ( ch . sub . 2 ). sub . 2 ch ( me ) ch . sub . 2 nh . sub . 24 - 28 ch . sub . 2 1 - prnoet h . sub . 2 n ( ch . sub . 2 ). sub . 2 ch ( me ) ch . sub . 2 nh . sub . 24 - 29 ch . sub . 2 1 - byroet h . sub . 2 n ( ch . sub . 2 ). sub . 2 ch ( me ) ch . sub . 2 nh . sub . 24 - 30 ch . sub . 2 1 - vaoet h . sub . 2 n ( ch . sub . 2 ). sub . 2 ch ( me ) ch . sub . 2 nh . sub . 24 - 31 ch . sub . 2 1 - hxooet h . sub . 2 n ( ch . sub . 2 ). sub . 2 ch ( me ) ch . sub . 2 nh . sub . 24 - 32 ch . sub . 2 1 - hpooet h . sub . 2 n ( ch . sub . 2 ). sub . 2 ch ( me ) ch . sub . 2 nh . sub . 24 - 33 ch . sub . 2 1 -( octoo ) et h . sub . 2 n ( ch . sub . 2 ). sub . 2 ch ( me ) ch . sub . 2 nh . sub . 24 - 34 ch . sub . 2 1 - bzoet h . sub . 2 n ( ch . sub . 2 ). sub . 2 ch ( me ) ch . sub . 2 nh . sub . 24 - 35 ch . sub . 2 1 -( meoaco ) et h . sub . 2 n ( ch . sub . 2 ). sub . 2 ch ( me ) ch . sub . 2 nh . sub . 24 - 36 ch . sub . 2 1 -( phoaco ) et h . sub . 2 n ( ch . sub . 2 ). sub . 2 ch ( me ) ch . sub . 2 nh . sub . 24 - 37 ch . sub . 2 1 -( phaco ) et h . sub . 2 n ( ch . sub . 2 ). sub . 2 ch ( me ) ch . sub . 2 nh . sub . 24 - 38 ch . sub . 2 1 - meoet h . sub . 2 n ( ch . sub . 2 ). sub . 2 ch ( me ) ch . sub . 2 nh . sub . 24 - 39 ch . sub . 2 1 -( meomeo ) et h . sub . 2 n ( ch . sub . 2 ). sub . 2 ch ( me ) ch . sub . 2 nh . sub . 24 - 40 ch . sub . 2 1 - h . sub . 2 n ( ch . sub . 2 ). sub . 2 ch ( me ) ch . sub . 2 nh . sub . 2 [ meoetomeo ] et4 - 41 ch . sub . 2 1 - mesoet h . sub . 2 n ( ch . sub . 2 ). sub . 2 ch ( me ) ch . sub . 2 nh . sub . 24 - 42 ch . sub . 2 1 - besoet h . sub . 2 n ( ch . sub . 2 ). sub . 2 ch ( me ) ch . sub . 2 nh . sub . 24 - 43 -- 1 - hoet 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 chx4 - 44 -- 1 -( osime . sub . 3 ) et 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 chx4 - 45 -- 1 -( osime . sub . 2 tbu ) et 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 chx4 - 46 -- 1 -[ opo ( oet ). sub . 2 ] et 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 chx4 - 47 -- 1 -[ opo ( oph ). sub . 2 ] et 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 chx4 - 48 -- 1 - acoet 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 chx4 - 49 -- 1 - prnoet 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 chx4 - 50 -- 1 - byroet 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 chx4 - 51 -- 1 - vaoet 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 chx4 - 52 -- 1 - hxooet 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 chx4 - 53 -- 1 - hpooet 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 chx4 - 54 -- 1 -( octoo ) et 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 chx4 - 55 -- 1 - bzoet 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 chx4 - 56 -- 1 -( meoaco ) et 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 chx4 - 57 -- 1 -( phoaco ) et 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 chx4 - 58 -- 1 -( phaco ) et 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 chx4 - 59 -- 1 - meoet 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 chx4 - 60 -- 1 -( meomeo ) et 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 chx4 - 61 -- 1 - 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 chx [ meoetomeo ] et4 - 62 -- 1 - mesoet 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 chx4 - 63 -- 1 - besoet 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 chx4 - 64 ch . sub . 2 1 - hoet 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 chx4 - 65 ch . sub . 2 1 -( osime . sub . 3 ) et 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 chx4 - 66 ch . sub . 2 1 -( osime . sub . 2 tbu ) et 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 chx4 - 67 ch . sub . 2 1 -[ opo ( oet ). sub . 2 ] et 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 chx4 - 68 ch . sub . 2 1 -[ opo ( oph ). sub . 2 ] et 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 chx4 - 69 ch . sub . 2 1 - acoet 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 chx4 - 70 ch . sub . 2 1 - prnoet 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 chx4 - 71 ch . sub . 2 1 - byroet 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 chx4 - 72 ch . sub . 2 1 - vaoet 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 chx4 - 73 ch . sub . 2 1 - hxooet 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 chx4 - 74 ch . sub . 2 1 - hpooet 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 chx4 - 75 ch . sub . 2 1 -( octoo ) et 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 chx4 - 76 ch . sub . 2 1 - bzoet 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 chx4 - 77 ch . sub . 2 1 -( meoaco ) et 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 chx4 - 78 ch . sub . 2 1 -( phoaco ) et 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 chx4 - 79 ch . sub . 2 1 -( phaco ) et 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 chx4 - 80 ch . sub . 2 1 - meoet 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 chx4 - 81 ch . sub . 2 1 -( meomeo ) et 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 chx4 - 82 ch . sub . 2 1 - 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 chx [ meoetomeo ] et4 - 83 ch . sub . 2 1 - mesoet 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 chx4 - 84 ch . sub . 2 1 - besoet 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 chx4 - 85 -- 1 - hoet 1 - nh . sub . 2 - 2 - nh . sub . 2 mechx4 - 86 -- 1 -( osime . sub . 3 ) et 1 - nh . sub . 2 - 2 - nh . sub . 2 mechx4 - 87 -- 1 -( osime . sub . 2 tbu ) et 1 - nh . sub . 2 - 2 - nh . sub . 2 mechx4 - 88 -- 1 -[ opo ( oet ). sub . 2 ] et 1 - nh . sub . 2 - 2 - nh . sub . 2 mechx4 - 89 -- 1 -[ opo ( oph ). sub . 2 ] et 1 - nh . sub . 2 - 2 - nh . sub . 2 mechx4 - 90 -- 1 - acoet 1 - nh . sub . 2 - 2 - nh . sub . 2 mechx4 - 91 -- 1 - prnoet 1 - nh . sub . 2 - 2 - nh . sub . 2 mechx4 - 92 -- 1 - byroet 1 - nh . sub . 2 - 2 - nh . sub . 2 mechx4 - 93 -- 1 - vaoet 1 - nh . sub . 2 - 2 - nh . sub . 2 mechx4 - 94 -- 1 - hxooet 1 - nh . sub . 2 - 2 - nh . sub . 2 mechx4 - 95 -- 1 - hpooet 1 - nh . sub . 2 - 2 - nh . sub . 2 mechx4 - 96 -- 1 -( octoo ) et 1 - nh . sub . 2 - 2 - nh . sub . 2 mechx4 - 97 -- 1 - bzoet 1 - nh . sub . 2 - 2 - nh . sub . 2 mechx4 - 98 -- 1 -( meoaco ) et 1 - nh . sub . 2 - 2 - nh . sub . 2 mechx4 - 99 -- 1 -( phoaco ) et 1 - nh . sub . 2 - 2 - nh . sub . 2 mechx4 - 100 -- 1 -( phaco ) et 1 - nh . sub . 2 - 2 - nh . sub . 2 mechx4 - 101 -- 1 - meoet 1 - nh . sub . 2 - 2 - nh . sub . 2 mechx4 - 102 -- 1 -( meomeo ) et 1 - nh . sub . 2 - 2 - nh . sub . 2 mechx4 - 103 -- 1 - 1 - nh . sub . 2 - 2 - nh . sub . 2 mechx [ meoetomeo ] et4 - 104 -- 1 - mesoet 1 - nh . sub . 2 - 2 - nh . sub . 2 mechx4 - 105 -- 1 - besoet 1 - nh . sub . 2 - 2 - nh . sub . 2 mechx4 - 106ch . sub . 2 1 - hoet 1 - nh . sub . 2 - 2 - nh . sub . 2 mechx4 - 107ch . sub . 2 1 -( osime . sub . 3 ) et 1 - nh . sub . 2 - 2 - nh . sub . 2 mechx4 - 108ch . sub . 2 1 -( osime . sub . 2 tbu ) et 1 - nh . sub . 2 - 2 - nh . sub . 2 mechx4 - 109ch . sub . 2 1 -[ opo ( oet ). sub . 2 ] et 1 - nh . sub . 2 - 2 - nh . sub . 2 mechx4 - 110ch . sub . 2 1 -[ opo ( oph ). sub . 2 ] et 1 - nh . sub . 2 - 2 - nh . sub . 2 mechx4 - 111ch . sub . 2 1 - acoet 1 - nh . sub . 2 - 2 - nh . sub . 2 mechx4 - 112ch . sub . 2 1 - prnoet 1 - nh . sub . 2 - 2 - nh . sub . 2 mechx4 - 113ch . sub . 2 1 - byroet 1 - nh . sub . 2 - 2 - nh . sub . 2 mechx4 - 114ch . sub . 2 1 - vaoet 1 - nh . sub . 2 - 2 - nh . sub . 2 mechx4 - 115ch . sub . 2 1 - hxooet 1 - nh . sub . 2 - 2 - nh . sub . 2 mechx4 - 116ch . sub . 2 1 - hpooet 1 - nh . sub . 2 - 2 - nh . sub . 2 mechx4 - 117ch . sub . 2 1 -( octoo ) et 1 - nh . sub . 2 - 2 - nh . sub . 2 mechx4 - 118ch . sub . 2 1 - bzoet 1 - nh . sub . 2 - 2 - nh . sub . 2 mechx4 - 119ch . sub . 2 1 -( meoaco ) et 1 - nh . sub . 2 - 2 - nh . sub . 2 mechx4 - 120ch . sub . 2 1 -( phoaco ) et 1 - nh . sub . 2 - 2 - nh . sub . 2 mechx4 - 121ch . sub . 2 1 -( phaco ) et 1 - nh . sub . 2 - 2 - nh . sub . 2 mechx4 - 122ch . sub . 2 1 - meoet 1 - nh . sub . 2 - 2 - nh . sub . 2 mechx4 - 123ch . sub . 2 1 -( meomeo ) et 1 - nh . sub . 2 - 2 - nh . sub . 2 mechx4 - 124ch . sub . 2 1 - 1 - nh . sub . 2 - 2 - nh . sub . 2 mechx [ meoetomeo ] et4 - 125ch . sub . 2 1 - mesoet 1 - nh . sub . 2 - 2 - nh . sub . 2 mechx4 - 126ch . sub . 2 1 - besoet 1 - nh . sub . 2 - 2 - nh . sub . 2 mechx4 - 127 -- 1 - hoet 2 - nh . sub . 2 mepyrd4 - 128 -- 1 -( osime . sub . 3 ) et 2 - nh . sub . 2 mepyrd4 - 129 -- 1 -( osime . sub . 2 tbu ) et 2 - nh . sub . 2 mepyrd4 - 130 -- 1 -[ opo ( oet ). sub . 2 ] et 2 - nh . sub . 2 mepyrd4 - 131 -- 1 -[ opo ( oph ). sub . 2 ] et 2 - nh . sub . 2 mepyrd4 - 132 -- 1 - acoet 2 - nh . sub . 2 mepyrd4 - 133 -- 1 - prnoet 2 - nh . sub . 2 mepyrd4 - 134 -- 1 - byroet 2 - nh . sub . 2 mepyrd4 - 135 -- 1 - vaoet 2 - nh . sub . 2 mepyrd4 - 136 -- 1 - hxooet 2 - nh . sub . 2 mepyrd4 - 137 -- 1 - hpooet 2 - nh . sub . 2 mepyrd4 - 138 -- 1 -( octoo ) et 2 - nh . sub . 2 mepyrd4 - 139 -- 1 - bzoet 2 - nh . sub . 2 mepyrd4 - 140 -- 1 -( meoaco ) et 2 - nh . sub . 2 mepyrd4 - 141 -- 1 -( phoaco ) et 2 - nh . sub . 2 mepyrd4 - 142 -- 1 -( phaco ) et 2 - nh . sub . 2 mepyrd4 - 143 -- 1 - meoet 2 - nh . sub . 2 mepyrd4 - 144 -- 1 -( meomeo ) et 2 - nh . sub . 2 mepyrd4 - 145 -- 1 - 2 - nh . sub . 2 mepyrd [ meoetomeo ] et4 - 146 -- 1 - mesoet 2 - nh . sub . 2 mepyrd4 - 147 -- 1 - besoet 2 - nh . sub . 2 mepyrd4 - 148ch . sub . 2 1 - hoet 2 - nh . sub . 2 mepyrd4 - 149ch . sub . 2 1 -( osime . sub . 3 ) et 2 - nh . sub . 2 mepyrd4 - 150ch . sub . 2 1 -( osime . sub . 2 tbu ) et 2 - nh . sub . 2 mepyrd4 - 151ch . sub . 2 1 -[ opo ( oet ). sub . 2 ] et 2 - nh . sub . 2 mepyrd4 - 152ch . sub . 2 1 -[ opo ( oph ). sub . 2 ] et 2 - nh . sub . 2 mepyrd4 - 153ch . sub . 2 1 - acoet 2 - nh . sub . 2 mepyrd4 - 154ch . sub . 2 1 - prnoet 2 - nh . sub . 2 mepyrd4 - 155ch . sub . 2 1 - byroet 2 - nh . sub . 2 mepyrd4 - 156ch . sub . 2 1 - vaoet 2 - nh . sub . 2 mepyrd4 - 157ch . sub . 2 1 - hxooet 2 - nh . sub . 2 mepyrd4 - 158ch . sub . 2 1 - hpooet 2 - nh . sub . 2 mepyrd4 - 159ch . sub . 2 1 -( octoo ) et 2 - nh . sub . 2 mepyrd4 - 160ch . sub . 2 1 - bzoet 2 - nh . sub . 2 mepyrd4 - 161ch . sub . 2 1 -( meoaco ) et 2 - nh . sub . 2 mepyrd4 - 162ch . sub . 2 1 -( phoaco ) et 2 - nh . sub . 2 mepyrd4 - 163ch . sub . 2 1 -( phaco ) et 2 - nh . sub . 2 mepyrd4 - 164ch . sub . 2 1 - meoet 2 - nh . sub . 2 mepyrd4 - 165ch . sub . 2 1 -( meomeo ) et 2 - nh . sub . 2 mepyrd4 - 166ch . sub . 2 1 - 2 - nh . sub . 2 mepyrd [ meoetomeo ] et4 - 167ch . sub . 2 1 - mesoet 2 - nh . sub . 2 mepyrd4 - 168ch . sub . 2 1 - besoet 2 - nh . sub . 2 mepyrd4 - 169 -- 1 - hoet 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 coc4 - 170 -- 1 -( osime . sub . 3 ) et 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 coc4 - 171 -- 1 -( osime . sub . 2 tbu ) et 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 coc4 - 172 -- 1 -[ opo ( oet ). sub . 2 ] et 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 coc4 - 173 -- 1 -[ opo ( oph ). sub . 2 ] et 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 coc4 - 174 -- 1 - acoet 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 coc4 - 175 -- 1 - prnoet 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 coc4 - 176 -- 1 - byroet 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 coc4 - 177 -- 1 - vaoet 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 coc4 - 178 -- 1 - hxooet 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 coc4 - 179 -- 1 - hpooet 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 coc4 - 180 -- 1 -( octoo ) et 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 coc4 - 181 -- 1 - bzoet 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 coc4 - 182 -- 1 -( meoaco ) et 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 coc4 - 183 -- 1 -( phoaco ) et 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 coc4 - 184 -- 1 -( phaco ) et 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 coc4 - 185 -- 1 - meoet 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 coc4 - 186 -- 1 -( meomeo ) et 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 coc4 - 187 -- 1 - 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 coc [ meoetomeo ] et4 - 188 -- 1 - mesoet 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 coc4 - 189 -- 1 - besoet 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 coc4 - 190ch . sub . 2 1 - hoet 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 coc4 - 191ch . sub . 2 1 -( osime . sub . 3 ) et 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 coc4 - 192ch . sub . 2 1 -( osime . sub . 2 tbu ) et 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 coc4 - 193ch . sub . 2 1 -[ opo ( oet ). sub . 2 ] et 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 coc4 - 194ch . sub . 2 1 -[ opo ( oph ). sub . 2 ] et 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 coc4 - 195ch . sub . 2 1 - acoet 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 coc4 - 196ch . sub . 2 1 - prnoet 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 coc4 - 197ch . sub . 2 1 - byroet 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 coc4 - 198ch . sub . 2 1 - vaoet 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 coc4 - 199ch . sub . 2 1 - hxooet 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 coc4 - 200ch . sub . 2 1 - hpooet 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 coc4 - 201ch . sub . 2 1 -( octoo ) et 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 coc4 - 202ch . sub . 2 1 - bzoet 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 coc4 - 203ch . sub . 2 1 -( meoaco ) et 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 coc4 - 204ch . sub . 2 1 -( phoaco ) et 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 coc4 - 205ch . sub . 2 1 -( phaco ) et 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 coc4 - 206ch . sub . 2 1 - meoet 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 coc4 - 207ch . sub . 2 1 -( meomeo ) et 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 coc4 - 208ch . sub . 2 1 - 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 coc [ meoetomeo ] et4 - 209ch . sub . 2 1 - mesoet 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 coc4 - 210ch . sub . 2 1 - besoet 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 coc4 - 211 & gt ; chme 1 - hoet 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 chx4 - 212 & gt ; chme 1 -( osime . sub . 3 ) et 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 chx4 - 213 & gt ; chme 1 -( osime . sub . 2 tbu ) et 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 chx4 - 214 & gt ; chme 1 -[ opo ( oet ). sub . 2 ] et 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 chx4 - 215 & gt ; chme 1 -[ opo ( oph ). sub . 2 ] et 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 chx4 - 216 & gt ; chme 1 - acoet 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 chx4 - 217 & gt ; chme 1 - prnoet 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 chx4 - 218 & gt ; chme 1 - byroet 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 chx4 - 219 & gt ; chme 1 - vaoet 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 chx4 - 220 & gt ; chme 1 - hxooet 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 chx4 - 221 & gt ; chme 1 - hpooet 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 chx4 - 222 & gt ; chme 1 -( octoo ) et 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 chx4 - 223 & gt ; chme 1 - bzoet 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 chx4 - 224 & gt ; chme 1 -( meoaco ) et 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 chx4 - 225 & gt ; chme 1 -( phoaco ) et 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 chx4 - 226 & gt ; chme 1 -( phaco ) et 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 chx4 - 227 & gt ; chme 1 - meoet 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 chx4 - 228 & gt ; chme 1 -( meomeo ) et 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 chx4 - 229 & gt ; chme 1 - 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 chx [ meoetomeo ] et4 - 230 & gt ; chme 1 - mesoet 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 chx4 - 231 & gt ; chme 1 - besoet 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 chx4 - 232 & gt ; cme . sub . 2 1 - hoet 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 chx4 - 233 & gt ; cme . sub . 2 1 -( osime . sub . 3 ) et 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 chx4 - 234 & gt ; cme . sub . 2 1 -( osime . sub . 2 tbu ) et 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 chx4 - 235 & gt ; cme . sub . 2 1 -[ opo ( oet ). sub . 2 ] et 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 chx4 - 236 & gt ; cme . sub . 2 1 -[ opo ( oph ). sub . 2 ] et 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 chx4 - 237 & gt ; cme . sub . 2 1 - acoet 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 chx4 - 238 & gt ; cme . sub . 2 1 - prnoet 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 chx4 - 239 & gt ; cme . sub . 2 1 - byroet 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 chx4 - 240 & gt ; cme . sub . 2 1 - vaoet 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 chx4 - 241 & gt ; cme . sub . 2 1 - hxooet 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 chx4 - 242 & gt ; cme . sub . 2 1 - hpooet 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 chx4 - 243 & gt ; cme . sub . 2 1 -( octoo ) et 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 chx4 - 244 & gt ; cme . sub . 2 1 - bzoet 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 chx4 - 245 & gt ; cme . sub . 2 1 -( meoaco ) et 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 chx4 - 246 & gt ; cme . sub . 2 1 -( phoaco ) et 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 chx4 - 247 & gt ; cme . sub . 2 1 -( phaco ) et 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 chx4 - 248 & gt ; cme . sub . 2 1 - meoet 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 chx4 - 249 & gt ; cme . sub . 2 1 -( meomeo ) et 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 chx4 - 250 & gt ; cme . sub . 2 1 - 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 chx [ meoetomeo ] et4 - 251 & gt ; cme . sub . 2 1 - mesoet 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 chx4 - 252 & gt ; cme . sub . 2 1 - besoet 1 , 2 - dinh . sub . 2 chx______________________________________ table 5______________________________________cpdno . x r . sup . 1 r . sup . 7______________________________________5 - 1 -- h h5 - 2 -- me h5 - 3 -- meo h5 - 4 -- br h5 - 5 -- h cooet5 - 6 -- me cooet5 - 7 -- meo cooet5 - 8 -- br cooet5 - 9 ch . sub . 2 h h5 - 10 ch . sub . 2 me h5 - 11 ch . sub . 2 meo h5 - 12 ch . sub . 2 br h5 - 13 ch . sub . 2 h cooet5 - 14 ch . sub . 2 me cooet5 - 15 ch . sub . 2 meo cooet5 - 16 ch . sub . 2 br cooet5 - 17 -- et cn5 - 18 -- ipr cn5 - 19 ch . sub . 2 et cn5 - 20 ch . sub . 2 ipr cn______________________________________ the compounds of the present invention can be prepared by a variety of methods well known for preparing this type of complex . examples of suitable preparative procedures are illustrated in the following reaction schemes : ## str11 ## in the above formulae , a , b , r 1 , r 2 , r 7 , x and n are as defined above . m represents an atom of a metal capable of generating an alkaline medium , for example an alkali metal , especially sodium or potassium . the platinum complexes of formulae ( v ) and ( viii ), used as starting materials are well known compounds . the mono - and di - carboxylic acids of formulae ( vii ) and ( ix ) and the salt of formula ( vi ) can be prepared as described in japanese patent application kokai no . 56 - 142259 . in reaction scheme a1 , the compound of formula ( v ) is reacted with the compound of formula ( vi ), to give the desired compound of formula ( ia ). this reaction is preferably effected by adding the salt of formula ( vi ), preferably in an equivalent amount or in a slight molar excess , to the complex of formula ( v ), preferably in an aqueous solution or aqueous suspension . in reaction scheme a2 , the compound of formula ( v ) is reacted with the compound of formula ( vii ), to give the desired compound of formula ( ib ). this reaction is preferably effected by adding the acid of formula ( vi ), preferably in an equivalent amount or in a slight molar excess , and an alkali ( e . g . an alkali metal hydroxide , such as sodium hydroxide or potassium hydroxide , or an alkaline resin ), preferably in an amount of about 2 equivalents , to the complex of formula ( v ), preferably in an aqueous solution or aqueous suspension . alternatively , the process of reaction scheme a1 may be carried out using the acid corresponding to the salt of formula ( vi ) in the presence of such an alkali , or the process of reaction scheme a2 may be carried out using the salt corresponding to the acid of formula ( vii ) without necessarily employing any added alkali . both reactions are preferably carried out at a temperature of from 0 ยฐ c . to 50 ยฐ c ., although the reaction temperature is not too critical to the present invention . the time required for the reaction may vary widely , depending on many factors , notably the reaction temperature and the nature of the reagents ; however , a period of from 20 minutes to 5 days will normally suffice for reaction scheme a1 and a period of from 20 minutes to 20 days will normally suffice for reaction scheme a2 . when the reaction is deemed to be complete , the resulting precipitate may usually be collected by filtration . however , if the desired compound does not precipitate as crystals , the compound may be recovered by the following recovery sequence : first the reaction mixture is concentrated by evaporation under reduced pressure ; the residue is mixed with a solvent which has no adverse effect on the desired compound ; this may cause the desired compound to crystallise out -- if so , it may be collected by filtration ; alternatively , the resulting solution may be purified by one of the various chromatography techniques , such as column chromatography , e . g . using an adsorptive resin , such as diaion ( trade mark ) chp - 20p or sephadex ( trade mark ), or an ion - exchange resin , to give the desired compound . the complex of formula ( viii ) used as a starting material in reaction schemes b1 and b2 , may be prepared by treating the complex of formula ( v ) with an alkali ( e . g . an alkali metal hydroxide , such as sodium hydroxide or potassium hydroxide , or an alkaline resin ). this can then be reacted with the compound of formula ( ix ) or ( vii ), in a similar manner to that described with reference to reaction schemes a1 and a2 . the compounds of the present invention have shown excellent anti - tumor activity which is comparable with or better than that of cisplatin and carboplatin . moreover , quite unexpectedly , it has been found that the compounds of the invention are even effective against a cisplatin - resistant strain of mouse leukemia l1210 . moreover , the compounds of the invention appear to have surprisingly limited side - effects , such as renal toxicity and bone marrow suppression , and they have a very high solubility in water , which makes them very easy to administer . the strains of tumor against which the compounds have been tested are recognised as providing a model for assessing the likely value of a compound for the treatment of tumors affecting human beings . there is no particular restriction on the route of administration , but , for use as a carcinostatic agent , the platinum complexes of the present invention are preferably administered parenterally , for example as injections . the dosage may vary depending upon the age , body weight and condition of the patient , as well as the nature and severity of the tumor , but we generally prefer to administer the compound in an amount of from 10 mg to several grams per day for adult human patients , generally as divided doses . the invention is further illustrated with reference to the following non - limiting examples . preparation of certain of the starting materials used in these examples is illustrated by the subsequent preparations . the subsequent experiment illustrates the biological activity of certain of the compounds of the present invention . 2 g of cis -[ trans -( l )- 1 , 2 - diaminocyclohexane ] platinum ( ii ) dinitrate were suspended in 80 ml of water , and the suspension was stirred at 28 ยฐ c . overnight . at the end of this time , the reaction mixture was concentrated by evaporation under reduced pressure to a volume of about 45 ml , and then 1 g of sodium 2 - oxoazetidine - 4 , 4 - dicarboxylate ( prepared as described in preparation 1 ) was added to the concentrate . the mixture was then adjusted to a ph value of 6 . 1 by adding an aqueous solution of sodium hydroxide and was stirred for about 2 hours , whilst ice - cooling . the precipitated crystals were collected by filtration and washed with small amounts of water and of diethyl ether to give 0 . 58 g of the title compound . nuclear magnetic resonance spectrum ( 270 mhz , d 2 o ) ฮด ppm : a solution of 200 mg of sodium 2 - oxoazetidine - 4 , 4 - dicarboxylate ( prepared as described in preparation 1 ) in 5 ml of water was added to a suspension of 347 mg of cis - diammineplatinum ( ii ) dinitrate in 5 ml of water , and the mixture was stirred at room temperature overnight . at the end of this time , the precipitated crystals were collected by filtration and washed with small amounts of water and of diethyl ether , to give 19 mg of the title compound , which was further purified by recrystallization from water . nuclear magnetic resonance spectrum ( 270 mhz , d 2 o ) ฮด ppm : 3 . 76 ( 2h , singlet ). following a procedure similar to that described in example 1 , 0 . 09 g of the title compound was prepared from 0 . 399 g of cis -[ trans -( l )- 1 , 2 - diaminocyclohexane ]- platinum ( ii ) dinitrate and 0 . 2 g of sodium 1 - methyl - 2 - oxoazetidine - 4 , 4 - dicarboxylate ( prepared as described in preparation 1 ). nuclear magnetic resonance spectrum ( 270 mhz , d 2 o ) ฮด ppm : a solution of 0 . 2 g of 1 , 3 - dimethyl - 2 - oxoazetidine - 4 , 4 - dicarboxylic acid in 5 ml of water was added to a solution of 0 . 3 g of cis -[ trans -( l )- 1 , 2 - diaminocyclohexane ] dihydroxyplatinum ( ii ) dissolved in 10 ml of water . the mixture was then stirred at room temperature for 5 hours . at the end of this time , the water was stripped from the mixture by evaporation under reduced pressure , and the residue was mixed with acetone to induce crystallization . the resulting crystals were collected by filtration and washed with acetone to yield 0 . 31 g of a crude title compound . this was dissolved in water and purified by column chromatography through a column containing sephadex lh - 20 ( eluted with water ) to give 0 . 17 g of the title compound . nuclear magnetic resonance spectrum ( 270 mhz , d 2 o ) ฮด ppm : 440 mg of sodium 2 - oxopyrrolidine - 5 , 5 - dicarboxylate ( prepared as described in preparation 2 ) were added to a solution of 866 mg of cis -[ trans -( l )- 1 , 2 - diaminocyclohexane ] platinum ( ii ) dinitrate in 70 ml of water , and the mixture was kept at 26 ยฐ c . for 7 hours . at the end of this time , the precipitated crystals were collected by filtration and washed with water , to give 219 mg of the title compound as colorless crystals . the filtrate was then concentrated to a volume of 40 ml by evaporation under reduced pressure and allowed to stand at 26 ยฐ c . the resulting crystals were then treated in a similar manner to that described above to give a further 170 mg of the title compound . nuclear magnetic resonance spectrum ( 270 mhz , d 2 o ) ฮด ppm : infrared absorption spectrum ( kbr ) ฮฝ max cm - 1 : 1709 , 1671 , 1630 . following a procedure similar to that described in example 1 , 260 mg of the title compound were prepared from 707 mg of cis -( trans -( l )- 1 , 2 - diaminocyclohexane ) platinum ( ii ) dinitrate and 400 mg of 3 - isopropyl - 2 - oxoazetidine - 4 , 4 - dicarboxylate . nuclear magnetic resonance spectrum ( 270 mhz , d 2 o ) ฮด ppm : following a procedure similar to that described in example 1 , 660 mg of the title compound were prepared from 1 . 3 g of cis -[ trans -( l )- 1 , 2 - diaminocyclohexane ] platinum ( ii ) dinitrate and 780 mg of sodium 1 - methyl - 3 - isopropyl - 2 - oxoazetidine - 4 , 4 - dicarboxylate . nuclear magnetic resonance spectrum ( 270 mhz , d 2 o ) ฮด ppm : following a procedure similar to that described in example 1 , 200 mg of the title compound were prepared from 500 mg of cis -[ trans -( l )- 1 , 2 - diaminocyclohexane ] platinum ( ii ) dinitrate and 280 mg of sodium 1 - methoxymethyl - 2 - oxoazetidine - 4 , 4 - dicarboxylate . nuclear magnetic resonance spectrum ( 270 mhz , d 2 o ) ฮด ppm : following a procedure similar to that described in example 1 , 135 mg of the title compound were prepared from 300 mg of cis -[ trans -( l )- 1 , 2 - diaminocyclohexane ] platinum ( ii ) dinitrate and 200 mg of sodium 1 -( 2 - methoxyethoxy ) methyl - 2 - oxoazetidine - 4 , 4 - dicarboxylate . nuclear magnetic resonance spectrum ( 270 mhz , d 2 o ) ฮด ppm : following a procedure similar to that described in example 1 , 630 mg of the title compound were prepared from 750 mg of cis -[ trans -( l )- 1 , 2 - diaminocyclohexane ] platinum ( ii ) dinitrate and 500 mg of sodium 1 - methoxymethyl - 3 - isopropyl - 2 - oxoazetidine - 4 , 4 - dicarboxylate . nuclear magnetic resonance spectrum ( 270 mhz , d 2 o ) ฮด ppm : following a procedure similar to that described in example 1 , 125 mg of the title compound were prepared from 500 mg of cis -[ trans -( l )- 1 , 2 - diaminocyclohexane ] platinum ( ii ) dinitrate and 234 mg of sodium 2 - oxoazetidine - 4 , 4 - dicarboxylate . nuclear magnetic resonance spectrum ( 270 mhz , d 2 o ) ฮด ppm : following a procedure similar to that described in example 2 , 200 mg of the title compound were prepared from 400 mg of cis - diammineplatinum ( ii ) dinitrate and 300 mg of sodium 1 - methyl - 3 - isopropyl - 2 - oxoazetidine - 4 , 4 - dicarboxylate . nuclear magnetic resonance spectrum [ 270 mhz , ( cd 3 ) 2 so ] ฮด ppm : following a procedure similar to that described in example 2 , 105 mg of the title compound were prepared from 200 mg of cis - diammineplatinum ( ii ) dinitrate and 134 mg of sodium 1 - methoxymethyl - 2 - oxozetidine - 4 , 4 - dicarboxylate . nuclear magnetic resonance spectrum ( 270 mhz , d 2 o ) ฮด ppm : 1 . 9 g of cis -[ trans -( l )- 1 , 2 - diaminocyclohexane ] platinum ( ii ) dinitrate was suspended in 100 ml of water , and the suspension was stirred at 28 ยฐ c . overnight . at the end of this time , a solution of ( 3s , 4r )- 3 -[( r )- 1 - t - butyldimethylsilyloxyethyl ]- 2 - oxoazetidin - 4 - ylacetic acid dissolved in 2 equivalents of aqueous sodium hydroxide was added to the reaction mixture , and immediately crystals precipitated . these crystals were collected by filtration , washed with water and dried , to give 1 . 6 g of the title compound as a pale yellow powder . nuclear magnetic resonance spectrum ( 270 mhz , cd 3 od ) ฮด ppm : following a procedure similar to that described in example 14 , 1 . 56 g of the title compound were prepared from 1 . 9 g of cis -[ trans -( l )- 1 , 2 - diaminocyclohexane ] platinum ( ii ) dinitrate . nuclear magnetic resonance spectrum ( 270 mhz , cd 3 od ) ฮด ppm : 866 mg of cis -[ trans -( l )- 1 , 2 - diaminocyclohexane ] platinum ( ii ) dinitrate were suspended in 30 ml of water , and then 350 mg of ( 3s , 4r )- 3 -[( r )- 1 - hydroxyethyl ]- 2 - oxoazetidin - 4 - ylacetic acid and 2 equivalents of a 1n aqueous solution of sodium hydroxide were added to the suspension . the mixture was then stirred at room temperature for 18 days . at the end of this time , the reaction mixture was concentrated by evaporation under reduced pressure , and the residue was purified by column chromatography through a column containing chp - 20p resin , eluted with water , to give 100 mg of the title compound as a colorless powder . nuclear magnetic resonance spectrum ( 270 mhz , d 2 o ) ฮด ppm : following a procedure similar to that described in example 16 , 64 mg of the title compound were prepared from 199 mg of cis -[ trans -( l )- 1 , 2 - diaminocyclohexane ] platinum ( ii ) dinitrate and 100 mg of ( 3s , 4r )- 3 -[( r )- 1 -( methoxymethoxy ) ethyl ]- 2 - oxoazetidin - 4 - ylacetic acid . nuclear magnetic resonance spectrum ( 270 mhz , d 2 o ) ฮด ppm : 3 . 76 ( 1h , doubled doublet of doublets , j = 8 , 6 & amp ; 2 hz ); following a procedure similar to that described in example 16 , 83 mg of the title compound were prepared from 166 mg of cis -[ trans -( l )- 1 , 2 - diaminocyclohexane ] platinum ( ii ) dinitrate and 100 mg of ( 3s , 4r )- 3 -[( r )- 1 -( 2 - methoxyethoxymethoxy ) ethyl ]- 2 - oxoazetidin - 4 - ylacetic acid . nuclear magnetic resonance spectrum ( 270 mhz , d 2 o ) ฮด ppm : following a procedure similar to that described in example 16 , 27 mg of the title compound were prepared from 188 mg of cis -[ trans -( l )- 1 , 2 - diaminocyclohexane ] platinum ( ii ) dinitrate and 150 mg of ( 3s , 4r )- 3 -[( r )- 1 - diethylphosphonoxyethyl ]- 2 - oxoazetidin - 4 - ylacetic acid . nuclear magnetic resonance spectrum ( 270 mhz , d 2 o ) ฮด ppm : following a procedure similar to that described in example 16 , 101 mg of the title compound were prepared from 107 mg of cis -[ trans -( l )- 1 , 2 - diaminocyclohexane ] platinum ( ii ) dinitrane and 100 mg of ( 3s , 4r )- 3 -[( r )- 1 - diphenylphosphonoxyethyl ]- 2 - oxoazetidin - 4 - ylacetic acid . nuclear magnetic resonance spectrum ( 270 mhz , d 2 o ) ฮด ppm : following a procedure similar to that described in example 14 , 0 . 16 g of the title compound was prepared from 0 . 19 g of cis -[ trans -( l )- 1 , 2 - diaminocyclohexane ] platinum ( ii ) dinitrate and 0 . 13 g of ( 3s , 4s )- 3 -[( r )- 1 - t - butyldimethylsilyloxyethyl ]- 2 - oxoazetidine - 4 - carboxylic acid . nuclear magnetic resonance spectrum ( 270 mhz , cd 3 od ) ฮด ppm : 228 mg of cis -[ trans -( l )- 1 , 2 - diaminocyclohexane ] platinum ( ii ) dinitrate were suspended in 10 ml of water , and the suspension was stirred at 26 ยฐ c . for 3 hours to form a homogeneous solution . at the end of this time , 1 . 05 ml of a 1n aqueous solution of sodium hydroxide and 150 mg of ( 3s , 4s )- 3 -[( r )- 1 - octanoyloxyethyl ]- 2 - oxoazetidine - 4 - carboxylic acid were added to the solution , and the resulting mixture was then stirred at room temperature for 1 . 5 hours . the crystals which precipitated were collected by filtration and washed with water , acetone and diethyl ether , in that order , to afford 84 mg of the title compound . further crystals precipitated from a mixture of the filtrate and the water washings after the mixture had been allowed to stand for 2 days at room temperature . the resulting crystals were collected by filtration and washed with water , acetone and diethyl ether , in that order , to afford a further 12 mg of the title compound . nuclear magnetic resonance spectrum ( 270 mhz , d 2 o ) ฮด ppm : following a procedure similar to that described in example 16 , 186 mg of the title compound were prepared from 594 mg of cis -[ trans -( l )- 1 , 2 - diaminocyclohexane ] platinum ( ii ) and 218 mg of ( 3s , 4s )- 3 -[( r )- 1 - hydroxyethyl ]- 2 - oxoazetidine - 4 - carboxylic acid ( prepared as described in preparation 3 ). nuclear magnetic resonance spectrum ( 270 mhz , d 2 o ) ฮด ppm : 735 mg of cis -[ trans -( l )- 1 , 2 - diaminocyclohexane ] platinum ( ii ) dinitrate were suspended in 50 ml of water , and 230 mg of ( 4s )- 2 - oxoazetidine - 4 - carboxylic acid and 1 . 8 ml of a 1n aqueous solution of sodium hydroxide were added to the suspension , which was then stirred at 28 ยฐ c . for 4 days . at the end of this time , the reaction mixture was concentrated by evaporation under reduced pressure , and then acetone was added to the residue to precipitate crystals . these crystals were collected by filtration , washed with water and with acetone and dried under reduced pressure , to give 195 mg of the title compound . nuclear magnetic resonance spectrum ( 270 mhz , d 2 o ) ฮด ppm : following a procedure similar to that described in example 16 , 100 mg of the title compound were prepared from 579 mg of cis -[ trans -( l )- 1 , 2 - diaminocyclohexane ] platinum ( ii ) dinitrate and 400 mg of [( 3s , 4r )- 3 -( r )- 1 - octanoyloxyethyl )- 2 - oxoazetidin - 4 - yl ] acetic acid . nuclear magnetic resonance spectrum ( 270 mhz , d 2 o ) ฮด ppm : following a procedure similar to that described in example 22 , 100 mg of the title compound were prepared from 274 mg of cis -[ trans -( l )- 1 , 2 - diaminocyclohexane ] platinum ( ii ) and 218 mg of ( 3s , 4s )- 3 -[( r )- 1 - hexanoyloxyethyl ]- 2 - oxoazetidine - 4 - carboxylic acid . nuclear magnetic resonance spectrum ( 270 mhz , d 2 o ) ฮด ppm : following a procedure similar to that described in example 22 , 100 mg of the title compound were prepared from 210 mg of cis -[ trans -( l )- 1 , 2 - diaminocyclohexane ] platinum ( ii ) and 150 mg of ( 3s , 4s )- 3 -[( r )- 1 - butanoyloxyethyl ]- 2 - oxoazetidine - 4 - carboxylic acid . nuclear magnetic resonance spectrum ( 270 mhz , d 2 o ) ฮด ppm : following a procedure similar to that described in example 22 , 40 mg of the title compound were prepared from 300 mg of cis -( cis - 1 , 2 - diaminocyclohexane ) platinum ( ii ) dinitrate and 197 mg of ( 3s , 4s )- 3 -[( r )- 1 - octanoyloxyethyl ]- 2 - oxoazetidine - 4 - carboxylic acid . nuclear magnetic resonance spectrum ( 270 mhz , d 2 o ) ฮด ppm : 1 ( a ) a solution of 6 . 11 ml of bromoacetyl chloride in 60 ml of tetrahydrofuran was added to a solution of 24 g of diethyl n -( 2 , 4 - dimethoxybenzyl ) aminomalonate in 120 ml of tetrahydrofuran , whilst ice - cooling , and then 10 . 3 ml of triethylamine were added dropwise to the resulting mixture . the mixture was stirred for 2 hours whilst ice - cooling , after which the precipitated crystals were filtered off , and the filtrate was concentrated by evaporation under reduced pressure . the residue was extracted with ethyl acetate , and the extract was washed with dilute hydrochloric acid , an aqueous solution of sodium bicarbonate and water , in that order . it was then freed from ethyl acetate by evaporation under reduced pressure , to give 31 . 5 g of an oily product . the whole of this oil was dissolved in 200 ml of benzene , and the resulting solution was mixed with 11 . 2 ml of triethylamine . the mixture was then stirred overnight at room temperature , after which it was diluted with ethyl acetate . the mixture was then washed with dilute aqueous hydrochloric acid , with an aqueous solution of sodium bicarbonate and with water , in that order , and the organic layer was dried over anhydrous magnesium sulfate . the solvent was then removed by distillation under reduced pressure . the residue was purified by column chromatography through 400 g of silica gel , eluted with a 1 : 5 by volume mixture of ethyl acetate and benzene , to afford 21 g of diethyl 1 -( 2 , 4 - dimethoxybenzyl )- 2 - oxoazetidine - 4 , 4 - dicarboxylate . nuclear magnetic resonance spectrum ( 60 mhz , cdcl 3 ) ฮด ppm : 1 ( b ) 17 . 4 g of diethyl 1 -( 2 , 4 - dimethoxybenzyl )- 2 - oxoazetidine - 4 , 4 - dicarboxylate ( prepared as described above ) were dissolved in a mixture of 350 ml of acetonitrile and 350 ml of water . 11 . 2 g of potassium persulfate and 37 . 4 g of dibasic potassium phosphate were then added to the resulting solution , and the mixture was stirred at 65 ยฐ c . for 1 hour . at the end of this time , insoluble materials were filtered off and the filtrate was freed from the solvent by evaporation under reduced pressure . the residue was extracted with ethyl acetate . the extract was washed with a saturated aqueous solution of sodium chloride , with an aqueous solution of sodium bicarbonate and with a saturated aqueous solution of sodium chloride , in that order . the solvent was then removed by distillation under reduced pressure , and the residue was purified by column chromatography through silica gel , eluted with a 1 : 2 by volume mixture of ethyl acetate and benzene , to give 5 . 72 g of diethyl 2 - oxoazetidine - 4 , 4 - dicarboxylate . nuclear magnetic resonance spectrum ( 60 mhz , cdcl 3 ) ฮด ppm : 1 ( c ) 5 . 72 g of diethyl 2 - oxoazetidine - 4 , 4 - dicarboxylate ( prepared as described above ) were dissolved in 25 ml of methanol . 53 . 2 ml of a 1n aqueous solution of sodium hydroxide were added to the resulting solution , and the mixture was stirred at room temperature for 1 day . at the end of this time , the reaction mixture was concentrated by evaporation under reduced pressure to give crystals , which were washed with methanol and with diethyl ether to give 5 . 3 g of the title compound as crystals . 2 ( a ) 2 . 8 ml of triethylamine were added to a suspension of 2 . 11 g of diethyl 2 - aminomalonate hydrochloride in 50 ml of methylene chloride . 1 . 71 g of 3 - bromopropionyl chloride were then added to the mixture , whilst ice - cooling , and then the mixture was stirred for 30 minutes . at the end of this time , the reaction mixture was poured into water and extracted with diethyl ether . the extract was washed with a 5 % w / v aqueous solution of sodium bicarbonate and with water , in that order , after which it was dried over anhydrous magnesium sulfate . the solvent was then removed by distillation under reduced pressure , to give 2 . 5 g of diethyl 2 -( 3 - bromopropionamido ) malonate . nuclear magnetic resonance spectrum ( 60 mhz , cdcl 3 ) ฮด ppm : 2 ( b ) 314 ฮผl of 1 , 8 - diaza [ 5 . 4 . 0 ]- 7 - undecene were added to a solution of 620 mg of diethyl 2 -( 3 - bromopropionamido ) malonate ( prepared as described above ) dissolved in methylene chloride , and the mixture was stirred at room temperature for 3 hours . at the end of this time , the reaction mixture was concentrated by evaporation under reduced pressure , poured into water and then extracted with diethyl ether , the extract was washed with 5 % w / v aqueous hydrochloric acid , with a 5 % w / v aqueous solution of sodium bicarbonate and with water , in that order , and dried over anhydrous magnesium sulfate . the solvent was then removed by distillation under reduced pressure , to give a crude product . this was purified by column chromatography through silica gel , eluted with a 2 : 1 by volume mixture of cyclohexane and ethyl acetate , to give 171 mg of diethyl 2 - oxopyrrolidine - 5 , 5 - dicarboxylate . nuclear magnetic resonance spectrum ( 60 mhz , cdcl 3 ) ฮด ppm : 2 ( c ) 8 . 74 ml of a 1n aqueous solution of sodium hydroxide were added to a solution of 1 . 0 g of diethyl 2 - oxopyrrolidine - 5 , 5 - dicarboxylate ( prepared as described above ) in 10 ml of ethanol , and the mixture was stirred at room temperature for 3 days . at the end of this time , the solvent was removed by distillation under reduced pressure , and the residual crystals were washed with acetone and dried to give 950 mg of sodium 2 - oxopyrrolidine - 5 , 5 - dicarboxylate as a colorless powder . nuclear magnetic resonance spectrum ( 60 mhz , d 2 o ) ฮด ppm : 2 . 35 ( broad singlet ). infrared absorption spectrum ( kbr ) ฮฝ max cm - 1 : 3180 , 1700 , 1630 . 3 ( a ) 14 g of benzyl 1 -( 2 , 4 - dimethoxybenzyl )- 3 -[( r )- 1 - hydroxyethyl ]- 2 - oxoazetidine - 4 - carboxylate [ which had been synthesized according to a procedure similar to that described in tetrahedron 46 , 1795 ( 1984 )] were dissolved in a mixture of 420 ml of acetonitrile and 420 ml of water . 66 . 1 g of potassium persulfate and 23 . 3 g of dibasic potassium phosphate were added to the solution , and the mixture was stirred at 70 ยฐ c . for 60 minutes . at the end of this time , insoluble materials were filtered off , and the filtrate was concentrated by evaporation under reduced pressure . the residue was extracted with ethyl acetate . the extract was washed with a saturated aqueous solution of sodium chloride , dried over anhydrous magnesium sulfate and freed from the solvent by evaporation under reduced pressure . the residue was purified by column chromatography through silica gel to afford 6 . 1 g of benzyl 3 -[( r )- 1 - hydroxyethyl ]- 2 - oxoazetidine - 4 - carboxylate . nuclear magnetic resonance spectrum ( 60 mhz , cdcl 3 ) ฮด ppm : 3 ( b ) 500 mg of the benzyl 3 -[( r )- 1 - hydroxyethyl ]- 2 - oxoazetidine - 4 - carboxylate ( prepared as described in above ) were dissolved in 5 ml of methanol , and the mixture was hydrogenated in the presence of 100 mg of a 10 % w / w palladium - on - carbon catalyst at room temperature for 2 hours . at the end of this time , the catalyst was removed by filtration . the filtrate was concentrated by evaporation under reduced pressure , to give 310 mg of the title compound as a colorless oil . nuclear magnetic resonance spectrum ( 60 mhz , cd 3 od ) ฮด ppm : in the following experiment , the test animals used were 8 to 9 week old female mice of the cdf 1 strain , each weighing 20 - 25 g . the standard l1210 leukemia cells were supplied by dr . t . yamamoto of the institute of medical science , university of tokyo , japan . cdf 1 mice were inoculated intraperitoneally with l1210 cells ( 10 5 cells / mouse ). the test compound is as identified in the following table 6 . in the case of the compounds of the present invention and carboplatin , this was dissolved in 5 % v / v aqueous mannitol , whilst cisplatin was dissolved in a 5 % v / v solution of mannitol in physiological saline . each drug was injected intraperitoneally on days 1 and 4 following tumor implantation . the number of mice in each test group was 6 . s t = weighted median number of days survival of treated mice ; and s u = weighted median number of days survival of untreated mice . table 6______________________________________ wt . change ils dose ( g ) (%) survivorscompound ( mg / kg ) 1 ) 2 ) on day 42______________________________________untreated -- + 1 . 9 -- 0 / 6controlcompound 10 + 1 . 0 & gt ; 196 4 / 6of 20 - 0 . 2 & gt ; 198 6 / 6example 1 40 - 0 . 2 & gt ; 196 4 / 6 80 - 1 . 2 & gt ; 197 5 / 6compound 2 . 5 - 0 . 3 & gt ; 230 5 / 6of 5 - 0 . 3 & gt ; 231 6 / 6example 14 10 - 1 . 5 & gt ; 231 6 / 6 20 - 5 . 5 40 0 / 6carboplatin 5 + 1 . 3 7 0 / 6 10 + 2 . 0 7 0 / 6 20 + 0 . 8 7 0 / 6 40 + 0 . 4 10 0 / 6 80 - 0 . 5 23 0 / 6cisplatin 1 . 25 + 2 . 7 19 0 / 6 2 . 5 + 0 . 7 82 0 / 6 5 - 2 . 2 254 3 / 6______________________________________ notes : 1 ) change in body weight from day 1 to day 7 . 2 ) increase in life span . | 2 |
various terms relating to the methods and compositions of the present invention are used hereinabove and also throughout the specifications and claims . as used herein , the term โ tolerant โ or โ tolerance โ means the ability of a plant to overcome , completely or to some degree , the detrimental effect of an environmental stress or other limiting factor . in the instant case , the transgenic plants are tolerant to high environmental salt concentrations by virtue of producing an abundance of betaine glycine , which functions in the cell as an osmoprotectant . in this invention , the term โ selectable marker โ refers to a gene product that confers a selectable phenotype , such as antibiotic resistance , on a transformed cell or plant . selectable markers are encoded by expressible dna sequences , which are sometimes referred to herein as โ selectable marker genes .โ in this invention , the term โ promoter โ or โ promoter region โ refers to the 5 โฒ regulatory regions of a gene , including promoters per se , as well as other transcriptional and translational regulatory sequences . other definitions are as follows . the term โ operably linked โ means that the regulatory sequences necessary for expression of the coding sequences are placed in the dna molecule in the appropriate positions relative to the coding sequence so as to effect expression of the coding sequence . this same definition is sometimes applied to the arrangement of coding sequences and transcription control elements ( e . g . promoters , enhancers , and termination elements ) in an expression vector . the term โ transgene โ refers to an artificial gene which is used to transform a cell of an organism , such as a bacterium or a plant . when used herein in describing components of media or other experimental results , the term โ about โ means within a margin of commonly acceptable error for the determination being made , using standard methods . for tissue culture media in particular , persons skilled in the art would appreciate that the concentrations of various components initially added to culture media may change somewhat during use of the media , e . g ., by evaporation of liquid from the medium or by condensation onto the medium . moreover , it is understood that the precise concentrations of the macronutrients , vitamins and carbon sources are less critical to the efficacy of the media than are the micronutrient , hormone and antibiotic concentrations . in regards to the present invention , statistical significance of quantified differences is determined using one - way analysis of variance ( anova ) this statistical test is well known to those in the art , and computer programs that carry out this test are commercially available . the level of probably ( p ) used is 0 . 05 in a preferred embodiment , 0 . 01 in a more preferred embodiment , and 0 . 001 in a most preferred embodiment . in regards to the present invention , โ equivalent plants โ are ones of the same genotype or cultivar , at the same age , and having been grown under the same conditions . in the case where one is a transgenic plant , the equivalent plant may be transformed by a similar dna construct but without the critical transgene , or may not be transformed but regenerated from tissue culture . in accordance with the present invention , transgenic turfgrasses are provided that have increased salt tolerance . in a preferred embodiment , this invention provides transgenic bentgrass carrying the betaine aldehyde dehydrogenase transgene , which are highly salt tolerant . herein we use the abbreviation badh and badh to indicate the betaine aldehyde dehydrogenase gene and gene product , respectively . the existence of glycine betaine in graminaceae ( also known as poaceae ) has been reported ( hitz and hanson , 1980 , phytochemistry 19 : 2371 - 2374 ). some species show glycine betaine accumulation under salt or drought stress and the amount of accumulation is sufficient to produce effective osmotic protection ( marcum and murdoch , 1994 , j . amer . soc . hort . sci . 119 : 779 - 84 ). recently , the genes conferring the two enzymes in the biosynthetic pathway of glycine betaine have been isolated . the badh gene has been cloned from mountain spinach , atriplex hortensis , which grows on the shore of a salt lake in western china . in an exemplary embodiment of the present invention , we have successfully transformed creeping bentgrass with a mountain spinach badh transgene , and have shown that the ratio of badh activity and betaine content increased in the transgenic bentgrass . under 1 . 2 % nacl stress , the glycine betaine concentration in the transgenic plants reached 5 , 891 ฮผg / g dry weight , which was 74 . 5 % higher than that in the nontransgenic plants . glycine betaine is considered to be located entirely in the cytoplasm ( gorham and jones , 1983 , planta 157 : 344 - 349 ). the relative contribution of glycine betaine to osmotic adjustment can be estimated by assuming that the cytoplasmic volume in mature bentgrass mesophyll cells is about 10 % of total cell volume ( leigh et al ., 1981 , planta 153 : 34 - 41 ), and that the osmotic coefficient of glycine betaine is 1 . using this method , the contribution of glycine betaine in the transgenic plants is estimated to be 360 mosmol ยท kg โ 1 higher than that in the non - transgenic plants ( 830 mosmol ยท kg โ 1 for the transformants and 470 mosmol ยท kg โ 1 for the controls ). this is likely to be the reason for the improved in salt tolerance of the b4 transformants at both the cellular and whole plant levels . in the studies leading to the present invention , badh activity was not induced by stress . although betaine accumulation itself is nontoxic in plants , its synthesis is energetically expensive and may cause possible side effects , such as susceptibly to attack by certain pathogenic fungi and aphids ( strange et al ., 1974 , physiol . plant path . 4 : 277 - 290 ; zuniga and corcuera , 1987 , phytochemistry 26 : 367 - 369 ). placing coding sequences of betaine synthesis - related genes under the control of an osmotically responsive promoter is a useful strategy contemplated in this invention . it has been determined previously that the mechanisms of salt tolerance in the highly salt tolerant grasses involve osmotic adjustment , ion exclusion , ion compartmentation , and in some cases , secretion of excess salt ( marcum and murdoch , 1994 , j . amer . soc . hort . sci . 119 : 779 - 84 ; hannon and bradshaw , 1968 , nature 220 : 1342 - 1343 ; chetelat and wu , 1986 , j . plant nutrition 9 ( 9 ): 1185 - 97 ). ion exclusion and possibly ion compartmentation have been demonstrated in the creeping bentgrasses ( ahmad et al ., 1981 , new phytol . 87 : 615 - 629 ). the experiments reported herein also suggested that salt tolerance in bentgrass involved mechanisms other than osmotic adjustment . on 0 . 5 % nacl callus medium , the growth inhibition of the non - transformed controls is very obvious . on 0 . 8 % nacl medium , non - transgenic callus cells began to lyse at the third week , and severe lysis and death occurred at the forth week . under 0 . 8 % nacl stress , while percentage of damaged leaves was not significantly different between control and b4 plants , the percentage of dead leaves was significantly greater in the control plants and the b4 plants grew significantly faster . clearly , the tolerance of plants was stronger than that of callus tissues . glycine betaine concentration was significantly higher in leaves than callus tissue , while badh activity was lower in leaves than callus tissue . these results indicated the influence of organ development . the existence of multiple mechanisms of salt tolerance is worth notice when aiming to improve salt tolerance in turfgrasses , whether by traditional breeding methods or new biotechniques . because of the complex nature of salt tolerance in turfgrasses , it was surprising to observe the marked increase in salt tolerance resulting from over - expression of just a single gene in the betaine biosynthetic pathway . as described in greater detail in example 1 , salt stress tests in vitro demonstrated that the badh - transformed callus lines generated by the aforementioned methods showed improved salt tolerance on 0 . 8 % nacl medium as compared to the control callus tissues . during in planta salt stress tests , one transgenic line showed better salt tolerance than did the others . both leaves and roots of these plants grew stronger than control plants under saline conditions , particularly under 1 . 2 % nacl stress . presumably , position effects of the transgene played a role in the differential salt tolerance observed among transgenic plants , thus emphasizing the importance of selecting and evaluating several transformants from a particular transformation procedure . in a preferred embodiment , the salt - tolerant transgenic cells of the invention grow significantly faster that equivalent untransformed cells on a 0 . 8 % nacl medium . in another preferred embodiment , a transgenic plant of the invention grows significantly faster than the equivalent untransformed plant under 1 . 2 % nacl stress . in another preferred embodiment , the transgenic plant of the invention is significantly more tolerant to drought than equivalent plants . while not limiting the invention to any one mode , it is likely that the increased badh activity leads to increased glycine betaine concentration . additionally , it is likely that increased glycine betaine concentration leads to increased salt tolerance . when grown under normal growth conditions , the transgenic plant of the invention has at least 1 . 5 ร, 2 . 0 ร or 3 . 0 ร more bah activity than equivalent untransformed plants in en preferred , more preferred and most preferred embodiments , respectively . when grown under normal growth conditions , the transgenic plant of the invention has at least 2 ร, 4 ร, or 6 ร more glycine betaine per dry weight in leaf tissue than equivalent untransformed plants in preferred , more preferred and most preferred embodiments . when grown under 1 . 2 % nacl stress , the transgenic plant of the invention grows 1 . 2 ร, 1 . 5 ร or 2 . 0 ร faster than the equivalent untransformed plant in preferred , more preferred and most preferred embodiments . preferred turfgrasses of the invention ( i . e . transgenic and salt tolerant ) have been produced from creeping bentgrass , agrostis palustris huds ., perennial ryegrass ( genotype r821 ) ( lolium spp . ), bermudagrass cv . tifeagle ( cynodon dactylon ) and kentucky bluegrass genotype 94 - 301 ( poa pratensis ). however , due to the reasonably close similarity among various turfgrasses ( i . e ., in physiology , genome organization , etc . ), achieving salt tolerance by transformation with a badh gene will have broad applicability to many different kinds of turfgrass . accordingly , the salt tolerance of these grasses can also be improved by transformation with the badh transgene . other turfgrasses contemplated for use in the invention include , but are not limited to , velvet bentgrass , hard fescue , chewings fescue , strong creeping fescue and colonial bentgrass . in accordance with the present invention , several other species in gramineae ( or poaceae ) have been transformed with the badh transgene . the transformation of perennial ryegrass ( genotype r821 ) ( lolium spp . ), bermudagrass cv tifeagle ( cynodon dactylon ) and kentucky bluegrass genotype 94 - 301 ( poa pratensis ) are described in examples 2 - 4 , respectively . additionally , the transformants of perennial ryegrass ( genotype r821 ) have shown enhanced drought tolerance ( example 2 ). it is contemplated that because four species of gramineae have been transformed with a badh transgene , it is a matter of routine experimentation to transform other species with a similar transgene with similar results . other grass species of particular interest include , but are not limited to , dichondra micrantha , pennisetum clandestinum , stenotaphrum secundatum , zoysia japonica , agrostis spp ., festuca spp ., lolium spp ., avena spp ., triticum spp ., secale spp ., hordeum spp ., oryza spp ., panicum spp ., saccharum spp ., sorghum spp ., zea spp ., cynodon spp ., zizania spp ., andropogon spp ., schizachyrium spp ., bouteloua spp . and buchlรถe spp . in regards to the present invention , the taxonomic system of cronquist is used ( for gramineae , see gould , 1968 , grass systematics , mcgraw - hill , new york , 1968 ). though the atriplex hortensis badh gene ( xiao et al ., 1995 , chinese science bulletin 40 ( 8 ): 741 - 745 ) is exemplified herein , any other badh gene can also be used in accordance with the present invention . for instance , the spinach badh gene ( weretilnyk and hanson , 1990 , pnas 87 : 2745 - 2749 ) may also be used , as may other badh genes isolated in the future ( especially preferred are badh genes from monocotyledonous species ). moreover , this invention contemplates the use as transgenes of any gene in the glycine betaine biosynthetic pathway ( e . g ., choline monooxygenase ), or any combination of those genes . biolistic delivery of transforming dna is exemplified herein for transformation of turfgrass . however , other transformation techniques can be used . other plant transformation methods include agrobacterium - mediated delivery , peg treatment of protoplasts , uv laser microbeam , gemini virus vectors , calcium phosphate treatment of protoplasts , electroporation of isolated protoplasts , agitation of cell suspensions with microbeads coated with the transforming dna , direct dna uptake , liposome - mediated dna uptake , and the like . such methods have been published in the art . see , e . g ., methods for plant molecular bioloay ( weissbach & amp ; weissbach , eds ., 1988 ); methods in plant molecular biology ( schuler & amp ; zielinski , eds ., 1989 ); plant molecular biology manual ( gelvin , schilperoort , verma , eds ., 1993 ); and methods in plant molecular biology โ a laboratory manual ( maliga , klessig , cashmore , gruissem & amp ; varner , eds ., 1994 ). the transgenic plants of the present invention may be made by the following transformation / regeneration protocol , based on biolistic delivery of transforming dna according to the method of hartman et al . ( 1994 , bio / technology 12 : 919 - 923 ). embryogenic callus is initiated from germinating seeds of a selected turfgrass . after surface sterilization , seeds are planted on a callus medium . the callus medium may contain plant growth regulators such as 2 , 4 - d , bap , dicamba and zeatin riboside . the selection , concentrations and ratios of these growth regulators is varied to suit a particular species of plant . the selection of type and concentration of growth regulators is a matter of routine experimentation and is well know to those skilled in the art of tissue culture . after 6 - 8 weeks culture in the dark at 25 ยฐ c ., compact embryogenic calli are selected and transferred to new culture plates . the calli are subcultured every 2 - 3 weeks on the same medium . samples for bombardment are made consisting of embryogenic callus on filter discs in a plate of callus medium containing 0 . 6 m mannitol . the samples are kept in the mannitol medium for an appropriate time ( e . g ., 16 hours ) prior to bombardment . dna - coated gold particles are prepared as described , e . g ., by christou et al . ( 1991 ). samples are co - transformed with a selected expression vector containing a coding sequence of interest operably linked to appropriate 5 โฒ and 3 โฒ regulatory regions , and a vector that expresses a selectable marker . the bombardment is carried out using a standard biolistic delivery system . the day following bombardment , the calli are transferred to callus medium without mannitol . after an appropriate period of time ( e . g ., 1 week ), the calli are transferred to callus medium supplemented with the selectable marker ( e . g ., hygromycin ). after several weeks of growth on the selection medium , the resistant calli are transferred to regeneration medium and placed in the light . the regenerated shoots from the calli usually appear within 4 - 8 weeks . the young plants are then transferred to standard growth medium , and the regenerating shoots appear in the order of 3 weeks thereafter . such tissue culture methods and media are well known to persons skilled in the art of plant tissue culture . the aforementioned cultures generally are performed at about room temperature , e . g ., 22 - 26 ยฐ c ., under a light regimen of between about 30 and 70 ฮผmol ยท m โ 2 ยท sec โ 1 . it should be recognized that the amount as well as the tissue specificity of expression of the transgene of interest in transformed plants can vary depending on the position of their insertion into the nuclear genome . such position effects are well known in the art . for this reason , several nuclear transformants should be regenerated and tested for expression of the transgene . the transformation / regeneration formulations and protocol of the present invention can be used to introduce the salt tolerance - conferring transgene or selectable marker gene into a selected graminaceous plant . useful transgenes may employ many useful promoters and coding sequences . examples of useful promoters for either the transgene or selectable marker gene include , but are not limited to , the rice actin promoter , the maize ubiquitin promoter , the maize adh 1 promoter , the rice or maize tubulin promoters ( tub a , b or c ) and the alfalfa his 3 promoter . several selectable marker genes may be used in this transformation procedure . in addition to hygromycin resistance , other selectable markers genes suitable for use in the present invention are known ( e . g ., bialaphos resistance ). using the foregoing methods , this invention provides salt - tolerant transgenic graminaceous plants , and also is intended to encompass cells and tissues of those plants , including , but not limited to , leaves , stems , shoots , roots , flowers and seeds . in a preferred embodiment , seeds of the transgenic plants are provided . the plants grown from the aforementioned seeds , or seeds from other graminaceous varieties , or the progeny thereof , all of which are considered within the scope of this invention , are used in crosses and selection methods to transfer the transgene of interest into other graminaceous genotypes , cultivars , varieties and the like . plants grown from the transgenic seeds of the invention can also be analyzed to detect the presence of the inserted transgene and vector sequences using dna extraction , cleavage by one or more restriction endonucleases , and analysis , e . g ., southern blotting using probes derived from the transgene . in this manner , the transfer of foreign transgenes into progeny of breeding crosses can be monitored . an example of the use of such detection and monitoring methods is described in greater detail in example 1 . transgenic turfgrass that carry and express the aforementioned badh coding sequences are expected to be highly resistant not only to salt stress , but also to drought stress and cold stress , which are both osmotically regulated , at least in part . the following example is provided to describe the invention in greater detail . it is intended to illustrate , not to limit , the invention . transformation of creeping bentgrass with badh transgene to produce tolerance to salt stress initiation and maintenance of embryogenic callus . embryogenic callus was initiated from germinating seeds of creeping bentgrass , cv . crenshaw . after surface sterilization , seeds were planted on murashige and skoog medium ( ms ) supplemented with 30 mm dicamba ( 3 , 6 - dichloro - o - anisic acid ), 20 mm bap and 100 mg / l myo - inositol , 30 g / l sucrose and 2 . 0 g / l gell - gro , ph 5 . 80 - 5 . 85 . after 6 - 8 weeks culture in the dark at 25 ยฐ c ., compact embryogenic calli were selected and transferred to new culture plates . the calli were subcultured every 2 - 3 weeks on the same medium . transformation and regeneration of transformants . samples for bombardment consisted of 0 . 5 g embryogenic callus on 5 . 5 cm filter discs in plate of callus media containing 0 . 6 m mannitol . samples were kept on the mannitol medium for 16 hours prior to bombardment ( vain et al ., 1993 , plant cell reports 12 : 84 - 88 ). dna - coated gold particles ( 1 . 0 micron diameter ) were prepared as described by christou et al . ( 1991 , bio / technology 9 : 957 - 962 ). samples were co - transformed with prtt120 ( the badh expression vector ), and pach , ( the hygromycin resistance expression vector ). the bombardment was carried out using a bio - rad pds - 1000 / he biolistic delivery system at 1 , 100 psi and at a distance of 12 cm . each dish was bombarded twice . the day following bombardment , the calli were transferred to callus medium without mannitol . after 1 week , they were transferred to the callus medium supplemented with 200 mg / l hygromycin . after 6 - 8 weeks of growth on the selection medium , the resistant calli were transferred to regenerationmedium and placed in the light . the regenerated shoots from the calli usually appeared within 4 - 8 weeks . the young plants were transferred to ms media , and the regenerated roots appeared after 3 weeks . expression vectors . the badh cdna used was isolated from mountain spinach ( atriplex hortensis ) and its registration number was embl x69770 ( xiao et al ., 1995 , chinese science bulletin 40 ( 8 ): 741 - 745 ). the badh cdna fragment was inserted into smai / saci site of pahc25 ( christensen and quail , 1994 , transgenic research 5 : 213 - 218 ) replacing the gus coding sequence . the resulting 4 . 0 kb hind iii dna fragment , which contained the 1 . 6 kb badh coding sequence flanked by the maize ubiquitin promoter and nos - 3 โฒ terminal sequence , was then cloned into the hind iii site of pbluescript . the resulting plasmid was designated prtt120 ( fig1 ). plasmid pachl ( provided by dr . german spangenberg ) contains a truncated hph hygromycin coding sequence ( bilang et al ., 1991 , gene 100 : 247 - 250 ) under the control of the rice actin promoter ( mcelroy et al ., 1991 , mol . gen . genet . 231 : 150 - 160 ). badh activity assay . badh activity assay was carried out according to weretilnyk and hanson ( 1989 , arch . biochem . biophys . 271 : 55 - 63 ). leaves or callus samples of 1 - 2 g were homogenized with a pestle in liquid n 2 and transferred into the extraction buffer ( 50 mm hepes / koh , ph 8 . 0 , 1 mm edta , 5 mm dtt ) at 1 . 0 g sample per 2 . 5 ml buffer . the homogenate was incubated at 0 ยฐ c . in an ice bath for 10 min and centrifuged at 13 , 000 ร g for 10 min at 4 ยฐ c . the supernatant was fractionated by 35 - 70 % ( nh 4 ) 2 so 4 saturation . the precipitate was collected by centrifugation at 15 , 000 ร g for 15 min at 4 ยฐ c . and the pellet was dissolved in 1 . 0 ml protein buffer ( 10 mm hepes / koh ph 8 . 0 , 1 mm edta , 0 . 2 mm dtt ). the protein concentration was determined by using the bio - rad protein assay kit using bovine serum albumin as the standard . the 1 . 0 ml reaction system used for badh activity assay was consisted of 50 mm hepes / koh ph 8 . 0 , 5 mm dtt , 1 mm edta , 1 mm nad , 1 mm badh sample and 0 . 5 mg protein . the reaction was initiated with the addition of betaine aldehyde chloride and incubated at 37 ยฐ c . for 20 min . the badh activity was calculated after determining the absorbance at 340 nm of the reaction products . one unit of enzyme activity was defined as the amount of enzyme needed to convert 1 nmol of nad per minute under the assay conditions . calculation of badh activity was based on an extinction coefficient of 6200 m โ 1 cm โ 1 for nadh . betaine content determination . betaine content was assayed by the periodide method of pearce et al . ( 1976 , phytochemistry 15 : 953 - 954 ). extracted samples were fractionated by thin layer chromatography to check compositions , using the methods of eneroth and lindstedt ( 1965 , anal . biochem . 10 : 479 - 484 ). salinity treatments . the salt tolerance for both transgenic callus tissues and regenerated plants was tested . for callus tests , normal callus medium and the same medium with 0 . 8 % nacl additive were used . about 0 . 2 g of both non - transgenic and transgenic calli were transplanted onto a plate containing one of the callus media , and the plate was evenly divided into two parts . after 3 weeks , the calli were carefully removed from the plate and weighed . three replicates of each treatment were made and the test was repeated three times . to test the salt tolerance of regenerated plants , 18 normal growing individuals of both non - transgenic and transgenic plants were tested in hydroponic cultivation . three plastic tubs were filled with 7 liters of hoagland solution plus ยฝ strength ms microelements ( hoagland and arnon , 1938 , univ . calif . agr . expt . sta . circ . no . 347 ( ch 2 )). six non - transgenic control plants and six badh + transgenic plants were transplanted into each tub . the plants were supported with floating styrofoam and the solution in the tub was aerated continuously . three salt levels ( 0 %, 0 . 8 %, 1 . 2 % nacl ) were used . the plants were allowed to acclimatize to hydroponic conditions for one week before salt was added to the growth solution . the salt was added with an increase of 0 . 2 % nacl every 3 days until it reached 0 . 8 % and 1 . 2 %, respectively . the plants were allowed to grow in the final salt level for 3 weeks . nutrient solutions were changed every week . after 3 weeks , the leaves of tested plants were rated . leaves were divided into dead , damaged or healthy based on whether they were completely dry or wilting , tip burning larger than โ
of the leaf length , or nearly no damage , respectively . transformation , selection and regeneration of bentgrass . when co - transformation was used , the plasmid ratio between hygromycin resistance transgene and the badh transgene was 1 : 1 . from 7 transformed dishes , 9 stable hygromycin resistant cell lines were obtained after 8 weeks selection . shoots appeared for all of the nine cell lines in 6 weeks after the calli were transferred to the regeneration medium . roots appeared 3 weeks after the shoot were transferred to the plantcons ยฎ half filled with ms medium . expression of badh gene . 0 . 3 - 0 . 5 cm young leaf - tips were used to screen for badh transgene insertion by pcr ( klimyuk et al ., 1993 , the plant j . 3 : 493 - 494 ). three ( b4 , b7 and b8 ) of the nine hygromycin resistant transgenic lines were confirmed to also have the badh transgene insertion . rt - pcr and badh activity assay were used to identify the expression of badh transgene in positive regeneration lines . the ratios of badh activity in b4 , b7 and b8 were 2 . 9 , 2 . 0 and 8 . 0 times of the wild type ( badh โ control ), respectively . salinity treatments . all three badh positive callus lines showed improvement of salt tolerance on 0 . 8 % nacl medium as compared to the control callus tissues . the appearance and the growth rate of b4 plants was normal while the b7 and b8 plants grew slowly as compared with the non - transgenic plants . the leaf color of b7 was slightly yellowish . therefore , only b4 callus and regenerated plants were used for further salinity tests . the fresh weights , ratio of badh activity and glycine betaine content on normal or 0 . 8 % nacl medium between transgenic and non - transgenic calli are shown in table 1 . on normal medium , after three weeks culture , the fresh weight of wild type and b4 calli increased 5 . 12 ยฑ 0 . 9 , and 4 . 35 ยฑ 0 . 38 times , respectively , but on 0 . 8 % nacl medium , the increase was 1 . 53 ยฑ 0 . 21 , and 3 . 41 ยฑ 0 . 42 times , respectively . it appeared that there were some growth inhibition for both wild type and b4 on salt medium . however , the transgenic calli have shown definite improvement of salt tolerance at the cellular level . on normal growth medium , the glycine betaine content in b4 calli was nearly 8 times higher than that of the control ( table 1 .). on 0 . 8 % nacl medium , although glycine betaine content in the control dramatically increased 9 times , glycine betaine in b4 was still 2 . 3 times higher than that in the control . two - dimensional tlc was used to check the composition of glycine betaine extraction from plant materials . the results showed that over 85 % of the extraction consisted of glycine betaine plus choline . since in the assay pure glycine betaine and choline was used as the standard , this result indicated that the periodide method was suitable for the assay . the ratio of badh activity in b4 calli was always higher than that of the control . there was no indication that badh activity in the control or b4 calli was induced , whether they were under short term ( 2 days ) or long term ( 3 weeks ) treatments , although glycine betaine content increased many folds under salt stress . in contrast , a loss of badh activity was observed , especially for the control under short term treatment . the growth of plants under different salt concentrations was observed . under normal conditions , both transgenic and non - transgenic plants grew well and nearly no leaf damage was observed (& lt ; 1 . 0 %). the root system of non - transgenic grasses was better than that of b4 plants . however , under saline conditions , b4 plants showed better tolerance and both leaves and roots grew stronger than non - transgenic plants , especially under 1 . 2 % nacl stress . as leaves are the predominant part of turf grass , they were rated as dead , damaged or healthy under different saline conditions . under 0 . 8 % nacl stress , there was significant difference on the percentage of dead leaves between b4 and the controls ( fig2 a ). both b4 and the control grass leaves showed various degrees of damage but the difference was insignificant . b4 , however , grew faster than the controls . under 1 . 2 % nacl stress , the difference of salt tolerance between b4 and non - transgenic was very significant ( fig2 b ). similar to the callus tissues , both the ratio of badh activity and glycine betaine content of b4 plants were higher than those of controls , whether under normal or 1 . 2 % nacl stress conditions ( table 2 ). under 1 . 2 % nacl stress , glycine betaine content in b4 plants was 5 , 891 ฮผg / g dry weight , which was 74 . 5 % higher than that in controls ( table 2 ). transformation of perennial ryegrass with badh transgene to improve tolerance to drought stress initiation and maintenance of embryogenic callus . embryogenic callus was initiated from germinating seeds of perennial ryegrass , genotype r821 . after surface sterilization , seeds were planted on murashige and skoog medium ( ms ) supplemented with 4 . 0 mg / l 2 , 4 - d ( 2 , 4 - dichloro - phenoxyacetic acid ), 0 . 05 mg / l bap and 100 mg / l myo - inositol , 30 g / l sucrose and 2 . 0 g / l gell - gro , ph 5 . 80 - 5 . 85 . after 2 - 3 weeks a culture in the dark at 25 ยฐ c ., compact embryogenic calli were selected and transferred to new culture plates . the calli were subcultured every 2 weeks on the same medium . transformation and regeneration of transformants . plants were transformed and regenerated by the method of example 1 . expression vectors . the badh expression vector of example 1 was used in the transformation . badh activity assay . the badh activity assay used is described in example 1 . drought treatments . for the drought tolerance test , 110 individual plants which came from 110 individual seeds , were randomly selected as control plants to represent the genetic background of genotype r821 . four to six individuals of each transgenic plant line were used as representative of that specific transgenic line . six of the twenty - seven transgenic lines which showed better drought tolerance in a preliminary test were used in drought test . when plants grew to the 5 - 10 tiller stage , all the plants were transplanted into two large plastic tubs ( 23 ร 17 inches ), each of which contained 6 inches of fritted clay soaked in hoagland solution . holes were drilled at the bottom of the tubs for drainage . the transgenic plants and control plants were randomly arranged and planted in the tubs . soil and other organic particles adhering to the roots were washed away in tap water before transplantation . plants were watered every two days . two weeks after transplantation , plants were mowed to 3 inches height and allowed to grow for another week . all plants were watered thoroughly , and then water was withheld for 18 days . arbitrary rating of the wilting leaves based on the degree of water loss and color change of the grasses was used to elucidate the performance of drought tolerance of each individual . in the visual ratings , 1 equaled a total loss of water and color of the leaves and 9 equaled no signs of drought stress . the drought tolerance performance of each plant was scored on the 8 th , 10 th and 18 th day after the start of withholding water . transformation , selection and regeneration of ryegrass . from 8 dishes of transformed tissues , fifty - two stable hygromycin resistant cell lines were obtained after 8 weeks selection . six weeks after the calli were transferred to regeneration medium , shoots appeared for forty - eight cell lines . roots appeared 3 weeks after the shoots were transferred to plantcons ยฎ containing ms medium . expression of badh gene . young leaf tips ( 0 . 3 - 0 . 5 cm ) were used to screen for badh transgene insertion by pcr ( klimyuk et al ., 1993 , the plant j . 3 : 493 - 494 ). twenty - seven of the fifty - eight hygromycin resistant transgenic lines were confirmed by southern blotting to have the badh transgene insertion . the badh activity assay was used to identify the expression of badh transgene in positive regeneration lines . for the six transgenic lines used , the ratios of badh activity were 1 . 5 to 3 . 4 times that of the average of wild type ( badh โ control ). drought treatment . the drought tolerance in control and transgenic plants was determined on the 8 th day after the withholding water . statistic analysis showed that among the six transgenic lines used in the test , two transgenic lines had no difference as compared to the controls , while four transgenic lines surpassed the control plants significantly in drought tolerance . the 10 th day and 18 th day data showed similar results . initiation and maintenance of embryogenic callus . embryogenic callus was initiated from fresh nodes of bermudagrass , cv . tif . eagle . after surface sterilization , nodes were planted on murashige and skoog medium ( ms ) supplemented with 30 mm dicamba , 20 mm bap and 100 mg / l myo - inositol , 30 g / l sucrose and 2 . 0 g / l gell - gro , ph 5 . 80 - 5 . 85 . after 6 - 8 weeks culture in the dark at 30 ยฐ c ., compact embryogenic calli were selected and transferred to new culture plates . the calli were subcultured every 10 days on the same medium . transformation and regeneration of transformants . samples for bombardment consisted of 0 . 5 g embryogenic callus on 5 . 5 cm filter paper discs in a plate with callus media containing 0 . 6 m mannitol . samples were kept on the mannitol medium for 16 hours prior to bombardment ( vain et al ., 1993 , plant cell reports 12 : 84 - 88 ). dna - coated gold particles ( 1 . 0 micron diameter ) were prepared as described by christou et al . ( 1991 , bio / technology 9 : 957 - 962 ). samples were co - transformed with prtt120 ( the badh expression vector ), and pach , ( the hygromycin resistance expression vector ). the bombardment was carried out using a bio - rad pds - 1000 / he biolistic delivery system at 1 , 100 psi and at a distance of 9 cm . each dish was bombarded twice . the day following bombardment , the calli were transferred to callus medium without mannitol . after 1 week , they were transferred to the callus selection medium supplemented with 200 mg / l hygromycin . after 4 - 6 weeks of growth on the selection medium , the resistant calli were transferred to regeneration medium and placed in the light . the regenerated shoots from the calli usually appeared within 6 - 8 weeks . the young plants were transferred to ms media , and the regenerated roots appeared after 2 weeks . expression vectors . the badh expression vector was used to transform bermudagrass , cv . tif . eagle plants . the dna construct is described in example 1 . transformation , selection and regeneration of bermudagrass . when co - transformation was used , the plasmid ratio between the hygromycin resistance transgene and the badh transgene was 1 : 2 . from 6 transformed dishes , twelve stable hygromycin resistant cell lines were obtained after 8 weeks selection . shoots appeared for all of the nine cell lines in 8 weeks after they were transferred to the regeneration medium . roots appeared 2 weeks after the shoot were transferred to the plantcons ยฎ half filled with ms medium . insertion of badh gene . young leaf tips ( 0 . 3 - 0 . 5 cm ) were used to screen for badh transgene insertion by pcr ( klimyuk et al ., 1993 , the plant j . 3 : 493 - 494 ). five of the twelve hygromycin resistant transgenic lines were confirmed to have the badh transgene insertion . initiation and maintenance of embryogenic callus . embryogenic callus was initiated from germinating seeds of kentucky bluegrass genotype 94 - 301 . after surface sterilization , seeds were planted on murashige and skoog medium ( ms ) supplemented with 20 mm dicamba , 0 . 3 mg / l zeatin riboside and 100 mg / l myo - inositol , 30 g / l sucrose and 2 . 0 g / l gell - gro , ph 5 . 80 - 5 . 85 . after 6 - 8 weeks culture in the dark at 25 ยฐ c ., compact embryogenic calli were selected and transferred to new culture plates . the calli were subcultured every 2 weeks on the same medium . transformation and regeneration of transformants . plants were transformed and regenerated by the method of example 1 . expression vectors . the badh expression vector was used to transform kentucky bluegrass genotype 94 - 301 plants . the dna construct is described in example 1 . transformation , selection and regeneration of bentgrass . when co - transformation was used , the plasmid ratio between hygromycin resistance transgene and the badh transgene was 1 : 2 . from 8 transformed dishes , thirty - six stable hygromycin resistant cell lines were obtained after 8 weeks selection . shoots appeared for thirty - two cell lines in 6 weeks after the calli were transferred to the regeneration medium . roots appeared 2 weeks after the shoot were transferred to the plantcons ยฎ containing ms medium . insertion of badh gene . 0 . 3 - 0 . 5 cm young leaf tips were used to screen for badh transgene insertion by pcr ( klimyuk et al ., 1993 , the plant j . 3 : 493 - 494 ). twenty of the thirty - two hygromycin resistant transgenic lines were confirmed to have the badh transgene insertion . the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described and exemplified above , but is capable of variation and modification within the scope of the appended claims . | 2 |
fig1 shows a plan view from the front of a support element 10 in accordance with the invention with a circular base surface 20 . a spigot - shaped element 12 which projects out of the plane of the drawing and has a substantially square cross - section with slightly arched outer sides is seated at the center of the circular base surface 20 of the support element 10 . a latch element 14 made as a cylindrical pin can be seen at the side of the spigot - shaped element 12 at the bottom in fig1 and 2 and projects out of this element . as can be seen in fig2 , the latch element 14 is held or fixed in the spigot - shaped element 12 by means of a plastic sleeve and is supported at a spring centering location 15 in the interior region of the spigot - shaped element 12 by a spring 16 , with the spring 16 being seated in a bore 17 of the latch element 14 and extending from this bore 17 up to and approximately into the center of the spigot - shaped element 12 . when the spring is compressed , the latch element 14 is countersunk in the spigot - shaped element 12 until it abuts an abutment surface 13 provided for this purpose with the annular surface bounding the end of the bore 17 . in the position countersunk up to the abutment surface 13 , it no longer only projects from the spigot - shaped element 12 , but it projects from the spigot - shaped element 12 when the spring 16 is relaxed and can thus latch into a corresponding cut - out in a tubular element of a functional element . in fig1 , two guide webs 18 are furthermore shown which extend perpendicular to the plane of the drawing at oppositely disposed sides of the spigot - shaped element 12 . these guide webs 18 converge toward the front in the direction of a functional element to be pushed on so that the pushing on of the functional element is facilitated which has cut - outs corresponding to the guide webs 18 in its tubular element . when the functional element is coupled to the support element 10 , the guide webs 18 form an additional security against rotation . in fig2 , in addition , two of four bores 22 are visible which are provided in circular form in the rear side of the support element 10 . the bores 22 serve for the screwing of the support element 10 directly to a wall or to a base element as will be explained later . fig3 a to 3c show different views of another embodiment of a support element 10 in accordance with the invention . in fig3 a , the support element 10 is shown in a perspective manner and a circular base surface 20 can be seen on which a cylindrical body 21 is seated at whose center the spigot - shaped element 12 is in turn located . the spigot - shaped element 12 also has a substantially square cross - section with slightly arched outer sides , with two guide webs 18 being disposed at the outer side , which converge in the direction of a functional element and of which , however , only one can be see in the figures . a quadrangular opening 24 is applied at the surface at the center of the spigot - shaped element 12 . at the outer side of the spigot - shaped element 12 adjacent to the guide web 18 , the latch element 14 can be seen in fig3 c which projects out of the spigot - shaped element 12 at the side ( downwardly with a mounted support element 10 ) and has a cylindrical shape with a rounded end face . the lower side of the support element 10 is provided with a star - shaped toothed arrangement 26 which is shown more precisely again in a plan view in fig3 b . this toothed arrangement 26 can , as shown in fig5 , cooperate with a corresponding toothed arrangement 27 in a cut - out 28 of a base element 30 whose shape corresponds to the shape of the base surface 20 of the support element 10 when the support element 10 is inserted into a cut - out 28 of this type and can thus form a security against rotation . in fig4 , the support element 10 from fig3 a to 3c is now inserted into a circular base element 30 or is made in one piece with the base element 30 . the base element 30 can be screwed firmly to a wall and has a circular base surface at whose center a likewise circular cut - out 28 for the support element 10 is provided whose diameter corresponds to the diameter of the base surface 20 of the support element 10 . the latch element 14 is not visible in fig4 since it lies at the lower side of the spigot - shaped element 12 ; however , the guide web 18 can be seen on the left - hand side of the spigot - shaped element 12 . in addition , a functional element 40 is shown in fig4 which can be pushed onto the support element 10 . the functional element 40 is a double hook which has a tubular element 42 with which it is mounted onto the support element 10 . the inner cross - section of the tubular element 42 corresponds to the outer cross - section of the spigot - shaped element 12 , with two cut - outs also being provided which are not visible in the figure and which correspond to the guide webs 18 . in addition , a cut - out ( again not visible in the figure ) for the latch element 14 is formed at the lower side of the tubular element 42 . to push on the functional element 40 , the latch element 14 is depressed against its bias transversely to the direction of the longitudinal axis of the spigot - shaped element and then latches into the recess in the tubular element 42 . in the latched state , the support element 10 is firmly coupled to the functional element 40 so that the functional element 40 is secured against rotation and against being pulled out . the support element 10 is completely invisible in this coupled state and the tubular element 42 of the functional element 40 is seated in a shaped matched manner in the cut - out 28 of the base element 30 . fig5 likewise shows the support element 10 of fig3 a to c and of fig4 , but this time with a different base element 30 . the base element 30 is an elongate shield which can be screwed to a wall and which has two cut - outs 28 for support elements 10 . the two circular cut - outs 28 are provided at the front side at the end regions of the shield 30 remote from one another and each have a toothed arrangement 27 which cooperates with the toothed arrangement 26 at the rear of the support element 10 . unused fastening points can , for example , be masked behind the shield 30 . the screw 32 serves for the screwing of the support element 10 in the cut - out 28 . instead of the double hook shown in fig4 , any desired other functional elements usable in the sanitary sector can be combined with the support element 10 in accordance with the invention . for example , paper holders , soap dishes , toothbrush holders , handles and hooks , cosmetic holders and similar are thus feasible so that a plurality of combination possibilities are created with different conceivable base elements . | 0 |
in the absence of cavitation nuclei , the formation of gas - or vapor - filled bubbles in water , i . e ., homogeneous nucleation , requires relatively large negative pressures or high temperatures because of the inherent tensile strength of water , which may be & gt ; 100 mpa ( 1 kbar ) ( j . c . fisher , j . appl . phys . 19 , 1062 ( 1948 ); r . e . apfel , scientific amer . 227 , 58 ( 1972 ).). similarly , several investigators have noted the lack of bubble formation over an observation period of many minutes upon sudden release to 0 . 1 mpa ( 1 bar ) of hydrostatic pressure applied to water supersaturated with a variety of gases ( e . a . hemmingsen , j . appl . phys . 46 , 213 ( 1975 ); w . a . gerth and e . a - hemmingsen , z naturforsch 31a , 1711 ( 1976 ); f . b . kendrick , k . l . wismer , and k . s . wyatt , j . phys . chem . 28 , 1308 ( 1924 ); y . finkelstein and a . tamir , alche j . 31 , 1409 ( 1985 )), such as oxygen at partial pressures as high as 14 mpa , since the application of hydrostatic pressure is effective in removing cavitation nuclei . gas - supersaturated water after decompression to 0 . 1 mpa is metastable , however , and mechanical disturbance of the static fluid or its enclosure results in bubble evolution , perhaps from amplification of local density gradients present at the molecular level from the thermal motion of water molecules ( w . doring , z phys . chem . ( leipzig ) b36 , 371 ( 1937 ); ibid b38 , 292 ( 1937 ); r . furth , proc . cambr . phil . soc . 37 , 252 ( 1941 )). bubble formation during ejection of gas - supersaturated water from a high pressure reservoir may additionally result from cavitation initiated within vortices associated with turbulent flow ( r . b . dean , j . appl . phys . 15 , 446 ( 1944 )). the present invention provides a novel method of producing a new stabilized form of oxygen - supersaturated water and a novel method of infusing this oxygen - supersaturated water into aqueous media at 0 . 1 mpa without bubble formation in the effluent ( j . r . spears , u . s . pat . no . 5 , 407 , 426 ( 1995 )). distilled water or a physiologic solution ( 0 . 9 g % nacl [ ns ] or 5 g % dextrose in water [ d 5 w ]) was saturated with oxygen at a partial pressure of 1 . 7 to 15 mpa in a parr reactor vessel ( fig1 ). further hydrostatic compression of the liquid to 100 mpa , after saturation at the desired oxygen partial pressure of interest , was achieved in a high pressure vessel with a hydraulic pump . the liquid was then delivered at 70 - 100 mpa to the proximal end of one or more silica or glass capillary tubes having an i . d . of 3 to 100 ฮผm , after flushing the tubes for one minute with degassed , distilled water at 100 mpa . the concentration of oxygen in the ejected gas - supersaturated water was found to agree well with that reported by others under similar high oxygen partial pressures . ejection of 1 ml of o 2 - supersaturated water into an air - filled pipette ( mercury column at 0 . 1 mpa ) through a silica tube resulted in & gt ; 90 % decomposition as estimated by measurement of the po 2 in the residual liquid . the remaining dissolved oxygen was measured after brief sonication . the volume of gas liberated from all liquid samples described herein is expressed as ml / g under conditions ( 295 ยฐ k , 0 . 1 mpa ) which approximate stp . evaluation of the rate of oxygenation of a 200 ml volume of water within the 300 ml capacity parr vessel pressurized with oxygen at 7 . 5 mpa demonstrated that 95 % of the equilibrium value at 295 ยฐ k ( 3 days ) was obtained at 30 min . and 100 % at 45 min . all runs were therefore performed on samples equilibrated with a gas for at least 1 hr . the solubility of oxygen in water under a wide variety of conditions has been compiled in oxygen & amp ; ozone , solubility data series , r . battino , ed . ( pergammon press , new york , 1981 ), vol . 7 . in one relevant study , o . l . mckee , jr . ( phd thesis , purdue university , 1953 ) found that the oxygen concentration in water at 10 mpa and 0 ยฐ c . ( 3 . 93 ml o 2 / g at stp ) was 27 % lower than the value predicted by henry &# 39 ; s law . the complete absence of bubble formation in transilluminated , grossly stabilized effluent during infusion of oxygen - supersaturated water into aqueous media was confirmed by four independent methods . fiberoptically delivered 488 / 515 nm light from an argon - ion laser was used to visualize fluorescein within a stream of d 5 w ejected into tapwater or plasma from individual silica tubes having an i . d . & lt ; 10 ฮผm over a 1 to 50 mm length at the distal end . all eddies of the effluent , which had an o 2 content of 3 ml / g ( stp ), appeared bubble - free and slightly denser than water in all runs ( n & gt ; 50 ). a similar observation ( n = 4 ) was made for a 35 parallel channel borosilicate glass tube ( 2 cm long segments ; o . d . 80 ฮผm ) having a mean channel i . d . of 3 ฮผm ( fig3 ). neither vigorous movement of any tube nor entrainment by the stream of preexisting bubbles , already present in the beaker , altered its stability . bubble formation in the effluent was evident under certain conditions . partial obstruction of a capillary lumen by a solid contaminant ; marked disturbance of effluent outflow by direct placement of the exit port against a solid surface ; or ejection into a confined space which prevented rapid dilution resulted in prominent gas nucleation . in addition , after initiation of bubble - free flow at 100 mpa , lowering the hydrostatic pressure to levels below the dissolved gas partial pressure frequently resulted in bubble formation . perhaps most noteworthy , there was an inverse relationship between the maximum concentration of oxygen which could be stabilized during ejection and the i . d . of the tube . because the relatively rapid velocity ( 2 - 20 m / sec ) of the effluent precluded temporal resolution of potential bubbles with conventional light microscopy , the effluent was observed in water with a 20 ns ( 10 โ 9 sec .) strobe light through a light microscope ( fig4 , 5 ). no bubbles were present in the effluent at a dissolved oxygen concentration of 3 mi o 2 / g , when the i . d . of distal end of the silica tube was 3 - 6 ฮผm ( n = 20 ). in contrast , one to three columns of bubbles distal to the exit port of larger bore tubes were noted at the same oxygen concentration . to evaluate the possibility that bubbles smaller than the spatial resolution of the microscope were present transiently , effluent containing 3 ml o 2 / g from either a 3 to 6 ฮผm i . d . silica tube or a 35 parallel channel tube ( 3 ฮผm i . d ./ channel ) was injected into either dog or rabbit plasma ( n = 12 ) or a 5 g % human serum albumin solution ( n = 8 ) within a cuvette , and the particle / bubble size distribution within the liquid was determined before and either during or immediately after 3 - 5 min . infusions with a submicron multi - angle particle size analyzer ( coulter model n4 md ). no evidence of bubbles was found in any run . in order to determine whether infusion of an oxygen - supersaturated physiologic solution into blood could be performed without bubble formation , oxygen - supersaturated d 5 w ( 3 ml o 2 / g ) was injected in vitro into 10 - 20 ml aliquots of citrated venous dog blood from a 30 ฮผm i . d . silica tube for periods sufficient to increase oxygen saturation to 100 % during continuous po 2 monitoring and slow mixing with a magnetic stirrer . blood po 2 was continuously monitored with an oxygen microelectrode ( model 768 - 20r , diamond general , ann arbor , mich .) that was calibrated against an instrumentation laboratories ( model 1312 ) blood gas analyzer . as a control , bolus injection of 0 . 1 ml of a translucent albumin solution , several minutes after sonication to produce stable microbubbles ( m . w . keller , s . s . segal , s . kaul , and b . duling . circ . res . 65 , 1 ( 1989 )), into 3 blood samples produced a bright echogenic cloud of bubbles . no bubbles were observed during infusions of oxygen - supersaturated d 5 w up to a po 2 of at least 0 . 04 mpa ( 300 mmhg ) by ultrasound imaging ( n = 21 )( 3 . 5 mhz transducer , j & amp ; j lrex ps ultrasonic imaging system ). continuous bubble generation was noted at a mean threshold po 2 of 0 . 12 ยฑ 0 . 05 mpa (ยฑ 1 s . d .) ( 830 ยฑ 380 mmhg ). plasma hemoglobin , determined spectrophoto metrically ( w . g . zijlstra , a . buursma , and a . zwart . j . appl . physiol . 54 , 1281 ( 1983 )) immediately after completion of the injection in additional runs ( n = 19 ), wherein a minimum po 2 of at least 0 . 04 mpa was achieved in all samples , was compared to control samples ( n = 9 ). the flow velocity used ( approximately 2 m / sec ) was below the known threshold for hemolysis ( l . crum . nature ( london ) 278 , 148 ( 1979 )). no increase in plasma hemoglobin was observed ( p & gt ; 0 . 05 , unpaired student &# 39 ; s t - test ). the relationship between the maximum concentration of oxygen in distilled water ( after transient hydrostatic compression to 100 mpa ), which is unassociated with cavitation inception in the effluent , as visualized with the aid of fluorescein , during ejection into tapwater at 0 . 1 mpa and the i . d . of silica capillary tubing was defined over a 15 - 100 ฮผm diameter range ( fig6 ). the maximum partial pressure of helium , nitrogen , and carbon dioxide in distilled water , below the threshold for bubble nucleation during ejection was similarly determined ( fig7 ). under the conditions of the study , an inverse linear relationship was found between the logarithm of either the gas concentration or the partial pressure and the square root of the i . d . of the capillary tube . a maximum dissolved oxygen partial pressure of 14 . 4 mpa , extrapolated to a 5 ฮผm i . d . silica tube ( 22 ยฐ c . ), is similar to the maximum supersaturation threshold oxygen tension in water under static conditions ( e . a . hemmingsen , j . appl . phys . 46 , 213 ( 1975 )). likewise , the markedly higher partial pressure threshold noted for helium is similar to that observed by hemmingsen . since such thresholds , under static conditions , are dependent more on gas concentration than on partial pressure , it is not surprising that the partial pressure threshold for carbon dioxide was found to be considerably lower than those of the other gases studied . the length of silica tubes did not appear to significantly affect the maximum oxygen partial pressure in water that was stable during ejection . for example , a plot of this variable against 8 different tube lengths over a 0 . 6 m - 36 m range for a 50 ฮผm i . d silica tube yielded a linear regression slope of & lt ; 0 . 1 mpa / m ( r 2 & lt ; 0 . 1 ). in contrast to results obtained with silica tubes , when hollow carbon fibers with a 5 ฮผm i . d . ( 2 - 5 cm in length ) were used to terminate the distal end of a silica tube , no runs were successful at injecting d 5 w with 3 ml o 2 / g , pressurized to 100 mpa , into water at ambient pressure without bubble formation . a possible explanation for the difference in the results obtained with the carbon and silica tubes is that the former present a hydrophobic surface . by analogy , hydrophobic impurities have been implicated as sources of cavitation nuclei ( l . crum . nature ( london ) 278 , 148 ( 1979 )). channels fabricated from some alternative materials , however , do appear suitable for stabilizing gas - supersaturated liquids . for example , the maximum oxygen concentration in water that is stable during ejection through a 177 ฮผm i . d . 316 stainless steel tube ( 1 m long ) was found to be within 5 % of the value predicted from the regression equation derived for silica tubes ( fig6 ). a number of factors are known to alter the cavitation threshold of water , such as temperature , presence of electrolytes , and surface tension , in addition to dissolved gas tension . there was little effect of temperature over a 22 ยฐ c . to 50 ยฐ c . range on the maximum threshold oxygen partial pressure , but a markedly higher threshold at 2 ยฐ c . and a lower one at 70 ยฐ c . ( fig8 ). these observations are similar to the behavior of argon and nitrogen supersaturated solutions under static conditions ( e . a . hemmingsen , j . appl . phys . 46 , 213 ( 1975 )). the results for normal saline at 22 ยฐ c . were nearly identical to those for distilled water at the same temperature ( 5 % mean difference for 5 silica tubes 15 - 100 ฮผm i . d . ; p = 0 . 9 , unpaired t - test ). a variety of physical properties ( viscosity , surface tension , etc .) of the medium into which gas - supersaturated water is injected also may affect the stability of the effluent . however , infusion of a hydrostatically compressed ( 100 mpa ) stream of water supersaturated with oxygen at 6 mpa from a 50 ฮผm i . d . silica capillary tube at 2 m / sec into test tubes ( 1 cm diameter ) containing a miscible liquid , including either ethanol , acetone , or ethylene glycol , was unassociated with bubble formation in the effluent . similarly , ethanol and acetone could be supersaturated with oxygen at 5 mpa and , after 100 mpa hydrostatic compression , infused into miscible liquids at 0 . 1 mpa through a 50 ฮผm silica capillary tube at 2 m / sec without effluent instability . thus , although additional studies will be required to define the potential effect of viscosity and surface tension on the stability of gas - supersaturated liquids , the influence of variations in these properties appears to be relatively minor . a potentially relevant relationship was noted between the maximum temperature achieved in superheated water under static conditions at 0 . 1 mpa within fused silica capillary tubes as a function of the i . d . of the tubes ( fig9 ). pretreatment with hydrostatic compression to 100 mpa , very likely , increased the tensile strength of the water . several groups have reported superheating water at 0 . 1 mpa to a maximum temperature of 260 ยฐ c . to 280 ยฐ c . for a few seconds , either with water droplets suspended in an immiscible fluid or within freshly drawn capillary tubes ( r . e . apfel , nature phys . science 238 , 63 ( 1972 ); l . j . briggs , j . appl . phys . 26 , 1001 ( 1955 ); m . blander , d . hengstenberg , and j . katz , j . phys . chem . 75 , 3613 ( 1971 ). in contrast to the effect of capillary dimensions on maximum superheating temperatures , no such effect was noted on maximum supercooling temperatures ( 261 ยฐ- 262 ยฐ k for all silica tubes having an i . d . of 15 to 100 ฮผm ) of distilled water above the freezing point at 0 . 1 mpa after 100 mpa hydrostatic compression . the freezing point of distilled water at 0 . 1 mpa within five silica capillary tubes 15 - 100 gm in i . d . was determined after hydrostatic compression to 100 mpa for 1 min . a 20 cm loop of tubing was immersed for 5 min . in a temperature controlled bath ( model 9000 , allied / fisher scientific ). the maximum supercooling temperature of water , below the freezing point , was either 261 ยฐ or 262 ยฐ k for all tubes . the use of capillary tubes to supercool water to considerably lower levels is well known , as summarized by c . a . angelf , ann . rev . phys . chem . 34 , 593 ( 1983 ). without wishing to be bound by theory , i believe that the stability conferred by small diameter tubes during ejection of gas - supersaturated water may result from a combination of effects . first , sites for heterogeneous nucleation within water and along the surface of a hydrophilic material such as silica are eliminated by the application of a high hydrostatic pressure which also , very likely , contributes to increased stability during superheating . second , maintenance of a hydrostatic pressure which exceeds the dissolved gas partial pressure along the length of the capillary tube , except for a relatively short distal section close to the exit port , reduces the time available for bubble nucleation . by analogy , elimination of cavitation nuclei by careful filtration has been shown by others to increase the threshold for heterogeneous nucleation to 16 mpa and to even higher levels ( 20 mpa ) for brief periods of time , on the order of a few seconds ( m . greenspan and c . tschiegg , j . res . natl . bur . stds . 71c , 299 ( 1967 )). after ejection , the supersaturated fluid is mixed with the surrounding fluid , rapidly diluted , and the resultant much lower dissolved gas partial pressure is insufficient to initiate cavitation . additionally , the combination of a high hydrostatic pressure and a confined space very likely produces a โ film โ that dewets with great difficulty from the solid surface ( thereby producing a gas nucleus for heterogeneous nucleation ), in view of the relatively small force generated by a thin column of liquid . the possibility also exists that the structure of water , upon application of a high hydrostatic pressure within a confined space , is altered to confer increased stability ; the presence of a high concentration of a gas may also alter the water structure to confer stability in a manner similar to effect of the presence of a gas facilitating the formation of stable clathrate hydrate structures . the results of the application of the present invention demonstrate that oxygenation of aqueous media , including blood , with oxygen - supersaturated solutions , without bubble nucleation in the effluent , is feasible . the rate of oxygenation of an aqueous medium by this approach appears to be limited only by the rate of liquid convection , a relatively rapid process compared to diffusion at a gas - liquid interface . methods for fabrication of large arrays of parallel microchannels within glass substrates are well developed , so that much greater flow rates of stabilized gas - supersaturated liquids are achievable . in addition to the use of stabilized , gas - enriched liquids , there are potentially many applications of stabilized liquids that are not gas - enriched . for example , cavitation occurs at a low threshold in ordinary water in many scientific fields , such as in detectors in particle physics , around propellers in ship engineering , and in association with other moving objects such as rapidly spinning burrs and ultrasonic horns . the use of the present method to increase the threshold for cavitation in liquids by ejection into a relevant environment should be apparent . although the present invention has been described and illustrated in detail , it is clearly understood that the same is by way of illustration and example only and is not to be taken by way of limitation , the spirit and scope of the present invention being limited only by the terms of the appended claims . all references cited in the present specification are incorporated by reference . | 1 |
referring to fig1 which shows a general arrangement of an electrophotographic copying apparatus having a movable copy board , the copying apparatus includes a rotatable drum 1 adapted to be rotated in the direction indicated by an arrow and having a photo - sensitive layer thereon . disposed around the outer periphery of the drum 1 are a charging electrode 2 , a developing device 3 , a transfer electrode 4 , an electric charge removing electrode 5 and a cleaning device 6 which are arrayed in this order as viewed in the rotating direction of the photo - sensitive drum 1 . a copy sheet transporting mechanism 7 is disposed below the developing and transferring mechanism described above . the copy sheets stacked in a container 8 are individually and successively supplied in accordance with the copying operation . a copy board 10 for supporting thereon an original to be copied is disposed at the top portion of the copying apparatus and is adapted to be moved in the direction indicated by an arrow . a patch 11 having a predetermined density is attached to the lower surface 10 &# 39 ; of the copy board 10 . the patch 11 is provided by a rectangular or square thin plate in a size of about 4 cm 2 having a predetermined optical density usually in the range of 0 . 5 to 1 . 0 . in the developing process , the toner image of this patch 11 is formed on the photo - sensitive drum 1 through mirrors 12 and 13 and is utilized as a reference for correctively modifying the density of the toner image of the original in a manner described in detail hereinafter . reference numeral 15 denotes a sensor for measuring the density of the toner image of the patch 11 produced on the photo - sensitive drum 1 . the sensor 15 is usually positioned between the developing device 3 and the cleaning device 6 . however , in the case of the illustrated embodiment shown in fig1 the sensor 15 is disposed between the charge removing electrode 5 and the cleaning device 6 , because the sensor 15 is intended to serve the additional function of detecting a jammed state of the copy sheets . fig2 shows an exemplary embodiment of an image density detecting system according to the invention . the image density detecting system comprises a pair of sensors 16 and 17 such as a photo - diode and photo - cell disposed in the vicinity of the photo - sensitive drum 1 , wherein each of the sensors 16 and 17 is composed of a light emitter or transmitter element and a light receiving element . more particularly , the sensor 16 is constituted by a light emitter element 16a and a light receiver element 16b , while the sensor 17 is constituted by a light emitter element 17a and a light receiver element 17b . the light emitter element is provided to radiate light in a predetermined direction . on the other hand , the light receiver element is adapted to receive light radiated by the energized emitter element 17a and reflected from the drum surface and to produce an output voltage or current signal of a magnitude proportional to the quantity of light impinging on the light receiver sensors . since such elements and sensor are per se known in the art and commercially available and do not constitute an essential part of the invention , further description will be unnecessary . as can be seen from fig2 the surface of the photo - sensitive drum 1 is divided into an image region 1a in which the image of the original 9 is to be produced and a remaining blank region 1b in which no image of the original 9 is formed . it is to be noted that the blank region 1b is utilized for detecting the toner density or concentration . to this end , a reference toner image 18 of the patch 11 attached to the lower surface 10 &# 39 ; of the copy board 10 is produced in the blank region 1b . the reference toner image 18 of the patch 11 may be formed at any given location in the blank region 1b . the first sensor 16 is not associated with the toner image 18 of the patch 11 but the second sensor 17 is used in association with the reference toner image 18 . more specifically , the first sensor 16 is intended for detecting the density of the blank region 1b itself , while the second sensor 17 is adapted to detect the density of the reference toner image 18 . it is self - explanatory that the light emitter elements 16a , 17a and the light receiver elements 16b , 17b are arrayed in accordance with the functions of the respective sensors 16 and 17 described above . furthermore , it is preferred that both the sensors 16 and 17 are disposed as close as possible to each other so that any contamination by toner particles occurs to substantially the same degree for both sensors . another exemplary embodiment of the image density detecting system according to the present invention is schematically illustrated in fig3 a and 3b . in these figures , the same reference numerals as those used in fig2 denote like component parts . the image density detecting system shown in fig3 a and 3b comprises a single sensor 20 and thus differs in this respect from the construction of the detecting system described hereinbefore in conjunction with fig2 . the sensor 20 is constituted by a light emitter element 20a such as a photo - diode and by a light receiver element 20b such as a photocell , both of which are disposed in the proximity of the photo - sensitive drum 1 . the light emitter element 20a is so positioned that the radiation produced therefrom will impinge on a moving path of the reference toner image 18 , while the light receiver element 20b is so positioned that the light radiation projected from the light emitter element 20a and reflected from the drum surface may impinge onto the receiver element 20b . fig3 a shows the state in which the sensor 20 is in position to detect the density of the blank region 1b outside of the reference toner image 18 , while in the state shown in fig3 b the sensor is in position to detect the density of the reference toner image 18 after a rotation of the drum 1 through a corresponding angle from the position shown in fig3 a . it should be understood that the sensor is operated only while the blank region including the reference toner image is presented for measurement . next , description will be set forth of the operations of the image density detecting systems according to the invention by referring to fig4 and 5 . referring first to fig4 which shows a density detecting circuit to be used in combination with the sensor system shown in fig2 the light emitter element 16a of the first sensor 16 is connected in series with a variable resistor r1 and the corresponding receiver element 16b is connected in series with a sensor output resistor r2 . both of these series circuits are connected in parallel to each other between a power source + b and ground . in a similar manner , the light emitter element 17a of the second sensor 17 is connected in series with a variable resistor r3 for adjusting the sensitivity , while the light receiver element 17b is connected in series with a sensor output resistor r4 . in this case , both of the series circuits are also connected in parallel with each other between the power source + b and ground . the outputs from the sensors 16 and 17 are connected to a differential amplifier circuit 21 , the output of which is in turn connected to one of the input terminals of a comparator circuit 22 . the other input terminal of the comparator circuit 22 is connected to the junction between a fixed resistor r5 and a variable resistor r6 so that a preselected reference voltage v r as determined by the dividing ratio established by the resistors r5 and r6 is applied to the other terminal of the comparator circuit . the output terminal of the comparator circuit 22 is connected to a toner supplementing and jam detecting device 23 ( hereinafter referred to as the toner supplementing control circuit ) for supplying toner and for stopping operation of the machine . referring to fig1 when the copying operation is initiated the photo - sensitive drum 1 starts rotating and the drum 1 undergoes electrical charging , exposure to a light image of an original 9 to be copied , and developement of the latent image at the developing device 3 , whereby a copied image ( toner image ) of the original 9 is formed in the image region 1a with the reference toner image 18 of the patch 11 being produced in the blank region 1b . as the drum 1 is further rotated , the copied image of the original 9 produced on the photo - sensitive drum 1 is transferred to the copy sheet under the electric field action of the transfer electrode 4 . however , the reference toner image 18 of the patch 11 remains on the blank region of the photo - sensitive drum 1 , whereby the density of the reference toner image 18 is measured by the second sensor 17 , as illustrated in fig2 . more particularly , and referring to fig2 the light radiation from the light emitter element 16a of the first sensor 16 is reflected at the peripheral surface of the drum 1 and received by the light receiver element 16b , as a result of which a current of a magnitude proportional to the quantity of light received by the light receiving element 16b will flow through the output resistor r2 to produce a voltage drop thereacross which is then supplied to the differential amplifier circuit 21 as the output voltage signal from the sensor 16 . on the other hand , the light radiation from the light emitter element 17a of the second sensor 17 is reflected by the reference toner image and received by the light receiving element 17b , resulting in a current of a magnitude corresponding to the quantity of light impinging on the element 17b flowing through the output resistor r4 to produce a voltage drop thereacross which is then supplied to the differential amplifier circuit 21 as the output voltage signal from the sensor 17 . since the output signal from the differential amplifier circuit 21 represents the difference between the outputs from the first and the second sensors 16 and 17 , the output signal of the differential amplifier 21 will contain no components affected by the contamination of the sensors and by variations in the state of the photo - sensitive surface of the drum 1 . possible inequality in the sensitivity of the individual sensors can be initially compensated by correspondingly adjusting the variable resistors r1 and r3 so as to adjust the sensitivity . in this manner , the output signal from the differential amplifier circuit 21 represents the true or pure density of the reference toner image 18 and hence the toner density or concentration , without being influenced by contamination of the sensors and the surface conditions of the photo - sensitive drum 1 . the output signal from the differential amplifier circuit 21 is supplied to the comparator circuit 22 to be compared with the reference voltage v r which is preset through adjustment of the variable resistor r6 so that an optimum toner concentration for the desired density of the copied image can be attained . when the toner concentration is decreased , the density of the reference toner image is correspondingly reduced , as a result of which the quantity of light impinging on the photo - sensitive element 17b of the second sensor 17 is increased to thereby correspondingly increase the output voltage of the sensor 17 . consequently , the output voltage from the differential amplifier circuit 21 will be increased beyond the reference voltage level v r . then , the comparator circuit 22 produces an output signal which is utilized for initiating the toner supplying operation under the control of the toner supplementing control circuit 23 connected to a toner supply box as is well known . the toner supplying operation continues until the output voltage from the comparator circuit 22 has become zero through repeated copying operations ; i . e . until the density of the reference toner image 18 has increased to a value at which the output voltage becomes lower than the reference voltage v r due to the correspondingly lowered output voltage from the second sensor 17 . the first and the second sensors 16 and 17 are intended to perform the function of detecting the jamming state of the copy sheets in addition to the function of detecting the density of the reference toner image described above . both of these functions can be performed in an appropriate manner by activating the toner supplementing control circuit 23 in a predetermined sequence associated with the copying operation . fig5 is a circuit diagram showing a density detecting circuit to be employed in combination with the sensor system shown in fig3 a and 3b . referring to fig5 the light emitter element 20a of the sensor 20 is connected in series with a sensor control circuit 24 , while the light receiver element 20b is connected in series with a sensor output resistor r7 . both of these series circuits are connected in parallel to each other between a power supply source + b and ground . the output of the sensor 20 is connected to one input terminal of a differential amplifier circuit 21 which has the other input terminal connected to the junction of voltage dividing resistors r8 and r9 which are in turn connected in series with each other between the power source + b and ground . the output from the sensor 20 is coupled also to an input terminal of a toner supplementing control device 27 . in the case of the exemplary embodiment being now described , it is assumed that the toner supplementing control device 27 includes the resistors r5 and r6 and the comparator circuit 22 both shown in fig4 but not shown in this drawing . the output terminal of the differential amplifier circuit 21 is connected to a sample and hold circuit 25 , the output terminal of which in turn is connected to a control terminal of the sensor control circuit 24 through a control line 26 . it will be noted that the sample and hold circuit 25 , the control line 26 and the sensor control circuit 24 constitutes a feedback loop . in operation , the density of the blank region 1b outside of the reference toner image 18 on the peripheral photo - sensitive surface of the drum 1 is at first detected or sensed by the sensor 20 . the light radiation from the light emitter element 20a of the sensor 20 is reflected at the drum surface and impinges onto the light receiver element 20b , as a result of which a current proportional to the quantity of received light will flow through the output resistor r7 to produce a voltage drop thereacross , which is then supplied to the differential amplifier circuit 21 . on the other hand , a reference voltage vo preselected by the voltage dividing resistors r8 and r9 is applied to the other input of the differential amplifier circuit 21 . consequently , the output signal of the differential amplifier circuit 21 represents the difference between the output voltage of the sensor 20 and the preselected reference voltage vo . the difference of the output signals is then supplied to the sample and hold circuit 25 , the output of which is supplied through the line 26 to the sensor control circuit for correspondingly varying the impedance of the sensor control circuit 24 . in this mode , the sample and hold circuit 25 serves merely as an amplifier . it should be mentioned that control is effected such that the impedance of the sensor control circuit 24 is decreased as the output voltage from the sample and hold circuit 25 is increased . in this way , the impedance of the sensor control circuit 24 is decreased until the output voltage of the sensor 20 has become equal to the preset reference voltage vo , to thereby increase the current flowing through the light emitter element 20a and correspondingly increase the quantity of light produced by the element 20a . the sensor control circuit may be composed of a transistor having a base electrode connected to the control terminal . when the output voltage of the sensor has attained the level of the preset voltage vo , the impedance of the sensor control circuit 24 is maintained at a constant value due to the holding function of the sample and hold circuit as triggerred by a signal supplied from the toner supplementing control device 27 . consequently , the light emitter element 20a is maintained at a constant emission level . the holding interval may be selected in a rather arbitrary manner and may be set equal to a single copying cycle or other periods as required . in this manner , the output voltage from the sensor 20 is held at the preset voltage level vo until the drum 1 has attained the position at which the reference toner image 18 is irradiated with light emitted from the light emitter element 20a , as is shown in fig3 b . the quantity of light emitted by the light emitter element 20a under the control described above is corrected with respect to all of the factors which might possibly influence the accuracy of the toner density measurement such as sensitivity of the sensor , temperature characteristics of the sensor , contamination of the sensor , distance between the sensor and the photo - sensitive drum , and variations in the surface conditions of the drum . in this state , density detection of the reference toner image 18 is performed by the sensor 20 in a manner similar to the case of the second sensor 17 described hereinbefore in conjunction with fig2 whereby the output signal from the sensor 20 is fed to the toner supplementing control device 27 to thereby control the initiation or termination of the supply of toner to the developing device . in the case where the sensor 20 is used for detecting the possible jamming of copy sheets in addition to density detection , both of these functions can be executed in a satisfactory manner by selectively activating the toner supplementing control device 27 and the mechanisms associated with jamming detection by correspondingly programming the sequence of the copying operation . the exemplary embodiment shown in fig3 and fig5 is fundamentally different from the one described hereinbefore in conjunction with fig2 and 4 in that only one sensor is required and thus is advantageous over the latter with respect to manufacturing costs and spatial requirements . a further important advantage can be seen in that temperature compensation of the electric elements such as the sensor used in the density detecting system can be automatically effected to allow the density detection to be attained with an enhanced accuracy . such advantage is very significant in view of the fact that the temperature in an electrophotographic copying machine undergoes considerable variations . in the foregoing description , it has been assumed that the light radiation reflected at the peripheral surface of the photo - sensitive drum is utilized . however , it is within the contemplation of the invention that at least a portion of the photo - sensitive drum may be made of a transparent organic photo - sensitive material such as polyvinylcarbazole and that light radiation transmitted through the photo - sensitive drum may be utilized for the density detection . | 6 |
the flame - retardant polyamide composition of the present invention contains polyamide resin ( a ). polyamide resin ( a ) is not particularly limited as long as it can endure under the temperatures in a reflow soldering process . polyamide resin ( a ) preferably has multifunctional carboxylic acid unit ( a - 1 ) and multifunctional amine unit ( a - 2 ) described below . multifunctional carboxylic acid unit ( a - 1 ) constituting polyamide resin ( a ) contained in the flame - retardant polyamide composition of the present invention contains 40 to 100 mol % terephthalic acid unit , 0 to 30 mol % multifunctional aromatic carboxylic acid unit other than terephthalic acid , and 0 to 60 mol % multifunctional aliphatic carboxylic acid unit having 4 to 20 carbon atoms , based on the total weight of multifunctional carboxylic acid unit ( a - 1 ). examples of the multifunctional aromatic carboxylic acid unit other than terephthalic acid include isophthalic acid , 2 - methyl terephthalic acid , naphthalene dicarboxylic acid , phthalic anhydride , trimellitic acid , pyromellitic acid , trimellitic anhydride , and pyromellitic anhydride , with units derived from isophthalic acid being particularly preferable . these compounds may be used alone or in combination . when a multifunctional carboxylic acid compound having three or more functional groups is added , the contained amount needs to be adjusted so as to avoid gelation of resin . more specifically , it is preferably contained in an amount of not greater than 10 mol % based on the total amount of carboxylic acid units . the multifunctional aliphatic carboxylic acid unit is derived from a multifunctional aliphatic carboxylic acid compound having 4 to 20 carbon atoms , preferably 4 to 12 carbon atoms , more preferably 6 to 10 carbon atoms . examples thereof include adipic acid , suberic acid , azelaic acid , sebacic acid , decanedicarboxylic acid , undecanedicarboxylic acid , and dodecanedicarboxylic acid . among them , adipic acid is particularly preferable in view of improving mechanical properties . additionally , a multifunctional carboxylic acid having three or more functional groups may be added as needed ; however , the contained thereof amount should be adjusted so as to avoid gelation of polyamide resin . more specifically , it needs to be contained in an amount of not greater than 10 mol % based on the total amount of carboxylic acid units . preferably , polyamide resin ( a ) contains 40 to 100 mol %, preferably 50 to 100 mol %, more preferably 60 to 100 mol %, further preferably 60 to 70 mol % terephthalic acid unit , and 0 to 30 mol %, preferably 0 to 10 mol % multifunctional aromatic carboxylic acid unit other than terephthalic acid , based on the total weight of multifunctional carboxylic acid unit ( a - 1 ). as the proportion of the multifunctional aromatic carboxylic acid unit , especially the proportion of terephthalic acid , increases , water absorbance decreases and thereby heat resistance tends to increase . in particular , polyamide resin ( a ) contained in a polyamide composition used in a reflow soldering process using lead - free solder preferably contains the terephthalic acid unit in an amount of 55 mol % or more , preferably 60 mol % or more . further , polyamide resin ( a ) preferably contains a multifunctional aliphatic carboxylic acid unit having 4 to 20 carbon atoms in an amount of 0 to 60 mol %, preferably 0 to 50 mol %, more preferably 30 to 40 mol %. multifunctional amine unit ( a - 2 ) constituting polyamide resin ( a ) contained in the flame - retardant polyamide composition of the present invention is a linear and / or branched multifunctional aliphatic amine unit having 4 to 25 carbon atoms , preferably a linear and / or branched multifunctional aliphatic amine unit having 4 to 10 carbon atoms , more preferably a linear multifunctional aliphatic amine unit having 4 to 8 carbon atoms . multifunctional aliphatic amine unit ( a - 2 ) may have a multifunctional alicyclic amine unit . specific examples of the linear multifunction alaliphatic amine unit include 1 , 4 - diaminobutane , 1 , 6 - diaminohexane , 1 , 7 - diaminoheptane , 1 , 8 - diaminooctaone , 1 , 9 - diaminononane , 1 , 10 - diaminodecane , 1 , 11 - diaminoundecane , and 1 , 12 - diaminododecane . among them , 1 , 6 - diaminohexane is preferable . specific examples of the linear aliphatic diamine unit having a side chain include 2 - methyl - 1 , 5 - diaminopentane , 2 - methyl - 1 , 6 - diaminohexane , 2 - methyl - 1 , 7 - diaminoheptane , 2 - methyl - 1 , 8 - diaminooctane , 2 - methyl - 1 , 9 - diaminononane , 2 - methyl - 1 , 10 - diaminodecane , and 2 - methyl - 1 , 11 - diaminoundecane . among them , 2 - methyl - 1 , 5 - diaminopentane and 2 - methyl - 1 , 8 - diaminooctane are preferable . examples of the multifunctional alicyclic amine unit include units derived from alicyclic diamines , such as 1 , 3 - diaminocyclohexane , 1 , 4 - diaminocyclohexane , 1 , 3 - bis ( aminomethyl ) cyclohexane , 1 , 4 - bis ( aminomethyl ) cyclohexane , isophoronediamine , piperazine , 2 , 5 - dimethylpiperazine , bis ( 4 - aminocyclohexyl ) methane , bis ( 4 - aminocyclohexyl ) propane , 4 , 4 โฒ- diamino - 3 , 3 โฒ- dimethyldicyclohexylpropane , 4 , 4 โฒ- diamino - 3 , 3 โฒ- dimethyldicyclohexylmethane , 4 , 4 โฒ- diamino - 3 , 3 โฒ- dimethyl - 5 , 5 โฒ- dimethyldicyclohexylmethane , 4 , 4 โฒ- diamino - 3 , 3 โฒ- dimethyl - 5 , 5 โฒ- dimethyldicyclohexylpropane , ฮฑ , ฮฑ โฒ- bis ( 4 - aminocyclohexyl )- p - diisopropylbenzene , ฮฑ , ฮฑ โฒ- bis ( 4 - aminocyclohexyl )- m - diisopropylbenzene , ฮฑ , ฮฑ โฒ- bis ( 4 - aminocyclohexyl )- 1 , 4 - cyclohexane , and ฮฑ , ฮฑ โฒ- bis ( 4 - aminocyclohexyl )- 1 , 3 - cyclohexane . among these alicyclic diamine units , 1 , 3 - diaminocyclohexane , 1 , 4 - diaminocyclohexane , bis ( aminomethyl ) cyclohexane , bis ( 4 - aminocyclohexyl ) methane , and 4 , 4 โฒ- diamino - 3 , 3 โฒ- dimethyldicyclohexylmethane are preferable , with the units derived from alicyclic diamines , such as 1 , 3 - diaminocyclohexane , 1 , 4 - diaminocyclohexane , bis ( 4 - aminocyclohexyl ) methane , 1 , 3 - bis ( aminohexyl ) methane , and 1 , 3 - bis ( aminomethyl ) cyclohexane being most preferable . when using a multifunctional amine compound having three or more functional groups , the contained amount needs to be adjusted so as to avoid gelation of resin . more specifically , it is preferably contained in an amount of not greater than 10 mol % based on the total amount of amine units . more preferably , multifunctional aliphatic amine unit ( a - 2 ) consists only of the linear multifunctional aliphatic amine unit . specific preferable examples of the linear multifunctional amine unit include 1 , 4 - diaminobutane , 1 , 6 - diaminohexane , 1 , 7 - diaminoheptane , 1 , 8 - diaminooctaone , 1 , 9 - diaminononane , 1 , 10 - diaminodecane , 1 , 11 - diaminoundecane , and 1 , 12 - diaminododecane . among them , 1 , 6 - diaminohexane is preferable . when these linear multifunctional amines are used , there is a good tendency that heat resistance especially increases . the intrinsic viscosity [ ฮท ] of polyamide resin ( a ) contained in the flame - retardant polyamide composition of present invention , as measured in 96 . 5 % sulfuric acid at 25 ยฐ c ., is 0 . 5 to 1 . 2 dl / g , preferably 0 . 75 to 1 . 15 dl / g , more preferably 0 . 75 to 1 . 05 dl / g . when the intrinsic viscosity of polyamide resin ( a ) falls within any of these ranges , a polyamide composition can be obtained that exhibits high flow ability , heat resistance and toughness . polyamide resin ( a ) contained in the flame - retardant polyamide composition of the present invention is crystalline and therefore has a melting point . the melting point ( tm ) of polyamide resin ( a ) may be found as a temperature corresponding to an endothermic peak in a differential scanning calorimetry ( dsc ) curve , which is obtained by heating polyamide resin ( a ) at a heating rate of 10 ยฐ c ./ min using a differential scanning calorimeter . the melting point of polyamide resin ( a ) measured in this manner is preferably 270 to 340 ยฐ c ., more preferably 300 to 340 ยฐ c ., further preferably 315 to 330 ยฐ c . polyamide resin ( a ) whose melting point falls within these ranges exhibit particularly excellent heat resistance . moreover , when the melting point is 270 ยฐ c . or above , or 310 ยฐ c . or above , particularly within 315 to 330 ยฐ c ., the flame - retardant polyamide composition of the present invention exhibits heat resistance sufficient to endure high temperatures in a lead - free reflow soldering process , even in a reflow soldering process using lead - free solder with a high melting point . on the other hand , when the melting point is 340 ยฐ c . or below , which is below the decomposition temperature ( 350 ยฐ c .) of the polyamide , it is possible to attain sufficient thermal stability without causing generation of decomposition gas or color changes in the molded article . the flame - retardant polyamide composition of the present invention may contain thermoplastic resin ( b ). a molded article formed of the flame - retardant polyamide composition of the present invention containing thermoplastic resin ( b ) can have high toughness , flow ability , heat resistance and flame retardancy . thermoplastic resin ( b ) meets ul 94 v - 0 requirements . specifically , thermoplastic resin ( b ) preferably by itself exhibits flame retardancy that meets ul 94 v - 0 requirements at 0 . 8 mm thickness . as long as thermoplastic resin ( b ) meets ul 94 v - 0 requirements , the polyamide composition of the present invention exhibits flame retardancy that meets ul 94 v - 0 requirements without causing reduction in toughness , flow ability , and heat resistance . the melting point and / or glass transition point of thermoplastic resin ( b ) are / is preferably 200 ยฐ c . to 400 ยฐ c . a molded article formed of the flame - retardant polyamide composition containing thermoplastic resin ( b ) whose melting point / glass transition temperature falls within this range can exert heat resistance in a surface - mounting process , particularly in a surface - mounting process using lead - free solder . mfr of thermoplastic resin ( b ), as measured at a load of 5 kg at 316 ยฐ c . in accordance with astmd 1238 procedure b , is preferably 5 to 6 , 000 g / 10 min , more preferably 50 to 3 , 000 g / 10 min , further preferably 50 to 2 , 000 g / 10 min , most preferably 50 to 1 , 700 g / 10 min . thermoplastic resin ( b ) having mfr that falls within any of these ranges is easily finely dispersed in the flame - retardant polyamide composition of the present invention . it is thus possible to provide a flame - retardant polyamide composition that suppresses corrosion of steel members such as a screw of an extruder or molding machine , as well as exhibits the above physical properties . the mechanism by which corrosion is suppressed remains elusive at present ; however , a possible mechanism is that , during preparation of a flame - retardant polyamide composition , thermoplastic resin ( b ) interacts with flame retardant ( c ) ( later described ), coating flame retardant ( c ) and preventing flame retardant ( c ) or degradation product thereof from corroding steel members of an extruder and molding machine . examples of thermoplastic resin ( b ) include polyphenylene sulfide ( pps ), liquid crystal polyester ( lcp ), polyether sulphone ( pes ), polyether ether ketone ( peek ), polyimides , and polyamidoimides . these thermoplastic resins may be used alone or in combination . among them , polyphenylene sulfide is preferable . further , linear polyphenylene sulfide is preferable over crosslinked polyphenylene sulfide , because higher heat resistance and flow ability can be imparted to a flame - retardant polyamide composition . thermoplastic resin ( b ) is preferably incompatible with polyamide resin ( a ), and is preferably dispersed in the matrix of polyamide resin ( a ) in the form of particles with a number - average particle diameter of 0 . 1 to 20 ฮผm . a preferable lower limit of number - average particle diameter is 0 . 5 ฮผm , and a preferable upper limit is 10 ฮผm , and more preferably 5 ฮผm . in particular , when the flame - retardant polyamide composition of the present invention is molded at 270 ยฐ c . or above , phosphinate ( c ) ( later described ) is preferably coated with thermoplastic resin ( b ). with this form , it is expected that the flame - retardant polyamide composition further suppresses corrosion of steel members , such as a screw of an extruder or molding machine . it is preferable that dispersed particles of thermoplastic resin ( b ) satisfy the above particle size range and that thermoplastic resin ( b ) be linear polyphenylene sulfide , in order for the flame - retardant polyamide composition to achieve high flame retardancy , especially high heat resistance and toughness , and reduced corrosive wear of steel members . chlorine atoms and bromine atoms contained in the flame - retardant polyamide composition of the present invention are often derived from thermoplastic resin ( b ). in order to set the total amount of chlorine and bromine contained in a flame - retardant polyamide composition to 1 , 000 ppm or less , the total amount of chlorine and bromine atoms in thermoplastic resin ( b ) is set to 10 , 000 ppm or less , preferably 5 , 000 ppm or less , more preferably 3 , 000 ppm or less , further preferably 2 , 000 ppm or less . flame retardant ( c ) in the present invention , which is free from halogen atoms in the molecule , is added in order to reduce flammability of resin . flame retardant ( c ) is preferably a phosphinate , more preferably a metal phosphinate . representative examples of flame retardant ( c ) include compounds having the following formula ( i ) or ( ii ) in formula ( i ) and ( ii ) above , r 1 and r 2 , which are identical or different , are linear or branched c 1 - c 6 alkyl and / or aryl ; r 3 is linear or branched c 1 - c 10 alkylene , c 6 - c 10 arylene , c 6 - c 10 alkylarylene , or c 6 - c 10 arylalkylene ; m is mg , ca , al , sb , sn , ge , ti , zn , fe , zr , ce , bi , sr , mn , li , na , k , and / or protonated nitrogen base ; m is 1 to 4 ; n is 1 to 4 ; and x is 1 to 4 . specific examples of phosphinates include calcium dimethylphosphinate , magnesium dimethylphosphinate , aluminum dimethylphosphinate , zinc dimethylphosphinate , calcium ethylmethylphosphinate , magnesium ethylmethylphosphinate , aluminum ethylmethylphosphinate , zinc ethylmethylphosphinate , calcium diethylphosphinate , magnesium diethylphosphinate , aluminum diethylphosphinate , zinc diethylphosphinate , calcium methyl - n - propylphosphinate , magnesium methyl - n - propylphosphinate , aluminum methyl - n - propylphosphinate , zinc methyl - n - propylphosphinate , calcium methanedi ( methylphophinate ), magnesium methanedi ( methylphophinate ), aluminum methanedi ( methylphophinate ), zinc methanedi ( methylphophinate ), calcium benzene - 1 , 4 -( dimethylphosphinate ), magnesium benzene - 1 , 4 -( dimethylphosphinate ), aluminum benzene - 1 , 4 -( dimethylphosphinate ), zinc benzene - 1 , 4 -( dimethylphosphinate ), calcium methylphenylphosphinate , magnesium methylphenylphosphinate , aluminum methylphenylphosphinate , zinc methylphenylphosphinate , calcium diphenylphosphinate , magnesium diphenylphosphinate , aluminum diphenylphosphinate , and zinc diphenylphosphinate . among them , calcium dimethylphosphinate , aluminum dimethylphosphinate , zinc dimethylphosphinate , calcium ethylmethylphosphinate , aluminum ethylmethylphosphinate , zinc ethylmethylphosphinate , calcium diethylphosphinate , aluminum diethylphosphinate , and zinc diethylphosphinate are preferable , with aluminum diethylphosphinate being further preferable . representative examples of flame retardant ( c ) containing phosphinates in the present invention include exolit op1230 and the flame - retardant polyamide composition of the present invention may contain reinforcement ( d ); various inorganic fillers in the form of fiber , powder , grain , plate , needle , cloth , mat , etc ., can be used either singly or in combination . more specifically , reinforcement ( d ) may be a powdery or plate - shaped inorganic compound such as silica , silica - alumina , calcium carbonate , titanium dioxide , talc , wollastonite , diatomite , clay , kaoline , spherical glass , mica , gypsum , colcothar ; needle - shaped inorganic compound such as potassium titanate ; inorganic fiber such as glass fiber , potassium titanate fiber , metal - coated glass fiber , ceramic fiber , wollastonite , carbon fiber , metal carbide fiber , metal curing product fiber , asbestos fiber or boron fiber ; or organic filler such as aramid fiber or carbon fiber . reinforcement ( d ) is preferably fibrous material , with glass fiber being more preferable . when reinforcement ( d ) is fibrous material , especially glass fiber , moldability of the polyamide composition of the present invention is enhanced , and besides , mechanical properties ( e . g ., tensile strength , flexural strength and flexural modulus ) and heat resistance properties ( e . g ., heat distortion temperature ) of a molded article produced from the polyamide composition are improved . the above effect is significant particularly where glass fiber is employed . glass fiber is generally 0 . 1 to 20 mm in average length , preferably 0 . 2 to 6 mm in average length . moreover , glass fiber &# 39 ; s aspect ratio ( l ( average length )/ d ( average outer diameter )) is generally 10 to 5 , 000 , preferably 2 , 000 to 3 , 000 . glass fiber having an average length and aspect ratio that respectively fall within the above ranges is suitably used . further , when fibrous reinforcement ( d ) is used , it is effective to employ fibrous material whose section has an aspect ratio ( major axis - to - minor axis ratio ) of greater than 1 , more preferably 1 . 5 to 6 . 0 , for the purpose of preventing possible warpage of a molded article . the reinforcement may be surface - treated with a silane coupling agent or titanium coupling agent ; for example , the filler may be treated with silane compound such as vinyltriethoxysilane , 2 - aminopropyltriethoxysilane or 2 - glycidoxypropyltriethoxysilane . among the materials for reinforcement ( d ), fibrous fillers may be coated with a binder . examples of the binder include acrylic compounds typified by ( meth ) acrylic acid and ( meth ) acrylate ; carboxylic acid compounds having a carbon - carbon double bond other than methacrylic acid , such as maleic anhydride ; epoxy compounds ; urethane compounds ; and amine compounds . alternatively , these compounds may be combined to prepare reinforcement ( d ). preferred combinations include combinations of acrylic compounds and carboxylic acid compounds , combinations of urethane compounds and carboxylic acid compounds , and combinations of urethane compounds and amine compounds . the above - mentioned surface treating agents may be combined with the binders , whereby the compatibility of fibrous filler with other components in the composition increases , improving appearance and strength characteristics . reinforcement ( d ) is preferably added in the flame - retardant polyamide composition of the present invention in an amount of 0 to 50 wt %, more preferably 10 to 45 wt %. the flame - retardant polyamide composition of the present invention may contain a metal compound component selected from metal hydroxide ( e - 1 ) and metal oxide ( e - 2 ), preferably contains metal oxide ( e - 2 ). by adding a metal compound component , corrosive wear of steel members caused by the polyamide composition can be further suppressed . compounds used as metal hydroxide ( e - 1 ) and metal oxide ( e - 2 ) can be used alone or in combination . metals for metal hydroxide ( e - 1 ) and metal oxide ( e - 2 ) are preferably metals of groups 1 to 12 in the periodic table , more preferably metals of groups 2 to 12 . in particular , as metal oxide ( e - 2 ), oxides of elements of groups 2 to 12 are preferable , with oxides of elements of groups 4 to 12 being more preferable , and with oxides of elements of groups 7 to 12 being further preferable . metal hydroxide ( e - 1 ) and metal oxide ( e - 2 ), especially metal oxide ( e - 2 ), are effective in suppressing corrosive wear of steel members such as a screw and cylinder , dice and nozzle of such a device as an extruder or molding machine . an extruder is a device used to produce a flame - retardant polyamide composition , and a molding machine is a device used to produce a molded article from a flame - retardant polyamide composition . metal hydroxide ( e - 1 ) and metal oxide ( e - 2 ) exhibit high corrosive wear suppression effect particularly at high temperatures , e . g ., at a molding temperature of 270 ยฐ c . or above . when a metal compound component selected from metal hydroxide ( e - 1 ) and metal oxide ( e - 2 ) is used , it is added in a flame - retardant polyamide composition in an amount of 0 . 05 to 2 wt %, preferably 0 . 1 to 1 wt %, more preferably 0 . 1 to 0 . 5 wt %. when the amount of the metal compound component is less than 0 . 05 wt %, it results in insufficient corrosive wear suppression effect . on the other hand , when the amount of the metal compound component content is greater than 2 wt %, it tends to result in low flame retardancy , heat resistance and molding thermal stability , though corrosive wear suppression effect is attained . metal hydroxide ( e - 1 ) and metal oxide ( e - 2 ) may be particles with an average particle diameter of 0 . 01 to 20 ฮผm . the particles with an average particle diameter of 0 . 01 to 10 ฮผm , more preferably 0 . 01 to 5 ฮผm , further preferably 0 . 01 to 3 ฮผm , still further preferably 0 . 01 to 1 ฮผm , most preferably 0 . 01 to 0 . 3 ฮผm are preferably used . this is to further enhance corrosive wear suppression effect . the bet specific surface area of metal hydroxide ( e - 1 ) or metal oxide ( e - 2 ) may be 1 to 50 m 2 / g , preferably 3 to 40 m 2 / g , more preferably 5 to 40 m 2 / g . when average particle diameter and bet specific surface area fall within the above ranges , a molded article having excellent flame retardancy and heat resistance can often be produced while suppressing corrosive wear of steel members . when average particle diameter exceeds 20 ฮผm or bet specific surface area is less than 1 m 2 / g , it may result in failure to attain sufficient corrosive wear suppression effect . when average particle diameter is less than 0 . 01 ฮผm or bet specific surface area exceeds 50 m 2 / g , it tends to result in low flame retardancy , heat resistance and molding thermal stability , though corrosive wear suppression effect is attained . preferable metal elements for metal hydroxide ( e - 1 ) and metal oxide ( e - 2 ) used in the present invention include iron , magnesium , and zinc , with magnesium and zinc being more preferable , and with zinc being most preferable . specific preferable examples of metal hydroxide ( e - 1 ) or metal oxide ( e - 2 ) include magnesium hydroxide , magnesium oxide , and zinc oxide . other preferable examples include composite oxides of metals ; more preferable examples are composite oxides of zinc , such as zinc stannate and hydroxy zinc stannate . among them , zinc oxide , zinc stannate , magnesium oxide , and magnesium hydroxide are preferable . moreover , single metal oxides are preferable over composite oxides ; specific preferable examples include zinc oxide . note that borates , one of composite oxides , are excluded from metal oxide ( e - 2 ) in the present invention . when a potential lewis acid element , such as boron , is added , the effect of trapping the decomposition product of flame retardant ( later described ) may decrease , so that corrosion suppression effect is difficult to be exerted . the flame - retardant polyamide composition of the present invention may contain , in addition to the above components , various known additives , such as other flame retardant synergists , flame retardants , antioxidants , radical scavengers , heat stabilizers , weathering stabilizers , flow ability improvers , plasticizers , thickeners , antistatic agents , mold release agents , pigments , dyes , inorganic or organic fillers , nucleating agents , fibrous reinforcing agents and / or inorganic compounds ( e . g ., carbon black , talc , clay , mica ) in amounts that do not affect the object of the present invention . the flame - retardant polyamide composition of the present invention may contain additives such as general - purpose ion scavengers . known ion scavengers include hydrotalcite and zeolite . in particular , addition of a fibrous reinforcing agent enhances heat resistance , flame retardancy , rigidity , tensile strength , flexural strength and impact strength of the flame - retardant polyamide composition of the present invention . flame retardant synergists are effective in imparting high flame retardancy with small amounts of flame retardant . specific examples include metal oxides and metal hydroxides , which can be used alone or in combination . more specifically , zinc borate , boehmite , zinc stannate , iron oxide and tin oxide are preferable , with zinc borate being more preferable . when a metal oxide or metal hydroxide is used as a flame retardant synergist , it is added in the flame - retardant polyamide composition of the present invention in an amount of 0 . 5 to 5 wt %, preferably 1 to 3 wt %. by adding a flame retardant synergist in an amount falling within the above range , stable flame retardancy and molding thermal stability can be imparted to the flame - retardant polyamide composition . known flame retardant synergists include phosphorus / nitrogen compounds represented by melamine phosphate compounds , melamine compound and condensates thereof , and nitrogen compound represented by melamine cyanurate . at high temperatures e . g ., at a molding temperature of 270 ยฐ c . or above , these compounds may deteriorate thermal stability because decomposition of resin and flame retardant is facilitated by these compounds . the flame retardant synergist may be at least one compound selected from the group consisting of a cyclic phosphazene compound represented by formula ( 1 ) and / or a linear phosphazene compound represented by formula ( 2 ). the amount of phosphazene compound in the flame - retardant polyamide composition is 0 . 01 to 10 wt %, preferably 0 . 5 to 5 wt %. where m is an integer of 3 to 25 , and ph is phenyl group . where x is โ n โ p ( oph ) 3 or โ n โ p ( o ) oph , y is p ( oph ) 4 or โ p ( o )( oph ) 2 , n is an integer of 3 to 1 , 000 , and ph is phenyl group . the flame - retardant polyamide composition of the present invention may further contain additional polymers as long as the object of the present invention is achieved . examples thereof include polyolefins such as polyethylene , polypropylene , poly - 4 - methyl - 1 - pentene , ethylene / 1 - butene copolymer , propylene / ethylene copolymer , propylene / 1 - butene copolymer and polyolefin elastomer , polystyrene , polyamide , polycarbonate , polyacetal , polysulfone , polyphenylene oxide , fluororesin , silicone resin , sebs , and teflon ยฎ. additional examples include modified polyolefins . modified polyolefins are polyolefins which are modified with carboxyl group , acid anhydride group , amino group or the like examples thereof include modified polyolefin elastomers such as modified polyethylene , modified aromatic vinyl compound / conjugated diene copolymers ( e . g ., modified sebs ) or hydrogenated products thereof , and modified ethylene / propylene copolymer . it is preferable that these polymer components do not to meet ul 94 v - 0 requirements . the amount of additional polymer in the flame - retardant polyamide composition is preferably 4 wt % or less , more preferably 2 wt % or less , further preferably 1 wt % or less , based on the total weight ( 100 wt %) of the components of the composition . the polyamide composition of the present invention contains the above - described polyamide resin ( a ) and flame retardant ( c ) as essential components , and is of two types depending on whether or not thermoplastic resin ( b ) other than polyamide resin ( a ) is contained as an essential component . a first flame - retardant polyamide composition of the present invention contains the above - mentioned thermoplastic resin ( b ) as an essential component . the first flame - retardant polyamide composition preferably contains polyamide resin ( a ) in an amount of 20 to 60 wt %, more preferably 35 to 50 wt %, based on the total amount of the components of the polyamide composition . when the amount of polyamide resin ( a ) in the first flame - retardant polyamide composition is 20 wt % or more , sufficient toughness can be attained , and when the amount is 60 wt % or less , a sufficient amount of flame retardant can be added , whereby it is possible to produce a resin composition that meets a predetermined flame retardancy rating . the first flame - retardant polyamide composition contains thermoplastic resin ( b ) in an amount of 5 to 40 wt %, more preferably 5 to 30 wt %, based on the total amount of components of the polyamide composition . when the amount of thermoplastic resin ( b ) is 5 wt % or more , it is possible to ensure sufficient flame retardancy even when smaller amounts of flame retardant are added , as well as to suppress corrosive wear of steel members . when the amount of thermoplastic resin ( b ) is 40 wt % or less , toughness and heat resistance of the flame - retardant polyamide composition do not decrease . the total amount of chlorine and bromine atoms contained in the flame - retardant polyamide composition of the present invention , is preferably 1 , 000 ppm or less . in particular , in the case of the first flame - retardant polyamide composition , the total amount of chlorine and bromine contained in thermoplastic resin ( b ) is preferably 10 , 000 ppm or less , more preferably 5 , 000 ppm or less , further preferably 3 , 000 ppm or less , most preferably 2 , 000 ppm or less . the first flame - retardant polyamide composition contains flame retardant ( c ) in an amount of 3 to 15 wt %, preferably 3 to 12 wt %, more preferably 5 to 10 wt %, based on the total amount of components of the polyamide composition . when the amount of flame retardant ( c ) in the flame - retardant polyamide composition is 3 wt % or more , it is possible to provide sufficient flame retardancy , and when the amount is 15 wt % or less , it is possible to provide corrosive wear suppression effect . moreover , when the wt % amount of thermoplastic resin ( b ) is equal to or larger than that of flame retardant ( c ), corrosive wear of steel members may be further suppressed . the total amount of thermoplastic resin ( b ) and flame retardant ( c ) in the first flame - retardant polyamide composition is preferably 16 to 45 wt %. when the total amount of component ( b ) and component ( c ) is 16 wt % or more , it is possible for the flame - retardant polyamide composition to have sufficient flame retardancy . when the total amount is 45 wt % or less , toughness and heat resistance of the flame - retardant polyamide composition do not decrease . the first flame - retardant polyamide composition contains reinforcement ( d ) in an amount of 0 to 50 wt %, preferably 10 to 45 wt %, based on the total amount of components of the polyamide composition . when the amount of reinforcement ( d ) is 50 wt % or less , flow ability during injection molding does not decrease . the first flame - retardant polyamide composition preferably contains a metal compound component selected from above - mentioned metal hydroxide ( e - 1 ) and metal oxide ( e - 2 ), preferably in an amount of 0 . 05 to 2 wt %, more preferably 0 . 1 to 1 wt %, further preferably 0 . 1 to 0 . 5 wt %. metal hydroxide ( e - 1 ) and metal oxide ( e - 2 ) are preferably particles with an average particle diameter of 0 . 01 to 20 ฮผm , preferably 0 . 01 to 10 ฮผm , more preferably 0 . 01 to 5 ฮผm , further preferably 0 . 01 to 3 ฮผm , still further preferably 0 . 01 to 1 ฮผm , most preferably 0 . 01 to 0 . 3 ฮผm . metal hydroxide ( e - 1 ) and metal oxide ( e - 2 ) can provide the first flame - retardant polyamide composition with an effect of suppressing corrosive wear of steel members . a possible mechanism by which such an effect is exerted is trapping of decomposition products of flame retardant ( c ) by metal hydroxide ( e - 1 ) and metal oxide ( e - 2 ), as are decomposition products of flame retardant ( c ) in the second flame - retardant polyamide composition later described . the second flame - retardant polyamide composition preferably contains polyamide resin ( a ) in an amount of 20 to 80 wt %, more preferably 35 to 60 wt %, based on the total amount of the components of the polyamide composition . when the amount of polyamide resin ( a ) in the second flame - retardant polyamide composition is 20 wt % or more , sufficient toughness can be attained , and when the amount is 80 wt % or less , a sufficient amount of flame retardant can be added , and thereby flame retardancy is attained . the second flame - retardant polyamide composition preferably contains flame retardant ( c ) in an amount of 5 to 40 wt %, preferably 7 to 20 wt %, based on the total amount of components of the polyamide composition . when the amount of flame retardant ( c ) in the second flame - retardant polyamide composition is 5 wt % or more , it is possible to provide sufficient flame retardancy , and when the amount is 40 wt % or less , flow ability does not decrease during injection molding . the second flame - retardant polyamide composition contains reinforcement ( d ) in an amount of 0 to 50 wt %, preferably 10 to 45 wt %, based on the total amount of components of the polyamide composition . when the amount of reinforcement ( d ) is 50 wt % or less , flow ability does not decrease during injection molding . the second flame - retardant polyamide composition preferably contains a metal compound component selected from above - mentioned metal hydroxide ( e - 1 ) and metal oxide ( e - 2 ), preferably metal oxide ( e - 2 ), in an amount of 0 . 05 to 2 wt %, preferably 0 . 1 to 1 wt %, further preferably 0 . 1 to 0 . 5 wt %, based on the total amount of components of the composition . when the amount of the metal compound component selected from metal hydroxide ( e - 1 ) and metal oxide ( e - 2 ) in the flame - retardant polyamide composition is 0 . 05 wt % or more , it is possible to provide sufficient corrosive wear suppression effect . on the other hand , when the amount is 10 wt % or less , flame retardancy , heat resistance , molding thermal stability do not decrease . metal hydroxide ( e - 1 ) and metal oxide ( e - 2 ) are preferably compounds which contain a metal element of groups 2 to 12 in the periodic table . metal hydroxide ( e - 1 ) and metal oxide ( e - 2 ) may be particles with an average particle diameter of 0 . 01 - 20 ฮผm , preferably 0 . 01 to 5 ฮผm , more preferably 0 . 01 to 3 ฮผm , further preferably 0 . 01 to 1 ฮผm , most preferably 0 . 01 to 0 . 3 ฮผm . in the second flame - retardant polyamide composition of the present invention , the metal compound component selected from metal hydroxide ( e - 1 ) and metal oxide ( e - 2 ) is considered to trap the decomposition product of flame retardant ( c ). trapping of the decomposition product of flame retardant ( c ) is considered to take place mainly on the surface of metal hydroxide ( e - 1 ) and metal oxide ( e - 2 ). thus , it may be advantageous that the metal compound component has a smaller particle diameter , i . e ., larger specific surface area . accordingly , metal hydroxide ( e - 1 ) and metal oxide ( e - 2 ) with a specific particle diameter range ( e . g ., average particle diameter of 0 . 01 to 20 ฮผm ) are considered as being advantageous in suppression of corrosive wear โ a problem to be solved in the present invention . the flame - retardant polyamide composition of the present invention meets ul94 v - 0 flame rating . more specifically , the flame - retardant polyamide composition of the present invention preferably meets ul94 v - 0 flame rating at 0 . 8 mm thickness or less . in addition , the heat resistance temperature of the flame - retardant polyamide composition , as measured after subjected to moisture adsorption for 96 hours at 40 ยฐ c . and at relative humidity of 95 %, is preferably 245 to 280 ยฐ c ., more preferably 250 to 280 ยฐ c ., further preferably 255 to 280 ยฐ c ., most preferably 255 to 270 ยฐ c . the breaking energy of the flame - retardant polyamide composition of the present invention , which is the mechanical property indicative of toughness , is preferably 25 to 70 mj , more preferably 40 to 70 mj , further preferably 40 to 60 mj . the flow length of the flame - retardant polyamide composition , upon injection molding of the resin into a bar - flow mold , is preferably 30 to 90 mm , more preferably 40 to 70 mm . in a corrosive wear test using a injection molding machine , the corrosive wear ratio of a screw is preferably 0 . 01 to 2 . 7 %, more preferably 0 . 01 to 2 . 5 %, further preferably 0 . 01 to 2 . 2 %. as described above , the flame - retardant polyamide composition of the present invention has excellent features and is halogen - free ( i . e ., has lower chlorine and bromine contents ). thus , the risk of dioxin generation is small , molding thermal stability is high at high temperatures , and high flame retardancy is achieved when burned . moreover , when processed in an extruder or molding machine , the flame - retardant polyamide composition of the present invention can suppress corrosive wear of steel members , such as a screw , cylinder , and dice . the flame - retardant polyamide composition of the present invention is particularly suitable for electric parts . the flame - retardant polyamide composition of the present invention can be produced with a known resin kneading method . for example , it is possible to employ a method in which the above - described components are mixed using henschel mixer , v - blender , ribbon blender or tumble blender ; or a method in which the mixture is further melt - kneaded using a single - screw extruder , multi - screw extruder , kneader or banbury mixer and then the kneaded product is granulated or pulverized . the flame - retardant polyamide composition of the present invention can be molded into various molded articles by using known molding methods , such as compression molding , injection molding , or extrusion molding . among these methods , injection molding is preferable ; by injection molding of the polyamide composition in an inert gas atmosphere such as nitrogen , argon or helium gas at a flow rate , for example , 0 . 1 to 10 ml / min , it is possible to further reduce corrosive wear of steel members , such as a screw and cylinder of a molding machine . the flame - retardant polyamide composition of the present invention is excellent in molding thermal stability , heat resistance , and suppressing corrosive wear of steel members , and thus can be used in applications where these characteristics are required , or in the field of precise molding . specific examples include electric parts such as automobile electrical components , circuit breakers , connectors , switches , jacks , plugs , breakers , and led reflection materials , and molded articles such as coil bobbins and housings . hereinafter , the present invention will be described in detail with reference to examples , which however shall not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention thereto . in examples and comparative examples , measurements and evaluations of parameters are conducted in the manners given below . intrinsic viscosity is measured in accordance with jis k6810 - 1977 . sample solution is prepared by dissolving 0 . 5 g of polyamide resin in 50 ml of 96 . 5 % sulfuric acid solution . the flow - down time of the sample solution is measured using a ubbelohde viscometer at 25 ยฑ 0 . 05 ยฐ c . where ฮทsp is ( t โ t 0 )/ t 0 , [ ฮท ] is intrinsic viscosity ( dl / g ), ฮทsp is specific viscosity , c is sample concentration ( g / dl ), t is sample flow - down time ( sec ), and t 0 is flow - down time ( sec ) of sulfuric acid ( blank ). the melting point of the polyamide resin is measured using dsc - 7 ( perkinelmer , inc .). the polyamide resin is held at 330 ยฐ c . for 5 minutes , cooled to 23 ยฐ c . at a rate of 10 ยฐ c ./ min , and then heated at a heating rate of 10 ยฐ c ./ min . the endothermic peak based on the melting of the polyamide resin is employed as the melting point . mfr of thermoplastic resins ( b ) is measured at a load of 5 kg and at 316 ยฐ c . in accordance with astm d1238 procedure b . polyamide compositions formulated with the components shown in tables 1 to 4 and tables 5 and 6 are molded by injection molding under the following conditions to prepare test pieces ( thickness : 1 / 32 inch , width : ยฝ inch , length : 5 inch ). the test pieces are subjected to a vertical combustion test to evaluate their flame retardancy in accordance with the ul94 standard ( ul test no . ul94 , jun . 18 , 1991 ). polyamide compositions formulated with the components shown in tables 1 to 4 and tables 5 and 6 are molded by injection molding under following conditions to prepare test pieces ( length : 64 mm , width : 6 mm , thickness : 0 . 8 mm ). the test pieces are allowed to stand in a humid atmosphere for 96 hours at 40 ยฐ c . and at relative humidity of 95 %. the test piece conditioned above is placed on a 1 mm - thick glass epoxy substrate . a temperature sensor is placed on the substrate . the glass epoxy substrate with the test piece is loaded in an air reflow soldering machine ( ais - 20 - 82 - c , manufactured by eightech tectron co ., ltd . ), and a reflow soldering process is performed in accordance with the temperature profile shown in fig1 . as depicted in fig1 , the test piece is 1 ) heated to 230 ยฐ c . at a predetermined heating rate , 2 ) heated to a predetermined set temperature (โ a โ: 270 ยฐ c ., โ b โ: 265 ยฐ c ., โ c โ: 260 ยฐ c ., โ d โ: 255 ยฐ c ., or โ e โ: 235 ยฐ c .) over 20 seconds , and 3 ) cooled back to 230 ยฐ c . the highest set temperature is found at which the test piece is not molten and no blister is observed on its surface . this highest set temperature is defined as a heat resistance temperature . in general , test pieces subjected to moisture absorption tend to have lower heat resistance temperatures than completely - dried test pieces . in addition , heat resistance temperature tends to decrease with decreasing polyamide resin - to - flame retardant ratio . polyamide compositions formulated with the components shown in tables 1 to 4 and tables 5 and 6 are molded by injection molding under following conditions to prepare test pieces ( length : 64 mm , width : 6 mm , thickness : 0 . 8 mm ). the test piece is allowed to stand in nitrogen gas atmosphere at 23 ยฐ c . for 24 hours . using a flexural tester ( abs , manufactured by ntesco ), flexural test is performed at 23 ยฐ c . and at relative humidity of 50 % under the following conditions : span = 26 mm , flexural rate = 5 mm / min . based on flexural strength , distortion and modulus , the amount of energy required for breaking the test piece ( toughness ) is measured . polyamide compositions formulated with the components shown in tables 1 to 4 and tables 5 and 6 are molded by injection molding under the following condition using a bar - flow mold ( width : 10 mm , thickness : 0 . 5 mm ) to measure the flow length ( mm ) of resin in the mold . using a connector mold with 14 terminals ( molded article weight : 1 g ( including a sprue and a runner )), 10 , 000 shots are continuously made on an injection molding machine . the weight of the screw of the injection molding machine is measured before and after injection molding to find corrosive wear ratio using the following equation : corrosive wear ratio (%)=[( screw weight before injection molding โ screw weight after injection molding )/ screw weight before injection molding ]ร 100 during flow length measurement , the amount of gas generated during molding is evaluated visually based on the following criteria : sample with no gas generation is ranked โ; sample with less gas generation is ranked ฮด ; and sample with great gas generation and is problematic for usage , or sample in which resin is decomposed and is problematic for molding is ranked x . samples with excellent resin composition thermal stability generate less gas and showing less mold contamination are judged as having excellent moldability . the following describes polyamide resin ( a ), thermoplastic resin ( b ) other than the polyamide resin ( a ), flame retardant ( c ), reinforcement ( d ), metal hydroxide ( e - 1 ), metal oxide ( e - 2 ) and other components used in examples and comparative examples . composition : dicarboxylic acid unit ( terephthalic acid : 62 . 5 mol % and adipic acid : 37 . 5 mol %), diamine unit ( 1 , 6 - diaminohexane : 100 mol %) composition : dicarboxylic acid unit ( terephthalic acid : 55 mol % and adipic acid : 45 mol %), diamine unit ( 1 , 6 - diaminohexane : 100 mol %) composition : dicarboxylic acid unit ( terephthalic acid : 55 mol % and adipic acid : 45 mol %), diamine unit ( 1 , 6 - diaminohexane : 100 mol %) composition : dicarboxylic acid unit ( terephthalic acid : 100 mol %), diamine unit ( 2 - methyl - 1 , 5 - diaminopentane : 50 mol %, and 1 , 6 - diaminohexane : 50 mol %) as listed in tables 1 to 4 , several types of polyphenylene sulfide ( pps ) are used . chlorine amount , mfr , type ( linear or crosslinked ) are also listed in tables 1 to 4 . any type of polyphenylene sulfide has a melting point of 280 ยฐ c . exolit op1230 , manufactured by clariant ( japan ) k . k . phosphorous content = 23 . 8 wt % types , average particle diameters and , where necessary , bet specific surface areas of metal hydroxides and metal oxides are shown in tables 1 to 6 . in addition to polyamide resin ( a ), thermoplastic resin ( b ), flame retardant ( c ) and reinforcement ( d ), zinc borate ( flame retardant synergist , โ firebrake 500 โ manufactured by u . s . borax ), talc (โ hi - fller # 100 hakudo 95 โ manufactured by matsumura sangyo co ., ltd . ), and calcium montanate (โ licomont cav102 โ manufactured by clariant ( japan ) k . k .) are used . the above components are mixed in proportions shown in tables 1 to 4 , and the mixtures are fed into a twin - screw vented extruder set to 320 ยฐ c ., and then melt - kneaded to prepare flame - retardant polyamide compositions in the form of pellets . subsequently , physical properties of the resulting flame - retardant polyamide compositions are evaluated , the results of which are shown in tables 1 to 3 ( examples 1 to 22 ) and table 4 ( comparative examples 1 to 6 ). examples 23 to 33 , comparative examples 7 to 12 , and reference example 13 the above components are mixed in proportions shown in tables 5 and 6 , and the mixtures are fed into a twin - screw vented extruder set to 320 ยฐ c ., and then melt - kneaded to prepare flame - retardant polyamide compositions in the form of pellets . subsequently , physical properties of the resulting flame - retardant polyamide compositions are evaluated , the results of which are shown in table 5 ( examples 23 to 33 ) and table 6 ( comparative examples 7 to 12 and reference example 13 ). zinc oxide ( e - 2 - 1 ) used in example 32 has an average particle diameter of 0 . 02 ฮผm and a specific surface area of 37 m 2 / g , and zinc oxide ( e - 2 - 5 ) used in example 32 has an average particle diameter of 15 . 00 ฮผm and a specific surface area of 2 m 2 / g . as seen from tables 1 to 3 , the flame - retardant polyamide compositions of examples 1 to 22 contain proper amounts of thermoplastic resin ( b ) and flame retardant ( c ) and , therefore , exhibit high flame retardancy and heat resistance , as well as low corrosive wear ratio . on the other hand , as seen from table 4 , when thermoplastic resin ( b ) is not contained or when the total amount of thermoplastic resin ( b ) and flame retardant ( c ) is small ( see comparative examples 1 to 5 ), it results in insufficient flame retardancy and / or high corrosive wear ratio . when thermoplastic resin ( b ) is excessively contained ( see comparative example 6 ), it results in reduced breaking energy and increased halogen ( bromine and chlorine ) content . as seen from table 5 , the flame - retardant polyamide compositions of examples 23 to 33 contain proper amounts of metal oxide ( e - 2 ) and , therefore , exhibit high flame retardancy and low corrosive wear ratio . on the other hand , as seen from table 6 , when a proper metal oxide is not contained ( see comparative examples 7 and 8 , and 10 to 12 ), it results in high corrosive wear ratio . moreover , when zinc oxide is excessively contained ( see comparative example 9 ), resin is decomposed during molding . the flame - retardant polyamide composition of the present invention is free from halogen - based flame retardant , and exhibits high toughness , heat resistance and flame retardancy . moreover , the flame - retardant polyamide composition of the present invention can suppress corrosive wear of steel members of molding machines and extruders . in particular , the flame - retardant polyamide composition of the present invention can be used for manufacture of electric parts which are for surface - mounting using high - melting point solder such as lead - free solder , preferably for manufacture of thin electric parts . alternatively , the flame - retardant polyamide composition of the present invention can be used in applications where these characteristics are required , or in the field of precise molding . | 2 |
the present invention makes use of processing modules which are known in themselves . the advantages provided by the present invention lie in the selection and ordering of known processing modules to improve the friction and wear performance of the c โ c composite brake discs prepared in accordance with this invention as compared with standard pitch - infiltrated brake discs . the present invention may also improve the economics of disc manufacture . various โ modules โ that may be used in accordance with the present invention are summarized below . the present invention was developed to provide c โ c composites having a high final bulk density ( greater than ห 1 . 8 g / cc ) and to thereby provide improved properties as well as friction and wear performance of the composite material . to achieve such high densities , high char yield pitches are used to densify the carbon fiber preforms . these high char yielding itches may be comprised of isotropic or anisotropic ( mesophase ) pitches obtained from petroleum , coal tar , or synthetic feedstocks . mixtures of isotropic and mesophase pitches may also be used for the densification cycles . in most instances , a final density of approximately 1 . 8 g ./ cc is achieved with 3 cycles of pitch densification using the high char yield pitches . in some instances , where larger , thicker preforms are used , additional cycles of densification may be required . in these instances , the high char yielding resin may optionally be replaced with either cvd , low to medium char yield pitch , or phenolic resin . also , throughout the process , one or more of the high char yield pitch densification cycles may be replaced by cvd densification . intermediate and / or final heat treatment of the preforms is usually applied to modify the crystal structure of the carbon . heat treatment is employed to modify the mechanical , thermal , and chemical properties of the carbon in the preform . heat treatment of the preforms is typically conducted in the range of 1400 ยฐ to 2800 ยฐ c . the effect of such a treatment on graphitizable materials is well known . higher temperatures increase the degree of crystalline order in the carbon material , as measured by such analytical techniques as x - ray diffraction or raman spectroscopy . higher temperatures also increase the thermal conductivity of the carbon in the products , as well as the elastic modulus , and typically result in lower wear rates . vacuum pressure infiltration (โ vpi โ) is a well known method for impregnating a resin or pitch into a preform . the preform is heated under inert conditions to well above the melting point of the impregnating pitch . then , the gas in the pores is removed by evacuating the preform . finally , molten pitch is allowed to infiltrate the part , as the overall pressure is returned to one atmosphere or above . in the vpi process a volume of resin or pitch is melted in one vessel while the porous preforms are contained in a second vessel under vacuum . the molten resin or pitch is transferred from vessel one into the porous preforms contained in the second vessel using a combination of vacuum and pressure . the vpi process typically employs resin and pitches which possess low to medium viscosity . such pitches provide lower carbon yields than do mesophase pitches . accordingly , at least one additional cycle of pitch infiltration of low or medium char - yield pitch ( with vpi or rtm processing ) is usually required to achieve a final density of 1 . 7 g / cc or higher . resin transfer molding (โ rtm โ) is an alternative to the use of vpi for the production of polymer - based composites . in resin transfer molding , a fibrous preform or mat is placed into a mold matching the desired part geometry . typically , a relatively low viscosity thermoset resin is injected at low temperature ( 50 to 150 ยฐ c .) using pressure or induced under vacuum , into the porous body contained within a mold . the resin is cured within the mold before being removed from the mold . u . s . pat . no . 6 , 537 , 470 b1 ( wood et al .) describes a more flexible rtm process that can make use of high viscosity resin or pitch . the disclosure of u . s . pat . no . 6 , 537 , 470 b1 is incorporated herein by reference . carbonization refers to the heating of carbon materials in an inert atmosphere to temperatures typically between 700 and 1600 ยฐ c . the purpose of carbonization in the manufacture of carbon - carbon composites from fibers , pitches , etc . is to remove non - carbon elements such as h , n , o , s , and other impurities from the pitch matrices to form a solid , carbon rich matrix . during carbonization , the volatiles from the pitch are released and porosity is generated in the composite , which has to be filled with pitch during subsequent pitch densification cycles . a stabilization step may be conducted to rigidize the pitch and prevent exudation from the preform during subsequent carbonization processing . the stabilization step may be oxidative stabilization carried out at a temperature of about 150 - 250 ยฐ c . to rigidize the pitch and prevent its exudation during carbonization . alternatively , mechanical or gaseous pressure can be used during carbonization , with or without a containment vessel , to prevent the preform from bloating and to limit the amount of pitch exudate . in some instance , the pitch - densified preforms do not require stabilization prior to carbonization . in such cases , the preforms are typically restrained and / or contained to limit the amount of pitch exudate . standard machining processes , well know to persons skilled in the art of manufacturing carbon - carbon composite brake discs , are used in the manufacture of the carbon - carbon composite friction discs provided by the present invention . between densification processing steps , the surfaces of the annular discs are ground down to expose porosity in the surfaces . once the final density is achieved , the annular discs are ground to their final thickness using standard grinding equipment to provide parallel flat surfaces , and then the inside diameter and outside diameter regions are machined , typically using a cnc ( computer numerical control ) mill to provide the final brake disc geometry , including such features as rivet holes and drive lugs . chemical vapor deposition ( cvd ) of carbon is also known as chemical vapor infiltration ( cvi ). in a cvd / cvi process , carbonized , and optionally heat treated , preforms are heated in a retort under the cover of inert gas , typically at a pressure below 100 torr . when the parts reach a temperature of 900 ยฐ to 1200 ยฐ c ., the inert gas is replaced with a carbon - bearing gas such as methane , ethane , propane , butane , propylene , or acetylene , or combinations of these gases . when the hydrocarbon gas mixture flows around and through the porous structures , a complex set of dehydrogenation , condensation , and polymerization reactions occur , thereby depositing the carbon atoms within the interior and onto the surface of the porous structures . over time , as more and more of the carbon atoms are deposited onto the structures , the porous structures become more dense . this process is sometimes referred to as densification , because the open spaces in the porous structures are eventually filled with a carbon matrix until generally solid carbon parts are formed . depending upon the pressure , temperature , and gas composition , the crystallographic structure and order of the deposited carbon can be controlled , yielding anything from an isotropic carbon to a highly anisotropic , ordered carbon . us 2006 / 0046059 a1 ( arico et al . ), the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference , provides an overview of cvd / cvi processing . the carbon in carbon fiber and c โ c composites tends to oxidize when exposed to air or other oxidizing environments when the temperature exceeds approximately 300 ยฐ c . when the carbon oxidizes , it loses mass , due to the formation of co 2 and co gases as oxidation products . this loss in mass leads directly to loss of mechanical strength , as well as loss of integrity , functionality , and ultimately to the failure of the component . in order to protect the c โ c components from oxidization when they are subjected to repeated or sustained high temperatures , barrier coatings are generally applied to the components . u . s . pat . nos . 6 , 913 , 821 and 7 , 160 , 618 , both of which are incorporated herein by reference , provide more background on the oxidative protection of carbon - carbon composites . specific embodiments of the present invention may employ the following densification cycles fabricating a carbon fiber preform , heat - treating the carbon fiber preform at 1400 - 2540 ยฐ c ., infiltrating the carbon fiber preform with a high carbon - yielding pitch using vpi ( vacuum pressure infiltration ) or resin transfer molding ( rtm ) process , optionally stabilize the high char - yielding pitch - infiltrated preform , repeating the infiltration step and optionally the stabilization step to achieve a final density of & gt ; 1 . 75 g / cc ( and usually above 1 . 8 g / cc ), heat - treating the preform at 1400 - 2000 ยฐ c ., machining the surfaces of the preform , and applying an oxidation protection system . fabricating a carbon fiber preform , heat - treating the carbon fiber preform at 1400 - 2540 ยฐ c ., infiltrating the carbon fiber preform with a high carbon - yielding pitch using vpi ( vacuum pressure infiltration ) or resin transfer molding ( rtm ) process , optionally stabilize the high char - yielding pitch - infiltrated preform , repeating the infiltration step and optionally the stabilization step to achieve a density of approximately 1 . 6 g / cc , optionally grinding the surfaces of the preform prior to cvi densification to achieve a final density of & gt ; 1 . 75 g / cc ( and usually above 1 . 8 g / cc ) optionally heat - treating the densified preform at 1400 - 2540 ยฐ c ., machining the surfaces of the preform to their final dimensions , and applying antioxidant solution to the machined preform and baking it on . the resultant carbon - carbon composites have high density (& gt ; 1 . 75 g / cc and usually above 1 . 8 g / cc ) and improved thermal and mechanical properties compared with other c โ c composites . the higher density is also advantageous in reducing the oxidation of the carbon and providing improved friction and wear performance . further examples of variants of the invention are summarized in the following table : the present invention has been described herein in terms of preferred embodiments . however , obvious modifications and additions to the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the relevant arts upon a reading and understanding of the foregoing description . it is intended that all such modifications and additions form a part of the present invention to the extent that they fall within the scope of the several claims appended hereto . | 2 |
referring now to the drawings in general where the preferred embodiment of my invention is illustrated with the article powdering apparatus configurative of the immediate invention generally designated apparatus 10 . apparatus 10 is comprised of rectangular , generally dust tight housing 12 having a top panel 16 , two vertical sidewall panels 13 , two vertical end panels 14 , and a plurality of attached bottom panels forming a funnel - shaped housing bottom 20 . panels 13 , 14 , 16 , and funnel shaped housing bottom 20 of housing 12 are affixed together to enclose and define an interior powdering chamber 17 . housing 12 is preferably made of stainless steel , and is shown in the drawings supported by four attached legs 15 . funnel - shaped housing bottom 20 being structured of smooth , downwardly sloped panels , directs and allows depositing of powder 50 from housing 12 through an opening 21 at the lowest point in housing bottom 20 into a removable collecting drawer 26 . in fig1 collecting drawer 26 is shown retained in a collecting drawer holding receiver 27 , and also shown by dotted lines removed . drawer holding receiver 27 is arranged collar - like around the exterior edges of opening 21 with the receiver 27 structured of a three - sided channel - metal frame with the channels facing inward . one end of the channeled metal frame of drawer receiver 27 is left open to allow outwardly flanged top edges of drawer 26 to slide into the channels of drawer holding receiver 27 for retention of drawer 26 therein . other well known structures to removably affixed a drawer over an opening are anticipated and could be used . as the drawings show , both ends of housing 12 have openings in end wall panels 14 closable by doors 22 and 24 best seen in fig3 and fig4 . door 22 is designated front door 22 and door 24 is designated rear door 24 because these doors are normally opened for access into powder chamber 17 in that order , front door 22 for in putting articles , cookie or pastry 80 , for powdering , and rear door 24 for removing the powdered cookie or pastry 80 . doors 22 and 24 are attached to housing end wall panels 14 by hinges 44 and latched shut by latch handles 48 or magnetic seals similar to those used on refrigerator doors . door windows 46 in both doors 22 and 24 are arranged centrally to allow viewing the interior of powdering chamber 17 . as can be seen in fig3 and fig4 the ends of apparatus 10 are generally duplicative with a push button start - stop control station 86 on one end , and a pc station 88 in similar position at the oppositely disposed end . computerized programmable controllers such as pc station 88 are available from several u . s . manufacturers such as the allen - bradley company of cleveland , ohio , u . s . a . the pc station 88 used with my invention has a start / stop button arrangement on the front thereof to allow activation of the electronics of the pc 88 . push button start - stop control station 86 is wired to pc station 88 and allows activation of pc 88 from the opposite end of housing 12 . the positioning of a powder supply hopper 18 relative to electric motor 28 is shown in the first five figure illustrations . powder supply hopper 18 provides funneling and a reservoir for a supply of powder 50 such as sugar or flour , and is attached centrally to top panel 16 of housing 12 . hopper 18 has an open top end and an open bottom end . the open top end of hopper 18 allows filling hopper 18 with powder 50 . an openable lid 38 attached to hopper 18 by hinge 40 is provided to cover the open top end of hopper 18 . the open bottom end of hopper 18 is aligned with a centrally positioned opening through top panel 16 , designated powder input opening 19 . powder input opening 19 allows introduction of a metered amount of powder 50 into the upper portion of powdering chamber 17 of housing 12 according to the opening and the closing of a powder metering valve , designated hopper flow door 34 . hopper flow door 34 is a flat panel door slidably retained at the bottom opened end of hopper 18 over powder input opening 19 . door 34 functions as a shut - off door to regulate the flow of powder 50 from hopper 18 through opening 19 into powdering chamber 17 . the opening and closing of door 34 is powered by hopper door power arm 36 . power arm 36 is attached at one end thereof to the side of hopper 18 , and attached at the oppositely disposed end thereof to one end of shut - off door 34 as shown in fig1 and 2 . power arm 36 is electrically powered and is controlled by pc station 88 , which is programmed to open and close door 34 automatically . it is anticipated hopper 18 , power arm 36 and door 34 could be replaced with a properly controlled screw auger conveyor or conveyor belt bringing powder 50 from a large , remotely placed hopper , with the on and off switching of the conveyor being used to control or meter the flow of powder 50 dispensed into powdering chamber 17 through opening 19 . in the upper section of powdering chamber 17 of housing 12 as shown in the fig5 illustration is powder distributor 51 having screen 60 attached below by rigid screen hangers 56 . powder distributor 51 with attached screen 60 functions as a single powder distributing and sifting structure , and also function to a degree as a powder metering device . powder distributor 51 is generally centered in powdering chamber 17 above article support tray 74 and below powder input opening 19 . powder distributor 51 is positioned to receive powder 50 dropped through opening 19 , and sized relative to the interior dimensions of powdering chamber 17 to allow a small degree of movement therein . powder distributor 51 is comprised of top apertured plate 62 arranged slidably covering the bottom inside of a distributor bottom apertured rimmed tray 64 as shown in fig6 , and 8 . top apertured plate 62 has a plurality of apertures 66 therethrough . distributor bottom apertured rimmed tray 64 has a plurality of apertures 66 alignable and misalignable with the apertures 66 of top apertured plate 62 providing shuttered apertures through powder distributor 51 extending from an upper surface area or side 52 through a lower surface area or side 53 of distributor 51 . apertures 66 are normally closed by way of misalignment of apertures 66 in top apertured plate 62 with the apertures 66 in the bottom apertured rimmed tray 64 as shown in fig7 where apertures 66 are illustrated misaligned and closed . top apertured plate 62 is sized slightly smaller in one dimension relative to rimmed tray 64 in order to allow sliding of plate 62 within the interior boundaries of the rim of rimmed tray 64 as shown in fig7 and 8 . two electrically powered arms 68 are used to slide top apertured plate 62 back and forth on rimmed tray 64 in order to align and misalign the apertures 66 of plate 62 and apertured rimmed tray 64 . one end of each of the actuator arms 68 is attached to the rim of apertured rimmed tray 64 , and the opposite end of each of the actuator arms 68 is attached to top apertured plate 62 as shown in fig7 and 8 . when the two sets of apertures 66 are in alignment , apertures 66 are in the opened position and powder 50 is metered through distributor 51 . illustrated in fig8 are apertures 66 aligned and open . when apertures 66 are misaligned , apertures 66 are closed , prohibiting the passage of powder 50 from the upper surface area 52 through and out the lower surface area 53 of powder distributor 51 . actuator arms 68 are wired to pc 88 to allow automatic opening and closing of apertures 66 . distributor 51 is pivotally attached by a plurality of pivotal hangers 54 to top housing panel 16 , best shown in fig5 . rigidly attached with hangers 56 directly underneath distributor 51 and in close proximity thereto is screen 60 . screen 60 is a finely meshed powder sieve having an upward facing surface area at least equal to the downward facing or powder dispensing side of powder distributor 51 to allow screen 60 to receive all powder 50 dispensed through distributor 51 to land on screen 60 and be sifted prior to being further dispensed vertically downward toward article support tray 74 and articles resting thereon . distributor 51 and screen 60 are attached by way of pivotal hangers 54 and rigid hangers 56 respectively , and sized relative to the interior dimensions of powdering chamber 17 to allow a concurrent oscillatory movement within powdering chamber 17 . the oscillatory movement is provided to distributor 51 and screen 60 by electric motor 28 and a movement actuator rod 32 . actuator rod 32 is centrally attached at pivotal attachment 33 to housing top panel 16 , indicated in fig5 . actuator rod 32 passes generally vertically through opening 42 of housing top panel 16 . opening 42 is an elongated opening having rubber dust seals therearound which actuator rod 32 extends therethrough , best shown in fig5 . the lower end of actuator rod 32 fastens to the edge of apertured rimmed tray 64 of distributor 51 at pivotal attachment 58 shown in fig6 . the terminal end of actuator rod 32 above top panel 16 is pivotally connected at pivotal connection 31 to actuator rod 30 . actuator rod 30 is pivotally attached off center to motor wheel 29 . motor 28 is wired to pc 88 for automatic on / off control . when motor 28 is turned on and operating , the turning of motor wheel 29 moves actuator rod 30 back and forth in a generally horizontal plane , moving the upper and lower ends of actuator rod 32 back and forth due to pivotal attachment 33 as indicated in fig5 . the back and forth movement of the lower end of actuator rod 32 in turn causes powder distributor 51 and screen 60 to rapidly oscillate or vibrate back and forth . other structures to apply oscillatory movement or vibration to distributor 51 and attached screen 60 can of course be used within the scope of the invention . removably housed towards the bottom within powdering chamber 17 is the article support tray 74 having an apertured bottom with mesh - type openings designated , mesh bottom 75 . article support tray 74 is for supporting articles , cookies or pastry 80 and proofing baskets 82 , to be dusted with powder 50 . article support tray 74 can be inserted through front door 22 on one end of the housing 12 and removed through rear door 24 on the opposite end of housing 12 . article support tray 74 may be rolled in and rolled out on rollers 72 attached to brackets 70 . brackets 70 are attached to the interior of housing 12 . the structure of article tray support brackets 70 with rollers 72 attached for supportive guidance and movement of article support tray 74 is detailed in fig9 relative to housing 12 shown in dotted lines . article support tray 74 having mesh bottom 75 , shown in fig1 and not visible but indicated in fig5 allows excess powder 50 to drop through article support tray 74 and on down into collecting drawer 26 . four electrically powered lifting arms 76 are affixed for up and down mobility in four opposite interior corners of housing 12 under the corners of article support tray 74 . the electric powered lifting arms are wired to , and controlled by pc 88 . lifting arms 76 alternately move up and down , activated electronically in a sequence by pc station 88 to move tray 74 in a tilting and elliptical movement upward and downward . desirably , only one lifting arm 76 is in the raised position at a time , lifting one corner of tray 74 at a time . this elliptical movement presents sides and tops of cookie or pastry 80 , and the interior walls and the inside bottom of basket liner 84 of proofing basket 82 at various angles for complete powdering . see fig1 and fig1 . lifting arms 76 are affixed at the upper ends thereof with pointed disks 78 . the disk portion of pointed disks 78 is the surface which abuts the bottom of tray 74 for lifting , and the pointed portion of pointed disks 78 is aligned to penetrate through the openings in mesh bottom 75 of tray 74 to stabilize retention of the corners of tray 74 during lifting and tilting movement . when pc 88 turns the power off , the slidable portion of lifting arms 76 with pointed disks 78 , recede clear of article support tray 74 to allow sliding removal of tray 74 on rollers 72 . see fig9 and fig1 . although not shown in the drawings , some type of electrical feed line would of course have to be attached to pc station 88 to feed power to the electrically operated elements of the article powdering apparatus 10 . the electrical feed line would desirably be a disconnectable rubber cord , although hard wiring would function . the operation and sequencing of apparatus 10 controlled by pc station 88 is as follows . for use , front door 22 is opened and article support tray 74 , loaded with proofing baskets 82 having liners 84 , or cookies or pastries 80 is pushed into powdering chamber 17 riding on rollers 72 and guided by the upper edges of bracket 70 . front door 22 is closed and retained by handled door latches 48 . rear door 24 is also closed and latched . hopper 18 is filled with a desired powder 50 , flour or sugar . pc station 88 is activated by pressing either the start button located on pc station 88 , or the start button of start / stop control station 86 . motor 28 is turned on by pc station 88 to apply oscillatory movement to powder distributor 51 and screen 60 . power arm 36 is switched into operation by pc station 88 to open hopper flow door 34 allowing a measured amount of powder 50 through powder input opening 19 before pc station 88 causes hopper flow door 34 to close . the measuring or metering of powder 50 into powdering chamber 17 is determined by the length of time hopper flow door is left open , and desirably only enough powder 50 is dispensed from hopper 18 for one powdering cycle . the powder 50 entering powdering chamber 17 through opening 19 descends downward onto upper surface area 52 of top apertured plate 62 of distributor 51 . apertures 66 of distributor 51 are misaligned or closed when powder 50 is deposited on top apertured plate 62 . the rapid oscillatory movement of powder distributor 51 causes powder 50 to spread out evenly , or to vibrate into a generally level plane over the entire upper surface area 52 of top apertured plate 62 , with powder 50 being retained within powder distributor 51 by the rim of bottom rimmed tray 64 . after powder 50 is well spread on upper surface area 52 of distributor top apertured plate 62 , actuator arms 68 activated by pc station 88 shift the position of distributor top apertured plate 62 so apertures 66 in plate 62 and apertures 66 in bottom apertured tray 64 are aligned and powder 50 passes through distributor 51 , dropping from lower surface area 53 onto the oscillating screen 60 below . powder distributor 51 dispenses all of powder 50 retained thereon evenly over the entire upward surface of screen 60 . powder 50 is then further disbursed through the sifting action of the moving screen 60 and falls vertically downward through powdering chamber 17 to be deposited on articles 80 or 82 resting on article support tray 74 . while sifted powder 50 is falling onto articles 80 or 82 , the corners of article support tray 74 are sequentially raised one at a time by lifting arms 76 automatically activated at pc station 88 . in fig1 , the tilting elliptical movement of an article , a cookie or pastry 80 , is illustrated relative to vertically falling powder 50 being deposited on the article . this movement provides for complete upper and side powdering of the article , a cookie or pastry 80 . the fig1 drawing is illustrative of a proofing basket 82 being tilted and turned for applying full powdering of a basket liner 84 , by settling applications of finely sifted , evenly dispersed powder 50 . toward the end of a powdering cycle , pc station 88 activates actuator arms 68 to close aperture 66 in preparation for another powdering cycle , and then turns all the powered equipment off . at this point , article support tray 74 is manually removed through rear door 24 while another article tray 74 is inserted into powdering chamber 17 through front door 22 and the powdering process is repeated . after several powdering operation are completed , collecting drawer 26 can be removed and the powder 50 therein reused . apparatus 10 principally constituting the immediate invention is designed for continuous use and for maintaining a minimal of dust in a working area . powder distributor 51 and sifting screen 60 are positioned above article support tray 74 encased in housing 12 in a structural and mechanical arrangement to evenly distribute a fine coating of powder 50 over all exposed surfaces of articles on article support tray 74 without producing an excessive suspension of dust in the work area air . keeping dust to a minimum allows continued opening of doors 22 and 24 and replacement of article support trays 74 shortly after each application of powder 50 , increasing the overall use cycle rate of apparatus 10 . it should be noted that although i have described all of the power actuated elements such as motor 28 , power arm 36 , actuator arms 68 , and lifting arms 76 to be electrical devices , i anticipate hydraulically or pneumatically powered devices using solenoid control valves could be used as substitutes for these electrical devices . also , although the convenience and accuracy of the solid state electronics of pc station 88 is desirable , pc station 88 could be replaced with a plurality of individual electric timers and pneumatically timed circuit contactors to achieve the desired automatic functioning of my powdering apparatus 10 . also , since some bakeries switch back and forth between different types of flour or powder , i anticipate installing a small clean - out door in a sidewall of hopper 18 slightly above hopper flow door 34 to allow simple removal of any powder 50 left therein so another type of powder 50 may be placed in hopper 18 . it should be further noted that the functional embodiment of the invention described in the specification and illustrated in the drawings is for exemplification purposes only . the descriptions and drawings are not intended to limit the invention to a particular structure , and i reserve the right to modify the structuring of my invention to any extent so long as the modifications remain within the intended scope of the appended claims . | 0 |
as is shown in fig1 the deck of a magnetic - tape - cassette apparatus is mounted on a deck plate 1 . the deck plate 1 carries a winding motor 3 , which drives a reel - drive mechanism 5 via a worm wheel 4 , which reel - drive mechanism comprises a reduction gear wheel 6 , a central gear wheel 7 and a transmission gear wheel 8 . the reel - drive mechanism 5 is in operation as along as the winding motor 3 rotates . a servo rod 9 is arranged on the deck plate 1 , in a manner not shown , so as to be longitudinally movable . a loading drive 10 comprises three gear wheels , i . e . a transport wheel 10a , an intermediate wheel 10b and a lift wheel 10c . the transport wheel 10a and the intermediate wheel 10b are rigidly coupled to one another and are journalled on a spindle 11 of a pivotal lever 12 . the pivotal lever 12 itself is pivotable about a spindle 13 , about which the lift wheel 10c is also rotatable . the pivotal lever 12 is springloaded in the direction indicated by an arrow 12c . the pivotal lever 12 has a control cam 12a adapted to follow a control profile 14a of a control rod 14 . in order to preclude lateral tilting and , consequently , loss of contact between the control cam 12a and the control rod 14 the pivotal lever comprises an auxiliary limb 12b which presses laterally against the control rod 14 . the control rod 14 is movably arranged on the servo rod 9 . for this purpose the servo rod 9 has two guide slots 9a , 9b in which guide pins 14b and 14c are movable . the guide slot 9b has an l - shaped section 9c , in which the guide pin 14c is engageable as will be described hereinafter . a stop spring 15 cooperates with the guide pin 14c and has a spring hook 15b at a spring arm 15a . the stop spring 15 is mounted on a pin 1b of the deck plate 1 and with another spring arm 15c it bears against an abutment 1c . the control profile 14a of the control rod 14 has an inclined surface 14d as a transition to a deeper situated profile surface 14e . the reduction gear wheel 6 and the transport wheel 10a are not in mesh as long : as the control cam 12a follows the control profile 14a . the lift wheel 10c cooperates with a toothed - rack slide 16 which is movable in the longitudinal direction of the servo rod 9 and whose teeth 16a mesh with the teeth 10d of the lift wheel 10c . the toothed - rack slide 16 has an inclined surface 16b , which is clearly visible in fig2 and which cooperates with an inclined actuating projection 23h of a cassette holder 23 . the inclination of the inclined surface 16b corresponds to the inclination of a lift slot 22b and a guide rail 22c of a lift slide 22 . a switching member 18 is pivotable about a spindle 1d which is fixedly connected to the deck plate . the switching member 18 carries on a spindle 18a a switching wheel 19 which cooperates with a toothed rack 9d of the servo rod 9 . a spring , not shown , urges the switching member 18 in the direction indicated by an arrow 18c . a latching lever 20 cooperates with an actuating pin 18b . the actuating projection 23h of the cassette holder 23 can pivot the latching lever 20 about a pin 26e on a head support 26 depending on the position of the lift slide 22 . fig2 is a side view of the loading mechanism 21 of the deck . a lift slide 22 is guided in guide rails if of the deck plate 1 with feet 22a so as to be movable in the direction of the servo rod 9 . the lift slide 22 has lift slots 22b which are inclined relative to the direction of movement indicated by an arrow c . these lift slots are engaged by pins 23a and 23b of the cassette holder 23 . the pin 23b also engages a lowering slot 1g formed between a guide wall 1h and a bounding wall 1k . the cassette holder 23 comprises a spaced - apart lower guide plate 23c and an upper guide plate 23d , which are interconnected by a vertical connecting wall 23a , which is situated at the rear in the drawing and which carries the pins 23a and 23b . the cassette holder 23 also has a rear wall 23f against which a cassette inserted by hand can abut . the cassette holder 23 has two actuating projections , i . e . an actuating projection 23h , which is also shown in fig1 and an actuating projection 23k , between which projections the guide rail 22c of the lift slide 22 is guided . relative to the direction of insertion the rail 22c has an inclination corresponding to that of the lift slot 22b . the toothed - rack slide 16 is arranged on the lift slide 22 so as to be movable in the direction indicated by the arrow c . as is shown in the drawing the toothed - rack slide , which is of a u - type construction with two limbs 16c and 16d extending in the direction of movement c , carries on its lower limb 16d the toothed rack 16a , which cooperates with the lift wheel 10c . the toothed - rack slide 16 also has the inclined surface 16b shown in fig1 which cooperates with the actuating projection 23h of the cassette holder 23 . the toothed - rack slide 16 is coupled to the lift slide by means of a spring 24 . in the situation shown in fig1 the actuating mechanism is in the eject position . the control cam 12a is then pressed against the control profile 14a , and the reduction wheel 6 is in mesh with the transport wheel 10a . the latching lever 20 is in contact with the actuating pin 18b but exerts on this pin only a gentle force of a spring , not shown , because it is not actuated by the actuating projection 23h . the switching member 18 is disengaged from the transmission wheel 8 , so that there is no contact between the toothed rack 9d and the drive . however , the toothed rack 16a of the toothed - rack slide 16 is in mesh with the lift wheel 10c , so that it can be moved when the motor 3 rotates . when the winding motor 3 is started the lift wheel 10c will move the toothed rack 16a of the toothed - rack slide 16 to the fight in the direction indicated by the arrow 23 . the spring 24 of the toothed - rack slide 16 is dimensioned in such a way that it actuates the lift slide 22 and the latter , in its turn , actuates the cassette holder 23 . thus , the toothed - rack slide 16 and the actuating projection 23h are moved to the right in the drawing . now the actuating projection 23h , as is shown in fig3 presses the latching lever 20 aside against a pre - load indicated by an arrow 20a , and the latching lever 20 is pivoted anti - clockwise . the latching lever 20 abuts against the switching member 18 with an actuating edge 20b and also pivots this lever anticlockwise against the spring bias 18c . the switching wheel 19 and the transmission wheel 8 then mesh with one another and the transmission wheel 8 moves the toothed rack 9d via pressure - roller bracket the switching wheel 19 . the loading drive 10 is now in mesh . as the movement of the servo rod 9 proceeds , the guide pin 14 being held by the spring hook 15b of the spring 15 , the guide pins 14b and 14c move to the left in the guide slots 9a and 9b until finally the guide pin 14c engages the l - shaped section 9c . the control rod 14 is then pivoted clockwise and the control cam 12a is released by the control profile 14a . this is clearly illustratext in fig4 . since it is spring - biassed in the direction indicated by an arrow 12c the pivotal lever 12 can now withdraw the transport wheel 10a from the reduction wheel 6 . the pivotal movement of the pivotal lever 12 is limited by an edge 16f of the toothed - rack slide 16 , against which edge an auxiliary limb 12b abuts . as a result , the loading drive 10 stops . the switching member 18 is now loaded in the clockwise direction by the latching lever 20 and the transmission wheel 8 can move the toothed rack 9d via the switching wheel 19 . an eject spring , whose action is indicated by an arrow 30 in fig2 acts upon the toothed - rack slide 16 and hence upon the lift slide 22 . the eject spring ensures that after disengagement of the loading drive 10 the toothed - rack slide 16 , the lift slide 22 and , consequently , the cassette holder 23 are held in the play position . before disengagement of the loading drive 10 the cassette holder 23 is lowered from an upper position , not shown in fig2 into the lower position shown in fig7 . responsible for this are the guide rail 22c , which has moved the actuating projections 23h and 23k downward , and the lift slots 22b and the guide pins 23a and 23b in conjunction with the abutment 1c . when the position shown in fig4 is reached the cassette holder is in a lowered play position and the loading process has been completed . the loading drive is now disengaged , as described . the stop 15b of the stop spring 15 has ensured that the guide pins 14b and 14c on the servo rod 9 have moved to the left until the stop spring 15 has urged the guide pin 14c into the l - shaped section 9c of the guide slot 9b . the deck is not yet in the play mode when the cassette holder 23 has been moved into the lower play position . for this purpose the servo rod should be moved further to the right in the drawing . more details about this movement and the mechanisms involved are given in de 37 19 890 c1 , fig5 ( phd 87 - 101 , herewith incorporated by reference ). the servo rod 9 thus moves further to the right and abuts against a stop 25 of a head support 26 which is pivotable about a pivot 11 on the deck plate 1 . as a result of the servo rod 9 abutting against the stop 25 the head support is set to its play position , in which the magnetic head 27 comes into contact with the magnetic tape . in accordance with the method of operation set forth in de 37 19 890 c1 a holding magnet 28 is activated at the instant at which the head support 26 has reached the position shown in fig1 and holds the head support 26 in this play position . the servo rod 9 has now performed its function and , after the direction of rotation of the motor 3 has been reversed , is moves again to the right , driven by the transmission wheel 8 . the loading drive 10 subsequently remains disengaged because the control cam 12a is not in contact with the control profile 14a , i . e . the profile surface 14e . although the servo rod 9 now moves to the left and is disengaged from the stop 25 of the head support 26 the head support remains in the play position owing to the holding force exerted by the holding magnet 28 . the actuating edge 20b has also left the actuating pin 18b of the switching member 18 because the head support 26 has been pivoted into the play position . however , the switching member cannot pivot back in the clockwise direction because a pin 18d has engaged a slot 9e in the servo rod 9 and is retained by a retaining edge 9f . as the servo rod 9 returns to the left the pin 18d is disengaged from the slot 9e so that after the return movement as shown in fig6 the switching member can pivot clockwise in the direction of the spring bias 18c , the transmission wheel 8 being disengaged from the switching wheel 19 . now the drive of the servo rod also ceases . a switching arm 18e has struck against a switch actuator 29 of a central switch and now sets the deck to the play mode . fig7 shows the deck in the standby position . in this position the holding magnet 28 is deactivated and a spring acting in a direction indicated by an arrow 26a causes the head support 26 to be pivoted anti - clockwise . the holding magnet 28 and an arm 26b of the head support have moved apart . as a result of the pivotal movement of the head support the latching lever 20 moves against the actuating pin 18b with its edge 20b . this causes the switching member 18 to pivot so far anti - clockwise that the transmission wheel 8 meshes again with the teeth 9d of the servo rod 9 via the switching wheel 19 . if the deck is to be set to the eject position the servo rod 9 moves to the left , the control cam 12a engaging with the control profile 14a . the pivotal lever 12 is now pivoted anti - clockwise and the reduction wheel 6 meshes with the transport wheel 10a . the loading drive 10 is self - engaging and brings itself rapidly into full engagement as soon as the teeth begin to mesh . as a result , the winding motor 3 sets the loading mechanism 21 shown in fig2 to the eject position . in the eject position ( fig1 ) the actuating projection 23h has again left the latching lever 20 so that the switching member 18 has been released and has pivoted clockwise , the transmission wheel 8 and the switching wheel 19 being out of mesh . during the change - over to the eject position the guide pins 23a and 23b have moved upward in the slots 22b , the pin 23b having simultaneously moved upward in the lowering slot 1g . as long as the lift slide 22 moves to the left towards the eject position and the cassette holder 23 is merely lifted the toothed - rack slide presses with its edge 16b against the actuating projection 23h of the cassette holder 23 . as long as the guide pin 23b moves upward in the slot 1g the lift slide 22 moves to the left in synchronism with the toothed - rack slide 16 because the toothed - rack slide 16 is retained by the actuating projection 23h . the spring 24 is not tensioned even in the case of a larger force between the lift slide 22 and the toothed - rack slide 16 because the movements of the lift slide 22 and the toothed - rack slide 16 are positively interlocked during this time . when the guide pin 23b moves around a comer 1m the holder 23 will move the lift slide 22 into the eject position . | 6 |
fig1 shows one embodiment of a wireless network of the present invention whereby an individual may use a hand - held wireless terminal 30 ( e . g ., a cellular phone ) enabled with a browser to view , select , and specify a delivery class for a web - based content from a content / service provider 13 via a data network such as the internet . in another embodiment the delivery class can automatically be selected for the user depending on the destination address , the content type , the content provider , and the sender agreement with the operator accompanied by billing information collected by the mcd system for each user . in this embodiment , the content / service provider 13 creates a message with both user selected content and delivery class , which it sends to a messaging transport system ( mts ) 12 , which analyzes wireless terminal capabilities and status , as well as is capable of delivering content message to the wireless terminal device 30 . the mts 12 acts as a gatekeeper of all content that is provided over the wireless network and also could possibly select the delivery class depending on the content or other network parameters in one particular embodiment . the mts 12 transmits the message to a mobile content delivery ( mcd ) system 11 describing an embodiment of the present invention . the mcd system 11 schedules a delivery time window of the content by analyzing the delivery class , wireless device location , existing network activity loading and the content size while taking into account the agreed upon user maximum delivery time . the mcd system 11 is provided with delivery time window flexibility provided the end - user did not select โ deliver now โ as the delivery class . the mcd system 11 also preferably tracks previous message deliveries in order to properly predict and schedule future message deliveries at a more cost - effective network activity time window without surpassing the agreed upon user maximum delivery time . the mobile content delivery system 11 will be discussed in detail hereinafter in connection with fig3 . moments before the pre - determined time window of delivery , mcd system 11 returns the message content to the mts 12 . the mts 12 relays a โ wake - up โ message to the short message system ( sms ) 10 , or an equivalent service center , which in - turn sends a โ wake - up โ message to the wireless terminal device 30 . the short message system 10 generates a short message and attaches a quality of service ( qos ) parameter which adjusts the speed of delivery of content through the network . the sms 10 , like the mts 12 , is a well - known component of the wireless network . once the scheduled delivery time window has arrived , the content is delivered to the end - user at the wireless terminal device 30 . in traditional cellular networks using less advanced terminal devices the content is fetched by the terminal device 30 using information in the โ wake - up โ message , in advanced networks the content is pushed to the wireless terminal device from the network , in this embodiment by the mts 12 . fig1 is a simplified illustration of the mobile content delivery wireless network . variants of fig1 can include transferring message content between multiple mcd systems 11 as well as selecting delivery servers other than mts 12 to deliver content to the end - user . these variations can occur while being transparent to both the end - user user at wireless terminal device 30 and the content service provider 13 . a detailed description of these variations are described in fig3 , 4 , and 5 . fig2 shows another embodiment of a wireless network of the present invention whereby an individual having an agreement with an operator allowing scheduled delivery may use a hand - held wireless terminal 30 ( e . g ., a cellular phone ) enabled with a browser to view and select web - based content from a content / service provider 13 via a data network such as the internet . the mcd system 11 is provided with the capability of listening to all traffic , intercepting and re - directing it , as well as being able to insert new data or modify existing data streams , while being able to coordinate downloading content from the content / service provider to the network . when the user with a hand - held wireless terminal 30 selects some large content from the content / service provider 13 , the mcd system 11 intercepts that traffic based on what has been specified for the user in the operator profile . the content / service provider 13 service continues sending the large content , but it is stored in the mcd system 11 instead of being sent to the wireless terminal device 30 . at the same time , the mcd system 11 informs ( e . g . with a specific web page ) the wireless terminal device 30 that the delivery is being scheduled , disconnects the terminal session and simultaneously downloads the most recent content from the content / service provider 13 to a cellular network 51 . the mcd system 11 schedules a delivery time window of the content using methods described earlier , and once the scheduled delivery time window has arrived , the content is delivered to the end - user at the wireless terminal device 30 using an existing push mechanism in the cellular network . in another possible variation the mcd system 11 could deliver just the content link address to wireless terminal 30 , allowing for the actual content to be downloaded at a later time to ensure the user receives the most current available content . fig3 shows one implementation of the mobile content delivery system 11 of the present invention . variants of fig3 can include different delay mechanisms ( selected by the user , specified by the content provider , or subscription - based ), as well as various transport mechanisms ( through the mcd system , through another system in the network , using pull or push depending on the wireless device capabilities ). these variations can occur while being transparent to the end - user user at wireless terminal device 30 . the components in this implementation shown in fig3 are : the mcd systems 11 ; a cellular network 51 ; which could be comprised of a delivery server 33 , a base station system 32 ; and a message buffering and scheduling engine 36 . on a larger scale , fig3 can be part of a wide area network comprising many users and multiple base stations to cover a large user region . the end - user locates content he wishes to receive via a browsing screen 31 on his wireless terminal device 30 . on the screen , the end - user selects the content and the desired class of delivery . in this example implementation the user selects a delivery class from three delivery classes : โ deliver now โ, for time critical data ; โ specified time delay โ delivery , for less critical data ; or , โ overnight delivery โ, which is the least expensive option . alternatively , his delivery class may also be selected automatically as described earlier . ( note : three classes of time delivery are shown for illustrative purposes only , the mcd system allows for numerous delivery classes and corresponding prices , set by the operator .) the user browsing session goes over the wireless network via base station system 32 , which in turn relays it to the content / service provider 13 through a layer 7 switch 35 connection to a data network such as the internet , extranet , intranet , lan , or alternate networks . the layer 7 switch 35 monitors messages for preset parameters to determine scheduled delivery . the content / service provider 13 creates a message based on receipt from the wireless terminal of addressing information such as : ip address or mobile phone number , default message server address , content request id , and the class of delivery , which it then routes to the message buffering and scheduling engine 36 of the selected mcd system 11 via the layer 7 switch 35 . depending on network data activity , the layer 7 switch 35 may re - direct the message content to another mcd system 11 with a lighter network server data activity load . alternatively , if the chosen transport mechanism ( in this example implementation the mts 12 ) supports usage of delivery class parameters , the layer 7 switch 35 may re - direct the message content to a different mts 12 , which communicates with the mcd system 11 . the message buffering and scheduling engine 36 fetches wireless network activity updates and current cell user location from cellular network 51 which it uses to schedule a time window to send the message to the wireless terminal device 30 based on the specified class of delivery , the user handset location , network capacity usage , and file size of the content . once the pre - determined delivery time window has arrived , the selected message buffering and scheduling engine 36 sends the re - directed message content to mts 12 ( reference fig1 ). the mts notifies the sms 10 ( reference fig1 ) to send a wake - up message to the wireless terminal device 30 via the cellular network 51 . the mts 12 acts a delivery server 33 and delivers the requested content to the wireless terminal device 30 via the cellular network 51 . in one embodiment , the mcd 11 can be the delivery server 33 , in another some other transport mechanism is used as delivery server by the mcd . the present invention allows the selection and re - direction of message content amongst various mcd systems 11 to be transparent to both the content service provider 13 and the wireless terminal device 30 allowing for just one destination address , as well as the option for wireless terminal device 30 having the capability of being the source of the content to be sent to the network with the permission of the mcd system . in a preferred embodiment the user receives message content to the terminal device 30 at a reduced price , without having to wait for it to arrive over an active wireless terminal session , making the experience a pleasant one . fig4 shows the functional logic flow of mobile content delivery in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention . in step 40 , the user browses content via the wireless terminal device 30 . in steps 41 and 42 , the user orders content and can preferably choose from user - selected and auto - selected classes of delivery . user - selected , allows the user to select the class of delivery , โ deliver now โ, or time delayed delivery as described earlier . auto - selected , is where a predetermined delivery class type is already established due to an existing agreement between the operator or content / service provider 13 and the user in order to avoid high delivery cost , for instance ; or , where the delivery class can possibly be linked to the content type automatically . ( note โ the network operator and the content service provider may or may not be the same entity .) in step 43 , a content / service provider 13 creates a content delivery message which includes the delivery class information in the message header . in step 44 , content provider 13 sends the message to the message buffering and scheduling engine 36 of the selected mcd system 11 over layer 7 switch 35 . the layer 7 switch 35 , monitors network data traffic and may re - direct message content 50 to other mcd systems 11 under lighter network loads , or to other systems supporting mcd functionality , in step 45 . in step 46 , the message buffering and scheduling engine 36 schedules the content delivery time window for the user and forwards the message content 50 to the messaging transport system ( mts ) 12 . as the delivery time window approaches , the mts 12 notifies the short message system ( sms ) 10 to send a โ wake - up โ message to the wireless terminal device 30 in step 47 . in step 48 , the sms 10 sends the โ wake - up โ message to wireless terminal device 30 via the cellular network 51 . in step 49 , the mts 12 forwards the message content 50 to the delivery server 33 via the cellular network 51 . in step 50 , the ordered message content 50 is delivered to the wireless terminal device 30 via delivery server 33 . fig5 shows details of a preferred embodiment of the message buffering and scheduling engine 36 within the mcd system 11 . it demonstrates the method by which the mobile content delivery system 11 schedules the delivery of content based on a number of wireless network parameters . in particular , the details of the interaction between the message buffering and scheduling engine 36 and other wireless network elements are shown . the l7 switch 35 receives the content delivery message 50 coming into the mobile network , consisting of necessary parameters to trigger the scheduled delivery , such as the address of the service where the content was viewed and ordered , the destination address of the wireless terminal device 30 ( or possibly a mobile phone number ) to which the content is to be delivered , the delivery class , and the body of the message , which contains the content to be delivered . the layer 7 switch 35 monitors messages and other network traffic and forwards those message content requests that have a delayed class of delivery . once an mcd system 11 is selected , the layer 7 switch 35 forwards the message content the message to the message buffering and scheduling engine 36 of the selected mobile content delivery system 11 . the layer 7 switch 35 may re - direct the message content to another mcd ( compatible ) system 11 as mentioned earlier . based on the delivery class , the message buffering and scheduling engine 36 records the earliest allowed time for delivery , as well as an expiration date in block 52 , that is used by the queue logic for the specific message . block 54 determines the priority of the message in a content queue 55 based on the delivery time window remaining . in parallel with the content queuing activity , the message buffering and scheduling engine 36 queries cellular network 51 in real time for the cell id corresponding to the cell in which the wireless terminal device 30 is currently located at block 56 . cell activity records are maintained in server database 57 . the message buffering and scheduling engine 36 uses these records as well as on - line queries in determining the cell &# 39 ; s capacity and usage in block 58 . off - line file transfer regarding cell activity records can be gathered to server database 57 from the cellular network 51 . on - line queries regarding cell activity can be done from the cellular network 51 at block 58 . at decision block 60 , the message buffering and scheduling engine 36 assesses past and present cell capacity , current user location , content file size , and time remaining to deliver content . if the decision block 60 determines that this is not an appropriate time window to deliver the message content , the queue priority of the message is adjusted based on the absolute time remaining to deliver the message content while taking into account the time lapsed to reach the โ no send โ decision . however , if decision block 60 determines that this an appropriate time window to deliver message content based on the aforementioned factors , the layer 7 switch 35 will designate a delivery server 33 selecting from a group of servers available to deliver the message content at block 61 . at block 62 , deliver server 33 delivers message content 50 to the wireless terminal device 30 . many plausible variations of fig5 exist based on chosen service and delivery mechanism , all parameterized in the mcd and transparent to wireless terminal device 30 and the content service provider 13 . fig6 shows a generalized usage profile for a wireless network air interface over a 24 hour day cycle within one territory . actual usage profiles can vary greatly from this illustration . the embodiment of the present invention delivers content via the wireless network taking into account such usage profiles . reference to the fig6 shows that in the morning between the hours of approximately 7 am and 10 am and the afternoon between the hours of approximately 3 pm and 6 pm the wireless network experiences the heaviest usage traffic . it would thus be most costly to deliver content during these time periods , and should be avoided unless the message is time critical . between the approximate hours of 10 am and 3 pm the data traffic falls off to approximately 50 - 55 % capacity , down from a peak of approximately 80 % capacity . finally , the ideal time to deliver message content is either during the early morning hours between midnight and 6 am or the late evening hours between 9 pm and midnight . during these time periods will likely present the most cost - effective time windows for scheduling delivery of content due to minimal network activity , which results in preserving the most network bandwidth . again , fig6 is a generalized illustration . realistically , there can be many peaks and nulls in usage throughout the twenty - four day cycle creating many cost - effective time windows of opportunity for mobile operators to deliver content , e . g ., 2 : 00 pm - 2 : 15 pm , without harming real - time wireless network traffic . fig7 illustrates some of the advantages provided to the service operator due to the embodiments of the present invention . the curved line represents a possible array of commercial services available on the market today , spanning from voice and text - based messaging to real - time video . the small content file size usually found in messaging , voice or equivalent services at a relative cost factor of 1 to 100 units per megabyte ( mb ) allows service operators to deliver this type of content essentially in real - time without suffering from cost spikes due to bandwidth limitations . without the present invention , however , delivering content having large file sizes such as image files and mp3 music audio files , in real time , would be difficult to manage due to the wireless network bandwidth constraints , especially during peak traffic hours . in addition , the low retail cost per mb that the user could reasonably be charged for such large transfers would make it almost economically unfeasible for service operators . the present invention introduces the option for the time delayed delivery region where the relative cost factor โ x โ is reduced to a fraction of x . in this region , content with the file size of image and mp3 files now can be delivered at a time when the wireless network has less demands for bandwidth which reduces the overall cost of content delivery to the user . the invention also makes it possible to lower the current traffic peaks by distributing the traffic over a longer time period . this time delayed delivery makes it economically feasible for service operators to deliver content in this spectrum of file size . finally , the third spectrum of content which demands the most network bandwidth , is graphics - rich browsing and real - time video files . in the absence of the present invention , the service operator could only charge a fraction per mb relative to what it could charge for messaging / voice services . delivering this type of large file size message content in the โ deliver now โ region would be cost prohibitive . the present invention allows large file content messages to be time - delay delivered at a pre - determined time window , taking advantage of low - load โ time windows โ in the network traffic loading profiles . the overnight delivery ( e . g ., selecting a time window within 24 hours ) option could result in a cost factor reduction to 2 . 5 % of x relative to the โ deliver now โ region . the significant reduction in cost to deliver high bandwidth content to the end - user will make delivering mobile services such as graphics - rich browsing and real - time video economically feasible . the three time delivery regions shown in fig7 are for illustrative purposes only , and can be defined by the operator or content / service provider . a variation of fig7 could include users tapping into other data network access mechanisms ( e . g . wlan , dvb - t , bluetooth etc .) through the mcd system allowing system operators to bill the user in the same manner , according to content delivery timing requirements . although the description above contains many specifics , these are merely provided to illustrate the invention and should not be construed as limitations of the invention &# 39 ; s scope . thus , it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the system and processes of the present invention without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention . accordingly , it is intended that the present invention cover its modifications and variations provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents . in this context , โ equivalents โ means each and every implementation for carrying out the functions in the claims , even if not explicitly described herein . | 7 |
while the drive circuit for an ink temperature control heater in an ink jet printer of the present invention is susceptible of numerous physical embodiments , depending upon the environment and requirements of use , substantial numbers of the herein shown and described embodiments have been made , tested and used , and all have performed in an eminently satisfactory manner . referring to fig3 a heater drive circuit embodying the present invention is shown and generally designated by the reference numeral 30 . in fig3 the same or similar structural elements as those shown in fig1 are designated by like reference numerals . the heater drive circuit 30 includes an amplifier for amplifying an output of the temperature - sensitive element 18 which is supplied to the non - inverting input of the comparator 22 of the heater drive circuit 10 shown in fig1 . that is , the inverting input of the amplifier 32 is connected via a resistor 34 to the junction of the temperature - sensitive elements 16 and 18 so as to be supplied with an output of the temperature sensitive - element 18 , which is responsive to atmospheric temperatures . the amplification ratio of the amplifier 32 is &# 34 ; 2 &# 34 ;. the non - inverting input of the amplifier 32 is supplied with the first reference voltage vref 1 which is necessary for supplying the heater 12 with power necessary for a buildup , by way of a resistor 36 . the output of the amplifier 32 is routed to the non - inverting input of the comparator 22 while being fed back to the inverting input via a resistor 38 . the operation of the first embodiment will be described with reference to the graph shown in fig4 . in fig4 the abscissa indicates an atmospheric temperature axis and the ordinate , an atmospheric temperature and heater temperature axis . a solid line ta 1 represents an atmospheric temperature sensed by the element 18 , a solid line ta 2 an apparent atmospheric temperature produced by doubling the atmospheric temperature ta 1 , a dotted line th 1 a heater temperature attainable with a prior art device , and a dotted line th 2 a heater temperature attainable with the illustrative embodiment . all the values in fig4 are shown in terms of temperature for convenience , although , properly speaking , they should be shown in terms of voltage . assume that the atmospheric temperature ta 1 is 10 ยฐ c . then , it is doubled to make the apparent atmospheric temperature ta 2 20 ยฐ c . the comparator 22 is constructed such that , when the sum of the outputs of the elements 16 and 18 has reached 60 ยฐ c ., its output is interrupted to stop the buildup control . therefore , the highest temperature allowed for a buildup stage of the heater 12 is 40 ยฐ c . thereby eliminating overshoot . in an extreme example , where the desired optimum ink temperature is 20 ยฐ c . and the atmospheric temperature ta 1 is 20 ยฐ c ., the heater 12 in accordance with the illustrative embodiment is controlled to keep its temperature th 2 lower than 20 ยฐ c . in contrast , the prior art device would allow the heater temperature to reach 40 ยฐ c . as indicated by th 2 , resulting in overshoot . in the embodiment described above , a heater temperature th 2 for the atmospheric temperature ta 1 of 5 ยฐ c . cannot rise beyond 50 ยฐ c . which is 5 ยฐ c . lower than that attainable with the prior art . th 1 = 55 ยฐ c . nevertheless , such may be compensated for by increasing the reference voltage vref 1 applied to the amplifier 32 by an amount matching with 5 ยฐ c ., or by slightly varying the gain of the amplifier 32 itself and the reference voltage vref 1 . in such a control , although the highest temperature allowed for a buildup is 25 ยฐ c . when the atmospheric temperature ta 1 is 20 ยฐ c ., it hardly effects the temperature of outflowing ink due to the heat capcity of the head , as shown in fig5 . in fig5 the abscissa indicates time and the ordinate , atmospheric temperature and ink outflow temperature . a solid line thl in fig5 represents buildup temperatures of the heater 12 for low atmospheric temperatures , a dotted line til ink outlfow temperatures for low atmospheric temperatures , a dotted line thh buildup temperatures of the heater 12 for high atmospheric temperatures , and a dotted line tih ink outflow temperatures for high atmospheric temperatures . further , indicated by td is a temperature loss resulting from the distance between the heater and the head . after the ink temperature buildup control performed as described , the error amplifier 24 sets up a normal or stationary control so that a current is allowed to flow through the heater 12 via the diode 28 . referring to fig6 a second embodiment of the present invention is shown . in fig6 the same or similar structural elements as those shown in fig3 are designated by like reference numerals . as shown , connected between a power source + v and ground are a series connection of resistors 40 and 42 , a series connection of a resistor 44 and the temperature - sensitive element 16 responsive to heater temperature , and a series connection of a resistor 46 and the temperature - sensitive element 18 responsive to atmospheric temperature . the junction of the resistors 40 and 42 is connected to the inverting input of a differential amplifier 50 via a resistor 48 , while the junction of the resistor 44 and the element 16 is connected to the non - inverting input of the differential amplifier 50 via a resistor 52 and to the inverting input of the error amplifier 24 via a resistor 54 . the junction of the resistor 46 and the element 18 is connected to the inverting input of the error amplifier 24 via a resistor 56 and to the non - inverting input of the differential amplifier 50 via a resistor 58 . the output v 50 of the differential amplifier 50 is connected to the inverting input of the comparator 22 . supplied to the non - inverting input of the comparator 22 is the first reference voltage vref 1 . the non - inverting input of the error amplifier 24 is supplied with the second reference voltage vref 2 . the outputs of the comparator 22 and error amplifier 24 are routed to the heater 12 via the diodes 26 and 28 , respectively . in the embodiment shown in fig6 the resistors 40 , 42 , 44 and 46 are equal in resistance to each other and so are the resistors 52 , 54 and 58 . assuming that the temperature coefficient of the element 16 is &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ;, for example , the temperature coefficient of the element 18 is predetermined to the larger than &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; and , in the illustrative embodiment , it is assumed to be &# 34 ; 2 &# 34 ;. the resistances of the resistors 54 and 56 , which are respectively associated with the temperature coefficients of the elements 16 and 18 , are represented respectively by r 54 and r 56 which are in a ratio r 54 / r 56 = 1 / 2 . that is , an arrangement is made such that the temperature coefficients of voltages applied from the elements 16 and 18 to the error amplifier 24 are identical with each other . the differential amplifier 50 functions to weight the output voltages of the elements 16 and 18 each by &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; and serves as an adder for adding the two output voltages to each other . as shown in fig4 the input to the inverting input of the error amplifier 24 represents the sum of a true heater temperature th 2 and an atmospheric temperature ta 1 . the heater drive circuit shown in fig6 is operated as will be described hereinafter with reference to fig4 . in fig4 the solid line ta 1 represents an atmospheric temperature attained with a temperature coefficient &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; assigned to the element 18 , the solid line ta 2 an atmospheric temperature attained with a temperature coefficient &# 34 ; 2 &# 34 ; assigned to the element 18 , the dotted line th 1 a heater temperature in accordance with the prior art device , and the dotted line th 2 a heater temperature in accordance with the second embodiment of the present invention . the temperature ta 2 is an apparent value because it is assumed to be double the temperature coefficient which produces a relative temperature . assume that the atmospheric temperature ta 1 is 20 ยฐ c . then , since the temperature coefficient of the temperature - sensitive element 18 is double the temperature coefficient of the temperature - sensitive element 16 , the apparent atmospheric temperature ta 2 is 40 ยฐ c . and the heater temperature th 2 is 20 ยฐ c ., causing no overshoot . as in the first embodiment , a heater temperature th 2 for the atmospheric temperature of 5 ยฐ c . cannot rise beyond 50 ยฐ c . which is 5 ยฐ c . lower than that attainable with the prior art , th 1 = 55 ยฐ c . nevertheless , such may be compensated for by increasing the reference voltage vref 1 applied to the comparator 22 by an amount matching with 5 ยฐ c . after the ink temperature buildup control performed as described , the error amplifier 24 sets up a normal or stationary control so that a current is allowed to flow through the heater 12 via the diode 28 . since the resistances r 54 and r 56 of the resistors 54 and 56 are selected to be in a ratio r 54 / r 56 = 1 / 2 , the temperature coefficient of the temperature - sensitive element 18 is equivalently &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; thereby effecting an ordinary control . in the second embodiment , it is substantially possible to precisely double the temperature coefficient of the atmospheric temperature sensor 18 and vary the second reference voltage vref 2 . however , so predetermining a temperature coefficient is quite difficult and adds to the cost and , in this respect , weighting by the differential amplifier 50 as in the second embodiment is more advantageous . in summary , it will be seen that the present invention provides a heater drive circuit which speeds up temperature elevation of liquid to an optimum level at a buildup stage without any overshoot or undershoot and without being effected by the atmospheric temperature . this advantage is derived from the inherent construction in which , as described in conjunction with the first embodiment , a voltage developed by amplifying by an amplifier an output voltage of an element sensitive to an atmospheric temperature by a suitable ratio larger than &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; is compared with a predetermined reference voltage , and the supply of power to the heater is controlled in response to a result of the comparison or , as described in conjunction with the second embodiment , the temperature coefficient of the temperature sening element is made larger than that of an element sensitive to a heater temperature , outputs of the two elements are weighted by a same amount and then added , the summation output voltage is compared with a predetermined reference voltage , and the supply of power to the heater at a buildup is controlled in response to a result of the comparison . while the embodiments have been partly described taking for example ink which is used with an ink jet printer , it will be apparent that the heater drive circuit in accordance with the present invention finds application to other various liquids whose temperatures should be controlled by a heater or even to gases or solid matters . various modifications will become possible for those skilled in the art after receiving the teachings of the present disclosure without departing from the scope thereof . | 6 |
the following language is of the best presently contemplated mode or modes of carrying out the invention . this description is made for the purpose of illustrating the general principles of the invention and should not be taken in a limiting sense . the scope of the invention is best determined by reference to the appended claims . the reference numerals as depicted in the drawings are the same as those referred to in the specification . the structures employed basically the same components with variations in location or quantity thereby giving rise to the alternative constructions in which the inventive concept can be practiced . fig1 illustrates an asymmetrical pneumatic tire formed in accordance with the present invention . the tire is a molded tire , inflated to a standard operating pressure , but under no load . the pneumatic tire is a self - supporting tire , enabling limited operation of the tire during low - inflation conditions . the tire carcass has at least one reinforcing ply 12 , the ply 12 extending from one bead area 14 of the tire to the opposing bead area 16 . both ends of the ply 12 are turned axially inward to axially outward about bead cores 18 and bead apexes 20 . when the tire is formed of at least two reinforcing plies 12 , the innermost reinforcing ply has terminal ends that extend past the radially outer ends of the bead apexes and the terminal ends of the outermost reinforcing ply ; thereby enveloping the bead apexes 20 and other ply ends . axially inward of the reinforcing ply 12 , and located in each sidewall region of the tire , is a sidewall insert 22 . the inserts 22 are formed of elastomeric material and extend from the crown area , radially inward of the belt structure 24 , to radially inward of the outermost terminal end of the bead apexes 20 , overlapping the bead apexes 20 . the elastomeric material of the inserts 22 is selected to provide the tire with support during underinflated operation of the tire . in the crown area of the tire is a belt structure 24 , located radially outward of the carcass structure . the belt structure 24 has at least two inclined , crossed cord plies 26 . the cords in the belt plies 26 are inclined with respect to the circumferential direction and preferably , the cords in directly adjacent plies are inclined at similar but opposing angles to each other . outward of the cross cord plies 26 may be at least one overlay ply 28 . if employed in the tire , the overlay ply 28 has a width equal or greater than the maximum width of the crossed cord plies 26 , encapsulating the crossed cord plies between the overlay ply 28 and the carcass reinforcing ply 12 . the overlay ply 28 is reinforced with cords inclined at angles of 15 ยฐ or less , preferably at 0 ยฐ, relative to the equatorial plane ep of the tire . in assembling the illustrated tire as a green tire , i . e . an uncured tire , the internal construction of the various reinforcing plies and sidewall inserts is symmetrical with respect to a center position of a building drum . even after the green tire is expanded into a torodial configuration , prior to molding and curing of the tire , the tire has a symmetrical configuration about the green tire centerline . the green tire is cured in a mold having an asymmetrical configuration . after curing of the tire , due to the selected mold configuration , the tire has an asymmetric profile with respect to the tire equatorial plane ep . one tire half o is identified as the outboard side of the tire and the opposing tire half i is the inboard side of the tire ; inboard and outboard sides i , o of the tire being relative to the mounting position of the tire on a vehicle . the tire has a bead base line , b , along which the tire equatorial plane ep is positioned at a distance of ยฝ the length of the bead base line , the length of the bead base line b being measured from the axially outer surface of the bead areas 14 , 16 . the bead areas 14 , 16 of the molded tire are symmetrical in configuration , thus , the location of the equatorial plane ep may also be determined from the distance between the axially and radially innermost locations of the bead areas 14 , 16 . the outer surface of each tread half 30 , 32 is characterized by different radii of curvature . the outboard side o of the tire is defined by not more than five radii of curvature , with the radius decreasing from the tread equatorial plane ep to the tread shoulder s โฒ. this results in a tread profile with a more rounded shoulder for this tread half 32 . the inboard side i of the tire is defined by continually , or smoothly , decreasing radii of curvature from the tread equatorial plane ep to the tread shoulder s . this results in a profile with a less rounded shoulder for this tread half 30 . the different curvatures results in each tread half 30 , 32 having a different width wt ( inboard side i ), wt โฒ ( outboard side o ) in the axial direction of the tire , as measured perpendicular to the equatorial plane ep , along a line e from the tire equatorial plane ep to line f or line f โฒ. line e is drawn perpendicular to the tire equatorial plane ep and tangent to the tread at the equatorial plane ep . lines f ( inboard side i ) and f โฒ ( outboard side o ) being tangent to one of the belt edges of the maximum width belt layer and parallel to the tire equatorial plane ep . the inboard tread half i has a width wt in the range of 90 to 110 % of the outboard tread half width wt โฒ. the distance d , d โฒ along lines f or f โฒ from the surface of the tread to line e is also measured in each tread half 30 , 32 . the distance d , also known as the shoulder drop , is greater for the inboard side of the tire than the shoulder drop distance d โฒ for the outboard tire side . the inboard shoulder drop d is in the range of 100 to 140 % of the outboard shoulder drop d โฒ. each tire sidewall has a maximum width ws , ws โฒ as measured from the tire equatorial plane ep to the radially outer surface of the tire sidewall . each sidewall half has a different maximum sectional width ws , ws โฒ. the wider inboard sidewall maximum width ws is in the range of 100 to 110 % of the opposing outboard sidewall maximum width ws โฒ. additionally , the radial height a , a โฒ, as measured from the bead base line b and parallel to the equatorial plane ep , of the maximum width ws , ws โฒ of each sidewall differs . the small inboard radial height a is in the range of 80 to 100 % of the greater outboard radial height a โฒ. for the illustrated tire , the tire half having the greater maximum sectional width ws , the inboard side , the maximum sectional width has a radial height a smaller in value than the radial height a โฒ of the opposing outboard sidewall maximum sectional width ws โฒ. thus , the inboard side of the tire has a greater cross sectional width , but at a radially lower position . the profile of the tire as discussed above results in a tire having the inboard side of the tire being softer than the outboard side of the tire . in testing a sample tire , the load distribution of each sidewall was determined after vertically loading a mounted , uninflated tire at 350 kg ; the tire was subject to 0 degree camber . the outboard side of the tire carried 64 % of the load versus 34 % of the load carried by the inboard side . thus , the desired asymmetry was achieved . all of the above discussed asymmetrical parameters , the different tread curvatures โ as described by the combination of the two parameter ratios of the tread half width and shoulder drop ( wt / wt โฒ and d / d โฒ)โ for each tread half , the different maximum sidewall widths ws , ws โฒ for each tire half , and the different maximum sidewall width heights a , a โฒ, while shown all in a single tire embodiment , are independent of each other . depending on the desired asymmetry of the tire , only one or several of the parameters may be formed asymmetrically while the remaining parameters are symmetrical . a tire similar to the tire as illustrated in fig1 was manufactured to determine the improvement in tire performance . a symmetrical green tire was formed , and molded in an asymmetrical mold to result in an asymmetrical tire cross - sectional profile . the tire has the following characteristics under inflation pressure with no load : another symmetrical green tire , identical in construction to the cured asymmetrical tire , was molded in a symmetrical mold . both tires were mounted on a test wheel , subjected to different camber angles , and operated at zero inflation pressure to determine the run - flat mileage of the two tires . the results are shown in fig2 . for negative camber angles , the asymmetrical cured tire has greater durability than the symmetrical run - flat tire . the inventors use the sae convention that negative camber means loading the inboard tire side . the molding of the symmetrical green tire in an asymmetric mold to form an asymmetrical cured tire is just one method to achieve a run - flat tire with improved durability under high camber conditions . alternative methods consist of molding an asymmetric green tire in a symmetrical mold or a combination of molding an asymmetrical green tire in an asymmetrical mold . fig3 illustrates another asymmetrical run - flat tire in accordance with the present goal of improving the tire characteristics of a run - flat tire operated under camber conditions . the tire has a symmetrical profile in cross - section , as opposed to the asymmetrical profile tire of fig1 , the green tire being molded in a symmetrical mold . it has an inboard side i and an outboard side o . the tire carcass has at least one reinforcing ply 50 , the ply 50 extending from one bead portion 52 of the tire to the opposing bead portion 54 . both ends of the ply 50 are turned axially inward to axially outward about bead cores 56 and bead apexes 58 . when the tire is constructed with at least two plies 50 , the innermost reinforcing ply has terminal ends that extend past the radially outer ends of the bead apexes 58 and the terminal ends of the outermost reinforcing ply ; thereby enveloping the bead apexes 58 and other ply ends . axially inward of the reinforcing ply 50 , and located in each sidewall region of the tire , is a sidewall insert 60 . the inserts 60 are formed of elastomeric material and extend from the crown area , radially inward of the belt structure 62 , to radially inward of the outermost terminal end 64 of the bead apexes 58 , overlapping the bead apexes 58 . the elastomeric material of the inserts 60 is selected to provide the tire with support during underinflated operation of the tire . however , to compensate for the camber values to which the tire will be subjected , the elastomer forming the insert 60 in one tire sidewall has different physical characteristics than from the elastomer forming the insert 60 in the opposing sidewall . preferably , the insert 60 in the outboard sidewall o has a modulus of elasticity greater than the insert 60 in the inboard sidewall i . to further modify the tire sidewall characteristics to offset the camber effects , the number of reinforcing plies in the outboard side bead portion 54 of the tire may be greater than the number of reinforcing plies in the opposing inboard bead portion 52 . the at least one additional reinforcing ply 66 located in the outboard bead portion may be additional chafer , chipper , or flipper layers . the additional reinforcing ply 66 may or be not be cord reinforced . if the reinforcing ply is not cord reinforced , the modulus of the ply 66 is distinct from the modulus of the plies or rubber layers ( such as the sidewall layer ) that surrounds the additional reinforcing ply 66 . if the additional reinforcing ply 66 is cord reinforced , the cords are inclined at angles of 15 ยฐ to 75 ยฐ with respect to the circumferential direction of the tire . alternatively , or in addition , the modulus of the reinforcing plies in the outboard bead portion 54 and / or sidewall may be greater than the modulus of the reinforcing plies in the opposing inboard bead portion 52 and / or sidewall . the greater modulus may be achieved by a greater modulus of the reinforcing cords in the reinforcing plies or a greater modulus of the coating compound of the reinforcing plies . alternatively , the additional reinforcing ply 66 may be a radial half carcass ply . the half carcass ply initiates at any location radially inward of the belt structure 62 and extends through the outboard sidewall and into the bead region 54 . the half carcass may be directly adjacent to the main carcass reinforcement ply 50 and be turned up about the bead core 56 from axially inward of the bead core 56 to axially outward of the bead core 56 . the half carcass may , alternatively , be directly adjacent only a portion of the main carcass reinforcement ply and then be directly adjacent the turn - up portion 51 of the main carcass reinforcement ply 50 , with the radially inner end of the half carcass being turned about the bead core 56 from axially outwardly to the axially inwardly . the cords in the radial half carcass ply are inclined at an angle in the range of 75 ยฐ to 90 ยฐ relative to the circumferential direction of the tire . another method of modifying the tire construction to achieve the desired asymmetrical nature of the run - flat tire is illustrated in fig4 . the run - flat tire has a symmetrical profile in cross - section and has an inboard side i and an outboard side o . in the bead portion 52 , 54 of each sidewall , between the main portion 72 of the carcass reinforcing ply 50 and the turn - up portions 74 of the carcass reinforcing plies 50 , is the bead core 56 and a bead apex 68 , 70 . the apex 68 , 70 is formed of elastomeric material and has a wedge - like shape to maintain a spacing between the main 72 and turn - up portions 74 of the carcass reinforcing ply 50 . the apex 70 in the outboard side o of the tire has a terminal , or end , point t radially outward of the terminal point t โฒ of the apex 68 in the inboard side i of the tire . this results in the outboard side o of the tire have a greater strength or stiffness than the inboard side i of the tire . alternatively , or in addition , the greater strength in one side of the tire may be achieved by forming the apex 70 in the outboard side o of the tire from a greater modulus material than the material used for the apex 68 in the opposing , inboard side i of the tire . alternatively , or in addition , the additional strength material in the outboard sidewall may be provided by an additional insert 80 that is not provided in the opposing sidewall , see fig5 . the additional insert 80 may be located between the main 72 and turn - up portions 74 of the reinforcing plies 50 , between the main portions 72 of adjacent reinforcing plies 50 , or axially outward of the turn - up portion 74 of the carcass reinforcing plies 50 . any of the above disclosed variations creating an asymmetric tire with respect to the strength of each tire half may be combined amongst themselves or with any or all of the profile varying features disclosed in the tire of fig1 . | 8 |
the present invention is described with reference to a specific embodiment which is selected for the purpose of illustration , but it will be clear to a person skilled in the art that numerous changes can be made without departing from the basic concept of the present invention and its scope of disclosure . the present invention will be understood more clearly if referring to the description of embodiments of the present invention as explained below with reference to the attached drawings . fig1 is a view which shows a cross - section of an electromagnetic clutch ( 10 ) in the state where the clutch is off . in the state where the clutch is off , the armature ( 12 ) and the rotor ( 16 ) are separated in state . in this state , the rotational power from the engine is just transmitted to the rotor ( 16 ) and is not transmitted through the armature ( 12 ) to the hub structure ( 11 ). the rotor ( 16 ) races in this state . fig2 is a view which shows a cross - section of an electromagnetic clutch ( 10 ) in the state where the clutch is on . at this time , the frictional surface ( 12 a ) of the armature ( 12 ) is attracted by the magnetic force of the electromagnetic coil ( 18 ) to the frictional surface ( 16 a ) of the rotor ( 16 ). the torque is transmitted through the attracted frictional surface to the hub structure ( 11 ). further , the armature ( 12 ) and rotor ( 16 ) form a magnetic circuit ( 21 ). the frictional surface ( 16 a ) of the rotor ( 16 ) and / or the frictional surface ( 12 a ) of the armature ( 12 ) of the electromagnetic clutch ( 10 ) of the present invention are formed with relief surfaces with a surface roughness rz of 10 ฮผm or more and a hardness measured by a nano indenter of 4 gpa or more . the relief shapes do not have to be regularly arranged and may also be randomly arranged . the surface roughness rz which is referred to here is the 10 - point average roughness which is prescribed by the japan industrial standard ( jis b 0601 - 1994 ) and is a value which is measured by a surface roughness measuring device which is generally known to a person skilled in the art . such a relief surface can be formed by making sharp polygonal shaped blasting materials such as shown in fig5 strike the frictional surface ( 16 a ) of the rotor ( 16 ) and / or the frictional surface ( 12 a ) of the armature ( 12 ). the force propelling the blasting materials can be sufficiently provided by compressed air . a high pressure such as with shot blasting is not required , so in production of the electromagnetic clutch of the present invention , it is preferable to use blasting by air blasting . if relief surfaces with a surface roughness rz of 10 ฮผm or more and a hardness measured by a nano indenter of 4 gpa or less are present on the entire surfaces of the frictional surfaces ( 16 a , 12 a ), the effect of improvement of the transmitted torque can be exhibited to the maximum extent . however , the relief surfaces do not need to be formed on the entire surfaces of the frictional surfaces ( 16 a , 12 a ). it is sufficient to form the relief surfaces over at least predetermined areas for giving the necessary effect of improvement of the transmitted torque . fig4 shows one example of an air blasting system . in the system of fig4 , the blasting materials are sucked up by the force of the air of a dust collector ( 41 ). the sucked up blasting materials are blasted toward the work ( 43 ) by an air gun ( 42 ) using the force of compressed air . air blasting has been used since the past for deburring using spherical blasting materials etc . in the method of production of the electromagnetic clutch ( 10 ) of the present invention , the object is to make the blasting materials strike the material to be processed so as to form relief surfaces , so the blasting materials are not the spherical shape which is used for deburring etc . sharp polygonal shape ones are used . due to this , the frictional surface of the rotor ( 16 ) and / or the frictional surface of the armature ( 12 ) of the material to be processed are gouged and relief surfaces are formed . this is a characterizing feature of the present invention . if using spherical blasting materials , the material to be processed is not gouged and the relief surfaces forming the characterizing feature of the present invention are not formed . further , if the hardness of the blasting materials is two times or more the hardness of the surface to be processed , the surface to be processed is gouged , so this is preferable for forming the relief surfaces . here , the โ hardness โ means the value measured using a nano indenter and expressed by ( maximum load )/( contact area of indenter and sample ). as the material of the specific blasting materials which can be used in the present invention , for example , steel , al 2 o 3 , sic , etc . can be mentioned . two or more of these may also be used mixed . of course , there is no problem even if some impurities etc . are included . further , the particle size of the blasting materials is preferably 0 . 5 to 3 mm or so . fig6 shows the surface conditions of a worked frictional surface . it can be confirmed that relief shapes are formed at the surface and that a sponge - like layer of a depth of 20 ฮผm or so is formed . due to this , when the frictional surface ( 16 a ) of the rotor ( 16 ) and the frictional surface ( 12 a ) of the armature ( 12 ) contact , the frictional surface area becomes larger , so the transmitted torque is improved . the relief surfaces may be formed at either of the frictional surface ( 16 a ) of the rotor ( 16 ) and the frictional surface ( 12 a ) of the armature ( 12 ) which contact each other to transmit torque , but may also be formed at both . further , the relief surfaces are preferably formed at the entire circumferences of the frictional surfaces , but the effect of the present invention may also be obtained even if applied to just parts . further , the frictional surface ( 16 a ) of the rotor ( 16 ) and the frictional surface ( 12 a ) of the armature ( 12 ) have sometimes been coated with an extreme pressure agent in the past to prevent surface roughness at the time of engagement and disengagement of the clutch . if applying the present invention to such surfaces , the result becomes the microstructure such as shown in fig6 , whereby the effects are obtained that the ability to hold an additive becomes better and surface roughness can be prevented more . further , even when other surface treatment is performed , by applying the present invention to the surfaces to form a microstructure , the surface treatment material is buried in the iron material , so it is possible to obtain the effect of improvement of the corrosion resistance , improvement of the transmitted torque , prevention of sticking , etc . an air blasting system ( made by sintokogio , my - 30b ) was used to blast commercially available steel blasting materials ( made by sintokogio , sb steel grit gh - 3 ) on the frictional surface of the rotor of the magnetic clutch . the blasting conditions were made a compressed air pressure of 0 . 3 mpa , a blasting distance of 15 cm , and a blasting time of 10 seconds . a single blasting operation was performed . the hardness of the frictional surface of the rotor before blasting was measured by a nano indenter whereupon it was 4 . 3 gpa , while after blasting , it was 1 . 2 gpa . fig7 shows a comparison of transmitted torques of an electromagnetic clutch which uses a rotor which is treated as in the present invention and is formed with a relief surface on its frictional surface and a conventional electromagnetic clutch . as clear from the results of fig7 , according to the present invention , it could be confirmed that the transmitted torque is improved 10 % compared with a conventional electromagnetic clutch . note that embodiments of the present invention were explained by giving specific examples , but the present invention is not limited to these examples . various modifications not departing from the description of the claims and within the range able to be easily conceived of by a person skilled in the art are also included in the present invention needless to say . | 5 |
fig1 schematically shows a defibrillator , having a base unit 1 that contains a set of defibrillator electronics , with an electrode arrangement 2 connected to it via a connecting line 15 , which arrangement includes defibrillation electrodes and can also have measurement electrodes if needed or an integrated sensor system for measurement signals to be picked up from the patient , for example ekg signals , as is intrinsically customary in such defibrillators that can be externally worn by a patient . the connecting line 15 , which has a number of wires , is electrically connected to the base unit 1 either permanently or by a plug . the set of defibrillator electronics of the base unit 1 is divided into a plurality of submodules that are advantageously associated with various defibrillation components such as an energy storage unit with one or more capacitors , a charging device for the energy storage unit , a switch arrangement for forming the defibrillation pulse , a set of control electronics , an ekg amplifier , a signal analysis circuit , an hv output stage , and a user interface . additional components can include , for example , communications modules ( gsm modules , umts modules ), a gps module for locating the patient , or components of a human / machine interface . the submodules are connected to one another electrically via connecting lines 16 and mechanically via a flexible coupling such as a flexible support 18 โฒ, accommodated in respective secondary covers 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , and form a combination that is interconnected in a functionally reliable fashion via the flexible electrical and mechanical coupling and that is arranged in a planar form in the exemplary embodiment shown in fig1 . fig2 shows an exemplary embodiment for a combination of submodules , with the secondary covers 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 arranged in a row in which the submodules are connected via connecting lines 16 to a bus line 17 with a suitable number of wires and are mechanically coupled , for example , by a flexible support 18 โฒ. in the additional exemplary embodiment according to fig3 , the submodules with their secondary covers 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 are mechanically connected to one another in a chain - link fashion by the mechanical coupling 18 , which are embodied in the form of flexible coupling means such as flexible plastic , a textile , or elements that are hooked to one another and are electrically connected to one another via connecting lines 16 . the individual secondary covers 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 can be embodied in various ways , for example as strong , relatively rigid flat plastic housings or as flexible receiving pockets made of a plastic material and / or woven material . they can be suitably adapted in shape and with regard to body compatibility and are designed as flexible and / or soft in order to adapt to various situations in life , such as for good mobility or for a person who is resting . in addition , the material can be suitably selected for gentleness to skin , for absorption of body temperature or perspiration , or for allowing said temperature or perspiration to pass through . in addition , a moisture protection for the electronics contained in the secondary covers can be achieved by correspondingly moisture - proof material and moisture - proof closures . on the whole , it is thus possible on the one hand to assure a high degree of wearing comfort and on the other , to assure a reliable functionality . fig3 shows a series - arrangement of the secondary covers 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , which are electrically connected to one another via electrical connecting lines 16 and are mechanically coupled to one another in chain - link fashion via elastic or interlinked coupling means 18 . advantageous embodiments can be achieved through special embodiments of the installed components , such as by using flat capacitors without housings , by varying the chain , such as by subdividing the link chain , by installing the components in a vest , or by forming them into a two - dimensional chain link lattice . fig3 a and 3b schematically show more details of a series arrangement in the form of a link chain , with essential components of the structure , including an element housing 1 with a plurality of secondary covers in the form of housing modules a , b , c ( chain link b such as for a capacitor block 30 ) that are movably coupled to one another in the form of a chain . for example , on a supporting base 50 , the chain link b has a cup - shaped bottom part 20 for a capacitor block 30 and the electrical connection is produced by flat conductors 40 with appropriate contact points 60 . by way of example , fig3 a and 3b show the embodiment of a still - open housing module b with an appropriate submodule for a capacitor block and its connection to the two adjacent modules a and c . the drawings do not show the still - needed closure of the submodule by a for example welded cover . correspondingly , the housing module can also accommodate other components selected from among those mentioned above or from still other components . in an arrangement of the submodules of the defibrillator electronics in housing modules a , b , c that are connected to form such a link chain , a belt that is formed with the link chain can also be used , for example , to position electrodes . the above - described embodiments of the defibrillator base unit 1 with the submodules , which are contained in the secondary covers 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 and are connected to one another to form a flexible mechanical combination via the flexible mechanical coupling means and electrical connections , achieve a spatial separation of individual functional units of the main defibrillator devices so that the defibrillator is convenient to wear , particularly over the long term . it is also possible for individual functional units , such as the main voltage capacitor arrangement , to be subdivided to a greater or lesser degree into a plurality of modules . on the whole , this achieves an ergonomic adaptation of the defibrillator as a composite system to the body of the wearer . an embodiment in which the submodules are mounted onto a flexible support material 18 โฒ, such as made of a cohesive flexible plastic or fiber composite such as a textile , likewise permits a planar arrangement or series arrangement of the submodules , thus permitting an ergonomically favorable adaptation to the body of the wearer . the electrical connecting lines of the submodules can be integrated into the support material 18 โฒ, for example by textile cables with stable electrical properties or by flexible printed circuit boards . in an advantageous embodiment , the support material 18 โฒ can be in the form of a protective cover and the secondary covers can be in the form of pockets in the support material so that the electrical connecting means and / or the defibrillator electronics are accommodated in them in a protective fashion . here , too , it is possible to produce the electrical connection to a bus system with definite lines that are separate from the high - voltage lines and can then be contacted individually by the submodules when they are attached support material . the flexible arrangement of the individual submodules in the composite permits an advantageous ergonomic adaptation of the defibrillator system to the wearer . | 0 |
the push drive shown in the drawing figure includes a piston 1 in a rotating body 2 , whereby the oil which exerts pressure upon the piston passes through a passageway 3 from a fixed housing 4 to the rotating parts . the force of the piston 1 is transmitted by a piston rod 5 to a pusher part 6 in a basket 7 . the basket 7 is connected to the body 2 by a hollow shaft 8 , this shaft resting on the housing 4 at a bearing 9 and provided with a pulley drive at 10 for effecting rotational movement . seals 11 and 12 prevent hydraulic fluid from escaping into the processing area . a distributor cone 13 , a cap 14 , and a feed pipe 15 , all known conventional machine parts which are a function of the centrifuging process to be preformed do not require explanation in conjunction with the push drive . as thus far described , the pusher centrifuge and drive are conventional . the components corresponding to the invention are a rotary control valve 17 , driven by a hydraulic motor 16 ( here shown as a gear motor ), the rotary control valve 17 being supported on the piston body 2 by a roller bearing 18 and alternately connecting a supply passage 19 and an exhaust 20 with piston connections 21 and 22 , respectively , corresponding to chambers 23 and 24 . the rotary control valve 17 is identical to the valve disclosed in u . s . pat . no . 3 , 768 , 516 , except that in the present invention the hydraulic motor 16 drives the valve 17 , instead of an operating handle ( element 14 in u . s . pat . no . 3 , 768 , 516 , hereby incorporated by reference ). rotary control valve 17 alternately supplies and exhausts fluid to chambers 23 and 24 . when valve 17 is in a first position , fluid is supplied to chamber 23 from supply passage 19 , through valve 17 , and piston connection 21 . simultaneously , chamber 24 is exhausted of fluid , as the fluid flows from chamber 24 through piston connection 22 , valve 17 and exhaust 20 . when the valve 17 is in a second position , the internal connections in valve 17 are reversed whereby fluid is supplied to chamber 24 , and chamber 23 is exhausted . the hydraulic motor 16 is supplied with fluid through a passageway 26 provided next to a rear bearing 25 . an exhaust 27 goes to a collecting chamber 28 and back to a reservoir 30 via a stub passage 29 . a variable pump 31 controls the rpm of the hydraulic motor 16 , and consequently , controls the stroke frequency of the piston 1 by action of the coupled rotary control valve 17 . similarly , adjustment of a second pump 32 determines the stroke length of the piston 1 , with the stroke frequency remaining constant . a valve 35 , axially adjustable by a spindle 33 and a lock nut 34 , connects the chamber 23 or 24 , depending on its position , with a flow control valve 38 via bores 36 and 37 , depending on the position of piston 1 . the rotary control valve 17 has a valve plane 54 in which the open ends of the four passages or conduits 19 , 20 , 21 and 22 lie . the passage or conduit 19 eventually is connected to the supply terminal of the second pump 32 , the passageway being from the passage or conduit 19 to an annular conduit , designed as a groove , from there to a radial bore and through a schematically represented outer line . the passage or conduit 20 is connected to the collecting chamber 28 which in turn is in connection , via the stub passage 29 , with the open reservoir 30 having no pressure . therefore the passage or conduit 20 is an exhaust passage . the passage or conduit 21 is open to the chamber 23 on the one side of the piston 1 ; the passage or conduit 22 is open to the chamber 24 on the other side of piston 1 . the chambers 23 , 24 are part of an annular groove 55 in the body 2 , and separated by the piston 1 , which is integral with the piston rod 5 . the piston rod 5 with the piston 1 can axially move from one end of the groove 55 to the other . as made clear in the drawing , the passages or conduits 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 are open in the valve plane 54 at different locations ( see dashed lines of the passages 19 and 22 ). the valve 35 has two input ports , each connected and disconnected to one of the chambers 23 , 24 by the displacement of the piston 1 during a piston stroke , and an output port connected to the flow control valve 38 , for alternately producing a leakage current of fluid from each chamber 23 , 24 . fluid current is from bores 36 and 37 , which are at high pressure to leakage bores 39 and 40 via the flow control valve 38 . the valve 35 is built into the piston rod 5 ; it cannot be separated , therefore , from the piston rod 5 and the piston 1 , both being parts of this valve . the valve 35 includes a valve body 57 inserted in an axial bore 58 in the piston rod 5 in such manner that the axially movable piston rod 5 glides over the outer cylindrical surface of the valve body 57 . the plurality of the radial bores 36 , 37 in the piston rod 5 is located in extensions of both side faces of the piston 1 in the groove 55 . an annular groove 59 is provided in the valve body 57 , the axial width of which is less than the maximum axial spacing between the bores 36 and 37 . a diametrical bore 60 is provided in the valve body 57 connecting two opposite locations in a groove 59 . a central axial bore 61 is connected to a diametrical bore 60 . the spring - loaded flow control valve 38 is positioned in the bore 60 . radial bores 62 in valve body 57 connects the output side of the flow control valve 38 to a portion 63 of the bore 58 having a larger diameter . the piston rod 5 is shown in such position that the piston 1 is in a central position in the groove 55 , the chambers 23 and 24 having the same axial length . the axially adjustable valve 35 is shown in a symmetrical position with respect to the bores 36 and 37 ; i . e . both edges of the annular groove 59 have the same position with respect to the bores 36 and 37 , respectively . the groove 59 thus connects the bores 36 and 37 in the position shown . during reciprocating movement of the piston 1 and , therefore , the piston rod 5 as a function of pressure and exhaust alternately applied to chambers 23 , 24 through the rotary valve 17 , an inner wall surface of the piston rod 5 forming the bore 58 and including the open ends of the bores 36 , 37 glides over the annular groove 59 . in a position of piston 1 to right of its position , shown , the bore 37 will be completely closed by the valve body 37 , whilst the bore 36 will be completely open to the groove 59 . in that case the chamber 23 , with which the bore 36 communicates , is the chamber under fluid pressure , fluid will flow through the bores 60 , 61 and through the flow control valve 38 to the bores 39 , 40 , 41 and to the reservoir 30 , the flow rate being controlled by the valve 38 . by the leakage flow provided as set out above , pressure in the respective chamber 23 will be reduced resulting in a reduction of the stroke length of the piston 1 in the respective direction to the right . the same thing happens when the piston 1 travels in the opposite direction the bore 37 and the chamber 24 being now involved with respect to leakage flow and pressure reduction , respectively , the bore 36 now being closed by valve body 57 . if the stroke center does not correspond to the midpoint of the valve , a drifting movement controlled by the volume of the leak is superimposed on the actual stroke movement , since the chamber to be shortened is automatically connected for a longer period of time with the flow control valve 38 than the chamber to be lengthened . in other words , when there is a difference between the stroke center and the valve midpoint , the leak pulses are modulated as a function of time in such manner that there is a drift toward coincidence ( at which point the leak pulses of the two chambers are of equal length ). therefore , the stroke center follows the adjustable midpoint . it is apparent that whenever the center of the stroke of piston 1 does not coincide with the center plane or center line of the groove 59 ( or in other terms with the axis of bore 60 in the drawing ), the reduction of pressure by leakage flow will be longer in the chamber , which has a greater axial length relative to the displaced stroke center than in the other chamber , which is exposed for shorter time to leakage flow . thus the force exerted on the piston 1 by the latter chamber will be higher , and the stroke center will be moved accordingly until it coincides with the center of the groove 59 . this is also the case if for any reason the valve 35 and correspondingly the center fo the groove 59 is shifted to the right or left by the spindle 33 . it is clear from the drawing that a first input port 64 of the valve 35 is formed by the groove 59 and the bore 36 , and a second input port 65 is formed by the same groove 59 and the bore 37 . the output port 66 of the valve 35 is the open end of a bore 61 . from the drawing it can be seen that the groove 59 should have a minimum axial length corresponding to the axial length of the chamber 23 or 24 when the piston 1 is in the center position in the groove 55 . the minimum length of the groove 59 has the result that in the center position of the piston 1 with respect to the center of groove 59 , that groove connects the chambers 23 and 24 with the spacing of the bores 36 and 37 . such by - pass flow from one chamber to the other has no marked effect , however , because the period of by - pass is extremely short as compared with the time of one complete stroke of piston 1 . in practice , one can hardly notice a very short &# 34 ; pfff &# 34 ; sound of fluid passing from one chamber to the other , no effect being perceptible , however , in the measuring value of pressure . the leakage passes from the flow control 38 , via bores 39 and 40 , to the bearing 9 where it combines with leakage from the passageway 3 to lubricate the bearing . from a bore 41 the leakage then passes to the collecting chamber 28 . the same applies to the leakage from the passageway 26 and a bore 42 . with respect to the construction , it should be added that nearly all types of rotary valves and hydraulic motors can be used . in view of the centrifugal force and thermal deformation , the combination of a radial piston motor with the valve according to u . s . pat . no . 3 , 768 , 516 has indisputable advantages as a control element . the elements according to u . s . pat . no . 3 , 685 , 842 can be used as passageways , and in small machines a simple diaphragm throttle will often suffice instead of the illustrated flow control valve 38 . it is to be appreciated that the foregoing description and accompanying drawing relate to a particular embodiment and variants given by way of example , not by way of limitation . numerous other embodiments and variants are possible without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention , its scope being defined by the appended claims . it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes may be made without departing from the scope of the invention and the invention is not to be considered limited to what is shown in the drawing and described in the specification . | 1 |
referring to the drawings wherein like or similar references indicate like or similar elements throughout the several views , fig1 is a block diagram of a steam power plant system 1000 creating superheated steam to power steam turbine 11 driven electric generator 12 to produce electrical energy . the low pressure steam exiting the steam turbine is condensed in a steam surface condenser 13 using cold water from a cooling tower , lake , river or sea that enters on inlet 130 . alternatively , the steam can be condensed in an air cooled condenser where the cold ambient air is used to condense the low pressure steam exiting the steam turbine 11 . the steam condensed in the water or air cooled condenser 13 is pumped by a condensate pump 14 into a low pressure feedwater heater 15 . the condensate entering the low pressure feedwater heater 15 through line 152 is termed feedwater . in the low pressure feedwater heater 15 the feedwater is heated by the steam extracted from the steam turbine 11 that enters at inlet 150 . the extraction steam condensed in the low pressure feedwater heater 15 is discharged through outlet 151 into the steam surface condenser 13 . the heated feedwater flows through line 155 into a deaerator 16 wherein the feedwater is deaerated using the steam extracted from the steam turbine 11 that enters the deaerator at inlet 160 . the heated feedwater from deaerator 16 is pumped by boiler feed pump 17 into a high pressure feedwater heater 18 at inlet 182 wherein the feedwater is further heated by the turbine extraction steam that enters the heater inlet 180 . the heated feedwater goes out through outlet 183 and enters the boiler 10 . the extraction steam condensed in the high pressure feedwater heater 18 is discharged through outlet 181 into a deaerator 16 through inlet 161 . depending on the size , a power plant can have a multitude of low and high pressure feedwater heaters . the closed , high pressure feedwater heater 18 of fig1 is shown in greater detail in outline in fig2 . high pressure feedwater heater 18 has three zones : desuperheating zone 187 ; condensing zone 189 ; and subcooling zone 188 . in certain instances the high pressure feedwater heater 18 may be equipped with just a condensing zone and a subcooling zone . the high pressure feedwater heater 18 is equipped with a number of tubes that carry the feedwater . a representative tube 190 is shown in outline running through each of the zones . the feedwater enters tubeside of the heater through inlet 182 , travels through the tubes , and gets heated . the heated feedwater leaves the high pressure feedwater heater 18 through outlet 183 and flows into the boiler 10 , as shown in fig1 . turbine extraction steam enters high pressure feedwater heater 18 at inlet 180 and condensate exits said closed high pressure feedwater heater 18 at outlet 181 and back to deaerator 16 also as shown in fig1 . in the subcooling zone 188 , the feedwater is heated by the subcooling condensate . in condensing zone 189 , the heat from the condensing extraction steam heats the feedwater . in the desuperheating zone 187 , the feedwater is further heated by the superheat in the extraction steam . steam in the condensing zone is separated from the condensate exiting the subcooling zone by seal ring 191 and by end plate 185 . inlet 184 allows only condensate into the subcooling zone 188 . fig2 a illustrates the relative temperatures , plotted on the vertical axis of the graph , for steam and feedwater in subcooling , condensing and desuperheating zone in a high pressure feedwater heater . in fig2 a , from left to right , the temperature of the extraction steam decreases in the desuperheating zone to a value close to the saturation temperature . in the condensing zone , the temperature of the extraction steam remains constant at the saturation temperature . in the condensing zone the extraction steam condenses on the tubes involving a phase change . in the subcooling zone the condensed extraction steam is subcooled to a temperature slightly higher than the feedwater inlet temperature . the flow of the feedwater inside the tubes is countercurrent to the of the flow of extraction steam and resulting condensate outside the tubes . the temperature of the feedwater , as shown in fig2 a , increase as it flows through the tubes in the subcooling , condensing and desuperheating zone . shown in fig3 , for comparison purposes to high pressure feedwater heater 18 , is low pressure feedwater heater 15 . a high or low pressure feedwater heater equipped with a subcooling zone will benefit from the present invention . low pressure feedwater heater 15 has two zones : condensing zone 157 and subcooling zone 158 . a representative tube 159 is shown in outline running through each of the two zones . feedwater enters the tube at inlet 155 travels through the subcooling and condensing zone and exits at outlet 156 . turbine extraction steam enters low pressure feedwater heater 15 at inlet 150 and condenses in the condensing zone 157 . the condensed extraction steam enters the subcooling zone 158 at inlet 154 and gets subcooled as it loses its heat to the feedwater travelling inside the tubes . the subcooled condensate exits the low pressure feedwater heater at outlet 151 . analogously to fig2 a , fig3 a shows relative temperatures , plotted on the vertical axis of the graph , for steam and feedwater temperatures in a low pressure feedwater heater . in fig3 a , in the condensing zone , the temperature of the extraction steam remains constant at the saturation temperature as the extraction steam condenses . the temperature remains constant during phase change . in the subcooling zone , the temperature of the condensed turbine extraction steam decreases as the condensate loses its heat the feedwater travelling inside the tubes . the flow of feedwater is counter current to the flow of condensed extraction steam in the subcooling zone . the temperature of the feed water steadily increases as it travels through the subcooling and condensing zone . prior art fig4 shows in detail the cross section detail of the subcooling zone 158 of a low pressure feedwater heater 15 in which the tubesheet 152 is shown with a representative tube 159 running there through . the end plate 200 forms the single , non - welded , barrier between subcooling zone 158 and condensing zone 157 . the longitudinal baffle 201 , semi - circular subcooling zone shroud 202 and the seal ring 153 together form the welded boundaries between said two zones . the welded boundaries constitute a permanent leak proof barrier between the condensing and subcooling zone . condensate level 299 is shown by the sinusoidal broken line at the bottom of the condensing zone 157 and it is maintained well above the inlet 154 to the subcooling zone thereby ensuring that the steam from the condensing zone does not enter the subcooling zone . prior art fig5 is a sectional view of end plate 200 as shown from the right ( or condensing zone 157 ) side showing tube holes 203 through which tubes , such as representative tube 159 , run . the subcooling zone inlet 154 is shown in perspective in front of condensate outlet 151 . the welded boundaries between the condensing zone 157 ( from which the view is taken ) and said subcooling zone 158 are the longitudinal baffle 201 on the top , the semicircular longitudinal baffle 202 and the seal ring 153 ( not shown ). the end plate 200 containing the tube holes 203 and tubes running through the tube holes is the only non - welded boundary separating the subcooling zone 158 from the condensing zone ( from which the view is taken ). prior art fig6 illustrates prior art for a subcooling zone 158 . the longitudinal baffle 201 and the longitudinal shroud 202 along with the seal ring 153 ( not shown ) form the welded barrier between the condensing zone and subcooling zone . a single end plate 200 , consisting of a multitude of tubes , such as representative tube 159 , running though a multitude of tube holes 203 forms the single non - welded barrier between the condensing zone 157 ( not shown ) and subcooling zone 158 . the tube holes 203 in the end plate 200 are drilled to a diameter which is slightly above that of the tubes so as to permit sliding the tubes through the tube hole 203 in end plate 200 . while it is anticipated that the water collected in the annular space between the tube outer diameter and the tube hole in the end plate 200 will form a permanent seal for the entire life of the heater , operational stresses using the prior art system prevent this from occurring . this is due , in part , to the fact that feedwater heaters are required to operate twenty - four hours a day for twenty - five to thirty years . fig7 and 8 show in detail the present invention over the prior art of fig6 , that is , the use of end plate system 2000 comprised of dual end plates 200 and 300 ( with a water seal in between ) together forming the triple barrier between subcooling zone 158 and condensing zone 157 ( from which the view is taken ) in a feedwater heater with a subcooling zone 158 . in fig7 for a feedwater heater with subcooling zone , the end plate system 2000 of the present invention is shown in part , with the inner end plate 200 , an outer end plate 300 . a semicircular plate 302 is welded to the inner end plate 200 and outer end plate 300 . a short horizontal plate 301 ( not shown in its entirety ) is welded to the top of the inner end plate 200 and the top of outer end plate 300 and the semicircular plate 302 is likewise welded to such end plates to form a water chamber between . the lips of the semicircular plate 302 are extended above the short horizontal plate 201 and bars are welded to the top of the inner end plate 200 and outer end plate 300 to form a water dam on top of the short horizontal plate 301 . small holes ( not shown ) are drilled in the short horizontal plate 301 to allow condensate to enter the water chamber between the end plates 200 and 300 , having tube holes 203 and 303 , respectively . as shown in fig8 , drain holes ( representative of which is shown as drain 305 ) is placed at the bottom of the semicircular plate 302 to drain the condensate . the intent is to keep the water chamber between the end plates flooded at all times and create a small water flow and avoid stagnation of condensate . according to the present invention , the ingress of steam into a subcooling zone , which has been one of the main reasons for degrading of performance of feedwater heaters worldwide , is eliminated by using a triple barrier design consisting of an inner end plate 200 , an outer end plate 300 and a water seal in between . the outer end plate 300 , with tightly drilled tube holes constitutes the first barrier . steam condenses in the annular space between the outer diameter of the tubes and the tube hole . condensate accumulated in the small annular gap prevents the entry of any additional steam . due to normal wear and tear , extended usage or minor errors in end plate tube hole drilling , the annular gap between the tube outer diameter and the end plate tube hole could enlarge over time and steam from condensing zone could breach the first barrier . in such an event , the ingressing steam would come in contact with the second barrier , comprising condensate collected in the annular space between the inner and outer end plates , and condense . the inlet holes on the longitudinal baffle 201 on top and the drain 305 located at the bottom of the semi - circular cylinder 302 create a minor flow of condensate and prevent stagnation in the water chamber between inner and outer end plate . if , due to some unforeseen reason , steam from the condensing breaches the first and second barrier it is prevented from entering the subcooling zone by the third barrier comprising the inner end plate 200 . the condensate in the annular gap between the tube outer diameter and the inner end plate 200 tube holes 203 prevents the steam from the condensing zone from entering the subcooling zone . in this way , pursuant to this invention , the dual end plate with an annular condensate trough in between prevents the ingress of steam into the subcooling zone . the performance of subcooling zone is secured and the life of the feedwater is heater is prolonged . although specific arrangements of components have been described herein , other suitable arrangements and components may be used as indicated with similar results in the viability of the seal between the subcooling and condensing zones of feedwater heaters , including , but not limited to , utilizing a plurality of such end plates to provide more than one water seal between said subcooling and condensing zones . other modifications of the present invention will occur to those skilled in the art on reading the instant disclosure . those modifications are intended to be covered within the scope of this invention such as , without limitation , the use of a plurality of plates and seals created thereby . | 8 |
the various embodiments will be described 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 parts . references made to particular examples and implementations are for illustrative purposes , and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention or the claims . the term โ computing device โ is used generically herein to refer to any one or all of servers , personal computers , mobile devices , cellular telephones , tablet computers , laptop computers , netbooks , ultrabooks , palm - top computers , personal data assistants ( pda &# 39 ; s ), wireless electronic mail receivers , multimedia internet enabled cellular telephones , global positioning system ( gps ) receivers , wireless gaming controllers , and similar electronic devices that include a programmable processor . while the various embodiments are particularly useful in smartphones that can download and execute apps , the embodiments are generally useful in any computing device that includes a programmable processor and communications circuitry suitable for sending and receiving information . as used in this application , the terms โ component ,โ โ module ,โ โ system ,โ โ engine ,โ โ generator ,โ โ manager โ and the like are intended to include a computer - related entity , such as , but not limited to , hardware , firmware , a combination of hardware and software , software , or software in execution , which are configured to perform particular operations or functions . for example , a component may be , but is not limited to , a process running on a processor , a processor , an object , an executable , a thread of execution , a program , and / or a computer . as such , both an application running on a computing device and the computing device may be referred to as a component . further , one or more components may reside within a process and / or thread of execution , and a component may be localized on one processor or core and / or distributed between two or more processors or cores . in addition , these components may execute from various non - transitory computer readable media having various instructions and / or data structures stored thereon . components may communicate by way of local and / or remote processes , function or procedure calls , electronic signals , data packets , memory read / writes , and other known network , computer , processor , and / or process related communication methodologies . in recent years , social networking services and website have grown in popularity and usage . many of these social networking services allow their users to develop relationships ( e . g ., โ friend โ relationships ) with other users based shared interests , activities , backgrounds , or real - life connections . this is often accomplished by generating a webpage or representation for each user ( e . g ., a user profile ) through which that user may share ideas , pictures , posts , activities , events , and interests with others in their social network . for example , twitter ยฎ an online social networking service that enables its users to communicate via text messages that are limited to 140 characters ( called tweets ). users post these text messages ( tweets ) to their profile page , and other users who have previously established a relationship with that user ( e . g ., by subscribing to โ follow โ that account ) may access the user &# 39 ; s profile page and read these posts . further , since each user may have many such relationships , the user may choose to follow many users / accounts via a news feed linked to the subscriber &# 39 ; s profile page . this allows the user to receive and view text messages from many different users in a single page . while these existing social networking services allow their users to share images and text messages , they are not well suited for sharing quotes or authorizing the publication , attribution , or use of quotes . for example , these existing solutions do not allow a quoted user to prevent the publication of the quote to a quoting user &# 39 ; s profile page . to the contrary , these solutions often post / display any information that is input by the user to that user &# 39 ; s profile page . for this and other reasons , existing social networking services are not well suited for use in sharing quotes in a social networking environment . the various embodiments include methods , and computing devices ( e . g ., server computing devices , etc .) configured with processor executable instructions to implement the methods , of publishing and sharing quotes in a social networking environment so as to overcome many of the limitations of existing solutions . in an embodiment , a server computing device may be configured receive text input in the form of a quote , receive a tag identifier from a first user account associated with a first profile ( or from a first computing device ), query a database with the tag identifier to identify a second user account associated with a second profile , and send an authorization request message to the identified second user account ( or to a second computing device ) to request authorization to publish , attribute , and / or use the quote in association with the second user . the server computing device may receive an authorization response message in response to sending the authorization request message to the identified second user account ( or second computing device ). the server computing device may prevent the publication of the quote in the first profile when the authorization response message includes information denying permission to publish , attribute , and / or use the use of the quote in association with the second user . on the other hand , the server computing device may publish / display the quote , a link to the second profile , links to other users mentioned by the quote , a photo , etc . in the first profile in response to receiving an authorization response message granting authorization to publish , attribute , and / or use of the quote in association with the second user . the server computing device may also publish / display the quote ( and other information ) in the second profile , the profiles of mentioned users , and / or in one or more quote feeds . in an embodiment , the server computing device may be configured to receive a quote object , which may be an information structure that includes a combination of written text and an image . in another embodiment , the server computing device may receive an image associated with the text quote , and superimpose , layer , or overlay the received text and image to generate a combined object or structure that includes a combination of the image and text . this may be accomplished via the server computing device applying any of a number of image processing or layering techniques known in the art . the server computing device may then publish the combined image and text as a quote to one more user profile pages . in an embodiment , the server computing device may be configured to query a database with the quote to identify quote that are similar to the entered / posted quote . the server computing device may query the same or different database with the identified โ similar quotes โ to identify additional user accounts . the server computing device may then use pattern recognition , machine learning , and other similar techniques to analyze the identified additional user accounts , the interests and activities of the users associated with those accounts , and other similar information to identify behavior patterns that characterize those users . the server computing device may then use the behavior patterns to determine the interests and activities of the user that entered the quote , the quoted user , and / or mentioned users , and select an advertisement ( e . g ., image , banner , text , code , etc .) based on the determined interests and activities . the server computing device may send the selected advertisement to the various user devices , or post / display the selected the advertisement in the user profiles of the various users . in this manner , the system may be able to display targeted advertisements that focus on the specific interests and activities of the targeted users . internet sites may provide systems and methods for creating and managing relationships ( such as โ friend โ relationships ) among users in a social networking environment . these sites use a variety of different mechanisms for providing the relationships between users . in one typical configuration , users may search for other users of the site using a search function , a browse function , or through the site recommending users who may be of interest to the user accessing the site . the user then requests that a โ friend โ relationship be established . the request is formatted and transmitted to the other user . if approval of the request is received from the other user , then a โ friend โ relationship is established , and the relationship is stored in the database . this relationship may be used to format various news feeds or notifications of activity of the related user or to allow access to certain information , which may be restricted to users with whom such a relationship exists . in some instances , a relationship may also be presumed to exist between the user and friends of friends . in another common configuration , users may search for other users of interest using a search function , a browse function , or through the site recommending users who may be of interest to the user accessing the site , as with the previous example . the user then requests to โ follow โ the other user . this request may be dependent upon approval of the other user or may be automatically approved . the โ follower โ relationship is then stored in the database . this relationship may be used to format various news feeds or notifications of activity of the related user or to allow access to certain information , which may be restricted to users with whom such a relationship exists . in another common configuration , users may search for other users of interest using a search function , a browse function , or through the site recommending users who may be of interest to the user accessing the site , as with the other examples . the user may then indicate that the other user is a โ favorite .โ this โ favorite โ relationship is then stored in the database . this relationship may be used to format various news feeds or notifications of activity of the related user or to allow access to certain information , which may be restricted to users with whom such a relationship exists . in yet another configuration , users may search for โ groups โ of users of interest using a search function , a browse function , or through the site recommending users who may be of interest to the user accessing the site . the user may then request to join the โ group .โ this request may be dependent upon approval of some other user ( such as a group moderator or member ) or may be automatically approved . upon approval or upon request , the user is then added to a list of users who are members of that group . this relationship may be used to format various news feeds or notifications of activity of the group or to allow access to certain information , which may be restricted to users with whom such a relationship exists . a user may decide to share information that is about that user . however , when a user decides to share information about another user , such as , for example , a quote attributed to the other user , the other user may find the sharing of the quote embarrassing . the attribution of the quote to the other user may be in error , the quote may be inaccurate , or the other user may simply regret the uttered words . fig1 illustrates an embodiment system method 100 of sharing quotes in a social networking system . system method 100 may be performed by one or more processing cores in one or more computing devices . in the example illustrated in fig1 , system method 100 is performed by a first computing device , a second computing device , and a server computing device . in block 102 , the first computing device may render an input screen and wait to receive input ( e . g ., text input , voice input , etc .) from a user of the social networking system . in block 104 , the first computing device may receive input from a first user ( the โ quoting user โ) of the social networking system . the input may include a quote and an identifier tag . the quote may include written text of a statement made by a second user of the social networking system . the identifier tag may include information that associates the quote to another user of the social networking system and / or information identifying a second user as the person who made the statement included in the quote . in optional determination block 106 , the first computing device may determine whether the identifier tag is valid . for example , the first computing device may query a database to determine whether the identifier tag identifies a valid user account linked to the first user account ( i . e ., an account of user with which the first user has previously established an online friend relationship , etc ). in response to determining that the identifier tag is not valid ( i . e ., determination block 106 =โ no โ), the first computing device may display an error notification message and wait to receive other or additional input in block 102 . in response to determining that the identifier tag is valid ( i . e ., determination block 106 =โ yes โ), in block 110 , the first computing device may send the quote and identifier tag to the server computing device . it should be understood that , in an embodiment , the first computing device may be configured to perform the operations of block 110 after receiving the input in block 104 and without first validating the identifier tag in optional determination block 106 . in block 112 , the server computing device may receive the quote and tag identifier from the first computing device ( e . g ., via a first user account or a first profile associated with the first user ). in block 114 , the server computing device may use the tag identifier to query a database and identify a second user of the social networking system ( e . g ., by identifying a second user account , a second profile , etc .). for example , in block 114 , the server may query a database that stores user - profile identifiers of the members of the social networking system , and use the results of the query to identify the user account of a second user to which the quote may be attributed . also in block 114 , the server computing device may use the results of the query to identify the second computing device that is associated with the second user and / or to identify a profile page of the second user . in block 116 , the server computing device may generate an authorization request message that includes information suitable for requesting permission to publish , attribute , and / or use the quote in association with the second user . for example , the authorization request message may include the quote and a user identifier of the first user . in block 118 , the server computing device may send the generated authorization request message to the second computing device . in the various embodiments , sending the authorization request message to the second computing device may include adding a message to an inbox associated with the second user account , displaying a message in a private portion of the second user &# 39 ; s profile page , sending an email , sms message , a data packet , or a communication signal to the second computing device , etc . in block 128 , the second computing device may receive the authorization request message sent from the server computing device . in block 130 , the second computing device may display a prompt or message requesting permission to publish , attribute , and / or use the quote in association with the second user . in an embodiment , the second computing device may be configured to automatically request permission to publish , attribute , and / or use the quote in response to receiving the authorization request message . in block 132 , the second computing device may receive user input granting or denying the permissions , and generate an authorization response message that includes information suitable for use by the server computing device in determining whether the second user granted or denied permission . in block 134 , the second computing device may send the generated authorization response message to the server computing device . in block 120 , the server computing device may receive an authorization response message from the second computing device . in determination block 122 , the server computing device may determine whether the authorization response message includes information granting permission for the publication , attribution , and / or use of the quote in association with the second / quoted user . in response to determining that the second / quoted user denied permission to publish , attribute , and / or use the quote ( i . e ., determination block 122 =โ no โ), in block 124 , the server computing device may notify the first user that his or her request is denied . for example , in block 124 , the server computing device send a notification message to the first computing device ( e . g ., a โ request denied message โ) to cause the first computing device to display a prompt informing the first / quoting user that the second / quoted user denied permission to use the quote . as another example , in block 124 , the server computing device may add a message to an inbox associated with the first user account to inform the first user that the request is denied . in response to determining that the second user granted permission to publish , attribute , and / or use the quote ( i . e ., determination block 122 =โ yes โ), in block 126 the server computing device may publish the quote and links to the first and second profile pages and in various quote feeds . for example , the server computing device may publish the quote and a link to the second profile page in the first profile page . the server computing device may also publish the quote and a link to the first profile page in the second profile page . the server computing device may further publish the quote and links to the first and second profile pages in one or more quote feeds and / or perform other similar operations to make the quote available to select users of the social network system . in an embodiment , the server computing device may also send communication messages or signals to the first and second computing devices to cause them to render the quote and links on their electronic displays . fig2 illustrates an example social networking system 200 that is suitable for use for publishing quotes in accordance with the various embodiments . in the example illustrated in fig2 , the social networking system 200 includes a social networking server 202 , and a plurality of computing devices 204 coupled to the social networking server 202 via a network 206 . communications between the computing devices 204 , social networking server 202 , the network 206 , and the social networking system 200 may be accomplished via wired or wireless communication links , such as 4g , 3g , cdma , tdma , lte and / or other cellular , telephone , internet - protocol based communication technologies . the network 206 may be a wired or wireless local area network ( lan ), a telecommunication network , a wireless wide area network ( wan ), a proprietary network , the internet , etc . the social networking server 202 may be a server compuinting device operated by a provider of services that are available to members who have registered with the social networking server . the social networking server 202 may be accessible via a website that allows one or more members to communicate with one another . the website may be open to the public or operated by an entity or institution ( e . g ., a university , trade group , etc .) for the benefit of members or subscribers of the entity or institution . each of the computing devices 204 may include a processor and memory configured to receive and / or execute software applications from an application download server ( e . g ., an apple ยฎ app store server , etc .). each computing device 204 may also include a client application ( or โ app โ) that includes processor executable instructions that cause the computing device to accomplish the various functionalities described herein , such as sending and receiving information to and from the social networking server 202 . the social networking server 202 may include various modules or functional elements that provide communications with the computing devices 204 via the network 206 and / or which are suitable for causing the computing devices 204 to perform the various functions and operations discussed herein . for example , in the example illustrated in fig2 , the social networking server 202 includes a quote management module 210 , a permissions module 212 , a user management module , and a quote datastore module 216 . each of these modules 210 - 216 may be implemented in software , hardware , or any combination thereof . for example , one or more of the modules 210 - 216 may be implemented as software instructions executing on one or more processing cores in a server computing device . the user management module 214 may be configured to manage user accounts , such as by maintaining a list of registered users and their relationships with other users . each user account may be an information structure that includes information identifying a user &# 39 ; s private information , message inbox , and / or relationships with other users . the quote management module 210 may be configured to receive , monitor , and manage the quotes , images , and tag identifiers . the quote management module 210 may query a database to obtain identifying information of a quoted user from a tag identifier associated with an uploaded quote . the quote management module 210 may communicate the identifying information to a permissions module 212 , which may use the identifying information to obtain authorization / permission from the quoted user to share the quote attributed to the quoted user . for example , the permissions module 224 may generate an authentication request message that includes a quote and an identifier of a quoting user , and then send the generated authentication request message to the client app in the computing device 204 of the quoted user . in an embodiment , the permissions module 224 may be configured to request authorization / permission from the user to use the quote via a web interface ( not illustrated ). the computing device 204 may be configured to receive user input from quoted user , and determine whether the quoted user grants permission to share the quote . in an embodiment , the computing device 204 may also receive input identifying a reason for declining the permission request ( e . g ., statement was not made by the quoted user , statement was made in private and not intended to be shared with others , etc .). the computing device 204 may generate an authentication response message that includes the user input , and send the generated response message to the social networking server 202 . the permissions module 212 in the social networking server 202 may be configured to receive authentication response messages from the computing devices 204 , and determine whether a user authorized the use of a quote . the permissions module 212 may generate and send various notification messages informing the computing devices 204 whether the request to share the quote has been granted or denied . the permissions module 212 may also communicate this information to the quote management module 210 , which may add the quote to various quote feeds , user profile pages , and the quote datastore . in addition to uploading the written text of a quote , a computing device 204 may also upload a picture , provide hashtags , geotags , and / or tag multiple users to that quote . this allows individuals to capture additional information regarding the quote , such as other users mentioned in the quote , when the statement was made , where the statement was made , whether the statement was humorous , important , wise , or trivial , etc . this additional information may also allow the users to better search for quotes tagged by other users of the application and follow / subscribe to those users . in addition , this additional information may be used to better identify the characteristics , interests , and activities when selecting targeted advertisements . in an embodiment , this additional information may be included in the same quote object ( e . g ., same data structure , record , communication message , transmission , transaction , etc .) as the written text . in an embodiment a quote object may include multiple objects , such as a text object , an image object , a location object , etc . fig3 illustrates a method 300 of sharing quotes in a social networking environment in accordance with an embodiment . method 300 may be performed in a processing core of a computing device . in block 302 , the processing core in the computing device may detect a user tap input in a text input area that is rendered on an electronic display of the computing device . in block 304 , the computing device may receive written text in the form of a quote from the text input area . in determination block 306 , the computing device may prompt the user and determine whether the user intends to couple an image to the written text of the quote . in response to determining that the user does not intend to couple an image to the written text of the quote ( i . e ., determination block 306 =โ no โ), in block 320 , the computing device may create a quote object that includes the written text and does not include an image . in response to determining that the user does intend to couple an image to the written text of the quote ( i . e ., determination block 306 =โ yes โ), in determination block 308 , the computing device may prompt the user and determine whether the user intends to couple an existing image to the written text of the quote . in response to determining that the user does not intend to couple an existing image to the written text of the quote ( i . e ., determination block 308 =โ no โ), in block 310 , the computing device may activate a camera and / or a camera software application of the computing device . in block 312 , the computing device may use the camera and / or camera software application to capture an image . in block 314 , the computing device may superimpose or layer the captured image with the received written text . this may be accomplished using any of a number of image layering techniques or technologies known in the art . in block 322 , the computing device may create a quote object that includes the combined or layered written text and image . in block 324 , the computing device may send the quote object to a server for authorization and / or publishing . in response to determining that the user does intends to couple an existing image to the written text of the quote ( i . e ., determination block 308 =โ yes โ), in block 316 , the computing device may open or access an image gallery of the computing device and display the images stored in the image gallery for user selection . in various embodiments , the image gallery may include images that are stored in a memory of the computing device , stored in a remote server , or a combination thereof . in block 318 , the computing device may receive user input selecting one of the images in the image gallery . in block 314 , the computing device may layer the selected image with the received written text . in block 322 , the computing device may create a quote object that includes the combined or layered written text and image . in block 324 , the computing device may send the quote object to a server for authorization and / or publishing . fig4 illustrates a method 400 of sharing quotes in a social networking environment in accordance with another embodiment . method 400 may be performed in a processing core of a computing device . in block 402 , the processing core in the computing device may detect a user tap input in a text input area that is rendered on an electronic display of the computing device . in block 404 , the computing device may receive written text in the form of a quote from the text input area . in determination block 406 , the computing device may prompt the user and determine whether the user intends to add an author for the quote to associate the written text with other users of the social networking system . in response to determining that the user does not intend to add an author for the quote ( i . e ., determination block 406 =โ no โ), in block 408 , the computing device may set the user as the author , such as by associating the tag identifier of the user with the text . in block 418 , the computing device may create a quote object that includes the written text and the associated tag identifier . in response to determining that the user intends to add an author for the quote ( i . e ., determination block 406 =โ yes โ), in block 410 , the computing device may query a local or remote database to generate a list of potential authors . this list of potential authors may include other users of the social networking system that are friends of the user , that the user is following , that are following the user , that are in close physical proximity to the user , etc . in block 412 , the computing device may display the list of potential authors in an electronic display of the computing device . in block 414 , the computing device may receive user input selecting one or more authors from the displayed list of authors . in determination block 416 , the computing device may determine whether any of the selected authors are private users . this may be accomplished by querying a local or remote database to access user account and configuration information of the selected authors , etc . in response to determining that none of the selected users are private users ( i . e ., determination block 416 =โ no โ), in block 418 , the computing device may generate a quote object that includes the received written text and a tag identifier for each of the selected authors . in response to determining that at least one of the selected users are private users ( i . e ., determination block 416 =โ yes โ), in block 420 , the computing device may generate a quote object that includes the received written text , tag identifier of the selected authors , and information identifying the quote as pending and / or requiring authorization from the identified private authors . in block 422 , the computing device may request authorization to publish the pending quote , such as by requesting that a server in the social networking system send an authorization request message to the private author . fig5 illustrates a method 500 of sharing quotes in a social networking environment in accordance with yet another embodiment . method 500 may be performed in a processing core of a computing device . in block 502 , the processing core in the computing device may detect a user tap input in a text input area that is rendered on an electronic display of the computing device . in block 504 , the computing device may receive written text in the form of a quote from the text input area . in determination block 506 , the computing device may prompt the user and determine whether the user intends to add a mention for the quote to associate the written text with another user of the social networking system . in response to determining that the user does not intend to add a mention for the quote ( i . e ., determination block 508 =โ no โ), in block 508 , the computing device may generate a quote object that does not include any mentions . for example , in block 508 , the computing device may create the quote so that it does not associate the written text with a tag identifier of any user other than the author . in block 518 , the computing device may send the quote object to a server for authorization and / or publishing . in response to determining that the user intends to add a mention for the quote ( i . e ., determination block 508 =โ yes โ), in block 510 , the computing device may query a local or remote database to generate a list of potential mentions . this list of potential mentions may include other users of the social networking system that are friends of the user , that the user is following , that are following the user , that are in close physical proximity to the user , etc . in block 512 , the computing device may display the list of potential mention in an electronic display of the computing device . in block 514 , the computing device may receive user input selecting one or more users from the displayed list of mentions as being mentioned in the quote . in block 516 , the computing device may generate a quote object that includes the received written text and a tag identifier for each of the selected mentions . in block 518 , the computing device may send the quote object to a server for authorization and / or publishing . fig6 illustrates a method 600 of sharing quotes in a social networking environment in accordance with yet another embodiment . method 600 may be performed in a processing core of a computing device . in block 602 , the processing core in the computing device may detect a user tap input in a text input area that is rendered on an electronic display of the computing device . in block 604 , the computing device may receive written text in the form of a quote from the text input area . in determination block 606 , the computing device may prompt the user and determine whether the user intends to add a geotag or other location information to the quote . in response to determining that the user does not intend to add location information to the quote ( i . e ., determination block 606 =โ no โ), in block 610 , the computing device may create a quote object that does not include location information . in block 618 , the computing device may send the quote to a server for authorization and / or publishing . in response to determining that the user intends to add location information to the quote ( i . e ., determination block 606 =โ yes โ), in determination block 608 , the computing device may determine whether the user or client app has been granted permission to access the location information of the computing device . in response to determining that the user or client app has not been granted permission to access the location information of the computing device ( i . e ., determination block 608 =โ no โ), in block 610 , the computing device may create a quote object that does not include location information , and send the quote to a server for authorization and / or publishing in block 618 . in response to determining that the user or client app has been granted permission to access the location information of the computing device ( i . e ., determination block 608 =โ yes โ), in block 612 , the computing device may activate a global positioning system sensor and / or location software . in block 614 , the computing device may capture location information from the activated sensor or location software . the location information may identify the current geo - spatial location of the computing device , a location in which the statement of the written text was uttered or captured , etc . in block 616 , the computing device may create the quote object to include the written text and the location information . in block 618 , the computing device may send the quote to a server for authorization and / or publishing . fig7 illustrates a method 700 of updating a friend or following list to include additional users of the social networking system in accordance with an embodiment . method 700 may be performed in a processing core of a computing device , such as a server computing device or a mobile computing device . in block 702 , the computing device may query a database to receive a list of potential users to follow . the list of potential users may include other users of the social networking system that are determined to have a shared interest , activity , or friend as the user of the computing device . the list of potential users may also include other users that are in close physical proximity to the user , other users that have posted quotes that are similar to the quotes posted by the user , other users that have quoted the same author as the user , etc . in an embodiment , the list of potential users may be generated by searching through friends and contacts in third party software applications ( e . g ., facebook ยฎ, twitter ยฎ, instagram ยฎ, etc .). in block 704 , the computing device may display the list of potential user in an electronic display of the computing device . in block 706 , the computing device may receive user input selecting a user in the displayed list . in determination block 708 , the computing device may determine whether the selected user is a private user . in response to determining that the selected user is not a private user ( i . e ., determination block 708 =โ no โ), in block 710 , the computing device may add the selected user to the friend or following list of the user . in response to determining that the selected user is a private user ( i . e ., determination block 708 =โ yes โ), in block 712 , the computing device generate a pending follow request , which may be sent to the determined private user to request his / her permission to add them to the friend / following list . fig8 illustrates a method 800 of managing requests in accordance with an embodiment . method 800 may be performed in a processing core of a computing device . in block 802 , the computing device may determine that there are requests pending . for example , the computing device may determine that it has received a request message , such as an authorization request message or a follow request message , from another user of the social networking system . in block 804 , the computing device may display a list of pending request in an electronic display of the computing device . in block 806 , the computing device may receive user input authorizing or denying the request message . in determination block 808 , the computing device may use the received user input to determine whether the request was approved . in response to determining that the request was not approved ( i . e ., determination block 808 =โ no โ), in block 810 , the computing device may deny access to the requesting user , such as by discarding a quote , not rendering content , limiting the user profile of the requesting user , etc . in response to determining that the request was approved ( i . e ., determination block 808 =โ yes โ), in determination block 812 , the computing device may determine whether the approved request is a follow request . in response to determining the approved request is not a follow request ( i . e ., determination block 812 =โ no โ), in block 814 , the computing device may determine that the approved request is an authorization request and display a quote for user approval . in response to determining the approved request is a follow request ( i . e ., determination block 812 =โ yes โ), in block 816 , the computing device may add a requesting user to a following list . fig9 illustrates an embodiment method 900 of displaying a quote in association with a like icon so as to capture user information that may be used to determine the interests and activities of the users . method 900 may be performed in a processing core of a computing device . in block 902 , the computing device may display a quote in association with a like icon . in block 904 , the computing device may receive user input from like icon button indicating that the like icon was pressed or actuated . in determination block 906 , the computing device may determine whether the user currently โ likes โ the displayed quote . for example , the computing device may determine whether the user has previously pressed the like icon for that quote , which may be determined by access the user &# 39 ; s account or profile information . in response to determining that the user does not currently โ like โ the displayed quote ( i . e ., determination block 906 =โ no โ), in block 908 , the computing device may update the user &# 39 ; s account or profile information to indicate that the user โ likes โ the quote . in block 910 , the computing device may toggle the like icon โ on ,โ such as by changing the appearance or color of the icon . in response to determining that the user currently โ likes โ the displayed quote ( i . e ., determination block 906 =โ yes โ), in block 912 , the computing device may update the user &# 39 ; s account or profile information to indicate that the user does not โ like โ the quote . in an aspect , this may be accomplished by deleting information that indicates that the user โ likes โ the quote from the user &# 39 ; s account or profile . in block 914 , the computing device may toggle the like icon โ off ,โ such as by changing the appearance or color of the icon . fig1 illustrates a method 1000 of displaying a quote in association with user comments in accordance with an embodiment . method 1000 may be performed in a processing core of a computing device . in block 1002 , the computing device may display a list of quotes . in block 1004 , the computing device may receive user input selecting a displayed quote for comment . in block 1006 , the computing device may receive user input in the form of a comment . the user comment input may include text , images , links , etc . in block 1008 , the computing device may add the user comment input to a list of comments that are stored and / or displayed in association with the selected quote . in block 1010 , the computing device may increment a comment count value , which may be used to capture user information that may be used to determine the popularly of the quote and / or the interests and activities of various users ( e . g ., the user that posted the quote , the users that commented on the quote , etc .). when a quote has been created , tagged , and shared on a newsfeed to the user &# 39 ; s followers / subscribers , viewers may click on the quote in order to comment , share , like / rate , tag , and / or follow that user ( if he / she isn &# 39 ; t already following or subscribed ). the quote datastore module may save comments , ratings , and like and dislike indicators for a quote . a user may view his / her own quotes on his / her own profile . he / she may also explore his / her own quote map , and edit his / her own profile . in an embodiment , the client app in the computing devices may be configured to provide / render a graphical user interface ( gui ) that facilitates interactions between users of a computing device and the social networking server . the gui may include a welcome page that provides a register option and a sign in option . the register option may direct a new user to a registration form . the user may be prompted to select a username and password , as well as an optional profile image or avatar . the gui may include , for example , a navigation map that displays the proximity of the user to other users . in an embodiment , the client app may include components configured to provide software integration with a third party application ( e . g ., facebook ยฎ). the client app may provide the user the option to use user information from the third parting application to register . selection of this option may refer the user to a application program interface ( api ) that prompts the user to sign in with the user &# 39 ; s third party credentials if the user is not already signed in . when it is determined that the user is already signed in to the third party application , the api may populate the registration form with information from the user &# 39 ; s account with the third party application . when it is determined that the user is already registered , the user may be prompted to sign in with the user username and password . if the user has forgotten the user password , the system may allow the user to retrieve this information by entering the user registered username or email ( e . g ., the email that the user signed up with ). once the user is signed in or registered the user may be directed to a main view , which may display a stream of quotes from people the user follows . in an embodiment , the main view may display the username , time of post , image ( if available ), quote , and how many likes and comments are associated with each quote post . the main view may also display a like button , comment button , and share button associated with each post . the main view may also allow users to navigate to other views or to the profile pages of other users . the user may select an explore / search view by โ clicking โ an explore / search button . the explore / search view allows the user to search for friends or others to follow . a simple search box allows the user to search by users or hashtags . the user may also search by people with whom the user is friends on facebook ยฎ or within their device contacts . a search results view displays all available responses from a search query . the user may select a result to receive information about a particular user identified by the search . for example , the user may be provided information about the identified user &# 39 ; s posts , followers , other users followed and quotes . the user may click the follow button to follow the identified user . the user may select a new quote view by โ clicking โ a new quote button . the new quote view provides the user a space to enter a quote . once a quote is written , the user may attach a photo , tag one or multiple people , share out to facebook , twitter , foursquare , or email according to the share settings , the geotag settings and the tag settings . once the sharing locations have been selected , the user may click a share button to post the quote to the user &# 39 ; s stream . the user will be routed to the main quote stream after submission . if a user is tagged in a quote , the tagged user will be notified through a push notification requesting permission to associate the quote with the tagged user . the user may select a popular quotes view by โ clicking โ a popular quotes button . this view displays the most liked posts from other users that the user follows . the user may select a single quote view to view a particular quote . the single quote view provides the user the option to comment , to share , to express a like or dislike opinion , and to tag the particular quote . the user may also tab over to the news view , which displays an overview of other users that the user follows , what the other users have liked , commented on and who has recently started following the other user . again , the user may select a particular quote in a single quote view . the user may select a profile view by โ clicking โ a profile button . the profile page displays information about the user activity . for example , the profile page may display the quotes that are attributed to the user associated with the profile . a quote map provides a view of the quotes of others shared by the user . the user may edit the user profile from an edit user profile view . selecting the edit button drives the user to the application / settings and option view . for example , the user may change a user profile image , a username , a password , biographical information , and personal website information . the profile view is also linked to various settings buttons . for example , the user may set or revise share settings , push notification settings , privacy settings , and tos settings . the share settings may be used to establish links to facebook ยฎ, twitter ยฎ, foursquare ยฎ and email . fig1 is a block diagram of a computing device in the form of a smartphone that is suitable for use with any of the embodiments . such a computing device 1100 typically includes a processor 1101 coupled to an internal memory 1102 , an electronic display 1104 , and to a speaker 1106 . the computing device 1100 may include an antenna 1108 for sending and receiving electromagnetic radiation that may be connected to a wireless data link coupled to the processor 1101 . the computing device may also include menu selection buttons or rocker switches 1112 for receiving user inputs . a typical smartphone computing device 1100 also includes a sound encoding / decoding ( codec ) circuit 1110 which digitizes sound received from a microphone into data packets suitable for wireless transmission , and decodes received sound data packets to generate analog signals that are provided to the speaker 1106 to generate sound . the computing device 1100 may further include a zigbee transceiver ( i . e ., an ieee 802 . 15 . 4 transceiver ) or other similar communication circuitry ( e . g ., circuitry implementing the bluetooth ยฎ or wifi protocols , etc .). fig1 is a block diagram of a computing device in the form of a laptop that suitable for use with any of the embodiments . such a computing device 1200 typically includes a processor 1201 coupled to volatile memory 1202 and a large capacity nonvolatile memory , such as a disk or solid - state flash drive 1203 . typically , software applications may be stored in the internal memory 1202 before they are accessed and loaded into the processor 1201 , including client apps that facilitate the sharing of quotes in accordance with the various embodiments . the processor 1201 may include internal memory sufficient to store the application software instructions . in addition , the computing device 1200 may also include a flash drive 1204 and a compact disc ( cd ) drive 1205 coupled to the processor 1201 . typically , the computing device 1200 will also include a mouse pad 1210 and a keyboard 1208 for receiving user input , and an electronic display 1209 for rendering content . the computing device 1200 may also include a number of connector ports 1206 coupled to the processor 1201 for establishing data connections or network connections or for receiving external memory devices , such as usb or firewire ยฎ connector sockets . various embodiments may be implemented on any of a variety of commercially available server computing devices , such as the server 1300 illustrated in fig1 . such a server 1300 typically includes a processor 1301 coupled to volatile memory 1302 and a large capacity nonvolatile memory , such as a disk drive 1303 . the server 1300 may also include an external drive , compact disc ( cd ) or dvd disc drive 1304 coupled to the processor 1301 . the server 1300 may also include network access ports 1305 coupled to the processor 1301 for establishing data connections with a network , such as a local area network coupled to other broadcast system computers and servers . the processors 1101 , 1201 and 1301 may be any programmable microprocessor , microcomputer or multiple processor chip or chips that can be configured by software instructions ( applications ) to perform a variety of functions , including the functions of the various embodiments described below . in some computing devices , multiple processors may be provided , such as one processor dedicated to wireless communication functions and one processor dedicated to running other applications . typically , software applications may be stored in the internal memory 1102 , 1202 and 1302 before they are accessed and loaded into the processors 1101 , 1201 and 1301 . the processors 1101 , 1201 and 1301 may include internal memory sufficient to store the application software instructions . the foregoing method descriptions and the process flow diagrams are provided merely as illustrative examples and are not intended to require or imply that the blocks of the various embodiments must be performed in the order presented . as will be appreciated by one of skill in the art the order of steps in the foregoing embodiments may be performed in any order . words such as โ thereafter ,โ โ then ,โ โ next ,โ etc . are not intended to limit the order of the blocks ; these words are simply used to guide the reader through the description of the methods . further , any reference to claim elements in the singular , for example , using the articles โ a ,โ โ an โ or โ the โ is not to be construed as limiting the element to the singular . the various illustrative logical blocks , modules , circuits , and algorithm steps described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented as electronic hardware , computer software , or combinations of both . to clearly illustrate this interchangeability of hardware and software , various illustrative components , blocks , modules , circuits , and steps have been described above generally in terms of their functionality . whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or software depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the overall system . skilled artisans may implement the described functionality in varying ways for each particular application , but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the present invention . the hardware used to implement the various illustrative logics , logical blocks , modules , and circuits described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented or performed with a general purpose processor , a digital signal processor ( dsp ), an application specific integrated circuit ( asic ), a field programmable gate array ( fpga ) or other programmable logic device , discrete gate or transistor logic , discrete hardware components , or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein . a general - purpose processor may be a microprocessor , but , in the alternative , the processor may be any conventional processor , controller , microcontroller , or state machine . a processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices , e . g ., a combination of a dsp and a microprocessor , a plurality of microprocessors , one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a dsp core , or any other such configuration . alternatively , some steps or methods may be performed by circuitry that is specific to a given function . in one or more exemplary embodiments , the functions described may be implemented in hardware , software , firmware , or any combination thereof . if implemented in software , the functions may be stored as one or more instructions or code on a non - transitory computer - readable medium or non - transitory processor - readable medium . the steps of a method or algorithm disclosed herein may be embodied in a processor - executable software module which may reside on a non - transitory computer - readable or processor - readable storage medium . non - transitory computer - readable or processor - readable storage media may be any storage media that may be accessed by a computer or a processor . by way of example but not limitation , such non - transitory computer - readable or processor - readable media may include ram , rom , eeprom , flash memory , cd - rom or other optical disk storage , magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices , or any other medium that may be used to store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that may be accessed by a computer . disk and disc , as used herein , includes compact disc ( cd ), laser disc , optical disc , digital versatile disc ( dvd ), floppy disk , and blu - ray disc where disks usually reproduce data magnetically , while discs reproduce data optically with lasers . combinations of the above are also included within the scope of non - transitory computer - readable and processor - readable media . additionally , the operations of a method or algorithm may reside as one or any combination or set of codes and / or instructions on a non - transitory processor - readable medium and / or computer - readable medium , which may be incorporated into a computer program product . the preceding description of the disclosed embodiments is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to make or use the present invention . various modifications to these embodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art , and the generic principles defined herein may be applied to other embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention . thus , the present invention is not intended to be limited to the embodiments shown herein but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the following claims and the principles and novel features disclosed herein . | 7 |
referring to the drawings , in fig1 the toothbrush comprises a handle 10 at a first end of the toothbrush , a head 11 at a second end of the toothbrush , a neck 9 extending therebetween , a rotatable shaft 12 extending from the handle to the head , and a generally circular bristle holder 13 having a plurality of bristle tufts embedded therein , wherein each tuft 8 comprises a plurality of bristles . the handle provides compartments for holding an electric motor 14 and two batteries 15 and 16 , although a rechargeable power source can be substituted for the batteries 15 and 16 . a shaft coupling 17 is arranged to grip one end of the shaft 12 and allow the shaft to be pulled out for cleaning or replacement as will be described below . the head 11 , as is better seen in fig2 , supports a post 18 , which provides a rotational or oscillatory pivot axis 40 for the bristle holder 13 . bristles 19 are shown for illustrative purposes only in fig2 . the shaft 12 has an integrally formed remote - most end 20 that is offset from a central longitudinal axis 21 of the shaft . the remote - most end 20 fits into a slot 22 ( see fig3 ) formed in a side of the bristle holder 13 . it will be noted that the end 20 points towards an intersection of the first axis 21 and the pivot axis 40 of the post 18 . in one embodiment , the post is arranged so that the pivot axis 40 is substantially perpendicular to the central longitudinal axis 21 of the shaft . the pivot axis 40 is also substantially parallel to the direction in which the bristles 19 extend . while this arrangement is preferred , it is contemplated that the post 18 can be arranged differently . for example , the post 18 might be angled so that the pivot axis 40 is not substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis 21 of the shaft but rather forms an acute angle therewith in order to provide a wobbling or swiveling action about the pivot axis 40 . when the shaft 12 is rotated by the motor 14 , the remote end 20 describes a circle about the shaft 12 and drivingly engages the slot 22 to cause the bristle holder 13 to vibrate or oscillate about the pivot axis of the bristle holder 13 . in this regard , the formed remote - most end 20 may be considered to be a cam or a gear tooth . to vibrate is to move to and fro or from side to side . to oscillate is to move or travel back and forth between two points . a cam is a shaped component or potion of a component , which determines the motion of a follower . as may be seen in fig3 , slot 22 is closed - ended and extends radially inward from the outer circumference of the holder to less than the distance to the center of the holder and between adjacent pairs of bristle holes . thus , the bristle holder 13 pivots , oscillates , or rotates forwards and backwards about the center of the post 18 . to pivot is to turn on or as if on a pivot . to rotate is to turn about an axis or a center . such movement provides a first relative motion between the head 11 and the bristles 19 and is generally beneficial for efficient cleaning of teeth . the width of the slot 22 is preferably generally the same as the diameter of the end 20 to leave minimum play ; this keeps noise to a minimum in use . preferably , the motor 14 runs at around 6000 rpm . where desired , the motor can run at other speeds or be arranged to run at two or more speeds , selectable by the user . fig1 shows a toothbrush where the holder 13 vibrates , oscillates , or rotates through an angle of 30 degrees . in fig2 , the angle is 35 degrees and in fig5 the angle is 15 degrees . it will therefore be appreciated that the rotational angle can be chosen by fitting different shafts 12 and that the same bristle holder can be used for all angles . each bristle holder 13 may be provided with more than one slot 22 as may be seen in fig3 , opposite each other so as to be better balanced or so that different slots can be used if the one slot wears or if the bristles wear unevenly in use . in other words , the holder 13 can then be set up in two or more rotational positions . the holder 13 is preferable easily removable from the head 11 , by being spring clipped to the post 18 for example . such removal allows better cleaning and storing in a hygienic container perhaps and also enables the shaft 12 to be readily withdrawn and replaced when required . the described shafts 12 are preferably integrally formed , i . e ., a single length of a thin rod and shaped as shown . however , it is possible to arrange for the remote end or can 20 to be separately formed or provided and fixed to a straight end part of the shaft or elsewhere on the shaft . such a separate part can be a brush having a central axis coinciding with the axis 21 of the shaft and an off - center driving post . the driving post then takes up the position and function of the remote end or cam 20 . thus , the driving post and the slot 22 then form the driving engagement between the shaft and the holder 13 and so the driving post can be regarded as the remote end of the shaft . it is also possible , but not usually so convenient , in some embodiments of the invention to arrange for the holder 13 to be hingedly pivoted at one side , for example opposite the shaft . in such a case , bristles mounted nearer the hinged pivot will not actually move as much as bristles at the side next to the shaft but they will still vibrate significantly . it will also be appreciated that whether pivoted to rotate or to hinge , the bristle holder 13 need not be circular . however , a circular holder 13 is normally preferred so that its rotational position can be changed when desired , as mentioned above . while the above - described shaft arrangement is preferred , it is contemplated that other shaft arrangements can be used with the present invention . for example , the arrangement described in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 732 , 432 , the substance of which is incorporated herein by reference , might be substituted to accommodate mechanical misalignments of the shaft and mechanical strain during use . further , the head 11 might be provided in a form in which it can be readily detached from the handle 10 . this could be accomplished using , coupling arrangements for the shaft and body portion of the head . such arrangements are known in the art . for example , the head and handle portions can include mating slots , spring clips , and protrusions and / or locking or securing tabs and grooves . the shaft can be divided into two sections , each section including a coupling element . for example the coupling is achieved with a keyed arrangement . for instance , coupling elements can include male and female mating splines affixed to respective shaft section ends , or as shown in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 617 , 601 , the substance of which is incorporated herein by reference . further , the slot 22 might be replaced by a wobble plate , such as described in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 784 , 743 , the substance of which is incorporated herein by reference . with additional reference now to fig8 โ fig1 , embodiments of an enhanced electric toothbrush 810 include a first bristle holder 814 similar to the bristle holder 13 described above . the enhanced toothbrush 810 has a head 816 and a body or handle 817 . of course , the enhanced toothbrush includes a motor 819 and batteries for powering the motor . the head portion 816 has a longitudinal axis 818 . the first bristle holder 814 is illustrated as circular . however , other shape bristle holders are contemplated and within the scope of the invention . the first bristle holder 814 includes at least one slot as described above ( see fig3 ) for receiving a remote - most end or can of a driving shaft 820 as described in reference to fig1 โ fig7 . the remote - most end ( see fig3 ) of the driving shaft is bent or offset from a central longitudinal axis 21 ( see fig3 ) of the driving shaft 820 as described above . the motor 819 is operative to rotate the shaft 820 . in short , with regard to the construction and operation of the shaft 820 in relation to the first bristle holder 814 , the enhanced toothbrush 810 is similar to the toothbrush described in reference to fig1 โ fig7 . however , embodiments of the enhanced electric toothbrush 810 also include second bristle holders disposed adjacent the first bristle holders , such as second bristle holder 822 . while it is desirable to locate the second bristle holder directly adjacent the first bristle holder , it is contemplated that a gap may be provided between the first and second bristle holders . in addition , the space between the movable first and second bristle holders might be filled with stationary or fixed bristles which are embedded in fixed or stationary third bristle holder ( see e . g . fig8 a which forms part of the toothbrush head . in many embodiments of the enhanced electric toothbrush , the second bristle holders are movable and separately associated with , and separately driven by , a driving shaft such as the driving shaft 820 . the movable second bristle holders are movable in directions and / or manners that are different and distinct from whichever of the rotary or hingedly pivoted vibratory movements , described in reference to fig1 โ fig7 , is used in the particular embodiment . for example , referring to fig9 , a second bristle holder 910 is movably mounted in slots 912 in the toothbrush head 816 and separately driven in a vibratory , side - to - side , motion in a direction substantially perpendicular to the direction of the longitudinal axis 818 by an eccentric cam 914 included on a driving shaft 918 . the cam 914 and other cams described below can comprise one or more bends in the shaft 918 , as shown for example , example in fig9 a and as seen in views of other embodiments described below such as seen in fig1 , fig1 , and fig1 . alternatively , the cam 914 can be provided as a separate piece , which is attached to the shaft 918 by adhesive , a press or snap fit , a co - molding or any other mechanical or chemical means known in the art . optionally , the driving shaft is supported by a shaft support 920 . a cam follower 922 depends from a bottom surface 924 of the second bristle holder 910 . the cam follower 922 is offset from a longitudinal axis 926 of the second bristle holder . as the motor 819 of the enhanced toothbrush 810 rotates the shaft 918 , the cam 914 comes into contact with a cam contact surface 928 of the cam follower 922 and drives the cam follower 922 , and therefore , the second bristle 910 holder toward one side 930 of the enhanced toothbrush 810 and away from the longitudinal axis 818 of the head portion 816 . as the shaft 918 continues to rotate , the cam 914 becomes disengaged with the cam follower 922 . a resilient biasing member such as a spring 934 , lodged between a wall of the head portion 816 and a second surface of the cam follower , urges the cam follower 922 , and therefore the second bristle holder 910 , back toward the longitudinal axis 818 of the head portion 816 . as this back and forth or sided to side motion is repeated ( as the shaft 918 continues to rotate ), a sweeping or brushing motion is provided that is distinct from and complimentary to the motion provided by the first bristle holder 814 . the stroke and / or frequency of the second bristle holder 910 can be changed by varying the construction of the spring and placement and / or sizing of the cam 914 and the cam follower 922 . for example , the cam follower 922 might be placed closer to the axis 926 to provide a shorter stroke for the cam follower 922 , or a stronger spring might be provided to increase the rate of return of the second bristle holder 910 or more than one spring might be provided . alternatively , the cam follower 922 might form an acute angle with the bottom surface 924 of the second bristle holder 910 or the first surface can be provided as accurate , curvilinear , or in other complex forms as opposed to the planar surface shown in fig9 . referring to fig1 , in a second embodiment of the enhanced toothbrush 810 a second bristle holder 1010 is movably mounted in slots 1012 in the toothbrush head 816 and separately driven in a vibratory , swinging or pivoting motion about a hinge or pivot 1014 , by a cam 1016 included on a driving shaft 1018 . the cam 1016 can comprise one or more bends in the shaft 1018 or be provided as a separate piece as previously discussed . optionally , the driving shaft is supported by a shaft support 1020 . a cam contact surface 1022 is located on a bottom surface of the second bristle holder 1010 . as the motor 819 of the enhanced toothbrush 810 rotates the shaft 1018 , the cam 1016 comes into contact with the cam contact surface 1022 and drives or pushes the second bristle holder 1010 causing the second bristle holder to swing or pivot about the hinge or pivot 1014 . as the shaft 1018 continues to rotate , the cam 1016 becomes disengaged with the cam contact surface 1022 . during use , as the cam 1016 comes in contact with the cam contact surface 1022 , bristles of the second bristle holder 1010 are urged against the users teeth with greater force . preferably , bristles of the second bristle holder 1010 are urged between the teeth of the user to provide a cleaning and flossing function . as the cam disengages with the contact surface 1022 , bristles pressing against the teeth of the user urge the second bristle holder away from the users teeth . as this swinging or pivoting motion is repeated ( as the shaft 1018 continues to rotate ), a flossing or deep cleaning motion is provided that is distinct from and complimentary to the motion provided by the first bristle holder 814 . referring to fig1 , in a third embodiment of the enhanced toothbrush 810 a second bristle holder 1110 is movably mounted in slots 1112 in the toothbrush head 816 and separately driven in a vibratory , lifting or vertical pulsating motion ( e . g ., in a direction substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis 1114 and substantially parallel to a surface 1115 of the second bristle holder 1110 as shown by the way of example in fig1 ) within the slots 1112 , by a cam 1116 included on a driving shaft 1118 . optionally , the driving shaft is supported by a shaft support 1120 . the cam 1116 can comprise one or more bends in the shaft 1118 or can be provided as a separate piece as previously discussed . a cam contact surface 1122 is located on a bottom surface of the second bristle holder 1110 . as the motor 819 ( see fig8 ) of the enhanced toothbrush 810 rotates the shaft 1118 , the cam 1116 comes into contact with the cam contact surface 1122 and drives or lifts , in a vibratory , lifting , or vertical pulsating motion , the second bristle holder 1110 causing the second bristle holder to lift or pulsate in a direction away from the head portion 816 and toward the teeth of a toothbrush user ( not shown ). as the shaft 118 continues to rotate , the cam 1116 becomes disengaged with the cam contact surface 1122 . during use , as the cam 1116 comes in contact with the cam contact surface 1122 , bristles of the second bristle holder 1110 are urged against the user &# 39 ; s teeth with varying degrees of force . preferably , bristles of the second bristle holder 1110 are urged between the teeth of the user to provide a cleaning and flossing function . as the cam disengages with the contact surface 1122 , bristles pressing against the teeth of the user urge the second bristle holder away from the user &# 39 ; s teeth and back toward the head portion 816 . as this lifting or vertical pulsating motion is repeated ( as the shaft 1118 continues to rotate ), a flossing or deep cleaning motion is provided that is distinct from and complimentary to the motion provided by the first bristle holder 814 . referring to fig1 , in a fourth embodiment of the enhanced toothbrush 810 a second bristle holder 1210 is movably mounted in slots ( not shown , but similar to the slots 912 illustrated in fig9 ) in the toothbrush head 816 and separately driven in a reciprocating or translating , longitudinal motion within the slots by a cam 1216 included on a driving shaft 1218 . optionally , the shaft is supported by shaft supports 1217 . the shaft supports may include c or u shaped portions ( not shown ) that are operative to receive and snap around the shaft . other means for retaining a shaft in a support are known in the art . the cam 1216 can comprise a shaped bead , with an appropriate eccentric configuration , placed or molded over and firmly secured to the shaft 1218 . in one embodiment , the cam 1216 includes a pair of acutely angled surfaces 1219 , 1220 which are inclined in the same direction and at the same angle of inclination , but which are disposed at opposite ends of the cam 1216 . the direction of inclination and angle of inclination can be varied as desired to change the frequency and stroke of the second bristle holder 1210 . first 1222 and second 1226 cam followers depend from a bottom surface of the second bristle holder 1210 . the cam followers 1222 , 1226 are offset or spaced from a transverse axis 1230 of the second bristle holder . the cam followers 1222 , 1226 straddle and / or capture the cam 1216 so that the angled surfaces 1219 , 1220 slidably engage the free ends of the cam followers 1222 and 1226 . as the motor 819 ( see fig8 ) of the enhanced toothbrush 810 rotates the shaft 1218 , the first acutely angled surface 1220 of the cam 1216 comes into contact with a surface of the first cam follower 1222 and drives the cam follower , and therefore , the second bristle holder 1210 , away from the first bristle holder 814 along the longitudinal axis 818 of the head portion 816 . as the shaft 1218 continues to rotate , the cam 1216 becomes disengaged with the first cam follower 1222 . the second acutely angled second surface 1219 of the cam 1216 then comes into contact with a surface of the second cam follower 1226 and drives the second cam follower 1226 , and therefore , the second bristle holder 1210 , back toward the first bristle holder 814 . as this back and forth motion is repeated ( as the shaft 1218 continues to rotate ), a scrubbing action is provided by the reciprocating or translating motion that is distinct from and complimentary to the motion provided by the first bristle holder 814 . referring to fig1 and fig1 , in a fifth embodiment of the enhanced toothbrush 810 a second bristle holder 1310 is movably mounted in slots ( not shown , but similar to the slots 912 illustrated in fig9 ) in the toothbrush head 816 and separately driven in an reciprocating or translating , longitudinal motion , by a cam 1316 included on a driving shaft 1318 . optionally , the shaft is supported by shaft supports 1317 . the shaft supports may include c or u shaped portions ( not shown ) that are operative to receive and snap around the shaft . other means for retaining a shaft in a support are known in the art . the cam 1316 is sinusoidal or curvilinear in nature in that it has one or more adjacent arcuate bends 1319 and 1320 in the shaft 1318 . the arcuate bends 1319 , 1320 have each have an apex 1321 , and the apexes 1321 are disposed on opposite sides of the driving shaft 1318 . a cam follower 1322 depends from a bottom surface 1323 of the second bristle holder 1310 and is disposed between the apexes 1321 of the cam 1316 . as the motor 819 of the enhanced toothbrush 810 rotates the shaft 1318 , a first surface 1325 of the cam 1316 comes into contact with a first surface 1324 of the cam follower 1322 and drives the cam follower 1322 , and therefore , the second bristle holder 1310 away from the first bristle holder 814 in a direction along the longitudinal axis 818 of the head portion 816 . as the shaft 1318 continues to rotate , the apex 1321 passes and becomes disengaged with the first cam follower surface 1324 . a second surface 1326 of the cam 1316 then comes into contact with a second surface 1426 of the cam follower 1322 and the drives the cam follower 1322 , and therefore , the second bristle holder 1310 back toward the first bristle holder 814 . as this back and forth motion is repeated ( as the shaft 1318 continues to rotate ), a scrubbing action is provided by the reciprocating or translating motion that is distinct from and complimentary to the motion provided by the first bristle holder 814 . the stroke and frequency of the reciprocating or translating motion can be varied by changing the spacing between the apexes and / or the amplitude , shape , or height of the apexes . referring to fig1 , in a sixth embodiment of the enhanced toothbrush 810 , a second bristle holder 1508 is movably mounted to the toothbrush head 816 with a pivot 1510 , which can be provided in the form of a pin or hinge . the pivot 1510 is installed at a centrally located transverse axis of the second bristle holder 1508 . in one embodiment , the second bristle holder 1508 pivots about a pin , which is anchored in the sidewalls of the toothbrush neck or head 816 at the midpoint of the second bristle holder 1508 . the second bristle holder 1508 is separately driven in a vibratory , swinging , teetering or rocking motion by a cam comprised of first 1512 and second 1514 cam portions included on a driving shaft 1518 . optionally , the shaft is supported by shaft supports 1519 . the shaft supports may include c or u shaped portions ( not shown ) that are operative to receive and snap around the shaft . other means for retaining a shaft in a support are known in the art . the cam portions 1512 , 1514 can comprise one or more rectilinear , curvilinear , or other bends in the shaft 1518 . as is illustrated in fig1 the first cam portion 1512 is located adjacent a first side of the pivot and the second cam portion 1514 is located adjacent a second side of the pivot . the second cam portion 1514 can comprise a portion of the remote - most end or cam ( not shown but similar to the remote - most end or cam 20 of fig3 ) of the shaft 1518 . first 1520 and second 1522 cam contact surfaces are located on a bottom surface of the second bristle holder 1508 . as is the case with all the described embodiments , the amplitude or height of the bends or eccentricities that make up the first and second cam portions 1512 , 1514 are large enough reach the related cam contact surface ( s ) and to drive the second bristle holder a desired distance toward , into , across or along a toothbrush users teeth . changing the distance between the apexes and the pivot point can vary the required amplitude or height . changing the distance between the apexes and the pivot point may affect a required or desired torque delivered by the motor 819 . as the motor 819 of the enhanced toothbrush 810 rotates the shaft 1518 , the first cam portion 1512 comes into contact with the first cam contact surface 1520 and drives or lifts ( relative to the figure ) a first end 1530 of the second bristle holder 1508 causing the first end 1530 to rock or move about the pivot 1510 in a direction away from the head portion 816 and toward the teeth of a toothbrush user ( not shown ). this action lowers a second end 1526 of the second bristle holder back toward the head portion 816 . as the shaft 1518 continues to rotate , the first cam portion 1512 becomes disengaged with the first cam contact surface 1520 and the second cam portion 1514 engages the second cam contact surface 1522 . the second cam portion 1514 drives or lifts ( relative to the figure ) the second end 1526 of the second bristle holder 1508 causing the second end 1526 to rock or move about the pivot 1510 in a direction away from the head portion 816 and toward the teeth of the toothbrush user . this action lowers a first end 1530 of the second bristle holder back toward the head portion 816 . during use , as the first and second cam portions 1512 , 1514 alternately come in contact with the first and second cam contact surfaces 1520 , 1522 , bristles of the second bristle holder 1508 are urged against teeth of the user with varying degrees of force . preferably , bristles of the second bristle holder 1508 are urged between the teeth of the user to provide a cleaning and flossing function . as the rocking or pivoting motion is repeated ( as the shaft 1518 continues to rotate ), a flossing or deep cleaning motion is provided that is distinct from and complimentary to the motion provided by the first bristle holder 814 . referring to fig1 , in a seventh embodiment of the enhanced toothbrush 810 a second bristle holder 1608 is movably mounted to the toothbrush head 816 with a pivot 1610 , which can be provided in the form of a pin or of a hinge installed at a transverse axis of the second bristle holder 1608 . in one embodiment , the second bristle holder 1608 pivots about a pin , which is anchored in the sidewalls of the toothbrush neck at the midpoint of the second bristle holder 1608 . the transverse axis is , for example , adjacent to a first end 1612 of the second bristle holder 1608 . the second bristle holder 1608 is separately driven in a vibratory , swinging , pivoting or rocking motion by a cam 1614 included on a driving shaft 1618 . optionally , the shaft is supported by shaft supports 1619 . the shaft supports may include c or u shaped portions ( not shown ) that are operative to receive and snap around the shaft . other means for retaining a shaft in a support are known in the art . the cam 1614 may be a portion of a remote - most end of the shaft 1618 ( not shown but similar to the remote - most end or cam 20 of fig3 ). the cam 1614 can comprise one or more bends in the shaft 1618 . for example , the bends can be rectilinear , curvilinear or other kinds of bends . a cam contact surface 1622 is located on a bottom surface of the second bristle holder 1608 adjacent to a second end 1626 thereof . as the motor 819 of the enhanced toothbrush 810 rotates the shaft 1618 , the cam 1614 comes into contact with the cam contact surface 1622 and drives or lifts ( relative to the figure ) the second end 1626 of the second bristle holder 1608 causing the second end 1626 of the second bristle holder 1608 to rock or move about the pivot 1610 in a direction away from the head portion 816 and toward the teeth of a toothbrush user ( not shown ). as the shaft 1618 continues to rotate , the cam 1614 becomes disengaged with the cam contact surface 1622 . during use , as the cam 1614 comes in contact with the cam contact surface 1622 , bristles of the second bristle holder 1608 are urged against teeth of the user with a varying degree of force . preferably , bristles of the second bristle holder 1608 are urged between the teeth of the user to provide a cleaning and flossing function . as the cam disengages with the contact surface 1622 , bristles pressing against the teeth of the user urge the second bristle holder away from the users teeth and back toward the head portion 816 . as this swinging or pivoting motion is repeated ( as the shaft 1618 continues to rotate ), a flossing or deep cleaning motion is provided that is distinct from , and complimentary to , the motion provided by the first bristle holder 814 . referring to fig1 and fig1 , in a eighth embodiment of the enhanced toothbrush 810 a second bristle holder 1810 is movably mounted in slots 1812 in the toothbrush head 816 and separately driven in a reciprocating or translating , transverse motion within the slots 1812 by a cam 1816 included on a driving shaft 1818 . the cam 1816 can comprise an appropriately shaped bead placed over or molded and fixedly secured to the shaft 1818 . for example , the bead is shaped as and eccentric cam . alternatively , the cam can include one or more rectilinear , curvilinear or other kind of bend . first 1822 and second 1826 cam followers depend from a bottom surface of the second bristle holder 1810 . the cam followers are , for example , offset from the longitudinal axis 818 of the second bristle holder and straddle or capture the cam 1816 . as the motor 819 ( see fig8 ) rotates the shaft 1818 , the cam 1816 comes into contact with a surface 1821 of the first cam follower 1822 and drives the first cam follower 1822 , and therefore , the second bristle holder 1810 away from a first side 1828 of the head portion 816 along a transverse axis 1830 of the head portion 816 . as the shaft 1818 continues to rotate , the cam 1816 becomes disengaged with the first cam follower 1822 . the cam 1816 then comes into contact with a surface 1825 of the second cam follower 1826 and drives the second cam follower 1826 , and therefore , the second bristle holder 1810 back toward the first side 1828 of the head portion 816 . as this back and forth or side to side motion is repeated ( as the shaft 1818 continues to rotate ), a sweeping motion is provided that is distinct from and complimentary to the motion provided by the first bristle holder 814 . referring to fig1 in a ninth embodiment of the enhanced toothbrush 810 a second bristle holder 1910 is movably mounted in slots ( not shown ) in the toothbrush head 816 and separately driven in an reciprocating or translating , longitudinal motion , by a cam 1916 included on a driving shaft 1918 . the cam 1916 can comprise a shaped bead , with an appropriate configuration , placed or molded over and firmly secured to the shaft 1918 . the cam 1916 includes a reversing spiral or helical groove 1920 . the spiral or helical groove extends around a circumference of the bead and spirals about a longitudinal axis of the bead . for example , the longitudinal axis coincides with the shaft 1918 . a cam follower 1922 depends from a bottom surface 1923 of the second bristle holder 1910 . the cam follower 1922 is slidingly received within the spiral groove 1920 . as the motor 819 of the enhanced toothbrush 810 rotates the shaft 1918 , a first surface 1924 of the spiral groove 1920 comes into contact with a first surface 1925 of the cam follower 1922 and drives the cam follower 1922 , and therefore , the second bristle holder 1910 away from the first bristle holder 814 along the longitudinal axis 818 of the head portion 816 . as the shaft 1918 continues to rotate , the cam follower 1922 reaches an apex 1926 of the spiral groove 1920 and the first surface 1924 of the spiral groove 1920 becomes disengaged with the first cam surface 1925 . a second surface 1928 of the spiral groove 1920 then comes into contact with a second surface 1930 of the cam follower 1922 and drives the cam follower 1922 , and therefore , the second bristle holder 1910 back toward the first bristle holder 814 . as this back and forth motion is repeated ( as the shaft 1918 continues to rotate ), a scrubbing motion is provided that is distinct from and complimentary to the motion provided by the first bristle holder 814 . optionally cam 1916 is eccentrically mounted on the shaft 1918 and the longitudinal axis of the bead or cam 1916 does not coincide with the shaft 1918 . in this case , if the cam follower 1922 is made long enough to ride on the bottom of the spiral groove 1920 , a lifting or vertical pulsing force is provided to the second bristle holder as the eccentrically mounted came is rotated by the shaft . alternately , or additionally , the depth of the groove is varied . the variation in depth provides lifting or vertical pulsing forces to the cam follower and therefore to the second bristle holder . the spiral groove may be replaced with a groove that cycles back and forth along the longitudinal axis of the bead several times as it circles the bead . this sort of groove can be used to increase the reciprocating frequency of the second bristle holder . with the embodiments of the present invention have been illustrated for simplicity with bristles , which extend in a direction substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis 818 and the surface ( for example see 1115 of fig1 ) of the bristle holders , it is contemplated that the bristles might be arranged differently to complement or further enhance the motions of the first and / or second bristle holders . referring to fig2 , some or all of the bristles might extend in a direction which forms an acute angle 2008 to a surface 2006 of the bristle holder and extends in a direction toward or away from the handle , such as shown by way of example in fig2 with respect to bristles 2010 and 2014 respectively . referring to fig2 , in another embodiment , some of the bristles might extend outwardly away from head , in another direction , again forming an acute angle 2108 with respect to the surface of the bristle holder , as shown by way of example in fig2 with respect to bristles 2110 and 2114 . massaging bristles or bristles of varying height might also be used , such as described in u . s . patent nos . des . 330 , 286 , des . 434 , 563 , the substances of which are incorporated herein by reference . other preferred bristle arrangements suitable for use include those arrangements described in whole or part in u . s . pat . nos . 6 , 006 , 394 ; 4 , 081 , 876 ; 5 , 046 , 213 ; 5 , 335 , 389 ; 5 , 392 , 483 ; 5 , 446 , 940 ; 4 , 894 , 880 ; and international publication no . wo 99 / 23910 ; the substances of which are incorporated herein by reference . the described embodiments have been described with certain words and phrases that attempt to describe certain motions . motion can either be constant or vibratory . one example of a constant motion is simple rotation where an element angularly moves in a single direction ( e . g ., a bristle holder which only rotates clockwise or swivels clockwise in a cone like envelope ) or translates in a single direction . vibration is any periodic movement having repeated cycles . vibratory motion can have one or more frequencies and amplitudes . vibratory movement which is substantially linear is referred to herein as a reciprocating motion . reciprocating motion can occur in a number of directions , such as substantially horizontal , substantially vertical ( i . e ., a lifting or pulsating motion ), and combinations thereof . vibratory movement which is substantially rotational in nature is referred to herein as an oscillatory or pivoting motion . because most motions can be complex in nature ( i . e ., include elements of other types of motion ), the use of the above - described terms herein can include other motions , unless stated otherwise ( e . g . reciprocates only ), in addition to the basic or primary motion described by the term . so , for example , a motion which is described herein as reciprocating may also include other vibratory or constant movements even though the primary movement is reciprocatory in nature . the invention has been described with reference to particular embodiments . modifications and alterations will occur to others upon reading and understandings this specification . for example , while certain have been described as comprising bends in a shaft and other cams have been described as including appropriately shaped beads secured to a shaft , the cams are not limited to the suggested form . indeed , bends may be substituted for beads and beads may be substituted for bends . for example , fig2 illustrates a tenth embodiment that is similar to the fifth embodiment illustrated in fig1 and 14 . however , in the tenth embodiment the cam 2216 is formed as an appropriately configured complex bead fixedly placed or co - molded over the shaft 2218 . the cam 2216 provides shapes 2218 , 2220 with surfaces that serve an equivalent purpose to the arcuate bends 1319 , 1320 described in reference to the fifth embodiment . where first and second cam portions or surfaces are described or referenced , the portions or surfaces can be considered to be or implemented as separate cams . where cams or cam portions are illustrated with one eccentricity or bent shape , multiple eccentricities or bent shapes may be included . each added eccentricity or bent shape would increase the frequency with witch the related bristle holder vibrates , pulses , pivots , swivels , rocks , oscillates , reciprocates or translates . additionally , where multiple eccentricities are included , they may be of varying amplitude , thereby providing varying bristle holder movement amplitudes . it is intended that all such modifications and alternations are included insofar as they come within the scope of the appended claims or equivalents thereof . all documents cited in the detailed description of the invention are , in relevant part , incorporated herein by reference ; the citation of any document is not to be construed as an admission that it is prior art with respect to the present invention . while particular embodiments of the present invention have been illustrated and described , it would be obvious to those skilled in the art that various other changes and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention . it is therefore intended to cover in the appended claims all such changes and modifications that are within the scope of this invention . | 0 |
9 - phenylstearyl alcohol has the formula ## str1 ## it is a liquid at room temperature . an effective amount of 9 - phenylstearyl alcohol is added to a hydrocarbon lubricant of the formula ## str2 ## wherein r is a long chain alkyl group of 4 - 20 carbon atoms , preferably at least 8 carbon atoms , and n is an integer . the above described hydrocarbon lubricant is combined with the 9 - phenylstearyl alcohol , which alcohol has both a polar group and a long chain pendent alkyl group . preferably , the mixture contains from about 5 to about 40 percent by weight of the 9 - phenylstearyl alcohol . the dopant can be mixed with the hydrocarbon lubricant in a solvent or solvent mixture , for example , heptane or a heptane - isopropanol mixture in which the components are soluble . the solution can be sprayed onto a high density information record in known manner , or the record can be immersed in the solution . alternatively , the doped lubricant can be applied directly by means of a very fine nozzle . the discs have improved resistance to the effects of elevated temperature and moisture and the lubrication is sufficient to prevent undue stylus wear . the lubricant system of the present invention can be applied to capacitance electronic discs as they are pressed from the mold , which is preferable , or the discs can be cleaned first with an aqueous solution and then dried with a solvent such as 1 , 1 , 2 - trifluoro - 2 , 2 , 1 - trichloroethane . the invention will be further illustrated by the following examples but the invention is not meant to be limited to the details described therein . in the examples , parts and percentages are by weight unless otherwise noted . carrier distress time is measured by adding the amount of time in seconds ( but discounting intervals of less than 10 microseconds ) during record playback when the r . f . output of the player arm is less than 150 millivolts peak to peak and the time when the r . f . output gives above 8 . 6 or below 3 . 1 megahertz in frequency , indicating a defect . such defects are noted by the viewer as dropouts . the present acceptable level of carrier distress for a video record is 3 seconds in one hour of playback time . another test of the disc is known as the small skips test . the r . f . output of the player arm normally detects 8 consecutively numbered daxi codes for each rotation of the disc . thus , if less than 8 daxi codes are noted per rotation , a computer attached to the player determines the number of daxi codes missed and then computes the number of grooves skipped . the number of times during one hour of playback that 8 grooves or less are skipped ( one small skip event ) is monitored . the present acceptable level of small skip events is 30 for one hour or 15 for one - half hour of playback . commercial capacitance electronic discs were used for testing . one group of discs was cleaned in shipley cleaning solution as disclosed in copending application of nyman et al , ser . no . 091 , 878 filed nov . 7 , 1979 , and dried in trifluorotrichloroethane and lubricated . the second group of discs was lubricated as they came from the press . the discs were played once and stressed by placing in a chamber maintained at 95 percent relative humidity and 100 f for one hour and played again . carrier distress was measured during each play . the data are summarized below wherein the control lubricant contains no additives and the example was applied from heptane solution containing 0 . 3 percent of a polydecylethylene lubricant available as h - 180 from nye inc . and 0 . 045 percent of 9 - phenylstearyl alcohol . ______________________________________ carrier distress , secs ./ hr range median # pass______________________________________washeddiscs initial playcontrol 0 . 1 - 1 . 5 0 . 1 12 / 12example 1 0 - 0 . 5 0 . 1 12 / 12 after stressingcontrol 0 . 1 - 7 . 3 1 . 7 9 / 12example 1 0 . 1 - 1 . 0 0 . 2 12 / 12as presseddiscs initial playcontrol 0 . 1 - 1 . 4 0 . 1 12 / 12example 1 0 . 1 - 0 . 4 0 . 1 12 / 12 after stressingcontrol 0 . 1 - 16 6 . 5 4 / 12example 1 0 . 1 - 3 . 1 0 . 3 11 / 12______________________________________ discs as in example 1 were tested for short skips . the data are summarized below . ______________________________________ short skips / 30 min . playback range median______________________________________washed discs initial playcontrol 0 - 50 5example 2 0 - 19 4 after stressingcontrol 6 - 694 25example 2 0 - 44 4as presseddiscs initial playcontrol 0 - 67 11example 2 0 - 40 8 after stressingcontrol 5 - 90 21example 2 0 - 50 8______________________________________ it is apparent that the doped lubricant performed well in all cases as compared to the undoped lubricant . | 2 |
referring now to fig1 a signal transmission gate made up of transistor q1 is shown with signal source 10 , which is capable of generating signals at af and / or rf frequencies , connected to its collector electrode through capacitor c1 , a load 12 connected to its emitter electrode , and a gating source 14 connected to its base electrode . operation is as follows . with a zero or negative gating signal applied between the base and the emitter of transistor q1 , transistor q1 is off and provides an essentially open circuit in both directions between signal source 10 and load 12 , as well as between the signal source and load and gating source 14 . when a sufficiently positive gating signal is applied between the base and emitter of transistor q1 , q1 is turned on to provide a low signal impedance between signal source 10 and load 12 . the magnitude of the series signal impedance is determined by the degree to which transistor q1 is turned on . capacitor c1 merely blocks the flow of dc current between the signal source 10 and load 12 , and gating source 14 . because of the bipolar nature of junction transistors , which is seldom if ever appreciated , when q1 is gated on , it is capable of passing signal current in either direction between its collector and emitter . therefore , the emitter and collector electrodes of transistor q1 may be interchanged as shown in phantom fig1 . the dc path from the gating source 14 to ground is completed through the emitter of transistor q1 and the load 12 . one such dc path is required to turn transistor q1 on and may , surprisingly , be from the gating source 14 through the collector of transistor q1 and the signal source , as shown in fig2 . in other words , capacitor c1 may be connected either to the collector or emitter of transistor q1 or omitted depending on dc considerations in the load or signal source . alternatively , a separate dc path could be provided by connection of an independent ground path directly to the emitter or collector of transistor q1 . referring now to fig2 the embodiment of fig1 is shown with a specific gating circuit 16 interposed between the gating source 14 and the base of transistor q1 . the base of q1 is driven through a high signal impedance provided by the common base amplifier arrangement of transistor q2 . a high signal impedance at the base of transistor q1 is required when both the collector and emitter of transistor q1 must be maintained at a high signal impedance with respect to ground because of the nature of signal source 10 or load 12 , or both . in fig2 load 12 presents a high signal impedance to the emitter of q1 through capacitor c1 . when transistor q1 is turned on , its base and emitter are essentially at the same potential . therefore , in order to avoid shunting the load , the base of transistor q1 must also be at a high impedance with respect to ground . gating circuit 16 accomplishes this by employing a transistor q2 connected in the common base amplifier configuration to provide a high signal impedance between collector and base of q2 . connected to the base of transistor q2 is a low gating signal impedance bias circuit including zener diode d1 , capacitor c2 and resistor r2 . this bias circuit places the base of transistor q2 at gating signal ground potential in order that transistor q2 may operate efficiently as a grounded base amplifier with its base voltage more positive with respect to its collector voltage . a positive dc voltage is applied to resistor r2 to effect and maintain break - down of zener diode dl . thus , a constant bias voltage is applied to the base of transistor q2 . the gating signal in the form of a positive voltage is applied to the emitter of transistor q2 through resistor r1 . when the gating signal voltage at the emitter sufficiently exceeds the bias voltage at the base , transistor q2 ( pnp ) is turned on to provide base current to transistor q1 ( npn ) to turn q1 on . as mentioned hereinabove , capacitor c1 merely blocks dc between load 12 , q1 and q2 . hence , transistor q1 is turned on by a dc path through signal source 10 . of course , if no dc blocking is required , c1 may be eliminated completely . capacitor c2 if required across zener diode d1 reduces the gating signal impedance at the base of transistor q2 . referring now to fig3 the signal transmission gate comprising transistor q1 is shown connected to a signal source 20 wherein the signal source is gated through q1 to ground . as described hereinabove , where it is not necessary to maintain the emitter at a high impedance with respect to ground , transistor q1 may be driven by a low impedance source . thus , the gating circuit 16 of fig2 is not required in fig3 and transistor q1 may be driven from a gating source 14 having a low impedance . signal source 20 includes an energy storing circuit 22 made up of the parallel connection to ground of inductor l1 and capacitor c3 . energy is supplied to circuit 22 by a positive dc voltage source through capacitor c1 and resistor r3 . selectively energizing and de - energizing circuit 22 generates energizing and de - energizing signals , with the concurrent effect of changing the signal impedance of that circuit . by capacitively coupling the collector of transistor q1 to circuit 22 through capacitor c1 , circuit 22 may be de - energized and energized by gating transistor q1 on and off to thereby effectively gate the de - energizing signal from circuit 22 to ground and the energizing signal from the positive dc source to circuit 22 . gating transistor q1 on and off also changes the impedance at circuit 22 . in the preferred embodiments of the invention shown in the drawing and described above , the values and / or characteristics of the various circuit components are set forth below : resistances ( ohms ) capacitancesr1 2 . 2k c1 0 . 001 ฮผfr2 10k c2 0 . 027 ฮผfr3 100k c3 50 pfinductors zener diodesl1 39 ฮผh d1 1n 5230transistorsq1 2n 5135q2 2n 5138 the advantages of the present invention , as well as certain changes and modifications of the disclosed embodiments thereof , will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art . for example , in fig2 for operation from a negative power supply , pnp transistors are substituted for npn transistors and vice versa , with the connections of the zener diode being reversed . similarly , in fig3 an npn transistor is substituted . of course , the proper polarity of the gating signal must be applied in all configurations . additionally , the series signal resistance of the disclosed embodiments may be decreased by connecting one or more transistors in parallel to transistor q1 , i . e ., by connecting the base ( s ) of the additional transistor ( s ) to the base of q1 , the emitter ( s ) to the emitter of q1 , and the collector ( s ) to the collector of q1 or by any of the well known multiple transistor combinations such as the darlington pair . the series signal resistance may be increased by connecting one or more transistors in series with transistor q1 , i . e ., by connecting the emitter of q1 to the emitter of a second transistor , the collector of the second transistor to the load , or if there are more transistors to the emitter of a third , etc ., and finally the emitter of the last transistor to the load , and the base of q1 to the base ( s ) of the additional transistor ( s ). it should be realized , however , that these two methods of increased performance are mutually exclusive . although the invention has been described with reference to specified types of transistors , other types may be substituted without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention . for example field - effect transistors ( fet &# 39 ; s ) may also be employed to pass and block signals as described hereinabove . of course , when substituting different types of transistors , the bias considerations and particular connections of the transistor will have to be considered . for example , an fet will pass or block signals between its drain and source electrodes , in both directions when the proper gating signal is applied to the fet gate electrode . it is the applicant &# 39 ; s intention to cover all those changes and modifications which could be made to the embodiments of the invention herein chosen for the purposes of the disclosure without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention . | 7 |
the embodiments of the amplification device and the amplification method discussed herein are described below in detail with reference to accompanying drawings . the amplification device and the amplification method discussed herein are not limited to the embodiments . in addition , the same reference numerals are assigned to configurations having the similar function in the embodiment , and the duplicated description is omitted herein . while inventing the present embodiments , observations were made regarding a related art . such observations include the following , for example . in an amplifier of related art , when the technology is used in which the amplitude of the input signal of the amplifier is kept unchanged in order to operate the amplifier with high efficiency , it is difficult to perform distortion compensation for the amplitude component at the input of the amplifier . this is because , in the technology , it is assumed that the amplitude of the input signal of the amplifier is kept at a certain level . therefore , the embodiments disclosed herein may provide , for example , an amplification device and an amplification method in which amplification is performed with high efficiency , and an amplification device and an amplification method in which distortion compensation is performed . fig1 is a block diagram illustrating an example of an amplification device according to a first embodiment . in fig1 , an amplification device 10 includes an amplitude level detection section 11 , a level determination section 12 , an adjustment section 13 , a look - up table ( lut ) storage section 14 , a distortion compensation section 15 , an amplifier 16 , a control signal output section 17 , a load variable section 18 , a comparison section 19 , and coefficient update sections 20 and 21 . the amplitude level detection section 11 detects the amplitude ( that is , electric power ) of a signal that is input to the amplification device 10 . that is , the amplitude level detection section 11 extracts , for example , an envelope of the input signal . in addition , the amplitude level detection section 11 outputs the detected amplitude value to the level determination section 12 , the lut storage section 14 , and the control signal output section 17 . here , the input signal includes an amplitude component and a phase component . in addition , for example , when the amplification device 10 is applied to a transmission device , the input signal is a transmission signal , and includes an i component and a q component . in this case , the amplitude component and the phase component of the input signal vary depending on transmission data . the level determination section 12 determines an amplitude level based on the amplitude value that is detected in the amplitude level detection section 11 . for example , the level determination section 12 compares the amplitude value that is received from the amplitude level detection section 11 with a level determination threshold that is set beforehand , and determines whether the detected amplitude value is in a high level or a low level , based on the sizes of the amplitude value and the level determination threshold . for example , the level determination section 12 determines that the detected amplitude value is in the high level when the detected amplitude value is the level determination threshold or higher , and determines that the detected amplitude value is in the low level when the detected amplitude value is lower than the level determination threshold . here , the amplification device 10 operates in a high level mode when the level determination section 12 determines that the detected amplitude value is in the high level , and operates in a low level mode when the level determination section 12 determines that the detected amplitude value is in the low level . in addition , the level determination section 12 outputs information on the determined level ( hereinafter , may be simply referred to as โ level information โ) to the adjustment section 13 , the lut storage section 14 , and the control signal output section 17 . here , the level information indicates whether the level is the high level or the low level , and is also information on the mode ( hereinafter , may be simply referred to as โ mode information โ). when the level information that is received from the level determination section 12 indicates that the level is the high level , the adjustment section 13 adjusts the amplitude level of the input signal so as to keep the amplitude level within a certain range , and outputs the signal after the level adjustment to the distortion compensation section 15 . as a result , the level of the amplitude of the signal that is input to the amplifier 16 is kept at a certain level , and the signal becomes a signal on which the phase information is merely superimposed . in addition , when the level information that is received from the level determination section 12 indicates the level is the low level , the adjustment section 13 outputs the input signal to the distortion compensation section 15 without adjusting the amplitude level . as a result , the signal that is input to the amplifier 16 becomes a signal on which both of the amplitude information and the phase information are superimposed . the lut storage section 14 outputs a second distortion compensation coefficient that corresponds to the amplitude value that is detected in the amplitude level detection section 11 , to the distortion compensation section 15 . for example , the lut storage section 14 stores a second look - up table in which a plurality of address values are respectively associated with second distortion compensation coefficients that correspond to the address values . each of the address values corresponds to a candidate of the amplitude value . in addition , the lut storage section 14 outputs the second distortion compensation coefficient that is associated with the detected amplitude value ( that is , an address value ) to the distortion compensation section 15 . the second distortion compensation coefficient includes an amplitude component coefficient and a phase component coefficient . fig2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the second look - up table . as illustrated in fig2 , in the second look - up table , a pair of an amplitude component coefficient โ ฮฑ n โ and a phase component coefficient โ ฮฒ n โ are associated with an address โ a n โ. in addition , an address of โ a k โ or larger corresponds to the above - described high level , an address of smaller than โ a k โ corresponds to the above - described low level . here , โ a k โ corresponds to the above - described level determination threshold . in addition , a value of the amplitude component coefficient becomes a value that corresponds to the address in the low level range . that is , for example , as an address number becomes large , a value of the corresponding amplitude component coefficient also increases . in addition , a value of the amplitude component coefficient is a value within a certain range in the high level range regardless of an address . that is , for example , the value of the corresponding amplitude component coefficient is kept unchanged regardless of an address . here , when the amplitude component coefficient is kept unchanged in the high level range , distortion compensation for the amplitude component is not performed in the high level range . on the other hand , a value of the phase component coefficient becomes a value that corresponds to the address regardless of whether the range is a low level range or a high level range . in addition , the lut storage section 14 updates , using an update coefficient that is received from the coefficient update section 20 , the second distortion compensation coefficient ( that is , the amplitude component coefficient and the phase component coefficient ) that has been used to calculate the update coefficient and that correspond to an amplitude value ( that is , an address ) of a transmission signal at focused timing . the distortion compensation section 15 performs distortion compensation for the signal that is output from the adjustment section 13 using the second distortion compensation coefficient that is received from the lut storage section 14 . here , as described above , the value of the amplitude component coefficient that is received from the lut storage section 14 is kept unchanged in the high level mode , so that the distortion compensation section 15 does not perform distortion compensation for the amplitude component of the input signal and merely perform distortion compensation for the phase component . in addition , the distortion compensation section 15 performs distortion compensation for both of the amplitude component and the phase component in the low level mode . for example , the distortion compensation section 15 includes a multiplier 31 . the multiplier 31 multiplies the signal that is output from the adjustment section 13 by the second distortion compensation coefficient that is output from the lut storage section 14 , and outputs the obtained signal to the amplifier 16 . the amplifier 16 amplifies the signal that is output from the distortion compensation section 15 , and outputs the amplified signal to the load variable section 18 . here , the above - described high level range corresponds to a nonlinear region of the amplifier 16 . in addition , the amplitude ( that is , electric power ) of the signal that is adjusted in the adjustment section 13 corresponds to the nonlinear region of the amplifier 16 . the control signal output section 17 generates a control signal by correcting the amplitude value that is detected in the amplitude level detection section 11 , using the first distortion compensation coefficient that corresponds to the amplitude value that is detected in the amplitude level detection section 11 , and the control signal output section 17 outputs the generated control signal to the load variable section 18 . that is , the value of the control signal is a value also in consideration of distortion compensation . that is , the control signal output section 17 functions as an amplitude value output section that corrects the amplitude value that is detected in the amplitude level detection section 11 , using the first distortion compensation coefficient that corresponds to the amplitude value that is detected in the amplitude level detection section 11 , and that performs output of the corrected amplitude value . for example , the control signal output section 17 includes a lut storage section 41 and a multiplier 42 . the lut storage section 41 outputs the first distortion compensation coefficient that corresponds to the amplitude value that is detected in the amplitude level detection section 11 , to the distortion compensation section 15 . for example , the lut storage section 41 stores the first look - up table in which a plurality of address values are respectively associated with first distortion compensation coefficients that correspond to the address values . each address value corresponds to a candidate of the amplitude value . in addition , the lut storage section 41 outputs the first distortion compensation coefficient that is associated with the detected amplitude value ( that is , an address value ) to the multiplier 42 . the first distortion compensation coefficient does not include a phase component coefficient but includes an amplitude component coefficient , which is different from the above - described second distortion compensation coefficient . fig3 is a diagram illustrating an example of the first look - up table . as illustrated in fig3 , in the first look - up table , an amplitude component coefficient โ ฮณ n โ is associated with an address โ a n โ. in addition , similarly to the above - described second look - up table , an address of โ a k โ or larger corresponds to the above - described high level , and an address of smaller than โ a k 38 corresponds to the above - described low level . here , โ a k โ corresponds to the above - described level determination threshold . in addition , the value of the amplitude component coefficient is within a certain range in the low level range regardless of an address . that is , for example , the value of the corresponding amplitude component coefficient is kept unchanged regardless of an address . on the other hand , the value of the amplitude component coefficient becomes a value that corresponds to the address in the high level range . that is , for example , as an address number becomes large , a value of the corresponding amplitude component coefficient also increases . here , when the amplitude component coefficient is kept unchanged in the low level range , distortion compensation for the amplitude component is not performed in the low level range . as described above , distortion compensation for the amplitude component is not performed at the output of the amplifier 16 in the low level range , because distortion compensation is performed in the distortion compensation section 15 . in addition , in the high level range , distortion compensation for the amplitude component is not performed in the distortion compensation section 15 , so that distortion compensation for the amplitude component is performed in the output of the amplifier 16 . distortion compensation for the phase component is performed in the distortion compensation section 15 regardless of whether the range is a low level range or a high level range . thus , in the first look - up table , a phase component coefficient is not included . in addition , the lut storage section 41 updates , using an update coefficient that is received from the coefficient update section 21 , the first distortion compensation coefficient ( that is , the amplitude component coefficient ) that has been used to calculate the update coefficient and that corresponds to an amplitude value ( that is , an address ) of a transmission signal at focused timing . the multiplier 42 multiplies the amplitude value that is detected in the amplitude level detection section 11 by the first distortion compensation coefficient that is output from the lut storage section 41 . such multiplication result corresponds to the control signal that is output to the load variable section 18 . the load variable section 18 changes the amplitude of the amplified signal that is output from the amplifier 16 by changing the load based on the control signal that is received from the control signal output section 17 . here , the control signal has a value based on the amplitude value that is detected in the amplitude level detection section 11 , so that the amplitude information that has been superimposed on the input signal to the amplification device 10 may be superimposed on the amplified signal by changing the load in the load variable section 18 based on the control signal . in addition , the control signal has a value for which distortion compensation for the amplitude component is considered , in the high level range , so that distortion compensation for the amplitude component may be performed when the load variable section 18 changes the load based on the control signal . a configuration example of the load variable section 18 is described later . an input signal to the amplification device 10 at each target timing is input to the comparison section 19 . in addition , an output signal from the load variable section 18 , which corresponds to the input signal at each target timing is input to the comparison section 19 through a feedback system . hereinafter , the signal that is input to the comparison section 19 through the feedback system may be referred to as โ a feedback signal โ. in addition , the comparison section 19 compares an input signal and a feedback signal that correspond to the same target timing . for example , the comparison section 19 subtracts the feedback signal from the input signal to obtain a difference between the input signal and the feedback signal . further , the comparison section 19 outputs the obtained difference to the coefficient update sections 20 and 21 . the coefficient update sections 20 and 21 calculate update coefficients based on the difference that is obtained in the comparison section 19 and output the calculated update coefficients to the lut storage sections 14 and 41 , respectively . as a result , the distortion compensation coefficients are updated in the lut storage sections 14 and 41 . by repeating such update processing , finally , the value converges to an optimal distortion compensation coefficient , and distortion in the amplifier 16 is compensated for . an example of a processing operation of the amplification device that includes the above - described configuration is described below . fig4 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the processing operation of the amplification device . here , in particular , distortion compensation processing in the high level mode and distortion compensation processing in the low level mode are described . the amplitude level detection section 11 detects the amplitude value of an input signal to the amplification device 10 ( step s 101 ). the level determination section 12 compares the amplitude value that is received from the amplitude level detection section 11 with a level determination threshold that is set beforehand , and determines whether or not the detected amplitude value is in a high level , based on the sizes of the amplitude value and the level determination threshold ( step s 102 ). here , the amplification device 10 operates in the above - described high level mode when the level determination section 12 determines that the detected amplitude value is in the high level , and operates in the above - described low level mode when the level determination section 12 determines that the detected amplitude value is not in the high level , that is , the detected amplitude value is in the low level . when the level determination section 12 determines that the detected amplitude value is in the high level ( yes in step s 102 ), the adjustment section 13 adjusts the amplitude level of the input signal so as to keep the amplitude level within a certain range ( step s 103 ). as a result , the signal that is input to the amplifier 16 becomes a signal the amplitude level of which is kept in the certain range and on which phase information is merely superimposed . fig5 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a signal that is input to the amplifier in the case of the high level mode . such adjusted amplitude level corresponds to a nonlinear region of the amplifier 16 . therefore , the amplifier 16 may operate with high efficiency . the distortion compensation section 15 does not perform distortion compensation for the amplitude component of the input signal but performs distortion compensation for the phase component of the input signal ( step s 104 ). the amplifier 16 amplifies the signal that is output from the distortion compensation section 15 ( step s 105 ). in addition , the amplified signal is output to the load variable section 18 . the load variable section 18 performs distortion compensation for the amplitude component of the amplified signal while superimposing the amplitude information that has been superimposed on the input signal , on the amplified signal , based on the control signal that is received from the control signal output section 17 ( step s 106 ). as described above , in the high level mode , the amplifier 16 may operate with high efficiency by adjusting the amplitude level of the signal that is input to the amplifier 16 so as to keep the amplitude level at a certain level . in addition , even when the amplitude level of the signal that is input to the amplifier 16 is at a certain level , distortion compensation may be performed by executing distortion compensation processing for the amplitude component at the output of the amplifier 16 . when the level determination section 12 determines that the detected amplitude value is not in the high level ( no in step s 102 ), the adjustment section 13 outputs the input signal to the distortion compensation section 15 without adjusting the amplitude level . as a result , the signal that is input to the amplifier 16 becomes a signal on which both of the amplitude information and the phase information are superimposed . fig6 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a signal that is input to the amplifier in the case of the low level mode . in addition , the distortion compensation section 15 performs distortion compensation for both of the amplitude component and the phase component of the input signal ( step s 107 ). the amplifier 16 amplifies the signal that is output from the distortion compensation section 15 ( step s 108 ). in addition , the amplified signal is output to the load variable section 18 . here , in the low level mode , processing of changing the amplitude of the amplified signal is not executed in the load variable section 18 . this is because , in the low level mode , the adjustment processing is not executed in the adjustment section 13 and distortion compensation for the amplitude component and the phase component is performed in the distortion compensation section 15 . a configuration example of the load variable section 18 is described below . fig7 is a diagram illustrating a first configuration example of the load variable section . in fig7 , the load variable section 18 includes a matching unit 50 and a quantization section 51 . the quantization section 51 forms a quantization bit string of quantization bit number n ( here , n is a natural number of 2 or more ) by quantizing the control signal that is output from the control signal output section 17 . the matching unit 50 is provided at the output of the amplifier 16 and changes the amplitude of the amplified signal that is output from the amplifier 16 by changing the load based on the quantization bit string that is formed in the quantization section 51 . for example , as illustrated in fig7 , the matching unit 50 includes capacitors 52 , 53 , and 54 that have different capacities , and switches 55 , 56 , and 57 . that is , the matching unit 50 is a switched capacitor . one end of the capacitor 52 is connected to a main transmission line , and the other end of the capacitor 52 is grounded through the switch 55 . similarly , one end of the capacitor 53 is connected to the main transmission line , and the other end of the capacitor 53 is grounded through the switch 56 . one end of the capacitor 54 is connected to the main transmission line , and the other end of the capacitor is grounded through the switch 57 . here , the quantization bit string is constituted , for example , by 3 bits . the highest - order bit in the quantization bit string corresponds to the capacitor 52 having the largest capacity and the switch 55 , and the second highest - order bit corresponds to the capacitor 53 having the second largest capacity and the switch 56 . in addition , the third highest - order bit corresponds to the capacitor 54 having the third largest capacity and the switch 57 . the capacity of the capacitor 52 is , for example , 4 pico - faraday [ pf ], the capacity of the capacitor 53 is 2 [ pf ] that is ยฝ of the capacity of the capacitor 52 , and the capacity of the capacitor 54 is 1 [ pf ] that is ยผ of the capacity of the capacitor 52 . in addition , when the switch that corresponds to the bit the value of which is 1 in the quantization bit string is turned on , the corresponding capacitor is grounded . when the capacity value is changed depending on the quantization bit string that is a digital value as described above , the size of load impedance may be changed . fig8 is a diagram illustrating a second configuration example of the load variable section . in fig8 , the load variable section 18 includes a matching unit 50 , a quantization section 51 , a matching unit 60 , and a digital / analog ( d / a ) conversion section 61 . the quantization section 51 forms a quantization bit string of a quantization bit number n ( here , n is a natural number of 2 or more ) by quantizing the control signal that is output from the control signal output section 17 . the quantization bit string includes a higher - order bits group and a lower - order bit group . the higher - order bit group is output to the matching unit 50 as it is , and the lower - order bit group is converted from a digital value to an analog value in the d / a conversion section 61 , and the analog value that corresponds to the lower - order bit group is output to the matching unit 60 . the higher - order bit corresponds to a large step width , and the lower - order bit corresponds to a small step width . the matching units 50 and 60 are provided at the output of the amplifier 16 , and change the amplitude of the amplified signal that is output from the amplifier 16 by changing the load based on the quantization bit string that is formed in the quantization section 51 . for example , the matching unit 60 changes the capacity in accordance with an analog value that is obtained in the d / a conversion section 61 . for example , as illustrated in fig8 , the matching unit 60 includes a pair of varactor diodes that are connected in series and in opposition to each other between the main transmission line and the ground , that is , an inverse - series varactor pair . for example , as illustrated in fig8 , the matching unit 60 includes a capacitor 62 , varactors 63 and 64 , and resistances 65 and 66 . one end of the capacitor 62 is connected to the main transmission line , and the other end of the capacitor 62 is connected to the anode of the varactor 63 . the connection point between the capacitor 62 and the varactor 63 is connected to the ground through the resistance 65 . the cathode of the varactor 64 is connected to the cathode of the varactor 63 . the anode of the varactor 64 is grounded . the connection point between the varactor 63 and the varactor 64 is connected to the d / a conversion section 61 through the resistance 66 . here , the capacity value is changed in accordance with an analog value ( that is , an analog voltage signal ) by applying the analog value to the connection point between the varactor 63 and the varactor 64 . as a result , the size of the load impedance may be changed . each of the capacities of the varactors 63 and 64 is less than the capacity of a capacitor that is included in the matching unit 60 and has the smallest capacity . in the matching unit 60 , instead of using the inverse - series varactor pair , an inverse - parallel varactor pair may be employed . that is , the matching unit 60 may include a pair of varactor diodes that are connected in parallel and in opposition to each other , that is , an inverse - parallel varactor pair between the main transmission line and the ground . as described above , according to the first embodiment , in the case of the high level mode in the amplification device 10 , the adjustment section 13 adjusts the amplitude level of the input signal so as to keep the amplitude level within a certain range . in addition , the control signal output section 17 forms a control signal by correcting the amplitude value that is detected in the amplitude level detection section 11 using the first distortion compensation coefficient that corresponds to the amplitude value that is detected in the amplitude level detection section 11 . in addition , the load variable section 18 changes the amplitude of the amplified signal by changing the load based on the control signal that is formed in the control signal output section 17 . in such configuration of the amplification device 10 , amplification may be performed with high efficiency , and distortion compensation for the amplitude component of the input signal may be performed . in a second embodiment , the load variable section is provided at the input of the amplifier as well . fig9 is a block diagram illustrating an example of an amplification device according to the second embodiment . in fig9 , the amplification device 100 includes a load variable section 101 , and the lut storage sections 102 and 103 . the load variable section 101 is provided at the input of the amplifier 16 . the load variable section 101 shifts the frequency of a signal that is input to the amplifier 16 , to a frequency that is indicated by frequency band setting information , by changing the load based on the frequency band setting information . for example , when the amplification device 100 is applied to a communication device that is allowed to perform communication in one of a plurality of frequency bands , the frequency band that is used for the communication is instructed to the load variable section 101 based on the frequency band setting information . the load variable section 101 shifts the frequency of the signal that is input to the amplifier 16 , to the frequency that is indicated by the frequency band setting information . as a result , the frequency of the transmission signal is adjusted to a frequency in the frequency band that is used for the communication . that is , variable tuning is performed over a certain band , so that multiband communication may be performed . in order to achieve the multiband communication , a certain offset voltage is applied to the load variable section 101 to determine a band , and a wide band signal that causes load impedance to move at high speed in accordance with an envelope is added to the offset voltage . when the frequency band to be used is changed , distortion characteristics are also changed . therefore , the lut storage sections 102 and 103 include a plurality of look - up tables that respectively correspond to a plurality of frequency bands . the lut storage sections 102 and 103 perform switching into a look - up table that corresponds to a frequency band that is indicated by the input frequency band setting information , and operate using the switched look - up table , similarly to the lut storage sections 14 and 41 that are described in the first embodiment . here , the configuration is described above in which the lut storage sections 102 and 103 hold the plurality of look - up tables , and switching of the look - up table is performed in accordance with the frequency band setting information , but the embodiment is not limited to such a configuration . for example , a configuration may be employed in which data to be held in a look - up table that corresponds to the frequency band to be used is input from a control section ( not illustrated ) to the lut storage sections 102 and 103 , and the lut storage sections 102 and 103 update the look - up table using such data . as described above , according to the second embodiment , in the amplification device 100 , since the load variable section 101 is provided at the input of the amplifier 16 and changes the load based on the frequency band setting information , the frequency of the signal that is adjusted by the adjustment section 13 is changed . in such a configuration of the amplification device 100 , the amplification device that is allowed to be applied to a communication device that performs multiband communication may be achieved . in the first embodiment and the second embodiment , the scheme is described in which the mode is switched in accordance with an amplitude value , but the embodiments are not limited to such a scheme . for example , a scheme may be employed in which the amplitude of the signal that is input to the amplifier is adjusted at a certain level regardless of an amplitude value . that is , for example , there is a communication scheme in which the input level of an amplifier is kept unchanged , and power supply voltage of the amplifier is varied in response to an amplitude level . to such a scheme , the processing in the high level mode that is described in the first embodiment and the second embodiment may be applied . the amplification devices according to the first embodiment and the second embodiment may be achieved , for example , by the following hardware configuration . fig1 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration example of the amplification device . in fig1 , an amplification device 200 includes an amplitude adjustment circuit 201 , a multiplier 202 , a matching circuit 203 , an amplifier 204 , a matching circuit 205 , a processor 206 , and a memory 207 . the amplitude adjustment circuit 201 , the multiplier 202 , the matching circuit 203 , the amplifier 204 , and the matching circuit 205 respectively correspond to the adjustment section 13 , the multiplier 31 , the load variable section 101 , the amplifier 16 , and the load variable section 18 in the amplification devices according to the first embodiment and the second embodiment . as an example of the processor 206 , a central processing unit ( cpu ), a digital signal processor ( dsp ), a field programmable gate array ( fpga ), or the like is employed . in addition , as an example of the memory 207 , a random access memory ( ram ) such as a synchronous dynamic random access memory ( sdram ), a read only memory ( rom ), a flash memory , or the like is employed . in addition , various processing functions that are executed in the amplification devices according to the first embodiment and the second embodiment may be achieved by causing a processor that is included in the amplification device to execute a program that is stored in a memory such as a non - volatile storage medium . that is , programs that correspond to the processes that are executed by the amplitude level detection section 11 , the level determination section 12 , the comparison section 19 , the coefficient update sections 20 and 21 , and the lut storage sections 14 , 41 , 102 , and 103 may be recorded to the memory 207 , and each of the programs may be executed by the processor 206 . in addition , the holding function by the lut storage sections 14 , 41 , 102 , and 103 may be achieved by the memory 207 . the above - described hardware configuration is merely an example , and the embodiments are not limited to such a configuration . for example , all of the processes of the function sections that are described in the first embodiment and the second embodiment may be achieved by the processor . all examples and conditional language recited herein are intended for pedagogical purposes to aid the reader in understanding the invention and the concepts contributed by the inventor to furthering the art , and are to be construed as being without limitation to such specifically recited examples and conditions , nor does the organization of such examples in the specification relate to a showing of the superiority and inferiority of the invention . although the embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail , it should be understood that the various changes , substitutions , and alterations could be made hereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention . | 7 |
a fluorogenic real time pcr method was developed and used to quantify viral nucleic acid in clinical samples . an abi7700 ( taqman โข) was used to quantify respiratory syncytial virus , influenza , picornaviruses including rhinovirus , parainfluenza iii and i , and adenovirus . these assays were applied to nasal aspirate samples taken from a cohort of children who were at the time experiencing exacerbation of asthma - like symptoms . using clinical material from a retrospective study , the aims were to compare the sensitivity and specificity of quantitative taqman โข pcr with conventional pcr . because of the comparative nature of the study it was also possible to further determine whether the virus titre measured in the upper airway was different in those positive by real time pcr only compared with those positive by both methods . the relationship between viral load in the upper airway and severity of symptom score was investigated and further details are given below . nasal aspirate specimens were obtained from a cohort of 117 children aged 9 - 11 years with a history of wheeze or persistent cough in the previous 12 months , followed over a 13 month period as part of a longitudinal community based study . the cohort recorded a . m . and p . m . peak expiratory flow ( best of three blows ) and daily respiratory symptom scores , where 1 was mild , 2 was moderate and 3 was severe symptoms , between october 1994 and november 1995 . the symptoms scored were wheeze on waking or during the day , cough on waking or during the day , shortness of breath or chest tightness , or any of the above during the night . nasal aspirate ( na ) samples were obtained in the child &# 39 ; s home whenever they had a fall in peak flow by greater than 50 liters / min from the normal value for that child , or a raised respiratory symptom score . more detailed scores were also recorded . the โ chest โ score , included the following symptoms : runny nose / sneezing , blocked nose , sore throat / hoarse voice , head / face ache , and aches / chill / fever . there were 221 nasal aspirate samples available for real time pcr testing that had parallel test results generated by conventional pcr for respiratory viruses . the samples had been frozen and thawed , and had been stored at โ 80 ยฐ c . for more than four years . total rna and viral dna were isolated using a spin column based method . as viral rna cannot be detected directly by pcr , copy dna ( cdna ) was made from rna using random hexamer primers and mulv reverse transcriptase . reactions were completed on a thermal cycler . viral dna was detected directly by pcr . dna or cdna from each sample was added to a specific pcr reaction mix for each virus in a 96 well plate . thermal cycling was then performed on the abi7700 and real time data was collected . the data was analysed using sequence detection system software . the nucleic acids were extracted from samples for conventional pcr analysis by proteinase k digestion , phenol chloroform extraction and ethanol precipitation . the cdna was made using specific primers ( see specificity comparison below ) and thermal cycling was performed on a conventional thermal cycler . pcr products were analysed on an ethidium bromide stained agarose gel . the copy number of viral dna or cdna was determined for each virus using taqman โข analysis by including a serially diluted plasmid standard of known concentration containing the dna sequence from which primers and probe had been designed . a series of plasmid constructs were prepared that contained a portion of viral genome unique to each virus , but conserved between isolates of the same virus . the viral genome copy number is determined from the pcr cycle number at which the pcr signal is first detectable . the real time and conventional pcr assays for picornavirus were designed using the same primers for both in order to make a realistic comparison of the assay specificity . which are complementary to the antisense rna at position 542 to 557 and 169 - 185 in the 5 โฒ non coding region of rv1b . these particular sequences were found to be particularly good at detecting a range of rhinovirus due to the conserved nature of these sequences in different rhinovirus types . there was a trend of increased chest symptom severity and increased picornavirus viral load in the upper airway as measured by real time pcr . the results are shown in fig2 which shows chest score severity versus viral load . ( p ) mann - whitney test for comparison of median viral loads of those with chest scores of zero or two ). fluorogenic real time quantitative pcr assays using taqman โข proved very effective at detecting respiratory viruses in clinical samples . the real time pcr assay was very sensitive for detecting rhinovirus positive samples . this real time pcr assay showed the presence of picornavirus to be much more significant than previously thought with it showing itself to be active in 79 . 6 % of patients who were symptomatic for copd . interestingly , those viruses detected in samples by real time pcr but not by conventional pcr had lower mean viral loads compared with those that were detected by both methods suggesting the real time method is able to detect lower levels of virus . this could prove significant when looking to detect increases in viral load at an early stage to enable effective treatments , which are preventative rather than curative of exacerbations . the results also indicate that there is a trend for increased viral load in the upper airway as chest symptom score increases which again suggest quantitive measurements have a significant role to play in prognostic and diagnostic tests and the management of copd patients . this study clearly shows a link between childhood asthma and respiratory viral infection , particularly piconavirus , more particularly rhinovirus in a further study the applicant undertook a viral load analysis of copd clinical trial samples , edinburgh ( macnee ), to further study the association between virus and exacerbation . the study was a single centre study in which 150 patients were studied for 2 years . patients had 2 base line nasal swabs taken with additional samples taken on exacerbation ( nasal swabs and spontaneous sputum ). the frequency of exacerbation that patients experienced was noted . the results of the investigations are illustrated graphically in fig3 . the graph shows the number of exacerbations that patients experienced . 125 samples were analysed from 59 copd patients . 58 were baseline samples and 67 were from exacerbation . the median age of the patients was 67 years ( range 49 - 85 years ). the percentage of virus positives at july 2000 was as set out in table 3 below : significantly in the months september to december 100 % of virus positive exacerbations were rhinovirus . the results of the seasonality study are illustrated in fig4 . the virus positive exacerbations during these months are set out below : the rhinovirus positive exacerbations during these months are set out below : september to december 100 % of virus positive ( i . e . 30 % of total exacerbations ) may to august 33 % of virus positive ( i . e . 7 . 5 % of total exacerbations ) viral loads from exacerbating patients were significantly higher than baseline ( p = 0 . 0001 ) viral load ( copies / ml ) was measured for all exacerbations and the results are shown in table 4 below : thus a test which detects a rise in copy number of 10 n where n is at least 1 , preferably at least 2 or 3 , or measures quantitive loads of greater than a base line reading would significantly aid prognosis or diagnosis . 22 % of exacerbations were virus positive and of these picornavirus were the predominant virus . in fact , 100 % of virus positive exacerbations that occur between september and december were rhinovirus . clearly therefore rhinovirus is the most important target for any prognostic or diagnostic test / method . if it could be demonstrated that such viral infection precedes copd it would be possible to implement appropriate prognostic and diagnostic tests which could be used to effectively manage copd patients and provide effective treatment regimes . thus the applicant proposed that a prognostic or diagnostic method which identified the presence of piconavirus , e . g . rhinovirus , in a patient sample could form the basis of such a prognostic or diagnostic test and kit . in order to determine whether rhinovirus infection precedes exacerbation a further study was undertaken , the further details of which are set out in example 3 . a cohort of 12 mild to severe copd patients were followed both pre and post exacerbation . nasal swabs were taken 3 times / week or daily when symptom scores and ( fev 1 ) indicated an exacerbation . exacerbation was defined as 2 major or 1 major and 1 minor symptom for 2 consecutive days . six out of twelve patients experienced exacerbation . [ 0122 ] fig5 is the profile of patient 3 . an increase in viral load can be seen to precede the exacerbation . [ 0123 ] fig6 is the patient profile of patient 1 and again an increase in viral load can be seen to precede the exacerbations . these findings are of particular significance in that they clearly demonstrate that by screening for rhinovirus and more particularly monitoring viral load changes it is possible to predict a likelihood of the onset of a copd exacerbation in some patients . from the results generated in examples 1 , 2 and 3 above , and using , for example , the quantitive pcr method disclosed , it will be apparent that it is possible to produce diagnostic and prognostic methods ( and kits ) for screening for copd exacerbation onset indicators , such as , for example , picornavirus , more particularly rhinovirus . in addition , such methods and kits can be used in a patient management system for monitoring patients at risk from copd exacerbations . such a management system could include prescribing appropriate therapeutic agents in a timely manner , particularly combinations e . g . anti - virals and anti - inflammatories . more particularly the method should measure viral load . this may be measured as for example a copy number , the number of infectious particles or plaque forming units ( pfu ) or some other measure which relates to viral load . by screening for additional indicators , such as for example cytokines or indicators of infection , inflammation or airway hyperactivity e . g . elastase further information can be obtained making it possible to determine with more certainty whether particular treatments are likely to prove beneficial . for example , the method could further comprise administering one or more therapeutic agents , such for example an anti - viral agent or a combination of agents such as for example an anti - viral in combination with an anti - inflammatory . alternatively it might be determined that the exacerbation onset has arrived and that treatment with an anti - viral will no longer be the most appropriate therapy . in this instance the primary treatment could be an anti - inflammatory agent but adjunctive antiviral therapies may be appropriate given that immunomodular treatment could suppress host immune response to viral pathogens . thus a patient management system for the management of copd patients might comprise an algorithm along the lines indicated in fig7 to predict the likelihood of a copd exacerbation onset and the most appropriate treatment either prophylactic or curative based on the presence or absence of the indicators . thus the invention additionally comprises a system for diagnosing and or managing the onset of copd exacerbation in a patient , which system comprises : a means for testing the patient for at least one indicator of the onset of copd exacerbation ; a means enabling the test results to be imputed into a data management centre ; in this regard a further problem to be overcome is to determine whether the patient has been diagnosed early enough for treatment to prevent exacerbation . the applicant has determined that the window of opportunity for treating effectively may be limited to a few days . thus any prognostic or diagnostic method should ideally be able to differentiate between increasing and decreasing viral load . one simple way of determining this would to be to test for the presence or absence of another indicator such as an immunogenic response marker or host inflammatory marker e . g . il8 or epo . the results of the further test would also assist in determining whether combination therapies in which the pathogen is targeted with a drug , for example an antiviral and the symptoms are treated with other drug types such as for example anti - inflammatory . e . g . steroids or a respiratory drug such as for example seretide / advair , flixotide or serevent would be most appropriate . another possible group of indicators , which could be targeted , would include cytokine modulators or soluble adhesion receptors . in one embodiment a kit comprises a means for positively identifying rhinovirus . preferably the means detects only a quantitively significant amount of virus indicative of the likely onset of a copd exacerbation . preferably the kit is a rapid diagnostic ( e . g . direct antigen ) kit since such kits provides results in less than a few hours . such rapid diagnostic kits include solid phase immuno assay kits , enzyme immuno assay membrane filter kits , monoclonal antibody based immuno assay kits and immuno fluorescent kits . the kit will comprise each of the components enabling the sampling ( e . g . taking of a nasopharyngeal swab ) and running of the assay to geneerate a result , usually a colourmetric result . | 2 |
a spare web roll , for example a spare paper web roll 1 for a web - fed rotary printing press , has a continuous tube 3 in the area of its axis of rotation 2 , on whose tube body a web 4 of material has been wound , all as seen in fig1 and 2 . a star - shaped , for example three - armed holder 7 is arranged in the end area of the tube , and in particular in the area of the interior diameter , or respectively interior 6 of the tube 3 , whose arms 8 , 9 , 10 rest resiliently against the interior circumference 6 . for example , the holder 7 supports a cylinder - shaped or disk - shaped code carrier 12 , which can be activated , i . e . can be coded and decoded , coaxially with the axis of rotation 2 . the code carrier 12 is an electronic component , which can be coded by inductive means . the holder 7 can be inserted , for example into the end area of the tube 3 of a spare paper web 1 roll , i . e . into the interior 6 of the tube 3 , in such a way that it remains in a temporary first position b , i . e . close to the lateral edges 13 of the web of material 4 as โ represented in dashed lines in fig1 . only when the spare paper web 1 roll is placed on the shaft , is the holder 7 pushed into a second position c by means of a clamping cone , not represented . the holder 7 will now be in the position shown in solid lines in fig1 . after the roll is used up , for example , the holder 7 can again be taken out of the tube 3 by removing it . for this purpose the arms 8 , 9 , 10 can have bores 14 , 16 , 17 , for example , behind which a suitable tool can reach . a number of code carriers 18 , 21 , 23 , 26 are represented in respectively different fastening positions in fig3 . however , only one of which is used . a code carrier 18 is arranged in the front face 19 of the tube 3 , i . e . in the tube body , and may for example be pressed into a bore . a code carrier 21 is fastened to the inner surface 22 of the tube 3 , i . e . in the interior 6 of the tube 3 , for example by gluing . a code carrier 23 is arranged in the tube body 3 . in this case , the tube wall 24 can have a bore into which the code carrier 23 is pressed . it is also possible to arrange a code carrier 26 in the webs of material 4 which are close to the tube 3 , i . e . the inner or lower ones , i . e . to introduce it from the direction of the lateral edges 13 of the webs of material 4 into an area close to the edge , for example to press it in . therefore the code carrier 26 is outside of and in the vicinity of the tube 3 . the code carriers 12 , 18 , 21 , 23 , 26 arranged in the interior of the tube 3 or in the vicinity of the tube 3 , for example the code carrier 18 located in the front face 19 of the tube 3 , are connected with one of the recording and reading heads 27 , 28 , 29 . such recording and reading heads 27 , 28 , 29 are , as shown in fig4 stationed along a conveyance path for movable spare paper web transport carriages , for example the recording and reading head 27 in the vicinity of a storage facility for spare paper web rolls 1 , the recording and reading head 28 is locked in the vicinity of a preparation station for spare paper web , and the recording and reading head 29 is located in the vicinity of a roll changer . each recording and reading head 27 to 29 consists of an electronic component , which transmits energy 37 and information 38 in a contactless manner to the code carrier 18 . on the other end , all recording and reading heads 27 to 29 are connected with each other via a data bus 39 , as well as with an evaluation unit 41 and a control device 42 , as well as a master computer 43 , all as shown in fig4 . the master computer 43 has an input station 46 . the code carrier 18 , as well as the other code carriers 12 , 21 , 23 , 26 , are essentially embodied as data memory devices , and respectively consist of an electronic component with a memory and logical control device . the above mentioned code carriers are , for example , designed as eeprom versions , and can be written on and read out , for example , with up to eight kilobytes . if , for example , a spare paper web roll 1 is moved out of the storage facility โ the transport carriages are , for example , pulled by means of under - floor or driverless transport systems โ the code carrier 18 located in the tube 3 of the spare paper web roll 1 passes by the recording / reading head 27 . as soon as the code carrier 18 comes into the active area of the recording / reading head 27 , the energy 37 required for data transmission is built up and the data 38 are transmitted by the recording / reading head 27 to the code carrier 18 , and the data 44 are transmitted by the code carrier 18 to the recording / reading head 27 , each in a frequency range of , for example , 70 kilohertz . such data can be , besides the data entered by the manufacturer : new destination , for example the spare paper web preparation station , remaining length of paper , particularities of the paper , for example a โ beating โ roll . the data , which are inductively coupled in by the code carrier 18 , are converted into a digital energy signal and conducted to the evaluation unit 41 . the evaluation unit 41 manages the data transfer 37 , 44 between the recording / reading head 28 and the code carrier 18 and is used as an intermediate memory . the evaluation unit 41 is the connecting member between the master computer 43 , or respectively the control device 42 , and the code carrier 18 . data can be erased or new data can be added , such as for example , a new destination , the gluing preparation station and the type of the glue tip . following the gluing preparation of the spare paper web roll 1 , it is possible to enter a further destination , for example a roll changer , by means of the recording / reading head 28 . after a portion of the spare paper web roll 1 has been used , another entry to the roll data takes place by means of the recording / reading head 29 , as well as a new destination , for example a storage facility . it is also possible to arrange only stationary reading devices for the purpose of reading out the destination at appropriate positions on the transport path , for example at switches . in accordance with a further preferred embodiment , the recording / reading head 29 can be arranged in the roll changer , i . e . for example in a roll cone of a support arm of the roll changer , so that a data exchange can take place between the recording / reading head 29 and a code carrier 18 while the spare paper web roll 1 is still on the shaft . alternatively it is also possible to fasten the recording / reading head 29 on the end of the support arm of the roll changer . the data exchange preferably takes place during the run - out of the spare paper web roll 1 , i . e . while the spare paper web roll 1 turns slowly . it is also possible to utilize a code carrier 12 arranged in the area of the imagined axis of rotation 2 of the spare paper web roll 1 in the interior 6 of the tube 3 . in this case the recording / reading head 12 is arranged in the direction of an extended axis of rotation 2 on the exterior of a support arm of the roll changer . here , the clamping cone is designed to be hollow . while preferred embodiments of a spare paper roll in accordance with the present invention have been set forth fully and completely hereinabove , it will be apparent to one of skill in the art that a number of changes in , for example , the material used to construct the tube , the type of press with which the spare paper roll will be used , and the like may be made without departing from the true spirit and scope of the present invention which is accordingly to be limited only by the following claims . | 1 |
referring initially to fig1 , the pop - up sprinkler head 10 is comprised of a housing 12 which includes an upper cylindrical housing portion 14 and a lower cylindrical housing portion 16 , assembled at a threaded joint 18 . a fixed stem 20 ( also referred to herein as a โ center stem โ) is attached to the lower housing portion 16 at a second threaded joint 22 , the stem extending upwardly into the housing 12 along a vertical center axis of the sprinkler head . more specifically , and with further reference to fig2 and 3 , the center stem 20 is formed with a lower , relatively larger diameter skirt 24 provided with external threads 26 that engage internal threads 28 on the lower housing portion 16 . the skirt 24 is connected to a relatively smaller diameter adapter 30 by an annular ring - shaped wall 32 . the adapter 30 is formed with internal threads 34 by which the sprinkler head 10 may be attached to an above - ground supply conduit or riser ( not shown ). in that regard , it will be appreciated that other connection mechanisms may be employed , such as quick connect / disconnect couplers . a center stem portion 36 extends upwardly from the wall 32 , terminating at a closed upper end defined by a top wall 38 formed with an upwardly open , outer blind bore 40 and concentrically - arranged inner blind bore 42 supporting a nozzle - cleaning pin 43 described further below . adjacent and below the top wall 38 , the center stem portion 36 is provided with one or more circumferentially - spaced , teardrop - shaped apertures 44 . as will be explained in greater detail below , water under pressure will flow into the center stem 20 via an inlet 46 and exit the apertures 44 . returning to fig1 , the upper and lower housing portions 14 , 16 are configured to form two chambers , a lower chamber 48 and an upper chamber 50 . the lower chamber 48 has a relatively larger diameter than the upper chamber 50 , as determined by the annular shoulder 52 at the lower end of the upper housing portion 14 that joins the upper and lower housing portions 14 , 16 . the chambers 48 , 50 are sealed from each other as described further herein . surrounding the center stem 20 , and extending axially within both chambers 48 and 50 , is an extendable and retractable nozzle and pressure regulator ( npr ) assembly 54 supported in a manner that enables the pop - up feature of the sprinkler head . the npr assembly 54 includes a generally cylindrical , preferably metal ( e . g ., stainless steel ) nozzle housing 56 having a relatively larger - diameter lower portion 58 and a relatively smaller - diameter upper portion 60 , joined by an annular shoulder 62 . a nozzle ( or nozzle insert ) 64 formed with mated upper and lower sections 66 , 68 , respectively , joined at an annular shoulder 70 , thus permitting the nozzle 64 to be mated to the housing 56 . the nozzle 64 may be made of an elastomeric , tear - resistant material ( e . g ., polyurethane ) or other suitable material . upstream of the nozzle 64 is a pressure regulator 72 having a uniform outer diameter ( or od ) engaged with the inner surface of the lower nozzle housing portion 58 , and engaged at its upper end with the lower edge of the nozzle 64 . the nozzle 64 has a generally dome - shaped inner chamber 74 in the lower nozzle section 68 , formed with a series of inner ribs 76 , best seen in fig4 , that , along with annular surface 77 , engage and seal against the upper edge of stem 36 as shown in fig1 when the npr assembly 54 is retracted to the position shown in fig1 . a smaller - diameter inner bore 78 extends upwardly from the chamber 74 to a nozzle orifice 80 . the pressure regulator 72 has a nonuniform inner diameter ( or id ), including a first upstream ( lower ) end 82 adapted to engage and seal against the od of the center stem portion 36 , and an upper end 84 designed to have a clearance or gap 86 between the upper end 84 and the center stem portion 36 . between the upper and lower ends 84 , 82 there is an annular recess 88 . the pressure regulator 72 is also formed with a plurality ( at least two ) of axially extending bores 90 , 92 communicating between the nozzle inner chamber 74 and an annular space 94 below the pressure regulator 72 . an annular lower spring plate 96 with a center opening 98 is attached to the bottom of the nozzle housing 56 via a series of recesses 100 in the pressure regulator 72 that receive a like plurality of radially extending pins 102 in the plate 96 ( see fig6 ). the od of the lower spring plate 96 is formed with a plurality of ribs or flutes 97 that mesh with vertical ribs 99 formed on the inner wall of the lower housing portion 16 . this interengagement prevents the plate 96 from rotating during extension and retraction of the npr assembly 54 as described below . separating the upper and lower chambers 50 , 48 is an upper spring plate 104 formed with a downwardly concave , annular groove 106 . a double - lip seal 110 is interposed between the upper spring plate 104 and the underside of the annular shoulder 52 of the upper housing portion 14 . a coil spring 112 is interposed between the upper and lower spring plates 104 , 96 with the upper end of the spring 112 engaged within the groove 106 . the double - lip seal 110 engages the nozzle housing 56 so as to seal the chamber 48 from the chamber 50 , and thus also prevent debris from entering the lower chamber 48 . supported on the upper end of the nozzle housing 56 ( and thus also a part of the npr assembly 54 ) is the water - distribution plate assembly 114 which includes a brake housing assembly 116 that controls the rotational speed of a replaceable rotor or water - distribution plate 118 . the water - distribution plate 118 , best seen in fig5 , is of conventional design , having a series of grooves 120 that are curved in a circumferential direction to impart rotation to the plate when impinged upon by a stream of water emitted from the nozzle orifice 80 . the brake housing assembly 116 includes a brake housing 122 telescoped over the upper end of the nozzle housing 56 and rotatable relative to the nozzle housing . within the brake housing , there is an offset viscous brake โ motor โ including a rotatable shaft 124 ( extending parallel to the center axis of the sprinkler head ) having a lower end received in a bearing recess 126 formed in the lower end of the brake housing , and an upper end which mounts a first gear 128 engaged with a second gear 1 3 0 fixed to the nozzle housing . the shaft 124 also mounts a rotor 132 ( plastic or metal ) adjacent the lower end of the shaft , the rotor located within a chamber 134 closed at its upper end by a shaft bearing 136 and sealed by a double - lip seal 138 , the latter held in place by a retainer 140 . the chamber 134 is filled or partially filled with a viscous fluid such as silicone or the like . the rotational speed of the water - distribution plate 118 will thus be controlled by the geared arrangement between the water - distribution assembly 114 and the rotationally fixed nozzle housing 56 , and specifically by the viscous shear effect between the rotor 132 and the viscous fluid in the chamber 134 . the viscous brake effectively slows the rotation of the water - distribution plate 118 so that the integrity of the streams thrown off the rotor plate is enhanced , thereby increasing the radius of throw of those streams . it will be appreciated that different gear configurations may be utilized to produce non - circular patterns or random hesitation , the latter providing a more uniform sprinkling pattern . a cap or cover 142 is snapped into place over the top of the brake housing 122 , and two or more ( preferably three ) struts 144 extend upwardly from the cap 142 to support the water - distribution plate 118 in axially aligned relationship with the nozzle orifice . a pair of grease seals 145 is employed in the brake housing assembly 116 and cap 142 to facilitate rotation of the brake housing 122 relative to the nozzle housing 56 and to prevent water ( or other debris , such as sand particles ) from passing between the brake housing assembly 116 and the nozzle housing 56 . in the retracted position shown in fig1 , the npr assembly 54 , including the rotor or water - distribution plate 118 is enclosed within the upper housing 14 , with a radial flange 146 on the water - distribution plate engaged with the upper edge 148 of the upper housing portion . this is the default or normal bias position of the water - distribution plate 118 , as determined by the downward bias of the coil spring 112 on the lower spring plate 96 . when water under pressure is supplied to the sprinkler head 10 , the water will flow through the center stem portion 36 via inlet 46 and into the nozzle housing 56 via the teardrop - shaped apertures 44 , and then to the water - distribution plate 118 . some water will also flow through the bores 90 , 92 and exert an upward force on the pressure regulator 72 . as the upward pressure generated by the water line pressure overcomes the downward bias of the spring 112 , the npr assembly 54 will begin to rise to the extended position shown in fig6 . with further reference to fig6 , note that the upper , radially inwardly facing , and convexly curved annular end portion 84 of the pressure regulator 72 will move along the teardrop - shaped apertures 44 and thus restrict flow through those apertures , seeking an equilibrium position where the upward force created by the line pressure of the water and the downward force exerted by the coil spring 112 , are equal . as line pressure increases , the npr assembly 54 moves upwardly , but the amount of restriction increases ( due to the teardrop shape of apertures 44 , noting that the aperture area decreases in an upward direction ), and thus the upward force decreases , allowing the spring pressure to push downwardly , again seeking equilibrium . similarly , if the line pressure decreases , the spring 112 will push the npr assembly 54 downwardly , thus lessening the flow restriction and increasing flow to counter the spring action . it will be understood that the spring constant of the spring 112 is calibrated or matched to the nominal line pressure so that the continuously sought equilibrium position produces the desired output . when the water or line pressure is cut off , the spring 112 will return the npr assembly 54 to the retracted position shown in fig1 . during retraction , the nozzle cleaning pin 43 pushes through the nozzle orifice 80 , thereby clearing the nozzle of any debris . note that the choice of an elastomeric material for the nozzle is significant in that debris being cleared by the pin 43 will not damage the nozzle . when in the extended or operable position ( fig6 ), the npr assembly 54 is moved upwardly away from the fixed cleaning pin 43 , thus permitting unobstructed flow through the nozzle orifice 80 . it will also be appreciated that in the extended position , the npr assembly 54 may be pushed downwardly manually , and then released , resulting in a quick but effective flush of the nozzle without having to shut the system down . when the npr assembly 54 is returned to the retracted position , the ribs 76 and annular surface 77 of the nozzle will seal against the upper edge of the center stem 36 , thereby providing the drain check function , in that water is prevented from flowing in either direction , i . e ., to or from the nozzle chamber 74 . nozzle orifice sizes may vary depending on requirements , and the pin 43 may or may not need replacement with a nozzle change . for example , if the nozzle orifice were made smaller than the pin od , then the pin would also need to be changed . if , however , the nozzle orifice were made larger , the pin may not need replacement since it would still be effective to clear the nozzle orifice of debris . fig7 illustrates an optional feature relating to the use of a cap 150 that may be affixed to the top of the sprinkler head 10 . the snap - over ( or other substantial equivalent such as bayonet fit or screw thread ) fastening arrangement 152 is sufficiently strong to keep the npr assembly 54 in the retracted position even under line pressure . thus , any one or more sprinkler heads 10 in an array of heads may be kept closed even when subjected to line pressure , depending on desired watering sequence , patterns and other factors . while the invention has been described in connection with what is presently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiment , it is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited to the disclosed embodiment , but on the contrary , is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims . | 1 |
the present invention is a communications and management system executing over a data network for targeting content , including promotions , to users of network devices whose attributes match the attributes of a group profile along with maintaining those network devices . the system and methods of the present invention can be implemented over a variety of data network infrastructure including cable , satellite , digital subscriber lines ( dsl ), and wireless networks . fig1 a shows one embodiment of the present invention in which the communications and management system is implemented over a cable network . in this environment , audio and video broadcasts are typically frequency multiplexed with data transmissions on the coaxial cables extending from the head end 50 to the exemplary network devices 80 a , 80 b , 80 c , and 80 d ( collectively referred to as 80 ). video content providers 20 as well as internet content providers 10 ( i . e . host web servers ) deliver their audio / video / data signals to a cable service provider / internet service provider ( csp / isp ) data center 40 . the internet content providers 10 deliver their data to the data center 40 via the internet 30 . typically , video content providers 20 transmit their video signals to the data center 40 via some broadcast medium , such as conventional radio - frequency television broadcasting techniques , or via a digital satellite downlink . the csp / isp data center 40 transmits the audio / video / data signals to multiple head ends 50 ( only one being shown for simplicity of illustration ). the connection between the data center 40 and the head end 50 is typically a hybrid catv / data connection , which is supported by an optical fiber infrastructure . part of this infrastructure carries the audio / video signals , which are directed from the data center 40 to the network devices 80 . part of this network also carries the bi - directional data communications associated with network control and internet service provisioning . the head end 50 distributes the audio / video / data signals over a cable network of hubs 60 and local nodes 70 to a variety of network devices 80 , such as set - top boxes , web phones , and cable modems . some network devices 80 d , such as a web phone , have a built - in video display 310 and speaker system 315 . other network devices 80 c are peripherally attached to a video display device and speaker system such as a television 300 . in one embodiment of the present invention , the server system ( 100 a and 100 b , collectively referred to as 100 ), is located at the csp / isp data center 40 and the head end 50 of the cable network . installation of the server system at the data center 40 and the head end 40 allows for scalability . the server system 100 a at the data center 40 typically provides centralized management for configuring group profiles and content deployment options , while the server system 100 b at the head end 50 preferrably handles the registration , user profile updates , content deployment , and other services among the network devices 80 . there are alternative schemes for deploying the server system 100 within the cable network infrastructure depending on the capacity of the server system 100 and number of network devices 80 . for example , the server system 100 is deployed at the hub 60 level when the population of devices is sufficiently dense to necessitate such distribution of the communication load . fig1 b shows an embodiment of the present invention in which the communications and management system is implemented on a satellite network . in this environment , the server system 100 is located at data center 45 . the server system 100 transmits data to the network devices 80 via a satellite uplink device 90 to a satellite 93 , which , in turn , transmits the data to a residential satellite downlink dish 95 . the data are received by the network devices 80 connected to the downlink feed 97 . for the return , upload , path , the network devices 80 transmit data to the server system 100 through a built - in modem , other dial - up device , or a land line system such as isdn or dsl . the modem connects to a central office or point - of - presence ( pop ) 55 , which , in turn , transmits the return - path data over the internet 30 to the data center 45 . fig1 c shows an embodiment of the present invention in which the communications and management system is implemented on a digital subscriber line ( dsl ) network . in this environment , the server system 100 is located at data center 45 . the server system 100 communicates bi - directionally with the network devices 80 via the internet 30 or closed network connection , such as frame - relay , to a central office or point - of - presence ( pop ) 55 . in one embodiment , the internet connection between the server system 100 and the central office 55 is over a virtual private network ( vpn ) providing a private , secure , encrypted connection tunnel . the network devices 80 are connected to the internet 30 by the central office 55 via digital subscriber lines ( dsl ). fig1 d shows an embodiment of the present invention in which the communications and management system is implemented on a wireless network . this environment is similar to the dsl network with the exception that the network devices 80 are connected to the internet 30 by the central office 55 via wireless , typically cdma , connections . fig2 a shows the organization of the server system 100 and the embedded client system 200 interacting to implement the communications and management system . in brief overview , the server system 100 includes a management console 110 , a system manager 120 , a data store 130 , a queue manager 140 , a message router 150 , a bulk data transfer manager 160 , and an xml file processor 170 . the embedded client system 200 executing in the network devices include a web browser 210 , a system agent 220 , a promotion notification agent 230 , a queue manager 240 , a logging agent , 250 , and a bulk data transfer agent 260 . in more detail , the management console 100 is preferably implemented as a web server . in one embodiment of the present invention , the management console 100 is a microsoft ยฎ internet information server ( iis ) implementing active server pages ( asp ). the management console 100 provides , upon request by a system administrator , a web page interface for specifying the content to deploy , the attributes of a group profile that target a market segment of potential consumers , installation information , and criteria for activating the content or displaying the promotions at the network devices . upon submitting the web page , the management console 100 communicates with the system manager 120 , via an application programming interface ( api ) to store the targeted group profile , activation criteria , and the content and promotions to the data store 130 . in one embodiment the api is a microsoft ยฎ com interface . content includes , but is not limited to , applications , device drivers , data files , registry sub - hives , and promotions . promotions are a special type of content that advertise goods and services . promotions overlay the video display of a network device with a graphic , image , or animated icon that launches a web browser to a host web server in response to the user clicking or selecting it . promotions also include audio and video clips or data streams . one or more promotions can be displayed on the video display at one time . the management console 110 also provides a web page interface to users upon request during the initial registration of their network devices . users will register through the web page interface , providing data about themselves . upon submitting the web page , the management console 110 communicates with the system manager 120 , via the com interface , to store the user data as attributes of a user profile . the attributes of the user profile are associated with the attributes of the group profile in order to target potential consumers who would be interested in the content or promotions . the system manager 120 is an application - level process that manages the reading and writing of data to the data store 130 . the system manager 120 , through its com interface , allows the management console 110 to store user profiles , content including promotions along with associated group profiles , installation information , and activation criteria . in addition , the system manager 120 updates the user and group profiles whenever new attributes are received . the system manager 120 also interacts with the system agent 220 of the targeted network devices by sending and receiving messages through a messaging protocol . the interaction of the system manager 120 and the system agent 220 implement the scheduling of content deployment as well as installation and activation of the content . in one embodiment , the system manager is implemented as a microsoft ยฎ com object . the queue manager 140 is an application - level process that communicates with the message router 150 on behalf of other processes , such as the system manager 120 , in order to send and receive messages among the embedded client systems 200 . in one embodiment , the queue manager 140 is implemented as a c ++ object . the queue manager 140 also manages incoming and outgoing queues on behalf of the other processes in the system server 100 . the queue manager 140 handles two types of queues , persistent queues and volatile queues . messages , whose message type indicates persistent storage , are stored such that the message will not be lost during power outages and lost network connections . a persistent queue is stored in persistent flash memory or in a location on the hard disk of the network device . other messages , not intended for persistent storage , are stored to volatile queues and might be lost during power outage and lost network connections . the data store 130 is a database that stores the attributes of the user profiles , group profiles , content and promotions along with the activation criteria . in addition , the data store 130 stores messages intended for network devices that are unavailable during the initial delivery attempt . the data store provides persistence to the data stored such that the content , profiles , and messages will not be lost during a power outage . in one embodiment , the data store 130 is a microsoft ยฎ sql version 7 database . since the data store stores content , it is also known as a content store . the bulk data transfer manager 160 is an application - level process that is responsible for the transfer of bulk data to targeted network devices . bulk data include large stream - oriented data , such as a promotions , files , or registry sub - key hives . the bulk data transfer manager 160 does not transmit data over the messaging protocol . instead , it transmits serialized data over a network transport protocol , such as tcp / ip . the bulk data transfer manager 160 has access to the data store 130 for transmitting content and promotions . the xml file processor 170 is an application - level process that is responsible for parsing out the user attributes from the raw user activity and event logs and updating the appropriate user profiles . in one embodiment , the logs are stored as xml files in the data store 130 . in more detail of the embedded client system 200 , the system agent 220 is an application - level process that communicates with the system manager 120 handling various request messages and registration . in handling the various request messages , the system agent communicates with the other embedded client system components in order to effect a proper response or behavior . in one embodiment , the system agent 220 is implemented as a c ++ object . as in the system server , the queue manager 240 is an application - level process that communicates with the message router 150 on behalf of other processes , such as the system agent 220 , in order to send and receive messages to the system server 100 and other network devices . in one embodiment , the queue manager 240 is implemented as a c ++ object . the queue manager 240 also manages incoming and outgoing queues on behalf of the other processes in the embedded client system 200 . the queue manager 240 handles two types of queues , persistent queues and volatile queues . messages , whose message type indicates persistent storage , are stored such that the message will not be lost during power outages and lost network connections . a persistent queue is stored in persistent flash memory or in a location on the hard disk of the network device . other messages , not intended for persistent storage , are stored to volatile queues and might be lost during power outage and lost network connections . the bulk data transfer agent 260 is an application - level process that handles requests from the system agent 220 to either download content and promotions or upload user activity and event logs . the bulk data transfer agent 260 communicates with the bulk data transfer manager 160 of the system server 100 over a network transport protocol , such as tcp / ip . the bulk data transfer agent 260 notifies the system agent 220 upon completion or failure of the data transfer . in one embodiment , the system agent 220 is implemented as a c ++ object . the promotion notification agent 230 is an application - level process that triggers and handles the display of promotions . the promotion notification agent 230 overlays the promotion or promotions onto the video signal that gets displayed on a monitor connected to a set - top box or to a web phone display . the promotion notification agent 230 coordinates the activation of promotions . a promotion notification agent 230 will display the promotion in response to an event , invocation by the system manager 120 , or scheduling information provided with the promotion itself . the web browser 210 is an application - level process that displays web pages from web host servers such as the management console 110 of the system server 100 enabling registration of user attributes . the logging agent 250 is an application - level component that monitors and logs a variety of user activities and events . in one embodiment , the logging agent 250 stores the log files in xml format . user activities and events that are tracked by the logging agent 250 are channel events , promotion events , power events , peripheral events , and application events . channel events occur whenever the network device stays tuned to a channel for a configurable amount of time . promotion events occur in response to consumer actions taken with respect to promotions displayed on the video display . for example , a promotion event is recorded when the consumer clicks or selects the promotion icon to navigate to the web server hosting the promotion . the interaction of the server system 100 and the embedded client system 200 provides a system for targeting and scheduling deployment of promotional content to consumers of a targeted market segment , for managing the activation of the promotional content , and for tracking consumer response to the promotion . application - level processes , such as the system manager 120 of the server system and the system agent 220 of the network device , communicate over the data network through messages . messages transfer requests for action , responses to requests , and small data transfers . messages are transported in the payload of a network transport protocol , such as tcp / ip . messages are sent to destinations using a globally unique identifier , guid , in order to identify the destination network device or application . this messaging protocol allows application - level processes to transmit data without knowing about the network transport interface , the device &# 39 ; s network address , or whether the device is active on the data network . the interaction of the message router 150 with the queue managers of the source and destination processes implements the messaging protocol . any queue manager whether it is executing on the system server 100 or the embedded client system 200 communicates with the message router 150 in the same manner . fig2 b illustrates the interaction between a queue manager and the message router 150 according to the invention . for example , when the system manager 120 needs to transmit a message to a system agent 220 , the system manager 120 , in step 1000 , sends the message to the queue manager 140 indicating the message type , a globally unique identifier ( i . e ., guid ) of the destination device , and the message data . the details on how a network device obtains a guid is described later with reference to fig3 . in step 1002 , the queue manager 140 stores the message in a queue for the system manager 120 and then attempts to establish a connection with the message router 150 . in brief overview , there are three steps in order for the queue manager 140 to establish a connection to the message router 150 . in step 1004 , the queue manager 140 determines the ip address of the message router 150 . in step 1006 , the queue manager 140 creates and opens a socket pair connection to the message router 150 for transmitting serialized data . in step 1008 , the queue manager 140 sends a message to the message router 150 indicating that the queue manager 140 is alive and connected and ready to transmit serialized data . in more detail of step 1004 , the queue manager 140 has one of its properties being the location or name of the message router 150 . using dns , or ip host name services , the queue manager 140 determines the ip address of the message router 150 . if the queue manager 140 cannot resolve the ip address of the message router 150 , the queue manager 140 resorts to a broadcasting scheme . the queue manager 140 broadcasts a locator message on its subnet attempting to locate the message router 150 . if there is a message router 150 on that subnet , the message router 150 responds back with its ip address . this address is cached by the queue manager 140 for future connections . in step 1006 , the queue manager 140 , knowing the ip address of the message router 150 , creates and opens a socket pair on predetermined , known ports for transmitting serialized data . in step 1008 , once the socket pair is opened , the queue manager 140 sends a message notifying the message router 150 that the queue manager 140 is alive and connected and has socket pairs on which to read or write serialized data . in step 1010 , the queue manager 140 writes the message for delivery to the message router 150 through the established tcp / ip socket connection fig2 c illustrates the process of delivering the message once received by the message router 150 . upon completion of the writing of the message , the message router 150 extracts the message type and the destination guid from the message in step 1012 . in step 1014 , the message router 150 resolves the destination guid by looking - up the ip address associated with the guid in the data store 130 . in step 1016 , the message is encapsulated in an ip packet , with the appropriate destination ip address . in one embodiment , the ip address of the network device becomes known to the system server 100 during initial registration of the network device and is stored as an attribute of the user profile . in step 1018 , the message router 150 determines the type of the message . the message type indicates the quality of service that the message router 150 provides for delivery of the message . if the message type is a standard datagram , the message router 150 simply transmits the message in step 1022 . the message router 150 will not keep track of whether the message was actually received . if the message type indicates guaranteed delivery , the message router 150 will transmit the message and wait for an acknowledgment from the destination device in step 1024 . if no acknowledgment is received after several attempts , the destination is deemed unavailable and the message is stored in the data store 130 for later retransmission when the destination is active on the data network in step 1028 . specifically , in step 1029 , the message router waits for the network device 80 to become active in order to deliver the message . in one embodiment , the message router 150 is notified that the network device is active by receiving a message from the network device 80 indicating its active status . in an alternative embodiment , the message router is notified of the active status of a previously unavailable network device by the system manager 120 which monitors the status of the network devices 80 . when the network device becomes active , the message router proceeds back to step 1018 to begin the process of delivery again . if the acknowledgment is received , then , in step 1030 , the delivery is complete and the message is removed from the data store 130 if the network device was previously unavailable . the interaction of the message router 150 and the queue manager 140 for delivering messages occurs whenever a message is sent or received using the messaging protocol . in order for the server system 100 to target content and promotions to a particular market segment , the server system 100 references its stored user profiles , each user profile being a collection of user and device attributes associated with a network device . all network devices whose user profiles match the attributes of the group profile , targeted by a system administrator , are scheduled for content deployment . however , when a network device is connected to the network infrastructure for the first time , the system server does not have a user profile for the network device . the present invention provides an automated system and method for initially registering and generating a user profile for an network device . fig3 is a state line diagram showing the interaction of the server system 100 and the embedded client system 200 for generating an initial user profile for a network device . in step 1 , the system agent 220 of the network device generates and transmits a registration request message containing a number of device attributes to the system manager 120 . the device attributes describes the network device and is configured during the manufacturing process of the device itself . for example , the network device may be configured with a model number attribute for a particular group of network devices , such as intelligent set - top boxes , version 1 . 0 . in step 2 , the system manager 120 receives the registration request message and , in response , retrieves a globally unique identifier , guid , from an available pool of guids stored in the data store 130 . in step 3 , the system manager 120 generates and transmits a registration response message containing the assigned guid to the system agent 220 of the registering device . the assigned guid is used by the network device to identify itself in messages transmitted to the system server 100 and to other network devices . the assigned guid is also used by the system server 100 to associate the network device with a user profile within the data store 130 . in step 4 , the system agent 220 launches a web browser 210 . the web browser 210 transmits an http request to the url ( uniform resource locator ) of the management console 110 for a registration web page . the assigned guid is included in the url string in order to identify the registering network device . in step 5 , the management console 110 receives the http request . in response , the management console 110 makes a call via the com interface of the system manager 120 to retrieve the device and user attributes , if any , associated with the guid of the registering network device . the management console 110 generates the registration web page customized for the registering network device . the web page is transmitted via http to the web browser 210 . in step 6 , the web browser 210 displays the registration web page wherein the user submits information which will be used to generate a user profile of user attributes associated with the network device . such information includes , but is not limited to , name and address information , channels frequently watched , requests for installation of optional value - add services and applications , and various demographic and personal information . upon submitting the registration data , the web browser 210 transmits the user attributes , represented as html data via http , to the management console 110 . in step 7 , the management console 110 interprets the html data stream and makes calls via the com interface of the system manager 120 to update the user profiles in the data store 130 with the provided user attributes . in step 8 , the system manager 120 updates the user profile of the registering network device with the user attributes on the data store 130 . after updating the user profile , the system manager 120 associates the user profile with group profiles whose attributes match user attributes of the user profile . for example , the user profile will be added to the group profile for network devices with the same model number attribute . the user profile is added to any number of group profiles that target particular attributes of the registered user or network device . these group profiles are used by the system manager 120 for targeting consumers of particular market segments for various e - commerce promotions or application services . once the network device is registered and is associated with a user profile , the device is capable of being targeted for deployment of content or promotions . fig4 a is a state line diagram showing the interaction of the server system and the embedded client system for deployment of content and promotions to a network device . deployment includes , but is not limited to , downloading and installing . before content can be deployed to a targeted device , the content must be stored in the data store 130 along with a group profile and an activation schedule . the group profile indicates the attributes of network devices to target . the activation schedule indicates when to activate the content or promotions . activation can be event driven , scheduled from the system server 100 , or initiated by the system manager 120 . in step 1 , a system administrator with access to the management console 110 populates a server - based web page indicating the content to deploy as well as the criteria with which to define the group profile . additionally , the system administrator indicates when to activate the content . upon submitting the data , the management console 110 makes a call to the com interface of the system manager 120 to generate a group profile in the data store 130 with user profiles whose attributes match the criteria defined by the system administrator . in step 2 , the system manager 120 updates the data store 130 creating the group profile and populating the group profile with user profiles with matching attributes . in step 3 , the management console 110 make a call through the com interface of the system manager 120 to download the content or promotion to the data store 130 . in step 4 , the system manager 120 writes the content to the data store 130 . the system manager 120 is configured to schedule deployment of content during off - peak hours when bandwidth utilization is typically at a minimum . for example , during the hours of 3 : 00 am and 5 : 00 am , more bandwidth is available for efficient deployment of content and promotions . alternatively , the system manager 120 monitors network utilization and is configured to schedule deployment of content when the detected bandwidth utilization falls below a predetermined level . in step 5 , the system manager 120 sends a download and install request message to each of the system agents 220 of the network devices whose user attributes match the attributes of the group profile . the download and install message informs the system agent 220 to download install the content or promotion referenced by a guid . alternatively , the system manager 120 sends a download , install , and start request message which indicates , in addition , when or under what event conditions the content should be activated ( i . e . promotion displayed or an application launched ). in step 6 , the system agent 220 makes a c ++ object method call to the bulk data transfer agent 260 to download the content having the provided guid . in step 7 , the bulk data transfer agent 260 sets up a tcp / ip socket connection to the bulk data transfer manager 160 of the server system to initiate the delivery of the application . in step 8 , the bulk data transfer manager 160 delivers the requested content to the bulk data transfer agent 260 through the tcp / ip socket connection . in cases where the connection is broken , the bulk data transfer agent 260 and the bulk data transfer manager 160 can detect that a connection was broken and will continue the download the content from the point in the transfer where the break occurred . in step 9 , the bulk data transfer agent 260 notifies the system agent 220 the result of the data transfer via an c ++ object method call . in step 10 , the system agent 220 sends a message to the system manager 120 indicating the result of the data transfer . after the content is installed on the targeted network device , the present invention provides a system and method for activating that content . activation allows the user to interact with the installed content , such as playing a game or initiating an e - commerce transaction . there are two types of activation that the present invention implements โ scheduled activation and event driven activation . scheduled activation allows the system administrator to specify when to activate the content , whereas event driven activation allows the system administrator to specify an event which triggers the activation of the content . scheduled activation is implemented in two ways , predetermined scheduling and activation by the system server . fig4 b illustrates the steps associated with content activation via predetermined scheduling . predetermined scheduling based upon date and time provides the most autonomy to the network device . after the content is deployed , the network device simply waits for the specified date and time to arrive , at which time it displays the content . in step 1110 , when the group profiles are configured and the content is downloaded to the data store 130 , the system administrator also specifies the date and time to activate the content . where the content is a promotion , a duration period is specified along with the activation date and time . in step 1112 , the system manager 120 sends the download , install , and start request message to the system agent 220 of a targeted network device . in addition to requesting the system agent 220 to install content , the message indicates the date and time to activate the installed content . if the content is a not a promotion , the system agent 220 waits for the specified activation date and time in step 1116 . in step 1118 , the content is activated by the system agent 220 at the specified date and time . if the content is a promotion , the system agent 220 transfers the predetermined date , time , and duration to the promotion notification agent 230 in step 1120 . in step 1122 , the promotion notification agent 230 waits for the specified activation date and time . in step 1124 , the promotion is activated by the promotion notification agent 230 at the specified activation date and time . if the promotion is a icon or graphic linked to a url of a host web server , the promotion notification agent 230 overlays the promotion on a portion of the video display built - in or attached to the network device . if the promotion is audio clip or data stream , the audio is played through a speaker built - in or attached to the network device . if the promotion is a video clip or data stream , the video overlays a portion of the video display built - in or attached to the network device . fig4 c illustrates the steps associated with server activation of content . server activation of content allows control to reside at the server system 100 , therefore , maximizing the control by the institution operating the server system 100 . as described previously , the content is installed on the network device in step 1210 with no activation information . in step 1212 , the system agent 220 waits for a start message from the system server 100 . in step 1214 , upon request of the system administrator , the system manager 120 sends a start message to the system agent 220 specifying the installed content to activate . if the installed content is not a promotion , the system agent activates the content in response to receiving the message in step 1218 . this may include , but not limited to , launching an application installed within the network device . if the installed content is a promotion , the system agent 220 notifies the promotion notification agent 230 via a c ++ object method call to activate the specified promotion in step 1220 . in step 1222 , the promotion is activated by the promotion notification agent 230 . event driven activation is particularly suited for coordinating the activation of content with a particular event or a particular moment in a corresponding analog and / or digital video stream . event activation has advantages associated with high scalability . the content can be loaded in the days or weeks preceding the general time period when it is to be displayed . in one embodiment , events that trigger content activation are channel events , power events , and peripheral events . a power event is an event relating to the power supply , such as the network device being powered on or off . a peripheral event is an event relating to peripheral devices being connected or disconnected from the network device , such as a joy stick or other gaming console . a channel event is an event relating to the channel being watched by the user . fig4 d illustrates the steps associated with event driven activation according to the invention . in step 1310 , when the group profiles are configured and the content is downloaded to the data store 130 , the system administrator also specifies an event map . an event map associates events to content indicating when to activate the content . where the content is a promotion , a duration period is specified as well . in step 1312 , the system manager 120 sends the event map in a message , such as a download , install , and start message , to the system agent 220 of a targeted network device . if the content is not a promotion , the system agent 220 waits for the specified event or events that trigger the activation of the content in step 1316 . in step 1318 , the system agent 220 activates the content when the specified event or events occur . conversely , if the content is a promotion , the system agent 220 transfers the event map to the promotion notification agent 230 in step 1320 . in step 1322 , the promotion notification agent 230 waits for the specified event or events to occur . in step 1324 , the promotion notification agent 230 activates the promotions associated with the event or events that occurred . an example of event driven activation is where the event map provides for the activation of promotions involving sporting goods when the potential consumer has been watching a particular sports channel for a period of time . the watching of the sports channel for a period of time triggers a channel event . the channel event triggers the activation of the promotion or promotions . the present invention provides an additional implementation of event driven activation involving technology from atvef ( advanced television enhancement forum ). atvef provides a standard for embedding html tags within a video signal . the promotion content agent 230 monitors the video signal for the embedded triggers , such as the html tag . the capture of this embedded trigger causes the activation of one or more promotions in real - time coinciding with the video signal . such a system has advantages in that very little video signal editing is required . only a small trigger has to be embedded in the video signal , requiring little analog video editing capabilities at the data center . the content , is simultaneously activated on all of the network devices allowing high levels of synchronization to the video signal . for example , the promotion can be synchronized to occur during a television commercial . the provider of the commercial simply embeds an initialization or start html tag within its video signal . in response to the promotion notification agent 230 capturing the html tag , the promotion notification agent 230 activates the appropriate promotion or promotions specified in the event map for that html tag . fig4 e shows one embodiment of this system on a conventional set - top box 80 for an analog or an analog / digital video display device such as a television 300 . specifically , the data and audio / video stream is received by the set - top box 80 . this data audio / video stream is received from the head end 50 via the hub 60 . the promotion content agent 230 of the embedded client system 200 monitors the video stream for the embedded trigger signal . when the trigger signal is detected , the promotion content agent 230 inserts the associated graphical promotion content indicated in the event map into the analog or digital video stream to the display 310 of the television 300 . as a result , the promotion 320 appears on the display screen 310 , overlaying the video . user selection of this promotion through a selecting device , such as a remote control device , sends a url to the web browser 210 bringing the browser window to the forefront of the display 310 of the television 300 . in this way , user selection of the promotion allows the user to receive and view data from the url enabling e - commerce transactions . therefore , the event - driven activation , as well as the other scheduling options , presents promotions in an appropriate context to further increase the likelihood of consumer e - commerce transactions . in addition to the initial registration process , the present invention includes a system and method for updating user profiles through uploading distributed user activity and event logs to the system server 100 , parsing out the user and device attributes from the logs , and updating the user profiles in the data store 130 . the logs provide useful information , because the logs track a variety of information which the system can use in order to more accurately target users for content and promotional deployment . in one embodiment , the logs track channel events and e - commerce transactions initiated through the display of promotions . in another embodiment , the logs track peripheral events , such as the addition of a joystick and console for gaming purposes , power events , application events , and promotion events . continuous updating of user profiles through this system and method improves the targeting of consumers for content deployment , and in particular , for promotional content deployment . in brief overview , the network device includes a logging component 250 that monitors and logs user activity and events in an generic file format . for example , the logging component 250 monitors user activity at a user interface device such as the television remote channel control . in one embodiment , the generic file format is extensible markup language ( xml ). the format of the log files , using xml , correspond to the structure of the user profiles in the data store 130 . this allows for processing of the logs in an automated fashion . in addition , the user activity and event logs include a description of the structure of the document itself . using xml , the description of the structure of the document is the document type definition ( dtd ). providing a description of the document structure within the logs themselves , allows for the server system 100 to process logs with different document structures . this avoids the necessity of having to update the server system 100 every time a new document structure is used within the logs . fig5 a is an example of a dtd for an event log where each event that occurs is recorded with the guid of the device , the time of the event , the event type , and a description of the event . fig5 b is an example of an event log written in xml using the dtd of fig5 a . the event log contains two events , stored in the structure described by the dtd . fig5 b demonstrates how a channel event and an application event are described within this log . the uploading and parsing of these user activity and event logs will provide additional user attributes for targeting consumers including information regarding responses to prior promotions . if the logs indicate that a user is interested in a particular type of promotion , the system server modifies the user attributes of his user profile such that they match the attributes of a group profile associated with that type of promotion . fig6 is a state line diagram showing the interaction of the server system 100 and the embedded client system 200 for updating user profiles through the upload and parsing of user activity and event logs . in step 1 , the system manager 120 sends a message to the system agent 220 to upload its activity logs to the server system . in step 2 , the system agent 220 makes a c ++ object method call to the bulk data transfer agent 260 to upload the user activity and event logs . in step 3 , the bulk data transfer agent 260 sets up a tcp / ip socket connection to the bulk data transfer manager 160 of the server system to initiate the delivery of the logs . in step 4 , the bulk data transfer agent 260 delivers the logs to the bulk data transfer manager 160 through the tcp / ip socket connection where they are stored in the data store 130 . in cases where the connection is broken , the bulk data transfer agent 260 and the bulk data transfer manager 260 can detect that a connection was broken and will continue the download the content from the point in the transfer where the break occurred . in step 5 , the bulk data transfer agent 260 notifies the system agent 220 the result of the data transfer via a c ++ object method call . in step 6 , the system agent 220 sends a message to the system manager 120 indicating the result of the data transfer . in step 7 , the system manager 120 makes a call to the xml file processor 170 to update the user profiles from the user activity and event logs . in step 8 , an xml file processor 170 at the server system parses the logs stored on the database and updates the user attributes of the user profile of the network device . this system and method for scheduling remote uploads of the user activity and event logs provides improves the efficiency for targeting consumers for content and promotion . there are situations where a user will change the hardware configuration of a network device in order to expand its capabilities . in that situation , the present invention provides a system and method by which the network device notifies the server system 100 of a change to its hardware configuration and , in return , receives the appropriate device drivers to support the new hardware configuration . fig7 shows the dynamic installation of device drivers on the network device according to the present invention . specifically , the dynamic driver installation process is triggered when the user installs a peripheral device on a network device for which the network device requires a driver . in the typical example , the process occurs when the user plugs in a peripheral device such as a joy stick into a port such as a serial port or usb ( universal serial bus ) port . in step 1002 , the system agent 220 intercepts the plug and play string from the peripheral device when it is attached to the usb port . in step 1004 the system agent 220 then sends this plug and play string to the system manager 120 via the message router 150 and the queue managers along the path between the system agent 220 and the system manager 120 . in step 1006 , the system manager 220 then searches for a matching driver in its data store 130 . specifically , it compares the plug and play string received from the network device to plug and play strings of supported operating systems and supporting peripheral devices for which drivers are available . in step 1008 , assuming the valid device driver has been located , the system manager 120 sends a message to the system agent 220 to download the driver providing its location in the data store 130 . in step 1010 , the system agent requests the bulk data transfer agent 260 on the network device to download the driver . the bulk data transfer agent 260 then contacts the bulk data transfer manager 160 and downloads and stores the device driver on the network device . in parallel , the system manager 120 instructs the system agent 220 on how to install the device driver on the network device . in step 1012 , in the typical implementation , the device driver is dynamically loaded onto the network device . in step 1014 , when the driver has been successfully installed , the system agent 220 notifies the system manager 120 . the system manager , in turn , updates the status of the network device in the system manager &# 39 ; s data store 130 . fig8 illustrates the mirror process in which the peripheral device driver is uninstalled . in step 1016 , the system agent 220 is notified when the peripheral is disconnected by the user from the network device . in step 1018 , the system agent 220 then requests an uninstall program from the system manager 120 . in step 1020 , typically , the bulk data transfer agent 260 obtains the uninstalled program from the bulk data transfer manager 160 . in step 1024 , upon the successful uninstall , the system agent 220 notifies the system manager 120 that the driver has been installed and the system manager 120 updates the network device &# 39 ; s status . while this invention has been particularly shown and described with references to preferred embodiments thereof , it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the scope of the invention encompassed by the appended claims . | 7 |
referring to fig1 an isometric view is shown of the sewn thimble 10 of the subject invention . fig2 and 3 , in turn , respectively show the thimble 10 of fig1 when folded open along its right and left lateral seams and a longitudinal cross sectional view through the thimble . referring to fig1 it is to be appreciated the thimble 10 is of an elongated construction approximately 3 - 5 inches long , and mounts over the first two phalanges of a finger in conforming relation to the finger tip . mounted interiorly of the thimble in the lower surface of the shell or envelope 12 in the region of the finger tip is an impenetrable or rigid member 14 ( reference fig2 and 3 ) which protects the fingertip while sewing . although the thimble 10 is shown when worn for heavy duty needle work with the multi - walled surface 16 facing down , alternatively , the thimble may be rotated to position the upper , single - walled surface 18 of the thimble 10 in covering relation to the fingertip . in the latter position , fine needle work may be effectuated . that is , the softsided , pliable nature of the thimble envelope 12 provides a greater flexibility and finger tip dexterity . in its typical construction , the outer envelope 12 is constructed of a soft leather , although a variety of other supple , yet heavy duty materials might be employed . for that matter , the outer cover on the upper surface 18 might be of a dissimilar material to that on the lower surface 16 . for example , the fine work surface 18 might be a leather and the heavy duty surface might provide for a closely woven nylon or canvas material to cover the impenetrable member 14 or vice - versa . moreover , while the embodiment shown contemplates different surfaces 16 and 18 constructions , they may be of the same construction . thus , two impenetrable members 14 might be used or none at all . in any case , the mounting of the thimble 10 is facilitated by way of a finger grab or pull - tongue 20 which extends from the extreme end of the fine sewing surface 18 . during mounting , the wearer grasps the tongue 20 and pulls the thimble 10 tight onto the fingertip . this action firmly sets the thimble 10 about the fingertip and an interiorly included elastic strap member 22 which is sewn diametrically across the interior bore and which extends forward to a point slightly behind the member 14 . although a single pull - tongue 20 is provided , a pair of such tongues might be included on each surface such that one is always accessible on the upper finger surface which is the preferred position when mounting the thimble 10 . with attention directed to fig2 and 3 , the tip mounted impenetrable member 14 and elastic strap 22 can better be seen in their normal mounting orientation . the impenetrable member 14 is particularly cut out of a piece of flexible izing glass , plastic , metal , or other similar impenetrable material of an approximate thickness in the range of 1 / 64 to 1 / 16 inches . it exhibits an elongated , ovular shape and is positioned adjacent the fold line 24 of the pre - cut envelope material . an interior fabric cover 26 is sewn over the impenetrable member 14 to secure it to the inner wall and provide a liner adjacent the fingertip . the strap of elastic 22 is sewn across the outer end of the surface 16 supporting the impenetrable member 14 and provides an interior adjustment loop when the fine surface portion 18 of the thimble 10 is folded over and sewn to the heavy duty surface 16 . as seen in fig3 the elastic strap 16 generally bisects the interior cavity such that the strap may mount above or below the wearer &# 39 ; s finger . preferably though the strap mounts beneath the finger . the strap also extends to the edge of the opening to the thimble 10 to facilitate mounting and also to prevent the thimble from pulling off the finger during use . additional straps may be included if necessary to prevent removal . one other variation applicant has considered is the venting the envelope walls to minimize perspiration over protracted periods of usage . as mentioned , this may be accomplished by using an open weave material as part of the shell 12 . in contrast , the prior art has typically provided random vent holes in a solid walled envelope . while the present invention has been described with respect to its presently preferred embodiment and various modifications thereto , it is to be appreciated still other embodiments might suggest themselves to those skilled in the art . it is accordingly contemplated the following claims should be interpreted all those equivalent embodiments within the scope thereof . | 0 |
the term โ a โ or โ an โ as used herein in the specification may mean one or more . as used herein in the claim ( s ), when used in conjunction with the word โ comprising โ, the words โ a โ or โ an โ may mean one or more than one . as used herein โ another โ may mean at least a second or more . the present invention concerns the enrichment , isolation , or culturing of proliferating cells to the exclusion of non - proliferating cells . in more specific terms , it concerns the enrichment , isolation , or culturing of stem cells , which may be further defined as pluripotent cells , to the exclusion of non - stem cells . the invention exploits the property of most differentiated cells to adhere to a substrate and / or another cell . in particular embodiments , the stem cells are obtained from bone marrow cells , although any suitable tissue comprising stem cells may provide the original plurality of cells from which the stem cells are isolated . existing methods for obtaining human stem cells for therapeutic cell replacement include , for example , purifying cells by flow cytometry and by growing them in growth medium containing serum on a feeder layer of primate cells . in specific existing methods , the existing methods purify cd34 + cells from bone marrow or from peripheral circulating blood by flow cytometry and grow human embryonic stem cells in growth medium containing fetal bovine serum on a feeder layer of primate cells . because stem cells are grown in the presence of non - human cells and foreign serum they are not suitable for re - implanting into patients . furthermore , double sorting cd34 + cells by flow cytometry is tedious , gives yields of low abundance and presents sterility problems . the culture method of the present invention solves these problems and , thereby , provides stem cells that can be re - implanted into the donor . pure cultures of stem cells , such as the exemplary haematopoietic stem cells , are derived by continuous growth in liquid culture medium in the absence of methyl cellulose , matrigel , blood clot , or other matrix . only suspension cells are passaged by removing suspended cells and conditioned medium from stromal cells , macrophages , endothelial cells and other cells that attach to the wall of the culture flask . suspension cells are passaged with cell - conditioned medium into fresh culture flasks containing fresh culture medium . alternatively , the exemplary haematopoietic stem cells are grown in defined serum - free medium . the present invention provides a wealth of advantages over other methods for cell culture and cell application . patients may use their own bone marrow to generate stem cells for therapeutic cell replacement . a patient &# 39 ; s bone marrow can be expanded to provide a pure population of haematopoietic stem cells , and clonal stem cells can be derived . culturing a patient &# 39 ; s stem cells in the conditions of the invention for cell replacement therapy avoids immune rejection , hiv , hepatitis or other pathogen transfer and other animal virus contamination from fetal bovine serum or primate feeder cell exposure . also , generating the exemplary haematopoietic stem cells in the manner of the invention avoids purifying very low abundance cd34 + cells by flow cytometry from bone marrow or peripheral blood . to date , flow cytometry is the only technology to obtain pure populations of cd34 + stem cells and the yield is low , whereas the present invention yields high abundanct ( 10 9 ) stem cells . flow cytometry is tedious , slow , expensive and cells are easily contaminated . finally , obtaining abundant populations of pure cd34 + ( for example ) stem cells from mice provides a rodent model to study the differentiation of haematopoietic stem cells into neurons , glia , oligodendrocytes , insulin - producing pancreatic islet cells , etc . in addition , these cells can be used in the mouse model to investigate cell transplantation for therapeutic cell replacement . exemplary applications for therapeutic cell replacement with cd34 + haematopoietic stem cells include immune diseases , such as , for example , arthritis , lupus , type i diabetes , etc . ; cancer , such as leukemia ; multiple sclerosis ; parkinson &# 39 ; s disease ; alzheimer &# 39 ; s disease ; other degenerative neurological diseases ; spinal cord injury ; pancreatic islet cell replacement ; and so forth . bone marrow , or cells selected from bone marrow , recently were reported to give rise to cells with a neural phenotype , after in vitro treatment with neural inducing factors or after delivery into the brain . however , the present inventors previously showed that untreated bone marrow cells express products of the neural myelin basic protein gene and herein demonstrate that a subset of ex vivo bone marrow cells expresses the neurogenic transcription factor , pax - 6 , as well as , neuronal genes : neurofilament h , neun , huc / hud and gad65 and the oligodendroglial gene , cnpase . in contrast , astroglial gfap was not detected . these cells also were cd34 +, a marker of haematopoietic stem cells . cultures of these highly proliferative cd34 + cells , derived from adult mouse bone marrow , uniformly displayed a phenotype compatible to that of haematopoietic progenitor cells ( cd45 +, cd34 +, sca - 1 +, aa4 . 1 +, ckit +, gata - 2 + and lmo - 2 +). the neuronal and oligodendroglial genes expressed in ex vivo bone marrow , also were expressed in all cultured cd34 + cells , and again gfap was not observed . after cd34 + cell transplantation into adult brain , neuronal or oligodendroglial markers segregated into distinct non - overlapping cell populations , while astroglial gfap appeared , in the absence of other neural markers , in a separate set of implanted cells . thus , neuronal and oligodendroglial gene products are present in a subset of bone marrow cells and the expression of these genes can be regulated in brain . the fact that these cd34 + cells also express transcription factors ( rex - 1 and oct - 4 ) found in early development indicates , in specific embodiments , that they are pluripotent embryonic - like stem cells . in addition , bone marrow comprises both cd 34 + stem cells as well as cd 34 + non - stem cells , which are cells that are determined to differentiate into a particular progeny . therefore , bone marrow stem cells may be derived by flow cytometry by repeated sorting with a panel of antibodies to markers of stem cells vs . differentiated cells . nevertheless , it is known that flow cytometry - sorted stem cells are a mixed population with contaminating cells . the present invention avoids the contamination of non - stem cells by providing a substantially pure culture of stem cells . this may be defined as having 100 % homogenous population of stem / progenitor cells with no contaminating cells , although in alternative embodiments there are miniscule amounts of non - stem cells . stem cells are cells that have the capacity to become at least all differentiated cell types of their lineage in that tissue . stem cells have two important characteristics that distinguish them from other types of cells . first , they are unspecialized cells that renew themselves for long periods through cell division . secondly , under suitable conditions they can be induced to become cells with special functions , which may be considered differentiated . stem cells may be further defined as those cells that are self - renewing that undergo symmetric and asymmetric divisions to self - renew or differentiate into multiple kinds of differentiated progeny ( lin et al ., 1997 ; morrison et al ., 1997 ; burns and zon , 2002 ). in specific aspects of the invention , stem cells are cells that are not terminally differentiated and as a result are able to produce cells of other types . in particular aspects of the invention , they are used to repair specific tissues or to grow organs de novo , for example . there are at least three types of stem cells : totipotent , pluripotent , and multipotent . a single totipotent stem cell can grow into an entire organism . pluripotent stem cells cannot grow into a whole organism , but they can become any other cell of a particular germ layer , such as ectoderm , mesoderm , or endoderm . multipotent ( also referred to as unipotent ) stem cells can become all cells of a given tissue derived from one of the germ layers ; however , multipotent in alternative embodiments refers to stem cells having the potential to become only two differentiated cell types . stem cells have been identified in a variety of tissues . they can be distinguished in a variety of means , such as by the tissue from which they were harvested , their bias in differentiation ability , the stage of development at which they exist , and their gene expression profile . in particular , stem cells may be from ectoderm ( epidermal , neural , neural crest , and hair follicle ); mesoderm ( cardiac muscle , skeletal muscle , umbilical cord blood , mesenchymal , hematopoietic , umbilical cord matrix , and multipotent adult precursor ); endoderm ( pancreatic islet and hepatic oval ); and germ ( primordial germ ) stem cells . more than one stem cell may be present in a particular tissue . for example , in the hematopoietic system alone , there are stem cells from the yolk sac , fetal cord blood , liver , and adult bone marrow . a skilled artisan recognizes that suitable culture media is used in the present invention such that stem cells may proliferate and preferably such that stem cells may be distinguished from non - stem cells , such as differentiated cells . many suitable media are available commercially , such as from invitrogen - gibco brl ( carlsbad , calif .) or sigma ( st . louis , mo . ), for example . the media utilized may be serum - free or serum - comprising , although a skilled artisan recognizes that it may be advantageous to use serum - free media so that the cells are not exposed to one or more pathogens . in specific embodiments , culture media is utilized for culturing stem cells wherein the media is conventionally used for the culturing of progeny of stem cells , although alternatively it is media that is not conventionally used for the culturing of progeny of stem cells . in further specific embodiments , media considered suitable for culturing progeny of bone marrow stem cells is employed , such as , for example , hybridoma serum - free media . in particular embodiments hybridoma serum - free media may comprise low amounts of protein ( such as about 20 ฮผg / ml or less of protein , such as the exemplary insulin , transferrin , and / or albumin ). the media of the invention , such as the serum - free hybridoma media , may lack l - glutamine , antibiotics , antimycotics , and phenol red , for example . for embodiments concerning hematopoietic stem cell expansion or umbilical cord blood stem cell expansion , for example , stemline โข hematopoietic stem cell expansion medium ( sigma ; st . louis , mo .) may be employed . in other embodiments , hybridoma medium animal component - free medium ( sigma ; st . louis , mo .) is utilized . as such , the media may comprise inorganic salts , essential and non - essential amino acids , vitamins , sodium bicarbonate , hepes , trace elements , fatty acids , and other organics . recombinant human insulin may be present as the only source of protein . the medium may lack l - glutamine , antibiotics , and phenol red , for example . more specifically , exemplary culture media includes one or more of the following , such as inorganic salts ( including , for example , cacl 2 ; fe ( no 3 ) 3 . 9h 2 o ; kcl ; mgso 4 ( anhydr . ); nacl ; nahco 3 ; nah 2 po 4 . h 2 o ); amino acids ( essential and / or non - essential ) ( including , for example , l - arginine - hcl , l - cystine ; l - cystine . 2hcl ; l - glutamine ; l - alanyl - l - glutamine ; glycine ; l - histidine hcl . h 2 o ; l - isoleucine ; l - leucine ; l - lysine - hcl ; l - methionine ; l - phenylalanine ; l - serine ; l - threonine ; l - tryptophan ; l - tyrosine ; l - tyrosine - 2na . 2h 2 o ; l - valine ); vitamins ( including , for example , d - ca pantothenate ; choline chloride ; folic acid ; i - inositol ; niacinamide ; riboflavin ; thiamine hcl ; pyridoxine hcl , for example ); trace elements ( including ammonium metavanadate ; cupric sulfate ; manganous chloride ; sodium selenite , for example ); proteins ( including albumax ยฎ ii ( bovine serum albumin ; life technologies , inc . ; gaithersburg , md . ), insulin ( preferably recombinant ), and human transferrin ( holo ), for example ); and other components ( including d - glucose ; phenol red ; hepes ; and sodium pyruvate , for example ). a skilled artisan recognizes that the culture media may be supplemented with growth factors to facilitate culturing or expansion , appropriate to the tissue from which the stem cells originally derive or to the tissue for which they will differentiate into . for example , for embryonic stem cells , expansion factors ex vivo may include one or more of the following : fgf - ฮฒ wnt - 3a , collagen , fibronectin , and laminin . for mesenchymal stem cells , for example , expansion factors ex vivo may include one or more fgf - ฮฒ egf , pdgf , and fibronectin . for haematopoietic stem cells , expansion factors ex vivo may include one or more of il - 3 , il - 6 , scf , flt - 3 / flk - 2 , tpo , shh , wnt - 3a , and kirre . for neural stem cells , ex vivo expansion factors may include fgf - ฮฒ , egf , fibronectin , and cystatin c . in some embodiments , the media includes at least some media transferred from a previous culture media , which may be considered to be โ conditioned ,โ wherein cells have previously secreted useful agents such as growth factors and cytokines into the media . any agents that facilitate growth of the stem cells in the media and / or any agents that enhance the ability to distinguish the suspended cells from the adherent cells are useful in the invention . specific examples of conditioning agents may be dependent upon the tissue from which the original plurality of cells were derived for the isolation of the stem cells . exemplary growth factors and cytokines include leukotrienes ; second messengers ( e . g . camp , cgmp ); growth factor egf , fgf , pdgf , bmp , gdnf ; or interleukins other than il - 3 an il - 6 provided by the medium ( e . g . il - 1 , il - 2 , il - 4 , il - 5 , il - 7 , il - 8 , il - 9 , il - 10 , il - 11 , il - 12 , il - 13 , il - 14 , il - 15 , il - 16 , il - 17 , il - 18 , il - 19 , il - 20 , il - 21 , il - 22 , il - 23 , il - 24 , il - 25 , il - 26 , il - 27 , il - 28 , il - 29 ); and vitamins . in alternative embodiments , these growth factors and cytokines are not obtained from the conditioned media but are added exogenously , although they may also be used to supplement conditioned media having the same or different agents . in particular embodiments , defined serum - free medium ( hybridoma sfm medium , gibco brl , rockville , md ., usa ) comprising interleukin 3 , interleukin 6 , stem cell factor and ฮฒ - mercaptoethanol is employed . other medium include dulbecco &# 39 ; s modified eagle &# 39 ; s medium containing 10 % fetal bovine serum and interleukin 3 , interleukin 6 , stem cell factor , and ฮฒ - mercaptoethanol . cell markers are useful identification tools for particular desired stem cells . as used herein , the term โ cell marker โ refers to a gene or gene product commonly associated with a stem cell of interest . the gene product may be expressed on the cell surface . cell markers may be lineage markers , metabolic markers , communication markers , growth factors , transcription factors , and so forth , for example . in specific embodiments , specific cell markers are associated with particular desired stem cells . for example , one or more cell markers may be indicative of one kind of stem cell , whereas other one or more cell markers are indicative of another kind of stem cell . in alternative embodiments , there are one or more cell markers that are indicative of more than one kind of stem cell . examples of cell markers for more than one stem cell may include aldh activity , hoescht 33342 / sp , abcg - 2 expression , rhoda - mine 123 exclusion , connexin expression , and / or lack of lineage markers ( lin โ ) ( cai et al ., 2004 , incorporated by reference herein in its entirety ). identification of one or more cell markers may be of any suitable method , so long as the marker is detectable if present . in particular embodiments , cell markers are identified by immunocytochemistry , in situ hybridization , polymerase chain reaction , protein polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis , western blot analysis , or a combination thereof . a skilled artisan recognizes how to determine a particular suitable one or more cell markers prior to isolation based on the above - mentioned procedures . in specific embodiments , for human embryonic stem cells suitable markers include nanog , gtcm - 1 , connexin 43 ( gja1 ), oct - 4 , and tdgf1 ( cripto ), for example ( bhattacharya et al ., 2004 ). in other embodiments , skilled artisans recognize that a set of particular tissue cell markers from one mammalian species may not be identical to the same tissue &# 39 ; s cell markers in another mammalian species . exemplary cell markers for hematopoietic stem cells include cd34 +, sca - 1 +, aa4 . 1 + and ckit +, and in specific embodiments these markers denote murine hematopoietic stem cells . in alternative embodiments , human hematopoietic stem cells may be cd34 + or cd34 โ, cd38 +, cd38 (โ), ckit +, thy 1 10 , clfr +, or a combination thereof . exemplary markers for neural stem cells include epidermal growth factor , fibroblast growth factor , and so forth , for example . exemplary markers for cardiac stem cells include stem cell antigen - 1 , cd45 (โ), cd34 (โ), sca1 +, or a combination thereof , for example . intestinal stem merkers include a33 +, cfms +, c - myb +, cd45 (โ), or a combination thereof , for example . skin stem cell markers include keratin 19 , for example . the present invention concerns stem cells and their uses , such as for research or for therapeutic uses for an animal in need thereof , such as with cell replacement therapy . the cells may be therapeutic as they were collected , or they may be manipulated prior to their application . such manipulations may be of any kind to enhance their therapeutic activity for the individual ( s ) to which they are applied . in particular embodiments , the stem cells further include a therapeutic agent , such as a small molecule , therapeutic polypeptide , a nucleic acid encoding a therapeutic polypeptide , sirna , antisense rna , rnai , lipids , including phospholipids , proteolipids and glycolypids , or a mixture thereof . in a specific embodiment , the therapeutic agent provides amelioration of at least one symptom of a medical condition , and / or prevents at least one symptom of a medical condition . the particular stem cells utilized in this aspect of the invention are suitable for their intended purpose . example applications such as those that follow may be employed , although a skilled artisan recognizes other suitable applications may be utilized . stem cells from the haematopoietic system may be employed for a variety of applications . the stem cells may be utilized in preventing and / or treating down syndrome , for example by applying one or more cells of the invention to an individual ( including a fetus ) suffering therefrom or to an individual susceptible to down syndrome , such as a fetus . in other embodiments , the haematopoietic system benefits from cell replacement therapy , such as when the individual suffers from a blood disorder , including leukemia . indeed , herein the present inventors report that neural and oligodendroglial genes are expressed in a subset of ex vivo bone marrow cells that are cd34 positive . a culture system was developed to generate pure populations of highly proliferative cells from adult bone marrow that express both neural and haematopoietic stem cell markers , in addition to cd34 . upon transplantation into adult mouse brain , the cultured cd34 + cells survive for fourteen months , the longest time tested , and differentiate morphologically into cells that resemble neurons , astrocytes and oligodendrocytes and express distinct markers specific for each of these cell types . however , in alternative embodiments , the cells are cd34 โ . monitoring of the applied stem cells may be by any suitable means , such as by monitoring particular cell markers and / or characterizing morphology , for example . for example , the cells may be monitored for neurofilament h , m , l , map2 , ฮฒ - tubulin , neun , tyrosine hydroxylase , acetylcholine transferase , glutamic acid decarboxylase , dopamine , ฮฒ - hydroxylase , synatin , synaptobrevin , gfap , cnpase , mosp , myelin basic protein , mog , mag , plp , or a combination thereof . the stem cells of the present invention may also be applied to individuals suffering from a disorder of the central nervous system , including those having neurodegenerative disorders , such as parkinson &# 39 ; s disease , multiple sclerosis , alzheimer &# 39 ; s disease , and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis ( als ), stroke , spinal cord injury , huntington &# 39 ; s disease for example . in particular embodiments , an individual &# 39 ; s own bone marrow provides stem cells for therapeutic cell replacement for that patient &# 39 ; s neurodegenerative disorder . in particular embodiments , the stem cells are applied to a neurogenic region of the brain , such as the hippocampus , or a non - neurogenic region of the brain , such as the striatum . in particular embodiments , the cells develop into neurons , astrocytes , glia , and oligodendrocytes , such as those that produce myelin and form myelin sheaths around cns axons , for example . in further embodiments , stem cells employed for a cns application comprise a nucleic acid a therapeutic agent , such as encoding interferon - beta or brain derived neurotrophic factor , which is known to be neuroprotective ; alternatively , the stem cells harbor a therapeutic polypeptide or small molecule , for example . other neuroprotective agents include , glial derived neurotrophic factor ( gdnf ), ngf , fgf , egf , bmp , tnf - ฮฑ , for example , which may also be provided in the form of a polypeptide or a nucleic acid encoding the polypeptide , for example . in specific embodiments , the nucleic acid is rnai , sirna , or antisense rna . monitoring of the applied stem cells prior to and / or following a cns application may be by any suitable means , such as by monitoring particular cell markers and / or characterizing morphology , for example . for example , the cells may be monitored for tyrosine hydroxylase , huc / hud , neurofilament h , neun , m2 muscarinic acetylocholine receptor , pax6 , and / or gad65 . astrocytes may be monitored for gfap , for example . oligodendrocytes may be monitored for cnpase , mosp , ng2 , galactocerebroside , or o4 , for example . a specialized cns embodiment for the invention includes use of the cells for retinopathies ( see below ). in an additional embodiment , stem cells of the present invention are employed in a pancreatic islet system , such as for cell replacement therapy for diabetes . in particular , the cells for utilization in such an embodiment regulate insulin synthesis naturally , although in some embodiments insulin synthesis is not detected until following in vivo differentiation into pancreatic islet beta - cells . in further embodiments , the cells are genetically engineered , for example , to regulate expression of insulin . this may be accomplished by any suitable means , such as harboring a nucleic acid that encodes insulin , for example . monitoring of the applied stem cells prior to and / or following a pancreatic application may be by any suitable means , such as by monitoring particular cell markers and / or characterizing morphology , for example . for example , the cells may be monitored for production of insulin and / or pancreatic islet beta cell glucose - sensing molecules . as described elsewhere herein , the stem cells and methods of the present invention are useful for application to individuals with retinopathies . retinopathies include deficiencies of the retina , a part of the cns , and particular classes of neural cells may be lost ; for example , photoreceptors are defective in macular degeneration , such as age - related macular degeneration ; retinitis pigmentosa , leber &# 39 ; s congenital amaurosis , rod monochromomacy and x - linked progressive cone dystrophy ; ganglion cells are defective in multiple sclerosis and methanol toxicity ; m class ganlion cells are defective in glaucoma , alzheimer &# 39 ; s disease and hydrocephalus ; and muller cells are defective in adult retinoschisis . monitoring of the applied stem cells prior to and / or following retinopathy application may be by any suitable means , such as by monitoring particular cell markers and / or characterizing morphology , for example . for example , the cells may be monitored for the retinal stratum of implant and molecular markers of cell class , e . g . opsin , thy 1 , glutamine synthetase and an array of neurotransmitters and neuropeptides . in other embodiments , stem cells encompassed by the present invention are utilized in another exemplary embodiment . for example , stem cells for muscle may be utilized for a suitable muscular application , whether it is smooth muscle or skeletal muscle . in one example , stem cells from muscles are employed to apply to a cardiac application , such as for the prevention and / or treatment of heart disease , including heart failure . the cells may be applied upon diagnosis of a heart ailment , following diagnosis of a heart ailment , or to an individual susceptible to contracting heart disease . in specific embodiments , the stem cells of the present invention are applied to an individual in need thereof for a cardiac purpose , wherein the stem cells comprise a therapeutic agent . the therapeutic agent may comprise a small molecule , a nucleic acid encoding a therapeutic polypeptide , a therapeutic nucleic acid , such as an rnai molecule , an sirna , or antisense rna , or a therapeutic polypeptide . the therapeutic agent may be secreted upon application to the individual , such as to provide therapeutic benefit to endogenous cells of the individual . exemplary embodiments of therapeutic agents for stem cells in cardiac applications include vegf +. hematopoietic system in leukemias after therapeutic irradiation , aplasia , genetic blood diseases ( matched donor stem cells ), myelodysplasia , dermis replacement ( such as for burn ), and bone replacement ( such as for osteoporosis and other bone loss / degenerative conditions ) are other systems / diseases that would benefit from stem cells of the invention . in some embodiments of the present invention , the stem cells are utilized themselves as being therapeutic , although in other embodiments the stem cells are employed as a vehicle for delivery of a therapeutic agent . in further embodiments , the stem cells are both therapeutic and provide a therapeutic agent . in particular , the method of cell therapy of the invention provides a cell comprising a copy of a nucleic acid sequence or amino acid sequence for therapy of a disease . in an embodiment of the present invention the cells and methods of the present invention are utilized for gene therapy . for gene therapy , a skilled artisan would be cognizant that the cell contains a vector wherein the gene of interest is operatively limited to a promoter , and in particular embodiments the promoter is specific for the tissue to which the cell will be associated with upon differentiation . for example , in neural - specific applications , a neurofilament promoter may be utilized . for astroglia , a gfap promoter may be employed . for oligodendroglia , mgp , mog , or mag promoters may be used . the promoter may be consitutive , inducible or tissue - specific . one skilled in the art recognizes that in certain instances other sequences such as a 3 โฒ utr regulatory sequence is useful in expressing the gene of interest . means known in the art can be utilized to prevent release and absorption of the composition until it reaches the target organ or to ensure timed release of the composition . a sufficient amount of vector comprising the therapeutic nucleic acid sequence is administered to provide a pharmacologically effective dose of the gene product . in specific embodiments , the expression construct further comprises a therapeutic nucleic acid having a nuclear localization signal and / or the therapeutic gene product comprises a protein transduction domain . one skilled in the art recognizes that different methods of delivery may be utilized to administer a vector into a cell of the present invention . examples include : ( 1 ) methods utilizing physical means , such as electroporation ( electricity ), a gene gun ( physical force ) or applying large volumes of a liquid ( pressure ); and / or ( 2 ) methods wherein said vector is complexed to another entity , such as a liposome or transporter molecule . accordingly , the present invention provides a method of transferring a therapeutic gene to a host , which comprises administering the vector inside a cell of the present invention . effective gene transfer of a vector to a host cell in accordance with the present invention can be monitored in terms of a therapeutic effect ( e . g . alleviation of at least one symptom associated with the particular medical condition being treated ) or , further , by evidence of the transferred gene or expression of the gene within the host ( e . g ., using the polymerase chain reaction in conjunction with sequencing , northern or southern hybridizations , or transcription assays to detect the nucleic acid in host cells , or using immunoblot analysis , antibody mediated detection , mrna or protein half life studies , or particularized assays to detect protein or polypeptide encoded by the transferred nucleic acid , or impacted in level or function due to such transfer , or combinations thereof ). in other embodiments , the presence of particular cell markers are assayed , such as by immunocytochemistry . these methods described herein are by no means all inclusive , and further methods to suit the specific application will be apparent to the ordinary skilled artisan . moreover , the effective amount of the compositions can be further approximated through analogy to compounds known to exert the desired effect and / or upon empirical observations , for example . furthermore , the actual dose and schedule can vary depending on whether the cells are administered in combination with other pharmaceutical compositions , or depending on interindividual differences in pharmacokinetics , drug disposition , and metabolism . similarly , amounts can vary in in vitro applications depending on the particular cells utilized . furthermore , the amount of vector to be added per cell will likely vary with the length and stability of the therapeutic gene inserted in the vector , as well as also the nature of the sequence , and is particularly a parameter which needs to be determined empirically , and can be altered due to factors not inherent to the methods of the present invention ( for instance , the cost associated with synthesis ). one skilled in the art can easily make any necessary adjustments in accordance with the exigencies of the particular situation . in a specific embodiment the nucleic acid for therapy is a dna or a rna , and it is within the scope of the present invention to include any nucleic acid for a therapeutic purpose within the cells . specific examples include but are not limited to interferon - beta or brain derived growth factor , such as for neurological applications , as well as gdnf , ngf , fgf , and bmp . the dystrophin nucleic acid , such as for the treatment of muscular dystrophy ; or the beta - globin gene , such as for the treatment of sickle cell anemia may also be employed . in a specific embodiment the nucleic acid for therapy is p53 , which is often mutated in cancer . alternatively , as is taught by foster et al . ( 1999 ), herein incorporated by reference , a compound to stabilize the dna binding domain of p53 in an active conformation is furthermore delivered via cells or methods of the present invention to enable a mutant p53 in a tumor cell to activate transcription and slow tumor growth . in a specific embodiment the compound for stabilization comprises a hydrophobic group containing at least one cyclic group joined by a linker to an ionizable group , such as an amine . thus , a potential advantage of stem cells in addition to cell replacement therapy is that they can be genetically engineered in vitro to produce beneficial proteins . the present inventors have delivered two neuroprotective genes , interferon - beta ( ifn - ฮฒ ) and brain derived neurotrophic factor ( bdnf ), to mouse brain with genetically engineered bone marrow stem cells . bdnf is a pleiotrophic cytokine of the neurotrophin family , which plays an important role in regulating the survival and differentiation of various neuronal populations including dopaminergic , sensory , cerebellar and motor neurons . bdnf is thought to exert its biological activity by binding to the membrane - transversing tyrosine kinase trkb receptor and activating several signal transduction pathways . in addition to regulating neuronal survival , proliferation , differentiation and neurite outgrowth , bdnf modulates oligodendrocyte proliferation and myelination of regenerating axons in experimental spinal cord injury . the phenotypes of bdnf knock out mice include balance problems associated with vestibular defects and feeding difficulties . based on these salutary effects of bdnf , its efficacy in preventing neuronal cell death after various forms of neuronal injuries and in animal models of neurodegenerative disease have been demonstrated ( 10 , 11 ). however , the major limitation of bdnf therapy is its short plasma half - life and inaccessibility to the cns due to the blood - brain barrier . to circumvent this problem , gene therapy approaches can provide the potential for long - term delivery to the target tissue . bdnf expressed from a transgene and released in the extracellular milieu can diffuse locally and be taken up by neighboring nerve terminals for retrograde axonal transport . furthermore , the neuroprotective genes can be engineered to be under the control of gene promoters that allow expression of the bdnf gene product to be produced at a specific time and place . the present inventors have engineered the bdnf gene to be under the control of the tet - on promotor so the gene is expressed by transplanted stem cells carrying the gene when the recipient mouse is given tetracycline , such as in the drinking water , and stops producing bdnf when tetracycline is removed . furthermore , the present inventors have separate bdnf - tet - on constructs with three different cell - type promoters : neurofilament for neurons , gfap for astrocytes and mbp for oligodendrocytes . this allows control of the time of bdnf production in transplanted animals , and the cell - type promoters can express bdnf only by the stem cells that become neurons or astrocytes or oligodendrocytes . thus , the stem cells offer two therapeutic tools , cells for cell replacement therapy and vehicles for tightly controlled gene therapy . in other embodiments , the engineered stem cells are employed to deliver genes to three mouse models of neurodegeneration : two models of multiple sclerosis , eae and shiverer mice , and one parkinson &# 39 ; s disease model of mptp - treated mice . in specific embodiments of the present invention , there are one or more kits for making and / or using the stem cells of the invention . the components of the kit are housed in a suitable container and may be sterile , where appropriate . kit housing may include boxes , vials , or bottles , for example . the kit may include the suitable media or ingredients thereof , and in some embodiments the media is serum - free , whereas in other embodiments the media comprises serum . the kit may include one or more containers for culturing of the stem cells , and it may further include a transfer means , such as pipets , for transfering the suspended cells . in other embodiments , there are components for application of the stem cells to an individual , such as a syringe , a filter for concentrating the cells , an aqueous solution for suspension of the cells , a needle , a syringe , and so forth . in further embodiments , there are components in the kit for extracting cells from a tissue of interest for culturing of the stem cells , such as an apparatus for obtaining bone marrow . examples include syringes , scalpels , and standard bone marrow aspiration kit of needle and syringe , with trocar containing heparin ( commercially available ). in embodiments wherein heparin is found to kill a subset of bone marrow stem cells , there may be a kit with the standard sterile syringe , aspirating needle , stylet , luer - lock adaptor and cleaning rod , etc ., without heparin , and so forth . the following examples are included to demonstrate preferred 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 . bone marrow was aseptically collected from the femurs of sixteen c57b1 / 6j , four sjl / j , four c3h and two 129fvb adult mice . cells from one adult mouse femur were suspended in 10 ml of dulbecco &# 39 ; s modified eagle &# 39 ; s medium ( dmem ) ( gibco ) containing 10 % fetal bovine serum and in 10 ml of hybridoma cell defined serum - free medium ( gibco ) and distributed into two t75 tissue culture flasks . both media were supplemented with mouse interleukin 3 ( il - 3 ) ( r & amp ; d systems ), mouse interleukin 6 ( il - 6 ) ( r & amp ; d systems ), mouse stem cell factor ( scf ) ( r & amp ; d systems ) and ฮฒ - mercaptoethanol to a final concentration of 5 ng / ml il - 3 , 10 ng / ml il - 6 , 10 ng / ml scf and a 1 : 1000 dilution of 10 ฮผl ฮฒ - mercaptoethanol in 2 . 9 ml hoh . no matrix , substrate or feeder cells were added to the liquid medium in the tissue culture flasks . cells were grown at 37 ยฐ c . in humidified 10 % co 2 / 90 % air . cells were observed and fed or passaged , as needed , two times per week . cells were fed by addition of 5 ml of fresh medium to each flask . when the cell culture was dense enough to subculture , only the floating cells were collected , leaving behind the cells attached to the culture flask . these attached cells are bone marrow stromal cells , endothelial cells , macrophages , etc . floating cells were subcultured in 50 % conditioned medium from the previous culture and 50 % fresh medium at 2 ร 10 6 cells / 10 ml . after 3 - 4 weeks , the cultures contain only dividing floating cells and the cells no longer differentiate into macrophages and other cells that attach to the flask . rna was obtained from adult mouse bone marrow , from cd34 + cells cultured from 6 weeks to 4 months and from postnatal day 2 ( p2 ) mouse brain and rt - pcr was performed by standard methodology using the following dna primers : gata - 2 forward 5 โฒ atggaggtggcgcctgagcagcct3 โฒ ( seq id no : 1 ), reverse ctgccgccttccatcttcatgctc3 โฒ ( seq id no : 2 ); lmo - 2 forward 5 โฒ atgtcctcggccatcgaaaggaag3 โฒ ( seq id no : 3 ), reverse 5 โฒ gatgatcccattgatcttggtcca3 โฒ ( seq id no : 4 ); rex - 1 forward 5 โฒ caccatccgggatgaaagtgagat3 โฒ ( seq id no : 5 ), reverse 5 โฒ accagaaaatgtcgctttagtttc3 โฒ ( seq id no : 6 ); oct - 4 forward 5 โฒ ccgtgaagttggagaaggtg3 โฒ ( seq id no : 7 ), reverse 5 โฒ tgattggcgatgtgatgtat3 โฒ ( seq id no : 8 ); flk - 2 forward 5 โฒ cgtaccgaatggtgcgaggatccc3 โฒ ( seq id no : 9 ), reverse 5 โฒ catggttcacatggatggccttac3 โฒ ( seq id no : 10 ); tal - 1 forward 5 โฒ gatgacggagcggccgccgagcgaggcg3 โฒ ( seq id no : 11 ), reverse 5 โฒ cgcactactttggtgtgaggacca3 โฒ ( seq id no : 12 ); cd34 forward 5 โฒ cagtatttccacttcagagatgac3 โฒ ( seq id no : 13 ), reverse 5 โฒ gtgtaataagggtcttcacccagc3 โฒ ( seq id no : 14 ), neurofilament h forward 5 โฒ attggctttggtccgagtcc3 โฒ ( seq id no : 15 ), reverse 5 โฒ gggggttctttggcttttac3 โฒ ( seq id no : 16 ), neurofilament m forward 5 โฒ ctttcctgcggcgatatcac3 โฒ ( seq id no : 17 ), reverse 5 โฒ tcctcaacctttccctcaat3 โฒ ( seq id no : 18 ), and neurofilament l forward 5 โฒ gcagaacgccgaagagtggt3 โฒ ( seq id no : 19 ), reverse 5 โฒ cgagcagacatcaagtagga3 โฒ ( seq id no : 20 ). pcr products were separated by base pair size on gels by standard protocols . noncultured ex vivo adult mouse bone marrow cells and in vitro bone marrow cells from 6 day , 21 day , 28 day , 48 day , 56 day and 110 day cultures were incubated in 4 % paraformaldehyde at 4 ยฐ c . for 15 min ., washed 3 times in dulbecco &# 39 ; s phosphate buffered saline ( pbs ), applied to microscope slides by cytocentrifuge and used immediately or stored at โ 80 ยฐ c . until use . cells then were treated with 0 . 25 % tween - 20 for 3 min at 21 ยฐ c ., washed 3 time in pbs and analyzed by standard immunocytochemistry methodology using the following antibodies : primary antibodies cd34 ( pharmingen 553731 ), sca - 1 ( pharmingen 557403 ), aa4 . 1 ( pharmingen 559158 ), ckit ( cymbus cbl1359 ), h - 2k ( pharmingen 553567 ), cd45 ( pharmingen 553076 ), f4 / 80 ( serotec mcap497 ), pax - 6 ( santa cruz sc - 11357 ), oct - 4 ( santa cruz sc - 9081 ), huc / hud ( molecular probes a - 21275 ), neurofilament h ( stemberger monoclonals smi 312 , chemicon ab1989 ), neun ( chemicon mab377 ), gad65 ( chemicon ab5082 ), m2 muscarinic acetylcholine receptor ( chemicon ab166 - 50ul ), gfap ( chemicon mab3402 , ab5040 , ab5804 ), cnpase ( chemicon mab326 ), mosp ( chemicon mab328 ), ng2 chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan ( chemicon ab5320 ), galactocerebroside ( chemicon ab142 ), oligodendrocyte marker o4 ( chemicon mab345 ), mag ( chemicon mab1567 ), plp ( chemicon mab388 ). secondary antibodies were fitc - f ( ab โฒ) 2 donkey anti - rabbit ( jacksonimmuno 711 - 096 - 152 ), tritc - f ( ab โฒ) 2 donkey anti - rat ( jacksonimmuno 712 - 026 - 150 ), tritc - f ( ab โฒ) 2 goat anti - mouse igg + igm ( jacksonimmuno 115 - 026 - 044 ), tritc - f ( ab โฒ) 2 rabbit anti - mouse ( jacksonimmuno 315 - 026 - 045 ), fitc - goat anti - mouse igg1 fcฮณ fragment - specific ( jacksonimmuno 115 - 095 - 008 ), cy5 - f ( ab โฒ) 2 donkey anti - rabbit ( jacksonimmuno 711 - 176 - 152 ), horseradish peroxidase - goat f ( ab โฒ) 2 anti - rabbit igg ( h + l ) ( caltag l4300 - 7 ), fab fragment goat anti mouse igg ( jacksonimmuno 115 - 007 - 003 ). in the cases of mouse monoclonal igg1 antibody binding to ex vivo mouse bone marrow cells the standard protocol was modified to expose fixed permeablized cells for 1 hr at room temperature to 5 % normal goat serum in pbs , followed by six washes with pbs , then cells were exposed for 1 hr to 20 ฮผg / ml affinipure fab fragment goat anti - mouse igg1 ( jacksonimmuno 115 - 007 - 003 ), then for 1 hr to primary mouse monoclonal antibody igg1 to the antigens of interest , washed six times in pbs and finally exposed 1 hr to secondary fitc - goat anti - mouse igg1 fcฮณ fragment - specific , washed six times with pbs . two controls were used : both no primary antibody and primary mouse monoclonal igg1 anti - gfap . proteins from cultured cd34 + cells were separated by 10 %, 12 % and 4 - 20 % gradient polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and transferred to nitrocellulose membranes as reported ( marty et al ., 2002 ) and analyzed for specific proteins using the antibodies listed above . cd34 + cells were labeled by fluorescent dye 5 -( and 6 )-((( 4 - chloromethyl ) benzoyl ) amino ) tetramethylrhodamine ( cell tracker orange cmtmf ) ( molecular probes ) as follows . cd34 + cells ( 2 ร 10 8 ) were incubated in a final concentration of 25 ฮผm cell tracker orange from a 400 ร stock of 10 mm dye in dimethylsulfoxide ( dmso ). cells were incubated in 5 ml of dye containing dmem10 at 37 ยฐ c . for 15 min ., pelleted by centrifugation , washed in 15 ml dmem 10 , incubated 30 min . at 37 ยฐ c ., pelleted , washed again in 15 ml dmem 10 at 37 ยฐ c . for 15 min ., pelleted and resuspended in dmem10 at 10 4 cells / ฮผl . thirty - four anesthetized adult c57b1 / 6j mice were stereotactically injected with 104 c57b1 / 6j cell tracker orange labeled cd34 + cells in 1 ฮผl dmem10 into the hippocampus and striatum of each brain . injected animals were grown for 1 to 14 months , then sacrificed , perfused with pbs followed by 4 % paraformaldehyde . brains were removed , equilibrated in 30 % sucrose , embedded in cryo - embedding compound , frozen , cut into 30 ฮผm thick cross - sections , prepared for immunohistochemistry using standard methods and counterstained with 25 ng / ml 4 โฒ- diamidino - 2 - phenylindole ( dapi ). implanted cd34 + cells were observed and images were captured by conventional fluorescence and laser confocal microscopy with rhodamine , fluorescein , cy5 and dapi optics . neural antigens present in a subset of ex vivo bone marrow cells prior studies observed that different bone marrow cell preparations can express neural molecules after transplantation into brain . however , it has not been established whether the neural molecules are the consequence of transplantation or are already present in the bone marrow , as formerly shown for products of the mbp gene ( marty et al ., 2002 ). the expression of neural markers in noncultured ex vivo bone marrow therefore was investigated ( fig1 ). the neurogenic transcription factor , pax - 6 , and the four neuronal proteins that were examined , neurofilament h , neun , huc / hud , gad65 , were present in a small percentage of adult bone marrow cells . double immunocytochemistry labeling demonstrated that pax - 6 and neurofilament h were present in the same cells . in addition , while the oligodendroglial protein , cnpase , also was discovered in some bone marrow cells , no labeling was detected with antibody to astroglial glial fibrillary acidic protein ( gfap ). in order to determine whether the bone marrow cells , which express neural antigens , represent haematopoietic stem cells , double immunocytochemistry was carried out with neural markers and cd34 , a marker of bone marrow stem cells . strong labeling with antibodies to neurofilament h , neun , gad65 , huc / hud , pax - 6 and cnpase was present in only a subset of ex vivo cd34 + cells ( fig1 ). because neural antigens were present in a subset of bone marrow cells bearing cd34 , an antigen which can be found on haematopoietic progenitors , a method was developed to generate cultures of highly proliferative cd34 + cells . bone marrow of four strains of mice was harvested from 26 adult femurs and individually cultured in liquid medium containing the haematopoietic stem cell growth factors : interleukins il3 and il6 , stem cell factor and ฮฒ - mercaptoethanol . only non - adhering floating cells were continuously subcultured over four months as described above . with time in culture , the percentage of adherent cells decreased to zero by 3 - 4 weeks ( fig2 ). these floating cells , that grow over 30 generations , show a high proliferative capacity . indeed , over a four - month period of culture , 10 14 cells were generated from 106 bone marrow cells obtained from one mouse femur . a 3 ฮผl pellet of bone marrow cells can be expanded into a 300 liter pellet of pure cd34 + cells as evidenced by pcr ( fig4 b ) and immunocytochemistry ( fig5 ). similar proliferation rates were observed in all cultures whether in serum - containing or serum - free medium ( fig2 ). the cells were assayed for haematopoietic markers at various time - points in culture . after 4 - 5 weeks all cells were highly cd34 + as well as cd45 +, a general marker of all haematopoietic cells ; in contrast , macrophage f4 / 80 , endothelial cell factor 8 , erythroblast ter119 , and b and t lymphocyte markers , cd19 , cd4 and cd8 , as well as b and t lymphocyte transcription factor tal - 1 were not detected ( table 1 ). these results indicate that the cd34 + cells were not expressing haematopoietic differentiation markers and , therefore , suggested that they might correspond to stem cells . they then were analyzed for additional haematopoietic stem cell markers and found to be sca 1 +, aa4 . 1 + and ckit + ( table 1 and fig3 ). thus , these cells had a cell surface phenotype which is comparable to that found in haematopoietic stem cells . furthermore , they expressed transcriptional factors , gata - 2 and lmo - 2 , known to be present in haematopoietic progenitors ( fig4 a ). neural genes were found to be expressed in a minor subset of cd34 + bone marrow cells . therefore , their presence was examined in the highly proliferative cultures of haematopoietic progenitors at three weeks and at later times when all cells were cd34 +. both neural transcription factors and markers of differentiated neurons , astroglia and oligodendrocytes were investigated . when all cells were cd34 +, all cells also were positive for the neurogenic transcription factor , pax - 6 , and neuronal rna - binding protein , huc / hud . then the pure population of cd34 + cells was assessed for expression of general neuronal markers and neurotransmitters ( fig5 ). cells probed for neurofilaments h , m and l by rt - pcr were found to express only neurofilament h but not m and l , whereas the same primers used to probe the cd34 + cells gave the expected products in postnatal d2 mouse brain ( not shown ). immunocytochemistry also revealed that all cultured cd34 + cells expressed neurofilament h , but not neurofilament m and l . additionally , western blot analysis showed neurofilament h at 170 kda but not bands for neurofilaments m and l . immunocytochemistry and western blot analyses of cultured cd34 + cells showed that neun was abundant in all cells and expressed at the expected molecular weights of 66 , 48 and 46 kda . because general markers of neurons were present in the cd34 + cultures , markers of neuronal function were also investigated . indeed , glutamic acid decarboxylase ( gad 65 ), the enzyme responsible for gaba synthesis , was detected in all cells examined , whereas tyrosine hydroxylase and m2 muscarinic acetylcholine receptor were not ( table 2 ). the next step was to determine the presence of molecules considered to be markers of glial cells , i . e ., astrocytes and oligodendrocytes . the intermediate filament of astrocytes , glial fibrillary acidic protein ( gfap ), was not detected at the mrna or protein level at any stage in the culture of cd34 + cells ( fig4 b ). in contrast , oligodendrocyte markers : cnpase , mosp ( fig5 ), galactocerebroside and ng2 chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan were present ( table 2 ) while o4 was not detected ( not shown ). these data indicate that early transcription factors , as well as markers of differentiated cells of the nervous system , are present in the bone marrow derived cd34 + cell cultures . the most plausible origin of the cd34 + cell cultures that express neural genes is the amplification of a small percentage of cd34 + cells present in ex vivo bone marrow , which also express neural genes . it may be that these cd34 + cells derive from pluripotent bone marrow cells , somewhat similar to embryonic stem cells . therefore , the cultured cd34 + cells were screened for markers of early general transcription factors , rex - 1 and oct - 4 , by pcr and found to be positive ( rex - 1 , fig4 ; oct - 4 , not shown ). immunocytochemistry indicated that a small subset of ex vivo bone marrow cells were positive for oct - 4 ( fig1 ) as were one hundred percent of the cultured cd34 + cells ( not shown ). this suggests that , indeed , the cultured cd34 + cells may be stem cells with a greater potential than merely haematopoietic stem cells . since these cells express molecules compatible with a neural phenotype , we thought it reasonable to transplant them into adult mouse brain without any further treatment . cd34 + cells , cultured for from 6 weeks to 3 months , were labeled with cell tracker orange and injected stereotactically into brain striatum and hippocampus of thirty - four adult mice . from one month to fourteen months after transplantation , brains were processed for immunohistochemistry and fluorescence microscopy . the transplanted cell tracker orange - labeled cells were found to survive in high numbers in both striatum and hippocampus ( approximately 40 % of injected cells ) for 14 months , the longest time tested , without any obvious alteration in the behavior of the animals . this high percentage of survival of implanted cells in brain is in contrast to other laboratories that injected cells into circulating blood of sublethally or lethally irradiated mice and into the peritoneum of newborn pu . 1 mice ( brazelton et al ., 2000 ; mezey et al ., 2000 ; makar et al ., 2002 ). in addition , the cd34 + cells injected into the brain migrated from the injection site throughout the striatum and hippocampus and beyond . from 1 to 2 months after implantation , some remained spherical in shape , while others extended short processes and continued to express cd34 ( fig6 , top row ); at 6 months they exhibited morphologies reminiscent of neurons , astroglia and oligodendrocytes . the implanted brain sections were immunolabeled for markers of neurons : neurofilament h and neun , astroglia : gfap and oligodendrocytes : cnpase . a striking finding was that while at the time of injection into brain , all cd34 + cells expressed neurofilament h , neun and cnpase , at six months and 1 year after transplantation , only 40 % of implanted cells express neurofilament h and / or neun , and 30 % express cnpase ( fig6 and table 3 ). in addition , whereas no cd34 + cells in culture expressed gfap , after implantation into the brain 30 % of them did express gfap . double labeling demonstrated that cells expressing neurofilament h or neun did not express cnpase or gfap ( fig6 ). similarly , gfap was not detected in cells that expressed cnpase ( not shown ). thus , neurofilament , neun and cnpase immunoactivity is lost in 60 - 70 % of the implanted cd34 + cells , whereas , gfap appeared in 30 % of implanted cd34 + cells . therefore , these data indicate that there are two stages of expression of neural markers in the cd34 + cells reported here . while all cells in the cd34 + cultures express neurofilament h , neun and cnpase in vitro , in sharp contrast , in transplanted cells , neuronal and oligodendrocyte markers segregated into distinct populations by suppressing either the neuronal gene expression or oligodendrocyte gene expression or both in cells that became gfap + after transplantation . these data indicate that gfap , neurofilament and cnpase expression are regulated under the environmental control of the brain . the plasticity of these cd34 + cells in brain to become neurons or glia is reminiscent of earlier reports of the capacity of glial cells to become neurons in vivo ( laywell et al ., 2000 ; fischer et al ., 2001 ; fischer et al ., 2002 ; malatesta et al ., 2003 ). the demonstration that a minor population of ex vivo bone marrow cells expresses neural antigens as well as an haematopoietic stem cell marker leads to a new interpretation of data from other laboratories who reported expression of neural antigens in bone marrow cells transplanted into brain ; indeed , they have suggested that it is the environment of the brain that leads to the transdifferentiation of bone marrow cells for the acquisition of neural antigens ( brazelton et al ., 2000 ; mezey et al ., 2000 ). in contrast , it has been reported that selected bone marrow cells , which are cd34 - negative , transplanted into brain , failed to express neural antigens ( castro et al ., 2002 ). since cells expressing neural antigens are only a minor population of the bone marrow , these diverging findings may be accounted for by the fact that different laboratories may be implanting distinct populations of bone marrow cells , which may or may not include the minor population expressing neural antigens . thus , an embodiment of this example is that ex vivo bone marrow cells with a haematopoietic stem / progenitor cell phenotype do express molecules associated with the nervous system , indicating that adult haematopoietic stem cells , which classically are thought to be of mesodermal origin , express neural genes , which are regarded as restricted to cells derived from ectoderm . the presence of neural transcription factors and neural differentiation antigens in ex vivo cd34 + bone marrow cells indicates that these cells are permissive or predisposed to differentiate into neural cells when placed in the milieu of the brain . this work has focused on the neural aspects of these cd34 + haematopoietic progenitor cells , yet in specific embodiments they are multipotent beyond the nervous system or indeed totipotent , as the presence of rex - 1 and oct - 4 indicates . stem cells from bone marrow are the only known source of stem cells that circulate in the blood and have access to all tissues of the body , with the exception of the brain unless the blood - brain barrier is compromised . in an embodiment wherein these cells are multipotent , they provide a source for seeding stem cells in other tissues of the body . sorting of the exemplary bone marrow stem cells is described . for example , fig7 , 8 and 9 illustrate sorting of the exemplary bone marrow stem cell in serum - free ( sf ) medium containing 3 ( il - 3 , il - 6 , scf ) and 5 ( il - 3 , il - 6 , scf , flt3 / fflk2 , tpo ) growth factors and medium containing ten percent fetal bovine serum plus the factors . three samples were utilized . the cell fractions were as follows : unsorted adult human whole bone marrow ; alcohol dehydrogenase ( aldh +) bright sorted bone marrow โ stem cell โ fraction ; aldh - dim refers to sorted โ non - stem cell โ fraction ; and a mixture of unsorted plus aldh + bright stem cells . stem cells were previously shown to express high levels of aldehyde dehydrogenase ( aldh ). when bone marrow cells were exposed to this fluorescent substrate , those cells containing aldh fluoresce brightly . those with no or low levels of aldh fluoresce dimly . therefore , aldh + bright fraction is enriched for hematopoietic stem cells ; aldh (โ). dim cells are the remaining bone marrow cells depleted of stem cells . the third fraction is unsorted whole bone marrow cells containing both stem cells and all other cells of bone marrow . cultures of both aldh + bright sorted cells and unsorted grow and expand in number over time due to continued growth of stem cells in the cultures . aldh (โ) are dim cultures that are depleted of stem cells do not grow and expand , but eventually die . in a particular embodiment , it was determined if stem cells in early cultures needed the support of non - stem cells present in bone marrow cultures to get started growing . therefore , unsorted and aldh + bright stem cells were mixed in different ratios and growth rates of the combinations of cells were measured . aldh + bright cell cultures and unsorted whole bone marrow cell cultures , as well as combinations of the two fractions , grew at similar rates . therefore , support by aldh (โ) dim cells was not required for growth of stem cells from bone marrow , in some embodiments . however , sorting of stem cells from whole bone marrow , in order to start with enriched cultures of stem cells , offers no known advantage over growing stem cells from whole bone marrow . interferon - ฮฒ expressing cd34 + cells and brain derived neurotrophic factor ( bdnf ) expressing cd34 + cells ameliorate the relapsing phase of experimental allergic encephalomyelitis . in a pilot study of twenty mice ( five per group ), cd34 + cells transfected with the mouse neuroprotective interferon - beta ( ifn - ฮฒ ) gene were transplanted into experimental allergic encephalomylitis ( eae ) mice . mice transplanted with cd34 + cells expressing ifn - ฮฒ show a delayed onset and reduced severity of the relapsing phase of eae , as measured by the five - point scale of paralysis ( fig1 ). in specific embodiments , the neuroanatomical basis of this neuroprotection is demonstrated . however , at the least , these results indicate that cd34 + cells are useful vehicles for neuroprotective gene delivery to adult mouse brain . in a larger 120 mouse experiment , with 20 mice per group , the protective effect is examined of cd34 + cells alone and cd34 + cells that express ifn - ฮฒ and cd34 + cells that express bdnf on eae symptoms . cd34 + cells alone as well as cd34 + cells expressing ifn - ฮฒ or bdnf were protective at least in the initial phase of eae ( fig1 and 11 ). bdnf showed the most robust effect ; ifn - ฮฒ was second and cd34 + cells alone were the least effective . this protection by cd34 + cells alone in a specific embodiment is a beneficial paracrine effect of the cells because the time frame post - injection of the cells is too short for cell replacement and differentiation to be the protective cause . additionally , cd34 + cells were transplanted into shiverer mouse brain , another model of ms . specifically , normal adult c3h mouse bone marrow stem cells were injected into c3h shiverer mouse brain , the genetic mutant mouse that does not express myelin basic protein . the mice virtually stopped shivering at six weeks after transplant ( ten of ten mice ). video and still photos document the cessation in shivering . the mice have shivered progressively less over time since transplant . in some embodiments , brains are taken for immunohistochemistry and microscopy characterization . the studies on additional shiverer mice are repeated and monitored on a daily basis to quantitate changes with time by counting shivers / min / mouse , for example . although most shiverers die between three and six months and the shiverer mice are about 12 weeks old at the time of filing , the implanted mice appear healthy . the mice are maintained to see how long they survive and to see if they revert to shivering . ii . bone marrow cell culture of transgenic green fluorescent protein ( gfp ) mouse c . transplanted gfp - cd34 + cells express tyrosine hydroxylase ( th ) in mouse brain cd34 + cells were transplanted into normal adult mouse brain express tyrosine hydroxylase . cd34 + cells are cultured that express green fluorescent protein ( gfp ) from the gfp - transgenic mouse , c57b1 / 6 - tg ( ubc - gfp ) 30scha . these cells are used for transplantion into mptp - treated c57b1 / 6j mouse brain . they have been transplanted into normal c57b1 / 6j brain and found that after eight weeks , for example , the implanted cells are extending processes . a subset of these implanted cells also express tyrosine hydroxylase ( fig1 ). after this finding , the cultured cd34 +/ gfp cells were assayed for th expression in vitro with five antibodies to dopaminergic neurons : th ( chemicon ab151 and ab152 , sigma t2928 ), th transcription factor pitx3 ( chemicon ab5722 ) and dopamine ฮฒ - hydroxylase ( diasorin 22806 ) and found them to be negative before transplantation . d . th , pitx3 and dopamine b - hydroxylase are not expressed by cultured cd34 + cells because some cd34 +/ gfp cells , transplanted into normal adult mouse brain , were found to express a neuronal morphology and to express tyrosine hydroxylase , they and cd34 +/ gfp cells engineered to express bdnf are transplanted into mptp - treated mouse brain . mptp specifically destroys th - expressing dopaminergic neurons of the substantia nigra that are lost in parkinson &# 39 ; s disease . the mptp mouse model is used to evaluate the efficacy of stem cells from bone marrow for therapeutic cell replacement and neuroprotective gene therapy in neurodegeneration where a specific lesion site exists . bone marrow stem cells from adult sprague dawley rat femurs were successfully using the culture methods developed for mouse bone marrow stem cell culture but by using rat il - 3 , il - 6 and scf . the rat cells grow logarithmically ( fig1 ) as do mouse and human bone marrow stem cells . the cultured bone marrow stem cells expressed embryonic stem cell , haematopoietic stem cell and neural stem cell as well as differentiated neural cell genes ( table 4 ). the gene expression in cd34 + cells is characterized at least in part to monitor the presence and / or differentiation of the cells . the expression of one or more particular genes is chosen based in the desired differentation . the methods to identify gene expression includes those that monitor the nucleic acid products of gene expression ( such as mrnas ) or the gene product produced ( such as proteins ). in specific embodiments , the gene expression is identified by any suitable means , although in particular embodiments immunocytochemistry is employed , including by immunofluorescence . adult human ex vivo bone marrow expresses haematopoietic stem cell , embryonic stem cell , neural stem cell and differentiated neural genes . ex vivo adult human bone marrow was examined and found that four percent of bone marrow cells express cd34 , a marker of haematopoietic stem cells ( fig1 and table 5 ). double labeling revealed that a subset of these cd34 + stem cells also express embryonic stem cell genes , neural stem cell genes as well as genes of differentiated neurons , astroglia and oligodendroglia . this gene expression is similar to that found in adult mouse bone marrow with the exception that gfap was not detected in mouse bone marrow . four percent of nucleated cells of bone marrow express the haematopoietic stem cell marker , cd34 . double labeling showed that a subset of these cd34 + cells expresses embryonic and neural stem cell genes and differentiated neural genes . adult human bone marrow cells grow in culture by the methods developed to grow mouse bone marrow cells . bone marrow stem cells were grown from two normal adult humans using serum - free and serum - containing media supplemented with human interleukin - 3 , interleukin - 6 and stem cell factor ( fig1 and 15 ). unsorted , whole bone marrow and flow cytometry - sorted aldehyde dehydrogenase - positive stem cells grew at similar rates , but in both cases grew somewhat better in serum - free medium than in serum - containing medium . the stem cell population expanded three to four orders of magnitude over forty days in culture . v . growth of cells in culture medium with two sets of growth factors human bone marrow cells were cultured in four media : serum - free medium ( sfm ) containing human il - 3 , il - 6 and scf and sfm containing il - 3 , il - 6 , scf , flt3 / flk2 and thrombopoietin ( tpo ) and in serum - containing medium with the two sets of growth factors . additionally , human cells were cultured in various combinations of cells : 1 ) aldh + bright sorted cells only , 2 ) aldh dim sorted cells only , 3 ) unsorted cells only , and 4 ) aldh + bright cells co - cultured with unsorted cells . the aldh + bright cells were co - cultured with unsorted cells from the first human sample to test whether the unsorted cells were necessary to condition the growth medium to allow the aldh + bright cells to survive and grow . it was determined that this is not necessary , given that the aldh + bright cells grow well by themselves . in one embodiment of this aspect of the invention , it is advantageous to determine the parameters by which postmitotic embryonic neural retina cells and embryonic retinal stem cells , transplanted into adult eyes , are able to 1 ) implant in the retina ; 2 ) migrate to the correct retinal stratum location ; 3 ) differentiate into the proper neuronal and glial morphologies ; and 4 ) establish proper functional circuits , for example . given that the present inventors have found that embryonic chick retinal cells are able to implant in adult mouse retina , in this study embryonic mouse retinal cells are transplanted into normal c57b1 / 6j adult mouse eyes into one mouse strain with retinal deficits : retinitis pigmentosa model mouse , c57b1 / 6j - peb rd1 le . this work is important for therapeutic cell replacement in retinopathies in which specific classes of neural cells are lost , for example : photoreceptors are lost in age - related macular degeneration , retinitis pigmentosa , leber &# 39 ; s congenital amaurosis , rod monochromomacy and x - linked progressive cone dystrophy ; ganglion cells are lost in multiple sclerosis and methanol toxicity ; m class ganglion cells are lost in glaucoma , alzheimer &# 39 ; s disease and hydrocephalus ; and muller cells are lost in adult retinoschisis . additionally , the retina , a part of the cns , may be used as a model for cell transplantation and therapeutic cell replacement in the brain for the treatment of neuropathies in parkinson &# 39 ; s disease and alzheimer &# 39 ; s disease , for example . in another aspect of this embodiment of the invention , it is determined if cultured adult mouse cd34 + bone marrow stem cells can implant in adult mouse brain and differentiate into neural cells for therapeutic neural cell replacement . bone marrow stem cells are implanted in normal adult mouse brain and in two mouse models of neurodegeneration . cultured cd34 + cells are stereotactically injected into the hippocampus and striatum of normal adult mouse brain and into those regions of mptp - treated parkinsonian model adult mouse brains . in an additional aspect of this embodiment of the invention , cd34 + cells are injected into the hippocampus and cerebellum of the exemplary dysmyelination shiverer mouse brain model of multiple sclerosis . implantation and differentiation of bone marrow cells are compared between normal mouse brain and the two models of neurodegeneration : shiverer and mptp - treated . in another aspect of this embodiment of the invention , it is determined if adult human stem cells cultured from bone marrow have the capacity to differentiate into neural cells when transplanted into nude mouse brain . in order to determine if neural cells are able to implant in the cns and migrate to form proper circuits for cell replacement after neuropathy , adult cns tissue in the intact animal is required to simulate human patient therapy , in one embodiment . cell penetration , cell migration , cell integration and cell differentiation in organotypic cultures do not completely reiterate these processes in retina in the intact eye . therefore , mice are used because more than fifteen strains of mice have retinal dystrophies that are the models for retinitis pigmentosa and retinal degeneration . in this study , embryonic mouse retinal cells are transplanted into normal c57b1 / 6j adult mouse eyes and into retinitis pigmentosa model c57bl / 6j - pebrd1 le mouse eyes in exemplary methods , about eighty mice are used . twenty pregnant c57bl / 6j females provide one hundred e16 embryos . two hundred retinas from these embryos provide 10 8 healthy cells for transplantation into 120 recipient eyes at 8 ร 10 5 cells per eye . three sets of recipient mice are used : twenty c57bl / 6j mice with normal retinas , twenty c57bl / 6j - pebrd1le retinitis pigmentosa model mice receive retinal stem cells and twenty receive hematopoietic stem cells . in order to determine the time - course of cell implantation and differentiation , each set of mice are divided into four groups of five each and the mice of each group is taken for microscopic analysis of the retinal cell implants one week , two weeks , three weeks and six weeks , respectively , after transplantation . week 1 : inject embryonic retinal cells into 10 eyes of 5 c57bl / 6j mice . after one week sacrifice the mice , remove the eyes and prepare the retinas for microscopy . week 2 : inject embryonic retinal cells into 10 eyes of 5 c57bl / 6j mice . after two weeks sacrifice the mice , remove the eyes and prepare the retinas for microscopy . week 3 : inject embryonic retinal cells into 10 eyes of 5 c57bl / 6j mice . after three weeks sacrifice the mice , remove the eyes and prepare the retinas for microscopy . week 4 : inject embryonic retinal cells into 10 eyes of 5 c57bl / 6j mice . after six weeks sacrifice the mice , remove the eyes and prepare the retinas for microscopy . week 10 : inject embryonic retinal cells into 10 eyes of 5 c57bl / 6j - peb rd1 le mice . after one week sacrifice the mice , remove the eyes and prepare the retinas for microscopy . week 11 : inject embryonic retinal cells into 10 eyes of 5 c57bl / 6j - peb rd1 le mice . after two weeks sacrifice the mice , remove the eyes and prepare the retinas for microscopy . week 12 : inject embryonic retinal cells into 10 eyes of 5 c57bl / 6j - peb rd1 le mice . after three weeks sacrifice the mice , remove the eyes and prepare the retinas for microscopy . week 13 : inject embryonic retinal cells into 10 eyes of 5 c57bl / 6j - peb rd1 le mice . after six weeks sacrifice the mice , remove the eyes and prepare the retinas for microscopy . week 20 : inject hematopoietic stem cells into 10 eyes of 5 c57bl / 6j - peb rd1 le mice . after one week sacrifice the mice , remove the eyes and prepare the retinas for microscopy . week 21 : inject hematopoietic stem cells into 10 eyes of 5 c57bl / 6j - peb rd1 le mice . after two weeks sacrifice the mice , remove the eyes and prepare the retinas for microscopy . week 22 : inject hematopoietic stem cells into 10 eyes of 5 c57bl / 6j - peb rd1 le mice . after three weeks sacrifice the mice , remove the eyes and prepare the retinas for microscopy . week 23 : inject hematopoietic stem cells into 10 eyes of 5 c57bl / 6j - peb rd1 le mice . after six weeks sacrifice the mice , remove the eyes and prepare the retinas for microscopy . pregnant c57bl / 6j mice with e16 embryos are euthanized with co 2 from a compressed co 2 chamber and death is verified by cervical dislocation . embryonic eyes are removed , the retinas dissected and retinal cells for transplantation are harvested by enzymatic dissociation . the retinal cells are labeled by cell tracker orange , a fluorescent vital cytoplasmic dye that remains contained in the labeled cells for more than two months . the labeled embryonic retinal cells then are transplanted into recipient retinas of adult mice by intraocular injection . in each set of injections both eyes of 5 mice are injected . the adult mice are anesthetized with avertin . a fresh working solution of 2 . 5 % avertin is made every two weeks . a dose of 0 . 017 ml / g or 0 . 34 ml / 20 g mouse will be injected intraperitoneally . after five minutes , 8 ร 10 5 labeled retinal cells in 10 ul pbs will be injected by single injection into each eye with a 30 ga needle . after intraocular injection , the mice will receive , subcutaneously , the analgesic , buprenorphine at 0 . 1 ng / g body weight every 12 hours for 48 hours . at the end of each implantation period ; 1 , 2 , 3 and 6 weeks , the mice are sacrificed with co 2 in a closed chamber , their eyes removed and the retinas processed for fluorescence microscopy . in order to determine if adult haematopoietic stem cells are able to implant in the brain , migrate and differentiate into neurons , glia and oligodendrocytes to form proper circuits for cell replacement after neuropathy , adult cns tissue in the intact animal is required to simulate human patient therapy . cell penetration , cell migration , cell integration and cell differentiation in organotypic cultures do not completely reiterate these processes in the intact brain . mice are used because more than several strains of mice are models of neurodegenerative diseases . in this study , adult mouse bone marrow stem cells are transplanted into normal c57b1 / 6j and mptp - treated c57b1 / 6j adult mouse hippocampus and striatum . differences in cell implantation and the ratio of differentiation into neurons , glia and oligodendrocytes is compared in hippocampus and striatum in normal drain and in mptp - treated brain . in mptp - treated brain , differences between these ratios in the mptp affected nigra / striatum and the unaffected hippocampus is determined . c57b1 / 6j mice are used because they are the strain most susceptible to mptp . in specific embodiments , about forty mice are used . twenty normal adult female c57bl / 6j mice are injected stereotactically into hippocampus and striatum with cd34 + bone marrow stem cells . twenty adult female c57bl / 6j mice are used as mptp models of parkinson &# 39 ; s disease . in order to determine the time - course of cell implantation and differentiation , and the longevity of these cells in brain , each set of mice are divided into four groups of five each and the mice of each group are taken for microscopic analysis of the bone marrow stem cell implants six weeks , three months , six months and one year , respectively , after transplantation . forty mice will allow an โ n โ of 5 for significant differences between groups in a student &# 39 ; s t test . week 1 minus 12 days : five daily injections of 20 adult c57b1 / 6j mice with mptp as above . week 1 : inject 20 normal and 20 mptp - treated adult c57b1 / 6j mice with cd34 + bone marrow cells as above . week 6 : sacrifice 5 normal and 5 mptp - treated mice and prepare brains for immunohistochemistry . week 12 : sacrifice 5 normal and 5 mptp - treated mice and prepare brains for immunohistochemistry . week 26 : sacrifice 5 normal and 5 mptp - treated mice and prepare brains for immunohistochemistry . week 52 : sacrifice 5 normal and 5 mptp - treated mice and prepare brains for immunohistochemistry . twenty normal adult female c57bl / 6j mice are injected stereotactically into hippocampus and striatum with cd34 + cells . twenty adult female c57bl / 6j mice are used as mptp models of parkinson &# 39 ; s disease for transplantation of neural stem cells and haematopoietic stem cells for therapeutic cell replacement pilot studies . mptp ( 1 - methyl - 4 - phenyl - 1 , 2 , 3 , 6 - tetrahydropyridine ) ( research biochemicals , natick , mass .) will be administered in 0 . 1 ml of pbs at a dose of 30 mg / kg intraperitoneally at 24 - hr intervals for five doses . seven days after the last mptp injection c57b1 / 6j mouse cd34 + haematopoietic stem cells from in vitro culture will be injected stereotactically into the striatum and hippocampus , and the mice are maintained 6 , 12 , 26 and 52 weeks after stem injection and processed as previously stated in this protocol . โ the c57b1 / 6 mouse strain is the most sensitive and most common mptp rodent model used . . . . the behavioral effects of mptp lesioning in mice are less marked than those seen in nonhuman primates โ ( tolwani , et al ., 1999 , lab . animal sci . 49 : 363 - 371 ). no effect of mptp was found on eating and drinking . and โ not at any time did the body weight differ significantly โ ( sundstrรถm , et al ., 1990 , brain res . 528 : 181 - 188 ) between mptp treated mice and vehicle treated mice . mptp - treated โ mice may develop initial short - term toxic effects , including hypersalivation , piloerection , and seizures . mice usually recover quickly and manifest normal spontaneous behavior within 24 hr . some short - term behavioral deficits , including hypokinesia and decreased activity have been reported โ ( tolwani , et al ., 1999 , lab . animal sci . 49 : 363 - 371 ). โ a decrease in locomotor activity and impairment of limb movements scored by pole and traction tests are clearly seem after mptp withdrawal .โ ( arai , et al ., brain res . 515 : 57 - 63 ). during mptp treatment , mice are monitored daily for eating and drinking behavior and after treatment they are monitored biweekly for weight change . food pellets are placed on the floor of the cage during mptp treatment . if it appears that the mice are becoming dehydrated through decreased drinking , the mice are given fluids intravenously or subcutaneously . during the first day of mptp treatment , the mice are monitored carefully by the veterinarian and animal care staff to check the severity of convulsions , if any , of the mice . mptp is weighed using gloves and mask by the investigator and mptp is dissolved in dulbecco &# 39 ; s phosphate buffered saline in a chemical fume hood . mptp is injected ip . into the mice with a 25 ga needle . primary c57b1 / 6j mouse ( charles river ) bone marrow cells from the femur are cultured in vitro in defined serum - free medium by continuous passage of suspension cells for 4 to 8 weeks to generate a pure population of cd34 + haematopoietic stem cells for injection . sterilely cultured cells ( 10 4 ) are injected into adult c57b1 / 6j mice ( charles river ) in 1 ฮผl dulbecco &# 39 ; s phosphate buffered saline into the striatum and 10 4 cells / 1 ฮผl are injected into the hippocampus of the same hemisphere as the striatal injection . the cells have not been passaged through mice . adult mice undergo stereotactic injection of stem cells into the brain striatum and hippocampus . for anesthesia of the mice , isoflurane is administered by inhalation of isoflurane in air from 100 % isoflurane in a labconco fume adsorber scavenger hood . the mouse then is injected intraperitoneally with 0 . 1 ml / 20 gm mouse weight of 50 mg / ml pentobarbital ( nebutal sodium solution ) diluted 1 : 1 in sterile distilled water . the mouse head is scrubbed with betadine followed by a 70 % ethanol wash before surgery . then , the skin over the skull is soaked in 70 % ethanol and an incision of the skin is cut over the lateral skull . two 2 mm holes are drilled in the skull over the striatum and the hippocampus with a hand - held hobbyist drill sterilized drill bit . cells then are injected as described below with a 30 ga needle held by a david kopf stereotactic devise . the needle is removed , and after the two injections , the skin is sutured with thread . lidocane ( 4 % lidocane cream ) is applied topically at the suture site once after suturing and the mice are monitored for discomfort and reapplication every 12 hrs for 48 hrs . the mouse is returned to its cage to recover . a heat lamp is not used during recovery from anesthesia because the mice wake up rapidly from isoflurane treatment . all surgery is performed under aseptic conditions ( usphs guidelines ). infection rate is & lt ; 1 % in previous studies . thirty normal one month old female c3h mice and 30 one month old female c3h shiverer mice are utilized for the study . in earlier work the inventors found that cultured cd34 + bone marrow stem cells differentiate morphologically into oligodendrocytes and express oligodendrocyte molecular markers when implanted into normal adult mouse brain . in an embodiment of the present invention , a dysmyelination model mouse , shiverer , is used as a model for therapeutic cell replacement in multiple sclerosis . in order to determine if adult haematopoietic stem cells are able to implant in the brain , migrate and differentiate into neurons , glia and oligodendrocytes that produce myelin and form myelin sheaths around cns axons , cns tissue in the intact animal is required to simulate cell replacement after dysmyelination in human patient therapy . cell penetration , cell migration , cell integration and cell differentiation in organotypic cultures do not completely reiterate these processes in the intact brain . mice are used because more than several strains of mice are models of neurodegenerative diseases including models of multiple sclerosis : shiverer , jimpy , quakey , twitcher and mld . in this study , adult mouse bone marrow stem cells are transplanted into normal c3h and c3h shiverer mouse hippocampus and cerebellum . differences in cell implantation and the ratio of differentiation into neurons , glia and oligodendrocytes are compared in hippocampus and cerebellum in normal brain and in shiverer brain . in shiverer brain , differences between these ratios in the hippocampus and cerebellum . in specific embodiments , about forty - five mice are used . fifteen one month old adult female c3h mice and thirty c3h shiverer mice will be injected stereotactically into hippocampus and cerebellum with cd34 + bone marrow stem cells . in order to determine the time - course of cell implantation and differentiation , and the longevity of these cells in brain , each set of mice are divided into three groups of five each and the mice of each group are taken for microscopic analysis of the bone marrow stem cell implants one month , three months , six months , respectively , after transplantation . because the life - expectancy of shiverer mice is short young mice are implanted and additional mice are injected so there is a better chance to have 5 surviving mice at the three and six month time points . forty mice allows an โ n โ of 5 for significant differences between groups in a student &# 39 ; s t test . week 1 : inject 15 normal c3h mice and 30 shiverer mice with cd34 + bone marrow cells . week 12 : process 5 normal and 10 shiverer mice for immunohistochemistry . week 26 : process 5 normal and 15 shiverer mice for immunohistochemistry . bone marrow cells are collected sterilely from adult mice by first sacrificing the mouse by asphyxiation in co 2 from a compressed co 2 cylinder and death is assured by cervical dislocation . the mouse then is soaked in 70 % ethanol . skin is removed from the thigh with sterile forceps and scissors . then muscle is removed from the femur with a second set of sterile instruments . finally , the ends of the femur are removed with a third set of sterile instruments and marrow is extruded by injecting sterile dpbs from a 20 ga needle into one end of the femur . pure cd34 + haematopoietic stem cell cultures are grown in serum - free and serum containing media in conditions as described herein . briefly , bone marrow cells from adult femur are grown in continuous culture in the presence of il - 3 , il - 6 , scf and ฮฒ - mercaptoethanol at 37 ยฐ c . in 10 % co 2 . cd34 + cells will be cultured from c3h mouse bone marrow . cd34 + cells are labeled by fluorescent dye 5 -( and 6 )-((( 4 - chloromethyl ) benzoyl ) amino ) tetramethylrhodamine ( cell tracker orange cmtmr ) ( molecular probes ) as follows . cd34 + cells ( 2 ร 10 8 ) are incubated in a final concentration of 25 ฮผm cell tracker orange in dmem10 from a 400 ร stock of 10 mm dye in dimethylsulfoxide ( dmso ). cells are incubated in 5 ml dye containing dmem 10 at 37 ยฐ c . for 15 min , pelleted by centrifugation , washed in 15 ml dmem 10 , incubated 30 min . at 37 ยฐ c ., pelleted , washed again in 15 ml dmem 10 and resuspended in 0 . 5 ml dmem 10 . the labeled cells are suspended at 10 4 / ฮผl of serum - free medium for stereotactic injection into adult mouse brain . one month old c3h shiverer mice are stereotactically injected into the cerebrum and cerebellum with 1 ร 10 4 labeled c3h cd34 + stem cells / ฮผl pbs . injected mice are allowed to develop one , two and three months before the animals are sacrificed , the brains removed and prepared for immunohistochemistry and fluorescence confocal microscopy . glial marker : glial fibrillary acidic protein ( gfap ) ( chemicon , sigma ); oligodendrocyte marker : 2 โฒ 3 โฒ- cyclic nucleotide 3 โฒ- phosphohydrolase ( cnpase ) ( chemicon ); neuronal markers : neurofilament ( chemicon , steinberger monoclonal ), neural cell adhesion molecule ( ncam ) ( chemicon ) and neun ( chemicon ). fluorescein labeled secondary antibodies ( kirkegaard & amp ; perry ) are used to detect binding of the primary antibody to brain sections and secondary antibody alone was used as a control . immunohistochemistry was analyzed by laser confocal microscopy and photographed . injected brains are removed from the mouse after asphyxiation by co 2 . then they are suspended in 4 % paraformaldehyde in dpbs at 4 ยฐ c . for 24 hr . subsequently , the fixative is decanted from the brains and exchanged in dpbs at 4 ยฐ c . for 24 hr . they then are equilibrated in 30 % sucrose at 4 ยฐ c . for 24 hr . equilibrated brains are frozen and mounted on a cryostat specimen platform with cryo - embedding compound oriented to cut cross - sections of the brains . serial cross - sections 30 ฮผm thick are cut at โ 39 ยฐ c . with a microm cryostat . brain sections are taken up on microscope slides and dried . brain sections are treated with antibodies for immunohistochemistry by standard methods and then stained with 25 ng / ml 4 โฒ,- diamidino - 2 - phenylindole ( dapi ) cell nuclear dye , covered with microscope slide coverglass and sealed with fingernail polish . implanted cd34 + cells are observed and photographed by fluorescence laser confocal microscopy with rhodamine , fluorescein and dapi optics . implanted cd34 + cells are scored for cell morphology and antibody detection of neural antigens and photographed . primary c3h mouse ( charles river ) bone marrow cells from the femur are cultured in vitro in defined serum - free medium by continuous passage of suspension cells for 4 to 8 weeks to generate a pure population of cd34 + haematopoietic stem cells for injection . sterilely cultured cells ( 10 4 ) are injected into one month old c3h normal and shiverer mice ( charles river ) in 1 ฮผl dulbecco &# 39 ; s phosphate buffered saline into the cerebellum and 10 4 cells / 1 ฮผl are injected into the hippocampus of the same hemisphere as the cerebellar injection . the cells have not been passaged through mice . because the life expectancy for shiverer mice is short , thirty mice are injected and processed in three groups : the survivors of 5 at one month post - injection ; the survivors of 10 at 3 months ; and the survivors of 15 at 6 months . one month old mice undergo stereotactic injection of stem cells into the brain cerebellum and hippocampus . for anesthesia of the mice , isoflurane is administered by inhalation of isoflurane in air from 100 % isoflurane in a labconco fume adsorber scavenger hood . the mouse then is injected intraperitoneally with 0 . 1 ml / 20 gm mouse weight of 50 mg / ml pentobarbital ( nebutal sodium solution ) diluted 1 : 1 in sterile distilled water . the mouse head is scrubbed with betadine followed by a 70 % ethanol wash before surgery . then the skin over the skull is soaked in 70 % ethanol and an incision of the skin is cut over the lateral skull . two 2 mm holes are drilled in the skull over the striatum and the hippocampus with a hand - held hobbyist drill sterilized drill bit . cells then are injected as described below with a 30 ga needle held by a david kopf stereotactic devise . the needle is removed , and after the two injections , the skin is sutured with thread . lidocane ( 4 % lidocane cream ) are applied topically at the suture site once after suturing and the mice are monitored for discomfort and reapplication every 12 hrs for 48 hrs . the mouse is returned to its cage to recover . a heat lamp is not used during recovery from anesthesia because the mice will wake - up rapidly from isoflurane treatment . animals are processed and brains are prepared as above for immunohistochemistry and fluorescence microscopy . iii . transplantation of human bone marrow cells in nude mouse brain a nude mouse model was utilized for adult human bone marrow stem cell transplantation into brain employing methods of the present invention . in particular embodiments , an abundant number of homogeneous stem cells is generated from adult human bone marrow . as described elsewhere herein , stem cells grown from adult mouse bone marrow express the markers and morphologies of neurons , astroglia and oligodendroglia when transplanted into adult mouse brain . the human cells are characterized for their ability to generate neural cells when transplanted into adult nude mouse brain . based on the invention , an application includes growing stem cells from the bone marrow of an individual for therapeutic cell replacement for the neurodegenerative disorder of the patient , e . g ., parkinson &# 39 ; s disease , multiple sclerosis , alzheimer &# 39 ; s disease , huntington &# 39 ; s disease , als , etc . although one specific method is described for use of the model herein , a skilled artisan recognizes that particular parameters may be routinely optimized and still encompass the present invention . in specific embodiments , about thirty two month old female nude mice are employed in the study . given that the inventors demonstrated that cultured cd34 + mouse bone marrow stem cells differentiate morphologically into neurons , astrocytes and oligodendrocytes and express appropriate molecular markers when implanted into normal adult mouse brain , the human bone marrow stem cells in nude mouse brain are analogously utilized as a model for stem cell differentiation into neural cells and therapeutic cell replacement . the model is utilized in order to determine that adult human haematopoietic stem cells are able to implant in the brain , migrate and differentiate into neurons , glia and oligodendrocytes that produce myelin and form myelin sheaths around cns axons . cell penetration , cell migration , cell integration and cell differentiation in organotypic cultures do not completely reiterate these processes in the intact brain . nude mice are used to avoid immune rejection of implanted human cells . in particular , adult human bone marrow stem cells are transplanted into nude mouse neurogenic region of brain , the hippocampus and a non - neurogenic region of brain , the striatum , as has been done with mouse bone marrow stem cells . differences in cell implantation and the ratio of differentiation into neurons , glia and oligodendrocytes are compared in hippocampus and striatum in normal brain . in particular , thirty two month old adult female nude mice are injected stereotactically into hippocampus and striatum with cd34 + bone marrow stem cells . in order to determine the time - course of cell implantation and differentiation , and the longevity of these cells in brain , the mice are divided into three groups of ten each and the mice of each group are taken for microscopic analysis of the bone marrow stem cell implants one month , three months , and six months , respectively , after transplantation . thirty mice will allow an โ n โ of 10 for significant differences between groups in a student &# 39 ; s t test . the following exemplary protocol illustrates determination of the capacity of human bone marrow stem cells to differentiate into neural cells and the influence of site of implant on cell differentiation . experiment 1 ( mice ( n = 30 )) experimental 2 experimental 3 experimental 1 ( n = 10 ) ( n โ 10 ) ( n = 10 ) inject human bmscs inject human bmscs inject human bmscs monitor for 1 month monitor for 3 months monitor for 6 months euthanize and harvest euthanize and harvest euthanize and harvest brains brains brain histological studies histological studies histological studies week 0 : inject 30 nude mice with human cd34 + bone marrow cells . normal human bone marrow is obtained , such as commercially from stemco biomedical . in alternative methods , the bone marrow is not obtained commercially but is collected by conventional methods , such as from the patient . pure cd34 + haematopoietic stem cell cultures are grown in serum - free and serum containing media in conditions as described herein . briefly , bone marrow cells are grown in continuous culture in the presence of human il - 3 , il - 6 , scf and ฮฒ - mercaptoethanol at 37 ยฐ c . in 10 % co 2 . cd34 + cells are labeled by fluorescent dye 5 -( and 6 )-((( 4 - chloromethyl ) benzoyl ) amino ) tetramethylrhodamine ( cell tracker orange cmtmr ) ( molecular probes ) as follows . cd34 + cells ( 2 ร 10 8 ) are incubated in a final concentration of 25 ฮผm cell tracker orange in dmem 10 from a 400 ร stock of 10 mm dye in dimethylsulfoxide ( dmso ). cells are incubated in 5 ml dye containing dmem 10 at 37 ยฐ c . for 15 min ., pelleted by centrifugation , washed in 15 ml dmem 10 , incubated 30 min at 37 ยฐ c ., pelleted , washed again in 15 ml dmem 10 and resuspended in 0 . 5 ml dmem 10 . the labeled cells are suspended at 10 4 / ฮผl of serum - free medium for stereotactic injection into adult mouse brain . two month old nude mice are stereotactically injected into the hippocampus and striatum with 1 ร 10 6 labeled c3h cd34 + stem cells / ฮผl pbs . injected mice are allowed to develop one , two and three months before the animals are sacrificed , the brains removed and prepared for immunohistochemistry and fluorescence confocal microscopy . glial marker : glial fibrillary acidic protein ( gfap ) ( chemicon , sigma ); oligodendrocyte marker : 2 โฒ 3 โฒ- cyclic nucleotide 3 โฒ- phosphohydrolase ( cnpase ) ( chemicon ); neuronal markers : neurofilament ( chemicon , steinberger monoclonal ), neural cell adhesion molecule ( ncam ) ( chemicon ) and neun ( chemicon ). fluorescein labeled secondary antibodies ( kirkegaard & amp ; perry ) are used to detect binding of the primary antibody to brain sections and secondary antibody alone was used as a control . immunohistochemistry was analyzed by laser confocal microscopy and photographed . injected brains are removed from the mouse after asphyxiation by co 2 . then they are suspended in 4 % paraformaldehyde in dpbs at 4 ยฐ c . for 24 hr . subsequently , the fixative is decanted from the brains and exchanged in dpbs at 4 ยฐ c . for 24 hr . they then are equilibrated in 30 % sucrose at 4 ยฐ c . for 24 hr . equilibrated brains are frozen and mounted on a cryostat specimen platform with cryo - embedding compound oriented to cut cross - sections of the brains . serial cross - sections 30 ฮผm thick are cut at โ 39 ยฐ c . with a microm cryostat . brain sections are taken up on microscope slides and dried . brain sections are treated with antibodies for immunohistochemistry by standard methods and then stained with 25 ng / ml 4 โฒ,- diamidino - 2 - phenylindole ( dapi ) cell nuclear dye , covered with microscope slide coverglass and sealed with fingernail polish . implanted cd34 + cells are observed and photographed by fluorescence laser confocal microscopy with rhodamine , fluorescein and dapi optics . implanted cd34 + cells are scored for cell morphology and antibody detection of neural antigens and photographed . human adult bone marrow , obtained from stemco biomedical , are cultured in vitro in defined serum - free medium by continuous passage of suspension cells for about 4 to 8 weeks to generate a pure population of cd34 + haematopoietic stem cells for injection . sterilely cultured cells ( 10 6 ) are injected into two month old nude mice ( jackson ) in 1 ฮผl dulbecco &# 39 ; s phosphate buffered saline into the hippocampus and 10 6 cells / 1 ฮผl are injected into the striatum of the same hemisphere as the hippocampal injection . the cells have not been passaged through mice . because the life expectancy for nude mice is short , thirty mice are injected and they are processed in three groups : the survivors of 10 at one month post - injection ; the survivors of 10 at 3 months ; and the survivors of 10 at 6 months . one month old mice undergo stereotactic injection of stem cells into the brain hippocampus and striatum . for anesthesia , the mice are injected intraperitoneally with 0 . 1 ml / 20 gm mouse weight of 50 mg / ml pentobarbital ( nebutal sodium solution ) diluted 1 : 1 in sterile distilled water . the mouse head is scrubbed with betadine followed by a 70 % ethanol wash before surgery . then , the skin over the skull is soaked in 70 % ethanol , and an incision of the skin is cut over the lateral skull . two 2 mm holes are drilled in the skull over the hippocampus and the striatum with a hand - held hobbyist drill sterilized drill bit . cells then are injected as described below with a 30 ga needle held by a david kopf stereotactic devise . the needle is removed , and after the two injections , the skin is sutured with thread . lidocane ( 4 % lidocane cream ) is applied topically at the suture site once after suturing and the mice are monitored for discomfort and reapplication every 12 hrs for 48 hrs . if the lidocane does not control the pain , other painkiller , such as buprenorphine at 0 . 01 - 0 . 03 mg / kg bw , may be administered . the mouse is returned to its cage to recover . a heat lamp is not used during recovery from anesthesia because the mice wake - up rapidly from the treatment . all surgery is performed under aseptic conditions ( usphs guidelines ), and the infection rate is & lt ; 1 % in previous studies . mice are monitored daily post - operatively for behavior changes and if problems of movement , drinking or eating are observed the mouse is prepared for immunohistochemistry . animals are processed and brains are prepared as above for immunohistochemistry and fluorescence microscopy . exemplary cell markers and cell characteristics of some stem cells of the invention table 6 below regards flow cytometry - sorted aldh + bright cells from adult human bone marrow that were grown in serum - free medium containing il - 3 , il - 6 and scf ( 3 factors ) of il - 3 , il - 6 , flk - 2 and tpo ( 5 factors ). the cultured cells were assayed by immunocytochemistry for markers of haematopoietic stem cells and neural stem cells after 18 , 25 and 66 days in culture . the population of stem cells were found to be homogeneous at each time - point for cd34 , cd45 , ckit and pax - 6 expression . in table 7 , adult human whole bone marrow cells were removed , fixed and cd34 + cells in the bone marrow were assayed for mitosis ( ki67 ) and apoptosis ( caspase3 and tunel ) by immunocytochemistry . cd34 + cells were found to be 93 % mitotic and 5 % apoptotic in bone marrow . human trisomy 21 is essentially characterized by severe abnormalities in the nervous system . in addition , deficiencies of hematopoietic cells are very frequent in these patients and their risk of developing hematological and immune disorders is drastically increased . mouse models of human trisomy 21 have been produced with mouse chromosome 16 , which is most homologous to human chromosome 21 . indeed , in trisomic 16 mouse increased apoptosis has been reported in progenitor cells in the nervous system and thymus during fetal development . herein , bone marrow stem / progenitor cd34 + cells from adult segmental trisomic mouse , ts65dn , have a dramatic reduction in proliferative capacity as compared to their diploid littermates . indeed the vast majority of trisomic cd34 + stem / progenitor cells ex vivo are apoptotic . in addition , the in vitro proliferative capacity of ts65dn cd34 + cells was drastically reduced . this is the result of a reduced mitotic rate and a high proportion of apoptotic cells . nevertheless , the phenotypic traits that were examined are comparable in trisomic and diploid cells . these results from nervous system , thymus , and hematopoietic system indicate that a common mechanism is at work in stem / progenitor cells in trisomic mice affecting cell proliferation and survival . human trisomy 21 , down syndrome ( ds ) is essentially characterized by severe abnormalities in the nervous system that result in mental retardation . in addition , cardiac , gastrointestinal , endocrine , dermatological problems , and skeletal malformations are life - long concerns in ds . deficiencies of hematopoietic system such as decreased numbers of b and t cells ( cossarizza et al ., 1990 ) are very frequent in these patients as well as a hypoplastic thymus ( levin and cobian , 1999 ) and their risk of developing myeloproliferative diseases as well as leukemias is drastically increased ( ). indeed , blasts may be detected in the blood of up to ten percent in neonates with down syndrome ( ds ) 1 ( hasle , 2001 ). to investigate the pathogenic mechanisms in ds , mouse models have been produced since the distal third of their chromosome 16 is syntenic to the distal end of human chromosome 21 . mouse fetuses with trisomy 16 exhibit abnormalities in the hematopoietic and immune systems such as a hypoplastic thymus and decreased numbers of hematopoietic precursor cells in the liver2 ( epstein et al ., 1985 ) however , trisomy for all of chromosome 16 is incompatible with postnatal survival . therefore , mice that are trisomic for only the segment of mouse chromosome 16 that is conserved in human chromosome 21 have been developed ( reeves et al ., 1995 ). these ts65dn mice survive to adulthood and exhibit phenotypic abnormalities that resemble those of ds patients including increased apoptosis in the thymus ( paz - miguel et al ., 1999 ). the present inventors have recently reported long - term cultures of adult bone marrow stem cells explanted from various strains of mice including those parental for ts65dn mice ( goolsby et al ., 2003 ). after a few weeks , cultures are made up only of cd34 + cells that express a phenotype compatible with that of hematopoietic progenitor / stem cells . these cells grow very vigorously over at least thirty generations , since 10 16 cd34 + bone marrow cells were generated from 10 6 whole bone marrow cells , comprised of at most 10 5 cd34 + cells . in this example the present inventors have investigated the in vitro proliferative capacity of bone marrow stem cells from ts65dn mice in comparison with that of their diploid littermates . the most striking result is a dramatic decrease in the cumulative number of cd34 + bone marrow cells from the ts65dn mice compared to their diploid controls . the main reason for the drastically decreased growth of cd34 + cells from ts65dn bone marrow , in a specific embodiment , is ( a reduced mitotic rate and ) a high proportion of apoptotic cells in these cultures . this is consistent with the fact that the vast majority of ex vivo bmsc from ts65dn are apoptotic . exemplary methods are described elsewhere herein . i . the growth capacity of hematopoietic progenitors from ts65dn mice is drastically reduced bone marrow was harvested from adult ts65dn mice and their diploid littermates and cultured in liquid medium containing interleukin - 3 ( il - 3 ), interleukin - 6 ( il - 6 ), stem cell factor ( scf ), and 2 - mercaptoethanol as previously described ( goolsby et al ., 2003 ). the floating cells were subcultured continuously and after four weeks all cells were cd34 + in cultures from both types of mice . however , even after a few days a major difference in their growth rate was observed ( fig1 ). indeed , the proliferative capacity of the cd34 + bone marrow cells from ts65dn mice is drastically reduced as compared to that of the diploid littermates . starting from the same number of bone marrow cells in diploid and ts65dn ( 2 ร 10 6 cells ). the cell density of cultures were maintained at comparable levels during the growth curve measurements . after eighty days in culture , the cumulative number of cd34 + cells from ts65dn bone marrow is about 10 9 , while at the same time point , the number of cells from diploid littermates reaches 10 15 . under these conditions , the doubling time was 2 . 5 d for diploid and 11 d for ts65dn . the number of generations at 80 d in culture is 8 in ts65dn and 33 generations for diploid . these data were highly reproducible with mice from distinct litters ( n = 8 for each genotype from 2 litters ). two main , non - mutually exclusive , mechanisms could account for the very low rate of multiplication of trisomy cd34 + cells : a decreased cell growth rate or a high proportion of apoptotic cells . cell growth was measured as the percent of cells incorporating brdu after a five hour exposure and the percent of cells expressing the ki67 protein after six , eight and ten weeks in culture . to confirm an abnormal mitotic rate , 5 h pulse labeling with brdu , a thymidine analog , was examined . the pure ts65dn cd34 + cultures showed a 7 - fold less brdu labeling than diploid ( fig1 ). fig1 a shows incorporation of brdu was 70 % for each time point for diploid but only at 6 - 10 % for trisomic . the difference in mitotic rate between ts65 and diploid was the same at each time point . in fig1 b , the percentage of trisomic and diploid cells that were immunopositive for ki67 , a marker for cell proliferation , were measured . as with the brdu labeling , over 70 % of diploids stained while only 10 - 20 % of trisomics were immunopositive for ki67 over a 10 wk of the culture . in parallel , the proportion of cd34 + cells exhibiting an apoptotic phenotype was examined . at all time points less than 10 % of diploid but 65 - 90 % trisomic were diagnosed as apoptotic based upon immunofluorescence to cleaved caspase 3 , in the cascade of apoptosis ( fig1 a )โ consistent with nuclear morphology and tunel . in addition , western blots showed that trisomic cultures showed increased caspase ( cleaved ) expression over diploid ( see mike for gels ). western blots of 10 wk old cultures demonstrated the cleaved 17 kda band of caspase 3 in trisomic cultures ( fig1 b ). in addition , most cells in trisomy demonstrated an apoptotic nuclear morphology ( fig1 b ). tunel staining showed 10 % diploid but 50 % trisomic cells at 6 wk in culture . thus caspase 3 expression is a predictor of apoptosis , further confirming the death pattern of the two genotypes . a number of mechanisms have been proposed to be involved in apoptosis . an appealing mechanism is one that involves a gene product present on syntenic region of mmu16 / hsa21 , ets - 2 . ets - 2 is known to bind p53 in the apoptotic process and regulation of p53 levels has been correlated with the level of apoptosis ( wolvetang et al ., 2003 ). therefore , the expression in normal diploid and trisomic cd34 + cells by western blot and immunocytochemistry was examined . it was found that p53 was not detected by either immunocytochemistry or western blot analysis of cultured diploid cd34 + cells but is expressed in trisomic cd34 + cells ( 20 % at 6 wk ). taken together , these data show that the low growth rate of cd34 + cells from ts65dn bone marrow is the result of a decreased mitotic rate and of increased apoptosis . an obvious explanation would be the lack of receptors for the growth factors used in these experiments . therefore , western blot experiments were carried out to determine whether ts65dn cells express the growth factor receptors . as shown in fig2 , both diploid and trisomic cd34 + cells express il3 - r , il6 - r and c - kit ( scf receptor ) in comparable levels . these results in ts65dn cultures are seen either when comparing littermates or when comparing populations of diploid or trisomic animals . iv . mitotic and apoptotic markers in ex vivo ts65dn bone marrow cells however , it could be argued that the low mitotic and high apoptotic rates of trisomic cd34 + cells is the absence in the culture medium of growth factors that would be required for survival by the intrinsic cd34 + cells present in vivo . therefore , the proportion of ex vivo cd34 + cells from trisomic and diploid mice expressing mitotic and apoptotic markers was investigated . fig2 shows that the percent of cd34 + cells in the trisomic bone marrow is 5 % while the percent in diploid bone marrow is 7 %. quite interestingly , a majority of these cd34 + cells from ts65dn express the apoptotic markers , while only a minority appear to be mitotic . in contrast in cd34 + diploid cells , a majority of the cells are mitotic and a minority appear to be apoptotic . these results clearly show that the in vitro data are not a culture artifact , but only amplify the in vivo situation . however , it was important to determine whether the slow growing population of cd34 + cells from trisomic mice exhibited the same phenotype as that of cd34 + cells of their normal littermates or whether they derive from a subset of cd34 + cells . therefore , cd34 + cells from trisomic mice were assayed at different time points in culture as compared to their controls . the clearest result is that the phenotype of the trisomic cd34 + cells does not differ from that of the diploid littermates ( table 9 ). thus , both trisomy cd34 + cells as well as diploid cd34 + cells express hematopoietic stem cell markers as well as embryonic stem cell markers . in addition , they express markers for neural stem cells as well as for differentiated neurons and oligodendrocytes , but fail to express lineage specific hematopoietic markers . thus , the slowly growing cd34 + cells from trisomic mice appear to be a homogeneous population comparable to that of normal mice . a general feature of down syndrome ( ds ) development is the presence of apoptosis in the brain and thymus ( sawa et al ., 1999 ; levin et al ., 1979 ) both in vivo and in culture . indeed busseglio and yankner ( 1995 ) have shown that cultured cortical neurons from ds fetal brain display an increased rate of apoptosis and intracellular levels of ros were elevated 3 - 4 fold . in the ds thymus , levin et al . found them to be smaller with lymphocyte depletions resembling thymic involution . in addition , children with ds have both diminished numbers of t cells as well as functional deficiency of these cells . also , newborns with ds have abnormalities in cd34 + cell numbers ( tamiolakis , et al ., 2001 ) and a transient myeloproliferative disorder ( hassle , 2001 ). similarly , in animal models of ds there is apoptosis in the nervous system ( hippocampus , and cortical neurons ) thymus , and germ cells ( bambrick et al ., 2000 ; german group ; epstein et al ., 1985 ; paz - miguel et al ., 1999 ; gjertson et al ., 1999 ; leffler et al ., 1999 ). there is diminished proliferation capacity and premature death of cells . indeed , during the development of the neocortex of the trisomic 16 mouse , as compared to controls , a smaller proportion of progenitors exit the cell cycle , the cell cycle duration longer , the growth fraction reduced as well as an increase in apoptosis ( haydar et al ., 2000 ). it therefore appeared of interest to investigate apoptosis of hemopoietic cells in the bone marrow of adult trisomic mice as compared to diploid littermates . a major finding of this study is that a majority of bone marrow hematopoietic stem / progenitor cells from ts65dn mice are apoptotic ex vivo . the elevated apoptosis in bone marrow is restricted to the cd34 + stem / progenitor cells . to investigate the functional significance of this observation , we established bone marrow stem cell cultures . with time in culture , cells became homogeneous for proliferating cd34 + cells ( fig1 ). trisomic cd34 + cells showed a dramatically lower growth rate as compared to diploid littermates . in parallel there was reduced proliferation ( fig1 ), reduced mitosis ( brdu incorporation and ki67 immunoreactivity ) and increased apoptosis ( caspase 3 , tunel , dapi , fig1 and 21 ). in this context , the finding that the phenotype of cd34 + cells from trisomic mice was indistinguishable from that of cd34 + cells cultured from their diploid littermates indicates that these cells do not result from a selection process of a subset of cd34 + cells but rather that they are the consequence of a dramatically decreased growth rate of the whole population of cd34 + cells . among the triplicated genes present in ts65dn mice , and syntenic to human chromosome 21 , many recent reports have proposed a major role for the transcription factor , ets - 2 , on the increased rate of apoptosis of neurons as well as of cells from the hemopoietic and immune systems ( wolfstand et al ., 2003 ). a possible target for the ets - 2 protein could be p53 , a proapoptotic , cancer - suppressing protein . in this context , the presence of the p53 protein in the slowly growing apoptotic cd34 + cell cultures of ts65dn mice , but not in diploid cd34 + cells , is of major interest . however , other genes present as trisomic in ts65dn might also be involved in cd34 + increased apoptosis . indeed , recent observations have indicated that the runx genes may play a role in hemopoietic cell differentiation . also , the dyrk 1a gene expression present on chromosome 16 has been linked to proteins involved in regulation of the cell cycle . in addition , an altered anti - oxidant balance with increased expression of sodi ( on chromosomes mouse 16 and human 21 ) has been proposed to account for certain aspects of the down syndrome . earlier results of elevated apoptosis in the nervous system , thymus and germ cells , along with these results from the hemopoietic system , suggest that a common mechanism may be at work in stem / progenitor cells of trisomic mice affecting cell proliferation and survival . down syndrome may be a general stem cell deficiency . the present inventors have demonstrated that the cd34 + stem cells express the mrna for insulin by reverse transcriptase โ polymerase chain reaction ( rt - pcr ) using a forward primer for insulin , 5 โฒ- aacccacccaggcttttgtc - 3 โฒ ( seq id no : 21 ) and the reverse primer is 5 โฒ- tccacaatgccacgcttctg - 3 โฒ ( seq id no : 22 ). they have also shown that the cells translate this mrna into insulin protein by metabolically labeling the cells with radioactive 35 - sulphur labeled ( 35 s )- cysteine . insulin contains 6 cysteines in its 51 amino acids . after labeling the cells with 35 s - cyteine both cell lysate and the culture medium the cells were growing were run over an anti - insulin antibody column to immunoprecipitate any insulin the might be in the lysate and culture medium . the eluates from the column were separated by molecular weight by polyacrylamide electrophoresis and exposed to autoradiography to demonstrate the presence of metabolically synthesized insulin in the cd34 + cells . furthermore , the cells were secreting the synthesized insulin , because 95 % of the 35 s counts were in the medium and not in the cell lysate . this secretion is important considering that the cells are used in cell replacement therapy in diabetics . it is determined whether the cd34 + cells are able to regulate the amount of insulin they synthesize as a result of the amount of glucose in the culture medium as normal insulin - making pancreatic islet cells do . the cd34 + cells are grown in culture medium containing high and low levels of glucose . in the embodiment wherein they regulate insulin synthesis , they should express more insulin in high glucose medium than in low glucose . the cells are expressing insulin mrna , and they make and secrete insulin protein . in some embodiments , if the cells do not regulate insulin synthesis , they would regulate insulin synthesis after in vivo differentiation into pancreatic islet beta - cells , and / or they could be genetically engineered to regulate expression . although the present invention and its advantages have been described in detail , it should be understood that various changes , substitutions and alterations can be made herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims . moreover , the scope of the present application is not intended to be limited to the particular embodiments of the process , machine , manufacture , composition of matter , means , methods and steps described in the specification . as one of ordinary skill in the art will readily appreciate from the disclosure of the present invention , processes , machines , manufacture , compositions of matter , means , methods , or steps , presently existing or later to be developed that perform substantially the same function or achieve substantially the same result as the corresponding embodiments described herein may be utilized according to the present invention . accordingly , the appended claims are intended to include within their scope such processes , machines , manufacture , compositions of matter , means , methods , or steps . all patents and publications mentioned in the specification are indicative of the level of those skilled in the art to which the invention pertains . all patents and publications are herein incorporated by reference to the same extent as if each individual publication was specifically and individually indicated to be incorporated by reference . azizi , s . a ., stokes , d ., augelli , b . j ., digirolamo , c . & amp ; prockop , d . j . ( 1998 ) proc . natl . acad . sci . usa 95 , 3908 - 3913 . bhattacharya , b ., miura , t ., brandenberger , r ., mejido , j ., luo , y ., yang , a . x ., joshi , b . h ., ginis , i ., thies , r . s ., amit , m ., lyons , i ., condie , b . g ., istkovits - eldor , j ., rao , m . s ., and puri , r . k . ( 2004 ) blood 103 ( 8 ), 2956 - 2964 . bonilla , s ., alaroon , p ., villaverdi , r . aparicio , p ., silva , a . & amp ; martinez , s . ( 2002 ) europ . j . neurosci . 15 , 575 - 582 . brazelton , t . r ., rossi , f . m . v ., keshet , g . i . & amp ; blau , h . m . ( 2000 ) science 290 , 1775 - 1779 . burns , c . e ., zon , l . i . ( 2002 ) dev . cell . 3 , 612 - 613 . cai , j ., weiss , m . l ., rao , m . s . ( 2004 ) exp . hematology 32 , 585 - 598 . castro , r . f ., jackson , k . a ., goodell , m . a ., robertson , c . s ., liu , h . & amp ; shine , h . d . ( 2002 ) science 297 , 1299 . cossarizza , et al . ( 1990 ) am . j . med genet suppl . 7 : 213 - 8 . fischer , a . j ., mcguire , c . r ., dierks , b . d . & amp ; rey , t . a . ( 2002 ) j . neurosci . 22 , 9387 - 9398 . fischer , a . j . & amp ; rey , t . a . ( 2001 ) nature neurosci . 4 , 247 - 252 . hess , d . c ., hill , w . d ., martin - studdard , a ., carroll , j ., brailer , j . & amp ; carothers , j . ( 2002 ) stroke 33 , 1362 - 1368 . kabos , p ., ehtesham , m ., kabosova , a ., black . k . l . & amp ; yu , j . s . ( 2002 ) exp . neurol . 178 , 288 - 293 . kopen , g . c ., prockop , d . j . & amp ; phinney , d . g . ( 1999 ) proc . natl . acad . sci . usa 96 , 10711 - 10716 . laywell , e . d ., rakic , p ., kukekov , v . g ., holland , e . c . & amp ; steindler , d . a . ( 2000 ) proc . natl . acad . sci . usa 97 , 13883 - 13888 . makar , t . k ., wilt , s ., dong , z ., fishman , p ., mouradian , m . m . & amp ; dhib - jalbut , s . ( 2002 ) j . interferon & amp ; cytokine res . 22 , 783 - 791 . malatesta , p ., hack , m . a ., hartfuss , e ., kettenmann , h ., klinkert , w ., kirchhoff , f . & amp ; gotz , m . ( 2003 ) neuron 37 , 751 - 764 . marty , m . c ., alliot , f ., rutin , j ., fritz , r ., trisler , d . & amp ; pessac , b . ( 2002 ) proc . natl . acad . sci . usa 99 , 8856 - 8861 . mezey , e ., chandross , k . j ., harta , g ., maki , r . a . & amp ; mckercher , s . r . ( 2000 ) science 290 , 1779 - 1782 . morrison , s . j ., shah , n . m ., anderson , d . j . ( 1997 ) cell 88 , 287 - 298 . woodbury , d ., schwarz , e . j ., prockop , d . j ., & amp ; black , i . b . ( 2000 ) j . neurosci . res . 61 , 364 - 370 . | 2 |
referring to fig1 a thermal postage meter , generally indicated as 11 , includes a base 13 which supports a deck 15 . the base 13 supports a registration wall 17 , by any conventional means , to extend vertically upward from the deck 15 . a thermal print head 19 is fixably mounted , by any conventional means , to the rear registration wall 17 . the rear registration wall 17 has mounted thereto a thermal ribbon cassette 21 . mounted in the base 13 is a position sensing arrangement generally , indicated as 24 , for sensing the position of an envelope 25 positioned on the deck 15 further includes a platen roller assembly , generally indicated as 26 . referring to fig2 the thermal printing meter is under the influence of a microcontroller system , generally indicated as 28 . the microcontroller system 28 is comprised of a programmable microcontroller 30 of any suitable conventional design , which is in bus 32 communication with a motor controller 34 , a sensor controller 36 , and the thermal print head controller 38 . the motor controller 34 , sensor controller 36 and thermal print head controller 38 may be of any suitable conventional design . the motor controller 34 is in motor bus 40 communication with a plurality of drive motors 42 , 44 and 46 . the motor controller bus 40 also communicates the motor controller 34 to a tape encoder 48 . referring to fig5 a and 5b , the position sensing assembly 24 is comprised of a u - shaped support bracket 75 mounted to the base 13 . the u - shaped support bracket 75 has a bracket forward wall 77 and a rear wall 79 . preferably , the bracket 75 is mounted to a base support wall 81 by any conventional means . it is noted that in the subsequent description , certain specific elements are presented as part of more than one assembly . a shaft 83 is rotatively mounted to extend between the bracket walls 77 and 79 by any conventional means such as by a bearing assembly . a drive gear 85 is fixably mounted to the shaft 83 at one end . the motor 42 has a output gear 87 which is in constant mesh with the drive gear 85 for causing the shaft 83 to rotate under the influence of the motor 42 . a position lever 89 which includes a envelope facing surface 91 , camming surface 93 , and sensor tab 95 , and further includes slots 97 , 98 and 99 , is slidably mounted on hubs 101 , 102 and 103 formed on the rear wall 79 of the bracket 75 . the position lever 89 is mounted to the rear wall 79 such that the hubs 101 , 102 and 103 ride within the respective slots 97 , 98 and 99 . a cam 105 is eccentrically mounted to the shaft 83 such that the camming periphery of the cam 105 is opposite the camming surface 93 of the position lever 89 . a spring 107 is detachably mounted to the position lever at one end and to a formed tab 109 in the rear wall 79 at the other end . the spring biases the position lever 89 such that the camming surface 93 is biased against the cam surface of cam 105 . preferring to fig3 , 6a , 6b and 6c mounted to the forward bracket wall 77 is an envelope stop lever 120 which includes a envelope facing surface 122 , channeled main section 124 , a collared tab 126 mounted within the channel section 124 , a cam follower surface 127 and a interlock tab 128 . the stop lever 120 is pivotally mounted on a hub 130 which is formed in the forward bracket wall 77 . a spring 132 which has one end attachably mounted to a tab 134 formed on the forward bracket wall 77 and the other end attachably mounted to the collared tab 126 biases the camming surface 127 against the cam 135 . a locking lever 136 which includes a locking tab 138 and 140 for securing the locking tab 128 of the envelope stop lever 120 between the locking tabs 138 and 140 of the locking lever 136 . the locking lever 36 also includes a camming surface 142 opposite the cam 135 and a formed support ring 144 which is pivotally mounted to a tab 146 formed in the forward bracket wall 77 . a spring 148 which is detachably mounted at one end to a tab 149 and at its other end to the envelope locking lever 136 is mounted for biasing the locking lever 136 in the direction of the cam 135 . referring to fig3 a and 7b , the platen roller assembly 26 includes a linking arm assembly 201 comprising a first link section 203 having a receiving channel 205 and a second section 207 having a portion matingly received in the receiving channel 205 of the first linking section 203 . one end 208 of the first linking section 203 is rotatively mounted around cam 208 which is eccentrically mounted to the shaft 83 . a spring 210 having its respective ends detachably mounted in the first and second sections of the linking arm 203 and 207 , respectively , biases the second section 207 within the receiving channel 205 of the first link section 203 . the exposed end of the second section 207 includes a female shaft hub 212 . a second linking arm assembly 214 is constructed identical to the linking assembly 201 and is eccentrically mounted in cooperative alignment with the linking arm assembly 201 on the shaft 83 . a pivot link assembly , generally indicated as 218 , is mounted to a shaft 216 which is rotatively mounted between the rearward and forward bracket walls 77 and 79 , respectively . the pivot link assembly 218 includes a first link plate 220 pivotally mounted around shaft 216 at one point and pivotally mounted around shaft 213 shaft at another point . a second link plate 222 is pivotally mounted around the shaft 216 at one point and includes a slot 224 wherein the shaft 213 rides therein . a spring hook 223 is formed in the first link plate 220 and a spring hook 225 is formed in the second link plate 222 . a spring 227 has its respective ends fastened around the respective spring hooks 223 and 225 in a conventional manner . a second pivot link assembly 226 , identical to the pivot link assembly 218 , is pivotally mounted to the shaft 216 in spaced apart relationship to the pivot link assembly 218 . a platen roller shaft module 228 is rotatively mounted by any conventional means to the link plates 220 of the respective pivot link assemblies , 218 and 226 . a platen roller 230 is fixably mounted around the platen roller shaft 228 , between the pivot link assemblies , 218 and 226 . a pressure roller shaft 232 is rotatively mounted by any conventional means to the link plates 222 of the respective pivot link assemblies 218 and 226 . pressure rollers 234 are fixably mounted around the pressure roller shaft 232 in spaced apart relationship . a drive shaft 236 having a spool 238 fixably mounted to one end is responsive to the motor 44 . a spool gear arrangement 240 which includes a hub 242 fixably mounted around the shaft 216 , a spool 244 fixably mounted to the hub 242 . a gear 246 is fixably mounted to shaft 216 . a gear 248 is fixably mounted to the shaft 232 and a gear 250 is fixably mounted around the shaft 228 . the gears 246 is constant mesh with gears 248 and 250 , and an endless belt 252 extends around the spools 238 and 244 . referring to fig1 and 4 , a thermal tape cassette drive , generally indicated as 300 , is comprised of a mounting platform 301 of any suitable construction fixably mounted , by any conventional means to the back side of the registration wall 17 . a tape drive motor 46 is fixably mounted to the mounting platform 301 , by any suitable conventional means . the output shaft 303 of the drive motor 46 has a drive gear 305 fixably mounted to the output shaft 303 of the drive motor 46 . a conventional double gear set 307 having a first gear 309 in constant mesh with the drive gear 305 and a second gear 311 is rotatively mounted to the back side of the registration wall 17 . a conventional double idle gear set 313 having first gear 315 in constant mesh with the gear 311 and a second gear 317 is rotatively mounted by any conventional means to a gear hub 319 . the gear hub 319 is fixably mounted to the mounting platform 317 by any conventional means and rotatively supports the idle gear set 313 by any suitable conventional means . a registration wall aperture 312 is formed in the registration wall 17 . a conventional bearing hub assembly 323 is fixably mounted to the back side of the registration wall 17 aligned to the aperture 321 . a tape drive shaft 325 extends through the aperture 321 rotatively supported by the bearing hub assembly 323 . a gear 327 is fixably mounted by any conventional means to one end of the tape drive shaft 325 in constant mesh with the gear 317 . a tape drive spool 329 is fixably mounted by any conventional means around a portion of the tape drive shaft 325 . a tape idle assembly , generally indicated as 331 , is mounted to the back side of the registration wall 17 aligned to a registration wall aperture 333 . the tape idle assembly 331 includes a conventional one way clutch and shaft assembly 335 of any suitable construction fixably mounted to the back side of the registration wall 17 aligned to the aperture 333 . the assembly 335 includes an idle shaft 337 extending through the aperture 333 . a tape idle spool 339 is fixably mounted by any conventional means around a portion of the idle shaft 337 . an encoding assembly , generally indicated as 341 , is fixably mounted to a mounting spindle 343 which is fixably mounted to the back side of the registration wall 17 , by any suitable conventional means , aligned to a registration wall aperture 345 . the encoding assembly 341 includes collar 347 and a input shaft 349 . a mating male shaft 351 is received by the shaft 349 such that the male shaft 351 can experience limited axially displacement within the shaft 349 and such that the male shaft rotatively drive the shaft 349 such as by any suitable conventional mating longitudinal gears arrangement . a spring 353 is placed around the shaft 351 and an end cap gear 355 is fixably mounted by any conventional means to the shaft 351 within the aperture 345 . the tape cassette 21 is comprised of a cassette housing 400 having a drive spool 402 . the drive spool 402 is rotatively mounted by suitable conventional means in the cassette housing 400 to be axially aligned through a opening 406 in the rear wall 408 of the housing 400 . an encoding post 416 is rotatively mounted in the cassette rear wall 408 , by any suitable conventional means , having a short shaft 418 extending through the rear wall 408 and into the aperture 345 in the registration wall 17 . a gear 420 is fixably mounted to one end of the short shaft 418 to be in constant mesh with the gear 355 of the encoding assembly 341 . a plurality drag post 421 , 422 , 423 , 424 and 425 are strategically mounted fixably by any conventional means to the cassette rear wall 408 . the cassette housing 400 further has a cassette opening 426 and is mounted between upper clamp 428 and lower clamp 430 which extend from the registration wall 17 for holding the cassette tape 21 in place . the platen roller 230 has a length 2l and a radius of r at the center . the radius of the platen roller 230 has a linear surface transition to an end radius of ( r + h ). in the preferred embodiment of the present invention , the platen roller is comprised of a 25 to 35 durometer cellular urethane . the preferred dimensions . ______________________________________length ( 2l ) 3 . 000 inchescenter radius ( r ) . 4245 inchesend radius ( r + h ) . 4845 inchestaper angle 2 . 3 degrees______________________________________ referring to fig1 , 7a and 7b , the function of the thermal postage meter 11 is to accept an envelope 25 , print an indicia using thermal transfer print technology , and eject the envelope 25 from the meter 11 . the feed direction of the meter 11 is from left to right as viewed in fig1 . the platen roller 230 feeds the envelope 25 at a constant rate and supplies the print head 19 sufficient backing pressure needed for transfer of thermal ink from the ribbon to the envelope 25 during the print cycle . the microcontroller 30 is programmed to instruct the print controller 38 to actuate the heating elements of the print head 19 synchronous to displacement of the envelope 25 to produce a postal image or other desired image . as the platen roller 230 feeds the envelope 25 , it also feeds the thermal transfer ribbon . therefore , use of the platen roller 230 for ejection would lead to wasted ribbon . the pressure rollers 234 are used to feed the envelope out of the meter 11 after printing . as previously described , the thermal transfer ribbon feeds around a urethane wrapped encoder roller 416 inside the cassette 21 . as the ribbon feeds , the friction of the ribbon against the encoder roller 416 causes it to turn . the encoder roller 416 has a gear 428 which protrudes from the back side of the cassette and couples with a mating gear 355 in the meter 11 . the mating gear 355 turns an optical encoder 341 which communicates with the microcontroller 30 for monitoring ribbon motion . referring particularly to fig7 a and 7b , the feed system consists of the platen roller 230 and pressure rollers 234 . these rollers are provided with independent control of the envelope 25 . they are mounted on a linking assembly 218 and 226 in a manner to produce a rocker type action which pivots about a fixed location , shaft 216 . in the home position ( fig7 a ), the pressure rollers 234 are above the feed deck 15 and the platen roller 230 is below the feed deck . the envelope stop lever 120 and envelope position lever 89 are above the feed deck in the path of the envelope 25 . the shaft 83 is positioned at 0 degrees rotation . it should be readily apparent that the deck 15 is provided with suitable located openings to accommodate the motion of the platen roller 230 , pressure rollers 234 , position lever 89 and stop lever 120 . an envelope 25 is placed onto the feed deck 15 by the operator and inserted into the feed throat . the envelope 25 hits the spring loaded position lever 89 and which is retained by a locking lever 136 . the purpose of the stop finger 124 is to keep the envelope 25 from feeding too far through the print path and also to assure proper alignment of the envelope 25 . the position lever 89 in displaced by the envelope 25 and actuates the sensor 106 mounted to the base 24 in response to the displacement of sensor tab 95 . in response to actuation of the sensor 106 , the microcontroller 30 begins the print cycle . when the position lever 89 is pushed forward about 4 mm , it unblocks an optical sensor 106 . the microcontroller signals the motor 2 to rotate shaft 83 in a clockwise direction . the cam shaft 83 contains 2 independent cams 135 and 105 which drive the stop lever 120 and the position lever 89 , respectively , out of the feed path . the stop finger cam 127 first rotates the lock lever 138 out of the way . the shaft 83 then continues rotating to move the spring loaded stop finger 120 out of the feed path . the trip finger cam 105 directly drives the trip finger 89 from the path . the fingers 89 ; 124 are completely out of the envelope path after 180 degrees of shaft 83 rotation . concurrently with disengagement of the levers 89 and 124 , the eccentric shaft 83 rotation causes the spring loaded links 203 and 209 to move the pressure rollers 234 out of the feed path and the platen roller 230 toward the envelope 25 . the platen roller 230 continues moving toward the envelope 25 until it closes the envelope 25 between the platen roller 230 and the print head 19 capturing the thermal ribbon therebetween . depending on the envelope 25 thickness , the platen roller 230 will meet the envelope 25 at different points in the rotation of the shaft 83 . the pressure rollers 234 may still be above the feed deck . the cam 83 will then continue to rotate , causing the links 203 and 207 to separate further and both the link extension springs 210 and the ejection springs 227 to apply a load to the envelope 25 . when the shaft 83 has rotated 180 degrees , the pressure rollers 234 are out of the feed path and the platen roller 230 is fully engaged with the envelope . printing can now begin . as mentioned , the shaft 83 acts on the eccentric cam 208 , the stop lever cam 127 , the position lever cam 105 and a set of flags 504 . the flags 540 trigger the microcontroller 30 when the shaft 83 has rotated 180 degrees . in the most preferred embodiment , the shaft 83 is driven by a dc brush - type gear motor 42 via a set of gears . when the flag 504 signals the microcontroller 30 that it is time to stop the shaft 83 rotation , the motor 42 is electronically braked . once the platen roller 230 has fully engaged the envelope 25 , the drive motor 44 and the ribbon drive motor 46 start under the direction of the microcontroller 30 . it is noted that the motor 44 turns both the platen roller 230 and the pressure rollers 234 . however , the pressure rollers 234 is not in the supply path so it has no affect on the envelope 25 . upon initiation of the print cycle , the envelope 25 and ribbon begins to feed as the motor 44 is brought up to speed . printing then starts by loading data to the print head from the print head controller 38 under the command instruction of the microcontroller 30 at a constant rate . the speed is monitored and controlled through the conventional motor encoder ( not shown ) on the motor 44 . in the most preferred embodiment of the present invention , the printing operation takes about 425 ms . while printing , the ribbon is driven through the print nip by the motion of the envelope 25 . the ribbon take - up motor 46 winds up the ribbon on the take - up core and provides even tension without pulling the ribbon through the print nip . in order to provide the even tension desired , the back emf of the motor 46 is monitored in the preferred embodiment . changes in the back emf indicate quantity of ribbon and the ribbon drive is modified accordingly by the microcontroller 30 . in addition , a sharp change in the back emf of the motor indicates that the ribbon is broken after the print head or the ribbon has stopped , in either case , the microcontroller 30 aborts . tension on the supply side of the print nip must also be maintained . the ribbon is fed through a series of posts 416 and 421 which provides drag to the ribbon through the friction of the ribbon against the posts 416 and 421 . a light clutch load is provided by conventional clutch 335 on the ribbon supply core to provide tighter wrap of the ribbon around the posts 416 and 421 . the ribbon encoder 341 is turned by the friction of the ribbon moving past the roller 416 . the encoder motion 341 is monitored by the microcontroller 30 to determine if the ribbon breaks before reaching the print head or if the ribbon runs out , in which case , the microcontroller will abort . in addition , the encoder 341 can be used to monitor the speed of the ribbon , and therefore the envelope 25 , through the print nip . when printing has been completed , the shaft 83 rotates an additional 180 degrees back to its original home position . the linking arm assembly 201 becomes a solid assembly which pushes the pressure rollers 234 against the envelope 25 . since a lighter load is needed for ejection than for printing , the spring 210 becomes the only active spring . again , flags 504 on the shaft 83 interrupt a optical sensor 506 to indicate 180 degrees of rotation . this 180 degree rotation engages the pressure rollers 234 and disengages the platen roller 230 . during the rotation , the stop lever 120 and position lever 89 are also released to extend above the feed deck . due to their very light spring load , the levers 89 and 120 will ride along the bottom of the envelope 25 until it clears the platen roller 230 . the motor 44 continues to drive both rollers 230 and 234 . at this point , however , the platen roller 230 becomes inactive because it is below the feed deck . at the same time , the ribbon motor 46 is stopped . when the pressure rollers 234 engage their feed the envelope 25 from the printer at 2 to 3 times the print speed in the preferred embodiment . once the envelope 25 clears the print nip , the stop and level position lever 120 and 89 , respectively , return to their home position . the drive motor 44 is stopped and the process is complete . the above description describes the preferred embodiment of the invention and should not be viewed as limiting . the scope of the invention is set forth in the appendix claims . | 6 |
fig1 depicts a schematic diagram of the illustrative embodiment of the present invention . the illustrative embodiment comprises : packet network 101 and six nodes 102 - 1 through 102 - 6 connected to packet network 101 . packet network 101 comprises hardware and software , in well - known fashion , and is capable of transporting a stream of packets from any node to any other node . it will be clear to those skilled in the art how to make and use packet network 101 . in accordance with the illustrative embodiment , the network - layer topology of packet network 101 is not initially known to applications on nodes 101 - 1 through 101 - 6 , but is estimated using the methodology described in detail below . each of nodes 102 - 1 through 102 - 6 comprises hardware and software to enable it to perform the functionality described below . in accordance with the illustrative embodiment , each of nodes 102 - 1 through 102 - 6 is identical , but it will be clear to those skilled in the art , after reading this disclosure , how to make and use alternative embodiments of the present invention in which some or all of the nodes are different . although the illustrative embodiment comprises six nodes , it will be clear to those skilled in the art , after reading this disclosure , how to make and use alternative embodiments of the present invention that comprise any number of nodes . fig2 depicts a flowchart of the salient tasks associated with the operation of the illustrative embodiment of the present invention . in task 201 , the illustrative embodiment generates a path intersection matrix a for packet network 101 . the path intersection matrix a represents the knowledge of which end - to - end paths in packet network 101 intersect and which do not . to populate the path intersection matrix a , the illustrative embodiment empirically tests every pair of end - to - end paths in packet network 101 to determine whether they intersect or not . the process of testing every pair of end - to - end paths in packet network 101 to determine whether they intersect or not is described in detail below and in the accompanying figures . in accordance with the illustrative embodiment , the following notation is used . packet network 101 is represented as a graph g =( v , e ) where v is the set of nodes ( routers and hosts ) and e is the set of edges representing network - layer connectivity between the nodes on v . the set n โ v are nodes 102 - 1 through 102 - 6 . the set of directional end - to - end paths between nodes in n is represented as p . a path p is considered an end - to - end path if both of its end nodes are in n . the cardinality of p is | p |=| n |ร(| n |โ 1 ). an end - to - end path from n i ฮตn to n j ฮตn is represented as p i , j , where p i , j ฮตp . path intersection matrix a has dimensions | p |ร| p |. each element a a , b , c , d = 1 if p a , b ฮตp and p c , d ฮตp intersect at the network layer , and a a , b , c , d = 0 otherwise . the populated path intersection matrix a for packet network 101 is depicted in table 1 . although the illustrative embodiment empirically tests every pair of end - to - end paths in packet network 101 to determine whether they intersect or not , it will be clear to those skilled in the art , after reading this disclosure , how to make and use alternative embodiments of the present invention which empirically tests fewer than every pair of end - to - end paths in packet network 101 . in task 202 , the illustrative embodiment estimates the topology of packet network 101 based on the path intersection matrix a generated in task 201 . the topology of packet network 101 can only be estimated and not conclusively deduced because multiple networks with different , albeit similar , topologies can yield the same path intersection matrix . for many applications , however , an estimated topology , even if imperfect , is useful . it will be clear to those skilled in the art what applications require perfect knowledge of the topology and what applications can function satisfactorily with imperfect knowledge . task 202 is described in detail below and in the accompanying figures . in task 203 , the illustrative embodiment transmits one or more packets through packet network 101 and directs those packets to be re - directed to or away from one or more specific nodes based on the topology as estimated in task 202 . as is well known to those skilled in the art , an estimate of the topology of packet network 101 is useful for many applications including , but not limited to : i . transmitting one or more packets to transit specific nodes and to avoid specific nodes for the purposes of fault avoidance , and ii . transmitting redundant one or more packets to transit alternative paths and nodes , and iii . transmitting one or more packets to transit nodes that are โ closer โ than other nodes . task 203 is described in detail below and in the accompanying figure . generating path intersection matrix a โ fig3 depicts a flowchart of the salient tasks associated with the operation of task 201 . the execution of tasks 301 through 306 generates the empirical data for one element in path intersection matrix a , and , therefore , tasks 301 through 306 are performed for each pair of paths in p . in task 301 , the illustrative embodiment transmits a stream of probe packets s a , b in a probe pattern on path p a , b fig9 depicts a diagram of the probe pattern , which comprises one small packet every five milliseconds for a total of seven seconds . it will be clear to those skilled in the art , however , after reading this disclosure , how to make and use alternative embodiments of the present invention in which the probe pattern has any duration , packet size , packet number , and packet spacing . in task 302 , the illustrative embodiment transmits an interference stream of packets s c , d in an interference pattern on path p c , d at the same time that probe stream s a , b is transmitted on path p a , b . the salient desirable characteristic of the interference stream s c , d is that if it shares a network - layer node ( e . g ., queue , processor , etc .) with the probe stream s a , b , the interference stream should โ interfere โ with the probe stream by imparting a temporal pattern of jitter to the probe stream that corresponds to the interference pattern . in accordance with the illustrative embodiment , the interference pattern is characterized by a combination of a scalar k , which represents the number of bursts in the interference pattern , and a vector of k โ 1 inter - burst intervals . fig1 a depicts a diagram of the interference pattern , which comprises 6 bursts of 1500 - byte packets transmitted back - to - back at a one second inter - burst interval . it will be clear to those skilled in the art , however , after reading this disclosure , how to make and use alternative embodiments of the present invention in which the interference pattern comprises any number of bursts of any length at any inter - burst interval , whether periodic as in fig1 a or aperiodic as depicted in fig1 b . aperiodic interference patterns are advantageous over periodic interference patterns because they can be more easily distinguished from noise than periodic patterns . in task 303 , the illustrative embodiment receives the probe stream s a , b at node n b in well - known fashion , and records for each packet i its arrival time tr i . in task 304 , the illustrative embodiment detects the interference ( or lack of interference ) of the probe stream s a , b as received at node n b by the interference stream s c , d . this is described in detail below and in the accompanying figures . in task 305 , the illustrative embodiment deduces that paths p a , b and p c , d intersect when and only when the illustrative embodiment detects , in task 304 , interference of the probe stream s a , b by the interference stream s c , d . in task 306 , the illustrative embodiment populates element a a , b , c , d of path intersection matrix a with a 1 when the illustrative embodiment deduces that paths p a , b and p c , d intersect in task 305 and with a 0 when the illustrative embodiment deduces that paths p a , b and p c , d do not intersect . although the illustrative embodiment empirically tests two pairs of end - to - end paths at a time , it will be clear to those skilled in the art , after reading this disclosure , how to empirically test a plurality of pairs of end - to - end paths using multiple probe streams and a single interference stream . furthermore , it will be clear to those skilled in the art , after reading , this disclosure , how to empirically test a plurality of end - to - end paths using one or more probe streams and multiple , distinguishable interference streams . detect interference of probe stream s a , b by interference stream s c , d โ fig4 depicts a flowchart of the salient tasks associated with the operation of task 304 . in task 401 , the illustrative embodiment generates jitter pattern j a , b , c , d based on probe stream s a , b and interference stream s c , d . jitter pattern j a , b , c , d is a combination of a scalar m , which represents the number of groups found and a vector of m โ 1 inter - group intervals . this is described in detail below and in the accompanying figure . in task 402 , the illustrative embodiment compares jitter pattern j a , b , c , d to the interference pattern . in accordance with the illustrative embodiment , the interference pattern is deemed to be detected when either : ( 1 ) mฮต { k โ ฮด , . . . , k , . . . , k + ฮด }, wherein ฮด is an integer , or ( 2 ) at least k โ ฯ of the k โ 1 inter - burst intervals temporally correspond to k โ ฯ of the m โ 1 inter - group intervals , wherein ฯ is a positive integer . in accordance with the illustrative embodiment , ฮด = 1 and ฯ = 3 , but it will be clear to those skilled in the art , after reading , this disclosure , how to make and use alternative embodiments of the present invention that have any value of ฮด ( e . g ., ฮด = 0 , 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 10 , etc .) and any value of ฯ ( e . g ., ฯ = 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 10 , etc .). task 402 is described in detail below and in the accompanying figure . it will be clear to those skilled in the art , however , after reading this disclosure , how to make and use alternative embodiments of the present invention that use another test for detecting interference of the probe stream by the interference stream . generate jitter pattern j a , b , c , d โ fig5 depicts a flowchart of the salient tasks associated with the operation of task 401 . in task 501 , the illustrative embodiment identifies the temporally - shifted packets in the probe stream s a , b by calculating the temporal shift z i for each packet i in the probe stream transmitted by node n a at time ts i and received node n b at time tr i : z i =( tr i โ tr ( i โ 1 ) )โ( ts i โ ts ( i โ 1 ) ) ( eq . 1 ) wherein ts ( i โ 1 ) and tr ( i โ 1 ) are the sending and receiving times of the i โ 1 th packet , respectively . when there is no interference caused by interference stream s c , d , a plot of z i versus tr i looks like that depicted in fig1 a , but when there is interference , a plot of z i versus tr i looks something like that depicted in fig1 b . in fig1 b , the six groups of temporally - shifted packets , caused by the six periodic bursts in interference stream s c , d , respectively , are clearly visible and distinguishable from the unshifted packets . quantitatively , however , packet i is only considered temporally shifted if it satisfies at least one of tests 1 though 4 and either test 5 or test 6 . where q 1 is the first quartile ( 25 th percentile ) of z and d is the difference between the 90 th and 10 th percentiles of z . where q 3 is the third quartile ( 75 th percentile ) of z . test 5 is satisfied if z i is less than the 10 th percentile of z , and test 6 is satisfied if z i is greater than the 90 th percentile of z . it will be clear to those skilled in the art , after reading this disclosure , how to make and use alternative embodiments of the present invention that use other tests and combinations of tests for identifying the temporally - shifted packets . in task 502 , the illustrative embodiment groups the temporally - shifted packets that are within e seconds of one another into m groups , wherein e is a real number and m is a positive integer . in accordance with the illustrative embodiment , e = 200 ms , but it will be clear to those skilled in the art , after reading this disclosure , how to make and use alternative embodiments of the present invention which use other values of e . in task 503 , the illustrative embodiment computes the m โ 1 inter - group intervals where the arrival time for each group equals the median arrival time for the packets in that group . compare fitter pattern j a , b , c , d to interference pattern โ fig6 depicts a flowchart of the salient tasks associated with the operation of task 402 . in task 601 , the illustrative embodiment compares k ( i . e ., the number of bursts in the interference pattern ) to m ( i . e ., the number of groups in jitter pattern j a , b , c , d ). in task 602 , the illustrative embodiment compares the k โ 1 inter - burst intervals to the m โ 1 inter - group intervals computed in task 401 to determine if at least k โ 3 inter - burst intervals temporally correspond to k โ 3 inter - group intervals . estimate topology of packet network 101 based on path intersection matrix a โ fig7 depicts a flowchart of the salient tasks associated with the operation of task 202 . the illustrative embodiment employs four deductions , two suppositions , and a rule of thumb to estimate the network - layer topology of packet network 101 based on path intersection matrix a . by considering all of these as simultaneous truths , an estimate of the topology of packet network 101 can be made using the data in path intersection matrix a . if the application of a deduction and a supposition creates an irreconcilable conflict , the deduction overrules the supposition . absent evidence to the contrary , a supposition is considered correct . in task 701 , when path p a , b and path p c , d intersect , the illustrative embodiment deduces the existence of at least one common node n i that is in both path p a , b and path p c , d . the existence of the node might or might not have been made previously through the application of the deductions and suppositions . in task 702 , when path p a , b and path p c , d do not intersect , the illustrative embodiment deduces that path p a , b and path p c , d do not share a common node . the existence of the node might or might not have been made previously through the application of the deductions and suppositions . in task 703 , when both path p a , b and path p a , c intersect path p d , e , the illustrative embodiment supposes the existence of at least one common node n i ( in addition to node n a ) that is in both path p a , b and path p a , c . here too , the existence of the node might or might not have been made previously through the application of the deductions and suppositions . in task 704 , when both path p a , b and path p c , b intersect path p d , e , the illustrative embodiment supposes the existence of at least one common node n i ( in addition to node n b ) that is in both path p a , b and path p c , b . here too , the existence of the node might or might not have been made previously through the application of the deductions and suppositions to other data . in task 705 , when ( 1 ) path p a , b and path p d , e intersect at a common node n i , and ( 2 ) path p a , c does not intersect path p d , e , the illustrative embodiment deduces that path p a , c does not comprise node n i . this deduction is useful to rebut a supposition made in either task 703 or 704 . in task 706 , when ( 1 ) path p a , b and path p d , e intersect at a common node n i , and ( 2 ) path p c , b does not intersect path p d , e , the illustrative embodiment deduces that path p c , b does not comprise node n i . this deduction is useful to rebut a supposition made in either task 703 or 704 . additionally , a rule of thumb applies when two paths originate or terminate at a single node . the larger the number of paths that both paths intersect ( and fail to intersect ), the longer the segment ( i . e ., edges and nodes ) shared by the two paths . this can be determined by assessing the similarity between the two column vectors in the path intersection matrix that correspond to the two paths . in other words , if two paths originate or terminate at a single node , a low hamming distance between the two column vectors for those paths suggests a long shared segment between the paths . it will be clear to those skilled in the art , after reading this disclosure , how to estimate the topology of any network based on these deductions , suppositions , and the rule of thumb . utilize deduced topology of packet network 101 to route packets โ fig8 depicts a flowchart of the salient tasks associated with the operation of task 203 . in task 801 , the illustrative embodiment transmits a packet or stream of packets to : ( a ) transit a first node n 1 and not transit a second node n 2 in some circumstances ( e . g ., when the jitter pattern corresponds to the temporal pattern , etc . ); and ( b ) transit the second node n 2 and not transit the first node n 1 in some other circumstances ( e . g ., when the jitter pattern fails to correspond to the temporal pattern , etc .). in task 802 , the illustrative embodiment transmits a packet or stream of packets to : ( a ) transit both a first node n 1 and a second node n 2 in some circumstances ( e . g ., when the jitter pattern corresponds to the temporal pattern , etc . ); and ( b ) transit neither second node n 2 nor the first node n 1 in some other circumstances ( e . g ., when the jitter pattern fails to correspond to the temporal pattern , etc .). it is to be understood that the disclosure teaches just one example of the illustrative embodiment and that many variations of the invention can easily be devised by those skilled in the art after reading this disclosure and that the scope of the present invention is to be determined by the following claims . | 7 |
as used herein , the term โ sterile โ refers to the complete absence of viable micro - organisms . however , this absolute definition cannot practically be applied to an entire lot because to verify the complete absence of micro - organism all the material of the batch should be incubated , with complete destruction of every finished article . the sterility of a lot purported to be sterile is therefore defined in terms with respect to probabilities , where the likelihood of a contaminated unit or article is acceptably remote ( 10 โ 6 ). such a state of sterility assurance can be established only through the validation and use of adequate sterilization cycles and subsequent aseptic processing , under appropriate current good manufacturing practice , and not by reliance solely on sterility testing on a sample of limited quantity . as such , a sterile unit or article is defined as a unit in which , based on statistics related to the conditions of preparation and sterilization of that specific product and of that specific batch , less than one unit in a million of the product is exposed to the risk of not being sterile , i . e ., the probability of finding a non - sterile unit ( pnsu = probability of non sterile unit ) must therefore be lower than 10 โ 6 . the present invention relates to a process to produce a sterile solid api , in particularly , a high potentency api such as glucocorticosteroids , and its aseptic micronization , wherein the sterile solid api can be used directly for formulation . this process takes into consideration the protection of the operator and of the product by performing the sterilization under mild conditions , i . e ., without heating , and its handling and micronization either in a laminar air flow ( laf ) hood also referred to herein as a glove box or in a clean room . for this reason , the operator doesn &# 39 ; t have to wear personal protective equipment to avoid the hazards of the process , and the sterile api obtained by this process has lower risk of microbial contamination and air degradation of the product . an example of a steroid of the present invention is triamcinolone , a typical impurity for the steroids such steroid is the 21 - aldehyde impurity thereof , an impurity that is restricted by the pharmacopoeia , and is formed by a reaction of the steroid with oxygen , a reaction known also to be affected by heat . moreover , the use of a glove box instead of a clean room simplifies the production by avoiding open transfer of the api from one vessel to another , as done in a clean room , while preserving the sterilization conditions . also , this process can be scaled up easily and efficiently . the present invention provides a process to produce a packaged micronized sterile solid api in a glove box or laf hood comprising the steps of sterilizing by filtration a solution of the api ; precipitating the api ; recovering the api , discharging the api , and micronizing and packaging the api , wherein at least the step of discharging and the step of micronizing and packaging the api are carried out in a laf hood or glove box . preferably , all steps subsequent to filtering the solution of the api are carried out under aseptic conditions of which at least discharging the api and micronizing and packing the api are carried out in a glove box or laf hood . preferably , the process is carried out in the apparatus presented in fig1 or fig2 . a preferred embodiment of the invention will now be described in detail with reference to fig1 . as set forth in fig1 , a solution of the api is prepared in a first reactor 1 by dissolving the api in a suitable solvent . optionally , the solution may be heated . the solution is then sterilized by filtration over filter 2 , preferably filter 2 is a 0 . 22 micron sterilization cartridge , to dispel microorganisms and other contaminating agents . preferably , the filtration cartridge is mounted in a laminar air flow ( laf ) hood or glove box 3 . alternatively , or additionally , other types of membrane filtration devices may be employed for filtration ( e . g ., filter disks or filter cartridges of varying sizes and micron ratings , such as ultipor ยฎ n66 , which incorporates a nylon 6 , 6 polymer membrane and is available from pall corporation ). preferably , the solution is filtered through more than one membrane ( additional membrane filters are not illustrated ). after the membrane filtration , the filtrate is collected in a second reactor 4 , wherein the product is precipitated by either concentrating or cooling the filtrate , or both . the precipitate is then transferred to filter drier 5 , wherein impurities , including moisture , are removed . preferably , the filtered product remains in the filter drier 5 to allow for further drying , such that a dry solid may be obtained . the drying may be accomplished by heating , pressure reduction , or both , provided that when the product is dried by heating , a subsequent cooling step is also performed . following filtering / drying , the filter drier 5 containing the dried product is transferred into an laf hood or glove box 6 . alternatively , the product may be filtered in a centrifuge drier and collected in sterile intermediate container 7 . in the sterile environment of the laf hood or glove box 6 , the filter drier cover 5 b is removed from the filter drier body sa , such that the sterile solid api may be discharged and collected in sterile intermediate container ( s ) 7 . the sterile solid api within the sterile intermediate container ( s ) 7 is then transferred to feeder 8 , which controls the rate of feed of the api to a micronizer 9 , preferably a jet mill , each of which is within laf hood or glove box 11 . within micronizer 9 , the api is pulverized to provide an api product of appropriate particle size . the product api from the micronizer 9 is weighed on scale 10 , and then sampled and packaged in sterile container ( s ) 12 . a similar apparatus is described in fig2 , where the filter ( cartridge ) 2 in fig1 is replaced a series of filter ( cartridges ) for filter sterilizing the api and wherein not the filter drier 5 is transferred , but the api is discharged from the filter drier into an intermediate container 7 inside the sterile environment of a glove box 6 . the api in the intermediate container 7 is then transferred to the sterile glove box 11 for micronization . the apparatus , as described in fig1 and 2 , is preferably sterilized before use by thermal treatment , i . e . the filter drier is submitted to a sterilization cycle with steam , and the filters and pipe lines are heated to about 122 ยฐ c . under a steam flow . after use , the filters are washed with solvents suitable to remove residues of the remaining api . a suitable solvent is chosen in view of the api that is to be sterilized . in this respect the solvent for use in sterilizing the apparatus is the same solvent in which the api for preparing a packaged micronized sterile solid api is first dissolved . preferably , suitable solvents are mainly polar solvents , such as alcohols , preferably c 1 - c 4 alcohols , acetone , dimethylformamide ( dmf ), dmso , dioxane , dimethyl acetamide , mixtures thereof with water , and water . a polar organic solvent refers to a solvent with a polarity index of higher than about 2 . 0 . preferably , a solution of the api is prepared in a first reactor by dissolving the api in a suitable solvent . the choice of a suitable solvent to dissolve the api depends on the desired acceptable quality for the precipitate and / or crystal , such as starting particle size distribution ( psd ) and polymorphic form . examples of suitable solvents are methanol , acetone , dimethylformamide ( dmf ), dmso , dioxane , and dimethyl acetamide . this step may be done under non - sterile conditions . dissolution of the api may include a heating step . preferably , the api is a high potency api selected from the group consisting of high potency api &# 39 ; s that are used in compositions for inhalation and steroids . examples of high potency api &# 39 ; s that are used in inhalation compositions are tiotropium and ciclesonide . preferably , the steroid is a glucocorticosteroids such as traimcinolone acetonide , medroxyprogesterone acetate , dexamethasone base , budesonide , and methylprednisolone acetate . more preferably the api is triamcinolone acetonide . when the api is triamcinolone acetonide , the solvent is , preferably , a mixture of acetone and water . preferably , dissolving triamcinolone acetonide in the mixture of acetone and water is done by heating to a temperature of about 35 ยฐ c . to about 55 ยฐ c ., preferably about 40 ยฐ c . to about 50 ยฐ c . and more preferably about 45 ยฐ c . to about 50 ยฐ c . ; wherein heating to a temperature below 60 ยฐ c . is considered safe when dealing with steroids . the solution may be filtered through one or more membranes , at least the last of which is a sterilizing filter . the filtrations are used to dispel microorganisms and other contaminating agents , and may be carried out under aseptic conditions such as for example in a glove box . the membranes may be of a cartridge type , made from a material that is compatible for fluids and solvents . usually , three consecutive filtrations are done , wherein the first filtration is a pre - filtration used to protect subsequent membranes used for sterilization . in such later filtration the cartridge may be a sterilizing filter cartridge comprising a micron screen for sterilizing a solution , such as for example ultipor n66 or a 0 . 22 micron sterilizing cartridge . other sterilizing filtration cartridges or membranes comprise a membrane of polytetrafluoroethylene ( ptfe ), preferably emflon , or comprising a membrane of polyvinylidenefluoride ( pvdf ), or a filtration grade nylon such as nylon 6 . 6 . the second and third filter ( filter cartridge ) may be the same or a filter different from the first pre - filter . preferably , the second and third filtrations are done subsequently . a preferred second cartridge is made from a polytetrafluoroethylene ( ptfe ) membrane , preferably emflon , and a preferred third cartridge is made using a membrane of polyvinylidenefluoride ( pvdf ) or filtration grade nylon , such as nylon 6 , 6 , preferably novasip . when the api is triamcinolone acetonide , the filtration is done , preferably , while maintaining the temperature the same as in the dissolution step . however , when dissolution is obtained without heating , the filtration may also be conducted without heating . the filtrate that passes the final or third membrane is collected in a second reactor , wherein precipitation of the product occurs . the precipitation may be induced by a step selected from the group consisting of : concentrating the filtrate , diluting the filtrate with an anti - solvent , cooling and a combination of these . in the process of the invention , precipitation may comprise crystallization of the solid sterile api . such crystallization of the api may be carried out by adding an anti - solvent to the filtrate . the anti - solvent to induce precipitation and / or crystallization is preferably water . the anti - solvent may be added at a temperature of about 60 ยฐ c . to about 90 ยฐ c ., preferably at about 75 ยฐ c . to about 85 ยฐ c ., particularly where the api is triamcinolone acetonide . concentrating the filtrate in the process of the present invention may be carried out by evaporation of the solvent . there where the filtrate is concentrated to precipitate or facilitate precipitation of the api the temperature of the dissolution step is preferably maintained . preferably , a suspension is obtained when concentrating the filtrate and the suspension is cooled to a temperature of about 0 ยฐ c . to about 20 ยฐ c ., preferably about 110 ยฐ c . to about 20 ยฐ c ., more preferably about 15 ยฐ c . to about 20 ยฐ c . while cooling this suspension may be stirred . cooling is carried out for a period sufficient to precipitate the api , preferably for a period of about 15 min to about 4 hours , more preferably for about 30 minutes to about 2 hours , most preferably for about 30 minutes . recovery of the precipitate preferably comprises filtering through a filter drier or a centrifuge drier , more preferably a filter drier . the filtered product may be maintained in the filter drier for further drying to obtain a dry solid . the drying may include a step selected from the group consisting of : heating , reducing the pressure , and combination of both . preferably , heating is done to a temperature of about 30 ยฐ c . to about 97 ยฐ c . if the product is dried by heating , a subsequent cooling step is also performed . preferably , cooling is done from a temperature of about 97 ยฐ c . to about 20 ยฐ c . the cooling step may be carried out over a period of time . when the api is triamcinolone acetonide , the drying process includes heating under reduced pressure . preferably , heating is done to a temperature of about 85 ยฐ c . to about 97 ยฐ c ., preferably 90 ยฐ c . to about 97 ยฐ c ., more preferably 93 ยฐ c . to about 97 ยฐ c . preferably , cooling is carried out to a temperature of about 15 ยฐ c . to about 35 ยฐ c ., preferably to about 20 ยฐ c . to about 30 ยฐ c . this cooling step may be carried out for a period of about 6 hours to about 24 hours , preferably about 8 hours to about 18 hours , more preferably about 8 hours to about 12 hours . after drying , the filter drier is discharged and the sterile solid api is packaged in sterile intermediate containers ; wherein the unloading of the filter drier and material handling is done inside a sterile laf hood or glove box . preferably , the containers are sterilized by either gamma irradiation or by autoclaving . the product obtained from the above process is then micronized in a sterilized micronizer contained in a sterile laf hood or glove box . preferably , the obtained product is fed into the micronizer from intermediate sterile containers . the micronization process can be done by any technique known to one skilled in the art , for example , a jet mill apparatus . after the api is micronized it is weighed , sampled and packaged in sterile containers . preferably , the containers are sterilized by either gamma irradiation or by autoclaving . having thus described the invention with reference to particular preferred embodiments and illustrative examples , those in the art can appreciate modifications to the invention as described and illustrated that do not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention as disclosed in the specification . further , the disclosures of the references referred to in this patent application are incorporated herein by reference . the examples are set forth to aid in understanding the invention but are not intended to , and should not be construed to limit its scope in any way . 1 kg of triamcinolone acetonide was charged into a dissolution reactor , then 19 . 8 l of acetone and 2 . 2 l of water were added . the suspension was heated to 45 ยฐ c . to 50 ยฐ c . until complete dissolution , and the solution was maintained at the temperature between 45 ยฐ c . to 50 ยฐ c . the solution was transferred through three membrane filers ( sterilizing cartridge ultipor n66 , filtering cartridge emflon and filtering cartridge novasip ) into a second reactor , suitable for crystallization and precipitation . after the filtration the filters were washed with 4 l of acetone and then with 0 . 44 of apirogen water . the filtered solution in the second reactor was evaporated under vacuum , maintaining the internal temperature around 50 ยฐ c ., until 3 l of residual volume remained . the suspension obtained in this way was cooled to 15 ยฐ c . to 20 ยฐ c ., and stirred at this temperature for 30 minutes . then , the suspension was filtrated in a filter dryer and solid washed with 6 l of apirogen water . then the filter drier was kept under vacuum at 95 ยฑ 2 ยฐ c . for almost 8 hours , followed by discharging the solid through a glove box and packaged into sterile containers , and if necessary transferred to a micronizer apparatus placed into a glove box . microbiological quality of the batch was verified by performing sterility test and bacterial endotoxins analysis on representative samples from dried and micronized triamcinolone acetonide batches and critically monitoring the production environment . the table below shows data supporting the sterility assurance of the batches produced . each batch was sterile and with low content of bacterial endotoxins and the critical environment of production conforms to class a . analysis of the batches environmental monitoring bacterial air surface step of sterility endotoxins contamination contamination personnel production batches n o test eu / mg cfu / m 3 cfu / plate cfu / gloves micronized 6120so90506 sterile & lt ; 2 . 2 & lt ; 1 & lt ; 1 & lt ; 1 dried 30612091306 sterile & lt ; 2 . 2 & lt ; 1 & lt ; 1 & lt ; 1 30612091406 sterile & lt ; 2 . 2 & lt ; 1 & lt ; 1 & lt ; 1 30612091506 sterile & lt ; 2 . 2 & lt ; 1 & lt ; 1 & lt ; 1 30612091606 sterile & lt ; 2 . 2 & lt ; 1 & lt ; 1 & lt ; 1 30612091706 sterile & lt ; 2 . 2 & lt ; 1 & lt ; 1 & lt ; 1 30612091806 sterile & lt ; 2 . 2 & lt ; 1 & lt ; 1 & lt ; 1 micronized 6120so90107 sterile & lt ; 2 . 2 & lt ; 1 & lt ; 1 & lt ; 1 dried 30612090107 sterile & lt ; 2 . 2 & lt ; 1 & lt ; 1 & lt ; 1 30612090207 sterile & lt ; 2 . 2 & lt ; 1 & lt ; 1 & lt ; 1 30612090307 sterile & lt ; 2 . 2 & lt ; 1 & lt ; 1 & lt ; 1 30612090407 sterile & lt ; 2 . 2 & lt ; 1 & lt ; 1 & lt ; 1 30612090507 sterile & lt ; 2 . 2 & lt ; 1 & lt ; 1 & lt ; 1 30612090707 sterile & lt ; 2 . 2 & lt ; 1 & lt ; 1 & lt ; 1 30612090807 sterile & lt ; 2 . 2 & lt ; 1 & lt ; 1 & lt ; 1 29 l of apirogen water was charged into the dissolution reactor , transferred through a membrane filter ( sterilizing cartridge ultipor nylon66 ) into a second reactor , suitable for precipitation . the water was heated to 80 ยฑ 2 ยฐ c . 0 . 5 kg of triamcinolone acetonide was charged into the dissolution reactor , then 2 . 6 l of dmf were added . the suspension was heated to 75 ยฑ 5 ยฐ c . with stirring until complete dissolution , and the solution was maintained at the same temperature . the solution was transferred through three membrane filters into a second reactor , suitable for crystallization and precipitation . the filters were washed with 1 l of dmf and the suspension was maintained at 80 ยฑ 2 ยฐ c . for not less then 1 hour with stirring . then , the suspension was filtered in a filter dryer and the solid washed with twice with 10 l of apirogen preheated water ( 80 ยฑ 2 ยฐ c .). then the filter drier was kept under vacuum at 95 ยฑ 2 ยฐ c . for 12 - 24 hours , followed by discharging the solid through a glove box and packaged into sterile containers , and if necessary transferred to a micronizer apparatus placed into a glove box . yields are about 480 grams microbiological quality of the batch was verified performing sterility test and bacterial endotoxins analysis on representative samples from dried and micronized triamcinolone acetonide batches and critically monitoring the production environment . the table below shows data supporting sterility assurance of the batches produced . each batch was sterile and with low content of bacterial endotoxins and the critical environment of production conforms to class a . analysis of the batches environmental monitoring bacterial air surface step of sterility endotoxins contamination contamination personnel production batches n o test eu / mg cfu / m 3 cfu / plate cfu / gloves micronized sterile & lt ; 2 . 2 & lt ; 1 & lt ; 1 & lt ; 1 dried sterile & lt ; 2 . 2 & lt ; 1 & lt ; 1 & lt ; 1 sterile & lt ; 2 . 2 & lt ; 1 & lt ; 1 & lt ; 1 sterile & lt ; 2 . 2 & lt ; 1 & lt ; 1 & lt ; 1 sterile & lt ; 2 . 2 & lt ; 1 & lt ; 1 & lt ; 1 sterile & lt ; 2 . 2 & lt ; 1 & lt ; 1 & lt ; 1 sterile & lt ; 2 . 2 & lt ; 1 & lt ; 1 & lt ; 1 1 kg of medroxyprogesterone acetate was charged into the dissolution reactor , then 2 . 5 l of dioxane were added . the suspension was heated to 80 ยฑ 5 ยฐ c . with stirring until complete dissolution , and the solution was maintained at the same temperature . the solution was transferred through a membrane filter ( sterilizing cartridge ultipor nylon66 ) into a second reactor , suitable for crystallization and precipitation . the filters were washed with preheated dioxane ( 0 . 3 l , 80 ยฑ 5 ยฐ c .). 1 . 3 l of apirogen water was charged into the dissolution reactor and heated to 80 ยฑ 5 ยฐ c ., then transferred through three membrane filters into the second reactor , suitable for precipitation . after 10 minutes 4 l of apirogen water was charged into the dissolution reactor and heated to 80 ยฑ 5 ยฐ c ., then transferred again through three membrane filters into the second reactor . the suspension was maintained at 80 ยฑ 5 ยฐ c . for not less then 1 hour with stirring . then , the suspension was filtered in a filter dryer and the solid washed with twice with 1 . 5 l of apirogen preheated water ( 80 ยฑ 5 ยฐ c .). then the filter drier was kept under vacuum at 90 ยฑ 2 ยฐ c . for 12 - 24 hours , followed by discharging the solid through a glove box and packaged into sterile containers , and if necessary transferred to a micronizer apparatus placed into a glove box . yields are about 960 grams 1 kg of medroxyprogesterone acetate was charged into the dissolution reactor , then 3 l of dma were added . the suspension was heated to 80 ยฑ 5 ยฐ c . with stirring until complete dissolution , and the solution was maintained at the same temperature . the solution was transferred through a membrane filter ( sterilizing cartridge ultipor nylon66 ) into a second reactor , suitable for crystallization and precipitation . the filters were washed with preheated dma ( 0 . 3 l , 80 ยฑ 5 ยฐ c .). 1 . 2 l of apirogen water was charged into the dissolution reactor and heated to 80 ยฑ 5 ยฐ c ., then transferred through three membrane filters into the second reactor , suitable for precipitation . after 10 minutes 5 l of apirogen water was charged into the dissolution reactor and heated to 80 ยฑ 5 ยฐ c ., then transferred again through three membrane filters into the second reactor . the suspension was maintained at 80 ยฑ 5 ยฐ c . for not less then 1 hour with stirring . then , the suspension was filtered in a filter dryer and the solid washed with twice with 1 . 5 l of apirogen preheated water ( 80 ยฑ 5 ยฐ c .). then the filter drier was kept under vacuum at 90 ยฑ 2 ยฐ c . for 12 - 24 hours , followed by discharging the solid through a glove box and packaged into sterile containers , and if necessary transferred to a micronizer apparatus placed into a glove box . the same reagents , solvents , ratios and temperatures reported in the example 3 have been applied , but the dioxane solution was filtered into the precipitation reactor already containing the apirogen water for the precipitation . the same reagents , solvents , ratios and temperatures reported in the example 4 have been applied , but the dma solution was filtered into the precipitation reactor already containing the apirogen water for the precipitation | 0 |
fig1 is a block diagram of a program and system information protocol ( psip ) data generator according to the invention in the context of system 100 that can produce an advanced television standards committee ( atsc ), standard a / 65 , compliant digital television ( dtv ) signal . the system 100 of fig1 includes : a psip generator 102 according to the invention ; sources of data upon which the psip generator operates , such as a source 108 of listing service data , a source 110 of traffic system data and a source 112 of other data ; a multiplexer 114 to incorporate the psip data from the psip generator 102 into an a / 65 - compliant dtv signal ; and a source 116 of audio data , video data , etc . in fig1 , the psip generator 102 includes an interface unit 104 and a non - uniform interval calculation unit 106 . the psip generator 102 according to the invention can be implemented by adapting a well known psip generator according to the discussion herein . an example of a known psip generator is the psip builder pro brand of psip generator manufactured and sold by triveni digital inc . the psip builder pro itself is based upon a programmed pc having a pentium type of processor using the microsoft windows nt4 . 0 operating system . the software can be written in the java language . the other blocks of fig1 correspond to known technology . in fig1 , the invention has been depicted in the context of a digital television broadcast such as a terrestrial broadcast , and more particularly one that is compliant with the advanced television standards committee ( atsc ), where each event is a program , and the schedule data is psip data . however , the invention is readily applicable to any television format , e . g ., analog terrestrial , analog cable , digital cable , satellite , etc ., for which an electronic schedule is maintained and corresponding data is sent to a receiver for the purpose of presenting an electronic program guide ( epg ) to a viewer . the units 104 and 106 within the psip generator 102 do not necessarily correspond to discrete hardware units . rather , the units 102 and 104 can represent functional units corresponding to program segments of the software that can embody the invention . the interface unit 104 can generate a graphical user interface ( gui ) that operates to receive at least one issuance parameter for like psip tables ( e . g ., etts or eits ) that do not all have an issue interval assigned by the a / 65 standard . such an interface will be described in more detail below with regard to fig2 . the non - uniform interval calculation unit 106 is operable to determine non - uniform issuance intervals for ones of the like psip tables that do not have an assigned interval , based upon the issuance parameter ( s ) received via the interface unit 104 . fig2 is an example image of a dialog window 200 ( a gui ) that can be generated by the interface unit 104 according to the invention . in fig2 , the dialog window 200 can include : a cycle time settings tab 202 ; a miscellaneous settings tab 204 ; a ftp periodic update controls tab 206 ; an โ apply settings โ button 226 ; a โ defaults โ button 228 ; a โ refresh โ button 230 ; and a โ close โ button 232 . the position of the cursor can be indicated via the reverse highlighting 234 . the cycle time settings tab 202 can include a โ cycle times ( in seconds ) for eits :โ region 208 , a โ cycle times ( in seconds ) for psip tables :โ region 210 , a โ cycle times ( in seconds ) for psi tables :โ region 212 and a โ cycle times ( in seconds ) for etts :โ region 214 . it is well known that eits carry program schedule information including program title information and program start information . each eit covers a three - hour time span . etts carry text messages associated with the eits , e . g ., program description information for an eit . in fig2 , the โ cycle times ( in seconds ) for eits :โ region 208 of the dialog window 200 can include : a box 216 in which a user can enter a fixed interval for the eit 0 table ; a box 218 in which a user can enter an increment for the eit k table ; and a box 220 in which a user can enter a maximum number of eit tables that are to be sent . usually , the number entered in box 220 will be far smaller than the maximum number of eit tables permitted by the a / 65 standard . also , in fig2 , the โ cycle times ( in seconds ) for etts :โ region 214 can include : a box 222 in which a user can enter a fixed interval for the ett 0 table ; and a box 224 in which a user can enter an increment for the ett k table . the non - uniform interval calculation unit 106 can receive the values in the boxes 216 , 218 , 220 , 222 and 224 from the regions 208 and 214 , respectively , and use them to determine the non - uniform issuance intervals of , e . g ., the eit and ett tables . further discussion of the operation of the unit 106 is couched in a particular non - limiting example , for simplicity . the a / 65 standard recommends a time interval for outputting the zeroith event information table ( eit ), i . e ., eit 0 , but provides no guidelines regarding eit 1 through eit 128 . for the rating region table ( rrt ), the a / 65 standard recommends a value only for the output frequency of rrt 1 . and no recommendation is made regarding the output frequencies of any of the extended text tables ( etts ). under the a / 65 standard , it is left to the discretion of the operator of a psip data generation system to select the frequency of table output for the unmentioned tables . the operator could specify an entry for each group of tables , but that would be burdensome because it would require a total of over 500 entries . a simple solution to the problem of unspecified output frequencies would be to set each type of table to the same output frequency , but that creates a problem in that the guidelines for bandwidth specified by the a / 65 standard would be exceeded . a further consideration to solve the problem , namely of how to insert the least amount possible of meta data into the dtv signal and yet still achieve an a / 65 compliant dtv signal , is : how closely in time to the present moment does each table relate ? that is , table types such as the eit describe event information up to two weeks into the future . a user of an electronic program guide that receives such table types will typically want to view event information concerning only the next 24 - 48 hours . users typically do not look farther into the future than this because ( at least in part ) the event schedule information two weeks into the future is much more likely to change than is event schedule information concerning the next 24 - 48 hours , i . e ., the farther into the future , the less reliable the event information becomes . care must be exercised so as not to set the intervals to be too infrequent . this is because the dtv receiver can become stalled waiting for a table to arrive . if the dtv receiver is stalled for 0 . 5 seconds , a user might not notice or object if she did . but such a delay of , e . g ., 4 - 5 seconds probably would be noticed by , and probably would annoy , the user . this reinforces the need to set short intervals for near term events because users are likely to want to display epg information about them . again , the invention , in part , provides an interface unit 104 that defines parameters that the non - uniform interval calculation unit 106 then can use to generate the time intervals between tables of the same type . typically ( but not necessarily ) the function performed by the unit 106 will be linear , e . g ., with a defined start interval ( the root_time ) and an increment interval ( increment_time ). for example , if the user desires eit 0 to be output every half second ( root_time ) with each succeeding eit i to be output 0 . 25 seconds less frequently than the preceding eit , namely eit i - 1 , the user would enter 0 . 5 seconds as the root_time in box 216 and 0 . 25 seconds as the increment_time in box 218 . the function for each table eit - i interval would then be : for example , eit 12 can be output every 0 . 5 sec +( 0 . 25 sec * 12 )= 3 . 5 seconds , which is less frequent than eit 0 . obviously , other examples are possible , e . g ., the increment_time for each of different groups of like tables can be set . a similar calculation for etts can be performed by the unit 106 . the invention has at least the following advantages : 1 ) it provides an easy way of entering the interval times for the tables : 2 ) it defines the interval times for like tables that are not all fixed to a constant interval ; and 3 ) it provides an interval function that increases the interval for tables that represent information further out in time . the invention being thus described , it will be obvious that the same may be varied in many ways . such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention , and all such modifications as would be obvious to one skilled in the art are intended to be included within the scope of the following claims . | 7 |
fig1 illustrates an energy delivery device 10 for the delivery of light energy to the walls 12 of a body conduit . the energy delivery device 10 includes an outer catheter or sheath 16 surrounding a light transmitting fiber 18 . a light directing member 20 is positioned at a distal end of the energy delivery device 10 for directing the light to the conduit walls . although the present invention will be described in detail with respect to the treatment of airways in the lungs , it should be understood that the present invention may also be used for treatment of other body conduits . the energy delivery device 10 and method according to the present invention provide a more permanent treatment for asthma than the currently used bronchodilating drugs and drugs for reducing mucus secretion . in asthma patients , the cross sectional diameter of the airways are reduced due to bulking of the smooth muscle surrounding the airways . fig9 illustrates an airway 50 of a healthy individual . the airway is surrounded by smooth muscle tissue 52 which is capable of contracting to shrink the diameter of the airway . a plurality of mucus glands 54 are positioned around the airway 50 and secrete mucus into the airway . fig1 illustrates an airway 60 in an asthma patient in which the smooth muscle 62 has hypertrophied increasing the thickness of the smooth muscle and reducing the inner diameter of the airway . the energy delivery device 10 of the present invention is used to debulk or reduce the volume of smooth muscle 62 surrounding the airway 60 of an asthma patient and increase the airway diameter for improved air exchange . the energy delivery device 10 is used to irradiate the smooth muscle surrounding the airways causing the dna of the smooth muscle cells to become cross linked . the treated smooth muscle cells with cross linked dna are incapable of replicating . accordingly , over time , as the smooth muscle cells die , the total thickness of smooth muscle decreases because of the inability of the cells to replicate . the programmed cell death causing a reduction in the volume of tissue is called apoptosis . this treatment does not cause an immediate effect but causes shrinking of the smooth muscle and opening of the airway over time and substantially prevents regrowth . the irradiation by the energy delivery device 10 of the walls of the airway also causes a cross linking of the dna of the mucus gland cells preventing them from replicating and reducing mucus plugging over time . as shown in fig2 , the energy delivery device 10 is an elongated device such as a catheter containing a fiber optic . the energy delivery device 10 is connected by a conventional optical connection to a light source 22 . the treatment of an airway with the energy delivery device 10 involves placing a visualization system such as an endoscope or bronchoscope into the airways . the energy delivery device 10 is then inserted through or next to the bronchoscope or endoscope while visualizing the airways . the energy delivery device 10 which has been positioned with a distal end within an airway to be treated is energized so that radiant energy is emitted in a generally radially direction from a distal end of the energy delivery device . the distal end of the energy delivery device 10 is moved through the airway in a uniform painting like motion to expose the entire length of an airway to be treated to the energy . the energy delivery device 10 may be passed along the airway one or more times to achieve adequate treatment . the painting like motion used to exposed the entire length of an airway to the energy may be performed by moving the entire energy delivery device 10 from the proximal end either manually or by motor . the energy used may be coherent or incoherent light in the range of infrared , visible , or ultraviolet . the light source 22 may be any known source , such as a uv laser source . preferably the light is ultraviolet light having a wavelength of about 240 - 280 nm or visible light in the red visible range . the intensity of the light may vary depending on the application . the light intensity should be bright enough to penetrate any mucus present in the airway and penetrate the smooth muscle cells and mucus gland cells to cause cross linking of the cell dna . the light intensity may vary depending on the wavelength used , the application , the thickness of the smooth muscle , and other factors . alternatively , a beta or gamma radiation source may be used instead of the light source as described in further detail below with respect to fig7 and 8 . fig3 - 6 illustrate different exemplary embodiments of the distal tip of the energy delivery device 10 for irradiating the airway walls . in fig3 , the sheath 16 includes a plurality of windows 24 which allow the energy which has been redirected by the light directing member 20 to pass substantially radially out of the sheath . the light directing member 20 is fitted into the distal end of the sheath 16 . the light directing member 20 is a parabolic diffusing mirror having a reflective surface 26 which is substantially parabolic in cross section . the light passes from the light source along the light transmitting fiber 18 and is reflected by the reflective surface 26 of the light directing member 20 through the windows 24 . the windows 24 are preferably a plurality of energy transmitting sections spaced around the distal end of the sheath . the windows 24 may be open bores extending through the sheath 16 . alternatively , the windows 24 may be formed of a material transparent to the energy being used which allows the energy to pass out of the sheath 16 . fig4 illustrates an alternative embodiment of the energy delivery device 10 in which the light directing member 20 has a conical shaped reflective surface 32 . this conical shaped reflective surface may be formed at any desired angle which directs the light transmitted by the light transmitting fiber 18 radially out of the sheath 16 . the use of a conical reflective surface 32 creates a light delivery pattern in which the light rays are directed in a generally coherent radial pattern which is at a generally fixed angle with respect to a longitudinal axis of the light delivery device . in contrast , the light delivery device of fig3 with the parabolic reflective surface 26 directs light in a diverging radial pattern which will illuminate a larger area of the airway walls . fig5 illustrates a further alternative embodiment of the invention in which the light directing member 20 is a substantially conical member including concave reflective surfaces 36 . these concave reflective surfaces 36 direct the light which passes in a generally parallel arrangement through the light transmitting fiber 18 out of the sheath 16 in a converging or crossing pattern . in addition , in the embodiment of fig5 , the windows have been replaced by a tip 38 of the sheath 16 formed of a material which is transparent to the energy being used . the light directing members 20 having a reflective surface as illustrated in fig3 - 5 may be formed in any of the known manners , such as by coating a molded member with a reflective coating , such as aluminum or silver . as an alternative to the reflective light directing members of fig3 - 5 , a diffusing lens 42 , such as a teflon lens , may be positioned at the end of the light transmitting fiber 18 as illustrated schematically in fig6 . the diffusing lens 42 may direct the light from the light transmitting fiber 18 in a generally conical pattern as shown in fig6 . alternatively , the diffusing lens 42 may direct the light in a more radially oriented pattern with the light rays being prevented from exiting the lens in a direction substantially parallel with the longitudinal axis of the light transmitting fiber 18 by a reflective or blocking member . in the embodiment of fig6 , the sheath 16 surrounding the light transmitting fiber 18 and the diffusing lens 42 may be eliminated entirely and the lens may be affixed directly to the end of the fiber . according to one alternative embodiment of the invention , the energy delivery device 10 can be used in conjunction with photo - activatable substances such as those known as psoralens . these light activatable compounds , when activated , enhance the ability of light to cross link the dna in the smooth muscle tissue and mucus glands . the light activatable compound may by injected intravenously . the light delivered by the light delivery device 10 is matched to the absorption spectrum of the chosen light activatable compound such that the light exposure activates the compound . when such light activatable substances are employed , a lower light intensity may be used to achieve cross linking of the dna than the light intensity required to achieve cross linking without the light activatable compounds . fig7 illustrates an alternative embodiment of an energy delivery device 10 including an elongated body or shaft 66 having a radiation source 68 positioned at the distal end of the flexible shaft . the radiation source 68 may be any known source of radiation such as a radioactive pellet of iridium . the treatment of a bodily conduit of a patient with the energy delivery device 10 of fig7 is performed by moving the elongated shaft 66 back and forth in the body conduit in a painting like motion to cause a cross linking of the dna in the smooth muscle surrounding the body conduit . fig8 illustrates another alternative embodiment of an energy delivery device 10 having a source of radiation such as a radioactive pellet 72 positioned within a cannula 74 . according to this embodiment , in addition to moving the cannula itself to achieve a painting action within a body conduit , the pellet 72 may be moved within the cannula 74 . movement of the radioactive pellet 72 may be performed by connecting a syringe to a proximal end of the cannula 74 and injecting or withdrawing fluid through the cannula to move the pellet in a piston like manner . a vent port 76 is provided at the distal end of the cannula 74 to allow fluid to pass into and out of the cannula . in use , the energy delivery device 10 of fig7 and 8 are preferably delivered to a treatment site within the body through a shielded cannula which prevents radiation from being emitted into surrounding tissue as the device is inserted . in use , the embodiment of fig8 is inserted to a treatment site such as an airway of the lungs through a radiation shielding cannula . a syringe filled with air is then connected to the proximal end of the cannula 74 and air is injected and withdrawn to move the radioactive pellet within the cannula 74 to expose a desired section of the airway to radiation emitted from the radioactive pellet . once the treatment has been completed , the cannula 74 and pellet 72 are retracted inside the shielding cannula and the device is withdrawn from the patient . the cross linking of the smooth muscle and mucus gland dna according to the present invention will reduce or eliminate the smooth muscle and the secreting glands such as mucus glands from the area of the airway which is treated by preventing the treated cells from replicating . this light treatment provides improved long term relief from asthma symptoms for some asthma sufferers . however , over time , some amount of smooth muscle or mucus gland cells which were not affected by an initial light treatment may regenerate and treatment may have to be repeated after a period of time such as one or more months or years . although the present treatment has been described for use in debulking enlarged smooth muscle tissue to open up the airways , it may also be used for eliminating smooth muscle altogether . the elimination of the smooth muscle tissue prevents the hyperreactive airways of an asthma patient from contracting or spasming , completely eliminating this asthma symptom . the light delivery device 10 may also be used for treatment of other conditions by reducing the volume of smooth muscle tissue surrounding other body conduits . for example , the treatment system may be used for reducing smooth muscle and spasms of the esophagus of patients with achalasia or esophageal spasm , in coronary arteries of patients with printzmetal &# 39 ; s angina variant , for ureteral spasm , for urethral spasm , and irritable bowel disorders . while the invention has been described in detail with reference to the preferred embodiments thereof , it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that various changes and modifications can be made and equivalents employed , without departing from the present invention . | 0 |
suitable tetracarboxylic acid dianhydrides ( ii ) are aromatic compounds with two anhydride groups , e . g . derivatives of benzene , benzophenone , biphenyl , diphenyl ether , and bisphenol a . preferred anhydrides are : and mixtures of these . up to 40 % of these aromatic anhydrides may be replaced by aliphatic tetracarboxylic acid dianhydrides with up to 12 c atoms . examples of such aliphatic compounds are 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 - butanetetracarboxylic acid dianhydride and cyclopentanetetracarboxylic acid dianhydride . suitable n , n &# 39 ;- bis ( ฯ - hydroxyalkyl ) dicarboxylic acid diamides ( iii ) include diamides with the alkylene group having 2 - 3 c atoms . the dicarboxylic acid on which the structure is based may be of either an aliphatic or aromatic nature , and may contain up to 16 c atoms . and mixtures of these . the diamides can be easily prepared by reacting the corresponding dicarboxylic acids or their esters with alkanolamines . an example of the preparation of a diamide is given in the examples section below . the reaction of the diamides iii with the anhydrides iv is carried out in a polar reaction medium at temperatures up to 300 ยฐ c ., preferably with concentrations of solids being 5 - 50 wt . %. the reaction medium used comprises aprotic solvents such as , e . g ., dimethyl sulfoxide ( dmso ), tetrahydrothiophene dioxide ( sulfolan ), nitrobenzene , n - methylpyrrolidone ( nmp ), dimethylacetamide ( dma ), or diphenyl sulfone , or mixtures of these with nonpolar organic solvents such as toluene , xylene , chlorobenzene , dichlorobenzene , anisole , and diphenyl ether , with the nonpolar organic solvents being present in the proportion of at most 80 wt . %. the mechanism of the novel polymer - formation reaction has not been elucidated in detail . under special conditions ( see below ), isolatable preliminary polymer stages have been found which contain amide , ester , and acid functions . this suggests that products of formula i form primarily by reaction of the oh group of the hydroxyalkylamide with the anhydride group , followed by a surprising major intermolecular rearrangement with elimination of water . one may conduct the reaction at temperatures between 150 ยฐ and 300 ยฐ c ., or one may begin at lower temperatures , i . e ., 20 ยฐ- 150 ยฐ c ., and heat the reaction mixture above 150 ยฐ c . toward the end of the reaction . if the reaction between the anhydrides ii and the diamides iii is carried out in solution at temperatures between 20 ยฐ and 150 ยฐ c ., preferably between 50 ยฐ and 120 ยฐ c ., one first obtains polymers with amide , ester , and acid functions . it is possible to precipitate and isolate these polymers by adding an antisolvent . in a second step , these polymers , in solid form or in solution , are converted to polyester imides of formula i by increasing the reaction temperature to between 150 ยฐ and 300 ยฐ c ., preferably between 170 and 270 ยฐ c . if the compounds of formulas ii and iii are reacted at temperatures between 150 ยฐ and 300 ยฐ c ., preferably between 170 ยฐ and 270 ยฐ c ., in a single step , solutions of the polyester imides of formula i are produced directly . reaction times are 1 - 12 hr , as a rule . to produce high molecular weight products it is necessary that the water formed in the reaction be removed from the reaction mixture . there are various possible means to accomplish the removal of the water . thus , for example , an inert gas such as nitrogen or argon may be passed through or over the reaction medium . alternatively , a vacuum may be applied and / or a part of the solvent along with the water may be removed by azeotropic distillation . the reaction may be carried out in the presence of catalysts . two types of catalysts which are candidates for use are : 1 . compounds capable of catalyzing the reaction of alcohols with anhydrides ; for example : metal compounds , such as tin , tin oxide ( stannic oxide ), dibutyltin oxide , zinc chloride , zinc acetate , and sodium acetate . 2 . compounds capable of catalyzing the imidization of carboxamides , e . g . triethylamine , triethylamine together with dicarboxylic acid anhydrides , a mixture of pyridine and a dicarboxylic acid anhydride , or a mixture of an alkali acetate and acetic anhydride . at the end of the polymer formation reaction , there results a more or less viscous solution or a suspension of the polymers in the solvent or solvent mixture employed . the isolation technique for the polyester imides is not critical . the products may be sent directly to further processing ( e . g . manufacture of coatings ), or they may be precipitated out after dilution , by addition of antisolvents . antisolvents which may be used are lower alcohols ( e . g ., methanol , ethanol , or isopropanol ), ketones ( e . g ., acetone or methyl ethyl ketone ), or water , or mixtures of these . other features of this invention will become apparent in the course of the following descriptions of exemplary embodiments which are given for illustration of the invention and are not intended to be limiting thereof . the mixture of starting materials was heated at 120 ยฐ c . in a stirred 2 - liter round - bottom flask . a clear molten mass formed , with evolution of methanol . with further heating to 150 ยฐ c ., this mass hardened . after 30 min , a vacuum of 30 mbar was applied , and maintained for 60 min to remove the readily volatile components of the reaction mixture . the residue was recrystallized from 1 . 5 liters water . the bhid was dissolved in 20 g sulfolan and was charged into a stirred flask with a nitrogen inlet and a distillation head , while nitrogen was passed through ( 20 liter / hr ) at 165 ยฐ c . a solution of pmda in a mixture of the chlorobenzene and the remainder of the sulfolan were added dropwise over 60 min , while continuing the nitrogen flow . after this addition had been completed , the interior temperature was increased to 185 ยฐ c . and the reaction was allowed to proceed 6 hr . during the pmda addition and the reaction period at 185 ยฐ c ., the distillation of the chlorobenzene / water azeotrope was monitored , until pure chlorobenzene finally passed over . after conclusion of the polycondensation , the cooled reaction mixture was poured into 300 ml methanol . the precipitate was separated out by suction filtration , washed with methanol , and then vacuum dried at 100 ยฐ c . ir spectrum ( cm - 1 ): 1 , 780 and 1 , 725 ( imide + ester ), 1 , 390 , 1 , 370 , 1 , 235 , and 730 . a solution of the bhid in the sulfolan and chlorobenzene was heated to 165 ยฐ c . under nitrogen , and solid pmda was added to this in portions over 2 hr . after the conclusion of the pmda addition , the reaction temperature was increased to 185 ยฐ c . and the mixture was allowed to react 4 hr . the workup was analogous to that in example 1 . the pmda , dissolved in nitrobenzene , was added dropwise over 60 min to the bhid melt stirred at 220 ยฐ c . under nitrogen . the mixture was allowed to react further at 220 ยฐ c . for 2 hr . the workup was analogous to that in example 1 . the pmda was added in portions over 60 min to a mixture of the bhid , diphenyl sulfone , and diphenyl ether , with stirring , at 250 ยฐ c . under nitrogen . after allowing the mixture to react an additional 2 hr at the same temperature , the mixture was allowed to cool to 200 ยฐ c ., and was diluted with 200 g nmp . after cooling the mixture to room temperature , 500 g methanol was stirred in , the precipitate was separated by suction filtration , and the product was extracted with 500 g boiling acetone . after a second suction filtration , the product was washed with methanol and then vacuum dried . elemental analysis : found : 60 . 5 % c , 3 . 45 % h , 29 . 2 % 0 , 6 . 8 % n . calculated : 60 . 8 % c , 3 . 2 % h , 29 . 5 % 0 , 6 . 5 % n . a solution of pmda in 120 g nitrobenzene was added dropwise over 60 min to a mixture of the bhid and bhtd in 190 g nitrobenzene with stirring at 220 ยฐ c . under nitrogen . 130 ml of distillate passed over . the reaction temperature was then reduced to 200 ยฐ c ., and the mixture was allowed to react for an additional 4 hr . the workup was analogous to that in example 1 . ir spectrum ( cm - 1 ): 1 , 780 and 1 , 725 ( imide + ester ), 1 , 390 , 1 , 375 , 1 , 280 , 1 , 240 , 745 , and 715 . solid pmda was added in portions over 120 min to a solution of the bhid in the sulfolan with stirring at 80 ยฐ c ., while nitrogen was passed through at 20 liter / hr . after the addition and 4 hr subsequent reaction at the same temperature , a highly viscous mass remained . a sample isolated by precipitation indicated formation of a polymer with amide , ester , and acid functions . no imide groups were detectable . the reaction mixture was then heated to 200 ยฐ c . and stirring was continued for 4 hr at this temperature . the workup was analogous to that in example 1 . the same procedure was used as in example 6 . after completion of the pmda addition , the viscosity of the reaction mixture had already increased sharply . a sample isolated by precipitation indicated formation of a polymer with amide , ester , and acid functions . no imide groups were detectable . the reaction mixture was then heated to 200 ยฐ c . and stirring was continued 4 hr at this temperature . the workup was analogous to that in example 1 . obviously , numerous modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in light of the above teachings . it is therefore to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims , the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described herein . | 2 |
in one embodiment , the present invention provides a novel edible composition to be used in a physical process , which occurs at room temperature for removing free fatty acids from oil . in another embodiment , the composition of the invention and the process utilizing it does not cause any adverse changes to the chemical make - up of oil . in another embodiment , the composition of the invention and the process utilizing it is free of any organic solvents . in another embodiment , the composition of the invention is a mixture of edible that are environmentally friendly , and have been approved as nutritional supplements with no potential risk of bodily harm . in another embodiment , the composition of the invention is a mixture of substances known to promote digestion . in another embodiment , the composition of the invention quickly separates from the oil . in another embodiment , the process and the composition of the invention for removing free fatty acids from oil do not involve an oxidation process . in another embodiment , the process and the composition of the invention for removing free fatty acids from oil do not generate free radicals . in one embodiment , the present invention provided a composition and method for reducing and maintaining the acidity of a liquid composition . in one embodiment , the present invention provides a composition and method for reducing and maintaining the acidity of a target composition . in one embodiment , the present invention provides that the target composition is a fluidic and / or liquid composition . in one embodiment a target composition as described herein is oily . in one embodiment a target composition as described herein is hydrophobic . in one embodiment , the present invention provides that the target composition is a dry composition . in one embodiment , the present invention provides that the target composition is a nutraceutical and / or pharmaceutical composition . in one embodiment , the present invention provides a method for reducing and / or maintaining the acidity of a target composition . in one embodiment , the present invention provides a method and a composition for prolonging the shelf - life of a target composition . in one embodiment , the present invention provides a method and a composition for inhibiting and / or reducing hydrolysis of a target composition . in one embodiment , the present invention provides a method and a composition for maintaining the acidity level of a target composition within the range of +/โ 5 % to +/โ 25 %. in one embodiment , the present invention provides a method and a composition for maintaining the acidity level of a target composition within the range of +/โ 10 % to +/โ 20 %. in one embodiment , the present invention provides a method and a composition for maintaining the acidity level of a target composition within the range of +/โ 5 % to +/โ 15 %. in one embodiment , the present invention provides a method and a composition for reducing the acidity level of a target composition by 2 % to 80 %. in another embodiment , the present invention provides a method and a composition for reducing the acidity level of a target composition by 2 % to 15 %. in one embodiment , the present invention provides a method and a composition for reducing the acidity level of a target composition by 5 % to 20 %. in one embodiment , the present invention provides a method and a composition for reducing the acidity level of a target composition by 10 % to 30 %. in one embodiment , the present invention provides a method and a composition for reducing the acidity level of a target composition by 20 % to 60 %. in another embodiment , a composition as described herein prolongs the shelf - life and / or reduces and maintains the acidity of a target composition by inhibiting and / or reducing the oxidation rate of a target composition . in some embodiments , โ a composition โ is the novel composition of the invention as further described hereinbelow which reduces acidity , maintains acidity below a threshold level , and / or prolongs the shelf - life of the target composition . in some embodiments , โ a target composition โ is a composition to be treated with โ a composition โ as described herein . in some embodiments , โ a target composition โ is susceptible to oxidation during storage or manufacturing . in some embodiments , โ a target composition โ loses at least one benefit due to oxidation . in some embodiments , โ a target composition โ loses its value and / or its appearance due to oxidation . in some embodiments , โ a target composition โ is susceptible to color change due to oxidation or due to elevation in acidity . in one embodiment , the present invention provides a composition comprising : a starch powder ( such as flour ), sio 2 mgo , al 2 o 3 , fe 2 o 3 , and k 2 o . in another embodiment , the present invention further provides that the composition is an edible composition . in another embodiment , the present invention further provides that the composition further comprises 3mgo . 4sio 2 . h 2 o , tio 2 , mno , p 2 o or any combination thereof . in another embodiment , the present invention further provides that the composition is mixed in oil such as plant oil . in another embodiment , the present invention further provides that a composition that is mixed in oil or was mixed in oil comprises a monoglyceride such as glycerol mono oleate . in another embodiment , the present invention further provides that any composition as described herein is devoid of an organic solvent . in another embodiment , the present invention further provides a method for reducing the acidity , removing water , deodorizing , removing peroxides , or any combination thereof from plant oil , comprising the step of mixing a composition comprising : a starch powder ( such as flour ), sio 2 mgo , al 2 o 3 , fe 2 o 3 , and k 2 o in the plant oil , thereby reducing the acidity , removing water , deodorizing , removing peroxides , or any combination thereof from plant oil . in another embodiment , the present invention further provides that reducing the acidity , removing water , deodorizing , removing peroxides , or any combination thereof from plant oil is extending the shelf life of the oil . in another embodiment , the present invention further provides that oil is olive oil and reducing the acidity is reducing the acidity to a value below 0 . 8 % acidity . in another embodiment , a composition a described herein is a topical and / or oral composition . in another embodiment , a composition a described herein is a therapeutic composition or a medicament . in another embodiment , a composition a described herein is an off - the - counter medication . in another embodiment , a composition a described herein is a nutraceutical . in another embodiment , a composition a described herein is used for wound healing . in another embodiment , a composition a described herein is used for reducing and / or inhibiting inflammation . in another embodiment , a composition a described herein is used for reducing and / or inhibiting topical inflammation . in another embodiment , a composition a described herein is used for treating , reducing and / or inhibiting heartburn . in another embodiment , a composition a described herein is used for treating , reducing and / or inhibiting ulcer . in another embodiment , a composition a described herein is used for treating , reducing and / or inhibiting a peptic ulcer . in another embodiment , a composition a described herein is used for treating , reducing and / or inhibiting chronic gastro - esophageal severe heartburn . in another embodiment , a composition a described herein is used for treating , reducing and / or inhibiting gastro - esophageal reflux disease . in another embodiment , a composition a described herein is used for treating , reducing and / or inhibiting severe heartburn and / or gastrointestinal cysts . in another embodiment , a composition a described herein is used for treating , reducing and / or inhibiting gastrointestinal reflux disease ( gerd ). in another embodiment , a composition a described herein is used for treating , reducing and / or inhibiting acid reflux disease . in another embodiment , a composition a described herein reduces the symptoms of the above mentioned diseases and pathologies . in another embodiment , treating is treating a subject . in another embodiment , a subject is a mammal . in another embodiment , a subject is a pet . in another embodiment , a subject is a farm animal . in another embodiment , a subject is a human subject . in another embodiment , a composition as described herein further comprises pharmaceutically acceptable excipients , binders , diluents , preservatives or any combination thereof . in another embodiment , a composition as described herein further comprises pharmaceutically acceptable excipients suitable to the dosage form and the mode of administration ( such as oral versus topical ). in another embodiment , the process and the composition of the invention for removing free fatty acids from oil do not create toxic molecules . in another embodiment , the process and the composition of the invention for removing free fatty acids from oil do not create trans - fatty acid structures . in another embodiment , the process and the composition of the invention further removes oxidized fatty acids . in another embodiment , the process and the composition of the invention further removes peroxides and free fatty acids . in another embodiment , the process and the composition of the invention further inhibits the production of peroxides and free fatty acids . in another embodiment , the process and the composition of the invention further remove pesticides and deodorizes the oil . in another embodiment , the process and the composition of the invention further inhibits oxidation of oil . in another embodiment , the process and the composition of the invention further reduces the acidity of oil . in another embodiment , the process and the composition of the invention further reduces the acidity of oil to below 1 . 5 %. in another embodiment , the process and the composition of the invention further reduces the acidity of oil to below 1 . 2 %. in another embodiment , the process and the composition of the invention further reduces the acidity of oil to below 1 . 0 %. in another embodiment , the process and the composition of the invention further reduces the acidity of oil to below 0 . 8 %. in another embodiment , the process and the composition of the invention further reduces the acidity of oil to below 0 . 7 %. in another embodiment , the process and the composition of the invention further reduces the acidity of oil to below 0 . 6 %. in another embodiment , the process and the composition of the invention further reduces the acidity of oil to below 0 . 5 %. in another embodiment , the process and the composition of the invention further reduces the acidity of oil to below 0 . 4 % or 0 . 1 %. in another embodiment , acidity of oil correlated with the concentration of linolenic acid , and within the standards of the ioc for virgin olive oils and within the standards of all kind of cold press oils . in another embodiment , the process and the composition of the invention further reduces the peroxide value of oil . in another embodiment , the process and the composition of the invention further reduces the peroxide value of oil to less than 20 meq / kg . in another embodiment , the process and the composition of the invention further reduces the peroxide value of oil to a value of less than 15 meq / kg . in another embodiment , the process and the composition of the invention further reduces the peroxide value of oil to less than 12 meq / kg . in another embodiment , the process and the composition of the invention further reduces the peroxide value of oil to a value of less than 10 meq / kg . in another embodiment , the process and the composition of the invention further reduces the peroxide value of oil to less than 8 meq / kg . in another embodiment , the process and the composition of the invention further reduces the peroxide value of oil to a value of less than 5 meq / kg . in another embodiment , the process and the composition of the invention further absorbs odors from oil . in another embodiment , the process and the composition of the invention further absorbs peroxides from oil . in another embodiment , the process and the composition of the invention has no negative impact on the environment . in one embodiment , the composition of the invention comprises a combination of groups ( a ), ( b ), and ( c ), wherein ( a ) is flour , ( b ) is silicate , sio 2 , or their combination ; and ( c ) is mgo , al 2 o 3 , fe 2 o 3 , k 2 o , clay , wheat - germ or any combination thereof . in one embodiment , the composition of the invention comprises a combination of groups ( a ), ( b ), and ( c ), wherein ( a ) is flour , ( b ) is silicate , sio 2 , or their combination ; and ( c ) is mgo , al 2 o 3 , fe 2 o 3 , k 2 o , or any combination thereof . in one embodiment , the composition of the invention comprises a combination of groups ( a ), ( b ), and ( c ), wherein ( a ) is flour , ( b ) is silicate , sio 2 , or their combination ; and ( c ) is clay , wheat - germ or their combination . in one embodiment , the composition of the invention comprises : starch powder , sio 2 , mgo , al 2 o 3 , fe 2 o 3 and k 2 o . in another embodiment , starch powder is flour . in another embodiment , flour is white flour . in another embodiment , a composition as described herein further comprises 3mgo . 4sio 2 . h 2 o . in another embodiment , a composition as described herein further comprises tio 2 . in another embodiment , a composition as described herein further comprises mno . in another embodiment , a composition as described herein further comprises p 2 o . in another embodiment , a composition as described herein further comprises talc , 3mgo . 4sio 2 . h 2 o , tio 2 , mno , p 2 o , or any combination thereof . in another embodiment , a composition as described herein further comprises vitamin e , polyphenols , other vitamins , sterols , or any combination thereof . in another embodiment , a composition as described herein comprises a starch source ( such as flour ), clay , wheat - germ , and silicate . in another embodiment , silicate is 3mgo . 4sio 2 . h 2 o . in another embodiment , a composition as described herein comprises a starch source ( such as flour ), clay , wheat - germ , oil and silicate . in another embodiment , a composition as described herein comprises a starch source ( such as flour ), clay , wheat - germ , oil , glycerol mono - oleate and silicate . in another embodiment , a composition as described herein comprises 0 . 5 to 50 % ( w / w ) by weight wheat - germ . in another embodiment , a composition as described herein comprises 1 to 30 % ( w / w ) by weight wheat - germ . in another embodiment , a composition as described herein comprises 2 to 20 % ( w / w ) by weight wheat - germ . in another embodiment , a composition as described herein comprises 4 to 15 % ( w / w ) by weight wheat - germ . in another embodiment , a composition as described herein comprises 8 to 12 % ( w / w ) by weight wheat - germ . in another embodiment , a composition as described herein comprises 0 . 5 to 70 % ( w / w ) by weight a starch source ( such as flour ). in another embodiment , a composition as described herein comprises 1 to 50 % ( w / w ) by weight a starch source ( such as flour ). in another embodiment , a composition as described herein comprises 4 to 50 % ( w / w ) by weight a starch source ( such as flour ). in another embodiment , a composition as described herein comprises 2 to 15 % ( w / w ) by weight a starch source ( such as flour ). in another embodiment , a composition as described herein comprises 10 to 30 % ( w / w ) by weight a starch source ( such as flour ). in another embodiment , a composition as described herein comprises 10 to 50 % ( w / w ) by weight a starch source ( such as flour ). in another embodiment , a composition as described herein comprises 20 to 50 % ( w / w ) by weight a starch source ( such as flour ). in another embodiment , a composition as described herein comprises 20 to 40 % ( w / w ) by weight a starch source ( such as flour ). in another embodiment , a composition as described herein comprises 5 to 80 % ( w / w ) by weight clay . in another embodiment , a composition as described herein comprises 5 to 20 % ( w / w ) by weight clay . in another embodiment , a composition as described herein comprises 10 to 70 % ( w / w ) by weight clay . in another embodiment , a composition as described herein comprises 15 to 60 % ( w / w ) by weight clay . in another embodiment , a composition as described herein comprises 20 to 60 % ( w / w ) by weight clay . in another embodiment , a composition as described herein comprises 30 to 50 % ( w / w ) by weight clay . in another embodiment , a composition as described herein comprises 35 to 45 % ( w / w ) by weight clay . in another embodiment , a composition as described herein comprises 5 to 60 % ( w / w ) by weight silicate . in another embodiment , a composition as described herein comprises 10 to 50 % ( w / w ) by weight silicate . in another embodiment , a composition as described herein comprises 5 to 15 % ( w / w ) by weight silicate . in another embodiment , a composition as described herein comprises 15 to 45 % ( w / w ) by weight silicate . in another embodiment , a composition as described herein comprises 20 to 40 % ( w / w ) by weight silicate . in another embodiment , a composition as described herein comprises 25 to 35 % ( w / w ) by weight silicate . in another embodiment , a composition as described herein comprises at least 55 % ( w / w ) by weight oil . in another embodiment , a composition as described herein comprises at least 65 % ( w / w ) by weight oil . in another embodiment , a composition as described herein comprises at least 75 % ( w / w ) by weight oil . in another embodiment , a composition as described herein comprises at least 80 % ( w / w ) by weight oil . in another embodiment , a composition as described herein comprises at least 85 % ( w / w ) by weight oil . in another embodiment , a composition as described herein comprises at least 90 % ( w / w ) by weight oil . in another embodiment , a composition as described herein comprises at least 95 % ( w / w ) by weight oil . in another embodiment , a composition as described herein comprises from 0 . 2 to 5 kg of a dry composition per 1 ton of pretreated oil . in another embodiment , a composition as described herein comprises from 0 . 2 to 2 kg of a dry composition per 1 ton of pretreated oil . in another embodiment , a composition as described herein comprises from 0 . 5 to 2 kg of a dry composition per 1 ton of pretreated oil . in another embodiment , a composition as described herein comprises from 0 . 7 to 1 . 3 kg of a dry composition per 1 ton of pretreated oil . in another embodiment , a composition as described herein comprises about 1 kg of a dry composition per 1 ton of pretreated oil . in another embodiment , a composition as described herein is devoid of a solvent . in another embodiment , a composition as described herein is devoid of an organic solvent . in another embodiment , a composition as described herein comprises wheat germ , flour , and clay . in another embodiment , the composition of the invention further comprises fruit or vegetable pulp . in another embodiment , the composition of the invention further comprises crushed fruit or vegetable . in another embodiment , the composition of the invention further comprises grind fruit or vegetable . in another embodiment , clay comprises 40 - 60 % ( w / w ) by weight sio 2 . in another embodiment , clay comprises 50 - 60 % ( w / w ) by weight sio 2 . in another embodiment , clay comprises 52 - 56 % ( w / w ) by weight sio 2 . in another embodiment , clay comprises 20 - 50 % ( w / w ) by weight mgo . in another embodiment , clay comprises 20 - 40 % ( w / w ) by weight mgo . in another embodiment , clay comprises 28 - 32 % ( w / w ) by weight mgo . in another embodiment , clay comprises 2 - 8 % ( w / w ) by weight al 2 o 3 . in another embodiment , clay comprises 3 - 6 % ( w / w ) by weight al 2 o 3 . in another embodiment , clay comprises 3 - 5 % ( w / w ) by weight al 2 o 3 . in another embodiment , clay comprises 3 . 5 - 4 . 5 % ( w / w ) by weight al 2 o 3 . in another embodiment , clay comprises 0 . 2 - 5 % ( w / w ) by weight fe 2 o 3 . in another embodiment , clay comprises 0 . 2 - 2 % ( w / w ) by weight fe 2 o 3 . in another embodiment , clay comprises 0 . 5 - 3 % ( w / w ) by weight fe 2 o 3 . in another embodiment , clay comprises 1 - 2 % ( w / w ) by weight fe 2 o 3 . in another embodiment , clay comprises 0 . 1 - 5 % ( w / w ) by weight k 2 o . in another embodiment , clay comprises 0 . 3 - 3 % ( w / w ) by weight k 2 o . in another embodiment , clay comprises 0 . 5 - 2 % ( w / w ) by weight k 2 o . in another embodiment , clay comprises 0 . 8 - 1 . 2 % ( w / w ) by weight k 2 o . in another embodiment , clay comprises 1 - 20 % ( w / w ) by weight lo1 . in another embodiment , clay comprises 5 - 15 % ( w / w ) by weight lo1 . in another embodiment , clay comprises 8 - 12 % ( w / w ) by weight lo1 . in another embodiment , clay comprises 7 - 10 % ( w / w ) by weight lo1 . in another embodiment , a composition as described herein comprises 10 - 70 % ( w / w ) by weight sio 2 . in another embodiment , a composition as described herein comprises 20 - 70 % ( w / w ) by weight sio 2 in another embodiment , a composition as described herein comprises 30 - 60 % ( w / w ) by weight sio 2 in another embodiment , a composition as described herein comprises 40 - 50 % ( w / w ) by weight sio 2 in another embodiment , a composition as described herein comprises 10 - 70 % ( w / w ) by weight mgo . in another embodiment , a composition as described herein comprises 10 - 50 % ( w / w ) by weight mgo . in another embodiment , a composition as described herein comprises 20 - 40 % ( w / w ) by weight mgo . in another embodiment , a composition as described herein comprises 25 - 35 % ( w / w ) by weight mgo . in another embodiment , a composition as described herein comprises 10 - 15 % ( w / w ) by weight al 2 o 3 . in another embodiment , a composition as described herein comprises 3 - 15 % ( w / w ) by weight al 2 o 3 . in another embodiment , a composition as described herein comprises 7 - 12 % ( w / w ) by weight al 2 o 3 . in another embodiment , a composition as described herein comprises 8 - 10 % ( w / w ) by weight al 2 o 3 . in another embodiment , clay comprises : 62 - 72 % ( w / w ) by weight sio 2 , 0 . 2 - 0 . 8 % w / w ) by weight tio 2 , 10 - 15 % ( w / w ) by weight al 2 o 3 , 2 - 8 % ( w / w ) by weight fe 2 o 3 , 0 . 01 - 0 . 5 % ( w / w ) by weight mno , 2 - 8 % ( w / w ) by weight mgo , 0 . 5 - 5 % ( w / w ) by weight wheat germ , 0 . 5 - 3 % ( w / w ) by weight k 2 o , and 0 . 5 - 5 % ( w / w ) by weight p 2 o 3 . in another embodiment , a dry composition as described herein comprises 10 - 40 % ( w / w ) flour . in another embodiment , a dry composition as described herein comprises 15 - 30 % ( w / w ) flour . in another embodiment , a dry composition as described herein comprises 20 - 30 % ( w / w ) flour . in another embodiment , a dry composition as described herein comprises 25 - 27 % ( w / w ) flour . in another embodiment , a dry composition as described herein comprises 1 - 20 % ( w / w ) wheat germ . in another embodiment , a dry composition as described herein comprises 1 - 10 % ( w / w ) wheat germ . in another embodiment , a dry composition as described herein comprises 2 - 9 % ( w / w ) wheat germ . in another embodiment , a dry composition as described herein comprises 6 - 8 % ( w / w ) wheat germ . in another embodiment , a dry composition as described herein comprises 2 - 20 % wheat germ , 15 - 40 % flour , 8 - 30 % clay , and 18 - 40 % lamellar talc . in another embodiment , a dry composition as described herein comprises 5 - 15 % wheat germ , 20 - 30 % flour , 12 - 25 % clay , and 25 - 35 % lamellar talc . in another embodiment , a dry composition as described herein comprises 6 - 8 % wheat germ , 24 - 28 % flour , 16 - 24 % clay , and 25 - 32 % lamellar talc . in another embodiment , a composition as described herein further comprises oil . in another embodiment , a composition as described herein comprising oil further comprises monoglyceride . in another embodiment , a composition as described herein comprising oil further comprises mono - oleate . in another embodiment , oil is any neutral , nonpolar chemical substance that is a viscous liquid at ambient temperatures , and is immiscible with water but soluble in alcohols or ethers . in another embodiment , oil is organic oil . in another embodiment , oil is plant oil . in another embodiment , oil is produced by cold press . in another embodiment , oil comprises steroids , proteins , waxes , alkaloids , or any combination thereof . in another embodiment , oil is crude oil . in another embodiment , oil is an edible oil . in another embodiment , oil is a lubricant or used as fuel . in another embodiment , oil is sunflower oil . in another embodiment , oil is coconut oil . in another embodiment , oil is corn oil . in another embodiment , oil is cottonseed oil . in another embodiment , oil is olive oil . in another embodiment , oil is palm oil . in another embodiment , oil is peanut oil . in another embodiment , oil is rapeseed oil , including canola oil . in another embodiment , oil is safflower oil . in another embodiment , oil is sesame oil . in another embodiment , oil is soybean oil . in another embodiment , oil is hazelnut oil . in another embodiment , oil is nut oil . in another embodiment , oil is almond oil . in another embodiment , oil is beech nut oil . in another embodiment , oil is cashew oil . in another embodiment , oil is macadamia oil . in another embodiment , oil is mongongo nut oil . in another embodiment , oil is pine nut oil . in another embodiment , oil is pistachio oil . in another embodiment , oil is walnut oil . in another embodiment , oil is citrus oil . in another embodiment , oil is an oil from melon or gourd seeds . in another embodiment , oil is borage seed oil . in another embodiment , oil is blackcurrant oil . in another embodiment , oil is evening primrose oil . in another embodiment , oil comprises more than 5 % gamma - linolenic acid ( gla ). in another embodiment , oil is aรงai oil . in another embodiment , oil is black seed oil . in another embodiment , oil is flaxseed oil . in another embodiment , oil is carob pod oil . in another embodiment , oil is amaranth oil . in another embodiment , oil is apricot oil . in another embodiment , oil is apple seed oil . in another embodiment , oil is argan oil . in another embodiment , oil is avocado oil . in another embodiment , oil is babassu oil . in another embodiment , oil is ben oil . in another embodiment , oil is borneo tallow nut oil . in another embodiment , oil is cape chestnut oil . in another embodiment , oil is cocoa butter oil . in another embodiment , oil is cocklebur oil . in another embodiment , oil is cohune oil . in another embodiment , oil is coriander seed oil . in another embodiment , oil is date seed oil . in another embodiment , oil is dika oil . in another embodiment , oil is false flax oil . in another embodiment , oil is made of the seeds of camelina sativa . in another embodiment , oil is grape seed oil . in another embodiment , oil is hemp oil . in another embodiment , oil is kapok seed oil . in another embodiment , oil is kenaf seed oil . in another embodiment , oil is lallemantia oil . in another embodiment , oil is mafura oil . in another embodiment , oil is marula oil . in another embodiment , oil is meadowfoam seed oil . in another embodiment , oil is mustard oil . in another embodiment , oil is poppyseed oil . in another embodiment , oil is okra seed oil . in another embodiment , oil is papaya seed oil . in another embodiment , oil is perilla seed oil . in another embodiment , oil is persimmon seed oil . in another embodiment , oil is pequi oil in another embodiment , oil is pili nut oil . in another embodiment , oil is pomegranate seed oil . in another embodiment , oil is prune kernel oil . in another embodiment , oil is quinoa oil . in another embodiment , oil is ramtil oil . in another embodiment , oil is rice bran oil . in another embodiment , oil is royle oil . in another embodiment , oil is sacha inchi oil . in another embodiment , oil is sapote oil . in another embodiment , oil is seje oil . in another embodiment , oil is taramira oil . in another embodiment , oil is tea seed oil . in another embodiment , oil is thistle oil . in another embodiment , oil is tigernut oil . in another embodiment , oil is tobacco seed oil . in another embodiment , oil is tomato seed oil . in another embodiment , oil is wheat germ oil . in another embodiment , oil is any combination of two or more oils disclosed herein . in another embodiment , oil to be used by the process of the invention or oil comprising a composition as described herein is extracted from a plant such as but not limited to olives and / or olive pulps . in another embodiment , the term โ oil โ is oil to be used by the process of the invention . in another embodiment , the term โ oil โ is oil comprising a composition as described herein . in another embodiment , oil is extracted from cleaned / washed olives where the stems , leaves , twigs , and other debris left with the olives are removed . in another embodiment , the composition of the invention is added to the fruit or the vegetable which is the source of oil ( such as adding the composition to crushed olives and / or vegetable or fruit pulp ). oil is manufactured by crushing the olives into a paste . in another embodiment , crushing the olives is done with stone mills , metal tooth grinders , or various kinds of hammermills . in another embodiment , the paste undergoes a malaxing ( mixing ) process ( 5 - 240 minutes ) which allows the formation of oil droplets . in another embodiment , the paste is then heated . in another embodiment , water is added to the paste . in another embodiment , the paste mixer is a horizontal trough with spiral mixing blades . in another embodiment , the next step comprises separating the oil from the rest of the olive components . in another embodiment , this is done with presses . in another embodiment , this is done by centrifugation . in another embodiment , centrifugation is three - phase centrifugation which separates the oil from water and solids . in another embodiment , centrifugation is two - phase centrifugation which separates the oil from a wet paste . in another embodiment , oil is then left in tanks or barrels where a final separation , if needed , happens through gravity โ racking the oil . in another embodiment , oil is further filtered in another embodiment , the present invention is directed to a method for obtaining refined olive oil by treating an oil having acidity exceeding 0 . 8 % with the composition described herein and according to the methods described herein . in another embodiment , the present invention is directed to a method for obtaining refined olive oil from virgin olive oils without any alterations of the glyceridic structure of the oil , without the use of solvents and without heating the oil . in another embodiment , a process as described herein is free of any change in the existing production process in the oil during the cold press process in the oil mill . in another embodiment , a process as described herein involves removal of acidity in cold press oils such as but not limited to olive oil . in another embodiment , olive oil is a virgin olive oil ( section 2 . 1 . 1 of the international olive oil council ( iooc ). in another embodiment , olive oil is an extra virgin olive oil ( section 2 . 1 . 1 ( i ) of the international olive oil council ( iooc ). in another embodiment , a process as described herein takes place at room temperature using physical treatment only by which it eliminates all of the undesired acidic molecules , without causing any adverse changes to the chemical composition of the oil , and without the use of any aggressive organic solvents . in another embodiment , a process as described herein amounts to adding a mixture of various absorbing substances to the oil during the cold press process in the oil mill through the process which is full accordance with the codex . in another embodiment , a process as described herein includes substances that are all environmentally friendly , and have been approved as food grades for the oils industry without any hazardous effect on human beings . in another embodiment , a process as described herein is with credence of the codex limitations of being โ process of mixing โ and process of โ separating and centrifuging โ. environmentally friendly substances , according to some embodiments , quickly separate from the olive oil after accreting all of the unwanted molecules , leaving no residue in the olive oil itself . in another embodiment , a process as described herein includes a centrifugation step wherein the oil , to be produced as an extra virgin with an acidity of less than 0 . 1 %. in another embodiment , oil , is treated by adding the composition of the invention to the source ( vegetable or fruits from which the oil is extracted from ) and before the โ process of mixing โ, without any changes in the regular cold press process . in another embodiment , a process as described includes cold press olive oil , treated by composition of the invention which reduces the acidity of the oil followed by filtration and is defined as virgin olive oils , according to the international olive oil council . in another embodiment , the present invention is directed to a method for reducing the acidity of cold press edible oils to values that meets standards and regulations of each kind of oil . in another embodiment , the method does not remove antioxidants from oil . in another embodiment , the present invention is directed to a method for drying oil and extending its shelf life . in another embodiment , the method is free of a cis - trans transformation . in another embodiment , the present method further deodorizes the oil . in another embodiment , the present invention is directed to a method for the treatment and improvement of cold - pressed edible oils ( such as adding the composition of the invention to the fruit or vegetable ( in the form of pulp / crushed etc .) which serve as the source oil ) in the oil mill . in another embodiment , the method of the invention is performed during the manufacturing process of edible oils as described herein . in another embodiment , the method of the invention is performed during the manufacturing process of extra virgin oil . in another embodiment , the present invention is directed to a method for reducing the acidity in cold press olive oils to values that meets standards and regulations . in another embodiment , the method does not remove antioxidants from olive oil . in another embodiment , the present invention is directed to a method for drying oil and extending its shelf life . in another embodiment , the method is free of a cis - trans transformation . in another embodiment , the present method further deodorizes the olive oil . in another embodiment , the present invention is directed to a method for the treatment and improvement of cold - pressed olive oils in particular . in another embodiment , the method of the invention is performed during the manufacturing process of olive oils as described herein . in another embodiment , the method of the invention is performed during the manufacturing process of extra virgin olive oil . in another embodiment , oil treated with the composition of the present invention has specific gravity of 0 . 9120 - 0 . 9190 at 15 . 5 ยฐ c . in another embodiment , oil treated with the composition of the present invention has viscosity of 82 - 85 mpa ยท s ( 84 cp ) at 20 ยฐ c . in another embodiment , oil treated with the composition of the present invention has specific heat of 1 - 3 j /( g . )(ยฐ c .) at 82 - 85 (ยฐ f .). in another embodiment , oil treated with the composition of the present invention has thermal conductivity of 0 . 15 - 0 . 2 at 20 ยฐ c . in another embodiment , oil treated with the composition of the present invention has dielectric constant , e of 2 . 7 - 3 . 4 at 20 ยฐ c . in another embodiment , oil treated with the composition of the present invention has density of 900 - 940 kg / m3 at 20 ยฐ c . in another embodiment , oil treated with the composition of the present invention has volumetric heat capacity of 1 . 6 - 1 . 7 106 j / m3 at 20 ยฐ c . in another embodiment , oil treated with the composition of the present invention has thermal diffusivity of 10 ร 10 โ 8 m 2 / s at 20 ยฐ c . in another embodiment , oil treated with the composition of the present invention has a boiling point at 530 - 600 degrees fahrenheit . in another embodiment , oil treated with the composition of the present invention has about 120 calories per tablespoon . in another embodiment , the manufacturing process of oil depends entirely on mechanical means without the use of any solvents . in another embodiment , the manufacturing process of oil is performed in of less than 86 ยฐ f ., 30 ยฐ c . in another embodiment , oil undergone the treatment according to the method of the invention is enriched with phenolic compounds which contribute to the stability of the oil , antioxidant properties , lipoxygenase activity inhibition and microbial activity . in another embodiment , phenolic compounds include but are not limited to oleuropein aglycone . in another embodiment , oil undergone the treatment according to the method of the invention is enriched with beta - carotene . in another embodiment , oil undergone the treatment according to the method of the invention is enriched with lutein and / or zeaxanthin . in another embodiment , a composition of the invention absorbs of water within oil . in another embodiment , the method and composition of the invention reduces the amount of water within oil . in another embodiment , the method and composition of the invention reduces the amount of free glycerol and free fatty acids in oil . in another embodiment , the method of the invention enhances the quality of virgin olive oils or other plant oils . in another embodiment , the method of the invention utilizes virgin olive oils or other plant oils as starting material . in another embodiment , โ enhances the quality โ is reducing the acidity , reducing water content , reducing the amount of peroxides , enhancing the appearance ( turbidity etc . ), limiting unpleasant odors , increasing favorable odors ( hexanal ), increasing taste or any combination thereof . in another embodiment , โ enhances the quality โ is enhancing the oil &# 39 ; s aroma and / or taste for : green apple , almond : nutty ( fresh not oxidized ) artichoke , astringent , banana , bitter / buttery , eucalyptus , floral , forest , fresh , fruity , green tea , harmonious , hay / straw , green / greenly , grass , herbaceous , melon , mint , pear , peach , peppery , pungent , ripely , round , spice , sweet , tomato , tropical , walnut , wheatgrass , woody , or any combination thereof . in another embodiment , โ enhances the quality โ is reducing the oil &# 39 ; s aroma and / or taste for : acetone , blue cheese , brine , bacon , burnt / heated , cucumber , dirty , waste water , dreggish , esparto , fiscolo , flat / bland , frozen / wet , wood , fusty , greasy , grubby , barnyard - like aroma , musty , moldy , metallic , rancid , greasy , sour milk , stale nuts , unbalanced , winey , vinegary , yeasty , or any combination thereof . this invention is illustrated in the experimental details section which follows . these sections are set forth to aid in an understanding of the invention but are not intended to , and should not be construed to limit in any way the invention as set forth in the claims which follow thereafter . as used herein , the singular forms โ a โ, โ an โ, and โ the โ include plural forms unless the context clearly dictates otherwise . thus , for example , reference to โ a therapeutic agent โ includes reference to more than one therapeutic agent . unless specifically stated or obvious from context , as used herein , the term โ or โ is understood to be inclusive . the term โ including โ is used herein to mean , and is used interchangeably with , the phrase โ including but not limited to โ. as used herein , the terms โ comprises ,โ โ comprising ,โ โ containing ,โ โ having โ and the like can have the meaning ascribed to them in u . s . patent law and can mean โ includes ,โ โ including ,โ and the like ; โ consisting essentially of โ or โ consists essentially โ likewise has the meaning ascribed in u . s . patent law and the term is open - ended , allowing for the presence of more than that which is recited so long as basic or novel characteristics of that which is recited is not changed by the presence of more than that which is recited , but excludes prior art embodiments . in another embodiment , the term โ comprise โ includes the term โ consist โ. in another embodiment , any recitation of โ%โ is weight / weight %, volume / volume % or weight / volume %. unless specifically stated or obvious from context , as used herein , the term โ about โ is understood as within a range of normal tolerance in the art , for example within 2 standard deviations of the mean . about can be understood as within 10 %, 9 %, 8 %, 7 %, 6 %, 5 %, 4 %, 3 %, 2 %, 1 %, 0 . 5 %, 0 . 1 %, 0 . 05 %, or 0 . 01 % of the stated value . unless otherwise clear from context , all numerical values provided herein are modified by the term about . additional objects , advantages , and novel features of the present invention will become apparent to one ordinarily skilled in the art upon examination of the following examples , which are not intended to be limiting . additionally , each of the various embodiments and aspects of the present invention as delineated hereinabove and as claimed in the claims section below finds experimental support in the following examples . example 1 : sampling and evaluation of oil quality before and after treatment the experimental section provides chemical and physical evaluation of virgin oils as well as other oils including canola , sesame , grape seed and flax oils from cold press process before applying and after applying the methods and composition of the invention . oil samples were obtained from simple cold pressing and were transferred to sealed glass containers and were kept in cool conditions . the samples were further examined in an oil analytical lab . a portion from the same cold press treatment ( same batch and same sample ) was treated with the compositions of the invention including physical purification procedure treating formula ( treated samples ). once the process was completed the treated samples were similarly transferred to sealed glass containers , marked , kept in cool conditions and transferred to the analytical lab for testing . the composition that was applied to the oil ( treated group ) included ( all in weight percent ): wheat germ ( 7 %), flour ( 26 %), clay with a complex of oxides ( 20 % total ) the oxides : na ( 30 %). k ( 42 . 6 %). al ( 27 . 4 %), clay comprising complex of hormite and smechite minerals ( 15 %), clay comprising sio2 , mgo , al2o3 , fe2o3 , k2o , lo1 ( 4 %), and complex of sio2 , mgo , al2o3 ( 28 %). oil containers are treated with the composition as described above . between 0 . 4 to 3 kg of the composition was applied to 1 ton of pretreated oil . after about an hour the oil comprising the composition is filtered thus substantially removing the previously added composition . the following tests were performed : fatty acids profile ; free fatty acids ( ffa , acidity ); refractive index ; unsaponifiables matter ; moisture content , uv ( at 270 nm ) absorption , iodine value and peroxide value . in addition all the samples were examined for their appearance , clarity , transparency and taste by the expert . the most relevant results are those examining of the acidity of the virgin oils as well as the acidity of several other oils that were selected at random . tables 1 and 2 provide analytical results of treated and untreated cold press oil : ( 1 ) the acidity of all the tested samples was 0 . 1 % or less ( measured as oleic acid ). the most relevant tests are of virgin oils that the acidity was reduced from 3 . 2 and 4 . 8 before the treatment to 0 . 07 and 0 . 2 , respectively , after the treatment ( the reduction in the acidity to 0 . 07 is 10 fold lower than expected or measured for extra virgin olive oil ). the acidity of the remaining oils was dramatically improved in the treated oil compared to the untreated oil and all the values were less than those required for extra virgin oils ; i . e . 0 . 1 % ( as oleic acid ). 2 ) fatty acids profile โ fatty acids profiles including the saturated stearic and palmitic contents were kept unchanged . the unsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids also remained at their original content . 3 ) the linolenic acid content โ met the health recommendations and the international standards . 4 ) uv absorption โ untreated samples had values that exceeded the range required for extra virgin oil . all treated samples had uv absorbance values within the range required by the regulations for extra virgin oil ( olive oil standards of the international olive council ( ioc )). 5 ) the unsaponifiable matter โ was below the allowed standard ( value of 0 . 9 % of the treated sample vs . 1 . 5 for the untreated sample ( as per the regulation standards ). 6 ) the moisture content โ was reduced significantly ( at least 4 folds reduction ) in the treated sample to 0 . 076 % ( 0 . 076 gram / 100 gram ). this extremely low value indicated that there is no water ( moisture ) that can promote acidity during storage of the oil . 7 ) the iodine value ( iv )โ did not change due to the treatment and was exactly within the permitted scale of values ( iv of 83 . 5 for treated samples oil vs . 80 - 88 mg iodine per gram of oil . this was a good indication regarding the authenticity of the olive oil . 8 ) pesticides โ the results showed small amount of pesticides in the untreated oil wherein the treated oil was pesticides free ( not detected โ nd , see certificate of analysis ). these results are unexpected for oils that undergone cold press extract and not a harmful refining process . these results clearly indicate that the present method and composition are extremely effective in upgrading cold press oils with high acidity into highly pure oils of high quality . this means that oils of low grade can be upgraded to without altering physical properties . the method utilizing the composition of the invention was utilized in the production of high quality plant oils from cold extraction after treating the crude oil with the new composition . the method utilizing the composition of the invention drastically reduces the acidity of oils without heating and using solvents . the oils resulting from the methods of the invention are very dry thus guaranteeing extended shelf life . | 0 |
the preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings . fig1 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of one embodiment of a lan card to which the present invention is applied . the lan card is a communication control processing device which supports a connection to a lan ( local area network ). as shown , the lan card proper 10 comprises an information processor 12 , a dma ( direct memory access ) processor 13 , and a pci bus ( peripheral component interconnect bus ) interface 14 interconnected via a common bus 11 . the information processor 12 includes a control mechanism 18 and a storage mechanism 19 . the storage mechanism 19 is a device ( memory ) for storing software , data , etc . and includes a dma transfer data storage area 20 . the control mechanism 18 is a device ( cpu ) for executing software instructions , and accomplishes the task of writing descriptor information to a first descriptor storage mechanism 21 and a second descriptor storage mechanism 22 within the dma processor 13 and the task of writing dma transfer data to the dma transfer data storage area 20 within the storage mechanism 19 . the dma processor 13 is a device incorporating a dma controller 24 , and comprises descriptor storage areas , i . e ., the first descriptor storage mechanism 21 for storing common information and the second descriptor storage mechanism 22 for storing individual information , and a descriptor conversion circuit 23 for converting the descriptor common information and descriptor individual information and for passing the converted information to the dma controller 24 . the pci bus interface 14 is a device for connecting the internal common bus 11 via a pci card edge 17 to a pci bus in the host external to the lan card proper . the lan card 10 further includes a mac ( media access control ) 15 . the mac 15 is connected to the dma processor 13 via an i / o bus 25 , and has functions for converting dma transfer data into a prescribed frame format for transmission to the outside via a lan interface 16 , and for decoding data received in a given frame format via the lan interface 16 and thereby determining whether the data is addressed to the lan card 10 . fig2 a and 2b are format diagrams showing the descriptor format according to the present embodiment . the descriptor information is made up of the descriptor common information shown in fig2 a and the descriptor individual information shown in fig2 b . that is , one common information and one individual information are paired to form one descriptor information . the descriptor common information consists of 32 bits , and specifies / indicates the high - order two bytes ( high - order address part ) of the starting address in the transmission / reception of dma transfer data . the alignment is done in units of 64 kbytes . bits 31 to 16 form the high - order address area ( head address ), and bits 15 to 00 are reserved bits . the descriptor individual information consists of 32 bits , and specifies / indicates the starting address select code , byte count , and low - order address in the transmission / reception of dma transfer data . more specifically , bit 31 is a select bit ( s ); when the value of this bit is โ 0 โ, the descriptor common information a to be described later is selected as the starting address , while when the value is โ 1 โ, the descriptor common information b to be described later is selected as the starting address . bit 30 is a reserved bit ( r ), bits 29 to 16 form a byte count area , i . e ., a byte - length area , and bits 15 to 00 form an offset area , i . e ., the low - order address area . fig3 a and 3b are schematic diagrams showing the structures of the first descriptor storage mechanism 21 and the second descriptor storage mechanism 22 , respectively , according to the present embodiment . as shown , the descriptor information is separated into the descriptor common information and the descriptor individual information and stored in the respective storage mechanisms , that is , the common information is stored in the first descriptor storage mechanism ( fig3 a ) and the individual information in the second descriptor storage mechanism ( fig3 b ); here , a plurality of sets of descriptor common information and a plurality of sets of descriptor individual information can be held in the respective storage mechanisms . in fig3 a and 3b , two sets of descriptor common information , designated a and b , are stored in the first descriptor storage mechanism 21 , and five sets of descriptor individual information , indicated at 1 to 5 , are stored in the second descriptor storage mechanism 22 , but it will be appreciated that the present invention is not limited to these examples . if the descriptor common information increases , for example , from two sets ( a and b ) to four sets ( a , b , c , and d ), the select area in the descriptor individual information will be expanded to the reserved bit 30 so that one set can be selected from among the four sets of descriptor common information . fig4 is a conceptual diagram showing the functional configuration of the descriptor conversion circuit 23 according to the present embodiment . the descriptor conversion circuit 23 includes a selector 41 for selecting the high - order two bits of the starting address , that is , the high - order address part ( head address ) in either the descriptor common information a or the descriptor common information b stored in the first descriptor storage mechanism 21 , whichever information is selected based on the value ( select ) of the select area in the descriptor individual information . the descriptor conversion circuit 23 further includes a circuit 42 for creating address information by combining ( merging ) the selected high - order address ( the high - order two bits of the starting address ) with the low - order address , that is , the offset in the descriptor individual information , and a circuit 43 for extracting the byte count from the descriptor individual information . when descriptor individual information is input to the second descriptor storage mechanism 22 , the descriptor conversion circuit 23 performs a descriptor information conversion . that is , the descriptor conversion circuit 23 selects the head address , that is , the high - order address , in the descriptor common information selected based on the value ( select ) of the select area in the input descriptor individual information , and creates address information by combining the high - order address with the low - order address , i . e ., the offset in the descriptor individual information , while also creating byte count information by extracting the byte count from the descriptor individual information . the thus created address information and byte count information are sent to the dma controller 24 . operation of the lan card having the above configuration according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to fig1 and fig5 to 7 . fig5 to 7 are flowcharts illustrating the major operations of the lan card according to the present embodiment : fig5 is a flowchart illustrating the descriptor common information transfer operation performed by the control mechanism 18 , fig6 is a flowchart illustrating the descriptor individual information transfer operation performed by the control mechanism 18 , and fig7 is a flowchart illustrating the dma transfer operation performed by the dma processor 13 . first , in fig5 , the control mechanism 18 checks whether the common bus 11 is available for use ( step 501 ); if the common bus 11 is available , the process proceeds to step 502 , but if the common bus 11 is not available , the process waits for a predetermined length of time until the common bus 11 becomes available . when the common bus 11 is available , the control mechanism 18 stores the descriptor common information in the first descriptor storage mechanism 21 within the dma processor 13 via the common bus 11 ( step 502 ), and proceeds to another process after storing the descriptor common information . next , in fig6 , when a dma transfer request occurs ( step 601 ), the control mechanism 18 checks whether the common bus 11 is available for use ( step 602 ); if the common bus 11 is available , the process proceeds to step 603 , but if the common bus 11 is not available , the process waits for a predetermined length of time until the common bus 11 becomes available . when the common bus 11 is available , the control mechanism 18 in step 603 stores the dma target data in the dma transfer data storage area 20 within the storage mechanism 19 in the information processor 12 , and thereafter proceeds to step 604 . then , the control mechanism 18 stores the descriptor individual information in the second descriptor storage mechanism 22 within the dma processor 13 ( step 604 ), and proceeds to another process after storing the descriptor individual information . on the other hand , in fig7 , the dma processor 13 is constantly checking whether any descriptor individual information has been written to the second descriptor storage mechanism 22 ( step 701 ), and when new descriptor individual information is written , the process proceeds to step 702 . then , the descriptor conversion circuit 23 reads the thus written descriptor individual information and the already stored descriptor common information and converts the information into the address information and the byte count in the format that can be recognized by the dma controller 24 ( step 702 ), and then sends the thus converted descriptor information ( address information and byte count ) to the dma controller 24 ( step 703 ). next , the dma controller 24 analyzes the converted descriptor information ( address information and byte count ) ( step 704 ). then , the dma controller 24 checks whether the common bus 11 and the i / o bus 25 are available for use ( step 705 ); if the common bus 11 and the i / o bus 25 are available , the process proceeds to step 706 , but if they are not available , the process waits for a predetermined length of time until the common bus 11 and the i / o bus 25 become available . when the common bus 11 and the i / o bus 25 are available , the dma controller 24 identifies the dma target data within the storage mechanism 19 , and executes the dma transfer by using the common bus 11 and the i / o bus 25 in accordance with the analyzed descriptor information ( step 706 ). when the transfer is completed , the dma processor 13 waits until the next descriptor individual information is written . fig8 is a timing chart showing the transfer timing of the descriptor information according to the present embodiment . in the figure , โ a โ and โ b โ designate the descriptor common information a and the descriptor common information b , respectively , and โ 1 โ to โ 5 โ indicate the respective descriptor individual information 1 to 5 . in the dma transfer of the present embodiment , when sending the descriptor information to the dma processor 13 , first the descriptor common information is sent , and thereafter , when a dma transfer becomes necessary , only the descriptor individual information is sent . in the example of fig8 , the descriptor common information a and the descriptor common information b are sent on cycles ฯ 1 and ฯ 2 , respectively , after which the descriptor individual information 1 is sent on cycle ฯ 3 , the descriptor individual information 2 is sent on cycle ฯ 4 , the descriptor individual information 3 is sent on cycle ฯ 5 , the descriptor individual information 4 is sent on cycle ฯ 6 , and the descriptor individual information 5 is sent on cycle ฯ 7 , respectively . however , the way of sending the descriptor individual information is not limited to this example ; in practice , the information is sent as required in accordance with a dma transfer request . on the other hand , fig9 is a timing chart showing the transfer timing of the descriptor information according to the prior art . in the figure , โ ad 1 โ to โ ad 5 โ indicate the address information in the respective descriptor information , and โ bc 1 โ to โ bc 5 โ indicate the byte count information in the respective descriptor information . in the dma transfer of the prior art , when sending the descriptor information to the dma processor , the address information and byte count information carried in each descriptor information are sent in series . that is , the address information in the descriptor information 1 is sent on cycle ฯ 1 , and the byte count information in the descriptor 1 is sent on cycle ฯ 2 . likewise , the address information in the descriptor 2 is sent on cycle ฯ 3 and the byte count information in the descriptor 2 is sent on cycle ฯ 4 ; the address information in the descriptor 3 is sent on cycle ฯ 5 and the byte count information in the descriptor 3 is sent on cycle ฯ 6 ; the address information in the descriptor 4 is sent on cycle ฯ 7 and the byte count information in the descriptor 4 is sent on cycle ฯ 8 ; and the address information in the descriptor 5 is sent on cycle ฯ 9 and the byte count information in the descriptor 5 is sent on cycle ฯ 10 . in the dma transfer of the prior art , the time required to transfer the information of all the descriptors 1 to 5 is the sum of ฯ 1 to ฯ 10 ; in contrast , in the present embodiment , the time required to transfer the information of all the descriptors 1 to 5 is the sum of ฯ 1 to ฯ 7 , achieving a reduction in the time the common bus is occupied , and hence an improvement compared with the prior art . in this way , according to the present embodiment , by extracting the common information from the descriptor information and storing it separately , the amount of hardware can be reduced . furthermore , as the amount of information to be transferred on the common bus is reduced , common bus usage for the information transfer decreases , increasing the availability of the common bus for other processing operations , and a performance improvement can thus be expected . fig1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of one embodiment of a server equipped with lan cards to which the present invention is applied . in the figure , the server main unit 50 comprises a cpu 51 , a memory 52 , a hard disk drive ( hdd ) 53 , a bus interface 54 , and a plurality of lan cards 10 ; here , the cpu 51 , the memory 52 , and the hdd 53 are interconnected via the bus interface 54 . each lan card 10 is connected to the bus interface 54 via a pci bus 55 ; the lan card can also be connected to an external lan via a lan cable 56 . fig1 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of another embodiment of a lan card to which the present invention is applied . the lan card proper 10 shown here comprises an information processor 12 , a dma ( direct memory access ) processor 13 , and a pci bus ( peripheral component interconnect bus ) interface 14 interconnected via a common bus 11 . the information processor 12 includes a control mechanism 18 and a storage mechanism 19 . the storage mechanism 19 is a device ( memory ) for storing software , data , etc . and includes a dma transfer data storage area 20 , a first descriptor storage mechanism 21 , and a second descriptor storage mechanism 22 . the control mechanism 18 is a device ( cpu ) for executing software instructions , and accomplishes the task of writing descriptor information to the first descriptor storage mechanism 21 and the second descriptor storage mechanism 22 within the storage mechanism 19 and the task of writing dma transfer data to the dma transfer data storage area 20 within the storage mechanism 19 . the dma processor 13 is a device incorporating a dma controller 24 , and comprises a memory 30 for holding therein the received descriptor information , and a descriptor conversion circuit 23 for converting descriptor common information and descriptor individual information and for passing the converted information to the dma controller 24 . the pci bus interface 14 is a device for connecting the internal common bus 11 via a pci card edge 17 to a pci bus in the host external to the lan card proper . the lan card 10 further includes a mac ( media access control ) 15 . the mac 15 is connected to the dma processor 13 via an i / o bus 25 , and has functions for converting dma transfer data into a prescribed frame format for transmission to the outside via a lan interface 16 , and for decoding data received in a given frame format via the lan interface 16 and thereby determining whether the data is one addressed to the lan card 10 . in the present embodiment , the descriptor format is the same as that described in the first embodiment with reference to fig2 a and 2b , the structures of the first and second descriptor storage mechanisms are the same as those shown in fig3 a and 3b , and the functional configuration of the descriptor conversion circuit 23 is the same as that shown in fig4 ; therefore , these will not be described here . operation of the lan card having the above configuration according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to fig1 and fig1 to 14 . fig1 to 14 are flowcharts illustrating the major operations of the lan card according to the present embodiment : fig1 is a flowchart illustrating the descriptor information transfer operation performed by the control mechanism 18 , and fig1 and 14 are flowcharts illustrating the dma transfer operation performed by the dma processor 13 . first , in fig1 , when a dma transfer request occurs ( step 1201 ), the control mechanism 18 checks whether the common bus 11 is available for use ( step 1202 ); if the common bus is available , the process proceeds to step 1203 , but if the common bus is not available , the process waits for a predetermined length of time until the common bus 11 becomes available . when the common bus 11 is available , the control mechanism 18 stores the dma target data in the dma transfer data storage area 20 within the storage mechanism 19 in the information processor 12 ( step 1203 ), and proceeds to the next step 1204 . in step 1204 , the control mechanism 18 stores the descriptor common information and the descriptor individual information in the first and second descriptor storage mechanisms 21 and 22 , respectively , and proceeds to another process after storing the descriptor information . here , if the descriptor common information is already stored in the first descriptor storage mechanism 21 , only the descriptor individual information is stored in the above step . on the other hand , in fig1 , the dma processor 13 is constantly checking a timer or like means to determine whether a predetermined time has elapsed or not ( step 1301 ), and each time the predetermined time elapses , the process proceeds to step 1302 to check whether the common bus 11 is available for use ; if the common bus 11 is available , the process proceeds to step 1303 , but if the common bus 11 is not available , the process waits for a predetermined length of time until the common bus 11 becomes available . when the common bus 11 is available , the dma processor 13 reads the first and second descriptor storage mechanisms 21 and 22 in the information processor 12 ( step 1303 ) to check whether there is any new descriptor information stored in the descriptor storage mechanisms ( step 1304 ); if there is newly stored descriptor information , the process proceeds to step 1305 , but if there is no newly stored descriptor information , the process returns to step 1301 . when there is newly stored descriptor information stored , it is checked whether the common bus 11 is available for use ( step 1305 ); if the common bus 11 is available , the process proceeds to step 1306 , but if the common bus 11 is not available , the process waits for a predetermined length of time until the common bus 11 becomes available . then , in step 1306 of fig1 , the descriptor common information and the descriptor individual information are read into the memory 30 from the descriptor storage mechanisms 21 and 22 . the descriptor conversion circuit 23 converts the descriptor common information and descriptor individual information into the address information and the byte count in the format that can be recognized by the dma controller 24 , and sends the thus converted information to the dma controller 24 ( step 1307 ). here , if provisions are made so that the descriptor common information once read out of the first descriptor storage mechanism 21 in the information processor 12 is stored and held in the memory 30 in the dma processor 13 , the descriptor common information need be read out only that once , and there is no need to read out the common information after that . this serves to reduce the time the common bus is occupied . next , the dma controller 24 analyzes the converted descriptor information ( address information and byte count ) ( step 1308 ), and checks whether the common bus 11 and the i / o bus 25 are available for use ( step 1309 ); if the common bus 11 and the i / o bus 25 are available , the process proceeds to step 1310 , but if they are not available , the process waits for a predetermined length of time until the common bus 11 and the i / o bus 25 become available . when the common bus 11 and the i / o bus 25 are available , the dma controller 24 identifies the dma target data within the storage mechanism 19 , and executes the dma transfer by using the common bus 11 and the i / o bus 25 in accordance with the analyzed descriptor information ( step 1310 ). when the transfer is completed , the dma processor 13 waits until the next descriptor is written . in the foregoing first embodiment , the first descriptor storage mechanism 21 for storing the descriptor common information and the second descriptor storage mechanism 22 for storing the descriptor individual information are both provided within the dma processor 13 , while in the second embodiment , the first descriptor storage mechanism 21 and the second descriptor storage mechanism 22 are both provided within the information processor 12 ; alternatively , the first descriptor storage mechanism 21 for storing the descriptor common information may be provided within the dma processor 13 , and the second descriptor storage mechanism 22 for storing the descriptor individual information may be provided within the information processor 12 . lastly , a third embodiment of a lan card according to the present invention will be described . the basic configuration of the third embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment shown in fig1 , except that modifications are made to the first embodiment to support a descriptor chain . fig1 a and 15b are format diagrams showing the formats of the descriptor common information and descriptor individual information , respectively , according to the present embodiment . as can be seen from a comparison with fig2 a and 2b relating to the earlier described first embodiment , the descriptor common information ( fig1 a ) in the present embodiment is the same as that ( fig2 a ) in the first embodiment . on the other hand , the descriptor individual information ( fig1 b ) in the present embodiment somewhat differs from that ( fig2 b ) in the first embodiment , in that bit 30 is used as a chain bit ( c ). this chain bit ( c ) is a bit that indicates whether a plurality of dma transfers are to be executed in succession , that is , a descriptor chain is to be executed . fig1 a and 16b are schematic diagrams showing the structures of the first descriptor storage mechanism 21 and the second descriptor storage mechanism 22 , respectively , according to the present embodiment . as can be seen from a comparison with fig3 a and 3b relating to the earlier described first embodiment , the first descriptor storage mechanism 21 ( fig1 a ) in the present embodiment is the same as that ( fig3 a ) in the first embodiment . on the other hand , the second descriptor storage mechanism 22 ( fig1 b ) in the present embodiment somewhat differs from that ( fig3 b ) in the first embodiment , in that bit 30 is used as a chain bit ( c ). further , in the present embodiment , the second descriptor storage mechanism 22 ( fig1 b ) employs a fifo ( first in first out ) structure . fig1 is a diagram showing the functional configuration of the descriptor conversion circuit 23 according to the present embodiment . as can be seen from a comparison with fig4 , the descriptor conversion circuit of the present embodiment differs from the descriptor conversion circuit of the first embodiment by the inclusion of a circuit 44 for extracting the chain bit from the descriptor individual information . next , the operation of the lan card of the third embodiment that supports a descriptor chain will be described . the descriptor common information transfer operation performed by the control mechanism 18 is the same as that shown in the flowchart of fig5 relating to the earlier described first embodiment , and the descriptor individual information transfer operation performed by the control mechanism 18 is also the same as that shown in the flowchart of fig6 relating to the earlier described first embodiment . on the other hand , the dma transfer operation performed by the dma processor 13 will be as shown in the flowchart of fig1 . as can be seen from a comparison between the flowchart of fig1 and the flowchart of fig7 relating to the earlier described first embodiment , steps 1801 to 1806 in fig1 are the same as the corresponding steps 701 to 706 in fig7 , but in fig1 , new steps 1807 and 1808 are added . in step 1807 , it is determined whether the chain bit is on or not ; if the chain bit is not on , that is , if it is off , the process is terminated . on the other hand , if the chain bit is on , the process proceeds to step 1808 . in step 1808 , the descriptor conversion circuit 23 reads the next descriptor individual information in the fifo structure , selects the corresponding descriptor common information , and creates the address information and byte count in the format that can be recognized by the dma controller 24 . after that , the process returns to step 1803 . in this way , in the descriptor chain according to the present embodiment , as the descriptor individual information storage mechanism is constructed in a fifo structure and is configured to automatically select the next descriptor in the fifo when the chain bit is on , the next descriptor address is not needed . as a result , the amount of information to be carried in the descriptor decreases , and the size of the storage mechanism for storing the descriptor information decreases accordingly , thus achieving a reduction in the amount of hardware . the timing chart for the transfer timing of the descriptor information according to the present embodiment is the same as that shown in fig8 relating to the earlier described first embodiment . on the other hand , if the descriptor chain is to be supported using the next descriptor address and without separating the descriptor information into the common information and individual information , as in the prior art shown in fig2 , the transfer timing of the descriptor information will be as shown in fig1 . as is apparent from a comparison between fig8 and fig1 , since there is no need to transfer the next descriptor address in the present embodiment , bus usage decreases , increasing the availability of the common bus for other processing operations , and system performance can thus be improved . while specific embodiments of the invention have been described with reference to drawings , it will be appreciated that various modifications can be made by those skilled in the art ; for example , the present invention can be applied to various data transfer devices other than the lan card , and other communication networks such as adsl networks can also be employed instead of the lan . the present invention has been described specifically dealing with embodiments in which the invention is applied to the dma controller incorporated in a lan card , but it will be recognized that the invention is not limited to the specific embodiments disclosed herein ; for example , the invention can be applied extensively to self - contained general - purpose dma controllers or to various terminals , workstations , etc . that form computer networks . as described above , according to the present invention , by separating the descriptor information into common information and individual information and storing them separately , the necessary storage area can be reduced , which contributes to reducing the amount of hardware . furthermore , as the descriptor common information need not be transferred each time a data transfer occurs , the amount of information to be transferred can be reduced , and bus usage thus decreases . as a result , the bus can be used for other processing operations , which serves to improve system performance . further , as a fifo structure is employed in the descriptor chain , the next descriptor address is not needed ; as a result , the amount of information to be carried in the descriptor decreases , and the size of the storage mechanism for storing the descriptor information decreases accordingly , achieving a reduction in the amount of hardware . furthermore , as there is no need to transfer the next descriptor address , bus usage decreases , increasing the availability of the common bus for other processing operations , and system performance can thus be improved . the invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof . the present embodiment is therefore to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive , the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are therefore intended to be embraced therein . | 6 |
an indexing element in the form of a disc 1 constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention is shown in fig1 . the disc 1 consists of flexible foil of a metallic or synthetic material and may have a thickness in the range of approximately 0 . 3 through 0 . 6 mm . the indexing disc 1 has a plurality of finely spaced radial incisions 2 having a small division relative to one another in the range of approximately 0 . 3 through 2 . 5 mm . the incisions 2 expose lamella - like switch tabs 3 which are connected at one end to the indexing disc 1 thereby forming a unitary structure . if the indexing disc 1 has a diameter of , for example , 60 mm , the incisions 2 may be in the range of 4 through 5 mm in length . this length accordingly corresponds to the free length of the switch tabs 3 . the incisions 3 may be manufactured without material erosion , however , it is preferable to provide a small air gap between the individual switch tabs 3 in the area of the incisions 2 , the air gap proceeding along the entire incision depth . the flexible foil comprising the indexing disc 1 is springy and elastic . the unloaded or unprogrammed idle position of the switch tabs 3 is flush with the remainder of the indexing disc 1 . the indexing disc 1 with the switch tabs 3 may be manufactured by stamping or , if the disc 1 is comprised of synthetic material , may be manufactured by injection molding . as shown in fig2 the indexing disc 1 is seated on a retaining element 4 in the form of a ring with the switch tabs 3 resting against the retaining element 4 . the retaining element 4 can rotate with the indexing disc 1 , or may be disposed stationary relative thereto . the spatial disposition of the indexing disc 1 relative to the retaining element 4 in fig2 shows the unprogrammed condition of the switch tabs 3 of the indexing disc 1 relative to the retaining element 4 . when the indexing disc 1 is to be programmed , selected individual switch tabs 3 are depressed in conformity with the switching program behind the interior lower edge 5 of the retaining element 4 , as shown in fig3 . such programming of the switch tabs 3 can be undertaken with a pointed pin , a pencil , a ballpoint pen , or any other awl - like tool , or with a specially designed programming means which can be attached to the indexing disc 1 and the retaining element 4 for programming the indexing disc 1 and thereafter removed . such a programming means is shown in fig3 referenced at 6 and is attached so as to be rotatably disposed in the area of the circumference of the indexing disc 1 on the retaining element 4 . further details of the programming means 6 are described below in connection with fig9 . fig4 is a sectional view showing a programmed or depressed switch tab 3 . in such a programmed state , the switch tabs 3 may be sensed by any number of means . as shown in fig5 such sensing may be undertaken by a direct mechanical displacement of a sensing finger 4 connected to a switching device , such as a ratchet mechanism , of the type well known to those skilled in the art and not illustrated in greater detail . for this purpose , the indexing disc 1 with the programmed switch tabs 3 rotates past the sensing finger 7 . movement of the sensing finger 7 upon encountering a depressed switch tab 3 causes electrical contacts to be actuated in the switching device connected thereto . depending upon the particular application of the indexing device disclosed herein , a depressed or programmed switch tab 3 may initiate a switch - on function , while the unprogrammed switch tabs 3 may initiate a switch - off function , or vice versa . as shown in fig6 the programmed switch tabs 3 may be electrically sensed by a wiper 8 . such electrical sensing may be undertaken directly , if the switch tabs 3 are themselves electrically conductive , or may be undertaken indirectly as shown in fig6 . in the indirect case , the wiper 8 closes a contact 9 when engaged by one of the depressed switch tabs 3 . it will be understood by those skilled in the art , however , that engagement of the wiper 8 with a depressed switch tab 3 may open a normally - closed contact , or may cause switch - over of a movable contact between two stationary contacts . two embodiments for opto - electronic sensing of the switch tabs 3 are shown in fig7 and 8 . the first embodiment shown in fig7 includes a so - called reflection light barrier 10 having a light emitter 14 and a light receiver 15 which respectively direct light toward and receive reflected light from a depressed switch tab 3 on the indexing disc 1 . for this purpose , a reflective surface 11 may be provided on the underside of the switch tabs 3 . a slotted mask 12 may also be disposed between the tabs 3 and the light barrier 10 . a second opto - electronic sensing embodiment for use in combination with the indexing element 1 disclosed and claimed herein is shown in fig8 . in this embodiment , the switch tabs 3 are coated with opaque material and the light source 14 and light receiver 15 are disposed such that only a programmed or depressed switch tab 3 permits transmission of light between the source 14 and the receiver 15 through a slotted mask 12 . in this embodiment , the retaining element 14 is also opaquely designed . a programming means 6 for programming the indexing disc 1 is shown in detail in fig9 . the programming means 6 has a carrier body 6a having two programming pins 17 slidably extending therethrough on opposite sides of the indexing disc 1 . each pin 17 has a spring 17a coiled thereabout and a push - button cap 16 mounted at one end thereof . the pin 17 disposed at the top of the indexing disc 1 is for programming the indexing disc 1 by depression of the push - button cap 16 , and the pin 17 disposed beneath the indexing disc 1 is for cancelling a previously - programmed switch tab 3 by depression of the lower push - button cap 16 . the programming means 6 may be stationarily disposed with respect to the chronometer device in which the indexing disc 1 is utilized or may be rotatably mounted relative to the indexing disc 1 . the indexing means may also be portable so as to be attachable to the indexing disc 1 for the purpose of programming or cancelling a program , and may thereafter be removed . an indexing disc 1 connected in combination with a dial face 18 with a corresponding dial face division for a particular rotational speed of the indexing disc 1 of one revolution per week is shown in fig1 . the switch tabs 3 are accordingly fine - stepped , that is , designed and disposed with small divisions relative to one another . as also shown in fig1 , the retaining element 4 in the form of a ring may be comprised of a selected number of individual segments 19 ( seven such segments in the embodiment of fig1 ). for the purpose of cancelling the switching program , each individual segment 19 may be manually axially displaced . the individual segments 19 are seated so as to be axially resilient . the sector width of the individual segments 19 may , for example , correspond to the program range of one day , 12 hours , or one hour . for this purpose , it is necessary that coincidence between the indexing disc 1 and a particular segment be observed , particularly when the retaining element 4 is stationarily disposed relative to the indexing disc 1 . if the retaining element 4 has positive entrainment , such a setting will not be required . the use of an indexing disc 1 in a switch clock is shown in fig1 . the indexing disc 1 is seated on a shaft 20 which is driven by a suitable timer means of the type known to those skilled in the art and not shown in greater detail . an analog dial mechanism 21 having a minute hand 22 and an hour hand 23 is coaxially connected to the indexing disc 1 . for this purpose , the indexing disc 1 may be in the form of a ring rotatable around the dial mechanism 20 . the retaining element 4 , closed at the front side thereof , may be transparent in order to permit a dial face on the indexing disc 1 to be viewed . an opto - electronic sensing means of the type shown in detail in fig7 may be employed . in a further embodiment of the invention , the indexing element may be in the form of an endless tape 1a as shown in fig1 . in this embodiment , the endless tape 1a has a plurality of incisions 2 at one edge thereof . the switch tabs 3 formed between the incisions 2 are programmed by depressing the switch tabs 3 beneath a stationary guide rail 24 . the guide rail 24 is axially displaceable so that the entire program may be cancelled by axial displacement of the guide rail 24 . in all embodiments of the invention , the retaining element 4 may form a unit with a housing for the indexing element , and in fact may be manufactured therewith as a unitary structure . as shown in fig2 the interior surface 25 of the retaining element 4 may be angled outwardly having a smallest diameter at the lower edge 5 such that the surface 25 forms a thin truncated cone of increasing diameter in a direction away from the disk 1 . although other modifications and changes may be suggested by those skilled in the art it is the intention of the inventor to embody within the patent warranted hereon all changes and modifications as reasonably and properly come within the scope of his contribution to the art . | 7 |
the present invention now will be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings , in which one or some , but not all embodiments are shown . indeed , the present invention may be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein ; rather , these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will satisfy applicable legal requirements . like numbers refer to like elements throughout . generally described primarily with reference to fig1 one aspect of the present invention is the modification of a standard raceway - type knitting machine by altering the needle and sinker camming so as to provide a knitting machine 10 in which a substantial length of lay - in yarn 12 is preferably contemporaneously suspended over the tops of the noses 14 of multiple adjacent sinkers 16 in a manner that counteracts the โ robbing back โ action of the lay - in yarn as the needles 18 holding the lay - in yarn descend to the knitting position . in the knitting position , the needles 18 holding the lay - in yarn 12 knit it to the base fabric structure , which is knitted from jersey yarn 20 . briefly described in accordance with the exemplary embodiment of the present invention , predetermined needle camming , namely cam 22 , is advanced ( relative to the sinker camming shown in fig2 ), and predetermined sinker camming is retarded relative to the needle camming ( as compared to the customary relationship ), so that the needles 18 that knit in the lay - in yarn 12 are drawn down from a tuck position to the lower stitch draw position while the associated sinkers 16 remain pushed forward . only a representative few of the needles 18 and sinkers 16 are identified by their reference numerals in fig1 in an effort to clarify the drawing . more specifically , the knitting machine 10 is provided with two or more needle cam tracks , designated herein as track 1 , track 2 , track 3 , and so on . only portions of tracks 1 and 2 are shown in fig1 and they are respectively identified by the reference characters โ t1 โ and โ t2 โ in fig1 . preferably four needle cam tracks are provided in the machine 10 , with the tuck cams located on track 1 and track 3 . fig1 shows that in the exemplary embodiment , and for purposes of illustrating the present invention but without limitation , the needles are arranged so that a sequence of three needles is run in ( i . e ., have butts that extend into ) track 2 , while every fourth needle is run in ( i . e ., has a butt that extends into ) track 1 . other combinations are contemplated using , for example , sequences with larger or smaller numbers of needles . for illustrative purposes in fig1 the needles that are run in track 1 do not extend down to track 2 , and the needles that are run in track 2 do extend to track 2 . the direction of needle movement through the machine 10 is indicated by an arrow 24 in fig1 . in accordance with the exemplary embodiment , all of the needles 18 receive the jersey yarn 20 from feed 26 , and then the needles proceed to knit a jersey stitch . thereafter , the needles 18 that are not to pick up the lay - in yarn 12 at feed 28 go into a welt position on track 2 , due to the interaction between the cam 30 and the butts of the needles that are not to pick up the lay - in yarn . the needles 18 designated to pick up the lay - in yarn 12 are raised to the tuck position by the interaction of their butts and cam 22 . thereafter , the needles 18 designated to pick up the lay - in yarn 12 immediately descend , pulling the lay - in yarn 12 down over the tops of the nibs or noses 14 of the sinkers 16 that are left in an extended forward position by sinker cam 34 ( fig2 ). a portion of a sinker cam track that includes cams 34 , 36 and 38 is shown in fig2 . an example of the relative positioning of the cams , sinkers 16 , needles 18 , and feeds 26 and 28 may be seen by comparing points designated by a , b , c , d and e in fig1 - 2 respectively with fig3 a - e . that is , fig3 a - e respectively illustrate the positioning of the sinkers 16 relative to the needles 18 , yarns 12 and 20 , and feeds 26 and 28 at selected points a - e during the knitting process , with the points a - e being designated in fig1 - 2 . fig3 a - e also illustrate the relative positions of the sinkers 16 with respect to one another at the points a - e . that is , the needles 18 are in a generally cylindrical arrangement ; therefore , the vertical positioning of the needles in fig3 a - e provides a common frame of reference . in fig3 a - e , vertical arrows in close proximity to the needles 18 indicate the direction of movement of the needles . likewise , horizontal arrows in close proximity to the sinkers 16 in fig3 a - e indicate direction of movement of the sinkers , with a sinker not moving in the radial direction if there is no horizontal arrow closely associated therewith . as illustrated in fig3 a and 3b , needles 18 engage and draw down the jersey yarn 20 so as to form knitted loops of a base fabric structure 40 . the sinkers 16 retract between points a and b . when the needles 18 reach point c , the sinkers 16 have returned to a forward position and the lay - in yarn 12 is engaged by the needles that are running with butts in track 1 . at this point , the nose 14 of the sinker remains forward so that the drawing down of the needle 18 with the lay - in yarn 12 carries the lay - in yarn over the top of the sinker nose 14 . as best seen in fig1 since every fourth needle 18 draws down the lay - in yarn 12 and since the noses 14 remain forward from point c until past point d , the drawing down of every fourth needle pulls the lay - in yarn over the noses of four adjacent sinkers 16 . when the needles reach points c and d , they are below the knitting platform surfaces 44 ( fig3 e ) of the sinkers 16 . referring to fig1 the horizontal broken line 46 illustrates the position of the knitting platform surfaces 44 of all of the sinkers 16 of the machine 10 , which can be characterized as the lowest knitting platform of the machine 10 . as apparent from the foregoing , in accordance with the exemplary embodiment of the present invention , a pair of needles 18 pulls the lay - in yarn 12 down to a lower position that is at or below the lowest knitting platform , which is defined by the knitting platform surfaces 44 , so that the section of the lay - in yarn that spans between the pair of needles simultaneously extends over noses 14 of multiple adjacent sinkers 16 ( i . e ., a group of intervening sinkers ) that are positioned between the pair of needles and are maintained in a forward position sufficiently long so that robbing - back is at least partially counteracted . in other embodiments of the present invention , the pair of needles 18 pull the lay - in yarn 12 to other lower positions , such as , but not limited to , lower positions that are above , below , or even with the knitting platform surfaces 44 or other portions of the sinkers 16 . preferably the section of the lay - in yarn 12 that spans between the pair of needles 18 extends simultaneously over noses 14 of at least three adjacent intervening sinkers 16 , and most preferably over four or at least four adjacent intervening sinkers , and in the embodiment of the present invention shown in the drawings , each intervening group of sinkers includes four sinkers . alternatively , each intervening group of sinkers 16 may include more than four sinkers , or there may be only one intervening sinker positioned between each pair of needles 18 that pulls the lay - in yarn 12 down to the lower position , although typically there would be at least two intervening sinkers positioned between each pair of needles that pulls the lay - in yarn down to the lower position . generally described with respect to each pair of needles 18 that pulls the lay - in yarn 12 down to the lower position , there are one or more intervening sinkers 16 that are positioned between the pair of needles and are arranged in a forward position so that a section of the lay - in yarn that spans between the pair of needles is temporarily retained over one or more nibs 14 of the one or more intervening sinkers . in accordance with the exemplary embodiment , one or more intervening needles of the needles 18 are positioned between the pair of needles ; and these intervening needle ( s ) are substantially maintained in a welt position and do not hold the lay - in yarn in the welt position . the intervening needle ( s ) 18 preferably may include five needles or more , four or at least four needles , three or at least three needles , two needles , or only one needle , and in the embodiment of the present invention shown in the drawings , each intervening group of needles includes three needles . because the lay - in yarn 12 spanning between the pair of needles 18 is contemporaneously pulled over the tops of one or more noses 14 , an extra length of lay - in yarn is advantageously consumed so as to counteract the robbing back that normally occurs when lay - in yarn is carried by the needle hooks as the needles descend in the knitting machine . while some degree of robbing back still normally occurs in a knitting machine having the features of the present invention , the added length of the lay - in yarn exceeds the amount given up to robbing back . thus , the amount and / or height of the floats 42 ( a representative few of which are identified by their reference numeral in fig3 d - e ), which are floating portions of the lay - in yarn 12 , is greater than otherwise would result . the present invention advantageously allows for the manufacture of , and includes a method of manufacturing , a fleece fabric that can be , but is not required to be , formed on standard raceway knitting machines . in accordance with one aspect of the present invention , relatively large amounts of lay - in yarn are introduced into the fabric being formed , which results in the fabric being more easily brushed or napped for producing a denser and / or more lofty fleece . in accordance with one aspect of the present invention , only a single pass through a brushing or napping machine may be required to obtain the desired result . sinkers with different height nibs or noses and / or nose lengths may be used to help determine the range of lay - in yarn amounts put into the fabric . one feature of the present invention is advantageously embodied in a set of cam tracks for being used with / retrofitted to a conventional , standard raceway knitting machine , such that the set of cam tracks transform the conventional , standard raceway knitting machine into the above - described knitting machine 10 . many modifications and other embodiments of the inventions set forth herein will come to mind to one skilled in the art to which these inventions pertain having the benefit of the teachings presented in the foregoing descriptions and the associated drawings . therefore , it is to be understood that the inventions are not to be limited to the specific embodiments disclosed and that modifications and other embodiments are intended to be included within the scope of the appended claims . although specific terms are employed herein , they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation . | 3 |
as may be seen in fig1 the skull part or cranium part 1 is supported by part 2 which represents the first cervical vertebra ( in anatomy called c 1 ). vertebra part 2 is inserted into a shallow cavity 3 in a lower face 4 of the cranium part , such that the only movement of parts 1 and 2 relative to each other is a rotation . the first cervical vertebra part 2 is in turn supported by a series of 6 further cervical vertebra parts , ( and representing cervical vertebrae ( c 2 - c 7 ), the lowermost one of which is indicated by 5 , all interconnected by means of universal joints , one of these being indicated at 6 . similarly , further downward , there are five additional vertebra parts , the uppermost one of which is indicated by 7 and the lowermost one by 8 ( representing the thoracical vertebrae th 105 ) they are all coupled by means of universal couplings similar to the joint indicated at 6 , with only one exception : the seventh cervical vertebra part 5 is limited by abutments , not shown , in its movement to the first thoracical vertebra part 7 as compared to the other cervical vertebrae parts . the vertebra elements 2 , 5 , 7 , 8 are also interconnected by a number of elastic vertical bands . in the present embodiment there are four of them , one of which is indicated by 9 , and which have at least one point of attachment 9 &# 39 ; with each individual vertebra . as a result , none of the individual components of the vertebral column is able to perform an independent rotation or translation . however , any overall rotation of the cranium part will be equally divided over elementary rotations of the individual vertebra parts by means of the various universal coupling joints 6 . in similar manner , the thoracical vertebra parts perform a coordinated rotation . the cranium part 1 has essentially a parallel - piped or block shape . an inclined surface 11 thereon is optional , as are a projecting part 12 and two cavities 13 and 14 on both sides of projecting part 12 which merely serve to create a resemblance with a human head , but which have no relationship to the functioning of the model . elements 12 , 13 and 14 indicate the anterior or front of the cranium 1 or skull and , in fact , of the entire structural model . an upper jaw 10 projects slightly downwardly with respect to the lower face 4 of the cranium part 1 . parallel side faces 15 , 16 of the cranium part 1 pass into side face portions 15 &# 39 ;, 16 &# 39 ;, respectively , which are somewhat tapering towards the front , as can be seen by comparison of fig1 and fig3 . in side face portions 15 &# 39 ; and 16 &# 39 ; there are cavities 17 , one of which is visible in fig2 indicated by a contour , this cavity 17 being open to the side and to the bottom . the rear walls of these cavities , such as rear wall 18 of cavity 17 , extend again parallel to the side face portions 15 , 16 , as seen in the top view of fig3 where 18 is shown as a broken line . in fig1 cavity 17 comprises , in its top part , two sub - cavities 17a , 17b , the former of which passes into a vertical side wall 17c , and the latter into a downwardly forwardly inclined front wall 17d . these details are visible only for what may be termed the right hand side of the cranium part or the model , visible in fig1 but it will be clear that in these and all other aspects the structure of the cavity at the left hand side is entirely symmetrical . a jaw part or mandible part , indicated at 21 , is separate from the cranium part 1 . in the lateral view of fig1 its shape is defined by a lower portion 22 , which , when properly mounted , will extend substantially horizontal , i . e . parallel to the lower face 4 of the mandible part 1 , and a top portion 23 extending under an obtuse angle with respect to portion 22 . in the front elevational view of fig2 the mandible part 21 is substantially u - shaped , lower portion 22 extending horizontally and interconnecting two top portions now indicated as 23 and 23 &# 39 ;, respectively , which are the legs of the u - shape . the tops of each of the upper portions 23 and 23 &# 39 ; of the mandible part are rounded , as indicated by 24 , in two dimensions , that is substantially part - spherical . this shape intended in order to keep the mandible top 24 in place in sub - cavity 17a , which is also part - spherical so as to be curved in two dimensions . a removable disc 25 , the shape of which is adapted to the curvatures of cavity 17a and mandible part top surface 24 is interposed therebetween . for a proper understanding of this structural simulation of the temporomandibular joints in the human craniomandibular system reference may be had to fig4 . the joints between mandible part 21 and cranium part 1 -- which joints are formed by the cavities 17 , the rounded tops 24 of the mandible part and the interposed discs 25 -- present the same degrees of freedom as the human temporomandibular joints . fig3 illustrates clearly that the dimensions also provide for a lateral movement of the mandible part 21 with respect to the cranium part because of the spacing between the upper portion 23 of the mandible part and the rear wall 18 of cavity 17 , and the similar spacing at the other side . upper portions 23 of mandible part 21 are provided with preferably integrally formed attachments 26 , 27 for resilient elements 28 , 29 ( in order to distinguish them from others they are drawn in mixed lines ). the other ends of resilient elements 28 and 29 are affixed to the cranium part 1 in the side face portions 15 &# 39 ;, 16 &# 39 ; thereof , in a manner yet to be described . the resilient elements 28 , 29 , simulate the temporal muscles . similarly , resilient elements 30 , 31 ( drawn in broken lines of longer parts ) interconnect at a more forward location lower portion 22 of mandible 21 and cranium part 1 in the inclined side face parts 15 &# 39 ;, 16 &# 39 ;. they simulate the masseter muscles . temporal muscles 28 , 29 and masseter muscles 30 , 31 together form the mouth closing muscles . the hyoid bone or tonguebone is a free floating bone which is kept in place by muscular equilibrium . it is simulated by hyoid part 32 which , at its top , is provided with bows 33 , 34 . through each of these bows a further resilient element 35 , 36 extends ( drawn in broken lines of shorter elements ). one end of element 35 is attached to lower portion 22 of mandible part 21 , at 37 , and the other end is attached at 38 to the lower face of the cranium part , slightly inside side face portion 15 &# 39 ;. resilient elements 35 , 36 simulate the suprahyoid muscles . in the downward direction , the hyoid part 32 is kept in place by resilient elements attached to further bone simulating parts which will first be described . numeral 41 indicates the breastbone part or sternum part , ( shown completely in fig1 and only partly in fig2 ) which , through universal joints 42 , 43 on either side , is coupled to collar bone parts or clavicle parts 44 , 45 respectively , the elongate shape and the position of which are best visible from fig2 and 3 . at their other ends , clavicle parts 44 , 45 have universal joint couplings 46 , 47 to omoplate parts or scapula parts 48 , 49 , respectively . in short , each of these scapula parts comprises an elongate portion which , at one of its ends , is provided with a laterally extending portion 48 &# 39 ;, 49 &# 39 ;, against the inside of which the universal joint 46 , 47 is located . joints 46 , 47 between scapula and clavicle parts thus permit a limited hingelike or pivoting movement both in posterior / anterior directions and in cranio / caudal directions . the same limited pivoting is also present in the joints 42 , 43 between sternum and clavicle parts , although here the cranio / caudal movement is nearly 45 degrees in cranial direction . resilient elements 52 , 53 ( broken lines of shorter elements ) are connected between the lower side of hyoid part 32 and the top , at the rear side , of sternum part 41 . the elements 52 and 53 simulate the sternohyoid muscles . at the tops of clavicle parts 44 , 45 , there are bows 54 , 55 through which resilient elements 56 , 57 ( broken lines of shorter elements ) respectively extend , with one end thereof affixed to the hyoid part 32 at locations one of each is indicated by 58 , the other ends being affixed to scapula parts 48 , 49 at locations one of which is indicated by 59 . they represent the omohyoid muscles . one point 62 of the lower face of the cranium part 1 close to the place where the inclined side face portion 15 &# 39 ; merges into the remainder of the side face 15 , is connected by means of a resilient element 63 ( broken line of longer elements ) to a point 64 at the top , near the front , of sternum part 41 , and also by a resilient element 65 ( broken lines of longer elements ) to a point 66 on clavicle part 44 . similarly , there are resilient elements 67 , 68 at the left hand side . elements 63 , 65 , 67 , 68 represent the ventral or anterior head equilibrium muscles . finally , a point 69 , also on the lower face 4 of cranium part 1 but more inwardly with respect to the side face 15 thereof , is connected to a point 70 of clavicle part 44 by resilient element 71 ( mixed line ), as well as to point 72 at the end of scapula part 46 by resilient element 73 ( mixed line ). similarly , at the left side , there are resilient elements 74 and 75 . resilient elements 71 , 73 , 74 , 75 represent the dorsal or posterior head equilibrium muscles . the figures of the drawings represent a few preferred features . the lower portion 22 of mandible part 21 has been represented in straight lines with a click on - click off enlargement piece 76 , which will give the mandible part such dimensions as to represent a so - called angle class i situation of mandible part 21 relative to cranium part 1 . by removing piece 76 the horizontal dimension of lower portion 22 of mandible part 21 will be decreased so that an angle class ii situation is simulated , and the addition of the further enlargement piece drawn in broken lines 77 introduces the angle class iii situation . both the basic part and the enlargement pieces 76 and 77 each present at least three attachment places on either side for the elastic bands 30 , 31 . one of these attachment places is 78 , and they may comprise simple holes so that the elastic band is attached to it by means of a pin , not shown , which is inserted into the appropriate hole . similarly , three attachment points on either side such as 78 &# 39 ; are provided along a horizontal line in side face portions 15 &# 39 ; of cranium part 1 , so that the best choice for attachment of the upper ends of elastic bands 30 and 31 can be made to represent the patient in question . a further facility to adjust the model to conform with the patient under examination are a series of attachment points , also preferably comprising holes , one of which is indicated in fig1 by 79 . the holes in one such series -- in the embodiment represented there are six holes -- are situated on an arc of an imaginary circle having as its center the attachment 26 of mandible part 21 in its normal position . by choosing any of these holes , the momentum angle of the temporal muscle simulating elastic band 28 can be chosen . it will be clear that again these arrangements are similarly provided at the other side of the cranium part which is not visible in fig1 . indicated schematically in fig1 are two inserts 80 and 81 . they represent the dental arches . either one of them will be inserted between the jaw bones of cranium and mandible part . insert 80 is a substantially parallelepiped member . when insert 80 is inserted , the mandible part 21 will assume a normal position with respect to the cranium , i . e . a position in which the lower mandible portion 22 is horizontal or parallel to the upper jaw or maxillary bone part 10 . insert element 81 has diverging upper and lower faces , and can be used to simulate the situation in those patients where the lower mandible portion 22 is either upwardly or downwardly inclined with respect to the upper jaw 10 . the manner in which the above described structural model can be utilized will now be described by reference to a combination of both the physical parts in the craniomandibular system and the equivalents or simulated counterparts thereof in the structural model . most striking in the craniomandibular system is the pulley - like function of the two biventral muscles with a tendon partition , the digastric and the omohyoid muscle ; which act in opposition directly upon the hyoid bone 32 . the opening of the mouth is characterized by a downward and forward direction , according to the skeletally prescribed path at a fixed hyoid bone 32 . if this pathway is unilaterally obstructed a series of systems comes into action . assuming an obstruction on the right side of the head , there is an increase of tension in the suprahyoid muscles ( represented by elastic band 35 . in order to overcome the obstruction , while on the other side the movement continues , will lead to rotation of the mandible 21 , but also of the hyoid bone part 32 , while the direction of the force is headed cranially . in order to compensate for the increased tension in the suprahyoid muscle there will be a reaction in the sternohyoid and the omohyoid muscles ( elements 52 and 56 ) on the same side , because their function is to fix the hyoid bone , so the scapula and the clavicle block becomes involved . according to the model which may now be called obstruction model , the increased tensions on the obstructed side can be compensated for by a decrease of distances towards the hyoid bone on the same side by bending the cranium forwardly and downwardly and the scapula - clavicle block forwardly and upwardly . the cervical spine will bend in the direction of the resulting vector of these movements . a result of this compensation will be an increase in tension in the posterior head equilibrium muscles ( 71 , 73 ) and a decrease of tension in the anterior head equilibrium muscles ( 63 , 65 ) on the side of the obstruction , and on the other side , there will be an increase in tension of both the posterior and the anterior head equilibrium muscles . these muscular activities can only lead to the situation in which the cranium is pulled backward and more horizontally , because of the increased tensions in both posterior head equilibrium muscle systems . this position of the skull is called anteroposition . more increased tension on the contralateral side in both posterior and anterior head equilibrium muscles can be compensated once more by changing the position of the scapula - clavicle block on this contralateral side . the obstruction model shows that an unilateral obstructed mouth opening leads to rotation of both the mandible and the hyoid bone . this rotation will lead to increased stretching forces on sternum and clavicle by reflectory working muscles . these forces can be compensated by bringing the head and the shoulder together , an action which requires adaptation of the spine . the muscle groups dealing with raising of the shoulder or bending of the head are for a great part the same as those concerned with extending the head . at the same time as the described lateroflexion and extension of the head and neck and elevation and protraction of the shoulder occur , the contra - lateral posterior head equilibrium musculature reacts and pulls the head back into anteroposition through rotation on high cervical spine level . the flexory answer on the extension and further reactions influence the position of the shoulders . according to the obstruction model , a whole chain of reactions comes into action when the head equilibrium is disturbed , a chain which will not stop at the shoulder girdle , but which will influence the whole body equilibrium . in the perspective of the obstruction model , a symmetrical occlusion and the possibility of free mandibular movements are a prerogative for the whole craniomandibular system . the results of such an investigation of relating the passive rotation axis , the rotation of the mandible and its condyles to the head and body equilibrium to each other demonstrate the complexity of the craniomandibular system . the explanation of the obstruction model clearly shows , that the more complicated the cause of dysfunction is , the more compensatory reactions can be expected . taken into consideration that genetic factors , bad habits and premature loss of teeth are the most important factors which influence the occlusion and the intermaxillary relationship and consequently the position of the condyles and the hyoid bone and its related structures , the role of dentistry and especially orthodontics becomes ever - increasingly important in general medical care and welfare . the structural model of this invention is useful in obtaining an understanding and in determining an effective answer to the problems . | 6 |
the present invention will now be described in terms of its preferred embodiments . these embodiments are set forth to aid in understanding the invention but are not to be construed as limiting . the present invention refers to a process for the preparation of heterocyclic indene analogs of formula ( i ) r 1 and r 2 are independently selected from hydrogen or lower - alkyl ; or r 1 and r 2 together with the ring carbon atoms to which they are attached form a monovalent carbocyclic or a phenyl ring , wherein the said monovalent carbocyclic or phenyl ring may optionally be substituted by halogen , lower - alkyl or lower - alkoxy ; x is o , s or n โ z ; z is an amino protecting group selected from so 2 r a , nme 2 , co 2 r b and con ( r c ) 2 ; and r a is lower - alkyl or aryl ; r b and r c are lower - alkyl ; wherein r 3 is lower - alkyl , aryl or aralkyl and r 1 , r 2 and x are as defined above ; wherein r 4 is lower - alkyl or aryl and r 1 , r 2 and x are as defined above ; this process provides an efficient cyclocarbonylation reaction under mild conditions . in addition , substrates for the cyclocarbonylation reaction ( compound of formula ( ii )) do not need to be purified , e . g . by crystallization or distillation , but can be used as โ crude โ material . according to the present invention , the term โ cyclocarbonylation โ refers to an introduction of a carbonyl group coupled to the formation of an aromatic cyclic ring structure . the term โ transition metal compound โ refers to a metal - phosphine complex compound wherein the term metal refers to pd , pt , ru , co , rh or ni , preferably pd . the term โ ligand โ refers to phosphine , arsine or stibine derivatives , preferable phosphine derivatives , of general formulae p ( r 5 )( r 6 )( r 7 ), ( r 5 )( r 6 ) p โ( x )โ p ( r 5 )( r 6 ), as ( r 5 )( r 6 )( r 7 ) or sb ( r 5 )( r 6 )( r 7 ), preferably p ( r 5 ) ( r 6 )( r 7 ), wherein r 5 , r 6 , and r 7 are defined below . the term โ alkyl โ refers to a branched or straight chain monovalent alkyl radical of one to nine carbon atoms ( unless otherwise indicated ). the term โ lower - alkyl โ refers to a branched or straight chain monovalent alkyl radical of one to four carbon atoms . this term is further exemplified by such radicals as methyl , ethyl , n - propyl , isopropyl , i - butyl , n - butyl , t - butyl and the like . the term โ alkoxy โ, alone or in combination , signifies a group of the formula alkyl - o โ in which the term โ alkyl โ has the significance given above . examples of such โ alkoxy โ radicals are methoxy , ethoxy , n - propoxy , isopropoxy , n - butoxy , isobutoxy , sec . butoxy and tert . butoxy , preferably methoxy and ethoxy . the term โ aryl โ refers to a monovalent carbocyclic aromatic radical , e . g . phenyl or naphthyl , optionally substituted , independently , with halogen , lower - alkyl , lower - alkoxy , lower - alkylenedioxy , carboxy , trifluoromethyl and the like . the term โ aralkyl โ refers to a residue โ ch 2 - aryl wherein the term aryl is as defined above . the term โ alkylenedioxy โ refers to c 1 - 3 - alkyl - dioxy groups , such as methylenedioxy , ethylenedioxy or propylenedioxy . in more detail , the present invention refers to a process for the preparation of compounds of formula ( i ) r 1 and r 2 are independently selected from hydrogen or lower - alkyl ; or r 1 and r 2 together with the ring carbon atoms to which they are attached form a monovalent carbocyclic or phenyl ring , wherein the said monovalent carbocyclic or phenyl ring may optionally be substituted by halogen , lower - alkyl or lower - alkoxy ; x is o , s or n โ z ; z is an amino protecting group selected from so 2 r a , nme 2 , co 2 r b and con ( r c ) 2 ; and r a is lower - alkyl or aryl ; r b and r c are lower - alkyl ; wherein r 3 is lower - alkyl , aryl or aralkyl and r 1 , r 2 and x are as defined above ; to produce a compound of formula ( iii ) wherein r 4 is lower - alkyl or aryl and r 1 , r 2 and x are as defined above ; examples of lower - alkyl residues r 1 and r 2 are methyl , ethyl , n - propyl and isopropyl , with methyl being preferred . preferred monovalent carbocyclic rings formed by substituents r 1 and r 2 together with the ring carbon atoms to which they are attached are cyclopentenyl , cyclohexenyl and cycloheptenyl , preferably cyclohexenyl . such rings may be substitued by lower - alkyl , such as methyl and ethyl . the most preferable monovalent carbocyclic ring formed by substituents r 1 and r 2 together with the ring carbon atoms to which they are attached is unsubstituted cyclohexenyl . a phenyl residue formed by r 1 and r 2 together with the ring carbon atoms to which they are attached may be substituted by halogen , lower - alkyl or lower - alkoxy , preferably by chloro , bromo , methyl or methoxy . most preferably , r 1 and r 2 together with the ring carbon atoms to which they are attached form an unsubstituted phenyl ring . examples of aryl residues in substituent r 3 are phenyl and phenyl substituted by halogen or lower alkyl , preferably unsubstituted phenyl . preferable aralkyl residue r 3 is benzyl , optionally substituted by halogen or lower alkyl . most preferable aralkyl residue r 3 is unsubstituted benzyl . examples of lower - alkyl residues r 3 are methyl , ethyl , n - propyl , isopropyl and t - butyl , with methyl being preferred . r 4 depends on the anhydride used in the cyclocarbonylation reaction . examples of lower - alkyl residues are methyl , ethyl , n - propyl , isopropyl and t - butyl , with methyl being preferred . an example of aryl residues is phenyl . such phenyl residue may be substituted by halogen , lower - alkyl or lower - alkoxy , preferably by chloro , bromo , methyl or methoxy . the most preferable aryl residue r 4 is unsubstituted phenyl . examples of lower - alkyl residues r a , r b and r c are methyl , ethyl , n - propyl , isopropyl and t - butyl , with methyl being preferred . examples of aryl residues r a are phenyl and naphthyl . such rings may be substituted by halogen or lower - alkyl , preferably by chloro , methyl , ethyl or isopropyl . more preferably , aryl residue r a is phenyl , substituted by halogen or lower - alkyl , preferably by chloro , methyl , ethyl or isopropyl . most preferred aryl residue r a is phenyl . in another preferred embodiment , the present invention relates to a cyclocarbonylation process as described above , wherein r 1 and r 2 together with the ring carbon atoms to which they are attached form a phenyl ring , r 3 is methyl or phenyl , x is n โ z , z is an amino protecting group as defined above , preferably a group of the formula so 2 r a wherein r a is phenyl . in a preferred embodiment of the invention , the cyclocarbonylation reaction is carried out in the presence of a base , an anhydride and a catalyst comprising a transition metal compound and a ligand . transition metal compounds useful for the process of the present invention comprise salts of pd , pt , ru , co , rh or ni and also includes pd / c . the use of transition metal compounds as catalysts has been described for example in matsuzaka et al . ( 1988 ) j . org . chem . 53 , 3832 . preferred transition metal compounds are salts of palladium , e . g . pd ( oac ) 2 , pd 2 dba 3 , pdcl 2 , pd 2 cl 2 ( ฯ - allyl ) 2 , pdcl 2 ( ncme ) 2 , [ pd ( ncme ) 4 ]( bf 4 ) 2 , and most preferably pd ( oac ) 2 . the mentioned catalysts are known in the art ( e . g . u . s . pat . no . 5 , 380 , 861 ; โ carbonylation , direct synthesis of carbonyl compounds โ, h . m . colquhoun , d . j . thompson , m . v . trigg , plenum press , 1991 ) and / or are commercially available ( e . g . from fluka , buchs , switzerland or strem chemicals , kehl , germany ). the ligand of the transition metal compound in the catalyst may be selected from a group consisting of phosphine , arsine or stibine derivatives , preferably phosphine derivatives of general formulae p ( r 5 )( r 6 )( r 7 ), ( r 5 ) ( r 6 ) p โ( y )โ p ( r 5 )( r 6 ), as ( r 5 )( r 6 )( r 7 ) or sb ( r 5 )( r 6 )( r 7 ), preferably p ( r 5 )( r 6 )( r 7 ), wherein y , r 5 , r 6 , and r 7 are defined below . especially suitable ligands are chiral and non - chiral mono - and diphosphorus compounds for example described in houben - weyl , โ methoden der organischen chemie โ, vol . e1 , page 106 et seq . georg thieme verlag stuttgart , 1982 , and aspects homog . catal ., 4 , 145 โ 202 ( 1981 ), especially those of the formulae wherein r 5 , r 6 and r 7 each independently are c 1 - 8 - alkyl , cyclohexyl , benzyl , naphthyl , 2 - or 3 - pyrrolyl , 2 - or 3 - furyl , 2 - or 3 - thiophenyl , 2 - or 3 - or 4 - pyridyl , phenyl or phenyl which is substituted by c 1 - 4 - alkyl , c 1 - 4 - alkoxy , halogen , trifluoromethyl , lower - alkylydenedioxy or phenyl and y is binaphthyl , 6 , 6 โฒ- dimethyl - or 6 , 6 โฒ- dimethoxybiphenyl - 2 , 2 โฒ- diyl , or one of the groups โ( ch 2 ) n โ, โ ch 2 ch 2 โ p ( c 6 h 5 )โ ch 2 ch 2 โ, examples of suitable phosphorus ligands are triphenylphosphine and the ligands shown in scheme 1 . the preparation of a transition metal complex is explained in more detail for the corresponding palladium - phosphine complex : the palladium - phosphine complex compound is conveniently formed in situ from a palladium component and a phosphine ligand . these palladium components is for example metallic palladium , which is optionally supported on a carrier material such as carbon , or a complex or a salt of 0 -, 2 - or 4 - valent palladium such as palladium - bis ( dibenzylideneacetone ), palladium chloride , palladium acetate and the like . for the in situ preparation , the phosphorus ligand / transition metal compound ratio ( mol / mol ; p / pd ) amounts to about 0 . 1 : 1 to 100 : 1 , preferably to about 6 : 1 to 15 : 1 . suitable phosphine ligands are for example chiral and non - chiral mono - and diphosphorus compounds such as are described in houben - weyl , methoden der organischen chemie , volume e1 , page 106 et . seq . georg thieme verlag stuttgart , 1982 , and aspects homog . catal ., 4 , 145 โ 202 ( 1981 ), especially those described above . for the in situ preparation of the palladium - phosphine complex compound palladium -( ii ) chloride or palladium -( ii ) acetate , palladium - dichloro - bis ( acetonitrile ) and triarylphosphine may be used . further , the process of the present invention comprises the use of bases for the cyclocarbonylation reaction like tertiary bases such as tri - alkyl - amines , di - alkyl - aryl - amines , pyridines , alkyl - n - piperidines , and for example inorganic bases such as naoh , koh or salts of carbonic acids . examples are ( alkyl ) 3 amines , e . g . triethylamine , ethyl - di - isopropyl - amine , pyridine , n - methyl - piperidine , sodium hydrogen carbonate , potassium hydrogen carbonate , di - sodium carbonate , etc . the preferred base is triethylamine . the process of the present invention also comprises the use of an anhydride of the formula ( r 4 ( c โ o )) 2 o for the cyclocarbonylation reaction . examples of anhydrides in connection with the present invention are acetic anhydride , propionic anhydride , butyric anhydride , isobutyric anhydride , pivalic anhydride , benzoic anhydride etc . the preferred anhydrides are acetic anhydride and benzoic anhydride . solvents for the above reaction are known to skilled persons . preferred solvents are aromatic solvents , e . g . toluene , xylene , benzene , halogenated hydrocarbons , e . g . ch 2 cl 2 , nitriles , e . g . acetonitrile , ester , e . g . ethylacetate , amides , e . g . dmf , ether , e . g . thf , dioxane , urethanes , e . g . tmu , sulfoxides , e . g . dmso , and mixtures thereof . the preferred solvent is toluene . the reaction conditions for the above carbonylation reaction can vary to a certain extent . the temperature can vary between 40 ยฐ c . and 170 ยฐ c ., preferably between 60 โ 120 ยฐ c ., and most preferably the reaction is performed at about 90 ยฐ c . the substrate / catalyst ratio ( mol / mol ; s / pd ) amounts to 1 to 10 , 000 , preferably 100 to 5 , 000 , more preferably 100 to 1 , 500 and most preferably 100 to 1 , 000 . for the in situ preparation , the above mentioned phosphorus ligand / transition metal compound ratio ( mol / mol ; p / pd ) amounts to 0 . 1 : 1 to 100 : 1 , preferably 6 : 1 to 15 : 1 . the upper limit for the carbon monoxide ( co ) pressure is only limited by the specification of the autoclave used . for the lower pressure limit the carbonylation reaction would work even with a co pressure of 1 bar . preferably , the co pressure is about 20 to 70 bar , more preferably 35 to 60 bar . it has been found that the โ crude โ compound of formula ( ii ) can be used for the preparation of the compound of formula ( i ). a preparation of a crude material is performed by collecting a compound of formula ( ii ), e . g . acetic acid 1 -( 1 - benzenesulfonyl - 1h - indol - 2 - yl )- allyl ester , with an organic solvent and drying without further purification . the preparation of this material is exemplified in examples 2 and 3 , example 5 shows the use of the crude starting material for the preparation of a compound of formula ( i ). the cyclocarbonylation reaction is followed by saponification . conditions for saponification reactions are known in the art and described for example in โ practical organic chemistry โ, a . i . vogel , longmans ed ., 1967 , p . 390 โ 393 . in a preferred embodiment of the present invention , the saponification is carried out in a biphasic mixture of aqueous sodium hydroxide and toluene or in an homogeneous mixture of sodium methylate in methanol . compounds of formula ( ii ) may be prepared by methods analogous to those known in the art , for example by reaction of compounds of formula ( v ) wherein r 1 , r 2 and x are as defined above ; with a reagent of the formula vinyl - metal - x with - metal - x being โ mgcl , โ mgbr , โ mgi or โ li , followed by reaction with an acid derivative selected from a group consisting of ( r 3 โ co ) 2 o , or r 3 โ( co )- hal , wherein r 3 is as defined above and hal is cl or br . compounds of formula ( v ) are commercially available or can be prepared from compounds of formula ( va ) preferably , the compounds of formula ( ii ) may be prepared by reaction of compounds of formula ( vi ) wherein r 1 , r 2 and x are as defined above and m is โ mgcl , โ mgbr , โ mgi or โ li ; with acrolein , followed by reaction with an acid derivative selected from a group consisting of ( r 3 โ co ) 2 o or r 3 โ( co )- hal , wherein r3 is as defined above and hal is cl or br . compounds of formula ( vi ) are commercially available or can be prepared from compounds of formula ( via ) or compounds of formula ( vib ) in a preferred embodiment , the present invention relates to a process for the preparation of 4 - hydroxycarbazole or n - protected 4 - hydroxycarbazole . n - protected 4 - hydroxycarbazole can be prepared by a cyclocarbonylation reaction as described above starting from a compound of above formula ( ii ), wherein r 1 and r 2 together with the ring carbon atoms to which they are attached form a phenyl ring , r 3 is as defined above , x is n โ z and z is an amino protecting group selected from so 2 r a , nme 2 , co 2 r b and con ( r c ) 2 ( with r a , r b and r c being as defined above ), in the presence of an anhydride and a base as defined above , followed by saponification . n - protected 4 - hydroxycarbazole can be converted to 4 - hydroxycarbazole by deprotection as described below . 4 - hydroxycarbazole and n - protected 4 - hydroxycarbazole are useful for the preparation of pharmaceutically active substances , e . g . 1 -( 9h - carbazol - 4 - yloxy )- 3 -[[ 2 -( 2 - methoxyphenoxy ) ethyl ] amino ]- 2 - propanol ( carvedilol ) and optionally salts thereof . a process for the preparation of this compound has been described for example in european patent application ep 0 004920 . in addition , this compound may be prepared according to the following processes : in a first step , a compound of above formula ( i ), wherein r 1 and r 2 together with the ring carbon atoms to which they are attached form a phenyl ring , x is n โ z and z is an amino protecting group selected from so 2 r a , nme 2 , co 2 r b and con ( r c ) 2 ( with r a , r b and r c being as defined above ), may be converted into a compound of formula ( vii ) wherein z is as defined above , by reaction with epichlorohydrin under basic conditions . the reaction may be performed in polar organic solvents like thf , dmf or dmso , preferably without a solvent in a great surplus of epichlorohydrin . basic compounds are for example sodium carbonate , potassium carbonate , sodium hydride , potassium hydroxide and sodium hydroxide , preferably sodium hydroxide . the temperature can vary between 20 ยฐ c . and 100 ยฐ c ., with a preferred temperature between 40 โ 60 ยฐ c . the above process may be followed by conversion of the compound of formula ( vii ) into a compound of formula ( viii ) wherein z is as defined above , by reaction with benzyl -[ 2 -( 2 - methoxy - phenoxy ]- ethyl - amine . the reaction may be performed in organic solvents like ethanol , methanol , isopropanol , thf and dmf , preferably with ethanol . the temperature can vary between 40 and 140 ยฐ c ., with a preferred temperature between 60 โ 90 ยฐ c . methods of deprotection reactions are known in the art and described for example in p . j . kocienski , protecting groups , thieme 1994 . from a compound of above formula ( viii ) for example , wherein z is so 2 r a and r a is phenyl , 1 -{ benzyl -[ 2 -( 2 - methoxy - phenoxy )- ethyl ]- amino }- 3 -( 9h - carbazol - 4 - yloxy )- propan - 2 - ol of formula ( ix ) can be synthesized under basic conditions in organic solvents like ethanol , methanol , isopropanol , thf and dmf or mixtures of these solvents , preferably with a mixture of thf and methanol . basic compounds are for example potassium hydroxide , sodium hydroxide and potassium tert - butoxide , preferably sodium hydroxide . the temperature can vary between 20 ยฐ c . and 100 ยฐ c ., with a preferred temperature between 40 โ 60 ยฐ c . hydrogenation of the compound of formula ix reveals 1 -( 9h - carbazol - 4 - yloxy )- 3 -[[ 2 -( 2 - methoxyphenoxy ) ethyl ] amino ]- 2 - propanol ( carvedilol ) of formula ( x ). the reaction may be performed in organic solvents like ethanol , methanol , isopropanol and thf , preferably with methanol . the pressure of hydrogen can vary between 1 bar and 50 bar pressure , with a preferred hydrogen pressure between 1 to 10 bar . the temperature can vary between 20 ยฐ c . and 100 ยฐ c ., with a preferred temperature between 40 โ 60 ยฐ c . another embodiment of the present invention relates to a process for the preparation of 1 -( 9h - carbazol - 4 - yloxy )- 3 -[[ 2 -( 2 - methoxyphenoxy ) ethyl ] amino ]- 2 - propanol comprising : cyclocarbonylation of acetic acid 1 -( 1 - benzenesulfonyl - 1h - indol - 2 - yl ) allyl ester or benzoic acid 1 -( 1 - benzenesulfonyl - 1h - indol - 2 - yl )- allyl ester to give acetic acid 9 - benzenesulfonyl - 9h - carbazol - 4 - yl ester ; saponification of acetic acid 9 - benzenesulfonyl - 9h - carbazol - 4 - yl ester to give 9 - benzenesulfonyl - 9h - carbazol - 4 - ol ; reaction of 9 - benzenesulfonyl - 9h - carbazol - 4 - ol with epichlorohydrin under basic conditions to give 9 - benzenesulfonyl - 4 - oxiranylmethoxy - 9h - carbazole ; reaction of 9 - benzenesulfonyl - 4 - oxiranylmethoxy - 9h - carbazole with benzyl -[ 2 -( 2 - methoxy - phenoxy ]- ethyl - amine to give a 1 -( 9 - benzenesulfonyl - 9h - carbazol - 4 - yloxy )- 3 -{ benzyl -[ 2 -( 2 - methoxy - phenoxy ) ethyl ]- amino } propan - 2 - ol ; deprotection of 1 -( 9 - benzenesulfonyl - 9h - carbazol - 4 - yloxy )- 3 -{ benzyl -[ 2 -( 2 - methoxy - phenoxy ) ethyl ]- amino }- propan - 2 - ol ; under basic conditions to give 1 -{ benzyl -[ 2 -( 2 - methoxy - phenoxy )- ethyl ]- amino }- 3 -( 9h - carbazol - 4 - yloxy )- propan - 2 - ol ; hydrogenation of 1 -{ benzyl -[ 2 -( 2 - methoxy - phenoxy )- ethyl ]- amino }- 3 -( 9h - carbazol - 4 - yloxy )- propan - 2 - ol in an organic solvent to give 1 -( 9h - carbazol - 4 - yloxy )- 3 -[[ 2 -( 2 - methoxyphenoxy ) ethyl ] amino ]- 2 - propanol of formula ( x ). the above process for the preparation of 1 -( 9h - carbazol - 4 - yloxy )- 3 -[[ 2 -( 2 - methoxyphenoxy ) ethyl ] amino ]- 2 - propanol ( carvedilol ) may alternatively be performed in an analogous manner starting from 4 - hydroxycarbazole of formula ( xi ) a compound of above formula ( i ), wherein r 1 and r 2 together with the ring carbon atoms to which they are attached form a phenyl ring , x is n โ z and z is an amino protecting group selected from so 2 r a , nme 2 , co 2 r b and con ( r c ) 2 ( with r a , r b and r c being as defined above ), may be converted into 4 - hydroxycarbazole formula ( xi ) by deprotection . methods of deprotection reactions are known in the art and described for example in p . j . kocienski , protecting groups , thieme 1994 . from a compound of above formula ( i ) for example , wherein r 1 and r 2 together with the ring carbon atoms to which they are attached form a phenyl ring , x is n โ z , z is so 2 r a and r a is phenyl , 4 - hydroxycarbazole can be synthesized under basic conditions in organic solvents like ethanol , methanol , isopropanol , thf and dmf or mixtures of these solvents , preferably with thf . basic compounds are for example potassium hydroxide , sodium hydroxide , sodium methoxide , sodium tert .- butoxide and potassium tert .- butoxide , preferably potassium tert .- butoxide . the temperature can vary between 10 ยฐ c . and 100 ยฐ c ., with a preferred temperature between 20 ยฐ c . and 40 ยฐ c . 4 - hydroxy - carbazole ( xi ) may be converted into a compound of formula ( xii ) by reaction with epichlorohydrin under basic conditions . the reaction may be performed in polar organic solvents like thf , dmf or dmso , preferably without a solvent in a great surplus of epichlorohydrin . basic compounds are for example sodium carbonate , potassium carbonate , sodium hydride , potassium hydroxide and sodium hydroxide , preferably sodium hydroxide . the temperature can vary between 20 ยฐ c . and 100 ยฐ c ., with a preferred temperature between 40 โ 60 ยฐ c . the above process may be followed by conversion of the compound of formula ( xii ) into a compound of formula ( ix ) by reaction with benzyl -[ 2 -( 2 - methoxy - phenoxy ]- ethyl - amine . the reaction may be performed in organic solvents like ethanol , methanol , isopropanol , thf and dmf , preferably with ethanol . the temperature can vary between 40 and 140 ยฐ c ., with a preferred temperature between 60 โ 90 ยฐ c . another embodiment of the present invention relates to a process for the preparation of 1 -( 9h - carbazol - 4 - yloxy )- 3 -[[ 2 -( 2 - methoxyphenoxy ) ethyl ] amino ]- 2 - propanol comprising : cyclocarbonylation of acetic acid 1 -( 1 - benzenesulfonyl - 1h - indol - 2 - yl ) allyl ester or benzoic acid 1 -( 1 - benzenesulfonyl - 1h - indol - 2 - yl )- allyl ester to give acetic acid 9 - benzenesulfonyl - 9h - carbazol - 4 - yl ester ; saponification of acetic acid 9 - benzenesulfonyl - 9h - carbazol - 4 - yl ester to give 9 - benzenesulfonyl - 9h - carbazol - 4 - ol ; deprotection of 9 - benzenesulfonyl - 9h - carbazol - 4 - ol to give 4 - hydroxy - carbazole reaction of 4 - hydroxy - carbazole with epichlorohydrin under basic conditions to give 4 - oxiranylmethoxy - 9h - carbazole ; reaction of 4 - oxiranylmethoxy - 9h - carbazole with benzyl -[ 2 -( 2 - methoxy - phenoxy ]- ethyl - amine to give a 1 -{ benzyl -[ 2 -( 2 - methoxy - phenoxy )- ethyl ]- amino }- 3 -( 9h - carbazol - 4 - yloxy )- propan - 2 - ol ; hydrogenation of 1 -{ benzyl -[ 2 -( 2 - methoxy - phenoxy )- ethyl ]- amino }- 3 -( 9h - carbazol - 4 - yloxy )- propan - 2 - ol ; in an organic solvent to give 1 -( 9h - carbazol - 4 - yloxy )- 3 -[[ 2 -( 2 - methoxyphenoxy ) ethyl ] amino ]- 2 - propanol of formula ( x ). in a further embodiment , the present invention relates to the use of any of the above processes for the preparation of 1 -( 9h - carbazol - 4 - yloxy )- 3 -[[ 2 -( 2 - methoxyphenoxy )- ethyl ]- amino ]- 2 - propanol and optionally salts thereof . wherein r 8 is hydrogen , acetyl or benzoyl , are preferred educts of the processes according to the present invention . these compounds are new and are also subject of the present invention . the following examples shall illustrate preferred embodiments of the present invention but are not intended to limit the scope of the invention . 10 . 3 g ( 40 mmol ) of 1 -( phenylsulfonyl ) indole ( synthesized analogous to t . sakamoto ; y . kondo ; n . takazawa ; h . yamanaka ; j . chem . soc . perkin trans . 1 ; 16 ; 1996 ; 1927 โ 1934 ) in 110 ml tetrahydrofuran were cooled to โ 20 ยฐ c . to the stirred solution 30 ml of 1 . 6 m n - butyllithium were added at โ 20 ยฐ c . within 20 min . the resulting suspension was warmed to 10 ยฐ c . and stirred at 10 ยฐ c . for 4 hours . the mixture was again cooled to โ 20 ยฐ c . and a solution of 3 . 4 g acrolein ( 61 mmol ) in 20 ml thf was added dropwise within 20 min at โ 20 ยฐ c . the solution was stirred at 20 ยฐ c . for 16 hours . 150 ml water was added dropwise , the mixture was vigorously stirred for 10 min . the phases were separated , and the water phase was extracted with 3 ร 100 ml of methyl - t - butyl - ether . the combined organic phases were washed with 100 ml of brine , dried on sodium sulfate and rotary evaporated ( 35 ยฐ c ., 20 mbar ). the residue was purified by liquid chromatography ( eluent toluene / ethyl acetate 6 : 1 ), the pure fractions were collected and rotary evaporated ( 40 ยฐ c ./ 15 mbar ). 1h nmr ( ฮด , ddmso ): 5 . 78 ( oh , d ), 5 . 86 ( c h โ o , dd ), 6 . 20 ( c h โ ch2 , ddd ), 5 . 19 ( ch โ c h 2 , dd ), 5 . 40 ( ch โ c h 2 , dd ), aromatic signals at 6 . 7 โ 8 . 1 . to a solution of 19 . 1 g of 1 -( 1 - benzenesulfonyl - 1h - indol - 2 - yl )- allyl alcohol ( 74 mmol ) in 244 ml dichloromethane were added 34 ml triethylamine and 0 . 7 g 4 - dimethyl - aminopyridine . the solution was cooled to 3 ยฐ c . to the magnetically stirred solution 23 . 5 ml of acetic anhydride qas added with a dropping funnel at a temperature below 5 ยฐ c . the reaction mixture was stirred 2 h at 22 ยฐ c . after cooling in an ice bath 250 ml of water was added at a temperature of 20 to 24 ยฐ c . the mixture was vigorously stirred for 10 min . the phases were separated , and the water solution extracted with 250 ml of dichloromethane . the combined organic phases were extracted with 250 ml of water three times , and once with 250 ml of brine . the dichloromethane solution was dried on sodium sulfat and finally rotary evaporated ( 35 ยฐ c ., 50 mbar ), yield 22 . 8 g . in the next step ( the cyclocarbonylation ) the resulting oil was used without purification ( crude quality ). 1h nmr ( ฮด , ddmso ): 2 . 07 ( c h 3 โ co , s ), 6 . 87 ( c h โ o , d ), 6 . 19 ( c h โ ch2 , ddd ), 5 . 37 ( ch โ c h 2 , dd ), 5 . 38 ( ch โ c h 2 , dd ), aromatic signals at 6 . 9 โ 8 . 0 . to a stirred solution of 10 . 0 g of 1 -( 1 - benzenesulfonyl - 1h - indol - 2 - yl )- allyl alcohol ( 32 mmol ) in 100 ml of pyridine were added dropwise 5 . 6 ml benzoyl chloride ( 48 mmol ) at 10 ยฐ c . the mixture was stirred for an additional 1 h at 20 ยฐ c . most of the pyridine was distilled off , the residue was given in portions to 300 ml of ice water . the ph was adjusted to 2 โ 3 with conc . hcl . the water was distilled off and the residue was dissolved in 100 ml of diethyl ether . after about 1 h the product crystallized . the suspension was stirred in an ice bath for 2 h , the solid was filtered off . the crude material was recrystallized from 90 ml methanol and dried 12 h at 35 ยฐ c . 1h nmr ( ฮด , ddmso ): 7 . 19 ( c h โ o , d ), 6 . 35 ( c h โ ch2 , ddd ), 5 . 44 ( ch โ c h 2 , dd ), 5 . 48 ( ch โ c h 2 , dd ), aromatic signals at 7 . 0 โ 8 . 1 . to a solution of 2 . 9 g ( 10 mmol ) of 1 - benzenesulfonyl - 1h - indole - 2 - carbaldehyde ( synthesized analogous to m . g . saulnier , g . w . gordon , j . org . chem . ; 47 ; 5 ; 1982 , 757 โ 761 ) in 10 ml of tetrahydrofuran was added 6 . 5 ml of vinylmagnesium chloride 1 . 7 m solution in thf at โ 20 ยฐ c . within 1 h . the temperature increased to 0 ยฐ c . within 30 min and kept at this temperature for 20 min . to the suspension 1 . 3 ml acetic anhydride ( 14 mmol was added at 0 ยฐ c . within 15 min . the cooling bath was removed and after stirring for 1 h at 20 ยฐ c . 10 ml water was added at 10 โ 15 ยฐ c . the mixture was stirred for an additional 1 h at 20 ยฐ c . the phases were separated , and the aqueous phase was extracted with 20 ml of ethyl acetate . the combined organic phases were washed with 20 ml of brine , dried on sodium sulfate and rotary evaporated ( 35 ยฐ c ., 12 mbar ). the crude material was purified by liquid chromatography ( eluent isohexane / ethyl acetate 9 : 1 ). yield : 3 . 9 g , with a 60 % purity according to nmr analysis . 1h nmr ( ฮด , ddmso ): 2 . 07 ( c h 3 โ co , s ), 6 . 87 ( c h โ o , d ), 6 . 19 ( c h โ ch2 , ddd ), 5 . 37 ( ch โ c h 2 , dd ), 5 . 38 ( ch โ c h 2 , dd ), aromatic signals at 6 . 9 โ 8 . 0 . an autoclave was charged under an argon flow with 1 . 066 g of acetic acid 1 -( 1 - benzenesulfonyl - 1h - indol - 2 - yl )- allyl ester ( 3 . 0 mmol , oil , crude quality ), 0 . 57 ml of acetic anhydride ( 6 . 0 mmol ), 0 . 92 ml of triethylamine ( 6 . 6 mmol ) and 2 . 5 ml of a catalyst solution prepared from 6 . 73 mg of palladium acetate ( 0 . 030 mmol ) and 78 . 7 mg of triphenylphosphine ( 0 . 30 mmol ) in 25 ml of toluene . then the autoclave was sealed , pressurized three times with 20 bar of carbon monoxide and vented , and finally pressurized with 50 bar of carbon monoxide . the reaction mixture was stirred magnetically and heated at 90 ยฐ c . for 20 h . after cooling and venting the autoclave , the dark reaction mixture was poured onto ice water and the biphasic solution stirred vigorously for 1 h . the aqueous phase was extracted with 20 ml of toluene , whereas the toluene phase was extracted in a separatory funnel with 10 ml of water and 10 ml of brine . the combined toluene phases were dried on sodium sulfate and finally rotary evaporated ( 47 ยฐ c ., 10 mbar ). the resulting brown residue was purified by chromatography on silica gel ( eluent : cyclohexane / t - butyl methyl ether 2 : 1 vol / vol ) to afford 960 mg ( 88 %) of acetic acid 9 - benzenesulfonyl - 9h - carbazol - 4 - yl ester as a light brown oil . 1h nmr ( ฮด , cdcl 3 ): 2 . 48 ( oac , singlet ), aromatic signals at 7 . 2 โ 8 . 4 . a solution of 0 . 96 g of acetic acid 9 - benzenesulfonyl - 9h - carbazol - 4 - yl ester ( 2 . 62 mmol ) in 15 ml of methanol was treated with 3 . 5 ml of 4 m sodium hydroxide ( 14 mmol ) and stirred at 50 ยฐ c . for 1 . 5 h . after cooling to room temperature , methanol was removed from the reaction mixture by rotary evaporation and the residue was partitioned between t - butyl methyl ether and 2n aq . hcl . after drying ( na 2 so 4 ) the organic phase was evaporated to dryness to afford 0 . 84 g ( 99 %) of 9 - benzenesulfonyl - 9h - carbazol - 4 - ol as an orange brown oil . 1h nmr ( ฮด , cdcl 3 ): 5 . 6 ( oh , broad ), 6 . 7 ( 1h , d ), other aromatic signals at 7 . 3 โ 8 . 4 . a solution of 0 . 83 g of 9 - benzenesulfonyl - 9h - carbazol - 4 - ol ( 2 . 57 mmol ) in 18 ml of tetrahydrofuran was treated with 2 . 88 g of potassium tert butoxide ( 25 . 7 mmol ) and the suspension stirred at room temperature under argon over night . then 2n hydrochloric acid solution was added until the ph was 3 and the resulting brown solution was partitioned between 20 ml of tert butyl methyl ether and 5 ml of water . after drying on sodium sulfate , the organic phase was rotary evaporated ( 50 ยฐ c ./ 10 mbar ) to give 500 mg of a dark oil , which according to hplc analysis ( symmetry c8 column 5 ฮผm 250 ร 4 . 6 mm , eluted with a mixture of phosphate buffer at ph 7 / acetonitrile / water 2 : 1 : 7 ( 40 %) and acetonitrile ( 60 %); retention time 4 . 2 min ) had 70 % content of 4 - hydroxy - 9h - carbazole . 1h nmr ( ฮด , cdcl 3 ): 5 โ 5 . 5 ( oh , very broad ), 6 . 5 ( 1h , d ), 8 . 0 ( nh , broad ), other aromatic signals at 6 . 9 โ 8 . 2 . treatment of the oil with charcoal ( darco kb - b ) in methanol for 1 h at room temperature , filtration and evaporation afforded 4 - hydroxy - 9h - carbazole as a light brown solid , which could be purified by crystallization from toluene . 16 . 60 g of acetic acid 1 -( 1 - benzenesulfonyl - 1h - indol - 2 - yl )- allyl ester ( 46 . 7 mmol , crude quality ) were crystallized from 20 ml of diisopropyl ether and 10 ml of hexane at 2 ยฐ c . filtration afforded 12 . 7 g ( 76 %) of pure acetic acid 1 -( 1 - benzenesulfonyl - 1h - indol - 2 - yl )- allyl ester as slightly beige crystals with a m . p . of 81 โ 84 ยฐ c . 9 . 953 g of this material were subjected to the cyclocarbonylation reaction in analogy to example 1 , affording after work - up 10 . 62 g of acetic acid 9 - benzenesulfonyl - 9h - carbazol - 4 - yl ester as a light brown oil with a purity 91 % according to hplc analysis ( 94 . 4 % isolated yield ). 10 . 50 g of this material was subjected to saponification without further purification in analogy to example 6 , affording 9 . 60 g of 9 - benzenesulfonyl - 9h - carbazol - 4 - ol as an orange - brown crystalline material with a 85 % purity according to hplc . thus , the overall yield over both steps was 90 . 8 %. an autoclave was charged under an argon flow with 4 . 17 g of benzoic acid 1 -( 1 - benzenesulfonyl - 1h - indol - 2 - yl )- allyl ester ( 10 . 0 mmol ), 1 . 89 ml of acetic anhydride ( 20 . 0 mmol ), 3 . 08 ml of triethylamine ( 22 . 0 mmol ), 15 ml of toluene and 5 . 0 ml of a catalyst solution prepared from 9 . 0 mg of palladium acetate ( 0 . 04 mmol ) and 105 mg of triphenylphosphine ( 0 . 40 mmol ) in 20 ml of toluene . then the autoclave was sealed , pressurized three times with 20 bar of carbon monoxide and vented , and finally pressurized with 50 bar of carbon monoxide . the reaction mixture was stirred magnetically and heated at 90 ยฐ c . for 20 h . after cooling and venting the autoclave , the dark reaction mixture was poured onto ice water and the biphasic solution stirred vigorously for 1 h . the toluene phase was extracted twice with sodium bicarbonate half - saturated solution , then the combined organic phases were extracted with 20 ml of toluene , dried on sodium sulfate and finally rotary evaporated ( 47 ยฐ c ., 10 mbar ). the resulting orange oily residue ( 4 . 15 g , 91 % yield ) was acetic acid 9 - benzenesulfonyl - 9h - carbazol - 4 - yl ester with a 80 % purity according to hplc analysis . ms : 365 . 0 ( m + ). treatment of 4 . 15 g of acetic acid 9 - benzenesulfonyl - 9h - carbazol - 4 - yl ester ( prepared in example 9 ) in an analogous manner as described in example 6 afforded 4 . 15 g of 9 - benzenesulfonyl - 9h - carbazol - 4 - ol as an orange - brown crystalline material with 73 % purity according to hplc analysis . a 1 l 3 - necked glass flask equipped with a magnetic stirrer , a thermometer and a nitrogen inlet was charged with 23 . 6 g of 9 - benzenesulfonyl - 9h - carbazol - 4 - ol ( 73 mmol ) and 236 ml of epichlorohydrin ( 3 . 0 mol ) and to the resulting solution 236 ml of a 5 n sodium hydroxide solution was added in one portion at 20 ยฐ c . the temperature of the oil bath was increased to 45 ยฐ c ., the temperature inside increased slowly to 55 ยฐ c ., and after 30 min the temperature inside was at 45 ยฐ c . the stirring was continued for 3 h . most of epichlorohydrin and water was distilled off with a rotary evaporator ( t bath 50 ยฐ c ., 10 mbar ), the residue was dissolved in a mixture of 236 ml thf and 236 ml 5 n sodium hydroxide solution and stirred for 18 h at 30 ยฐ c . it was cooled to 20 ยฐ c . and the phases were separated . the water phase was extracted with 300 ml of ethyl acetate , and the combined organic phases were washed with 2 ร 300 ml of brine , dried ( na 2 so 4 ), and rotary evaporated ( t bath 40 ยฐ c ., 20 mbar ). the resulting brown oil was stirred in 700 ml diethyl ether for 1 h at 20 ยฐ c ., the product crystallized . the suspension was stirred 1 h in an ice bath , the product was filtered under suction , and washed with 50 ml cold diethyl ether . the substance was dried at 50 ยฐ c . for 6 h . yield : 18 . 7 g ( 67 . 5 %) of 9 - benzenesulfonyl - 4 - oxiranylmethoxy - 9h - carbazole as light brown solid , m . p . 107 / 108 โ 110 ยฐ c . 1h nmr ( ฮด , ddmso ): 4 . 09 ( c h 2 โ o , dd ), 4 . 56 ( c h 2 โ o , dd ), 3 . 49 ( c h โ o , cycle , dddd ), 2 . 80 ( c h 2 โ o , cycle , dd ), 2 . 90 ( c h 2 โ o , cycle , dd ), aromatic signals at 6 . 9 โ 8 . 3 . from the mother liquor additional 5 . 3 g substance was isolated , m . p . 100 / 103 โ 107 ยฐ c . 7 . 4 g of benzyl -[ 2 -( 2 - methoxy - phenoxy )- ethyl ]- amine ( 29 mmol ) were dissolved in 47 ml ethanol . to the stirred solution 10 g of 9 - benzenesulfonyl - 4 - oxiranylmethoxy - 9h - carbazole ( 26 mmol ) were added and the mixture was heated under reflux for 15 h . the boiling solution was treated with 1 g of activated carbon for 30 min . the activated carbon was filtered off in the heat , and washed with 20 ml ethanol . the ethanol was rotary evaporated ( t bath 40 ยฐ c ., 20 mbar ) and the crude material purified by liquid chromatography ( eluent toluene / ethyl acetate 4 : 1 ), the pure fractions were collected and rotary evaporated ( 40 ยฐ c ./ 15 mbar ). 1h nmr ( ฮด , ddmso ): 4 . 21 (โ o โ c h 2 โ ch โ o , dd ), 4 . 09 (โ o โ c h 2 โ ch โ o , m ), 4 . 10 (โ o โ ch2 โ c h โ o , m ), 4 . 91 (โ o h , d ), 2 . 72 (โ o โ ch โ c h 2 โ n , dd ), 2 . 86 (โ o โ ch โ c h 2 โ n , dd ), 3 . 72 ( n โ c h 2 โ ph , d ), 3 . 81 ( n โ c h 2 โ ph , d ), 2 . 89 ( n โ c h 2 โ ch2 โ o , m ), 3 . 99 ( n โ ch2 โ c h 2 โ o , t ), 3 . 64 (โ o โ c h 3 , s ), aromatic signals at 6 . 7 โ 8 . 3 . 3 . 3 g of 1 -( 9 - benzenesulfonyl - 9h - carbazol - 4 - yloxy )- 3 -{ benzyl -[ 2 -( 2 - methoxy - phenoxy )- ethyl ]- amino }- propan - 2 - ol ( 5 . 2 mmol ) were dissolved in 33 ml thf / methanol ( 2 : 1 ). a solution of 1 . 1 g of sodium hydroxide in 1 . 7 ml of water was added in one portion . the mixture was stirred for 18 h at 50 ยฐ c . the mixture was rotary evaporated ( 35 ยฐ c ./ 20 mbar ). the residue was dissolved in 25 ml of toluene and 20 ml of water . the phases were separated and the toluene phase was washed 3 times with 25 ml of water . the organic phase was rotary evaporated ( 40 ยฐ c ./ 15 mbar ) and the residue was crystallized with 9 ml ethanol . the product was filtered under suction and washed twice with 3 ml cold ethanol . the substance was dried at 50 ยฐ c . for 12 h . 10 . 4 g of 4 - hydroxy - carbazole ( 57 mmol ) were dissolved in 31 . 1 ml of dmso . 6 . 9 ml of epichlorohydrin ( 88 mol ) were added and next 57 ml of a 1 n sodium hydroxide solution . the mixture was stirred for 8 h at 40 ยฐ c . it was cooled to 20 ยฐ c . and 130 ml of water were added . the product was filtered under suction , and washed with 3 ร 30 ml water . the crude material was recrystallized from isopropanol . the substance was dried at 60 ยฐ c . for 12 h . 35 . 0 g of benzyl -[ 2 -( 2 - methoxy - phenoxy )- ethyl ]- amine ( 136 mmol ) were dissolved in 225 ml ethanol . to the stirred solution 30 . 1 g of 4 - oxiranylmethoxy - 9h - carbazole ( 126 mmol ) were added and the mixture was heated under reflux for 15 h . the boiling solution was treated with 3 g of activated carbon for 30 min . the activated carbon was filtered off in the heat , and washed with 20 ml ethanol . the solution was stirred for 3 h at room temperature and next 5 h at 0 ยฐ c . the product was filtered under suction and washed twice with 10 ml cold ethanol . the substance was dried at 50 ยฐ c . for 12 h 10 g of 1 -{ benzyl -[ 2 -( 2 - methoxy - phenoxy )- ethyl ]- amino }- 3 -( 9h - carbazol - 4 - yloxy )- propan - 2 - ol ( 20 mmol ) were dissolved in 80 ml methanol . 1 g of pd - c ( 10 %) were added and the suspension was warmed to 50 ยฐ c . the mixture was hydrogenated at normal pressure for about 7 hours . the pd - catalyst was filtered under suction and washed with 25 ml of hot methanol . 80 ml of methanol were distilled off and the residue was cooled to 0 ยฐ c . and hold at this temperature for 6 h . the product was filtered and washed twice with 3 ml cold methanol . the substance was dried at 60 ยฐ c . for 12 h . upon reading the present specification , various alternative embodiments will become obvious to the skilled artisan . these variations are to be considered within the scope and spirit of the subject invention , which is only to be limited by the claims that follow and their equivalents . | 2 |
this disclosure includes sections relating to an example high level architecture of speech enhancement system , details of an example residual echo and noise cancellation ( renc ) system , details of an example automatic gain controller ( fagc ), details of a proposed nlp controller and performance examples of the proposed speech enhancement system for real - time captured test signals . fig1 depicts a system context in which methods and systems according to the disclosure can be practiced . fig1 depicts a situation in which devices ( device 20 and device 45 ) support voice communication over packet networks ( e . g ., network 40 ), and in a particular example , where devices support voice over internet protocol ( voip ). user satisfaction with voice communication is degraded greatly by echo . to provide context , echo can be viewed as a situation in which a far - end signal ( 13 ) from a far - end device 45 is being played from a speaker at a near end ( 12 ) device 20 ( this signal can include voice from a person at device 45 , noise 16 , and echo derived from near - end 12 speech played out at a speaker of device 45 . a microphone 23 at near end device 20 samples the available audio energy , including picks up the far - end signal , encodes some part of the far - end signal and returns it to the far - end device 45 ( such as in voice packets 34 and 35 ), which produces audio through a speaker , including noise and the echoed far - end signal picked up at near end 12 . note that near - end and far - end here are simply conventions which would change based on perspective ; in a full - duplex conversation , they are interchangeable . by further explanation , device 20 ( and device 45 ) may include a display 22 , a speaker 24 , a non - volatile storage 25 , a volatile memory hierarchy 26 , and one or more processors 27 . these components can execute an echo cancellation system according to these disclosures . a high level architecture of an example echo and noise cancellation system is shown in fig2 . the input signals to acoustic echo canceller ( aec ) 102 are the microphone signal d ( n ) and the farend signal x ( n ) being played out through speaker ( signals having n as an argument are digital versions of a time - domain signal . the system contains a band pass filter ( bpf ) 107 , band splitters 113 , de - correlation filters ( dcfs ) 129 , 131 , adaptive filters ( adfs ) 123 , 125 , band mixers 115 , 117 , residual echo & amp ; noise canceller ( renc ) 119 , nlp controller 109 , and acoustic echo suppressor ( aes ) 111 . aspects presented herein include example designs for a high performance simultaneous noise & amp ; residual echo cancellation unit , an example design of a full - duplex nlp controller and an example design of an efficient frequency domain gain control unit . the example system contains two delay compensation units : pure delay compensation and delay compensation with respect to a microphone signal , in order to synchronize the microphone signal with renc output signal . the pure delay can be estimated using an adf running in decimated domain . the estimation of pure delay is configurable . in an example , the algorithmic delay of residual and noise cancellation ( renc ) unit is 6 ms , so that a compensation delay is introduced to the microphone signal of about that amount to align with residual echo and noise canceller output signal . it is to remove the dc and unwanted high frequency signal from the inputs . the cut - off frequencies of this filter are 0 . 0125 and 0 . 96 . a 6th order iir filter is used because of its simplicity and low processing requirement . it is to split the signal into two channels . band splitter uses quadrature mirror filter ( qmf ) filter for band splitting . for the two - bands of aec processing , the input signal is split into 2 channels with a cut - off frequency of ฯ / 2 . the sampling rate of each channel is reduced to half of the original sampling rate using decimation factor of 2 . this sample rate reduction provides efficient processing of aec . to avoid degradation of the performance of nlms algorithms due to strong correlation of the speech signals , the farend signal is pre - whitened by applying a de - correlation filter before giving it to adaptive filter . de - correlation filter is a prediction error first order hpf , with its coefficient matched to the correlation properties of the speech signal . this filtering increases the rate of convergence of the adaptive filter for the speech signal . the typical value of filter coefficient is 0 . 875 . adaptive filter ( adf ) uses delayed error nlms algorithm . since the filter is running in decimated and de - correlated domain with shorter filter length , the convergence of the filter is very faster . the maximum number of taps used per filter is 256 . each adf has its own built - in near - end speech detector that activates / de - activates the weight adaptation . it is to combine echo estimates and error signals from the two bands after aec processing to their single bands respectively . echo estimates and error signals are up - sampled before combining by the synthesis filter bank into an original sampling rate signal . the combined structure for splitting the channels and combining again is called a quadrature - mirror filter ( qmf ) bank . band mixer 115 , 117 outputs e ( n ) and y ( n ) are passed to renc 119 , which as will be described below , further suppresses echo and background noise . renc 119 also has an agc 121 . the renc 119 outputs signals including s ( n ) through agc 120 ( see fig2 ) to aes 111 and s โฒ( n ) to nlp controller 109 . s ( n ) is enhanced nearend signal after canceling residual echo and background noise . the signal s โฒ( n ) is an output of fagc . since nlp controller 109 uses correlation between error and microphone signal , the output signal obtained before fagc &# 39 ; s action is given to it . the fagc output is given to aes unit for further processing to eliminate unwanted very low level residual echo . the aes is controlled based on non - linear processor ( nlp ) decisions . nlp controller 109 enables or disables non - linear processing ( nlp ), and aes , as being part of nlp . nlp can completely remove the residual echo during single talk . the nlp decision also can ensure no signal clipping when passing from single talk to double - talk . the nlp controller 109 responds quickly , without hangover during start of near end signal present in the output of the microphone signal , this unit also can be called a sensitive double - talk detector ( sns dtd ). acoustic echo suppresser ( aes ) 111 is a switched attenuator . aes comprises a noise parameter extractor and a comfort noise injection units ( cni ). during single talk , aes replaces residual echo by comfort noise generated by cni unit . aes provides a smooth transition between the original signal and the comfort noise generated by cni module at the beginning of single talk , as well as ensuring a smooth transition when moving from single talk to nearend speech or nearend background noise . for this seamless transition , aes performs overlap and add ( ola ) using a triangular window on cni generated noise and enhanced nearend signal s ( n ) from fagc at the start of single talk and also at the end of single talk . during start of the single talk , cni generated noise is multiplied by a rising ramp and is added to the s ( n ) multiplied by a falling ramp . similarly , during end of the single talk , cni generated noise is multiplied by a falling ramp and is added to s ( n ), which is multiplied by a rising ramp . in an example , the attenuation or rising factor of the ramp is 0 . 3662 over a 10 ms period . the agc output , s ( n ) is classified into speech and noise frames . in an example , each frame is 10 ms in length . the classification uses an energy - based vad algorithm . average ambient noise level and linear predictive coefficients ( lpc ) are extracted for each silence / noise frame . cni unit uses 10th order lpc parameters and gaussian random number generator for generating comfort noise , which is used for matching the spectrum of nearend ambient noise . this simulated comfort noise replaces the residual echo without a noticeable transition ( observable by user ), when nlp is activated . a block diagram of an example renc 119 is shown in fig3 . the example renc 119 uses modified frequency domain wiener filtering or an mmse lsa estimator . in brief , the summation of an estimate of short - term spectral magnitude of ambient background noise and an estimate of short - term spectral magnitude of echo is used to estimate a spectral gain to be applied to an error signal , which includes residual echo , noise , and potentially , near end speech . assuming that the noise , v ( n ), is additive to near - end speech signal s ( n ) at respective discrete time indexes , denoted by the variable n , the noisy near - end speech signal d ( n ) is represented in equation ( 1 ). error signal e ( n ) from band mixer will contain noisy near - end speech d ( n ) and residual echo ry ( n ), as denoted in equation ( 2 ). e โก ( n ) = โข d โก ( n ) + ry โก ( n ) = โข s โก ( n ) + v โก ( n ) + ry โก ( n ) ( 2 ) an asymmetric trapezoidal window represented in equation ( 3 ). where , d is the overlap length , l is the input frame length and m is the window length . incoming samples are stored in a buffer of length l samples ; last d samples from the previous frame are appended to this buffer and remaining samples are taken as zeros to make up for a buffer of length equal to window length m . in one example , the value of m is 176 samples , l is 80 samples and d is 48 samples . buffered samples are windowed using trapezoidal window and then transformed into frequency domain for processing to reduce the jitter in packet transmission of packet based communication system such as voip . frequency domain conversion : the error signal e ( n ) and scaled echo estimate r โฒ y ( n ) are divided into overlapping frames by the application of a trapezoidal window function where r โฒ is a fixed correlation factor . the respective windowed signals are converted to frequency domain using fourier transform 160 161 ( e . g ., a short - time fourier transform ( sift ). let e k ( l ) and r โฒ y k ( l ) represent stft of error signal e ( n ) and the scaled echo estimate r โฒ y ( n ) respectively for the frame index l and frequency bin index k . then error signal is given as e k ( l )= s k ( l )+ v k ( l )+ y k ( l ) ( 4 ) where , s k ( l ), v k ( l ) and y k ( l ) represent stft of nearend signal , s ( n ), the background noise , v ( n ) and residual echo y ( n ). since the aec tail length used is short , it may not cancel the echoes completely when actual reverberation is longer than the tail length of the echo cancellation filters . so , to cancel them , a moving average filter with low attack rate and fast release rate is used on actual echo estimate obtained from echo cancellation filter . the estimation from moving average filters is controlled using appropriate logic when actual reverberation is within the tail length of echo cancellation filter . equation 5 represents lengthen echo estimate r k ( l ). r k โก ( l ) = { ฮฑ 1 โข r k โก ( l - 1 ) + ( 1 - ฮฑ 1 ) โข r โฒ โข y k โก ( l ) , if โข โข ( r โฒ โข y k โก ( l ) & gt ; r k โก ( l - 1 ) ) ฮฑ 2 โข r k โก ( l - 1 ) + ( 1 - ฮฑ 2 ) โข r โฒ โข y k โก ( l ) , else โข โข โข where , ฮฑ 2 & lt ; ฮฑ 1 & lt ; 1 . ( 5 ) noise estimation uses external vad . the vad identifies presence of voice activity in the input error signal coming from adf . when the vad decision shows noise frame ( i . e ., vad = 0 ), noise estimation v k ( l ) is updated as per equation ( 6 ). v k โก ( l ) = { ฮฑ 3 โข v k โก ( l - 1 ) + ( 1 - ฮฑ 3 ) โข v k โก ( l ) if โข โข vad = 0 v k โก ( l - 1 ) otherwise ( 6 ) the total signal that is suppressed from error signal in frequency domain at all frequency bins for a given frame l is given as even though equation ( 7 ) represents the unwanted components that are to be subtracted from error signal , there is a chance of over estimation possible in different platforms . this over estimation can be due to r โฒ value being greater than the ratio between actual residual echo and the echo estimate . to control the over estimate , moving average of error signal can be estimated using low pass filtering with dual a coefficient , such as in equation ( 8 ). to control the over estimation of cancellation part nr k ( l ), a ceiling operation is performed and modified cancellation part is estimated as given in equation ( 9 ). the example renc 119 filters out the cancellation part by modifying the spectral amplitudes of each frequency bins | e k ( l )| in equation ( 4 ) by applying the gain estimates g k ( l ) as below s k ( l )= g k ( l ) e k ( l ), for 0 โฆ g k ( l )โฆ 1 ( 10 ) gain estimates g k ( l ) is formed as a function of a posteriori snr ฮณ k ( l ), and a priori snr ฮพ k ( l ). the ฮณ k ( l ) and ฮพ k ( l ) are estimated as below using statistical variances of error signal or the expected clean near - end speech and the cancellation part signal . the statistical variance of clean near - end speech e (| s k ( l )| 2 ) for the estimation of ฮพ k ( l ) is estimated using decision - directed ( dd ) method [ 1 ] proposed by ephraim and malah using 0 & lt ; ฮฑ & lt ; 1 and is as . fig4 shows a block diagram of a gain estimator 175 . the formation of g k ( l ) function is done using : ( 1 ) frequency domain wiener filtering or ( 2 ) mmse lsa estimator . frequency domain weiner filtering : the wiener filter is a popular adaptive technique that has been used in many enhancement methods . approach based on optimal filtering and the aim is to find the optimal filter that would minimize the mean square error between the desired signal ( clean signal ) and the estimated output . the wiener filter gain g k ( l ) is estimated by solving an equation in which the derivative of the mean square error with respect to the filter coefficients is set to zero : the wiener filter emphasizes portions of the spectrum where the snr is high , and attenuates portions of the spectrum where the snr is low . iterative wiener filtering constructs an optimal linear filter using estimates of both the underlying speech and underlying noise spectra . this technique makes an assumption that fourier expansion coefficients of noise components ( v l ( l ) and ry k ( l )) and near - end speech are statistically independent , and that they follow a gaussian distribution . log - spectra is used in distortion measures , and is motivation to examine the effect of an amplitude estimator constrained to minimizing mean - squared error of the log - spectra . let a k be the actual amplitude of the near - end speech signal and ฤ k be the estimated amplitude of the near - end speech signal . the cost function used to estimate the gain is given by since the estimation of integral function over the exponential of equation ( 16 ) is very complex , the exponential integral in ( 16 ) can be evaluated using a functional approximation shown in equation 17 . g k lsa โก ( l ) = ( ฮพ k โก ( l ) 1 + ฮพ k โก ( l ) ) โข exp โข { โ
v k โก ( l ) 2 } ( 17 ) where , v k ( l ) and e v k ( l ) are defined in the following equations ( 18 ) and ( 19 ) respectively . v k โก ( l ) = ฮพ k โก ( l ) 1 + ฮพ k โก ( l ) โข ฮณ k โก ( l ) ( 18 ) โ
v k โก ( l ) = { - 2 . 3 โข โข log 10 โข v k โก ( l ) - 0 . 6 , v k โก ( l ) & lt ; 0 . 1 10 - ( 0 . 52 โข โข v k โก ( l ) + 0 . 26 ) , v k โก ( l ) & gt ; 1 - 1 . 54 โข โข log 10 โข v k โก ( l ) + 0 . 166 , otherwise ( 19 ) to avoid abrupt change across the frequency bins , gain smoothing is done as below . 2d filtering : to smooth abrupt change in gain estimation across the frequency bins , smoothing is done as below . g k f ( l )=( ฮฑ 7 g k ( l โ 1 )+ ฮฑ 8 g k ( l ))*( 1 /( ฮฑ 7 + ฮฑ 8 )) ( 21 ) the estimated gain is applied on error signal as per equation ( 10 ) and the enhanced stsa s k ( l ) is obtained . enhanced near - end speech s ( n ) is then reconstructed by applying the inverse fft to the enhanced stsa , | s k ( l )|, with the noisy phase โ e k ( l ), followed by an appropriate overlap - and - add ( ola ) procedure to compensate for the window effect and to alleviate abrupt signal changes between two consecutive frames . the smoothed gain g k f ( l ), and enhanced speech frequency bins s k ( l ) are used for estimating gain for each frequency bin to achieve target power level in the output . the high level architecture of the proposed agc is shown in fig4 . vad block estimates presence of voice activity for each frequency bin . if voice activity presence is detected at least on one frequency bin , the new gain is estimated by the computation module . then the new gain is applied on the enhanced speech s k ( l ). since calculating agc gain for the silence frames is not needed , classification of a frame as speech / silence is required for gain calculations . since , agc is supposed to apply gain only on the nearend signal , it should not amplify echo or noise regions . so , the suppressor gain g k f ( l ) is expected to be lower than unity for echo and noise regions . also , the suppressor gain can be used for deciding the presence of nearend speech activity , as below . bvad k ( l )= 1 if ( g k f ( l )& gt ; ฮป 1 ) where bvad k ( l ) represents vad decision for k th frequency bin in l th frame . vad ( l ) represents global vad decision for l th frame . the decision of vad - activity for individual bins in a given frame are considered and if more than one bin is classified as a speech bin the frame is classified as a speech frame otherwise as silence frame . the gain computation unit estimates global frame gain from the rms power level of nearend speech . the gain for each frequency bin is estimated using global frame gain g m ( l ) and low pass filtering . total speech power level is given by p sp ( l )= ฯ ( s k 2 ( l )* bvad k ( l )) ( 23 ) p n ( l )= ฯ ( s k 2 ( l )โ p sp ( l )) ( 24 ) where , tl is calibrated target power level considering the frame size and spectral leakage during windowing for the given actual target level in db . initial mean square value msqr ( 0 ) is given by equation ( 26 ). mean square values ( msqr ( l )) are estimated using a lpf as given below where , p โฒ m ( l ) is given by equation ( 27 ), and p m ( l ) is given by equation ( 28 ). the calculated gain is limited to the range of the allowable maximum and minimum values before applying it to the frames . in a case where low amplitude to high amplitude level transition is encountered in the input , the computed gain may exceed the limit and may cause a momentary transition spike . this phenomenon can be minimized through a condition to check gain blow over , by limiting the gain to a maximum gain value g max to avoid any spiking and ensure smooth transition . to avoid high fluctuations between two frames that will result in signal distortion the gain is smoothed over time and is given below . different smoothing factors are applied for transitions from noise to speech and speech to noise respectively . these values are chosen in such a way that the attack time is faster than the release time . attack time should be fast for preventing harsh distortion when the amplitude rapidly increases and the decay time should be relatively longer to avoid chopper effect to assure low distortion . the computed gain is applied to speech and noise bins separately based on the vad activity decision for each bin . to avoid distortion across frequency bins due to high gain differences across neighboring frequency bins , 2 - d filtering on individual vad decisions of each frequency bin is applied . with the knowledge of voice activity for each frame , individual frames are treated separately for the gain calculation . gain to unvoiced portions that contain only background noise is set to unity . the agc gain calculated for a given frame is given below for speech frequency bins bvad k 2d ( l ). if bvad k 2d ( l ) is noise , below equation is estimated for agc gain ( g k agc ( l )). finally , the computed gain is applied to respective frequency bins of enhanced speech coming out of residual echo suppressor . s โฒ k ( l )= g k agc ( l )* s k ( l ) ( 35 ) after gain multiplication on frequency domain , the frame is inverse transformed and the segments are put in order by overlap and add method ( ola ) discussed in earlier sections . fig6 and 7 depict example aspects of nlp control and nlp decision logic ( which is used in nlp control ), which are performed in nlp controller 109 . nlp controller 109 enables or disables nlp to completely remove the residual echo during single talk . also , it is a goal to ensure no signal clipping occurs while passing from single talk to double - talk and vice versa . the nlp decisions are made from the combination of normalized correlation between modified microphone signal and enhanced error signal by power of microphone signal and the normalized correlation between modified microphone signal and enhanced error signal by power of error signal . nlp controller 109 outputs nlp decisions for discrete time intervals , nlp ( n ). nlp controller 109 uses several inputs in producing nlp decisions . the production of these inputs is collectively referred to as decision parameters estimation 305 . these inputs include correlation between error signal and microphone signal , ed enr ( n ). this correlation also can be used for echo detection , such that ed enr ( n ) also can be used as an indication of echo . other inputs include , normalization parameters , such as error energy e enr ( n ), and microphone signal energy d enr ( n ), noise energy v enr ( n ), convergence indicator conv ( n ), long term average of reference signal amplitude ly ( n ), absolute value of error signal , e abs ( n ) and absolute value of modified microphone signal . nlp also uses counters for stability checking . these counters include counts for hangover . before starting nlp decision making , hangover counts and nlp decision parameters are set as given below . the input signals ( microphone signal and error signal ) to the nlp controller 109 are scaled to avoid saturation in computation using 16 - bit registers . the scaling factor can be experimentally determined . the scaled down signals are called modified microphone signal d โฒ( n ) and enhanced error signal e n ( n ), and respectively are estimated by below equation ( 37 ). cross correlation ed enr ( n ) between modified microphone signal d โฒ( n ) and enhanced error signal e n ( n ) is called echo indicator parameter and is a major parameter deciding nlp activation / de - activation ( decision to activate , not activate or deactivate ). this parameter is estimated as below ed enr ( n )= ed enr ( n โ 1 )โ( d โฒ( n โ k )* e n ( n โ k ))+( d โฒ( n )* e n ( n )) ( 38 ) other important parameters include normalization factors , including microphone energy d enr ( n ) and enhanced error energy e enr ( n ), and can be estimated as in equation ( 39 ) d enr ( n )= d enr ( n โ 1 )โ[ d โฒ( n โ k )* d โฒ( n โ k )]+( d โฒ( n )* d โฒ( n )) e enr ( n )= e enr ( n โ 1 )โ[ e n ( n โ k )* e n ( n โ k )]+( e n ( n )* e n ( n )) ( 39 ) noise energy is another decision parameter that is used mainly for breaking hangover . noise energy is estimated using a moving average filter as per ( 40 ). there are five counters used for stability and other purposes . startup indicator counter m_cnt ( n ) is used to indicate initial session timing . this counter also indicates a number of samples processed by the proposed system before adf convergence is achieved . this counter &# 39 ; s maximum value is limited by the register length being used to avoid overflow . another counter counts recent noise frames . this counter uses vad decisions ( vad ( l )) from renc 119 . another counter is an adaptation counter adp_cnt ( n ) used to indicate a number of samples , during which the adfs have maintained convergence . adaptation counter allows taking hard nlp decisions during start of convergence . after adf convergence , the adaptation counter does not factor into nlp decision logic . another counter is suppressor activated counter , sup_cnt ( n ) which is similar to the startup indicator counter m_cnt ( n ). suppressor activated counter is to indicate a number of samples during which the nlp is activated before convergence of the adf . this counter is incremented by one for every nlp on decision before convergence is achieved for a speech frame . the suppressor activated counter also does not have factor into nlp decision logic after adf convergence . balance convergence counter , con_cnt ( n ), is to indicate the number of samples adfs are converged within the expected convergence . the last counter used is called hist counter , his_cnt ( n ) is to check the stability of the convergence . another decision parameters , absolute short term average error signal e abs ( n ), absolute short term average microphone signal d abs ( n ) and long term average of reference signal amplitude ly ( n ) are estimated as per below equations . d 1 is a delay compensator factor for synchronizing microphone signal d ( n ) and error signal received from residual echo remover s โฒ( n ). another decision parameter is a convergence indicator and can be estimated ( detection 307 ) as per pseudocode ( 47 ). when the adf reaches convergence during single talk , the correlation between enhanced error signal and modified microphone signal decreases . decreased correlation thus can be used as a detector for adf convergence . for the detection of convergence , cross correlation ed enr ( n ) is normalized by microphone energy d enr ( n ) and compared with the predefined threshold . since renc 119 cancels background noise also , this normalized cross correlation check may pass during no speech region . so , convergence validation is checked during presence of speech activity using the v_cnt ( l ). if (( conv ( n โ 1 ) == 0 )& amp ;& amp ;( v_cnt ( l ) == 0 )) { if ( d enr ( n )* ฮฒ 9 & gt ; ed enr ( n )) { if (( his_cnt ( n โ 1 ) & gt ; ฮฒ 10 )& amp ;& amp ; ( adp_cnt ( n ) & gt ; ฮฒ 37 )) { conv ( n ) = 1 sup_cnt ( n ) = ฮฒ 11 m_cnt ( n ) = ฮฒ 3 } else { his_cnt ( n ) = his_cnt ( n โ 1 ) + 1 } } else ( 47 ) { if ( his_cnt ( n โ 1 ) & gt ; ฮฒ 38 ) { con_cnt ( n ) = con_cnt ( n โ 1 ) + his_cnt ( n โ 1 ) if ( con_cnt ( n ) & gt ; ฮฒ 10 )& amp ;& amp ; ( adp_cnt ( n ) & gt ; ฮฒ 37 ) { conv ( n ) = 1 sup_cnt ( n ) = ฮฒ 11 m_cnt ( n ) = ฮฒ 3 } } his_cnt ( n ) = 0 } } fig7 depicts an example of nlp decision logic performed to update nlp decisions , in elements 309 / 311 of fig6 . the example of fig7 is exemplary and not limiting . a person of ordinary skill can adapt these disclosures to other implementations . the decision logic has two main stages ; ( 1 ) decision before convergence and ( 2 ) decision after convergence . a startup decision maker 354 is nlp decision maker before expected convergence is achieved . there are five sub - stages in the decision making after expected convergence is achieved . they are detailed in the subsequent sub sections . startup decision maker 354 uses a relaxed threshold and there is possibility that nlp might be activated sometimes during double talk . the startup decision maker is active for a short time during startup , and thus does not have a major effect on a conversation . also , occurrence of double talk during start of a call is uncommon . if (( m_cnt ( n ) & lt ; ฮฒ 3 )& amp ;& amp ;( sup_cnt ( n ) & lt ; ฮฒ 11 ) & amp ;& amp ;( d enr ( n )* ฮฒ 12 & gt ; ed enr ( n ))) { nlp ( n ) = 1 if ( v_cnt ( l ) == 0 ) ( 48 ) { sup_cnt ( n ) = sup_cnt ( n ) + 1 } } a coarse decision maker 356 uses normalized cross correlation ed enr ( n )/ d enr ( n ) for decision making . if the validation check is passed , the dt hangover is broken and st hangover is set to ฮฒ 14 . if ( d enr ( n )* ฮฒ 13 & gt ; ed enr ( n )) { nlp ( n ) = 1 st_hngovr ( n ) = ฮฒ 14 ( 49 ) dt_hngovr ( n ) = โ 1 distortion ( n ) = 1 } a distorted error masker 358 is an energy comparator for low level signal . when the error signal is at a low level and also is much lower than the microphone signal level , this decision directs nlp activation . activating the nlp under such conditions reduces situations where distorted low level noise can be heard by the user . if (( d enr ( n ) & gt ; e enr ( n )* ฮฒ 15 )& amp ;& amp ;( e enr ( n ) & lt ; ฮฒ 16 )) || (( d enr ( n ) & gt ; e enr ( n )* ฮฒ 17 )& amp ; 8 ( e enr ( n ) & lt ; ฮฒ 18 )) { ( 50 ) nlp ( n ) = 1 dt_hngovr ( n ) = โ 1 } a coarse decision maker 360 uses a normalized cross correlation ed enr ( n )/ e enr ( n ) as a basis for outputting decisions for nlp activation . if the validation check is passed , the dt hangover is broken and st hangover is set to ฮฒ 20 if it is lower than that . if ( e enr ( n ) & gt ; ( ed enr ( n )* ฮฒ 19 )) { nlp ( n ) = 1 if ( st_hngovr ( n ) & lt ; ฮฒ 20 ) ( 51 ) st_hngovr ( n ) = ฮฒ 20 dt_hngovr ( n ) = โ 1 distortion ( n ) = 1 } if the nlp decision is off with the above validations , a dt hangover check 362 is performed . dt hangover is checked for transmitting the nearend signal passed out of aes until a current point . the hangover counter is decremented by one for every sample processing . if ( dt_hngovr ( n ) & gt ; 0 ) { ( 52 ) dt_hngovr ( n ) = dt_hngovr ( n ) โ 1 } if all decision making logics failed , then the coarse decision maker 365 becomes active ( this example shows a serial flow , where any positive decision causes a nlp = 1 decision , and the remainder of the flow need not be performed . a coarse decision maker 365 applies a different threshold on the normalized cross correlation ed enr ( n )/ d enr ( n ) based on the convergence state of the adaptive filter as given below . if ( d enr ( n )* ฮฒ 21 & gt ; ed enr ( n ) || (( d enr ( n )* the flow of fig7 completes by returning a decision for nlp ( n )= 0 or nlp ( n )= 1 to complete the flow of fig6 . if the nlp decision logic enables nlp , then nlp energy threshold is updated 315 as given below . this threshold will be used for breaking st hangover later . tmp = e enr ( n ) โ nlp enr ( n ) if ( tmp & gt ; 0 ) nlp enr ( n ) = nlp enr ( n ) + tmp * ฮฒ 25 ( 54 ) else nlp enr ( n ) = nlp enr ( n ) + tmp * ฮฒ 26 sometimes there is change of residual echo passed to user due to hangover . so , there should be decision or other mechanism to break dt hangover based on a sudden fall in nearend energy or sudden rise in echo energy . the dt hangover is broken in this scenario based on the below condition : if (( e enr ( n )* ฮฒ 37 & gt ; d enr ( n )) || ( d enr ( n ) & gt ; e enr ( n )* ฮฒ 28 )) { ( 55 ) dt_hngovr ( n ) = โ 1 nlp ( n ) = 1 } if the dt hangover breaking conditions failed and energy of the error signal is more than a predefined threshold , st hangover is to be broken and dt hangover is to be set to another pre - defined value , as in the example below . if ( e enr ( n ) & gt ; ฮฒ 29 ) { dt_hngovr ( n ) = ฮฒ 20 ( 56 ) st_hngovr ( n ) = โ 1 } the nlp threshold estimated is used for breaking the st hangover . the st hangover breaking validation condition is given below . if (( e enr ( n ) & gt ; nlp enr ( n )* ฮฒ 30 )|| if the hangover breaking validation is failed and st hangover count is greater than 0 ( 325 ), nlp is activated ( 329 ) and st hang over count is decremented by 1 ( 329 ). refining the nlp decision and st hangover are done based on the long term average amplitude of the reference signal ly ( n ), absolute average of error and modified microphone output signal as given below . if ( e abs ( n ) & gt ; d abs ( n ) + ฮฒ 34 ) || embodiments can be implemented in fixed point c on a risc application processor , such as an advanced risc machines ( arm ) processor , such as an arm 9 e . in some implementations , other applications can execute on the same application processor and in some examples , processes can have preemptive scheduling provided by an os kernel , for time - critical tasks . good performance is shown on real platforms that have general purpose application processors , such as laptops , tablets , and desktops , such as microsoft windows desktop , laptop and mobile , as well as android - based handsets . to demonstrate the proposed system &# 39 ; s performance here , the ensemble average results are provided in this section . real - time captured farend and microphone output signals on different platforms are fed to the aec module and respective block &# 39 ; s output signals are captured and analyzed . fig8 depicts the ensemble average of erle for single talk test case . during single talk test case , microphone output signal has echo and background noise only . in fig8 , it can be seen that adfs ( 402 ) were able to provide erle of 8 db only . with the residual echo and noise canceller ( rennc ) 119 , erle can be increased up to 60 db using modified wiener gain estimation ( 404 ) and 40 db using modified mmse lsa gain estimation ( 406 ). the proposed method based on mmse - lsa provides much less residual noise when compared to weiner , while there is no perceptible difference in the enhanced quality of speech between these two methods . further , residual noise sounds more uniform ( more white ), which is subjectively preferable . fig9 depicts the ensemble average of erle for double talk ( dt ) test case . in the fig9 , two dt regions are present . in all test cases , there is no clipping of nearend speech and complete cancellation of background noise is observed . fig1 - 13 depict aspects of the performance of an implementation of the proposed fagc . from fig1 , it can be noted that the target level tracking of the proposed fagc is fast and accurate . nlp controller 109 performance for real - time captured signal is depicted in fig1 . the captured signal has the combination of single talk , double talk and nearend signal . nlp is active during single talk and echo alone regions during double talk and it is deactivated in all the nearend regions . fig1 depicts the aes output for nlp decisions . aes output does not contain any residual echo . | 7 |
fig2 shows one embodiment of the present invention in which elements having the same function as those in the circuit of fig1 are provided with the same marks . in fig2 the secondary winding 9 cooperates with a thyristor 11 connected thereto to constitute a feedback circuit . a comparator 13 compares a voltage of a reference power supply 14 with a voltage from the power supply 1 . a trigger pulse generator 12 connected to the output of the comparator 13 is connected to the gate of the thyristor 11 . the comparator 13 produces a signal voltage when the voltage of the power supply 1 is greater than the reference voltage 14 , and the trigger pulse generator 12 applies a trigger pulse to the gate of the thyristor 11 in response to an output from the comparator 13 . thus , the thyristor 11 is made conductive to operate the feedback circuit only when the voltage of the power supply 1 is greater than the reference voltage 14 . in the circuit of the present invention , therefore , the feedback circuit does not operate and the load 8 is supplied with a predetermined high - frequency power when the voltage of the power supply 1 is lower than the reference voltage . when , on the other hand , the voltage of the power supply 1 is greater than the reference voltage and an excessive high - frequency current would be caused to flow , the thyristor 11 is conductive to operate the feedback circuit , thereby preventing the flow of the excessive current . fig3 shows an experimental result obtained when a load having a characteristic in which its impedance is lowered when a voltage is above a certain level is driven by a power supply , i . e ., a pulsating power supply provided by rectifying the commercial power supply . the graph of fig3 shows an input voltage on its abscissa and an output supplied to the load on its ordinate . a curve indicated by a solid line 17a and the following dot line 15 shows a relation between the input voltage and the output power without any feedback circuit . this shows that a predetermined output power of , for example , about 400 w is produced at an input supply voltage of 80 v , and that the output power abruptly increases with the greater supply voltage with a power of 800 w at 100 v , twice as great , and with a power over 1000 w at 120 v . a curve 16 indicated by a dot - dash line shows a characteristic of a circuit including the feedback circuit of the conventional diode and the secondary winding to suppress the increase in load current so that , for example , the output voltage may not exceed the predetermined level of 400 w even at the input supply voltage of 120 v . this , however , causes a voltage appearing on the secondary winding and initiating the feedback to also drop with the reduction of the supply voltage , so that the feedback occurs even at the low supply voltage with the result of an output power of the order of 200 w , not reaching the required power , at the supply voltage of 80 v as shown by the curve 16 . a curve 17b shown by a solid line shows a relation between the input voltage and the output voltage , and operations of the circuit according to the embodiment of the present invention as shown in fig2 . the curve 17b shows a characteristic of the circuit of fig2 in which the voltage of the reference power supply is so set that the comparator 13 produces an output signal when the voltage of the power supply 1 is of the order of 80 v . thus , the feedback circuit does not operate at the voltage of the power supply 1 lower than 80 v , so that the input voltage is related to the output power as shown by 17a at the supply voltage below 80 v . in the range of the supply voltage above 80 v , the thyristor 11 is made conductive to bring the feedback circuit out of operation , so that the relation between the input voltage and the output voltage is characterized by the curve 17b which approximates to the curve 16 . in this way , in the circuit of fig2 a fluctuation of the supply voltage by ยฑ 20 % about 100 v only causes a slight fluctuation of the output power about the required power of 400 w . this allows the stable supply of the power to the load , and prevents the flow of the excessive current with the result of no fear of destructing the thyristors 4 , 5 . fig4 is a circuit diagram showing another embodiment of the present invention , which has a more expanded allowance of the supply voltage fluctuation than the circuit as shown in fig2 . fig5 shows its operation characteristic . the circuit in fig4 includes an additional feedback circuit similar to the feedback circuit comprising the reference power supply 14 , comparator 13 , trigger pulse generator 12 , thyristor 11 and secondary winding 9 . a secondary winding 9 &# 39 ; has the number of turns greater than the secondary winding 9 . the reference power supply 14 is so set that the comparator 13 may produce an output signal when the voltage of the power supply 1 reaches a level e 1 , and a reference power supply 14 &# 39 ; is so set that a comparator 13 &# 39 ; may produce an output signal when the voltage of the power supply 1 reaches a level e 2 ( greater than e 1 ). thus , the circuit of fig4 as shown in fig5 has an output characteristic between the input voltage and the output power , which is similar to the characteristic of the curve 15 at the voltage of the power supply 1 lower than the level e 1 , and approaches to the characteristic of the curve 16 at the voltage of the power supply 1 greater than the level e 1 because of the operation of the feedback circuit including the secondary winding 9 and the thyristor 11 , and , at the voltage of the power supply 1 greater than the level e 2 , to the characteristic of a curve 16 &# 39 ; because the feedback circuit including the secondary winding 9 &# 39 ; and a thyristor 11 &# 39 ; operates . thus , this provides a characteristic as shown by curves 18a , 18b , 18c , and a wider range of allowance relative to the fluctuation in power supply . it will be apparent that , with a plurality of sets of such feedback circuits , the fluctuation in output power is made smaller and the range of allowance relative to the input voltage is made wider . fig6 shows a particular embodiment of a control circuit in which the inverter circuit of the present invention is applied to a power supply for an electronic range . in the circuit in which the inverter circuit as shown in fig2 is used as the power supply for the electronic range there are respectively shown particular arrangements of a circuit for triggering the gates of the thyristors 4 and 5 , the trigger pulse generator 12 for triggering the gate of the thyristor 11 , the comparator 13 , and the reference power supply 14 . a commercial ac supply 101 is rectified by a rectifier ( not shown ) to provide the power supply 1 . an ac power from the power supply 101 is supplied to a dc supply 102 comprising a full - wave rectifier of four diodes d 1 to d 4 and a smoothing capacitor c 1 . the dc supply 102 serves to operate each circuit in fig6 . an oscillator 103 comprising a multivibrator oscillates at a frequency of several tens khz . the oscillator 103 serves to operate a flip - flop circuit 105 through a differentiation circuit 104 . alternating output signals from the flip - flop circuit 105 are respectively applied to thyristor drivers 107 and 109 . an output from the thyristor driver 107 is applied between the gate and cathode of the thyristor 4 in fig2 and an output from the thyristor driver 109 is applied between the gate and cathode of the thyristor 5 . thus , the thyristors 4 , 5 are made conductive at a frequency half as great as the frequency of the oscillator 103 to operate the inverter . a comparator 131 comprising a differential amplifier receives at its input a pulsating voltage produced by rectifying the voltage of the ac supply 101 by means of a full - wave rectifier 134 . it will be understood that the pulsating voltage is proportional to the voltage of the power supply 1 at a certain ratio . the comparator 131 receives a reference voltage at the other input . the reference voltage is set by dividing with resistors 143 and 145 and a variable resistor 144 a voltage which is produced by stabilizing the output from the dc supply 102 by means of a transistor 141 and a zener diode 142 . if , for example , the feedback is desired to occur at the voltage of the power supply 1 above 80 v , then the reference voltage is so set by the variable resistor 144 as to be a voltage corresponding to an output voltage of the rectifier 134 when the voltage of the power supply 1 is 80 v . when the output voltage of the rectifier 134 applied to the rectifier 131 exceeds the reference voltage , the comparator 131 produces an output , which is applied to a thyristor driver 121 for driving the gate of the feedback thyristor 11 to generate a gate voltage between output terminals 122 and 123 of the thyristor driver 121 . the output terminals 122 and 123 are connected to the gate and cathode of the feedback thyristor 11 with the thyristor 11 made conductive at a time during which it receives the gate voltage . thus , an increase in the output voltage of the power supply 1 leads similarly to an increase of the output voltage from the rectifier 134 because the latter is also connected to the same ac supply 101 . this allows the feedback thyristor 11 to be made conductive at a voltage above a certain level to suppress the power supplied to the load . a low frequency oscillator 150 , having nothing to do with aspects of the present invention , serves to control a microwave power output for the electronic range and to produce an output , which is applied to the thyristor drivers 107 and 109 to control a operating duration of the thyristors 4 , 5 at the frequency and cycle set by the oscillator 150 . this allows the control of the supply of power to the load 8 , i . e ., a magnetron oscillator in this case . | 7 |
the loop - back test system of the invention can be used in a public switched telecommunications network illustrated in fig1 and consists of a central office switching system 2 connected to other switches in the public switched network 1 over inter - office trunks 3 as is well understood . switching system 2 can consist of one of the family of 5ess ยฎ switches manufactured and sold by at & amp ; t and described in u . s . pat . no . 4 , 592 , 048 issued to beckner et al . on may 27 , 1986 and in at & amp ; t technical journal , vol . 64 , no . 6 , part 2 , pp . 1305 - 1524 , or any other similar switching system . switching system 2 operates as is well known in the art to switch voice and data through the network . the architecture of such a switching system is shown and includes a communication module 4 forming a hub and having a plurality of switch modules 6 , and an administration module 8 emanating therefrom . each switch module 6 is controlled by microprocessor 7 and provides call processing , time division switching , and signaling for the lines and trunks to which it is connected . line units 10 provide interface to the local loops 12 that connect to the customer premise equipment and trunk units 13 provide interface to the trunks 3 that connect to other switches in the network as well as to the utility telemetry trunks ( utt ) 38 , as will hereinafter be described . the administration module 8 provides functions that can be centralized such as maintenance control , craft interface , text and data base management , call routing and time slot allocation . the administration module 8 consists of a control unit such as the at & amp ; t 3b21d duplex processor and a main memory . in some switching systems , the administration module is assisted by a separate processor that performs some administrative functions . the administration module 8 also includes an input / output processor providing communication between the switching system 2 and central office peripheral devices 16 such as terminals , printers and the like . communication module 4 is the hub of the switching system and allows communication between the administration module 8 and the switch modules 6 . communication module 4 consists of a message switch that provides the administration module - to - switch module and switch module - to - switch module message communication , and a time multiplexed switch providing the switch module - to - switch module and switch module - to - administration module time slot connection for voice and data communication and the clock distribution . the local loops 12 typically consisting of a pair of copper wires , coaxial cables , fiber or any similar transmission medium defining local lines 11 that connect switch 2 to customer premise equipment ( cpe ) 30 such as telephones , utility meters , appliances , multimedia equipment , terminals or the like . one arrangement of the local loop is illustrated where the wire pair is terminated at a network termination device 31 , the network termination device 31 being connected in parallel to a telephone set 33 over a first wire pair and to a telemetry interface unit ( tiu ) 32 over a second wire pair . the tiu 32 includes circuitry for selectively connecting local lines 11 to a desired one of a plurality of cpes such as meters 35 , appliance controllers 37 or the like and for controlling the functions of the tiu and can consist of t0 - 1002 meter interface unit ( miu ) manufactured and sold by schlumberger industries or other similar device . alternatively , the telephone set 33 could be arranged in series with tiu 32 , meters 35 and / or appliance controllers 37 , if desired . a plurality of loop - back devices 46a through 46g are provided along the local loop for returning a response signal as will hereinafter be described . the local loops may also include loop carrier systems such as the slc ยฎ carrier manufactured and sold by at & amp ; t . a central office service unit ( cosu ) 36 is connected to the switch 2 over one or more utility telemetry trunks ( utt ) 38 and by a dial up or dedicated line 39 . a test unit 40 is also connected to the switching system 2 over a dedicated or dial up line 42 . as will be appreciated line 42 can be connected to line 39 through the switch fabric of switching system 2 in the same manner as voice and data connections to allow test unit 40 to communicate with cosu 36 . as explained in detail in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 189 , 694 issued to garland on feb . 23 , 1993 ; u . s . pat . no . 5 , 243 , 644 issued to garland et al . on sep . 7 , 1993 ; u . s . pat . no . 5 , 394 , 461 issued to garland on feb . 28 , 1995 ; and u . s . pat . no . 5 , 327 , 488 issued to garland on jul . 5 , 1994 , cosu 36 and utt 38 are used to establish a suppressed ringing connection between , for example , a utility and a utility meter located in the home to allow the utility to determine service usage by a customer . the test system of the invention uses the suppressed ringing connection to connect the test unit 40 and any cpe hosted by switching system 2 such that the test unit and cpe communicate with one another without a visual or audible signal being displayed at the customer premise . while such a connection has previously been used , for example , to allow a utility to read a meter at a customer premise from a remote location without producing a ringing alert at the customer premise , it has not been used for testing the local loop and / or subscriber loops or lines . it will be appreciated that the illustrated system allows access to the cpes without interfering with the customer &# 39 ; s ability to make outgoing calls because the suppressed ringing connection established by the cosu is automatically terminated if the customer makes a request for service such as by going off hook . it also will be appreciated that cosu 36 can be connected to more than one switching system as illustrated in fig1 where utt 41 connects cosu 36 to a second switching system 43 . as a result , a single test unit 40 can perform loop - back tests on local loops hosted by different switching systems . cosu 36 , as is known , creates a many to one connection in which line 39 ( which is switch connected to line 42 ) can be connected to a plurality of utts 38 . in this manner , the cosu serves to multiplex and demultiplex the signals as they are transmitted between line 39 and utts 38 that , in turn , are connected to local lines 11 . the number of connections that can be made at one time is determined by the number and type of uit trunks connecting the cosu 36 to switching system 2 . the utts 38 can consist of analog trunks where each trunk handles a single call or digital trunks where currently each trunk handles 24 calls . regardless of the type of trunk used , the existing cosu 36 design is capable of processing 100 - 150 calls every six seconds and more than one cosu can be associated with each switching system , if desired . as a result , test unit 40 can communicate with a plurality of local loops simultaneously . this capability allows the test system of the invention to provide near continuous monitoring of the local loops such that preventative diagnostics and maintenance can be performed . to perform the test method of the invention , the test unit 40 includes a processor 45 and memory 44 for running a test program that cycles through a loop - back test protocol . the test system can be operated by a telecommunication service provider such as a local exchange carrier as part of its operation services system , by an independent testing service or it can be located in the premise of a utility or other entity such that the utility can test their cpes , such as meters , independent from the service provider . where the test system is operated by a utility or other entity it is desirable to include security safeguards to prevent the utility from accessing equipment other than its own . the test protocol requires that processor 45 transmit loop - back test signals to loop - back devices located in the local loop 12 . in the preferred embodiment , the loop - back test signals consist of tones or a preamble control and a data message . the preamble control contains an indicator such as a subaddress that identifies the specific one of the loop - back devices 46a through 46g targeted to receive the data message by pyocessor 45 . the data message includes a predetermined string of characters or signals . the targeted loop - back device receives the data message and identifies it as a loop - back test signal . upon receipt of the test signal , the loop - back device returns the data message as a response signal to processor 45 . alternatively , the loop - back devices 46a through 46g could modify the test message before looping back the response message such as by encoding or otherwise reconfiguring the message . in an alternate embodiment , loop - back devices 46a through 46g could be replaced by transponders or other devices where the targeted transponder , rather than looping back the originally transmitted data message , would transmit a different , fixed data stream to the processor 45 as the response signal where the data stream is known to the processor 45 . the data stream can include a predetermined message , an identification field , error codes or the like . the response signal returned to processor 45 is compared to a desired response signal . if the response message does not correspond to the desired message , processor 45 recognizes an error condition ( bit rate errors , message errors or the like ) and displays a message at terminal 47 or otherwise informs a craft of the error or automatically initiates a maintenance response . in response to the error message , maintenance is provided to the identified problem area . one implementation of the loop - back devices and a unique addressing mechanism will be described with reference to fig3 . a generalized tiu 32 or network gateway device for interfacing between the network and the cpe is shown having a first port 50 connected to a switching system as previously described with reference to fig1 . ttu 32 further includes four ports 51 , 52 , 53 and 54 for connection to four or more cpes . in this embodiment , a loop - back device consisting of loop - back circuitry 56 is located in node 58 of tiu 32 where node 58 can include additional circuitry for controlling and monitoring the cpes connected to port 51 . tiu 32 includes other nodes 59 , 60 , 61 , and 62 each including circuitry for controlling other functions of the tiu and the suppressed ringing connection . for example , node 59 is associated with port 52 and includes circuitry 63 for controlling a second cpe , such as a utility meter , connected to port 52 . nodes 60 and 61 are associated with ports 53 and 54 in the same manner . moreover , node 62 is not related to a specific port but includes circuitry 65 for controlling functions common to the entire tiu or system wide functions . it will be appreciated that each node could support more than one port where each port is connected to a different cpe , if desired , as shown at 66 in fig3 . it will be understood that in existing suppressed ringing systems the cosu is capable of providing fourteen different tones where the different tones are used to alert different tius . it is to be understood that tone as used in this application includes single frequency tones , dual frequency tones or other unique tones . subaddressing is used in the suppressed ringing signal to alert specific cpes hosted by a common tiu . the improved addressing system of the invention uses the different tones generated by the cosu to alert specific nodes , or circuitry within nodes , in a single tiu , a function not present in existing systems . for example , in the embodiment of fig3 a first tone f 1 generated by the cosu 36 ( fig1 ) is used to alert the circuitry 56 of node 58 that a data message is to be transmitted to it . the data message causes a loop - back test to be conducted in accordance with the present invention and returns a response signal to the test unit 40 ( fig1 ), as previously described . other data messages can be used to cause circuitry 56 to perform other functions . a different tone f 2 is used , for example , to alert control circuitry 63 associated with port 52 . additional tones could be used to alert other circuitry in the tiu as will be understood from the foregoing description . alternatively , the different tones , f 1 , f 2 . . . fn could be used to select the node and specific subaddressing could be used to alert circuitry within the node , it being understood that each node could contain a variety of circuitry for performing different functions . referring to fig3 a tone f 1 could be used to alert node 58 where a subaddress identifying the loop - back circuitry 56 within node 58 is used to instigate a loop - back test as previously described . it will be appreciated that the tone / subaddressing address system described in reference to fig3 and with specific respect to the loop - back test system of the invention also could be used to alert and control circuitry in a tiu for functions other than for providing a loop - back test . to perform the loop - back of the data message to processor 45 , loop - back devices 46a through 46g are located at points along the local loop 12 to isolate critical elements in the system . while the loop - back devices 46a - 46g are illustrated at particular locations in the illustrated embodiment , it will be appreciated that these devices can be located anywhere along the local loop and can be integral to the customer premise equipment because the addressing mechanism described above allows the loop - back devices to be uniquely addressed . each loop - back device , upon receipt of a loop test signal from the test unit 40 that is addressed to that device , automatically returns a response signal to the test unit ( i . e ., loops back the test signal or transmits a different fixed signal ). the test unit 40 inspects the response signal and determines if the signal has been mistransmitted in any manner during the transmission , typically by comparing the actual response signal to the desired response signal . if the response signal that is returned to the test unit 40 is different than the desired response signal or if no response signal is returned , the test unit 40 identifies a problem in the local loop between the switching system hosting the local loop and the responding loop - back device . by sequentially addressing the loop - back devices , the test system can identify and isolate problem areas within the network . for example , in the illustrated embodiment , assume the test unit 40 initiates loop - back tests for the loop - back devices 46c , 46f , and 46g located at the distal endpoints of the local loop . if no error was detected as a result of these tests , the test system would &# 34 ; know &# 34 ; that there was no continuity problem along the local loop . the test system would then halt the test and proceed to test another local loop . if an error was detected from one of these tests , the test system would proceed with tests to intermediate loop - back devices . for example , assume that the test to loop - back device 46f resulted in a failure , indicating that the loop segment between the switching system and the loop - back device 46f had a problem . the test unit would then initiate a loop - back test for the loop - back device 46d located at the output port of the tiu 32 . if no error was detected as a result of this test , the test unit 40 would know that a problem exists in the segment of the local loop between the loop - back device 46f and the loop - back device 46d located at the output port of tiu 32 ( the test system previously having determined that the segment between the switching system and loop - back device 46f had a problem ). by properly sequencing through the loop - back devices , the test system can identify problem segments in the local loop . it is to be understood that the more loop - back devices that are provided , the more precisely problem segments can be identified . moreover , while the illustrated embodiment shows one preferred arrangement of the loop - back devices , it is to be understood that loop - back devices can be provided anywhere along the local loop . operation of test system of the invention will be described with specific reference to fig2 . to begin operation of a test sequence , test unit 40 , either automatically or at the request of a craft , sends a message to the cosu 36 requesting that the cosu create a suppressed ringing connection to a local loop to be tested as identified by a directory number , circuit identification , cpe identification or the like ( block 201 ). as previously described , test unit 40 can either be connected to cosu 36 over a dedicated line or the connection can be made over a dial up line through the switch fabric of switching system 2 . the cosu 36 performs a security analysis to determine if the test system has the authority to create the connection and sets up the suppressed ringing connection over a utt 38 to the identified cpe as is known in the art ( block 202 ). once the connection is established , test unit 40 transmits a loop - back test signal including a preamble having the address of a targeted loop - back device and a predetermined data message ( block 203 ). for purposes of explanation , assume the preamble targets loop - back device 46f . the loop - back test signal is routed to local loop 12 containing the targeted loop - back device 46f via the cosu 36 , utt 38 and call processing switch fabric of switching system 2 . when loop - back device 46f receives the loop - back test signal , including the preamble identifying it as the targeted loop - back device , it returns the response data message to processor 45 over the same connection as the original test signal ( block 204 ). the processor 45 , upon receipt of the response signal , compares the response message to the desired response message ( block 205 ). if the response message corresponds to the desired message , the test unit 40 identifies the segment of the local loop between switching system 2 and loop - back device 46f as passing the loop - back test , but if the response data message is not the desired data message , test unit 40 identifies this segment of the local loop as failing the loop - back test ( block 205 ). the pass / fail status of each segment is stored in memory 44 until the test of the local loop is completed . upon receipt of the looped - back response signal from loop - back device 46f , the test unit 40 transmits a second test signal having a preamble identifying the loop - back device 46g as the targeted device ( block 203 ). upon receipt of this signal , the loop - back device 46g automatically returns the data message to test unit 40 ( block 204 ). processor 45 compares the response signal to the desired response signal to determine if the messages are the same ( block 205 ). if the messages are the same , test unit 40 identifies the segment of the local loop between switching system 2 and loop - back devices 46g as passing the loop - back test and if the messages are not the same , the test unit 40 identifies the segment of the local loop between the switching system 2 and the loop - back device 46g as failing the loop - back test . the processor 45 then compares the results of the individual tests for loop - back devices to identify and isolate the problem segment ( block 206 ). for example , assuming that the test to loop - back device 46f passed and that the test to loop - back device 46g failed , processor 45 can logically identify the segment of the local loop containing the problem by comparing the results of the two tests . in the instant example , the segment of the local loop between loop - back device 46g and loop - back device 46b is determined as containing the problem because it was determined that the segment of the local loop from the switching system 2 to loop - back device 46f did not have a problem but the segment of the local loop between switching system 2 and loop - back device 46g did have a problem such that the problem must exist in that segment of the local loop ( i . e . between loop - back devices 46b and 46g ) not common to the two tests . an appropriate pass / fail message is displayed to the craft for each segment of the loop that is tested or maintenance responses are prepared automatically ( block 207 ). test unit 40 continues this sequence of tests for each of the loop - back devices until the status of the entire local loop has been determined . it should be noted that while in the illustrated embodiment the loop - back tests are conducted in sequence from the most distal point to the most proximate point on the local loop , the processor could test the points in any sequence , store the results of all of the tests and logically determine if any segments of the local loop failed the test . the system can also selectively test segments for selected ones , but not all , of the loop - back devices , if desired . it is to be understood that the above description is only of one preferred embodiment of the invention . numerous other arrangements may be devised by one skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention . the invention is thus limited only as defined in the accompanying claims . | 7 |
as disclosed in detail hereinafter , a system and / or a method for detecting , identifying , extracting and reporting interference may be used in a communication system . in particular , such a system or method may be employed in a wideband communication system to protect against , or to report the presence of , narrowband interference , which has deleterious effects on the performance of the wideband communication system . as shown in fig2 , the signal reception path of the base station 16 , which was described as receiving narrowband interference from the mobile unit 12 in conjunction with fig1 , includes an antenna 20 that provides signals to a low noise amplifier ( lna ) 22 . the output of the lna 22 is coupled to a splitter 24 that splits the signal from the lna into a number of different paths , one of which may be coupled to an adaptive notch filter ( anf ) module 26 and another of which may be coupled to a narrowband receiver 28 . the output of the anf module 26 is coupled to a wideband receiver 30 , which may , for example , be embodied in a cdma receiver or any other suitable wideband receiver . the narrowband receiver 28 may be embodied in a 15 khz bandwidth receiver or in any other suitable narrowband receiver . although only one signal path is shown in fig2 , it will be readily understood to those having ordinary skill in the art that such a signal path is merely exemplary and that , in reality , a base station may include two or more such signal paths that may be used to process main and diversity signals received by the base station 16 . the outputs of the narrowband receiver 28 and the wideband receiver 30 are coupled to other systems within the base station 16 . such systems may perform voice and / or data processing , call processing or any other desired function . additionally , the anf module 26 is also communicatively coupled , via the internet , telephone lines or any other suitable media , to a reporting and control facility that is remote from the base station 16 . in some networks , the reporting and control facility may be integrated with the switching station 18 . the narrowband receiver 28 is communicatively coupled to the switching station 18 and may respond to commands that the switching station 18 issues . each of the components 20 - 30 of the base station 16 shown in fig2 , except for the anf module 26 , may be found in a conventional wideband cellular base station , the details of which are well known to those having ordinary skill in the art . it will also be appreciated by those having ordinary skill in the art that fig2 does not disclose every system or subsystem of the base station 16 and , rather , focuses on the systems and subsystems of the base station 16 that are relevant to the description of the present invention . in particular , it will be readily appreciated that , while not shown in fig2 , the base station 16 includes a transmission system or subsystem . during operation of the base station 16 , the antenna 20 receives wideband signals that are broadcast from the mobile unit 13 and couples such signals to the lna 22 , which amplifies the received signals and couples the amplified signals to the splitter 24 . the splitter 24 splits the amplified signal from the lna 22 and essentially puts copies of the amplified signal on each of its output lines . the anf module 26 receives the signal from the splitter 24 and , if necessary , filters the wideband signal to remove any undesired narrowband interference and couples the filtered wideband signal to the wideband receiver 30 . fig3 illustrates a frequency spectrum 40 of a wideband signal that may be received at the antenna 20 , amplified and split by the lna 22 and the splitter 24 and coupled to the anf module 26 . if the wideband signal received at the antenna 20 has a frequency spectrum 40 as shown in fig3 , the anf module 26 will not filter the wideband signal and will simply couple the wideband signal directly through the anf module 26 to the wideband receiver 30 . however , as noted previously , it is possible that the wideband signal transmitted by the mobile unit 13 and received by the antenna 20 has a frequency spectrum 42 as shown in fig4 . such a frequency spectrum 42 includes not only the wideband signal from the mobile unit 13 having a frequency spectrum similar to the frequency spectrum 40 of fig3 , but includes three narrowband interferers 44 , 46 , 48 , as shown in fig4 , one of which may be from the mobile unit 12 . if a wideband signal having a frequency spectrum 42 including narrowband interferers 44 , 46 , 48 is received by the antenna 20 and amplified , split and presented to the anf module 26 , the anf module 26 will filter the frequency spectrum 42 to produce a filtered frequency spectrum 50 as shown in fig5 . the filtered frequency spectrum 50 has the narrowband interferers 44 , 46 , 48 removed , therefore leaving a frequency spectrum 50 that is very similar to the frequency spectrum 40 , which does not include any interference . the filtered wideband signal is then coupled from the anf module 26 to the wideband receiver 30 , so that the filtered wideband signal spectrum 50 may be demodulated . although some of the wideband signal was removed during filtering by the anf module 26 , sufficient wideband signal remains to enable the wideband receiver 30 to recover the information that was broadcast by a mobile unit . accordingly , in general terms , the anf module 26 selectively filters wideband signals to remove narrowband interference therefrom . further detail regarding the anf module 26 and its operation is provided below in conjunction with fig6 - 17 . in general , one embodiment of an anf module 60 , as shown in fig6 , scans the frequency spectrum of the signal provided by the splitter 24 and looks for narrowband interference therein . such scanning may be implemented by scanning to various known narrowband channels that exist within the bandwidth of the wideband signal . for example , the anf module 60 may scan to various amps channels that lie within the bandwidth of the wideband signal . alternatively , all of the frequency spectrum encompassed by the wideband signal may be scanned . either way , when narrowband interference is detected in the wideband signal , the anf module 60 moves the narrowband interference into the notch of a notch filter , thereby filtering the wideband signal to remove the narrowband interference . in particular , as shown in fig6 , the signal from the splitter 24 is coupled to a first mixer 62 , which receives an additional input from a voltage controlled oscillator ( vco ) 64 . the first mixer 62 mixes the signal from the splitter 26 with the signal from the vco 64 , thereby shifting the frequency spectrum of the signal from the splitter 24 and putting a portion of the shifted frequency spectrum located at intermediate frequency ( if ) into a notch frequency of a notch filter 66 . accordingly , the component of the frequency shifted signal that is at the if is removed by the notch filter 66 having a notch frequency set at the if . the resulting filtered signal is coupled from the notch filter 66 to a second mixer 68 , which is also driven by the vco 64 . the second mixer 68 mixes the notch filter output with the signal from the vco 64 to shift the frequency spectrum of the filtered signal back to an original position that the signal from the splitter 24 had . the output of the second mixer 68 is coupled to a band pass filter 70 , which removes any undesired image frequencies created by the second mixer 68 . in the system of fig6 , the narrowband interference present in the wideband signal is mixed to the if , which is the notch frequency of the notch filter 66 , by the first mixer 62 and is , therefore , removed by the notch filter 66 . after the narrowband interference has been removed by the notch filter 66 , the second mixer 68 restores the signal to its original frequency position , except that the narrowband interference has been removed . collectively , the first mixer 62 , the vco 64 , the notch filter 66 , the second mixer 68 and the band pass filter may be referred to as an โ up , down filter โ or a โ down , up filter .โ the signal from the splitter 24 is also coupled to a bypass switch 72 so that if no narrowband interference is detected in the wideband signal from the splitter 24 , the bypass switch 72 may be enabled to bypass the notch filter 66 and the mixers 62 , 68 , thereby passing the signal from the splitter 24 directly to the wideband receiver 30 . alternatively , if narrowband interference is detected , the bypass switch 72 is opened and the signal from the splitter 24 is forced to go through the notch filter 66 . to detect the presence of narrowband interference and to effectuate frequency scanning , a number of components are provided . a discriminator 74 receives the output signal from the first mixer 62 and detects signal strength at the if using a received signal strength indicator ( rssi ) that is tuned to the if . the rssi output of the discriminator 74 is coupled to a comparator 76 , which also receives a threshold voltage on a line 78 . when the rssi signal from the discriminator 74 exceeds the threshold voltage on the line 78 , the comparator 76 indicates that narrowband interference is present at the if , which is the notch frequency of the notch filter 66 . when narrowband interference is detected , the sweeping action of the vco 64 is stopped so that the notch filter 66 can remove the interference at the if . to affect the sweeping action of the vco 64 , the output of the comparator 76 is coupled to a sample and hold circuit 80 , which receives input from a voltage sweep generator 82 . generally , when no interference is detected by the comparator 76 , the output of the voltage sweep generator 82 passes through the sample and hold circuit 80 and is applied to a summer 84 , which also receives input from a low pass filter 86 that is coupled to the output of the discriminator 74 . the summer 84 produces a signal that drives the vco 64 in a closed loop manner . as the voltage sweep generator 82 sweeps its output voltage over time , the output of the summer 84 also sweeps , which causes the frequency output of the vco 64 to sweep over time . the sweeping output of vco 64 , in conjunction with the discriminator 74 and the comparator 76 , scan the signal from the splitter 24 for interference . as long as the comparator 76 indicates that narrowband interference is not present , the switch 72 is held closed , because there is no need to filter the signal from the splitter 24 . however , when the comparator 76 detects narrowband interference in the signal from the splitter 24 ( i . e ., when the rssi exceeds the voltage on the line 78 ), the sample and hold circuit 80 samples the output of the voltage sweep generator 82 and holds the sampled voltage level , thereby providing a fixed voltage to the summer 84 , which , in turn , provides a fixed output voltage to the vco 64 . because a fixed voltage is provided to the vco 64 , the frequency output by the vco 64 does not change and the signal from the splitter 24 is no longer scanned , but is frequency shifted so that the narrowband interference is moved to the if , which is the notch frequency of the notch filter 66 . additionally , when the comparator 76 indicates that narrowband interference is present , the switch 72 opens and the only path for the signal from the splitter 24 to take is the path through the mixers 62 , 68 and the notch filter 66 . the threshold voltage on the line 78 may be hand tuned or may be generated by filtering some received signal strength . either way , the voltage on the line 78 should be set so that the comparator 76 does not indicate that interference is present when only a wideband signal , such as the signal shown in fig3 , is present , but only indicates interference when a signal having narrowband interference is present . for example , the frequency spectrum 42 shown in fig4 , shows three narrowband interferers 44 , 46 , 48 , only one of the interferers would be needed for the comparator 76 to indicate the presence of narrowband interference . as will be readily appreciated , the embodiment shown in fig6 is only able to select and filter a single narrowband interferer within a wideband signal . as shown in fig7 , a second embodiment of an anf module 100 , which may filter a number of narrowband interferers , generally includes a scanner 102 , an analog to digital converter ( a / d ) 104 , a microcontroller 106 , an operations , alarms and metrics ( oa & amp ; m ) processor 108 and notch modules , two of which are shown in fig7 at reference numerals 110 and 112 . the microcontroller 106 and the oa & amp ; m processor 108 may be embodied in a model pic 16c77 - 20p microcontroller , which is manufactured by microchip technology , inc ., and a model 80386 processor , which is manufactured by intel corp ., respectively . although they are shown and described herein as separate devices that execute separate software instructions , those having ordinary skill in the art will readily appreciate that the functionality of the microcontroller 106 and the oa & amp ; m processor 108 may be merged into a single processing device . additionally , the second embodiment of the anf module 100 may include a built in test equipment ( bite ) module 114 and a bypass switch 116 , which may be embodied in a model as239 - 12 gallium arsenide single - pole , double - throw switch available from hittite . the microcontroller 106 and the oa & amp ; m processor 108 may be coupled to external memories 118 and 120 , respectively . in general , the scanner 102 , which includes a mixer 130 , a discriminator 132 and a programmable local oscillator 134 , interacts with the a / d 104 and the microcontroller 106 to detect the presence of narrowband interference in the signal provided by the splitter 24 . the mixer 130 and the programmable local oscillator 134 may be embodied in a model md - 54 - 0005 mixer available from m / a - com and a model ad9831 direct digital synthesizer , which is manufactured by analog devices , inc ., respectively . additionally , the a / d 104 may be completely integrated within the microcontroller 106 or may be a standalone device coupled thereto . as described in further detail below , once narrowband interference is detected in the signal from the splitter 24 , the microcontroller 106 , via serial bus 136 , controls the notch modules 110 , 112 to remove the detected narrowband interference . although the second embodiment of the anf module 100 , as shown in fig7 , includes two notch modules 110 , 112 , additional notch modules may be provided in the anf module 100 . the number of notch modules that may be used in the anf module 100 is only limited by the signal degradation that each notch module contributes . because multiple notch modules are provided , multiple narrowband interferers may be removed from the wideband signal from the splitter 24 . for example , if three notch modules were provided , a wideband signal having the frequency spectrum 42 , as shown in fig4 , may be processes by the anf module 110 to produce a filtered wideband signal having the frequency spectrum 50 , as shown in fig5 . the scanner 102 performs its function as follows . the signal from the splitter 24 is coupled to the mixer 130 , which receives an input from the programmable local oscillator 134 . the mixer 130 mixes the signals from the splitter 24 down to an if , which is the frequency that the discriminator 132 analyses to produce an rssi measurement that is coupled to the a / d 104 . the a / d 104 converts the rssi signal from an analog signal into a digital signal that may be processed by the microcontroller 106 . the microcontroller 106 compares the output of the a / d 104 to an adaptive threshold that the microcontroller 106 has previously determined details regarding how the microcontroller 106 determines the adaptive threshold are provided hereinafter . if the microcontroller 106 determines that the output from the a / d 104 , which represents rssi , exceeds the adaptive threshold , one of the notch modules 110 , 112 may be assigned to filter the signal from the splitter 24 at the if having an rssi that exceeds the adaptive threshold . the microcontroller 106 also programs the programmable local oscillator 134 so that the mixer 130 moves various portions of the frequency spectrum of the signal from the splitter 24 to the if that the discriminator 132 processes . for example , if there are 59 narrowband channels that lie within the frequency band of a particular wideband channel , the microcontroller 106 will sequentially program the programmable local oscillator 134 so that each of the 59 channels is sequentially mixed down to the if by the mixer 132 so that the discriminator 132 can produce rssi measurements for each channel . accordingly , the microcontroller 106 uses the programmable local oscillator 134 , the mixer 130 and the discriminator 132 to analyze the signal strengths in each of the 60 narrowband channels lying within the frequency band of the wideband signal . by analyzing each of the channels that lie within the frequency band of the wideband signal , the microcontroller 106 can determine an adaptive threshold and can determine whether narrowband interference is present in one or more of the narrowband channels . once channels having narrowband interference are identified , the microcontroller 106 may program the notch modules 110 , 112 to remove the most damaging interferers , which may , for example , be the strongest interferers . as described in detail hereinafter , the microcontroller 106 may also store lists of channels having interferers , as well as various other parameters . such a list may be transferred to the reporting and control facility or a base station , via the oa & amp ; m processor 108 , and may be used for system diagnostic purposes . diagnostic purposes may include , but are not limited to , controlling the narrowband receiver 28 to obtain particular information relating to an interferer and retasking the interferer by communicating with its base station . for example , the reporting and control facility may use the narrowband receiver 28 to determine the identity of an interferer , such as a mobile unit , by intercepting the electronic serial number ( esn ) of the mobile unit , which is sent when the mobile unit transmits information on the narrowband channel . knowing the identity of the interferer , the reporting and control facility may contact infrastructure that is communicating with the mobile unit and may request the infrastructure to change the transmit frequency of the mobile unit ( i . e ., the frequency of the narrowband channel on which the mobile unit is transmitting ) or may request the infrastructure to drop communications with the interfering mobile unit all together . additionally , diagnostic purposes may include using the narrowband receiver 28 to determine a telephone number that the mobile unit is attempting to contact and , optionally handling the call . for example , the reporting and control facility may use the narrowband receiver 28 to determine that the user of the mobile unit was dialing 911 , or any other emergency number , and may , therefore , decide that the narrowband receiver 28 should be used to handle the emergency call by routing the output of the narrowband receiver 28 to a telephone network . fig8 reveals further detail of one of the notch modules 110 , it being understood that any other notch modules used in the anf module 100 may be substantially identical to the notch module 110 . in general , the notch module 110 is an up , down or down , up filter having operational principles similar to the anf module 60 described in conjunction with fig6 . in particular , the notch module 110 includes first and second mixers 150 , 152 , each of which receives an input signal from a phase locked loop ( pll ) 154 that is interfaced through a logic block 156 to the serial bus 136 of the microcontroller 106 . disposed between the mixers 150 , 152 is a notch filter block 158 , further detail of which is described below . in practice , the mixers 150 , 152 may be embodied in model md54 - 0005 mixers that are available from m / a - com and the pll 154 may be embodied in a model lmx2316 โข frequency synthesizer that is commercially available from national semiconductor . during operation of the anf module 100 , the microcontroller 106 controls the pll 154 to produce an output signal that causes the first mixer 150 to shift the frequency spectrum of the signal from the splitter 24 to an if , which is the notch frequency of the notch filter block 158 . alternatively , in the case of cascaded notch modules , the notch module may receive its input from another notch module and not from the splitter 24 . the output of the pll 154 is also coupled to the second mixer to shift the frequency spectrum of the signal from the notch filter block 158 back to its original position as it was received from the splitter 24 after the notch filter block 158 has removed narrowband interference therefrom . the output of the second mixer 152 is further coupled to a filter 160 to remove any undesired image frequencies that may be produced by the second mixer 152 . the output of the filter 160 may be coupled to an additional notch module ( e . g ., the notch module 112 ) or , if no additional notch modules are used , may be coupled directly to the wideband receiver 30 . additionally , the notch module 110 includes a bypass switch 164 that may be used to bypass the notch module 110 in cases where there is no narrowband interference to be filtered or in the case of a notch module 110 failure . for example , the microcontroller 106 closes the bypass switch 164 when no interference is detected for which the notch module 110 is used to filter . conversely , the microcontroller 106 opens the bypass switch 164 when interference is detected and the notch module 110 is to be used to filter such interference . as shown in fig8 , the notch filter block 158 includes a filter 165 , which may be , for example a filter having a reject band that is approximately 15 khz wide at โ 40 db . the reject band of the filter 165 may be fixed at , for example , a center frequency of 150 mhz or at any other suitable frequency at which the if of the mixer 150 is located . although the notch filter block 158 of fig8 shows only a single filter 165 , as shown in fig9 , a second embodiment of a notch filter block 166 may include a switch 170 and multiple filters 172 - 178 . in such an arrangement , each of the filters 172 - 178 has a notch frequency tuned to the if produced by the first mixer 150 . additionally , each of the filters 172 - 178 may have a different reject bandwidth at โ 40 db . for example , as shown in fig9 , the filters 172 - 178 have reject bandwidths of 15 khz to 120 khz . the use of filters having various reject bandwidths enables the anf module 100 to select a filter having an optimal reject bandwidth to best filter an interferer . during operation , of the second embodiment of the notch filter block 166 , the microcontroller 106 controls the switch 170 to route the output signal from the first mixer 150 to one of the filters 172 - 178 . the microcontroller 106 , via the switch 170 , selects the filter 172 - 178 having a notch switch best suited to filter interference detected by the microcontroller 106 . for example , if the microcontroller 106 determines that there is interference on a number of contiguous channels , the microcontroller 106 may use a filter 172 - 178 having a notch width wide enough to filter all such interference , as opposed to using a single filters to filter interference on each individual channel . additionally , a single filter having a wide bandwidth may be used when two narrowband channels having interference are separated by a narrowband channel that does not have narrowband interference . although the use of a single wide bandwidth filter will filter a narrowband channel not having interference thereon , the wideband signal information that is lost is negligible . having described the detail of the hardware aspects of the system , attention is now turned to the software aspects of the system . of course , it will be readily understood by those having ordinary skill in the art that software functions may be readily fashioned into hardware devices such as , for example , application specific integrated circuits ( asics ). accordingly , while the following description pertains to software , such a description is merely exemplary and should not be considered limiting in any way . that being said , fig1 - 15 include a number of blocks representative of software or hardware functions or routines . if such blocks represent software functions , instructions embodying the functions may be written as routines in a high level language such as , for example , c , or any other suitable high level language , and may be compiled into a machine readable format . alternatively , instructions representative of the blocks may be written in assembly code or in any other suitable language . such instructions may be stored within the microcontroller 106 or may be stored within the external memory 118 and may be recalled therefrom for execution by the microcontroller 106 . a main routine 200 , as shown in fig1 , includes a number of blocks or routines that are described at a high level in connection with fig1 and are described in detail with respect to fig1 - 15 . the main routine 200 begins execution at a block 202 at which the microcontroller 102 sets up default values and prepares to carry out the functionality of the anf module 100 . after the setup default values function is complete , control passes to a block 204 , which performs a built - in test equipment ( bite ) test of the anf module 100 . after the bite test has been completed , control passes from the block 204 to a block 206 , which performs signal processing and interference identification . after the interference has been identified at the block 206 , control passes to a block 208 where the identified interference is extracted from the wideband signal received by the anf module 100 . after the interference has been extracted at the block 208 , control passes to a block 210 at which a fail condition check is carried out . the fail condition check is used to ensure that the anf module 100 is operating in a proper manner by checking for gross failures of the anf module 100 . after the fail condition check completes , control passes from the block 210 to a block 212 , which performs interference data preparation that consists of passing information produced by some of the blocks 202 - 210 from the microcontroller 106 to the oa & amp ; m 108 . upon completion of the interference data preparation , the main routine 200 ends its execution . the main routine 200 may be executed by the microcontroller 106 at time intervals such as , for example , every 20 ms . as shown in fig1 , the setup default values routine 202 begins execution at a block 220 at which the microcontroller 106 tunes the programmable local oscillator 134 to scan for interference on a first channel designated as f 1 . for example , as shown in fig1 , f 1 may be 836 . 52 megahertz ( mhz ). alternatively , as will be readily appreciated by those having ordinary skill in the art , the first channel to which the anf module 100 is tuned may be any suitable frequency that lies within the frequency band or guard band of a wideband channel . after the microcontroller 106 is set up to scan for interference on a first frequency , control passes from the block 220 to a block 222 , which sets up default signal to noise thresholds that are used to determine the presence of narrowband interference in wideband signals received from the splitter 24 of fig2 . although subsequent description will provide detail on how adaptive thresholds are generated , the block 222 merely sets up an initial threshold for determining presence of narrowband interference . after the default thresholds have been set at the block 222 control passes to a block 224 at which the microcontroller 106 reads various inputs , establishes serial communication with the notch modules 110 , 112 and any other serial communication devices , as well as establishes communications with the oa & amp ; m processor 108 . after the block 224 completes execution , the setup default values routine 202 returns control to the main program and the block 204 is executed . fig1 reveals further detail of the bite test routine 204 , which begins execution after the routine 202 completes . in particular , the bite test routine 204 begins execution at a block 240 , at which the microcontroller 106 puts the notch modules 110 , 112 in a bypass mode by closing their bypass switches 190 . after the notch modules 110 , 112 have been bypassed , the microcontroller 106 programs the bite module 114 to generate interferers that will be used to test the effectiveness of the notch modules 110 , 112 for diagnostic purposes . after the notch modules 110 , 112 have been bypassed and the bite module 114 is enabled , control passes from the block 240 to a block 242 . at the block 242 , the microcontroller 106 reads interferer signal levels at the output of the notch module 112 via the a / d 104 . because the notch modules 110 , 112 have been bypassed by the block 240 , the signal levels at the output of the notch module 112 should include the interference that is produced by the bite module 114 . after the interferer signal levels have been read at the block 242 , a block 244 determines whether the read interferer levels are appropriate . because the notch modules 110 , 112 have been placed in bypass mode by the block 240 , the microcontroller 106 expects to see interferers at the output of the notch module 112 . if the levels of the interferer detected at the output of the notch module 112 are not acceptable ( i . e ., are too high or too low ), control passes from the block 244 to a block 246 where a system error is declared . declaration of a system error may include the microcontroller 106 informing the oa & amp ; m processor 108 of the system error . the oa & amp ; m processor 108 , in turn , may report the system error to a reporting and control facility . additionally , declaration of a system error may include writing the fact that a system error occurred into the external memory 118 of the microcontroller 106 . alternatively , if the block 244 determines that the interferer levels are appropriate , control passes from the block 244 to a block 248 at which the microcontroller 106 applies one or more of the notch modules , 110 , 112 . after the notch modules 110 , 112 have been applied ( i . e ., not bypassed ) by the block 248 , control passes to a block 250 , which reads the signal level at the output of the notch module 112 . because the bite module 114 produces interference at frequencies to which the notch filters are applied by the block 248 , it is expected that the notch modules 110 , 112 remove such interference . after the signal levels are read by the block 250 , control passes to a block 252 , which determines if interference is present . if interference is present , control passes from the block 252 to the block 246 and a system error is declared because one or more of the notch modules 110 , 112 are not functioning properly because the notch modules 110 , 112 should be suppressing the interference generated by the bite module 114 . alternatively , if no interference is detected at the block 252 , the anf module 100 is functioning properly and is , therefore , set to a normal mode of operation at a block 254 . after the block 254 or the block 246 have been executed , the bite test routine 204 returns control to the main program 200 , which begins executing the block 206 . as shown in fig1 , the signal processing and interference identification routine 206 begins execution at a block 270 . at the block 270 , the microprocessor 106 controls the programmable local oscillator 134 so that the microcontroller 106 can read signal strength values for each of the desired channels via the discriminator 132 and the a / d 104 . in particular , the microcontroller 106 may control the programmable local oscillator 134 to tune sequentially to a number of known channels . the tuning moves each of the known channels to the if so that the discriminator 132 can make an rssi reading of the signal strength of each channel . optionally , if certain channels have a higher probability of having interference than other channels , the channels having the higher probability may be scanned first . channels may be determined to have a higher probability of having interference based on historical interference patters or interference data observed by the anf module 100 . additionally , at the block 270 , the microcontroller 106 controls the programmable local oscillator 134 to frequency shift portions of the guard bands to the if so that the discriminator 132 can produce rssi measurements of the guard bands . because the guard bands are outside of a frequency response of a filter disposed within the wideband receiver 30 , the block 270 compensates guard band signal strength reading by reducing the values of such readings by the amount that the guard bands will be attenuated by a receiver filter within the wideband receiver 30 . compensation is carried out because the anf module 100 is concerned with the deleterious effect of narrowband signals on the wideband receiver 30 . accordingly , signals having frequencies that lie within the passband of the filter of the wideband receiver 30 do not need to be compensated and signals falling within the guard band that will be filtered by the receive filter of the wideband receiver 30 need to be compensated . essentially , the guard band compensation has a frequency response that is the same as the frequency response of the wideband receiver filter . for example , if a wideband receiver filter would attenuate a particular frequency by 10 db , the readings of guard bands at that particular frequency would be attenuated by 10 db . after the block 270 is completed , control passes to a block 272 , which selects a number of channels having the highest signal levels . commonly , the number of channels that will be selected by the block 272 corresponds directly to the number of notch modules , 110 , 112 that are employed by a particular anf module 100 . after the channels having the highest signal levels are selected by the block 272 , control passes from the block 272 to a block 274 . at the block 274 , the microcontroller 106 determines an adaptive threshold by calculating an average signal strength value for the desired channels read by the block 270 . however , the average is calculated without considering the channels having the highest signal levels that were selected by the block 272 . alternatively , it would be possible to calculate the average by including the signal levels selected by the block 272 . the block 274 calculates an average that will be compensated by an offset and used to determine whether narrowband interference is present on any of the desired channels read by the block 270 . after the block 274 completes execution control passes to a block 276 , which compares the signal strength values of the channels selected by the block 272 to the adaptive threshold , which is the sum of the average calculated by the block 274 threshold and an offset . if the selected channels from the block 272 have signal strengths that exceeds the adaptive threshold , control passes to a block 278 . the block 278 indicates the channels on which interference is present based on the channels that exceeded the adaptive threshold . such an indication may be made by , for example , writing information from the microcontroller 106 to the external memory 118 , which is passed to the oa & amp ; m processor 108 . after the interferers have been indicated by the block 278 , control passes to a block 280 . additionally , if none of the channels selected by the block 272 have signal strengths that exceed the adaptive threshold , control passes from the block 276 to the block 280 . at the block 280 , the microcontroller 106 updates an interference data to indicate on which channels interferers were present . in particular , each frame ( e . g ., 20 ms ) the microcontroller 106 detects interferers by comparing power levels ( rssi ) on a number of channels to the threshold level . when an interferer is detected , data for that interferer is collected for the entire time that the interferer is classified as an interferer ( i . e ., until the rssi level of the channel falls below the threshold for a sufficient period of time to pass the hang time test that is described below ). all of this information is written to a memory ( e . g ., the memory 118 or 120 ), to which the oa & amp ; m processor 108 has access . as described below , the oa & amp ; m processor 108 processes this information to produce the interference report . additionally , the block 280 reads input commands that may be received from the oa & amp ; m processor 108 . generally , such commands may be used to perform anf module 100 configuration and measurement . in particular , the commands may be commands that put the anf module 100 in various modes such as , for example , a normal mode , a test mode in which built in test equipment is employed or activated , or a bypass mode in which the anf module 100 is completely bypassed . additionally , commands may be used to change identifying characteristics of the anf module 100 . for example , commands may be used to change an identification number of the anf module 100 , to identify the type of equipment used in the anf module 100 , to identify the geographical location of the anf module 100 or to set the time and date of a local clock within the anf module 100 . further , commands may be used to control the operation of the anf module 100 by , for example , adding , changing or deleting the narrowband channels over which the anf module 100 is used to scan or to change manually the threshold at which a signal will be classified as an interferer . further , the attack time and the hang time , each of which is described below , may be changed using commands . additionally , a command may be provided to disable the anf module 100 . after the block 280 has completed execution , the signal processing and interference identification routine 260 returns control back to the main routine 200 , which continues execution at the block 208 . as shown in fig1 , the interference extraction routine 208 begins execution at a block 290 , which compares the time duration that an interferer has been present with a reference time called โ duration time allowed ,โ which may also be referred to as โ attack time .โ if the interferer has been present longer than the attack time , control passes to a block 292 . alternatively , if the interferer has not been present longer than the duration time allowed , control passes to a block 296 , which is described in further detail below . essentially , the block 290 acts as a hysteresis function that prevents filters from being assigned to temporary interferers immediately as such interferers appear . typically , the duration time allowed may be on the order of 20 milliseconds ( ms ), which is approximately the frame rate of a cdma communication system . as will be readily appreciated by those having ordinary skill in the art , the frame rate is the rate at which a base station and a mobile unit exchange data . for example , if the frame rate is 20 ms , the mobile unit will receive a data burst from the base station every 20 ms . the block 90 accommodates mobile units that are in the process of initially powering up . as will be appreciated by those having ordinary skill in the art , mobile units initially power up with a transmit power that is near the mobile unit transmit power limit . after the mobile unit that has initially powered up establishes communication with a base station , the base station may instruct the mobile unit to reduce its transmit power . as the mobile unit reduces its transmit power , the mobile unit may cease to be an interference source to a base station having an anf module . accordingly , the block 290 prevents the anf module 100 from assigning a notch module 110 , 112 to an interferer that will disappear on its own within a short period of time . at the block 292 , the microcontroller 106 determines whether there are any notch modules 110 , 112 that are presently not used to filter an interferer . if there is a notch module available , control passes from the block 292 to a block 294 , which activates an available notch module and tunes that notch module to filter the interferer that is present in the wideband signal from the splitter 24 . after the block 294 has completed execution , control passes to the block 296 , which is described below . if , however , the block 292 determines that there are no notch modules available , control passes from the block 292 to a block 298 , which determines whether the present interferer is stronger than any interferer to which a notch module is presently assigned . essentially , the block 298 prioritizes notch modules so that interferers having the strongest signal levels are filtered first . if the block 298 determines that the present interferer is not stronger than any other interferer to which a notch module is assigned , control passes from the block 298 to the block 296 . alternatively , if the present interferer is stronger than an interferer to which a notch module is assigned , control passes from the block 298 to a block 300 . the block 300 determines whether the interferer that is weaker than the present interferer passes a hang time test . the hang time test is used to prevent the anf module 100 from deassigning a notch module 110 , 112 from an interferer when the interferer is in a temporary fading situation . for example , if a mobile unit is generating interference and a notch module 110 , 112 has been assigned to filter that interference , when the mobile unit enters a fading situation in which the interference level is detected at an anf module 100 becomes low , the anf module 100 does not deassign the notch module being used to filter the fading interference until the interference has not been present for a time referred to as hang time . essentially , hang time is a hysteresis function that prevents notch modules from being rapidly deassigned from interferers that are merely temporarily fading and that will return after time has passed . hang time may be on the order of milliseconds of seconds . accordingly , if the interferer that is weaker than the present interferer passes hang time , control passes to a block 302 . alternatively , if the interferer weaker than the present interferer does not pass hang time , the block 300 passes controlled to the block 296 . at the block 302 , the microcontroller 106 deactivates the notch module being used to filter the weaker interferer and reassigns that same notch module to the stronger interferer . after the block 302 has completed the reassignment of the notch module , control passes to the block 296 . at the block 296 , the microcontroller 106 rearranges interferers from lowest level to highest level and assigns notches to the highest level interferers . as with the block 298 , the block 296 performs prioritizing functions to ensure that the strongest interferers are filtered with notch modules . additionally , the block 296 may analyze the interference pattern detected by the anf module 100 and may assign filters 172 - 178 having various notch widths to filter interferers . for example , if the anf module 100 detects interference on contiguous channels collectively have a bandwidth of 50 khz , the 50 khz filter 176 of the notch filter block 158 may be used to filter such interference , rather than using four 15 khz filters . such a technique essentially frees up notch filter modules 110 , 112 to filter additional interferers . after the block 296 has completed execution , control passes to a block 304 , which updates interference data by sending a list of channels and their interference status to a memory ( e . g ., the memory 118 or 120 ) that may be accessed by the oa & amp ; m processor 108 . after the block 304 has completed execution , the interference extraction routine 208 returns control to the main module 200 , which continues execution at the block 210 . at the block 210 , as shown in fig1 , the microcontroller 106 determines if a gross failure has occurred in the anf module 100 . such a determination may be made by , for example , determining if a voltage output from a voltage regulator of the anf module 100 has an appropriate output voltage . alternatively , gross failures could be determined by testing to see if each of the notch modules 110 , 112 are inoperable . if each of the notch modules is inoperable , it is likely that a gross failure of the anf module 100 has occurred . either way , if a gross failure has occurred , control passes from the block 320 to a block 322 at which point the microcontroller 106 enables the bypass switch 116 of fig7 to bypass all of the notch modules 110 , 112 of the anf module 100 , thereby effectively connecting the splitter 24 directly to the wideband receiver 30 . after the execution of the block 322 , or if the block 320 determines that a gross failure has not occurred , control passes back to the main routine 200 , which continues execution at the block 212 . at the block 212 , the interference data that was written to the memory 118 or 120 , is passed to the oa & amp ; m processor 108 . having described the functionality of the software that may be executed by the microcontroller 106 , attention is now turned to the oa & amp ; m processor 108 of fig7 . if the blocks shown in fig1 represent software functions , instructions embodying the functions may be written as routines in a high level language such as , for example , c , or any other suitable high level language , and may be compiled into a machine readable format . alternatively , instructions representative of the blocks may be written in assembly code or in any other suitable language . such instructions may be stored within the oa & amp ; m processor 108 or may be stored within the external memory 120 and may be recalled therefrom for execution by the oa & amp ; m controller 108 . in particular , as shown in fig1 a and 16b , which are referred to herein collectively as fig1 , a main routine 340 executed by the oa & amp ; m processor 108 may begin execution at a block 342 , at which the oa & amp ; m processor 108 is initializes itself by establishing communication , checking alarm status and performing general housekeeping tasks . at the block 342 , the oa & amp ; m processor 108 is initialized and passes control to a block 344 . at the block 344 , the oa & amp ; m processor 108 determines whether there is new data to read from an oa & amp ; m buffer ( not shown ). if the block 344 determines that there is new data to read , control passes to a block 346 , which determines if the new data is valid . if the new data is valid , control passes from the block 346 to a block 348 , which read the data from the oa & amp ; m buffer . alternatively , if the block 346 determines that the new data is not valid , control passes from the block 346 to a block 350 , which resets the oa & amp ; m buffer . after the execution of either the block 348 or the block 350 , control passes to a block 352 , which is described in further detail hereinafter . returning to the block 344 , if the block 344 determines that there is no new data to be read , control passes to a block 360 , which calculates power levels of each of the channels scanned by the anf module 100 . the oa & amp ; m processor 108 is able to calculate power levels at the block 360 because the data generated as the microcontroller 106 of the anf module 100 scans the various channels is stored in a buffer that may be read by the oa & amp ; m processor 108 . after the power levels have been calculated at the block 360 , control passes to a block 362 , which determines if the any of the calculated power levels exceed a predetermined threshold . if the calculated power levels do exceed the predetermined threshold , control passes from the block 362 to a block 364 , which tracks the duration and time of the interferer before passing control to a block 366 . alternatively , if the block 362 determines that none of the power levels calculated to the block 360 exceed the predetermined threshold , control passes from the block 362 directly to the block 366 . the block 366 determines whether the interferer being evaluated was previously denoted as an interferer . if the block 366 determines that the interferer being evaluated was not previously an interferer , control passes to the block 352 . alternatively , the block 366 passes control to a block 368 . at the block 368 , the oa & amp ; m processor 108 determines whether the present interferer was a previous interferer that has disappeared , if so , the oa & amp ; m processor 108 passes control to a block 370 . alternatively , if the present interferer has not disappeared , control passes from the block 368 to a block 372 . at the block 370 , the oa & amp ; m processor 108 stores the interferer start time and duration . such information may be stored within the oa & amp ; m processor 108 itself or may be stored within the external memory 120 of the oa & amp ; m processor 108 . after the block 370 has completed execution , control passes to the block 352 . at the block 372 , the duration of the interferer is incremented to represent the time that the interferer has been present . after the execution of block 372 , control passes to the block 352 . the block 352 determines whether a command has been received at the oa & amp ; m processor 108 from the reporting and control facility . if such a command has been received , control passes from the block 352 to a block 380 . at the block 380 , the oa & amp ; m processor 108 determines if the command is for the microcontroller 106 of the anf module 100 , or if the command is for the oa & amp ; m processor 108 . if the command is for the microcontroller 106 , control passes from the block 380 to a block 382 , which sends the command to the microcontroller 106 . after the execution of the block 382 , the main routine 340 ends . alternatively , if the command received by the oa & amp ; m processor 108 is not a command for the microcontroller 106 , control passes from the block 380 to a block 384 , which prepares a response to the command . responses may include simple acknowledgments or may include responses including substantive data that was requested . further detail on the block 384 is provided in conjunction with fig1 . after the block 384 has prepared a response , a block 386 activates the serial interrupt of the oa & amp ; m processor 108 and ends execution of the main routine 340 . alternatively , if the block 352 determines that a command was not received , control passes from the block 352 to a block 390 , which determines if the bypass switch 116 of fig7 is closed ( i . e ., the bypass is on ). if the block 390 determines that the bypass is not on , the execution of the main routine 340 ends . alternatively , if the block 390 determines that the bypass is on , control passes from the block 390 to a block 392 . at the block 392 , the oa & amp ; m processor 108 determines whether there was a prior user command to bypass the anf module 100 using the bypass switch 116 . if such a user command was made , execution of the main routine 340 ends . alternatively , if there was no prior user command bypass the anf module 100 , control passes from the block 392 to a block 394 , which compares the bypass time to a hold time . if the bypass time exceeds the hold time , which may be , for example , one minute , control passes from the block 394 to a block 396 . at the block 396 , an alarm is generated by the oa & amp ; m processor 108 and such an alarm is communicated to a reporting and control facility by , for example , pulling a communication line connected to the reporting and control facility to a 24 volt high state . after the execution of the block 396 , the main routine 340 ends . alternatively , if the block 394 determines that the bypass time has not exceeded the hold time , control passes from the block 394 to a block 398 , which counts down the hold time , thereby bringing the bypass time closer to the hold time . eventually , after the block 398 sufficiently decrements the hold time , the block 394 will determine that the bypass time does exceed the hold time and pass control to the block 396 . after the block 398 has completed execution , the main routine 340 ends . as shown in fig1 , the prepare response routine 384 begins execution at a block 400 . at the block 400 , the oa & amp ; m processor 108 reads information that the microcontroller 106 has written into a buffer ( e . g ., the memory 118 or 120 ) and calculates the duration of the interferers that are present , calculates interferer power levels and calculates the average signal power . this information may be stored locally within the anf module 100 or may be reported back to a network administrator in real time . such reporting may be performed wirelessly , over dedicated lines or via an internet connection . the interferer power levels and the average signal power may be used to evaluate the spectral integrity of a geographic area to detect the presence of any fixed interferers that may affect base station performance . additionally , such information may be used to correlate base station performance with the interference experienced by the base station . after the block 400 completes execution , control passes through a block 402 . at the block 402 , the oa & amp ; m processor 108 adds real time markers to the information calculated in the block 400 and stores the report information including the real time markers and the information calculated in the block 400 . such information may be stored within the oa & amp ; m processor 108 itself or may be stored within the external memory 120 of the oa & amp ; m processor 108 . after the block 402 has completed execution , control passes to a block 404 , which determines whether a command has been received by the anf module 100 . such commands would be received from a reporting and control facility . if the block 404 determines that no command has been received by the oa & amp ; m processor 108 , control passes from the block 404 back to the main routine 340 , which continues execution at the block 386 . alternatively , if the block 404 determines that a command has been received by the oa & amp ; m processor 108 , control passes from the block 404 to a block 406 , which determines if the received command is a control command that would be used to control the operation of the anf module 100 from a remote location , such as the reporting and control facility . if the block 406 determines that the command received is a control command , the block 406 transfers control to a block 408 which takes the action prescribed by the command . commands may include commands that , for example , commands that enable or disable remote control of the anf module 100 , or may include any other suitable commands . after the execution of the block 408 , control passes from the prepare response routine 384 back to the main routine 340 , which then ends execution . alternatively , if the block 406 determines that the command received by the oa & amp ; m processor 108 is not a control command , control passes from the block 406 to a block 410 , which determines if the received command is a report command . if the command was not a report command , the block 410 passes control back to the main routine 340 . alternatively , if the block 410 determines that the received command is a report command , control passes from the block 410 to a block 412 , which prepares and sends out the interference report . the interference report may include information that shows the parameters of the most recent 200 interferers that were detected by the anf module 100 and the information on which the microcontroller 106 wrote to a memory 118 , 120 that the oa & amp ; m processor 108 accesses to prepare the interference report . the interference report may include the frequency number ( channel ) on which interference was detected , the rf level of the interferer , the time the interferer appeared , the duration of the interferer and the wideband signal power that was present when the interferer was present . in addition to the interference report , the oa & amp ; m processor 108 may prepare a number of different reports in addition to the interference report . such additional reports may include : mode reports ( report the operational mode of the anf module 100 ), status reports ( reports alarm and system faults of the anf module 100 ), software and firmware version reports , header reports ( reports base station name , wideband carrier center frequency , antenna number and base station sector ), date reports , time reports , activity reports ( reports frequency number , rf level , interferer start time , interferer duration , and wideband channel power ) and summary reports . the interference report may be used for network system diagnostic purposes including determining when the network administrator should use a narrowband receiver 28 to determine a telephone number that the mobile unit is attempting to contact and , optionally handling the call . for example , the reporting and control facility may use the narrowband receiver 28 to determine that the user of the mobile unit was dialing 911 , or any other emergency number , and may , therefore , decide that the narrowband receiver 28 should be used to handle the emergency call by routing the output of the narrowband receiver 28 to a telephone network . additionally , the interference report may be used to determine when a network administrator should control the narrowband receiver 28 to obtain particular information relating to an interferer and retasking the interferer by communicating with its base station . for example , the reporting and control facility may use the narrowband receiver 28 to determine the identity of an interferer , such as a mobile unit , by intercepting the electronic serial number ( esn ) of the mobile unit , which is sent when the mobile unit transmits information on the narrowband channel . knowing the identity of the interferer , the reporting and control facility may contact infrastructure that is communicating with the mobile unit and may request the infrastructure to change the transmit frequency of the mobile unit ( i . e ., the frequency of the narrowband channel on which the mobile unit is transmitting ) or may request the infrastructure to drop communications with the interfering mobile unit all together . further , the interference reports may be used by a network administrator to correlate system performance with the information provided in the interference report . such correlations could be used to determine the effectiveness of the anf module 100 on increasing system capacity . after the block 412 has completed execution , control passes back to the main routine 340 , which continues execution at the block 386 . referring now to fig1 , a data buffer interrupt function 500 is executed by the oa & amp ; m processor 108 and is used to check for , and indicate the presence of , valid data . the function 500 begins execution at a block 502 , which checks for data . after the execution of the block 502 , control passes to a block 504 , which checks to see if the data is valid . if the block 504 determines that the data is valid , control passes from the block 504 to a block 506 , which sets a valid data indicator before the function 500 ends . alternatively , if the block 504 determines that the data is not valid , control passes from the block 504 to a block 508 , which sets a not valid data indicator before the function 500 ends . numerous modifications and alternative embodiments of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art in view of the foregoing description . for example , while the foregoing description specifically addressed the concept of eliminating interference from signals on 30 khz narrowband channels interfering with a 1 . 25 mhz wideband signal , it will be readily appreciated that such concepts could be applied to wideband channels having , for example , 5 , 10 or 15 mhz bandwidths or to contiguous channels that have an aggregate bandwidth of , for example , 5 , 10 or 15 mhz . to accommodate such wider bandwidths , banks of downconverters may be operated in parallel to cover 1 . 25 mhz block of the channel . accordingly , this description is to be construed as illustrative only and not as limiting to the scope of the invention . the details of the structure may be varied substantially without departing from the spirit of the invention , and the exclusive use of all modifications , which are within the scope of the appended claims , is reserved . | 7 |
[ 0013 ] fig1 shows an illustrative agent resume table of skills for an illustrative task center . the task center might receive telephone calls , e - mail , world - wide - web ( www ) based inquiries or other types of tasks , including tasks not yet defined . for this example , it is assumed that four skills a , b , c and d are defined for the servicing of tasks . the skills required to service any given task might be obtained from a database accessed by a user identification , or obtained by prompting a caller with questions and collecting answers dialed from a telephone , or perhaps from a www form filled in by a user . the table of fig1 lists each agent that possesses each skill . nine agents identified as a 1 through a 9 are assumed . for this example the following agent / skill mapping is assumed : agent skills a1 d a2 c a3 b a4 a a5 a , b , d a6 b , c , d a7 a , b , c a8 a , b , d a9 a , b , c , d according to the invention , in the resume table of fig1 each agent is listed in each combinatorial state of the boolean variables abcd that contains all of the skills possessed by the agent . thus , for example , agent a 1 possesses only skill d . therefore , agent a 1 appears in every combinatorial state of abcd that requires skill d . agent a 7 has skills a , b and c . therefore , a 7 appears in each state that requires these three skills . there are only two such states : abcd = 1110 and abcd = 1111 . for the first embodiment , it is assumed that proficiency levels of skills are not considered . that is , an agent either possesses a skill or not . assume that a task arrives and it is determined that skill sets defined by the boolean expression a * b *( c + d ) are required to service the task , where * is the logical and operator and + is the logical or operator . if necessary , the required skill expression is converted to canonical form . in this example , the canonical form of a * b *( c + d ) is a * b * c + a * b * d . the canonical expression is now mapped onto the combinatorial states of abcd . the abcd states that satisfy the canonical expression are 1110 , 1101 , and 1111 . this mapping is shown in fig2 . those states marked with an โ x โ in fig2 are the states that satisfy the skills expression . agents that have skills outside of this mapping in the resume table are immediately determined to be unqualified to service the illustrative task . thus , from fig2 and 1 , it is immediately seen that agents a 1 , a 2 , a 3 , a 4 , a 5 and a 6 are eliminated , leaving only agents a 7 , a 8 and a 9 as qualified to service the task . now , in accordance with the invention , from the set of qualified agents , it is wished to select that agent that is minimally qualified to service the task . in this first embodiment in which proficiency levels are not considered , this is accomplished by counting the number of terms that appear in the canonical expression of required skills ( call this value sp for skill points ) and also determining the number of times each qualified agent appears in the mapping of fig3 ( call these values ap i , where i identifies each qualified agent ). now the minimally qualified agent is selected by selecting the agent with the lowest score of sp โ ap i . in the present example , the canonical expression contains three terms , 1110 , 1101 , and 1111 . therefore , sp = 3 . for the qualified agents a 7 , a 8 and a 9 , it is determined from fig3 that ap 7 = 2 ( a 7 appears in both 1110 and 1111 ) ap 8 = 2 ( a 8 appears in both 1101 and 1111 ) the smallest value of sp โ ap i for this example is 3 โ 2 = 1 and is a tie for both agents a 7 and a 8 . in a situation such as this , the selection of a 7 or a 8 to service the task can be arbitrary or other criteria might be considered to choose between a 7 and a 8 . for example , the time since the last task serviced might be maintained for each agent and the agent selected having the largest value . other criteria might be used as well , such as total call handling minutes , or total number of tasks handled . the flowchart of steps for the above example is shown in fig5 . at entry point 500 , it is assumed that a task arrives for servicing . step 502 determines in any number of suitable ways the skills expression required to service the task . step 504 converts the required skills expression to canonical form , if necessary . step 506 assigns to the variable sp the number of terms in the canonical form of the required skills expression . step 508 builds the agent resume table of fig1 considering only those agents that are presently available for servicing a task . step 510 maps the required skills expression onto the available agent resume table to generate the mapping of fig2 . step 512 eliminates all agents that have skills outside of the mapping of fig2 . this generates the mapping of qualified agents ( fig3 ) for the task at hand . step 514 calculates the value of ap i for each qualified agent , where it is recalled that ap i for agent i is the number of times that agent appears in the mapping of fig3 . finally , step 516 selects the minimally qualified available agent by selecting the agent with the smallest value of sp โ ap i . this algorithm for selecting a qualified agent to service a task is very efficient compared to known brute force methods of plowing through the skills of all agents to generate a qualified set and then plowing though that set to find a minimally qualified agent . [ 0018 ] fig6 and 7 illustrate the preferred embodiment of the invention , in which proficiency levels of skills are taken into account in selecting agents for tasks . for the preferred embodiment , fig4 illustrates a set of assumed proficiency levels of the agents for each of the skills a , b , c , d . by way of example , it is assumed that proficiency levels vary from 0 to 9 , where 0 represents no proficiency and 9 represents a complete mastery of a skill . we will use the same required skills example as used for the first embodiment , except for this preferred embodiment it is assumed that the required proficiency levels for a , b , c , and d for the task are 7 , 6 , 6 and 9 , respectively . thus , the canonical form of the required skills expression is a * b * c + a * b * d , with proficiency levels of a & gt ;= 7 , b & gt ;= 6 , c & gt ;= 6 and d = 9 . the steps of the preferred embodiment in fig6 are exactly the same as discussed with respect to fig5 up through step 614 , which calculates the value of ap i for each available agent that has at least some proficiency in each of the required skills . thus , for this example , only agents a 7 , a 8 and a 9 are potentially qualified and their respective values of ap i are 2 , 2 , 1 as in the first embodiment . thus , agents a 7 and a 8 are qualified , but less skilled than a 9 ( ignoring proficiency levels at this point ). step 616 forms groups of these available agents based on the values of ap i ; these groups are then ordered from lowest value to highest value of sp โ ap i . agents a 7 and a 8 form a first group having an ap of 2 ; agent a 9 forms a second group having an ap of 1 . sp is 3 ( the number of skill states in set x ). therefore , sp โ ap for the first and second groups is 1 and 2 , respectively , and the groups are ordered this way from low to high sp โ ap . step 618 calls a subroutine select agent , shown in fig7 to select a minimally qualified agent from these two ordered groups . with reference to fig7 step 702 of select agent initiates a programmed loop based on the number of groups formed by step 616 ( two in this example ). this loop progresses through each group in the order of lowest to highest value of sp โ ap i and looks for the first agent with the required proficiency levels in the required skills to service the task . step 704 starts the first loop . step 706 builds a list of agents from the first group that meet the minimum proficiency levels of all required skills . agents a 7 and a 8 are in the first group . from fig4 it is noted that agent a 7 does not meet the required proficiency level of 6 for skill c . from fig4 it is noted that agent a 8 does not have the required proficiency of 6 for skill b to service the task . therefore , there are no qualified agents in the first group and steps 712 and 714 return to step 704 to examine the second group . the second group contains agent a 9 . from fig4 it is seen that agent a 9 has the proficiency levels of 7 , 7 , 8 , 9 for a , b , c , d . thus , agent a 9 meets all of the required proficiencies and is qualified to service the task . step 712 next determines if there are any entries on the qualified agent list from the present group . since there is one such entry in this example , step 713 is next executed and determines if there is only one qualified agent on the list . if so , step 715 selects that agent and returns to the calling program in fig6 . such is the case in this example . however , if step 713 determines that there are two or more agents on the qualified list , then step 708 is next executed . step 708 calculates a normalized proficiency for each agent on the qualified list . in the preferred embodiment , the normalized proficiency is calculated by summing an agent &# 39 ; s proficiency levels for each of the skills in a qualifying skill state and subtracting from that value the sum of the proficiencies for the same skills as defined by that state . as an example of the proficiency normalization process , assume that a call requires only skills a and b , with a proficiency level of 8 for skhi a and a proficiency level of 5 for b . in this situation , abcd skill states of 1100 , 1101 , 1110 , and 1111 apply and form the skill set x . from fig1 on disqualifying agents that appear in skill states outside of x , it is seen that agents a 1 , a 2 , a 3 , a 4 , a 5 and a 6 are immediately disqualified , leaving agents a 7 , a 8 and a 9 in contention . from fig4 it is seen that agent a 9 does not meet the required proficiency of 8 for skill a . this leaves only agents a 7 and a 8 in contention . for agent a 7 , the first qualifying skill state is 1110 . from fig4 the sum of a 7 &# 39 ; s proficiencies for the skills a , b are 9 + 9 = 18 . the sum of the required proficiencies for a and b is 8 + 5 = 13 . therefore , the normalized proficiency for a 7 is 18 โ 13 = 5 . the second qualifying state for a 7 is 1111 . a 7 &# 39 ; s normalized proficiency for this state is still 5 , because the matching skill states 1110 and 1111 are included in x because of a match on the same skills a and b . the normalized proficiency for duplicate entries would not necessarily be the same if , for example , one term of the canonized skill expression was abc and a second term was abd . for agent a 8 , the first qualifying skill state is 1101 . from fig4 the sum of a 8 &# 39 ; s proficiencies for the skills a , b are 9 + 5 = 14 . the sum of the required proficiencies for a and b is 8 + 5 = 14 . therefore , the normalized proficiency for a 7 is 14 โ 14 = 0 . the second qualifying state for a 8 is 1111 . a 8 &# 39 ; s normalized proficiency for this state is still 0 , because the matching skill states 1101 and 1111 are included in x because of a match on the same skills a and b . at this point , the qualified list contains four entries , two for agent a 7 with normalized proficiencies of 5 and 5 , and two for agent a 8 with normalized proficiencies of 0 and 0 . step 710 searches this list for duplicate entries and retains only the smallest duplicate entry . in this example , step 710 will eliminate either one of the a 7 entries and the same is true for the a 8 entries . this leaves a list with a 7 โ 5 and a 8 โ 0 , where the number after the hyphen is the normalized proficiency . step 718 now merely scans the list and selects the least qualified agent to service the task . in this example , this is agent a 8 with a proficiency level of 0 . the loop described above continues until an agent is selected or until all groups are exhausted . if no qualified agent is found before all groups are exhausted , step 714 causes the task to be re - queued for service at a later time . it is understood that the above described arrangements are merely illustrative of the application of principles of the invention and that other arrangements may be devised by workers skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention . | 7 |
before the present subject matter is described in detail , it is to be understood that this disclosure is not limited to the particular embodiments described , as such may , of course , vary . it is also to be understood that the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only , and is not intended to be limiting , since the scope of the present disclosure will be limited only by the appended claims . this disclosure describes various embodiments that can be employed to protect the drug on the surface of drug eluting balloons or other expandable drug eluting medical devices during deployment and retraction . these embodiments correspond to keeping a sleeve - type protective mesh with minimal open area in place over a drug coated balloon surface during deployment as the catheter balloon is tracked to the location of interest by those skilled in the art , as well as embodiments that restore the balloon and the protective mesh screen after deployment to a collapsed state during the retraction process . as the balloon or expandable drug eluting medical device is inflated or expanded , the open area of the protective mesh is increased and the drug becomes accessible to be delivered to the site of interest . the mesh described here can be made in a variety of forms and materials including but not limited to plastics , metals , or their combinations and manufactured through a variety of manufacturing methods known to those knowledgeable in the art including , but not limited to , braiding and extrusion based methods . turning now to fig1 a - 2b , the subject system or device 10 is shown at a target location or site 2 . the exemplary target location may be in a coronary or a peripheral artery that includes a vessel lumen defined by a wall 4 and a lesion depicted by a layer of plaque 6 . in fig1 a and 1b , device 10 includes a balloon 12 ( e . g ., the deb ) and a screen 20 . balloon 12 has a drug coating or layer 14 adhered or affixed located thereon ( e . g ., by dip , spray or otherwise ). device 10 is covered by screen 20 in the form of a sleeve , which is shown in a minimal diameter or delivery configuration . device 10 can be advanced through proximal vasculature over a guidewire and / or through an introducer or guide by a physician pushing a shaft section 16 ( such features / action not shown ). the shaft and any associated parts may be configured in a so - called โ rapid exchange โ configuration if desired . as shown in fig2 a and 2b , balloon 12 is inflated ( e . g ., by a manual endoflator , not shown ) so that the screen contacts the plaque . it may , in part , compress the plaque whereas the balloon is intended to primarily serve that purpose . regardless , the balloon pushes the screen radially outward causing it to expand as shown in fig3 a and 3b . here , screen 20 includes a braided nylon sleeve in which its constituent fibers 22 are about 75 ฮผm in size and braided in a two - over - two interlace pattern . other braid patterns ( e . g ., one - over - one ), materials ( e . g ., stainless steel , nitinol , etc . ), various filament โ end โ counts in the braid ( e . g ., from about 48 to about 144 or more ), and filament diameters ( e . g ., from about 25 to about 100 ฮผm size ) may be employed . as for the filament size , such a range offers the filaments adequate strength to braid and coverage , without being so large as to space the underlying balloon too far from the vessel wall , plaque , or other target site into which drug is to be delivered . in fig3 a , core - screen 20 is shown at its minimum diameter with the braid from which it is constructed in a โ jam โ condition with minimal to zero pore size . in fig3 b , screen 20 is expanded over an inflated balloon 12 ( where the underlying balloon is transparent , but shaft 16 is visible ). as such , spaces , gaps , interstices or pores 24 ( of uniform or non - uniform configuration ) develop through which drug transfer from the balloon surface to the target site may occur essentially unimpeded . stated differently , spaces 24 provide ports or pathways for drug delivery . according to one method for enhanced drug delivery , the balloon is at least partially deflated with the drug delivery is intended to occur . due to elastic ( or superelastic ) properties of core - screen fibers 22 and / or their configuration , screen 20 may stay in contact with the lesion . when balloon 12 is at least partially contracted , a chamber is then defined between the expanded screen 20 and the balloon wall . this chamber is more closed toward each end in the case of a braid - based construction of screen 20 . drug is able to circulate within this chamber and be evenly distributed and absorbed by tissues at the lesion . in any case , the selected drug for the deb may be paclitaxel together with any desired carrier or matrix ( e . g ., a hydrophilic iopromide - derived carrier ) and any coating or loading approach may be employed . moreover , balloon 12 may be constructed similarly or identically to any of a variety of commercially - available deb designs such as represented in fig4 a - 4c . fig4 a depicts an in . pact amphirion balloon 12 from invatec , fig4 b depicts a sequent balloon 12 โฒ from bbraun , and fig4 c depicts an elutax balloon 12 โณ from aachen resonance , and each have various applications of drug 14 . fig5 is an assembly view illustrating the integration of such an exemplary balloon 12 and screen 20 to operate as device 10 . notably , in many of the embodiments herein , balloon 12 requires no reinforcement for use . in other words , screen 20 need not or may not increase the burst pressure or limit the distention of the balloon assembly . rather , balloon 12 can optionally be of the โ non - compliant โ ( or inelastic , or substantially inelastic ) variety ( i . e ., as constructed of blown pet as typical to many ptca balloons ). also , various features and methods can be employed to keep screen 20 from releasing from the balloon surface , either by sliding distally or proximally or by spacing apart radially from the balloon surface . fig6 a and 6b depict an example embodiment of device 30 , in contracted and expanded states , respectively . here , a fixed ring or band element 32 holds a first end 26 of mesh screen 20 fixed with respect to catheter shaft 16 . this fixed ring element 32 may be one or a combination of crimped metal rings , heat shrink plastic , or adhesives applied in a circumferential manner that achieves the desired function of affixing one end of screen 20 to catheter shaft 16 . a second end 28 of screen 20 is then advantageously attached to a mobile ring 34 that allows shortening or lengthening of screen 20 upon inflation and / or deflation of balloon 12 . mobile ring 34 can be of different or similar materials as screen 20 or , in one particular embodiment , can be an extension of the mesh screen braided differently at the end . the fixed ring 32 and mobile ring 34 may additionally serve as protection from fraying and loose filaments 22 at the ends 26 and 28 of screen 20 and may comprise an assembly of concentric rings sandwiching ends 26 and 28 of screen 20 . motion of mobile ring 34 may be limited by a stop 36 on one side of mobile ring 34 located toward balloon 12 , and an extensible element 38 on the other side of mobile ring 34 . extensible element 38 may be fixed to catheter shaft 16 with the aid of a second fixed ring 32 โฒ optionally configured like fixed ring 32 . extensible element 38 optionally provides a refraction force to screen 20 upon the deflation of an inflated balloon and can be comprised of one or a combination of , but not limited to , an elastic tube , an extension of screen 20 , a coil spring , or a number of extensible wires or rods . notably , either one of fixed ring 32 or mobile ring 34 ( and any associated structure ) may be oriented proximally or distally with respect to balloon 12 and / or the user . the same holds true with respect to the other embodiments herein . fig7 a and 7b depict an example embodiment of device 40 , where similar action to device 30 is contemplated , but a different spring and mobile ring configuration is provided . as shown , a coil spring 48 either underlies or overlays screen 20 to accommodate the shortening of screen 20 upon the inflation of balloon 12 . in addition , a mobile ring 44 is able to translate and allow spring compression until bottoming at an optional stop 46 . in this embodiment , mobile ring 44 is set at the outer - most position relative to balloon 12 . however , as above , a fixed ring 42 is provided at the side of balloon 12 . fig8 a and 8b depict an example embodiment of device 50 . here , the mobile or translational elements are absent and both ends of screen 20 are fixed to catheter shaft 16 using fixed rings 52 and 52 โฒ. again , screen 20 may be secured or coupled to the catheter by bonding ( direct or indirect ) by laser welding , contact welding , or any other technique known to those of ordinary skill in the art . however secured , shortening of screen 20 ( e . g ., as resultant from changing braid angles ) upon inflation of balloon 12 is optimally accommodated for by the bending or curving of the section of catheter shaft 16 between the two ends of screen 20 . such action may also provide restoring force to collapse screen 20 upon the deflation of the balloon 12 . alternatively , if screen 20 is made up of suitably elastic material ( s ), these may stretch and accommodate the additional length required without causing significant curvature of the catheter tube . such stretch can also provide restoring force to screen 20 upon balloon deflation . in another example embodiment , restoring force is provided manually by the user . fig9 a and 9b depict an example embodiment of device 60 . here , a fixed ring 62 attaches screen 20 at a distal end of catheter shaft 16 and a mobile ring 64 is attached to a proximal end of screen 20 together with an accessible extension 66 that runs to the proximal end of the device such that screen 20 can be restored manually to its closed pore state after deflation of balloon 12 by manual retraction of the extension outside the body of a patient . the extension can take many forms , including but not limited , to a wire attached to mobile ring 64 and supported along the length of the catheter with aid of supporting rings or it can be in the form of a tube or sleeve that circumscribes the catheter tube and can move freely from it , as shown . such a tube or sleeve may be an extension of ( i . e ., without an intermediate connection to ) screen 20 . the extension portion may be coated or overlaid with material , including a hydrophilic coating as typical in catheter construction . methods of use of the subject devices include not only their use in tracking to a target site while protecting a drug under the core - screen , options for inflation / deflation for drug delivery and withdrawal , but also manners of manipulating the core - screen as related to the above . the subject methods may also include the activity of drug transport and absorption . indeed , any methodology implicit to operation of the devices discussed above forms inventive embodiments and may be explicitly claimed . further , it is to be appreciated that publications discussed herein are provided solely for their disclosure prior to the filing date of the present application . nothing herein is to be construed as an admission that the present disclosure is not entitled to antedate such publication by virtue of prior disclosure . further , the dates of publication provided may be different from the actual publication dates which may need to be independently confirmed . also , all of the publications cited herein are incorporated by reference in their entireties . it is also noted that all features , elements , components , functions , acts and steps described with respect to any embodiment provided herein are intended to be freely combinable and substitutable with those from any other embodiment . if a certain feature , element , component , function , or step is described with respect to only one embodiment , then it should be understood that that feature , element , component , function , or step can be used with every other embodiment described herein unless explicitly stated otherwise . this paragraph therefore serves as antecedent basis and written support for the introduction of claims , at any time , that combine features , elements , components , functions , and steps from different embodiments , or that substitute features , elements , components , functions , and steps from one embodiment with those of another , even if the following description does not explicitly state , in a particular instance , that such combinations or substitutions are possible . it is explicitly acknowledged that express recitation of every possible combination and substitution is overly burdensome , especially given that the permissibility of each and every such combination and substitution will be readily recognized by those of ordinary skill in the art . in many instances entities are described herein as being coupled to other entities . it should be understood that the terms โ coupled โ and โ connected โ ( or any of their forms ) are used interchangeably herein and , in both cases , are generic to the direct coupling of two entities ( without any non - negligible intervening entities ) and the indirect coupling of two entities ( with one or more non - negligible intervening entities ). where entities are shown as being directly coupled together , or described as coupled together without description of any intervening entity , it should be understood that those entities can be indirectly coupled together as well unless the context clearly dictates otherwise . reference to a singular item , includes the possibility that there is a plurality of the same items present . more specifically , as used herein and in the appended claims , the singular forms โ a ,โ โ an ,โ โ said ,โ and โ the โ include plural referents unless specifically stated otherwise . in other words , use of the articles allow for โ at least one โ of the subject item in the description above as well as the claims below . it is further noted that the claims may be drafted to exclude any optional element . as such , this statement is intended to serve as antecedent basis for use of such exclusive terminology as โ solely ,โ โ only โ and the like in connection with the recitation of claim elements , or use of a โ negative โ limitation . without the use of such exclusive terminology , the term โ comprising โ in the claims shall allow for the inclusion of any additional element irrespective of whether a given number of elements are enumerated in the claim , or the addition of a feature could be regarded as transforming the nature of an element set forth in the claims . except as specifically defined herein , all technical and scientific terms used herein are to be given as broad a commonly understood meaning as possible while maintaining claim validity . accordingly , while the embodiments are susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms , specific examples thereof have been shown in the drawings and are herein described in detail . it should be understood , however , that these embodiments are not to be limited to the particular form disclosed , but to the contrary , these embodiments are to cover all modifications , equivalents , and alternatives falling within the spirit of the disclosure . furthermore , any features , functions , steps , or elements of the embodiments may be recited in or added to the claims , as well as negative limitations ( as referenced above , or otherwise ) that define the inventive scope of the claims by features , functions , steps , or elements that are not within that scope . | 0 |
the brush 100 depicted in fig1 and 1a comprises a straight wand 101 defining a main axis x -- x . fixed by force - fitting to the end 101 . 1 of this wand 101 is a core 102 ( which has been depicted in these figures even though it is inside the brush ) which is elongate , formed by the helical twisting of two branches of a metal wire 103 which has been bent into a u before the branches were twisted . the axis of the core 102 coincides with the main axis x -- x . bristles 104 are inserted radially between the branches of the wire 103 . when the branches of the wire 103 are twisted , the bristles are clamped and held between the helical turns of the core 102 . the ends of the bristles 104 define the surface 105 of the brush . this is a convex axisymmetric surface which has the shape of a rugby ball and the ends of which consist of two right cross - sections : the disk 106 . a with a center 108 . a and the disk 106 . b with a center 108 . b . using a trimmer , two more or less flat parallel faces are cut in the brush of fig1 a over practically the entire length ( measured along the axis x -- x ) of the brush . depicted in fig1 a is the intersection ( ฮณ ) between the surface 105 of the brush and the trimming plane . this yields a trimmed brush depicted in fig1 b and 1c . for elements of fig1 b and 1c which are common to those of fig1 a , the reference numbers in fig1 b and 1c are the same as those in fig1 a , increased by 10 . the brush depicted in fig1 b and 1c has two mutually parallel faces 119 which are also parallel to the axis x -- x . these two faces are equidistant from the core 112 . the distance between the two faces is represented by the symbol d . the two faces are joined by rounded edges 120 . in the region where the faces 119 have cutouts , the sections of the brush on a plane perpendicular to x -- x consist of curves 115c depicted in fig1 c which are more or less rectangular , with a long length d in the direction of the axis of greatest length z -- z and the greatest width d measured along the axis of greatest width y -- y with d & gt ; 1 . 5d . the two faces do not extend as far as the ends 117a and 117b of the brush . at these ends , the sections 116a , 116b of the brush are circular wherein a width dimension of a cross - section in the direction of an axis perpendicular to the axis x -- x at these ends is substantially zero . the curve 115c is symmetric with respect to the axis of greatest length z -- z and the axis of greatest width y -- y . using an appropriate tool , for example by pressing the core longitudinally around a metal cylinder , the core 112 is given a first twist in the plane perpendicular to the faces 119 between the sections 116 . a and 116 . b , in such a way that the core has more or less the shape of an arc of a circle , and then it is given a second twist , in the same plane , between the end 111 . 1 of the wand and the center 118 . a of the end section of the brush , so as to align the center 118 . b of the other end of the brush with the main axis x -- x , like the first end 118 . a . this operation yields a brush 120 according to the invention and depicted in fig1 d and 1e . in these figures , the reference numbers given to elements which are similar to those in fig1 b and 1c are those of fig1 b and 1c increased by 10 . the brush in fig1 d and 1e is more or less in the shape of an elongate spoon . the core 122 describes a curve c 1 which is more or less an arc of a circle . however , its ends 128 . a and 128 . b are aligned with the main axis x -- x . the brush comprises two faces 129a , 129b , one of them , 129a , forming the back and the other face , 129b , forming the hollow bowl of the spoon . these two faces are joined by rounded edges 120 . the surface 125 of the brush is generated by a series of curves 115c , as depicted in fig1 c , which progress along the core 122 . these curves are more or less rectangular , with their axes of greatest length ( z -- z ) being mutually parallel . at its ends 127a , 127b , the brush is generated by circular curves . fig2 a is differentiated from fig1 a by the fact that the surface 205 of the starting brush is in the shape of a cone frustum . using a trimmer , two secant rounded faces are cut in the brush of fig2 a along the entire length ( measured along the axis x -- x ) of the brush . this yields a trimmed brush depicted in fig2 b and 2c . for elements of fig2 b and 2c which are common to fig2 a , the reference numbers in fig2 b and 2c are the same as those in fig2 a increased by 10 . the brush depicted in fig2 b and 2c has two rounded and secant faces 219 . these two faces are symmetric with respect to the core 212 . the width between the extremes of the two faces is represented by symbol d . width d is more or less constant from one end of the brush to the other . the two faces are joined by edges 220 which end in ridges 220a . the sections of the brush on a plane perpendicular to x -- x consist of curves 215c depicted in fig2 c which are more or less eye - shaped , with the long length d along the axis of greatest length z -- z and greatest width d measured along the axis of greatest width y -- y . d increases from a first end 216b as far as a second end 216a with d & gt ; 2d on the curve 215c depicted in fig2 c . the two trimmed faces extend as far as the end sections 216a and 216b of the brush . the curve 215c is symmetric with respect to the axis of greatest length z -- z and the axis of greatest width y -- y . using an appropriate tool , for example by pressing the core longitudinally around a metal cylinder , the core 212 is given a first twist in the plane perpendicular to the faces 219 between the sections 216 . a and 216 . b , in such a way that the core has more or less the shape of an arc of a circle , and is then given a second twist , in the same plane , between the end 211 . 1 of the wand and the center 218 . a of the end section of the brush , so as to align the center 218 . b of the other end of the brush with the main axis x -- x , like the first end 218 . a . this operation yields a brush 200 according to the invention and depicted in fig2 d . in this figure , the reference numbers given to elements that are similar to those in fig2 b and 2c are those of fig2 b and 2c increased by 10 . the brush in fig2 d is more or less in the shape of an elongate spoon ; the core 222 describes a curve c 2 which is more or less an arc of a circle . however , its ends 228 . a and 228 . b are aligned with the main axis x -- x . the surface 225 of the brush comprises two faces 229a , 229b , one of them , 229a , forming the back and the other , 229b , forming the hollow bowl of the spoon . these two faces are joined by a ridge 230a . the surface 225 of the brush is generated by a series of curves 215 as depicted in fig2 c , which progress along the core 222 . these curves are more or less eye - shaped , with their axes of greatest length ( z -- z ) mutually parallel . in the two embodiments of the invention described hereinabove , use was made of starting brushes with the shape of a rugby ball and a frustoconical shape , but it is also possible to use an elongate starting brush with a shape chosen from : a cylinder , two cones joined together by the bases of the two identically - sized cones , a fish as described for example in the french patent application fr - a - 2730910 , a peanut , an obus ( shell shaped ) or a teardrop . the device for applying make - up to the eyes depicted in fig3 comprises a cylindrical reservoir 320 which has a threaded neck 324 surmounted by a seal 325 and which is full of a mascara 315 . in its neck , the reservoir 320 has a wringing device 321 , the wringing device being held in position in the neck by a rim 326 that interacts with the shoulder separating the neck from the reservoir 320 proper . the wringing device 321 consists , in a known manner , of a flexible and elastic material . an applicator is intended to interact with the reservoir 320 . this applicator consists of means 323 for holding which supports the applicator member 330 , comprising a wand 322 and an applicator member 301 which are identical to those depicted in fig1 d or 2d . the means 323 for holding is in the form of a cap and has a screw thread 323a which interacts with the screw thread 324a on the neck of the reservoir . the reservoir 320 can be closed and sealed by screwing the means 323 holding onto the neck 324 of the reservoir provided with its seal 325 . when the applicator member 330 is pulled out of the reservoir , the applicator member which is in the form of a brush laden with mascara passes through the wringing device 321 . the latter wrings out the bristles on the back of the brush more than it wrings out the bristles in the hollow of the brush . the bristles on the sides of the brush are very much wrung out . while applying the mascara to the eyelashes , the brush coats the lashes with product on both faces , then spreads out the product , lengthens and curls the lash with its back and hollow faces , and combs using its sides . as the bristles on the sides are very long compared with the rest of the bristles of the brush and the comb is not very thick , the lashes are engaged very well during this combing - out , which is very effective . compared with the brushes known from the prior art that are convex overall , the brush according to the invention offers the advantages of being very easy to use , of applying make - up to all of the hairs on the eyelid without overspill , and of providing a very lengthening and very curling make - up effect with good separation . | 0 |
referring to fig2 , treatment of the flue gas stream 3 in the first compressor 1 , the first cooler 5 , the drier 7 , the first heat exchanger 11 and the first separation drum 13 exactly takes place as described by means of fig1 . as well , the gaseous phase 3 . 2 is extracted at the head of the first separation drum 13 , as explained in fig1 , transported through the second heat exchanger 17 and then conveyed to the second separation drum 19 . the two phases ( liquid and gaseous ) of the partial stream 3 . 2 are divided in the second separation drum 19 into the offgas stream 23 and liquid co 2 . at the bottom of the second separation drum 19 this partial stream is extracted and has the reference numeral 3 . 3 such as in fig1 . as already explained by means of fig1 , the partial stream 3 . 3 is expanded to a pressure of 15 . 5 bar in a third pressure reducing valve 15 . 3 , thereby cooling down to โ 54 ยฐ c . the partial stream 3 . 3 streams through the second heat exchanger 17 , thereby taking up heat from the partial stream 3 . 2 of the flue gas and enters with a temperature of approximately โ 47 ยฐ c . ( cf . flag no . 8 ) and is conveyed into a third separation drum 33 . there the partially liquid and partially gaseous co 2 has a pressure of approximately 16 . 5 bar and a temperature of โ 47 ยฐ c . ( cf . flag no . 9 ). at the head of the third separation drum 33 the gaseous phase is extracted and expanded in a fourth pressure reducing valve 15 . 4 . the gaseous partial stream being extracted at the head of the third separation drum 33 is designated with reference numeral 3 . 4 in fig2 . at the foot of the third separation drum 33 a smaller liquid partial stream 3 . 5 is extracted and expanded in a fifth pressure reducing valve 15 . 5 . subsequently the partial streams 3 . 4 and 3 . 5 are brought together again . then they have a pressure of approximately 5 to 10 bar and a temperature of โ 54 ยฐ c . ( cf . flag no . 7d ). the liquid co 2 present in the third separation drum 33 is brought to an increased pressure level of approx . 20 bar to 23 bar in a sixth partial stream 3 . 6 by a second co 2 pump 35 ( cf . flag no . 7e ) in a sixth pressure reducing valve 15 . 6 the co 2 which has been liquid so far is expanded to a pressure of approximately 20 bar , with a temperature of โ 45 ยฐ c . with this partially liquid , partially gaseous co 2 the flue gas stream 3 . 2 in the second heat exchanger 17 is cooled . as the entrance temperature of the partial stream 3 . 6 is higher than the entrance temperatures of the offgas 23 as well as the partial stream 3 . 3 , the partial stream 3 . 2 first is cooled with the partial stream 3 . 6 . thus it is possible to take up heat from the partial stream 3 . 2 even with this higher temperature of โ 47 ยฐ c . in fig2 as well this fact can be graphically clearly seen . the partial stream 3 . 2 leaves the second heat exchanger 17 with a temperature of approximately โ 22 ยฐ c . to โ 29 ยฐ c . and is brought together with the partial stream 3 . 1 extracted before from the first separation drum 13 . as there is a pressure of approximately 34 . 5 bar in the first separation drum 13 , the liquid partial stream 3 . 1 from the first separation drum 13 is expanded to approximately 20 bar in a seventh pressure reducing valve 15 . 7 . these two partial streams 3 . 1 and 3 . 6 brought together enter the first heat exchanger 11 with a temperature of approximately โ 22 ยฐ c . to โ 29 ยฐ c . ( cf . flag no . 10 ), thereby taking up heat from the flue gas stream 3 . they leave the first heat exchanger ( cf . flag no . 11 ) with a temperature of approximately 25 ยฐ c . and a pressure of approximately 18 bar and can thus be conveyed to the second compression stage of the second compressor 25 . as the partial streams 3 . 1 and 3 . 6 can be conveyed to the second compression stage of the second compressor 25 , the partial stream 3 . 3 , which has to be conveyed to the first compression stage of the second compressor 25 , is correspondingly reduced . consequently the power required by the second compressor 25 is smaller . this has positive effects on the energy demand of the installation according to the invention . a second possibility of reducing the energy demand of the co 2 liquefaction plant can be seen in not only overheating the offgas 23 in the offgas superheater 19 after the exit from the first heat exchanger 11 , but also re - conveying it to the second heat exchanger 17 after the expansion in the expansion turbine 31 . after the overheating the offgas has a temperature of approximately 80 ยฐ c . to approximately 100 ยฐ c . with a pressure of approximately 26 bar ( cf . flag no . 17 ). by the expansion in the expansion machine 31 the pressure drops to 2 . 3 bar and the offgas reaches a temperature of โ 54 ยฐ c . thus the offgas can once more contribute to the cooling of the flue gas stream 3 resp . the partial stream 3 . 2 . afterwards the offgas can be emitted to the surroundings with a low pressure and approximately surrounding temperature . it is also possible to carry out a multi - stage expansion and overheating of the offgas 23 ( not shown in fig2 ). this as well results in a considerable reduction of the energy demand of the installation according to the invention , as on the one hand the offgas 23 contributes to a greater amount to the cooling of the flue gas stream 3 resp . the partial stream 3 . 2 and the expansion machine 31 generates mechanical work , which e . g . can be used for driving the first compressor 1 or the second compressor 25 . all in all it can be stated that the method according to the invention and the installation for co 2 liquefaction required for carrying out the method according to the invention are still relatively simple in their design in spite of the considerable advantages . a further advantage is that the partial stream 3 . 6 is expanded to a pressure with which it is possible to bring it together with the partial stream 3 . 1 being extracted as liquid phase from the first separation drum 13 . so that these two partial streams can be brought to common pressure and temperature level and conveyed to the second compression stage of the second compressor . furthermore , this setup clearly improves the control over the flue gas condensation . with adjustment of the flow rate over the co 2 pump 35 the driving force for heat transfer , the logarithmic mean temperature difference ( lmtd ), is varied . in this way the performance of the second separation stage 21 can be adjusted . this is especially important , when operating at condensation temperatures near the sublimation and freezing point of co 2 . in order to maximize the described effect , the heat recovery out of the offgas from separation can be increased by having the vent gas recirculated to the cold box , after expansion , at least once before releasing it to the atmosphere . while the invention has been described with reference to a number of 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 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 falling within the scope of the appended claims . moreover , the use of the terms first , second , etc . do not denote any order or importance , but rather the terms first , second , etc . are used to distinguish one element from another . | 5 |
the principle of the present invention will be first described . fig6 is a schematic diagram illustrating the picture image enlarging / reducing process according to the present invention , fig7 is for more particularly explaining the picture image enlarging / reducing process of fig6 and fig8 shows the state of data stored in the first and second page memories 1 and 2 ( fig2 ). the present invention will be first briefly explained by referring to fig6 . first , in a picture image input process 801 , only the picture image information with respect to the extracting area of the first page memory is extracted , e . g . several bits at a time similarly to the conventional case . the extracted information may then be inputted into a memory . the extracted picture image information is examined in an all - zero judging process 802 to determine whether or not a predetermined number of bits of the extracted picture image information are all zero . assume now that the picture image information extracted out of the first memory 1 ( hereinafter referred to as an original picture image ) has the following configuration as shown in fig7 : then , the extracted original image information is examined n bits at a time to determine whether each group of n bits are all zero or not in the all - zero judging process 802 as shown in fig7 . when the judgement result indicates all - zero , the operation is advanced to a given magnifying factor enlarging process 804 . in the process 804 , &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ; s determined in accordance with the magnifying factor are written into an output area b . alternatively , as shown in fig8 when the output area b of the second page memory 2 is arranged such that the initial data are all zero , that is when the output area b is zero - initialized , it is sufficient to actuate only a current pointer c 2 of the output area b . for example , when the current point c 2 of the output area b is at a position q 1 in fig8 the current pointer c 2 is shifted from the position q 1 to q 2 so that the next picture image information is written beginning with the position q 2 . on the other hand , in the case where the judgment is made in the all - zero judging process 802 that at least one &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; exists in the n bits of the original picture as shown in the block 2 in fig7 the operation is advanced to an enlarging / reducing process 803a at the time the &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; is detected , in the same manner as in the conventional technique . generally , when an original document is read after a signal representing a letter , a picture , etc ., has been detected , information of the letter , picture , etc . is often then successively detected . according to the present invention , therefore , when n bits of picture image information including a &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; is detected as in the block 2 in fig7 the operation does not come back to the all - zero judging process in the next n - bit block 3 and is compelled to achieve an enlarging / reducing process 803b . the number of times of forced repetition of the enlarging / reducing process is not restricted to once as described above , but the forced repetition of the enlarging / reducing process may be made k ( k being a positive integer ) times including the case of the first n - bit block in which &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; is detected . in the above example , k is selected to be two . as aforementioned , it is possible to accomplish enlargement by a given multiplying factor by writing into the output area a number of &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ; s determined in accordance with the given magnifying factor , or by merely shifting the current pointer without achieving enlarging - reducing processes , resulting in reduction in processing time . according to the present invention , an all - zero judging function and a function to achieve enlargement by a given magnifying factor when the judgment indicates all - zero are added into the conventional system shown in fig2 and an embodiment thereof is shown in fig9 . in fig9 the same numerals denote the same elements or parts as those in fig2 . the start signal 302 , the line for transferring this signal 302 , the terminal for receiving the signal 302 , etc . of fig2 are omitted in fig9 . it is assumed , therefore , that devices such as counters and flip - flops which require initializing are initialized when the operation starts . at the same time as the commencement of operation , since the start signal 302 is applied to the s terminal of the flip - flop 410 through a not - shown line , the circuit is in mode 1 , which is a checking mode , in the initial state . thus , the mode 1 ( checking mode ) now takes a logic &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; and each of the mode 2 ( zero - detecting mode ) and mode 3 ( enlarging / reducing mode ) takes a logic &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ;. since the mode 1 is selected at the commencement of operation , the basic clock 301 is supplied to the address designating circuit 503 through an and circuit 401 and an or circuit 402 . when the basic clock 301 is taken into the address designating circuit 503 through its terminal b , a certain address of original picture image data is sent as the address designating signal g to the first page memory 1 , as described in detail with respect to the conventional case , and the data content of the designated address is read out into a register 404 . the data content read out is of one word and is composed of k bits . the k bits of data inputted to the register 404 are then transferred to the comparator 405 so that the k bits of data are judged therein as to whether they are all - zero or not . if an all - zero state is detected , the &# 34 ;=&# 34 ; terminal of the comparator 405 is turned on and a logic &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; signal is applied to one input terminal of an and circuit 406 . since the clock pulse 301 is applied to the other terminal of the and circuit 406 at a time delayed by a value set in a delay circuit 901 with respect to the timing of the input to the terminal b of the address designating circuit 503 , this delayed clock pulse 301 enters a counter 407 through the and circuit 406 so as to increase the count of the counter 407 . a comparator 408 monitors the counter output to detect when the count of the counter 407 reaches a value m equal to the number of words of one line in the main scanning direction . when the value m is reached , the comparator 408 produces &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; signal from its &# 34 ;= &# 34 ; terminal so as to set a flip - flop 409 . as a result , the q output of the flip - flop 409 is &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ;, while the q output of a flip - flop 410 is &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ;. that is , the mode is changed over from the mode 1 to the mode 2 . since each of the mode 1 and mode 3 signals are &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ; when the mode has been changed to mode 1 , the clock pulse 301 is blocked by the and circuit 401 and an and circuit 403 and therefore cannot reach the address designating circuit 503 . the gate of each of and circuits 412 and 414 , which has been so far closed when the mode 1 signal has been &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ;, is opened at this time . the signal provided to one input terminal of an and circuit 413 , that is the output of the shift register 509 , is alternatively made &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; and &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ; in accordance with the output of register 509 which is clocked at a rate at which one line of output picture image is written into the second page memory 2 . assuming now that the magnifying factor given by the user is x , the one line of output picture image written into the second memory 2 may include m ยท x words . further assume that when the value of m ยท x is not an integer , it is made an integer by either raising or neglecting the decimal part thereof . when the mode is mode 2 , a comparator 415 receives as a first input the count of a counter 416 for counting the basic clock and receives as a second input the above - mentioned value m ยท x so that the comparator 415 produces a &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; output from its &# 34 ;=&# 34 ; terminal when the comparison indicates coincidence therebetween . the counter 416 is cleared by an output signal which is a delayed version of this &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; output of the comparator 415 delayed by a predetermined value by a delay circuit 902 . the &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; output of the comparator 415 is provided as a clock to the shift register 509 through an and gate 423 and subsequent or gate . thus , the shift register 509 is shifted by one bit and held in this state until it is next shifted , i . e ., for the time necessary for writing one line of output picture image . assuming that the output of the shift register 509 is &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; at the point of time when the mode is changed to mode 2 , the clock pulse 301 may be inputted to the terminal b of the address designating circuit 504 through the and circuits 413 and 412 and an or circuit 424 . the address designating circuit 504 sends out the address designating signal g , the content of which increases by one ( 1 ) every time the clock pulse 301 is inputted to the terminal b , to the second page memory 2 . it is to be noted that this clock pulse b has not been thinned . the &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ; signal held in a register 426 is inputted to the second page memory 2 through the and circuit 414 and an or circuit 425 and the &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ; is stored in the address designated by the address designating signal g . when the number of the clock pulses 301 becomes equal to the value m ยท x and the comparator 415 produces a pulse from its &# 34 ;=&# 34 ; terminal , the address designating signal g returns to the first address since the counter 605 ( fig4 ) of the address designating circuit 504 is reset . that is , a number of &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ; s in accordance with the given magnifying factor x are inputted into the second page memory 2 . accordingly , when the mode is switched to mode 2 , a signal of successive &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ; s of one line of output picture image is stored . that is , the picture image is multiplied by x in the main scanning direction . a counter 417 and a comparator 418 serve to control the number of times that an output signal will be generated from the comparator 415 . the counter 417 counts the number of signals produced from the comparator 415 and comparator 418 generates a signal ฮธ for stopping the zero writing into the second page memory 2 when the count of the counter 417 reaches x ( x being the multiplying factor when first enlarging processing and being integer ). until the count of the counter 417 becomes x , the comparator 418 produces a &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; output from its &# 34 ;โ &# 34 ; output and the gate of the and circuit 520 is in its open state . therefore , the pulse signal produced from the &# 34 ;=&# 34 ; terminal of the comparator 415 every time one line is completed is inputted in the terminal c of the address designating circuit 504 through the and circuits 516 , 520 and 521 . as a result , the address designating signal g designates addresses advanced by one in the subscanning direction . this operation is repeated until the count of the counter 417 reaches x . by the above - mentioned operations , the picture image is multiplied by a given magnifying factor , that is by x . when the signal ฮธ is produced from the comparator 418 , the flip - flop 409 is reset and the flip - flop 410 is set , so that the mode is returned to the mode 1 from mode 2 . at this time , the zero writing operation into the second page memory 2 is completed . in the case where a non - zero word is detected in the comparator 405 in mode 1 ( checking mode ), the signal ฮฑ becomes &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; at that time . as a result , the clock pulse 301 is allowed to pass through the and circuit 426 to set a flip - flop 419 so that the mode is changed to mode 3 ( enlarging / reducing mode ). the operation in this mode is exactly the same as in the conventional system as described with respect to fig2 and this mode is held during the processing of k lines of input picture image . the maximum value of k is determined in accordance with an original document . a counter 420 and a comparator 421 serve to hold the mode in this mode 3 during the processing of k lines of input picture image . that is , the counter 420 counts the number of processed lines of input picture image and the comparator 421 produces its output ฮฒ when the count of the counter 420 reaches k . in response to this output ฮฒ , the flip - flop 419 is reset and the flip - flop 410 is set . thus , the mode returns to mode 1 ( checking mode ) from mode 3 ( enlarging / reducing mode ). although the mode is changed to mode 3 when a &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; is detected during the judging operation in the comparator 405 as already described , it is necessary to adjust the address such that the address designated by the address designating circuit 503 for the page memory 1 returns at this time to the starting point of the line which is now being read by the register 404 . to this end , it is necessary to reset only the counter 605 in the address designating circuit 503 when the mode changes to mode 3 . the configuration of the address designating circuit 503 is the same as that in fig4 except for the above - mentioned point . although the above - mentioned embodiment has been described such that the mode is changed to mode 2 when the one line of bits are determined to be all - zero in the all - zero judging process , the present invention is of course not restricted to this . for example , when the picture image in the extracting area a on an original document a is enlarged by multiplying by a given magnifying factor x to obtain a desired copy picture image b as shown in fig1 , the extracting area may be divided into n ( n being integer ) parts so as to successively achieve the above - mentioned enlarging operation with a magnifying factor x with respect to each of the divided parts of the extracting area . in the example case of fig1 where n = 3 , the extracting area a 1 may first be subjected to enlarging processing to obtain the copy picture image b 1 , the extracting area a 2 may then be subjected to enlarging processing to obtain the copy picture image b 2 and the extracting area a 3 may lastly be subjected to enlarging processing to obtain the copy picture image b 3 . in this case , it is apparent that the mode is switched to mode 2 when the all - zero judgment in the all - zero judging process indicates all - zero with respect to 1 / n of words of one line . further , there is an advantage that the copy is speeded up in the case where the extracting area is divided , in comparison with the case where the extracting area is not divided , because the frequency of occurrence of a &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; in the all - zero judging process decreases . it will now be explained why no moire stripe occurs even if a short correction coefficient is used in accordance with the present invention . as is apparent from the description of the operation of fig9 when judgment indicates that one line or 1 / n of a line is all - zero , the mode is switched to mode 2 during which no shift signal is inputted into the shift register 508 . that is , in mode 2 the correction coefficient ฮฑ stored in the register 508 is not used . as is well known , the frequency of occurrence of moire stripe increases when the application of correction coefficient ฮฑ has any regularity . for this reason , the regularity of the correction coefficient ฮฑ has heretofore been prevented by increasing the number of bits of the correction coefficient ฮฑ in the conventional technique . however , since the correction coefficient ฮฑ is irregularly applied according to the present invention , no moire stripe occurs even if the number of bits of the correction coefficient is small . the reason for this will be described in more detail . in the case where the correction coefficient ฮฑ is composed of the patterns a and b as described above with respect to the conventional technique , the correction coefficient ฮฑ is applied to all the extracting area of an original document in the conventional case . assuming now that the copy picture image obtained by enlarging the extracting area with a multiplying factor x according to the conventional technique is shown in fig1 ( a ), the correction coefficient ฮฑ (= ab ) applied to the respective lines a 1 , a 2 , a 3 , a 4 , . . . of the copy picture image is , for example , as shown in the same drawing , fig1 ( a ). assuming , on the other hand , that the copy picture image according to the present invention is shown in fig1 ( b ) and each of the lines b 2 and b 3 is all - zero , the correction coefficient ฮฑ is not applied to the lines b 2 and b 3 as described above . thus , the correction coefficient ฮฑ (= ab ) applied for the respective lines b 1 , b 2 , b 3 , b 4 , . . . is , for example , as shown in the drawing , fig1 ( b ). as is apparent when comparison is made between the copy picture images of fig1 ( a ) and 11 ( b ), the correction coefficient ฮฑ is irregularly applied in the copy picture image according to the embodiment of the invention . that is , in the embodiment according to the present invention , it is possible to have the same effect as that according to the conventional technique with the correction coefficient of the small number of bits . further , in the system in which copying is achieved by dividing the extracting and copying areas into n parts as shown in fig1 , it is apparent that the application of the correction coefficient ฮฑ is more irregular so that a moire stripe can be prevented from occurring even with a correction coefficient having a smaller number of bits . as described above , according to the present invention , since the enlarging / reducing process is not applied , contrary to the conventional case , when one line or 1 / n line is all - zero , there is an advantage that the processing is speeded up and therefore the processing time is reduced . there is a further advantage that a moire stripe can be prevented from occurring even if a correction coefficient includes a small number of bits . | 6 |
various embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the drawings , wherein like reference numerals represent like parts and assemblies throughout the several views . reference to various embodiments does not limit the scope of the claims attached hereto . additionally , any examples set forth in this specification are not intended to be limiting and merely set forth some of the many possible embodiments for the appended claims . referring to fig1 and 2 , a dispenser 100 is shown which is configured for dispensing interfolded sheets from a media pack 10 from an interior space 102 through an opening 104 . the media pack 10 can include a variety of interfolded sheet types , for example , napkins , towels , and wipes . as shown , the dispenser 100 includes a base structure 110 including a base 112 , a platen 114 , and a spring 116 located between the base 112 and the platen 114 . in one example , the spring 116 is formed as a metal helical spring . the sheets 10 rest upon or are adjacent to the platen 114 and are supported at a generally constant top height by the force of the spring 116 . as configured , the length of the spring 116 is such that the bottommost sheet will be pressed to the opening 104 once the remaining sheets have been withdrawn from the interior space 102 . in one aspect , the platen 114 can be provided with upwardly extending sidewalls 114 a to ensure the sheets 10 are secured onto the platen 114 . the base 112 may also include feet 118 secured to the base . the base 112 may also include a securing structure 115 about which the spring 116 can be fastened . as shown , the securing structure 115 is formed by a plurality of outwardly facing latches arranged in a circular pattern to match the shape of the base of the spring 116 . although the dispenser 100 is shown as being vertically supported by the base 112 wherein the opening 104 is generally horizontal , the dispenser 100 can be rested on a side such that the opening 104 is vertical and the base 112 forms a vertically extending sidewall . in such a configuration , the sheets would be inserted and removed from the side rather than from the top , as shown . as most easily seen at fig8 - 11 , the dispenser 100 is provided with a housing assembly 120 having a first housing part 120 a and an identical second housing part 120 b . as the constructions of the first and second housing parts 120 a , 120 b are similar , fig8 - 11 are fully applicable to each housing part 120 a , 120 b . in one aspect , the first and second housing parts 120 a , 120 b are connected to each other in a snap - fit type arrangement with tabs 122 of one housing part 120 a , 120 b being received by complementary recesses 124 of the other housing part 120 b , 120 c . other means for connecting the first and second housing parts 120 a , 120 b may be utilized without departing from the concepts presented herein , including attachment with fasteners and / or adhesives . alternatively , the housing assembly 120 may be formed as a single molded part rather than joining two separately formed housing parts 120 a , 120 b . as shown , the housing assembly 120 defines a first sidewall 122 c , a second sidewall 122 d , a third sidewall 122 e , and a fourth sidewall 122 f . as constructed , the first housing part 120 a includes the first sidewall 122 c and portions of the third and fourth sidewalls 122 e , 122 f while the second housing part 120 b includes the second sidewall 122 d and the remaining portions of the third and fourth sidewalls 122 e , 122 f . in one aspect , the first and second housing parts 120 a , 120 b each includes a downwardly extending member 126 and flange portion 126 a . the extending member and flange portion 126 a are received within the base 112 and are for supporting the housing parts 120 a , 120 b . the first and second housing parts 120 a , 120 b are secured to the base 112 via a plurality of tabs 127 having latch members 127 a configured to form a snap - fit type connection with corresponding latch recesses 112 a formed in the base 112 . as shown , four latched tabs 127 are provided on the housing assembly 120 ( two per housing part 120 a , 120 b ) and four latch recesses 112 a are formed provided on the base 112 . more or fewer tabs 127 and recesses 112 a may be provided . the housing assembly 120 can also be additionally secured to the base 112 via other means , such as with adhesives and / or mechanical fasteners . in the example shown , the housing parts 120 a , 120 b are further secured to the base via fasteners 119 which engage with recesses 123 formed in the housing parts 120 a , 120 b . the recesses 123 are shown as being open ended , but may be defined as enclosed apertures . alternatively , the housing assembly 120 and base 112 may be formed as a single molded part rather than providing the three separate components ( e . g . 112 , 120 a , 120 b ) shown . with continued reference to fig8 - 11 , it can be seen that the first and second housing parts 120 a , 120 b are additionally provided with an upwardly extending member 128 and flange member 128 a that are located at the upper end of the housing parts 120 a , 120 b and opposite the downwardly extending member 126 and flange member 126 a . the upwardly extending member 126 and flange member 126 a are for respectively supporting a cover assembly 130 ( fig4 - 7 ) that covers the open end defined by the housing parts 120 a , 120 b opposite the base 112 . as configured , the upwardly extending member 128 and flange member 128 a are received into a corresponding recess 132 a extending around a perimeter of a support frame 132 of the cover assembly 130 . the first and second housing parts 120 a , 120 b are also provided with a plurality of tabs 129 having latch members 129 a configured to form a snap - fit type connection with corresponding latch recesses 132 b in the support frame 132 . as shown , four latched tabs 129 are provided on the housing assembly 120 ( two per housing part 120 a , 120 b ) and four latch recesses 132 b are formed provided on the support frame 132 . as shown , the latched tabs 129 are collinear with the upwardly extending member 125 while the recess 132 a is collinear with the latch recesses 132 b . to facilitate such a construction , the recesses 132 a , 132 b are separated from each other by ribs 132 c while the upwardly extending member 128 and latched tabs 129 are separated from each other by gaps 128 b . of course , other configurations are possible without departing from the concepts presented herein . for example , more or fewer tabs 129 and latch recesses 132 b may be provided . the housing assembly 120 can also be attached to the cover assembly 130 via other means , such as with adhesives and / or mechanical fasteners . referring to fig4 - 7 , the cover assembly 130 is shown in further detail . as previously mentioned , the cover assembly 130 is provided with a support frame 132 . the support frame 132 is configured to support an elastomeric cover 134 at a perimeter 136 , wherein the elastomeric cover 134 defines a cover opening 130 a located within the perimeter 136 . in one example , the elastomeric cover 134 is over molded onto the support frame 132 and is formed from a material that is more flexible than the material from which the support frame 132 is formed . for example , the elastomeric cover 134 can be formed from a thermoplastic elastomer , such as thermoplastic polyurethane , while the support frame can be formed from a more rigid plastic material , such as a polycarbonate . in one example , the elastomeric cover 134 is separately formed and later attached to the support frame 132 . in one example , no support frame 132 is provided and the elastomeric cover 134 is either over molded onto the housing assembly 120 or separately formed and later attached to the housing assembly 120 . the elastomeric cover 134 may also be formed as a single , continuous part , as shown in the drawings , or may be formed as individual extension members that are either pre - formed and attached to the support frame 132 and / or housing assembly 120 , or that are over molded onto the support frame 132 and / or housing assembly 120 . as shown , the elastomeric cover 134 is provided with a first extension member 134 a , a second extension member 134 b , a third extension member 134 c , and a fourth extension member 134 d . each of the extension members 134 a - 134 d is shown as being connected to the adjacent extension member 134 a - 134 d by a small amount of material 134 e at the corners of the cover 134 while the members 134 a - 134 d are otherwise separated at a gap 134 f extending from the central opening 130 a to the material 134 e . this configuration allows for each of the extension members 134 b to independently deflect downwardly into the interior space 102 and towards the base 112 . the first and second extension members 134 a , 134 b can also be provided with a recessed portion 134 g to allow a user &# 39 ; s hands to more readily grasp the paper sheet 10 being held by the dispenser 100 . the extension members 134 a - 134 d are provided with sufficient strength and rigidity such that the extension members 134 a - 134 d extend generally in the same plane as the opening 130 a and parallel to the base 112 in a resting state . as the purpose of the elastomeric cover 134 is to provide for a dispenser that does not have to be opened for loading of the interfolded sheets 10 , the extension members 134 a - 134 d are also sufficiently flexible such that they can be readily bent out of the way of a media pack 10 being inserted through the opening 130 a . accordingly , a user can push a media pack of interfolded sheets 10 against a top surface 134 h of the cover 134 and the extension members 134 a - 134 d will readily deflect out of the way of the media pack 10 . once the media pack 10 is sufficiently inserted past the extension members 134 a - 134 d , the extension members 134 a - 134 d return to their rested state and the platen 114 supports the media pack 10 at or below the bottom surface 134 k of the extension members 134 a - 134 d . the dispenser 100 is then ready for dispensing at which point a user can pull individual sheets of the media pack 10 through the opening 130 a and past the extension members 134 a - 134 d . the disclosed configuration of the cover assembly 130 and cover member 134 is advantageous in numerous ways . for example , paper can be easily added to the dispenser without first requiring the opening of the dispenser to access the interior . another advantage is that the disclosed configuration reduces โ pilfering โ of the sheets by users because users are not able to easily gain access into the unit due to the cover member 134 . the disclosed design also significantly reduces the number of required parts in comparison to prior art designs which have various types of hinged door structures . the disclosed dispenser is thus more easily cleanable . another advantage is that the configuration of the cover member 134 with the elastomeric extension members 134 a - 134 d results in a reduced required height or length of the dispenser ( i . e . distance between the base 112 and the cover member 134 ). this reduction is accomplished because the extension members 134 a - 134 d are pliable to such a degree that they do not have a fixed hinge point , thereby allowing the extension members 134 a - 134 d to curve or bend out of the way to only the extend necessary for the pack to move past the opening 130 a . this same flexibility feature also allows for less required head space 11 above the media pack 10 . the head space 11 is the gap between top of the media pack 10 and bottom of cover member 134 that is generally defined by the design of the spring 116 and is most easily viewed at fig1 and 19 - 20 . as the extension members 134 a - 134 d are pliable enough to easily flex , the extension members 134 a - 134 d provide a smooth , curved surface against which the sheets , which generally have low tensile strength , can be pulled . the extension members 134 a - 134 d can be formed with sufficient pliability such that no head space 11 need be provided , wherein the media pack 10 directly abuts the bottom surface 134 k of the cover 134 . such a configuration can be easily accomplished by providing a spring 116 which provides a pre - load force on the media pack 10 against the cover 134 . of course , the dispenser 100 could be provided with the same amount of head space as a standard dispenser with the expectation of even further improved dispensability over prior art designs . in one example configuration , the dispenser 100 is designed to hold a media pack 10 having a stacked height of about five inches which results in the disclosed dispenser 100 being able to store about 50 additional sheets in comparison to other prior art designs while still maintaining an acceptable head height . the disclosed design is thus advantageous over prior art designs in which a minimum headspace must be maintained to prevent tearing of the sheets and designs in which the use of tabs or other members are required to hold the media pack to maintain a fixed head space distance . referring to fig1 - 17 , the window insert 140 is shown in further detail . the window insert 140 is for providing an advertising space for placards 150 so that the dispenser 100 can have further utility . as shown , the window insert 140 is formed from a first insert half 140 a and an identically shaped second insert half 140 b that is connected to the first insert half 140 b such that a shell is formed about the housing 120 . in one example , the window insert parts 140 a , 140 b are formed from a transparent and / or translucent material such that a respective placard 150 a , 150 b installed between the housing 120 and the window insert 140 can be readily viewed . as the constructions of the first and second window insert parts 140 a , 140 b are similar , fig1 - 17 are fully applicable to each insert half 140 a , 140 b . in one aspect , the first insert half 140 a has a first wall 140 c including a first window 142 and a second wall 140 d including a second window 144 . the first insert part 140 a is installed into the first housing part 120 a such that the first window 142 is on the exterior side of the first sidewall 122 c while the remaining portion of the first wall 140 c is on the interior side of the first sidewall 122 c . the first housing part 120 a includes a placard support portion 120 m surrounded by a gap 120 n that allows for the insertion of the first insert part . once assembled , the first placard 150 can be inserted from the exterior side of the dispenser 100 between the first window 142 and the placard support portion 120 m , wherein the placard can rest on a ledge 120 p . this configuration is resistant to tampering in that the placard 150 cannot be easily removed from the exterior of the dispenser 100 once it has been fully inserted between the first window 142 and the placard support portion 120 m as very little clearance exists for access to the placard 150 . to remove the placard 150 , the sheets of the media pack 10 must be first removed from the dispenser , such that a user can grasp an exposed portion of the placard 150 at a recessed portion 120 r of the placard support portion 120 m from the interior side of the dispenser 100 . once installed , the second window 144 of the first insert part 140 a is received into a recess 120 n defined between the first and second housing parts 120 a , 120 b when they are mated together . the second window 144 allows for viewing into the interior of the dispenser 100 such that the amount of remaining sheets of the media pack 10 within the dispenser can be readily viewed from either the third or fourth sides 122 e , 122 f . the construction and insertion of the second insert part 140 b with respect to the second housing part 120 b is the same and need not be described further . another feature of the first and second window inserts parts 140 a , 140 b is the presence of guides 146 which extend the height of the insert parts 140 a , 140 b . the guides 146 extend into the interior space of the dispenser 100 and hold the ends of the sheets of the media pack 10 therebetween to ensure that the media pack 10 is sufficiently guided as the pack is initially inserted and as the sheets of the media pack 10 are individually removed . the cross - sectional view provided at fig1 best illustrates the location and function of the guides 146 . the various embodiments described above are provided by way of illustration only and should not be construed to limit the claims attached hereto . those skilled in the art will readily recognize various modifications and changes that may be made without following the example embodiments and applications illustrated and described herein , and without departing from the true spirit and scope of the following claims . | 0 |
accordingly , the present invention relates to a process for the purification of waste of thermoplastic aromatic polycarbonates and / or thermoplastic aromatic polyester carbonates and / or thermoplastic aromatic polyesters ( herein polycondensate waste ) containing aluminum and / or lacquers and / or dyes , characterized in that the polycondensate waste 1 . is size - reduced to fragments with a mean diameter of 0 . 1 cm to 5 cm and preferably 0 . 5 cm to 1 . 5 cm , 2 . the fragments obtained are then stirred with bases for 20 to 300 minutes and preferably for 90 to 180 minutes at temperatures of 10 ยฐ c . to 100 ยฐ c . and preferably at temperatures of 70 ยฐ c . to 95 ยฐ c ., 3 . washed with dilute acids after removal of the bases and 5 . the polycondensate fragments washed free from electrolytes are then washed with water while gently stirring so that all the lacquer components , aluminum or dye components which are separated from the polycondensate fragments , but not yet dissolved are rinsed out and 6 . the purified fragments of polycondensate waste are filtered off and dried . the polycondensate waste is preferably size - reduced to fragments in a shredder or in a mill ( see , for example , &# 34 ; ullmanns encyklopadie der technischen chemie &# 34 ;, 4th edition , 1972 , vol . 2 , verfahrenstechnik i ( grundoperationen ), pages 2 to 34 ). bases in the context of the invention are , for example , dilute aqueous and / or dilute alcoholic solutions of alkali metal hydroxides and / or dilute aqueous and / or dilute alcoholic solutions of alkaline - earth metal hydroxides and / or dilute aqueous and / or dilute alcoholic solutions of ammonia and / or dilute aqueous and / or dilute alcoholic solutions of organic amines . dilute aqueous solutions of alkali metal hydroxides are preferred , dilute aqueous solutions of sodium and / or potassium hydroxide being particularly preferred . the bases are used in concentrations of 0 . 01 to 2 . 5 mol per liter solvent and preferably in concentrations of 0 . 05 to 1 . 5 mol per liter solvent . the quantity of base per kg polycondensate fragments is 0 . 05 to 2 . 5 mol base per kg polycondensate . preferred ranges are from 0 . 5 mol to 1 . 5 mol per kg polycondensate waste . in the context of the invention , dilute acids for removing residual base are mineral acids such as , for example , hydrohalic acids , the halogen being chlorine , bromine or iodine , perchloric acid , phosphoric acid or sulfuric acid , although dilute solutions of organic acids in water , such as for example formic acid , acetic acid and / or propionic acid , may also be used . the concentration of the dilute acids is about 0 . 01 to 0 . 5 mol per liter solvent . the quantity of acids is between 0 . 5 and 6 kg acid per 1000 kg of polycondensate waste . washing of the fragments and rinsing of the fragments in accordance with steps 4 and 5 of the process according to the invention is preferably carried out with distilled water at temperatures of 10 ยฐ c . to 100 ยฐ c . and preferably at temperatures of 20 ยฐ c . to 35 ยฐ c . the washing time and quantity of water may readily be determined by the expert in each individual case . electrolyte - free in the context of the present invention means that the washing waters flowing off have a ph value of about 6 to 7 . filtration of the rinsed fragments in accordance with step 6 of the process according to the invention is carried out in known filter units . the fragments of polycondensate waste are dried in conventional dryers ( see , for example , &# 34 ; ullmanns encyklopadie der technischen chemie &# 34 ;, 4th edition , 1972 , vol . 2 , verfahrenstechnik i ( grundoperationen ), pages 699 to 721 ). the polycarbonates , polyester carbonates and polyesters purified by the process according to the invention are free from troublesome impurities and may therefore be reprocessed in known manner to moldings or blended in known manner with other thermoplastics , for example with polyalkylene terephthalates , styrene / acrylonitrile polymers or abs graft polymers , to form blends . the subject of the process according to the invention and its outcome were by no means obvious because , on the one hand , the polycondensates in question are sensitive to bases and because it had not been expected that the large quantity of lacquers and dyes present in the polycondensate waste would be removed and substantially dissolved by treatment with bases in accordance with the invention . lacquers which can be separated from the polymer and partly dissolved by the process according to the invention are , for example , lacquers based on polyacrylonitrile , polyacrylate , polymethacrylate , polyvinyl chloride , melamine resin , epoxyisocyanate or polyurethane . dyes which can be separated by the purification process according to the invention are , for example , dyes based on naphthoquinones , benzoquinones , anthraquinones and azo compounds and also organic pigments and inorganic pigments , such as iron oxides , chromium oxides and titanium dioxide . thermoplastic aromatic polycarbonates in the context of the invention are polycarbonates which have been produced from diphenols and carbonate donors by any of the usual methods known from the literature ( see , for example , h . schnell &# 34 ; chemistry and physics of polycarbonates &# 34 ;, interscience publishers , new york , 1964 ; u . s . pat . no . 3 , 028 , 365 and de - os 3 , 832 , 396 lea 26 344 ). diphenols for polycarbonates such as these may be , for example , hydroquinones , resorcinols , dihydroxydiphenyls , bis -( hydroxyphenyl )- alkanes , bis ( hydroxyphenyl ) cycloalkanes , bis ( hydroxyphenyl ) sulfines , bis ( hydroxyphenyl )- ethers , bis ( hydroxyphenyl ) ketones ,, bis ( hydroxyphenyl )- sulfones , bis ( hydroxyphenyl )- sulfoxides , ฮฑ , ฮฑ &# 39 ;- bis ( hydroxyphenyl ) diisopropyl benzenes , nucleus - alkylated and nucleus - halogenated compounds thereof . preferred diphenols are , for example , 4 , 4 &# 39 ;- dihydroxy diphenyl , 2 , 2 - bis -( 4 - hydroxyphenyl ) propane , 2 , 4 - bis -( 4 - hydroxyphenyl )- 2 - methyl butane , 1 , 1 - bis ( 4 - hydroxyphenyl ) p - diisopropyl benzene , 2 , 2 - bis -( 3 - methyl - 4 - hydroxyphenyl ) propane , 2 , 2 - bis -( 3 - hydroxyphenyl )- methane , 2 , 2 - bis ( 3 , 5 - dimethyl - 4 - hydroxyphenyl ) propane , bis -( 3 , 5 - dimethyl - 4 - hydroxyphenyl ) sulfone , 1 , 1 - bis -( 3 , 5 - dimethyl - 4 - hydroxyphenyl )- p - diisopropyl benzene , 2 , 2 - bis -( 3 , 5 - dibromo - 4 - hydroxylphenyl ) propane and 1 , 1 - bis - 4 - hydroxyphenyl )- 3 , 3 , 5 - trimethyl cyclohexane . particularly preferred diphenols are , for example , 2 , 2 - bis -( 4 - hydroxyphenyl )- propane , 2 , 2 - bis -( 3 , 5 - dimethyl - 4 - hydroxyphenyl )- propane , 2 , 2 - bis -( 3 , 5 - dichloro - 4 - hydroxyphenyl )- proprane , 2 , 2 - bis -( 3 , 5 - dibromo - 4 - hydroxyphenyl ) propane , 1 , 1 - bis -( 4 - hydroxypheny )- cyclohexane and 1 , 1 - bis - 4 - hydroxyphenyl )- 3 , 3 , 5 - trimethyl cyclohexane . mixtures of the diphenols mentioned above may also be used . the diphenols are either known from the literature or may be produced by known methods . aromatic polyester carbonates in the context of the invention are those which are synthesized from at least one aromatic bisphenol , at least aromatic dicarboxylic acid and carbonic acid . suitable diphenols are those mentioned above . suitable aromatic dicarboxylic acids are , for example , orthophthalic acid , terephthalic acid , isophthalic acid , tert . butyl isophthalic acid , 3 , 3 &# 39 ;- diphenyl ether dicarboxylic acid , 4 , 4 &# 39 ;- diphenyl dicarboxylic acid , 4 , 4 &# 39 ;- diphenyl ether dicarboxylic acid , 4 , 4 &# 39 ;- benzophenone dicarboxylic acid , 3 , 4 &# 39 ;- benzophenone dicarboxylic acid , 4 , 4 &# 39 ;- diphenyl sulfone dicarboxylic acid , 2 2 - bis -( 4 - carboxyphenyl )- propane , trimethyl - 3 - phenylindane - 4 , 5 &# 39 ;- dicarboxylic acid . of the aromatic dicarboxylic acids , terephthalic acid and / or isophthalic acid are particularly preferred . the aromatic polyester carbonates may be produced by methods known from the literature for the production of polyester carbonates , for example by processes in homogeneous solution , by melt transesterification processes and by the two - phase interfacial process . thermoplastic aromatic polyesters in the context of the invention are the reaction products of the bisphenols and dicarboxylic acids mentioned above . they have molecular weights mw , as determined by measurement of the relative viscosity after calibration , in the range from 10 , 000 to 200 , 000 and preferably in the range from 16 , 000 to 80 , 000 and are produced by methods known from the literature . aromatic polycarbonates and aromatic polyester carbonates in the context of the invention are in particular those which also have weight average molecular weights in the range from 10 , 000 to 200 , 000 and preferably in the range from 16 , 000 to 80 , 000 , as determined in known manner by gel permeation chromatography . the polycondensate waste purified by the process according to the invention may be reprocessed in the same way as the original resins to produce any of a variety of moldings , including films for example , in standard machines such as extruders or injection molding machines . the moldings obtained may then be used in known manner in the electrical field , for optical applications in the automotive industry or as lamp covers or roof coverings . they may be provided before or during processing with the usual additives , stabilizers , mold release agents etc . typically used for polycarbonates , polyester carbonates and polyesters in the usual quantities . the invention is further illustrated but is not intended to be limited by the following examples in which all parts and percentages are by weight unless otherwise specified . a . the compact disc waste ( polycarbonate metallized with aluminum and coated with lacquer ) used for the following tests were first size - reduced to a particle size of 1 mm to 15 mm in a shredder . the shredded product thus obtained contained a total of 0 . 35 % by weight lacquer ( crosslinked polyacrylonitrile and crosslinked polyvinyl chloride ) and aluminum . the relative solution viscosity of the shredded polycarbonate after mechanical separation of lacquers and aluminum ( 0 . 5 g polycarbonate in 100 ml dichloromethane at 23 ยฐ c .) was 1 . 196 . 300 g of the shredded compact discs mentioned in a . are added with stirring to 450 g of a 5 % sodium hydroxide solution which was then heated for 90 minutes to the boiling temperature so that all the aluminum and parts of the lacquer are dissolved and the remaining lacquer residues have separated from the polycarbonate and dissolved . after removal of the sodium hydroxide solution , the polycarbonate is washed with 10 % acetic acid and then with softened water until neutral and the lacquer residues remaining are rinsed out . after filtration , the polycarbonate is dried at 120 ยฐ c . the relative solution viscosity of the resulting purified resin has not changed in relation to the value mentioned in a . as example 1 , but with 5 % potassium hydroxide solution instead of the 5 % sodium hydroxide solution . the relative solution viscosity of the resulting purified resin has not changed in relation to the value shown in a . 200 kg of a 5 % sodium hydroxide solution are introduced into a 500 liter tank equipped with a stirrer and with a flanged - on filter and flotation outlet . the tank is evacuated and then purged with nitrogen . the gas exchange was repeated two more times and , finally , a nitrogen blanket of 15 m 3 nitrogen per hour was established . 100 kg of the polycarbonate waste mentioned in a . are added to the tank with continuous stirring , heated to 90 ยฐ c . with continuous stirring and kept at that temperature for 3 hours . after cooling to 30 ยฐ c ., the sodium hydroxide solution was drained off . the polycarbonate remaining in the tank is washed with 200 kg 0 . 5 % acetic acid and then with softened water until neutral , the lacquer residues which have separated from the polycarbonate being rinsed out . finally , the polycarbonate is dried at 120 ยฐ c . the relative solution viscosity of the resulting purified resin has not changed in relation to the value mentioned in a . although the invention has been described in detail in the foregoing for the purpose of illustration , it is to be understood that such detail is solely for that purpose and that variations can be made therein by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention except as it may be limited by the claims . | 8 |
turning now descriptively to the drawings , in which similar reference characters denote similar elements throughout the several views , disclosed is a pedestal which provides anti - idling measures to vehicles [ 41 ] via a cord [ 7 ] and plug [ 8 ] using grid electricity . various functions of the pedestal can be performed via different methods . one function of the pedestal is authentication which can be accomplished via three different methods . for all methods of authentication , registered users and their respective information will be stored in a master online database on a remote server . updates to the database will be pushed out to the pedestals and stored locally . this server has the ability to connect and manage all pedestals within the database . the server can communicate with the pedestals via mobile data or sms . the pedestals report and interact with the server on a regular schedule . however , the pedestals can also be forced to update through a management panel on the remote server . the first method of authentication is via an sms text message or mobile app . the user will text a command , and their phone number will be verified against the online database . in this method , the sms command gets sent directly to a remote server which then forwards the command to the pedestal after authentication . a second method of authentication is via an rfid tag [ 12 ] distributed to authorized users . the user swipes their rfid tag [ 12 ] against the pedestal and the pedestal then checks a local database for authentication . once authenticated , the pedestal transmits usage data to the remote server . a third method of authentication is via a fingerprint reader [ 27 ]. fingerprint information is stored locally and updated via the remote server . a user swipes a registered finger and the pedestal checks the fingerprint against the local database . once authenticated the pedestal transmits usage data to the remote server . another function of the pedestal is a door [ 4 ] or protective mechanism which protects the plug [ 8 ] and cord [ 7 ] from theft and vandalism . one such embodiment is a swinging spring lock door [ 30 ]. the door [ 30 ], once it has been unlocked by the controller , is pushed open by the user and swings inward against a lightly spring - loaded hinge [ 31 ]. the user pulls the plug [ 8 ] out of the enclosure and lets go of the door [ 4 ] which then swings back and rests on the cord [ 7 ] with light , spring - loaded pressure . when the cord [ 7 ] retracts after use , as discussed below , it pushes the door [ 4 ] up on its hinge as the plug [ 8 ] passes into the enclosure . the door [ 30 ] is then free to swing back down and the controller locks it into place . a second embodiment is an electromechanical door [ 4 ] which slides up and down on rails [ 3 ]. in this embodiment , the user authentication would activate a lead screw motor [ 1 ] which opens the door [ 4 ]. this same motor [ 1 ] closes the door [ 4 ] once the plug [ 8 ] and cord [ 7 ] are retracted after use . there is an one or more ir sensor ( s )[ 5 ] which detects whether an obstruction is blocking the sliding action of the door [ 4 ]. a third embodiment is a protective , actuated tube covering the plug [ 8 ] and cord [ 7 ], making them inaccessible without authentication . when a user authenticates , the protective tube [ 33 ] retracts back into the pedestal , thereby allowing the user to access the plug [ 8 ]. when the user is finished and the plug [ 8 ] is retracted to its resting position , the protective tube [ 33 ] slides back over the plug [ 8 ], thereby making it inaccessible to non - authenticated users . another function of the pedestal is cord [ 7 ] retraction which protects the plug [ 8 ] and cord [ 7 ] from theft and vandalism . one method of retraction is through the use of a motorized , uni - directional cord reel [ 10 ]. the plug [ 8 ] is grabbed by the user and pulled out freely to a desired length . when the cord [ 7 ] needs to be refracted , the motor [ 1 ] activates and retracts the cord [ 7 ] until it triggers a kill switch [ 26 ], turning off the motor [ 1 ]. a gearing mechanism allows the motor [ 1 ] to have influence only when the cord [ 7 ] needs to be retracted . a second method of retraction is through the use of a spring loaded cord reel . the cord [ 7 ] is pulled out manually and locked at the desired length automatically by a ratcheting gear [ 35 ]. in order to retract the cord [ 7 ], an electronic solenoid [ 34 ] releases the locked gear [ 35 ] and allows the stored energy in the spring [ 39 ] to reel the cord [ 7 ] back in . while not a specific function of the pedestal , there are two methods by which the plug [ 8 ] can be ejected from the charging vehicle [ 41 ]. one method of ejection is via an automatic ejection outlet [ 40 ] mounted on the vehicle [ 41 ]. a second method is via manual removal where the user unplugs the cord [ 7 ] from the vehicle [ 41 ]. when a user is ready to activate the pedestal , the user goes through one of the methods of authentication described above . once the user is authenticated , the cord [ 7 ] is made available to the user via one of the methods of door [ 4 ] control described above . the user can then pull the cord [ 7 ] out to a desired length and attach it to the vehicle [ 41 ]. the user then goes through one of the methods of authentication a second time which tells the pedestal to activate the power cord [ 7 ]. the second authentication needs to occur within a predetermined time frame and the time frame can be adjusted based on use case by a technician remotely . if the user does not go through authentication a second time within the described time frame , the pedestal goes through a method of retraction and door [ 4 ] control into an idle state . if the user does go through a method of authentication a second time within the described time frame , the contactor is activated by the relay [ 29 ] and power is supplied to the vehicle [ 41 ]. when the user is finished using the electricity , the cord [ 7 ] is removed from the vehicle [ 41 ] via one of the methods of ejection described above . the pedestal then detects that there is no current running through the cord [ 7 ] and shuts of power going to the cord [ 7 ] with a relay [ 29 ]. the pedestal then retracts the cord [ 7 ] via one of the methods of retraction and door [ 4 ] control described above . the pedestal incorporates a variety of components to complete the actions described above . the main control system for the pedestal is a microcontroller [ 16 ] computer board . the board uses code such as python , java , etc . as a method for executing commands . the microcontroller [ 16 ] is directly connected to a custom printed pcb [ 22 ] that allows it to interface with all of the sensors and control units . this includes circuits for a relay array , usb hub [ 21 ] with independent 5v power supply , and connections for sensor switches . a set of relays [ 29 ] connected to the main custom pcb [ 22 ] acts as a switch for some of the components mounted in the pedestal . the relays [ 29 ] are able to turn the contactor coil on or off , thereby controlling the outlets . the relays [ 29 ] are also able to reset the 3g gsm [ 13 ] card if needed . a contactor [ 14 ] is in place to control the flow of electricity to the outlet . the contactor [ 14 ] is activated by the relay board when the outlets are meant to be on and deactivated when the outlets are meant to be off . there is one meter [ 15 ] that is monitoring the energy flow in the outlet power cord [ 7 ]. this is connected to the pcb [ 22 ] and reports electricity usage via pulses . there is a current clamp [ 28 ] that surrounds the live line going to the cord reel [ 10 ] power input . this current clamp [ 28 ] is connected directly to the an input on the pcb [ 22 ] which tells the code such as python , java , etc . when there is current draw in the line . the 3g wireless modem is connected through the usb hub [ 21 ] on the pcb board [ 22 ] which is then connected directly to the usb hub [ 21 ] on the microcontroller [ 16 ] board . the 3g modem [ 37 ] can be reset via the relay board if necessary . the 3g modem [ 37 ] is used in two ways . first , it can send and receive sms messages and commands to and from the server . second , it can open a gsm data connection for retrieving remote files and communicating with the server . another component can be a front facing camera [ 19 ] mounted on all pedestals . this is connected to the microcontroller [ 16 ] and used for a live video feed for troubleshooting to the management panel on the remote server . there are four sensor switches connected to the pcb board [ 22 ]. all four are configured to be normally closed when decompressed . the first set of two of the switches are only available if the method of door control is electro - mechanical door [ 4 ] or actuated tube [ 33 ] methods . one of the two switches [ 24 ] is for monitoring when the door control method is in its open state . the second switch [ 23 ] is for monitoring when the door method state is in the closed position . the second set of two sensor [ 38 ] switches is for detecting when the cord [ 7 ] and plug [ 8 ] are fully retracted . these two switches perform the same function and are in place for redundancy . these switches are connected to inputs on the pcb [ 22 ] and monitored by a program such as python , java , etc . running on the microcontroller [ 16 ]. when the switches are compressed , the program knows that the cord [ 7 ] has been fully retracted . this configuration is for all methods of retraction . there are two kill switches [ 25 , 26 ] that cut the power supply for the cord reel motor [ 36 ]. the kill switches are normally closed when decompressed . the switches [ 25 , 26 ] are mounted on the first set of cord reel rollers [ 9 ] and are compressed when the cord [ 7 ] and plug [ 8 ] are fully retracted . these switches [ 25 , 26 ] are wired in series such that if one is tripped , the circuit is opened and no energy can flow to the cord reel motor [ 36 ]. this configuration is only in place for the electro - mechanical door [ 1 ] method of door control . the rfid reader [ 12 ] is connected through the usb hub [ 21 ] mounted on the pcb [ 22 ]. this will read rfid tags used for one of the methods of authentication . the rfid reader [ 12 ] is mounted against the front facing sheet metal behind a frosted plexiglass port [ 11 ]. the plexiglass port [ 11 ] will allow for better rfid radio reception . the rfid reader [ 12 ] is only in place for the rfid method of authentication . the fingerprint reader [ 27 ] is connected through the usb hub [ 21 ] mounted on the pcb [ 22 ]. the fingerprint reader [ 27 ] is mounted through a cutout in the front facing sheet metal and is directly exposed for user interaction . the fingerprint reader [ 27 ] is only in place for the fingerprint method of authentication . the hall effect sensor [ 32 ] monitors the position of the spring loaded door [ 30 ] in the spring loaded door method only . it is mounted perpendicular to the front panel on the lower left corner of the access box [ 6 ]. there is a small magnet [ 42 ] mounted on the bottom left corner of the spring loaded door [ 30 ]. the hall effect sensor [ 32 ] will detect the magnetic field of the magnet [ 42 ] and notify the program such as python , java , etc . that the door has been fully closed . the ir sensor ( s )[ 5 ] is used to detect debris that may have been placed into the access box [ 6 ] and access box panel [ 2 ] during operation . in the case of debris in the access box [ 6 ], a burst of compressed air from an air tank [ 18 ] flows into the access box through a nozzle [ 17 ]. the burst of air is controlled by a solenoid [ 20 ] that is activated when the ir sensor ( s )[ 5 ] detects debris . the ir sensor ( s )[ 5 ] also detects the presence of a user &# 39 ; s hand and will prevent the door [ 4 ] and cord reel [ 10 ] from activating for safety reasons . once the ir sensor ( s )[ 5 ] detects that nothing is in the path of the door [ 4 , 30 ], the door [ 4 , 30 ] closes . the ir sensor ( s )[ 5 ] is only present in the electro - mechanical door [ 4 ] and spring loaded door methods [ 30 ]. as to a further discussion of the manner of usage and operation of the present invention , the same should be apparent from the above description . accordingly , no further discussion relating to the manner of usage and operation will be provided . with respect to the above description , it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of the invention , to include variations in size , materials , shape , form , function and manner of operation , assembly and use , are deemed to be within the expertise of those skilled in the art , and all equivalent structural variations and relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by the present invention . therefore , the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention . further , since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art , it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described . accordingly , all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to falling within the scope of the invention . the foregoing description of preferred and other embodiments is not intended to limit or restrict the scope or applicability of the inventive concepts conceived of by the applicants . | 8 |
a first exemplary embodiment of a device according to the invention that is represented in fig1 to 11 is denoted overall by the reference numeral 10 . the device 10 has a handle 12 , which has an approximately bar - shaped grip 14 . provided at one end of the handle 12 is an opening 16 , which serves for removably receiving a guiding sleeve 18 . as can be seen in particular from the sectional representation of fig7 , the guiding sleeve 18 is formed approximately in the form of a tube 20 , the distal end 22 of which is provided with a serrated rim 24 ( fig1 ). at the opposite end , the guiding sleeve 18 is provided with a rotatable clamping sleeve 26 . in the actual body 28 of the guiding sleeve 18 there is a first , central continuous guiding channel 30 , which in the present case is formed as a central bore passing through the body 28 . the clear inside diameter of the first guiding channel 30 is such that a first aiming wire 32 , as represented in fig1 , can be pushed snugly through it . the aiming wire 32 has an outside diameter of 2 . 4 mm . laterally offset in relation to the first guiding channel 30 there is a second guiding channel 34 , which represents the inner lumen of a guiding tube 36 . the guiding tube 36 is fitted in a recess ( not designated any more specifically here ) on the outer side of the body 28 of the guiding sleeve 18 and fastened therein , for example adhesively bonded or welded or soldered . it is evident from the sectional representation of fig7 that the central longitudinal axis 38 of the first guiding channel 30 runs parallel to and at a distance a from the central longitudinal axis 40 of the second guiding channel 34 . fig1 and the sectional representation of fig7 also reveal that on the outer side of the body 28 there is also a cannulation 42 , to be precise in the form of a cross - sectionally semicircular longitudinal groove 44 . the cannulation 42 is open to an outside laterally to the central longitudinal axis 38 . it can again be seen from the sectional representation of fig7 that a virtual central longitudinal axis 46 of the longitudinal groove 44 likewise lies at a distance a from the central longitudinal axis 38 of the first guiding channel 30 . furthermore , the central longitudinal axis 46 or the longitudinal groove 44 lies exactly diametrically opposite the second guiding channel 34 . in other words , the cannulation 42 or the central longitudinal axis 46 thereof is arranged offset in relation to the second guiding channel 34 or the central longitudinal axis 40 thereof in terms of the circumferential angle by 180 ยฐ. returning to the representation of fig1 and 2 , it is evident that an arm 48 , which is held in a mounting 50 , projects from the handle 12 at a distance from and approximately parallel to the guiding sleeve 18 . a clamping lever 54 keeps the arm 48 in the position represented ; pressing of the clamping lever 54 allows the removal of the arm 48 , and it can correspondingly be cleaned or replaced by a new or differently formed arm . the arm 48 has distally a bent region 54 , the distal end 56 of which has an opening 58 . the position of the opening 58 is such that it is in line with the first guiding channel 30 when the guiding sleeve 18 has been pushed into the opening 16 on the handle 12 , as is evident in particular from fig2 . this means that , if a first aiming wire 32 is pushed through the guiding sleeve 18 from proximally , that is a say in the region of the clamping sleeve 26 , it meets the opening 58 and can pass through it . as described and explained in more detail in particular by de 10 2007 057 075 . 0 a1 , the device 10 is set laterally inclined onto the outer side of a bone , for example onto the lower leg bone 64 represented in fig1 . the serrated rim 24 thereby facilitates the setting and holding of the guiding sleeve 18 at this site of the bone 64 or on the skin covering this bone . the distal end 56 of the bent arm 48 is thereby introduced into the opened knee joint and positioned on the tibial plateau 60 such that a first aiming wire 32 pushed through the bone 64 , as is evident in fig1 , passes through the tibial plateau 60 and is passed through the opening 58 . for the sake of overall clarity , the bone is not represented in fig2 , since this first working step is known per se from de 10 2007 057 075 . 0 a1 which is incorporated by reference . the handling and setting of the further aiming wires will now be described and explained in more detail on the basis of the sequence of images of fig3 to fig6 and the sectional representations of fig8 to fig1 . after setting of the first aiming wire 32 , as represented in fig2 , a further or second aiming wire 68 is set through the second guiding channel 34 , as is evident in fig3 or fig9 . it is evident that the first aiming wire 32 is significantly longer than the further , second aiming wire 68 . in its maximum advanced position , the distal tip ( not represented any more specifically here ) of the second aiming wire 68 reaches up to the marking 60 at the distal end 56 of the curved arm 48 . once it has reached this point , that is an indication to the surgeon that the second , further aiming wire 68 has been set in the correct position and in the correct line . then the clamping sleeve 26 is turned , so that the guiding sleeve 18 can be pulled off in the proximal direction ( see arrow 19 ) until the second , further aiming wire 68 has left the second guiding channel 34 , this structural state being represented in fig4 . the length of the pulling - off distance is intended to be represented by the arrow 19 . it is then possible to turn the guiding sleeve 18 about the first aiming wire 32 , as represented in fig4 by the arrow 21 . the turning is carried out through 180 ยฐ, so that then the cannulation 42 on the outer side of the guiding sleeve 18 lies in an alignment in which the second aiming wire 68 can enter the cannulation 42 during advancement of the guiding sleeve 18 . this situation is represented in fig5 . if the guiding sleeve 18 is then displaced in the distal direction in a way corresponding to the arrow 32 , the aiming wire 68 enters the cannulation 42 ( see fig1 ). subsequently , the guiding sleeve 18 is pushed through the opening 16 , this opening being designed such that the guiding sleeve 18 can be pushed through either in this position or in the position turned by 180 ยฐ. after fixing by the clamping sleeve 26 , a third aiming wire 70 is then pushed through the second guiding channel 34 or the guiding tube 36 , lying on the underside in the representation of fig5 . this situation is represented in fig6 and in fig1 . the third aiming wire 70 can also be advanced until it reaches the corresponding marking 62 at the distal end 56 of the arm 48 , so that again the surgeon can check whether this third aiming wire 70 also protrudes from the tibial plateau 66 at the correct site . subsequently , the guiding sleeve 18 is pulled off and the arm 48 is detached from the handle 12 , so that the entire device 10 is removed from the three set aiming wires 32 , 68 and 70 . this situation is represented in fig1 , that is to say the three aiming wires 32 , 68 and 70 have been pushed through into the lower leg bone 64 from โ below โ by means of the device 10 such that they all three stand up from the tibial plateau 66 aligned parallel to one another . the distance a between the three central longitudinal axes of the three aiming wires 32 , 68 and 70 is chosen such that they can be overdrilled with a 4 . 5 mm drill . this initially involves overdrilling the two outer aiming wires 68 and 70 and subsequently likewise overdrilling the middle aiming wire 32 . this then results in a drilled hole 72 , as represented in fig1 and 14 . if an exactly rectangular channel 74 , as represented in fig1 , is to be achieved , a correspondingly rectangular dilator may be pushed into the drilled hole 72 , in order to detach the protruding regions of bone remaining in the region of intersection . in the reconstruction of an anterior cruciate ligament , a rectangular tendon transplant , for example , with the correct fit and form can then be inserted into the channel 74 and anchored . in fig1 to 21 , a second exemplary embodiment of a device according to the invention is represented , the difference merely being that the guiding sleeve 78 , and correspondingly the opening into which the latter can be pushed into the handle 12 , are formed differently . it can be seen from the sectional representation of fig1 , which corresponds to the sectional representation of fig7 , that here too there is a central , first guiding channel 80 . at the previously described distance a and running parallel to it there is a second guiding channel 82 . here , too , in the outer side of the guiding sleeve 78 there is a first cannulation 84 , the central longitudinal axis of which again runs parallel to and at the same distance a from the central longitudinal axis of the first guiding channel 80 , as described above in conjunction with the first exemplary embodiment . as a departure from the first exemplary embodiment , in the case of the second exemplary embodiment a second and a third cannulation 86 and 88 are also cut out on the outer side of the guiding sleeve 78 . these cannulations again take the form of longitudinally running and laterally open grooves with an approximately semicircular cross section and the central longitudinal axes of which are again at the distance a from the central longitudinal axis of the first guiding channel 80 . as described above , with the second exemplary embodiment three aiming wires running parallel to one another and aligned in a row can be set . in addition , however , it is also possible now to achieve other geometries on resultant drilled holes . fig1 corresponds to a structural state such as that described in fig9 , that is the state after the first two aiming wires 32 and 68 have been set . as is evident from the transition from fig1 to fig1 , after pulling off of the guiding sleeve 78 from the second aiming wire 68 , the latter is turned only by 90 ยฐ, as indicated by an arrow 83 . subsequently , the guiding sleeve 78 is pushed in again axially . as a result , the second aiming wire 68 then enters the fourth cannulation 88 , angularly offset anticlockwise by 90 ยฐ. a third aiming wire 70 can then be pushed in through the second guiding channel 82 , so that the alignment of the three aiming wires 32 , 68 , 70 at the corners of a triangle resulting from fig1 is obtained . renewed detachment and pulling off of the guiding sleeve 78 from the third aiming wire 70 allows the guiding sleeve 78 to be turned once again by 90 ยฐ, as represented in fig2 by an arrow 85 . the third aiming wire 70 has then entered the third cannulation 88 ; the second aiming wire 68 lies in the first cannulation 84 . a fourth aiming wire 89 can then be set in the second guiding channel 82 , which has become free again . after removal of the device and overdrilling of the four aiming wires 32 , 68 , 70 and 89 , a drilled hole 90 with an approximately โ t โ- shaped profile , as represented in fig2 , then results in the bone 64 . | 0 |
the elastic deflection of a beam , plate or sheet is inversely proportional to the moment of inertia created by the beam , plate or sheet around its axis of deflection . the elastic stiffness of a metal sheet can therefore be increased substantially by increasing the moment of inertia of a metal sheet around its axis of deflection . conventionally , this is done by increasing the thickness of the metal sheet . an economical alternative to increasing the metal sheet &# 39 ; s thickness , which is proposed by this invention , is to laminate successive sheets of low - cost kraft paper between the exposed sheets of metal , thereby increasing the moment of inertia of the composite sheet and increasing the stiffness of the composite sheet substantially . the layers of paper may be bonded to each other and to the metal sheets with an adhesive having the necessary bond strength and mechanical characteristics to prevent slippage between the laminating layers , or delamination of the laminating layers from the metal sheets . in its simplest embodiment , drawn in fig1 a structural panel 10 according to the invention comprises a single web of kraft paper 20 sandwiched between two metal sheets 22 , the paper being bonded to the metal sheets on respective sides thereof with a layer of adhesive 24 . alternatively , the paper core may comprise a plurality of paper webs 20 adhesively bonded to each other and to the outer metal sheets 22 , as shown schematically by the structural panel 12 shown in fig2 . as indicated above , the invention provides a means to maintain stiffness while reducing weight thereby allowing thinner metals to be used without compromising performance . by way of example , the description which follows is directed to laminates of sheet steel and paper to show that such composites are viable alternatives to aluminum sheets alone . it will be understood that laminates comprising sheets of metals other than steel and paper are expected to exhibit commensurate improvements in stiffness without the additional cost and weight of increasing the thickness of the metal . in order for the invention to be suitable as a structural panel , and provide reasonable economic benefits , applicant has determined that the outer metal skins must have a thickness ranging between 0 . 005 in . and 0 . 012 in . while the paper core must have a minimum thickness of 0 . 01 in . and a practical maximum thickness of 0 . 05 in . a range of product covered by the invention is graphically illustrated by the shaded area drawn in fig3 while the unshaded boxed areas show prior art laminates of metal and paper known to the applicant . it will be understood that the minimum thickness of 0 . 005 in . is representative of the practical lowest thickness range to which steel sheet can be rolled without the additional processing costs of producing a so - called &# 34 ; foil &# 34 ;. table i which follows shows the thickness of aluminum sheet required to provide an equivalent stiffness for various combinations of steel sheet and paper having thicknesses representing the extremities of the shaded area of fig3 . it will be observed that the cumulative thickness of a composite panel of the kind shown in fig1 is always less than the thickness of aluminum sheet having equivalent stiffness . simple calculations will suffice to persuade those skilled in the art that enormous cost savings may be achieved without the weight penalty usually attributed to steel sheets of equivalent stiffness . table 1______________________________________sheet thickness for equivalent stiffnesssteel paper composite panelskins core ( excluding adhesive ) -& gt ; al sheet______________________________________ . 005 &# 34 ; . 01 &# 34 ; 0 . 020 &# 34 ; -& gt ; . 027 &# 34 ;. 012 &# 34 ; . 01 &# 34 ; 0 . 034 &# 34 ; -& gt ; . 048 &# 34 ;. 005 &# 34 ; . 05 &# 34 ; 0 . 06 &# 34 ; -& gt ; . 064 &# 34 ;. 012 &# 34 ; . 05 &# 34 ; 0 . 074 &# 34 ; -& gt ; . 093 &# 34 ; ______________________________________ it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the term &# 34 ; stiffness &# 34 ; is a measure of the ratio of load to deflection or resistance to elastic or recoverable bending . for clarity , a graphical representation of stiffness is drawn in fig4 adjacent to a schematic illustration drawn in fig5 showing the application of a load l to a sample beam b to produce a deflection d . selected experiments performed by the applicant are shown in table 2 and comprise examples 1 to 5 , each corresponding to a laminate structure for which the stiffness was measured and compared to an aluminum sheet having a thickness of 0 . 062 in . the results are shown graphically in fig1 to 17 . applicant has conducted numerous experiments to show the utility of the proposed structural panel in accordance with the invention as a substitute for aluminum sheet . the experiments were performed on laminated panels in which the outer metal skins are sheets of low carbon uncoated steel with a nominal thickness of 0 . 0074 in . laminated to a core comprising a single web of kraft paperboard . exemplary structures are shown in fig6 and 7 . in fig6 the laminate is generally indicated by reference numeral 30 and comprises the following sequential layers : a first outer skin of sheet steel 32 , a first adhesive layer 34 , a kraft paperboard core 36 , a second adhesive layer 38 , and a second outer skin of sheet steel 40 . a laminate of this kind was used in example 2 . the laminate used in the remaining examples 1 , 3 - 5 , is generally indicated by reference numeral 50 in fig7 and , similarly , comprises the following sequential layers : a first outer skin of sheet metal 52 , a first adhesive layer 54 , a kraft paperboard core 56 , a second adhesive layer 58 , and a second outer skin of sheet metal 60 . however , in this structure , the kraft paperboard core 56 is perforated and has a matrix of circular openings 62 punched from the paper , each opening 62 having a nominal diameter of 1 mm ( which could range between 0 . 5 - 2 . 0 mm ) and being spaced from adjacent openings at approximately 6 . 4 mm intervals in longitudinal and transverse directions of the kraft paperboard core 56 . table 2__________________________________________________________________________ example 1 example 2 example 3 example 4 example 5__________________________________________________________________________steel skin . 0074 &# 34 ; . 0074 &# 34 ; . 0074 &# 34 ; . 0074 &# 34 ; . 0074 &# 34 ; thicknesssteel skin low carbon , low carbon , low carbon , low carbon , low carbon , grade uncoated uncoated uncoated uncoated uncoatedcore weight 389 g / m2 423 g / m2 648 g / m2 422 g / m2 755 g / m2core thickness . 028 &# 34 ; . 028 &# 34 ; . 039 &# 34 ; ( including . 028 &# 34 ; . 045 &# 34 ; ( including resin ) resin ) orientation perpendicular parallel parallel parallel perpendicularresin none none 40 - 50 wt % phenol none 40 - 50 % phenolimpregnationadhesive type urethane base urethane base urethane base water base water baseadhesive spread 410 g / m2 370 g / m2 480 g / m2 300 g / m2 350 g / m2 ( both sides ) bridging 1 mm diameter none 1 mm diameter 1 mm diameter 1 mm diameter__________________________________________________________________________ the openings 62 define paths for adhesively bridging the outer metal skins 52 , 60 to each other , adhesive bridges 64 comprising columns of adhesive material oriented transversely to the layers of adhesive 34 , 38 and integrally connected to such adhesive layers being provided to maintain the integrity of the laminated structure . the paperboard core 56 used in the examples 1 - 5 is designated as a kraft paper which signifies that the pulp for forming the paper is produced using a sulfate process , typically caustic sodium hydroxide and sodium sulfide to delignify wood chips under high pressure and temperature in a digester which results in a pulp with a higher cellulose content and better bonding than paper made from a mechanical pulp . the kraft paperboard was sourced from westvaco corporation and is sold in association with the trademarks kraftpak and durasorb . kraftpak and durasorb are registered trademarks of westvaco corporation . it will be appreciated that cellulose fibers will align in a &# 34 ; machine direction &# 34 ; during production of the paper and that the orientation of the paper in the laminates is a factor which will affect the stiffness and strength of the laminate . the examples show that the laminates exhibit better performance when the machine direction of the kraft paper is aligned parallel to a neutral axis of bending ( fig8 ) than when the machine direction of the kraft paper is perpendicular to a neutral axis of bending ( fig9 ). another important factor affecting the performance of the laminates is the presence of the adhesive bridges 64 . without the bridging , the integrity of the laminate is susceptible to failure , in particular from a defect known as &# 34 ; buckling &# 34 ; and schematically shown in fig1 and resulting from a compressive stress on the top skin during bending of the laminate . here the fibers in the paper core become separated and there is a local delamination of the paper . this is in contrast with a mode of failure known as a &# 34 ; wrinkle &# 34 ; where there is a localized buckling of the outer skin only and the wavelength of the buckle is of the same order of magnitude as the core . by selectively spacing the openings 62 in the paper core 56 so that adhesive bridges 64 are spaced from each other , within an estimated range of buckle wavelengths , as shown schematically in fig1 , one can optimize resistance to failure of the laminate resulting from buckling . the improved performance realized in a laminate having adhesive bridges 64 of the kind drawn in fig7 when compared to a laminate without such adhesive bridges ( example 2 ) of the kind drawn in fig6 is shown graphically in fig1 . however , since the theory of elastic buckling teaches that a buckle wavelength is dependent on sample geometry , the required maximum spacing of the openings 62 will have to be calculated on a case - by - case basis in accordance with the intended application of the laminate . the examples also show that the kraft paperboard core may optimally be impregnated with resin to improve performance ( example 3 ) but that adequate performance may be achieved without resin impregnation ( example 1 ) and without the associated cost of such impregnation . it is therefore expected that the paper core will generally not be impregnated , or that impregnation may be done only in selected portions of the paperboard core such as on the edges of a structural panel to improve localized resistance to weathering conditions and the like . the nature of the adhesive is also expected to be a factor which will affect performance as shown by examples 4 and 5 where a water - based adhesive is used while a urethane - based adhesive is used in the remaining examples 1 to 3 . it will be appreciated that a structural panel made with a laminate in accordance with the invention will be dimensioned in accordance with the intended application and will have reinforcements where required to facilitate mounting of the panels to an underlying structure such as a framework . it is believed that a structural panel in accordance with the invention will find application wherever sheet metal is used and that it could replace such sheets whether they are used with both surfaces essentially exposed or whether they are themselves part of a composite panel 70 and bonded to a supplementary polymer core 72 so that the composite panel of the invention defines the outer skins 74 . such a structure is shown schematically in fig1 . several variations may be made to the above - described embodiments of the invention within the scope of the appended claims . it will be appreciated that the outer metal skins may be made from metals other than steel and could , for example , comprise aluminum or copper alloys . the metal skins may also comprise sheet steel selected from the following : cold rolled steel , galvanized steel , tin - coated steel , and stainless steel , including zinc aluminum alloyed castings and paint coatings in said sheets , without limitation . further , it will be understood that some sheet metals may be more desirable as skins for use in structural panels , according to the invention , than others . for example , it is envisaged that single - sided galvanized sheet may be preferred in some applications where an outer , galvanized , surface is required for improved weather resistance and an inner plain steel surface , without galvanizing or coating , is desirable for improved adhesion to the paper core . applicant also foresees that the outer metal skins may conveniently comprise galvanized steel sheet which is subsequently cold - rolled to a minimum acceptable thickness for the intended application without any subsequent annealing . | 1 |
fig1 shows a diagram of a principal component analysis ( pca ) for three contaminants frequently occurring in composite components in the aviation industry , namely kerosene , skydrol and water , using the device proposed according to the invention . the three substances could be reliably distinguished by the use of two principal components . kerosene can be distinguished from skydrol and water by using principal component 1 ( x axis ) and skydrol can be distinguished from water by principal component 2 ( y axis ). fig2 shows a first preferred embodiment of a testing device 10 a in a schematic cross - section , which device consists substantially of a thermally insulating outer housing 12 in which a preferably metallic heated punch 14 is disposed centrally , wherein the punch has a heating surface 15 and can be heated internally via a heating element 16 . the heating surface 15 is formed so that it can rest suitably on a composite component to be tested . in fig2 the heating surface 15 has convex shape , but also a planar surface or in an individual case also a concave shape is conceivable . it is also possible to provide the heating surface 15 with a heat conductive resilient coating , in order to ensure optimal heat transfer into the interior of the composite component . furthermore , a thermometer 18 is disposed in the interior of the heated punch 14 and is connected together with the heating element 16 to a thermostat 20 . the heated punch 14 is surrounded by an annular sensor array 22 which is coupled to a control device 24 . the thermostat 20 is likewise by the control device 24 coupled . the sensor array 22 comprises a number of mox and / or ndir sensors ( not shown in greater detail ) and preferably also a humidity sensor . the individual sensors of the sensor array 22 are configured so that they are capable of detecting a predetermined selection of contaminants . in operation , the testing device 10 a is placed onto the surface of a composite component 26 be tested so that the heating surface 15 rests on the site to be tested . by means of the heating element 16 controlled by way of the thermostat 20 , the heating surface 15 and thus also the region of the composite component 26 also in contact therewith is heated to a temperature of approximately 160 - 220 ยฐ c . ( the precise temperature depends upon the material of the composite component 26 and is selected so that the material is not damaged but the most comprehensive possible diffusion and thus better detection of possible contaminants is achieved ). any contaminants present come out of the composite component 26 heated via the heating surface 15 and collect in the collecting chamber 28 on both sides of the contact surface the heating surface 15 . the sensor array 22 is disposed precisely above this annular collecting chamber 28 and thus is able to detect these contaminants . for this purpose the sensor array 22 also set back somewhat relative to the heating surface 15 in order to enable the construction of the collecting chamber 28 for collecting the substances coming out of the composite material . the signals from the sensor array 22 are delivered to the control device 24 , in which in particular by means of a principal component analysis ( see fig1 ) the presence or in a more complex embodiment also the concentration of contaminants is determined and corresponding optical and / or acoustic signals are output to the user . fig3 shows a second preferred embodiment of a testing device 10 b in a schematic cross - section . in this case the same components as in fig1 are provided with the same reference signs . this testing device 10 b uses a halogen lamp 30 to generate heat in order to heat up the composite component 26 . in this embodiment the thermometer 18 is a radiation thermometer that can directly measure the temperature of the heated surface so that a more precise temperature monitoring and thus a higher temperature is possible , which increases the quantity of outcoming substances and thus enables a lower detection threshold . fig4 shows a third preferred embodiment of a testing device 10 c in a schematic horizontal section . this is similar to fig2 and likewise comprises a heated punch 14 that is heated internally by means of a heating element 16 and of which the temperature is regulated by means of the thermometer 18 and the thermostat 20 . an annular scattered light chamber 28 is provided radially outside the heated punch 14 and the inner and outer walls of the chamber are designed to be reflecting . at least one ir radiation emitter 34 and a number of photodetectors 36 ( for reasons of clarity only two are shown ) are disposed in the outer wall 32 of the scattered light chamber 28 . in operation the heated punch 14 โ analogous to the construction according to fig2 โ heats the composite component ( not shown in fig4 ) so that any contaminants present in the collecting chamber 28 escape . the scattered light chamber 28 is traversed by ir radiation 38 emitted by the ir radiation emitter 34 and reaches the photodetectors 36 , being reflected several times due to the reflectivity of the inner and outer wall 32 ( and the reflectivity of the upper wall which is not shown ). if contaminating substances ( and also other substances ) are present in the scattered light chamber 28 , certain spectra of the radiation are absorbed , which is ascertained by the photodetectors 36 selected by means of filters at specific frequencies or frequency bands . in practice , instead of the two shown a plurality ( in particular 6 to 20 ) of detectors 36 will be provided , so that the individual substances can be not only detected but also selected relative to one another , as shown in fig1 . an unfiltered reference detector is preferably provided . fig5 and 6 show a third preferred embodiment of a testing device 10 d that differs from the previous designs in that the collection of the contaminated particles and the desorption of the contaminants are separate from one another . in fig5 a composite component 26 is shown that is machined by means of an abrasive tool 40 ( for example a grinding or milling device ). in this case machining dust 42 is generated and is drawn off by means of an extractor device 44 . a two - part filter housing 46 with an easily removable filter membrane 48 , on which the machining dust particles 42 are collected , can be disposed in the extractor device . a suction pump ( not shown ) is located behind the filter housing 46 . fig6 shows as part of the testing device 10 d a desorption and detection unit 50 , which comprises an analysis chamber 51 defined by a two - part housing 52 in which a dust - laden filter membrane 48 can be placed . the detection unit 50 also includes a movable heated punch 54 which with a heating element 56 and a thermometer 58 is connected for the purpose of temperature control to a thermostat 60 in order to ensure a constant temperature of the heated punch 54 . the detection unit 50 comprises sensor array 62 with several gas detectors which are preferably constructed as mox and / or ndir sensors and / or humidity sensors . in operation of the testing device 10 d during the process of machining of the composite component 26 the machining dust is drawn off and concentrated on the filter membrane 48 ( fig5 ). then the filter housing 46 is opened and the filter membrane 48 is removed and placed in the desorption and detection unit 50 ( fig6 left ). then the heated punch 54 is moved against the filter membrane 48 ( fig6 right ), so that the contaminants present in the machining dust particles 42 can be desorbed at the elevated temperature and can be detected by means of the gas detectors 62 . the foregoing disclosure has been set forth merely to illustrate the invention and is not intended to be limiting . since modifications of the disclosed embodiments incorporating the spirit and substance of the invention may occur to persons skilled in the art , the invention should be construed to include everything within the scope of the appended claims and equivalents thereof | 6 |
turning now to fig1 a circuit diagram of a single cell 10 of a typical sram is shown . an sram chip may contain millions of such cells . the cell 10 of fig1 contains four n - channel mosfet transistors , 12 , 14 , 20 , and 22 , and two p - channel mosfet transistors 16 and 18 . the p - channel transistors 16 and 18 function as loads for the n - channel transistors , that is they could be replaced by resistors but are implemented as transistors because such transistors use much less current than resistors . as will be seen below , in the preferred embodiment of the invention each p - channel load transistor , such as 16 , is actually implemented as two p - channel transistors 16a and 16b ( fig2 e ) in series , however this is not shown in fig1 since the circuit shown in fig1 is the more common representation of an sram . in the sram of fig1 gate 31 of transistor 12 is connected to gate 34 of transistor 16 , the drains 32 and 33 of transistors 12 and 16 , respectively , are connected , the source 30 of transistor 12 is grounded ( as indicated by the inverted triangle ), and the source 35 of transistor 16 is connected to the v dd voltage . the gates 31 and 34 of transistors 12 and 16 , respectively , are connected to the bit line ( bl ) through transistor 22 which is gated by the word line ( wl ). the drains 32 and 33 of transistors 12 and 16 respectively are connected to the bit line through transistor 20 which is gated by the word line . the connections of transistors 14 and 18 are a mirror image of the connections of transistors 12 and 16 . the sram circuit just described is conventional and thus will not be discussed further herein . it is presented to assist in understanding of the invention which relates to the particular structure and process of forming a wafer for a semiconductor device , which structure and process are shown in detail in fig2 a through 4 . referring to fig2 e , according to the invention , the channels 68 and 70 of transistors 16a and 16b respectively are formed along the sidewalls 48 and 49 respectively of the gate 44 of transistor 12 and are gated by the respective sidewalls . as will be seen , this is a more compact and simpler way to manufacture such transistors and has many other advantages . turning now to a more detailed description of the invention , fig2 a shows a cross - section of the wafer of the sram of fig1 in a preliminary stage of fabrication . a lightly - doped p - type single crystal silicon substrate 40 has been provided , and a thin insulating layer 42 , preferably silicon dioxide , has been formed by thermal oxidation , or other conventional process . a layer of n + doped polysilicon has been deposited , doped , and defined by a conventional masking and etching process to form the gate of transistor 12 , which we shall refer to below as the &# 34 ; first &# 34 ; transistor . the first transistor gate 44 has a first surface 46 which preferably is generally planar . gate 44 also has two sidewalls 48 and 49 which are preferably essentially perpendicular to the surface 46 . by &# 34 ; essentially perpendicular &# 34 ; is meant perpendicular within the ability of the technology to create perpendicular surfaces . because surface 46 and sidewalls 48 , 49 are created by deposition , masking , and etching processes which are governed by statistical laws , in practice the angles between them may deviate considerably from the perpendicular . referring to fig2 b , a second insulating layer 50 of silicon dioxide is deposited on the wafer . this oxide will become part of the p - channel load transistor 16 and may be referred to as the pmos load gate oxide 50 or second transistor gate oxide 50 . the interpoly contact areas 52 are then patterned and etched by conventional processes . then the final sources and drains ( s / d &# 39 ; s ) 58 , 54 may be implanted . alternatively , the source / drain regions 58 , 54 may be formed prior to the deposition of the gate oxide 50 . if lightly doped drains ( ldd &# 39 ; s ) are required , preferably a disposable spacer process would be used such that no spacer remains after s / d formation . in the embodiment shown the drains 54 and sources 58 of the first transistor 12 have been formed by ion implantation or other conventional process . in the preferred embodiment n + doping is selected , although other doping depending on the particular sram desired may be used . the implantation of drains 54 and sources 58 also defines the first channels 56 of first transistor 12 as the areas 56 of p - type doping between the sources 58 and drains 54 . turning now to fig2 c a layer 60 of lightly n - doped polysilicon has been deposited . this is the poly in which the channel of the p - channel load transistor 16 ( implemented as transistors 16a and 16b in fig2 e ) will be formed , and thus it may be called the pmos load poly or second transistor poly layer 60 . fig2 d illustrates the next steps of the fabrication process . protective spacers 64 , preferably of silicon dioxide , are formed on the pmos load poly layer 60 on the sides of the gates 44 by depositing the silicon dioxide and then performing a blanket anisotropic etch . when the silicon dioxide is deposited , it will be thicker wherever it passes over a step down , and thus the blanket etch will leave the spacers 64 as shown if the blanket etch is stopped short of total etch . these spacers 64 may be optional depending on the setup for the next step of implanting the pmos load transistor &# 39 ; s sources and drains and the repeatability of the poly profiles . in the preferred embodiment shown , the spacers 64 are formed and a boron ( b ) implant is performed to create a p + doping to form the pmos sources 62 , 67 , and drains 63 , 66 as shown in fig2 e . then the pmos poly is patterned by masking and etching in a conventional manner as also shown in fig2 e . it should be noted here that , as mentioned above , load transistor 16 is actually implemented as two pmos transistors 16a and 16b in series : that is , the source 62 of one pmos transistor 16a is connected to the drain 63 of the other pmos transistor 16b . in this implementation the length of boron - doped poly 61 directly above the gate 44 forms both the source 62 of transistor 16a and the drain 63 of transistor 16b in a continuous p + doped poly region . during the boron implant process , the spacers 64 prevent the p + implant from reaching the channel regions 68 , 70 of the pmos load poly 60 . thus the p + implant also defines the pmos load channels 68 and 70 of transistors 16a and 16b respectively . channels 68 and 70 are preferably formed essentially perpendicularly along the sidewalls 48 and 49 of gate 44 and are gated by these sidewalls 48 and 49 . as the above description indicates , no mask step is necessary to form the pmos sources and drains and to define the pmos channels . the design of the spacers 64 is such to create offsets , such as 74 , between each of the drains 63 and 66 and gate 44 . focusing for the moment on the details of transistor 16a , the channel 68 will be that portion of the lightly n - doped region that lies parallel to sidewall 48 of gate 44 . however , a small foot 72 of lightly n - doped poly continues to the right ( in fig2 e and 3 ) away from the gate 44 . the conducting inversion layer that creates the channel 68 will not form in this foot 72 because the inversion layer is caused by the voltage in the gate 44 . thus this area will be essentially non - conducting and will provide an offset of a distance indicated by lines 74 between channel 68 and drain 66 . such gate / drain offsets lower the i ( off ) and thus improve transistor performance . continuation 76 of the lightly n - doped poly does not create an offset between drain 63 and gate 44 . since the extension 76 extends parallel to gate 44 ( in contrast to foot 72 which extends directly away from gate 44 ), carriers in it will be effected by the voltage in gate 44 to a greater extent than the carriers in foot 72 . thus it may be desirable to create an offset in this area . this may be done by creating a poly / oxide stack as shown in fig3 . that is , prior to the step of creating oxide layer 80 ( corresponding to layer 50 in the embodiment of fig2 a - 2e ), a silicon dioxide layer 82 is created which &# 34 ; stacks &# 34 ; on top of n + doped poly gate 86 . this additional oxide layer 82 creates an offset distance 88 between drain 84 and gate 86 . when the invention is implemented in sram as described above , a diode is formed at the junction of the p - channel transistor &# 39 ; s 16a load drain 66 and the n - channel first transistor &# 39 ; s 12 drain 54 . preferably , the boron implant and the n + s / d implants are designed so that this junction resides within the poly layer 60 , which provides better circuit performance . fig4 shows an alternative embodiment of the invention in which the channels 96 and 97 of a pmos device 104 are formed on the sidewalls 93a and 93b of a gate 93 formed over field oxide 90 . the substrate 89 is again lightly p - doped single crystal silicon . in this embodiment , at the left side , a relatively thick silicon dioxide layer , generally known in the art as &# 34 ; field ox &# 34 ; provides spacing required by the design . on the right is an n + s / d . in other respects this embodiment is similar to the embodiment of fig2 e , including insulating oxide layer 91 , gate poly 93 having sidewalls 93a and 93b , pmos oxide layer 92 , lightly n - doped p - channel semiconducting layer 95 , and oxide spacers 94 . the semiconducting layer 95 has been boron implanted to form drains , such as 98 , 100 and sources , such as 99 , to define p - channels 96 and 97 protected by spacers 94 . many other implementations of the invention may be devised . the particular dimensions of the various layers and parts described above can vary widely depending on a wide variety of factors . the nominal size in the preferred embodiment as well as an approximate range for each of the important dimensions are as follows : the gate poly 44 , 86 height is nominally about 5000 รฅ and can range from about 1500รฅ to about 7000รฅ ; the optional oxide layer 82 is nominally about 2000รฅ thick and can range from about 50รฅ to about 5000รฅ ; oxide spacers 64 have a height slightly less than the combined height of the gate poly 44 or , in the alternate embodiment , the gate poly 86 and oxide 82 stack , preferably between about 50รฅ and about 500รฅ less and nominally about 250รฅ less , while the nominal width of the spacers 64 is about 2000รฅ and can range from about 500รฅ to about 4000รฅ ; pmos poly layer 60 , 84 is nominally about 400รฅ thick and can range from about 50รฅ to about 2000รฅ ; pmos oxide layer 50 , 80 is nominally about 300รฅ thick and can range from about 50รฅ to about 2000รฅ . the other relevant dimensions all depend on the above dimensions , as for example the offset distances 74 and 88 , or are conventional . after the above - described structure is formed , the sram wafer is completed and dies are cut and packaged in any conventional manner . a feature of the invention is that the pmos channels 68 and 70 are formed along the sidewall of the gate poly 44 and are gated by the gate poly sidewalls 48 and 49 respectively . this arrangement provides a tighter structure for the pmos transistors . in addition the structure of the pmos load transistor becomes much more ordered and related to the structure of the nmos transistor , which makes the structure easier to grasp and reduces design time . similarly the forming of the channels 96 and 97 along the sidewalls 93a and 93b of gate 93 in the embodiment of fig4 provides a tighter , more ordered structure to the devices of that embodiment also . a related feature of the invention is that the sources , drains , and channels of the pmos load transistor are self - aligned to the gate poly 44 , with the result that no separate masking steps are required to perform the alignment and thus reducing the number of masking operations that are required in the fabrication process . similarly , the pmos device 104 of fig4 is also self - aligned with the gate 93 , reducing the number of masking steps . another feature of the invention is that gate / drain offsets are also automatically provided by the process and structure , which provides improved transistor performance without additional steps . there has been described a novel fabrication process and structure which can be utilized to build more compact and better performing srams and which has many other advantages . it should be understood that the particular embodiments shown in the drawings and described within this specification are for purposes of example and should not be construed to limit the invention which will be described in the claims below . further , it is evident that those skilled in the art may now make numerous uses and modifications of the specific embodiment described , without departing from the inventive concepts . for example , now that it is seen to be possible to construct channels for one transistor on the sidewalls of the gates of another transistor , and that such structure leads to self - alignment and other advantages , other implementations of such structure become evident . it is also evident that the steps recited may often be performed in a different order , for example , the first transistor source , drain , and channel regions 54 , 56 , and 58 respectively may be formed before or subsequent to many of the other steps . or the various structures described may be made with a variety of processes , dimensions , and materials . a greater or lesser number of process steps may be used . consequently , the invention is to be construed as embracing each and every novel feature and novel combination of features present in and / or possessed by the integrated circuit structure and fabrication process described . | 8 |
for clarity and simplicity , the present specification shall refer to structural and / or functional elements , entities and / or facilities , relevant communication standards , protocols and / or services , and other components that are commonly known in the telecommunications art without further detailed explanation as to their configuration or operation except to the extent they have been modified or altered in accordance with and / or to accommodate the preferred embodiment ( s ) presented herein . as described above , on occasion , a business or other entity ( generally referred to herein nominally as the first party ) may wish to make or otherwise set appointments with and provide reminders of these appointments to clients or other individuals ( generally referred to herein nominally as the second party ) for whom the appointment was scheduled . often , to maximize the effectiveness of the reminder , it is desired that the reminder alert or otherwise notify its recipient ( i . e ., the second party ) of the scheduled appointment at or near the time of the appointment , e . g ., within some suitably short period of time before the scheduled appointment . however , the appointment may be scheduled for several days , weeks , months or even longer after the appointment is originally made or set . suitably , the reminder should alert or notify the second party of the appointment , e . g ., a day in advance or several hours in advance or some other suitably short period of time in advance . nevertheless , to maximize efficiency , the first party may desire to combine the operations of making the appointment and producing the reminder into a common task . accordingly , the present inventive subject matter described herein has been developed , whereby at or near the time that the appointment is being made or otherwise set , the first party produces and / or sends ( e . g ., using a specialized and / or enhanced e - mail client or other like application or system ) an appointment reminder message ( arm ) to a mobile station ( ms ) or other suitable sms - enabled end user device of the second party . in an exemplary embodiment , however , the receipt of the arm by the ms does not trigger the ms to alert and / or otherwise behave in the usual manner . rather , the ms recognizes the arm for what it is , and merely stores it ( e . g ., in a dormant or otherwise inactive state ) until such future time as the reminder is set in the arm to go off or otherwise activate . at that time , the ms is triggered to ring or alert and / or otherwise behave as if the arm had just been received by the ms . in this manner , the arm is produced and sent at or near the time the appointment is originally made , and at a future time the arm is activated on the second party &# 39 ; s device to remind the second party of the scheduled appointment . with reference to fig1 , a wireless telecommunications network 10 serves a mobile device or ms 12 ( e . g ., a mobile telephone or other wireless mobile end user equipment ) used by the second party to receive the arm from the first party , e . g ., in an sms or other like format . suitably , the ms 12 is optionally provisioned with one or more of the usual elements , e . g ., a keypad with traditional numeric keys , soft - keys , navigation keys , etc . ; a microphone and speaker ; a liquid crystal display ( lcd ) or other such display ; a memory and / or other data storage device ; a cpu ( central processing unit ) or other controller ; an operating system and / or other software ; a clock and / or a calendar ; a sim ( subscriber identity module ) or other smart card ; a ringer , a vibrator and / or other altering function and / or equipment ; and , other components commonly found on and / or incorporated in a ms . selectively , the ms 12 connects with a wireless telecommunications network via a base station ( bs ) 14 served by a mobile switching center ( msc ) 16 . more specifically , the msc 16 is operatively connected to and / or in communication with a plurality of base stations ( one of which is shown as bs 14 ) in the usual manner . as is understood in the art , each bs provides an over - the - air radio frequency interface for its respective geographic area or cell . selectively , the ms 12 is provided telecommunication services and / or otherwise accesses the network 12 via the interface and / or the bs serving the cell in which the ms 12 is located , e . g ., as shown in this example the ms 12 is located in the cell served by the bs 14 . in a suitable embodiment , the ms 12 is sms - enabled . that is to say , the ms 12 is equipped and / or otherwise provisioned to receive , send , process , store , display and / or otherwise handle and / or manage sms messages . for simplicity and clarity , sms is generally referred to herein . however , it is to be understood that when referring to sms herein , it is intended to encompass not only sms but also ems ( enhanced message service ), mms ( multimedia message service ) and other like message services . as shown in fig1 , sms messages addressed to or otherwise intended for the ms 12 , are routed thereto through an sms center ( smsc ) 18 which is operatively connected to and / or in communication with the msc 16 in any conventional manner . suitably , the smsc 18 collects and distributes sms messages for the ms 12 in the usual fashion . also shown in fig1 is an e - mail system 20 or other like system that the first party uses to generate and send the arm to the second party . suitably , the e - mail system 20 includes : a workstation or computer 22 or other like device that supports and / or has running thereon an e - mail client or other like application for creating and sending e - mails ; and , an e - mail server 24 that is equipped and / or otherwise provisioned to route the e - mails generated at the computer 22 over a data network 30 , e . g ., such as the internet . as is understood in the art , the computer 22 is operatively connected to and / or in communication with the e - mail server 24 in any of a variety of conventional manners , and the e - mail server 24 is in turn operatively connected to and / or in communication with the data network 30 in any of a variety of conventional manners . in a suitable embodiment , the first party employs the e - mail client running on the computer 22 to create and sent the arm to the second party at or near the time an appointment is made or set . for example , the e - mail is addressed to the ms 12 of the second party by entering the telephone number of the ms 12 in a โ to :โ line or other suitable field along with the identity of an e - mail to sms gateway 32 . for example , the address may take the form โ 2165551234 @ abcgateway . com ,โ wherein 2165551234 represents the telephone number of the ms 12 and abcgateway . com represents the identity of the gateway 32 . the gateway 32 is optionally any suitable gateway as is known in the art for bridging messages from an e - mail protocol environment to an sms protocol environment . that is to say , the gateway 32 bridges the data network 30 with the wireless network 10 . suitably , the gateway 32 serves to translate or otherwise convert the arm from an e - mail message format to an sms message format , and direct the arm to the appropriate smsc 18 serving the ms 12 . suitably , in the body and / or subject line of the e - mail or other appropriate location , the first party enters or otherwise inputs the relevant appointment information , e . g ., such as the date and / or time of the appointment , the location of the appointment , etc . when the e - mail is being created with the e - mail client on the computer 22 , the first party also indicates that the e - mail is in fact an arm that is to be specially handled , i . e ., unlike conventional messages . for example , a flag or other indicator in the header or elsewhere is set to identify the message as an arm that is to receive special handling by the ms 12 . optionally , the e - mail client running on the computer 22 is provisioned to provide a radio button or check box or the like which the first party may optionally select to indicate that the e - mail being created is in fact a specialized arm . in addition , the first party designates , selects or otherwise sets a date and / or time at which the arm is to be activated , i . e ., a future date and / or time when the reminder is to be triggered . for example , the first party may select a particular date and / or time , or alternately , the first party may choose a particular amount of time prior to the scheduled appointment , e . g ., a number of days in advance of the scheduled appointment , a number of hours , etc . moreover , optionally , a plurality of designations may be selected or set so that the reminder is triggered a plurality of times . of course , in the absence of one or more specific choices or settings being entered or otherwise input by the first party , a default value is optionally employed . with reference to fig2 , a exemplary method or process 100 which is suitable for practicing aspects of the present inventive subject matter is shown . at step 102 , the first party obtains or otherwise establishes the appointment information . for example , the first party and the second party may agree upon a time , date , location and / or other relevant details for the appointment being scheduled . additionally , the first party may obtain from the second party a telephone number for the ms 12 . at step 104 , which optionally occurs concurrently with or near the time of step 102 , the first party creates and sends the specialized arm , e . g ., as described above . more specifically , once the specialized arm has been created with the e - mail client on the computer 22 , it is sent . the arm is routed , sent or otherwise forwarded by the e - mail server 24 over the data network 30 to the gateway 32 . the gateway 32 in turn translates the arm into sms format and routes , sends or otherwise forwards it to the smsc 18 . in the usual fashion , the smsc 18 then delivers or otherwise forwards the arm to the ms 12 over the wireless network 10 , e . g ., via the msc 16 and bs 14 serving the ms 12 . at step 106 , the specialized arm in sms format is received by the ms 12 . at decision step 108 , the ms 12 determines if the received sms is a specialized arm . suitably , the ms 12 checks the header information to make this determination . for example , the ms 12 looks at the header information to determine if the aforementioned flag or other indicator has been set to identify the message as a specialized arm . if the flag or indicator has not been set , then the process 100 branches to step 110 and the message is treated as a normal sms message , i . e ., it is not a specialized arm and accordingly it is handled in the usual manner as a conventional sms message . alternately , if the flag or indicator has been set , then the process 100 continues to step 112 where the specialized arm is handled by the ms 12 . suitably , the ms 12 is equipped or otherwise provisioned with an application or other software to administer the arm . optionally , when a message identified as a arm is received by the ms 12 , it is received silently , i . e ., without the alerting function of the ms 12 being triggered . each arm received by the ms 12 is then stored in the ms 12 in a dormant or inactive state . for example , the contents of the message ( i . e ., appointment information ), the sender &# 39 ; s address or telephone number , the triggering information indicating when the reminder should be activated , etc . are stored , e . g ., in a memory within the ms 12 . periodically , the stored arms are checked to determine if it is time to activate them . for example , if the triggering information matches the current time and / or date or is past due or is otherwise within some threshold proximity thereof , then the arm is activated . when an arm is activated , the alerting function of the ms 12 is triggered thereby reminding the second party of the scheduled appointment . suitably , the message may also be displayed on the ms 12 and / or the ms 12 may otherwise act or behave as if the arm had just been received thereby . optionally , the second party may return a confirmation sms message or telephone call to the sender ( i . e ., the first party ), e . g ., with a simple selection of a soft - key or suitable operation . in an alternate embodiment , if the ms 12 is provisioned with a calendar application such as is commonly available , the ms 12 may enter the scheduled appointment information from the arm into the calendar and set the appropriate reminder in accordance with the information contained in the specialized arm . it is to be appreciated that in connection with the particular exemplary embodiments presented herein certain structural and / or function features are described as being incorporated in defined elements and / or components . however , it is contemplated that these features may , to the same or similar benefit , also likewise be incorporated in other elements and / or components where appropriate . it is also to be appreciated that different aspects of the exemplary embodiments may be selectively employed as appropriate to achieve other alternate embodiments suited for desired applications , the other alternate embodiments thereby realizing the respective advantages of the aspects incorporated therein . it is also to be appreciated that particular elements or components described herein may have their functionality suitably implemented via hardware , software , firmware or a combination thereof . additionally , it is to be appreciated that certain elements described herein as incorporated together may under suitable circumstances be stand - alone elements or otherwise divided . similarly , a plurality of particular functions described as being carried out by one particular element may be carried out by a plurality of distinct elements acting independently to carry out individual functions , or certain individual functions may be split - up and carried out by a plurality of distinct elements acting in concert . alternately , some elements or components otherwise described and / or shown herein as distinct from one another may be physically or functionally combined where appropriate . in short , the present specification has been set forth with reference to preferred embodiments . obviously , modifications and alterations will occur to others upon reading and understanding the present specification . it is intended that the invention be construed as including all such modifications and alterations insofar as they come within the scope of the appended claims or the equivalents thereof . | 6 |
in fig1 to 3 a smart card connector ( also referred to as a chip card contacting apparatus or smart card or chip card reader ) 1 is illustrated comprising a cover 2 which is connected to a contact support or frame 3 . a smart card 4 or a chip card ( abbr . : card ) 4 may be inserted into the smart card connector ( also abbr . : reader ) 1 . generally , contact elements 5 are mounted in the frame 3 and function to come in contact with card contacts provided on the card if the card 4 is present in its reading position . these contact elements 5 are also designated as reading contact elements 5 . the reading contact elements 5 may be inserted with their terminal ends 58 shown in fig2 into holes or openings generally provided at positions 50 ( see fig4 ) and soldered thereto . a final position switch 6 operating as a universal switch โ see fig1 and 3 โ is provided in the reader 1 . the contact elements of the final position switch 6 are designated as switch contact elements and may be positioned with their terminal ends 158 ( fig3 ) in regions 60 ( see fig4 ) of a printed circuit board 59 . these regions or positions 60 for the connection with the terminal ends 158 are designated in fig4 in detail as a , b and c . a first embodiment of the invention is illustrated in fig5 and 6 . here , a end position switch 7 is inserted into a contact support referenced 23 , e . g . the switch contact elements 71 , 72 , 73 forming the final position switch 7 are inserted into the contact support 23 . said contact support may be formed either by the frame 3 or by the cover 2 ; which decision , for the moment , may be left open . preferably , the contact support 23 is a corresponding component to the contact support 3 in fig1 to 3 . in the illustrated embodiment of fig5 and 6 the switch contact element 71 may be designated as an active switch element because it is actuatable by the card 4 . if the card 4 is inserted in its reading position it applies a force k to the switch element 71 . the switch contact elements 72 , 73 may be designated correspondingly as passive switch contact elements . preferably , the switch contact element 71 is biased against an abutment edge 771 , and the preferably similar or identical formed switch contact elements 72 , 73 are biased against the abutment edges 772 and 773 of the contact support . each of the switch contact elements 71 , 72 , 73 preferably has an arm 74 , 75 , 76 , respectively . the arms 74 to 76 terminate in contact ends 176 , 77 , 78 . the contact end 176 forms contact edges 79 , 80 , and the contact ends 77 , 78 form contact inclinations or inclined contact portions 82 and 81 , respectively . the contact support 23 forms spring spaces 83 , 84 and 85 for the arms 74 , 75 and 76 . the contact element 71 has a card engagement surface 86 on its contact element end 176 which extends slightly oblique with respect to the longitudinal direction of the contact element arms in the not - actuated position as shown . this is achieved by an angle ฮฑ larger than 180 ยฐ which is provided between angle portions 87 and 89 of the contact element end 176 . the contact element end 176 forms in addition to the angle portions 87 , 89 a further angle portion 88 on which an arm 18 is provided which is inclined in the downward direction , as shown in fig5 . the contact element 71 , 72 , 73 each have opposite to the arms 74 , 75 and 76 , respectively , ( fig5 ) portions 720 , 740 extending perpendicular in a downward direction and which preferably are locked in the contact support 23 and which form on their free ends the terminal ends 721 , 741 of the switch contact elements 71 , 72 and 73 . as indicated in fig6 the terminal ends 721 and 741 may be connected to the regions b and c ( see also fig4 ) to form an final position switch functioning as a closer . by connecting the terminal of the contact element 73 being located in fig5 behind the terminal end 721 with region a and by connecting the terminal end 741 with region 741 an opener may be realized . fig7 and 8 show a second embodiment of the invention in a schematic illustration . here , two switch contact elements 171 , 172 which are preferably formed like a leaf spring and forming the final position switch 700 are supported in a contact support ( not shown ). the contact element 171 is bent in a u - shape and is always connected or in communication with position b , it may however be lifted from position a if the card 4 strikes or reaches in the direction of the arrow k a card contact part 300 of the contact element 171 . the contact element 172 is preferably formed like a leaf - spring and has an inclined or oblique contact element end 178 which may be preferably contacted by the inclined end 179 of the contact element 171 , as is illustrated in fig8 . also , thereby there is provided a final position switch 700 effective as an opener and a closer by using two contact elements 171 , 172 . this means , if the card 4 has reached its reading position there are a ) the positions a and b open , hence , forming an โ opener โ, and b ) the positions b and c closed , hence , forming a โ closer โ. depending on where ( at positions ab or bc ) the user forms the connections he obtains an opener or a closer . | 6 |
fig1 shows a multiprocessor system having a plurality of computers 101 through 106 interconnected by bus 107 . some of the computers illustrated in fig1 have particular functions . for example , computer 101 is considered to be the host computer , and computers 105 through 106 may be designated as computational servers or file servers . each computer operates under control of an operating system kernel which illustratively is a version of the unix operating system described in the article by thompson . whereas the operating system kernel described by thompson is restricted to only a single computer , the kernels of fig1 allow a process to be extended over a number of computers . this extended process is a collection of individual special processes running on separate computers and is described in greater detail later in this section . these special processes are also referred to as primary or user and auxiliary or stub processes . each kernel associated with the extended process maintains a distinct process necessary to allow the extended process to function on the computer controlled by the associated kernel . each computer has associated memory and i / o devices ; however , certain computers may be interconnected to special i / o devices such as telecommunication data interfaces or mass storage devices . the initiation of a new program in the system illustrated in fig1 results in that program being automatically assigned to an unspecified computer that has processing capacity to spare or which has special i / o resources required by the program . the unspecified computer may be the same computer executing the request or a different computer . the execution of the program can be distributed over a number of computers utilizing one computer which has processing capacity and yet using one or more computers which have the necessary files or special i / o capabilities . when program execution is distributed , an extended process is created . the operation of initiating the execution of a program so as to allow the execution of the program to be performed among a plurality of computers and yet making this operation transparent to the application programmer is the subject of this invention . the allocation of resources and dynamic load balancing is performed by process manager ( pm ) function 108 being executed by computer 101 which is designated as the host computer of the system of fig1 . the initiation of the execution of a new program is performed by the exec system call that is modified by this invention so as to allow the operation on a multiprocessor system . consider the following example which illustrates the execution of the exec system call . olduser process 109 , on computer 102 , executes the exec system call . the end result is that the new program is eventually executed by newuser process 111 on computer 104 . initially , the file containing the new program is in the file system of computer 103 and is accessed by a . out process 110 . computers 105 and 106 also have resources that will be utilized by newuser process 111 . in the previously referenced article by thompson , it was noted that a process is a software unit which requires text , data and bss areas of memory and which is identified to the operating system by a process control block . in the operating system described by thompson , the process control block is contained in one area of memory since that operating system is executed on a uniprocessor system . in the system illustrated in fig1 the process control block is distributed among all the computers which are associated with the extended process . the extended process comprises processes 112 , 110 , 111 and possibly processes located in computer 105 and 106 after the exec system call is finished . the extended process consists of a user process and a number of stub processes . the user process has text , data and bss areas of memory in addition to the process control block . a stub process contains only a portion of the process control block relating to operating system functions pertaining to that particular computer &# 39 ; s operations with respect to the extended process as required at any point in time . upon olduser process 109 executing the exec system call , the kernel of computer 102 transmits a packet to computer 103 to obtain the header portion of the a . out file via out process 110 so as to determine the type of resources required to execute this program . the kernel of computer 102 then transmits a packet to the kernel of computer 101 requesting allocation of resources for the execution of newuser process 111 . in response to this request , the kernel of computer 102 executes process manager function 108 . in our present example , the kernel of computer 102 transmits back a message designating that computer 104 is to execute newuser process 111 after executing process manager function 108 . further information concerning the operations of process manager function 108 is illustrated in the copending ser . no . 941 , 701 . the kernel of computer 102 then transmits process control information to the kernel of computer 104 so that the latter kernel can set up newuser process 111 and stub processes in computers 102 , 105 , and 106 for the future execution of the extended process . once this initialization has been performed , the kernel of computer 102 passes the execution of the exec system call to the kernel of computer 104 . the latter kernel obtains the a . out file from computer 103 . the kernel of computer 104 also transmits messages to the kernels of the other computers informing them that the user process which was initially olduser process 109 has migrated to computer 104 and is now newuser process 111 . olduser process 109 now becomes a stub process . the kernels of the other computers will now direct any signals for olduser process 109 to newuser process 111 . further , the kernel of computer 104 transmits a message to the kernel of computer 102 to recover all signals transmitted to olduser process 109 that arrived at computer 102 before the other computers were informed that the extended process had migrated to computer 104 . once newuser process 111 has been set up and begins to execute , it can utilize the resources of the other computers as required via stub processes that were created in these computers . if , during the execution of the program , it is necessary to access a computer that was not initially designated as being part of the extended process , then the operating system of computer 104 requests the creation of a stub process on that computer necessary to continue execution of the program . fig2 illustrates in greater detail the execution of the exec system call and creation of the extended process for the present example . upon execution of the exec system call by olduser process 109 , decision block 202 is performed . the exec system call may specify parameters for influencing the processor assignment . decision block 202 determines whether or not the file containing the a . out file is local to computer 102 or is on a remote computer . since the file is on computer 103 in the present example , it is remote ; and if a stub process does not already exist on computer 103 for the present extended process , a packet is sent to create a stub process on computer 103 . in response to the packet , the kernel of computer 103 creates a . out process 110 that allows access to the a . out file . a . out process 110 then becomes part of the extended process . block 206 accesses the a . out file located on computer 103 via a . out process 110 . the header information is read from the a . out file and is stored in the process control block of a . out process 110 . the kernel of computer 103 then transmits a subset of the header to computer 102 &# 39 ; s kernel which stores the subset in the process control block of olduser process 109 in computer 102 . the information obtained from the a . out file at this point specifies the size of the a . out file and may specify parameters for influencing the processor assignment decision . after obtaining the information from the a . out file , the kernel of computer 102 transmits a packet to the kernel of computer 101 requesting that the kernel execute process manager function 108 to select a computer upon which newuser process 111 is to assigned at block 208 . this packet contains the information obtained from the a . out file in block 206 and any parameters regarding processor assignment in the exec system call . pm process manager function 108 is responsive to this packet to validate an explicit assignment if one existed in the a . out or exec system call information or to perform a dynamic load balancing for the multiprocessor system illustrated in fig1 in order to make a processor assignment for newuser process 111 . in the present example , newuser process 111 is assigned to computer 104 . next , the kernel of computer 102 executes block 210 . the execution of block 210 results in the arguments of the exec system call being read . the kernel of computer 102 is responsive to these arguments and any environment variables from the olduser process 109 &# 39 ; s address space to transfer this information into a system work area formatting this information into an initial stack for newuser process 111 . block 212 is next executed which releases the resources of olduser process 109 back to the operating system of computer 102 . in particular , the address space of olduser process 109 is released . the actions just performed represent a preexecution stage of the exec system call . if the newuser process is present on a different computer than the olduser process , then blocks 220 through 238 are executed before blocks 240 through 250 . in the present example , the kernel of computer 102 executes blocks 220 through 228 , and the kernel of computer 104 executes blocks 230 through 238 . however , if the olduser and the newuser processes are on the same computer , then the blocks 240 through 250 illustrated in fig2 are executed at this point in time . decision block 214 determines whether or not the newuser and olduser processes are on different computers . in the present example , olduser process 109 is on computer 102 and newuser process 111 is on computer 104 . if a stub process does not already exist on computer 104 , the kernel of computer 102 executes block 220 which results in a packet being transmitted over to the kernel of computer 104 . this packet requests that a stub process be created which will become newuser process 111 on computer 104 . the kernel is responsive to this request to create a skeleton stub process by performing a kernel fork function on a prototype stub process . each kernel of fig1 maintains a copy of the prototype stub process for the purpose of creating stub processes . the kernel of computer 102 then executes block 222 . the latter block results in the transmission of a migration packet from computer 102 to computer 104 . the packet contains the initial process control information for newuser process 111 . that information was formatted in block 210 . the migration packet contains the information necessary to transform the stub for newuser process 111 on computer 104 into a viable user process of an extended process . viability is defined here to mean that the newuser process has all the information necessary to exit or terminate gracefully if required . a graceful exit is one where all parts of the extended process can be removed from all the computers of fig1 if it is necessary to terminate the extended process . the principal information contained in the migration packet is the reconnection data for the stub processes and information defining open files of the extended process . this data is used to reattach the stub processes and files that had been attached to olduser process 109 to newuser process 111 . the reattachment is performed by rearranging the virtual channels and discussed with respect to fig3 . certain crucial data from the process control block defining process group id , parent process id , flagword , user id , group id , current directory , private root directory , new argument pointer , and various timekeeping fields are also communicated via the migration packet . the kernel of computer 104 is responsive to the migration packet from olduser process 109 to install the data contained in this packet in the newuser process 111 &# 39 ; s control block and to issue reconnect messages to all of the stub processes in the other computers . after block 232 and 234 have been performed , the newuser process 111 is considered viable . the reconnect messages transmitted by block 234 to the other computers cause the kernels of these other computers to transform those computers &# 39 ; portion of the process control block of the extended process to now point to newuser process 111 in computer 104 rather than olduser process 109 in computer 102 . the significance of this reconnection is that any signals generated for the extended process by stub processes of other computers are now transmitted to newuser process 111 rather than to olduser process 109 . the operating system of computer 102 now executes block 224 which results in the transfer of the exec arguments and other information to newuser process 111 via the kernel of computer 104 by a series of packets from the kernel of computer 102 . the newuser process 111 is then built up by installing these packets into the newuser process 111 address space on computer 104 by the kernel of computer 104 . this transforms the newuser process 111 into a more complete user process of the extended process . the kernel of computer 104 then executes block 236 that sends a message to computer 102 causing the execution of block 226 which results in olduser process 109 being turned into a stub process . the kernel of computer 104 then transmits a request at block 238 to the kernel of computer 102 for all signals destined for the user process of the extended process that may be stored for olduser stub process 109 in computer 102 . computer 102 &# 39 ; s kernel responds to this message by executing block 228 which transmits these signals to block 238 . the kernel of computer 104 now executes the blocks 240 through 250 in fig2 . these latter blocks are executed in the same manner regardless of whether or not the olduser process and the newuser process are on the same computer . first , the kernel accesses the a . out file located on computer 103 via a . out process 110 to obtain the a . out header by execution of block 240 . utilizing the header information , the kernel of computer 104 builds the 35 newuser process 111 &# 39 ; s address space , including space for text , data , and bss , by loading the various sections from the a . out file into computer 104 from computer 103 by execution of block 242 . after performing this function , the kernel then executes block 244 so as to close any files which were associated with olduser process 109 but will not be associated with newuser process 111 . the files that are to be closed are determined by the application programmer . the programmer marks the files to be closed in a standard unix manner using the fcntl system call prior to execution of the exec system call . this information is stored in the process control block of olduser process 109 and is later transferred to newuser process 111 . after closing all of the marked files , the kernel of computer 104 executes block 246 so as to reinitialize the array of signal - handler fields which contain an entry defining the action to be taken upon receipt of a signal . each entry can specify one of the following : default value , ignore value , and a pointer identifying a function that services that particular signal . the signals were transmitted from computer 102 to computer 104 in block 228 and combined with signal entry 423 in block 238 . the block 246 sets all entries in the signal array pointing to functions to the default value but any entry that contains an ignore value is not modified . when a signal is received for a process , the kernel accesses the process control block for that process and stores the signal in the sig entry , such as entry 423 as illustrated in fig4 . when a signal is handled by the kernel , the signal number is used as an index to access the signal array . if the default value is accessed , the process will normally terminate . if the accessed entry contains the ignore value , no action is taken . if the accessed entry contains a pointer , then the function identified by the pointer is executed . when the application runs , the signal system call will be used to configure the array to the requirements of that program . further information on the handling of signals can be found in the aforementioned book of bach . next , the kernel of computer 104 executes block 248 which reinitializes any memory management information required for newuser process 111 &# 39 ; s new address space and completes all other housekeeping chores . finally , control is turned over to newuser process 111 so that the program can now execute at block 250 . fig3 illustrates in greater detail a portion of the extended process resulting from the execution of the exec system call . newuser process 111 is the user process of the extended process and processes 112 and 110 are stub processes of the extended process . all processes of the extended process share a common pid number . virtual channels are established between the user process of the extended process and the stub processes at the time the stub processes are established . those channels are utilized for the communication of packets between the user process and the stub processes . stub processes of the extended process do not directly communicate with each other . in addition , all communication from other processes within the system illustrated in fig1 are directed to the user process of the extended process . each of the computers illustrated in fig1 maintains a proc pointer table such as 301 through 303 of fig3 . the pid number is utilized by the kernel to point into a proc pointer table such as tables 301 through 303 to obtain the pointer such as 304 through 306 to find the designated process . for example , the pid number in computer 104 is used to access entry 306 from proc pointer table 303 that points to proc table 309 via path 312 . similarly , the pid number utilizes to access entry 304 of proc pointer table 301 to obtain path 310 to proc table 307 . virtual channels 313 and 314 are directly associated with the processes . the identification of these channels is established within the proc table of the individual processes . a user process of the extended process has a virtual channel to each of the stub processes . however , each stub process of the extended process , such as host process 112 , has only one virtual channel ; and that channel is to the user process of the extended process , such as newuser process 111 . fig4 illustrates in greater detail the memory utilized by host process 112 and newuser process 111 and further demonstrates the differences between a user and stub processes of the extended process . for each of the latter processes , portions of the proc table and the ublock are illustrated . in addition , the port tables and the achan lists are shown . these latter tables identify the virtual channels between the processes . not illustrated for newuser process 111 are the text , data , and stack areas that are utilized by this process during execution . similarly , the stack area of memory is not illustrated for host process 112 which is a stub process of the extended process . newuser process 111 is the user process of the extended process . consider now in detail the entries of proc tables 307 and 309 . the entries illustrated for tables 307 and 309 are only a portion of the entries that would exist in these tables . the nice entry 401 or 421 defines the scheduling priorities of a process . nice entry 401 is fixed on a system - wide basis by the system administrator which is true for all stub processes . since nice entry 421 is for a user process , it is adjustable by the user executing a specific system call allowing the level of priority to be reduced or by actions taken by the system administrator or superuser which can increase or decrease the level of priority . entries 402 and 422 , pid , define the process identification number which is the same for both entries . the pid number is given on an extended process basis so that the user process and all stub processes of the extended process have the same pid number . the sig entries 403 and 423 coupled with the status entries 406 and 426 are used to handle signals between processes . in addition , the status word of the proc tables also contains conventional unix system type information . on a stub , the signals flags contained in the status word indicate whether or not a signal has been received from the user process which in the present example is newuser process 111 . host process 112 is responsive to the receipt of a signal that is stored in entry 403 to perform different operations depending on whether the present operation is interruptible or not . in newuser processor 111 , the signal flags in status entry 426 are used to indicate whether a signal has been transmitted to host process 112 . in addition , the signal flags in entry 426 also keep track of whether or not the message was ever sent to a stub process such as host process 112 . this latter indication is utilized to facilitate cleanup of different types of operations at a later point in time . the type of signal that is received is stored by newuser processor 111 in sig entry 423 . with respect to the parent pid ( ppid ) entries 404 and 424 , these entries are used to keep track of the identity of the parent process of the extended process . this is a conventional unix system type field . however , in the extended process , the ppid entry is only valid on the process of the extended process that is being executed by host computer 101 which is host process 112 in the present example . advantageously , this reduces the amount of communication of packets between various stubs and the user process of the extended process . the user process of the extended process does not have a valid ppid entry unless the user process of the extended process is resident on the host computer . the bicid variable is used in the following manner to determine whether or not a particular process is a stub or user process of the extended process . each processor of the multiprocessor system illustrated in fig1 stores the processor &# 39 ; s identification number in a variable myloc whose contents is the identification number of the processor . regardless of whether it is a stub or user process , the bicid variable always contains the identification number of the processor that is executing the user process of the extended process . in the present example , this is computer 104 . entry 425 is identical to the contents of the myloc variable maintained by the kernel of computer 104 . entry 405 also contains the contents of the myloc variable of computer 104 hence does not match the myloc variable of computer 101 . the kernel of a particular computer determines whether or not it is 10 executing the user or stub process by comparing its bicid variable with the myloc variable . if a match results , then the kernel is executing the user process of the extended process . the ublock page entries 407 and 427 contain address information to setup a virtual address to gain access to the ublocks which are illustrated as ublocks 418 and 438 in fig4 . the latter ublocks contain different information depending on whether the ublock is the stub process of the extended process , such as host process 112 , or the user process of the extended process , such as newuser process 111 . advantageously , many of the entries of these ublocks are similar to those for the ublocks for the unix system described in the aforementioned article by thompson . entries 408 , 409 , and 410 contain zero for the host process 112 since a stub process of the extended process has no text , stack or data memory areas . when the kernel is performing functions associated with the stub process , the kernel maintains a kernel stack unique to that stub process in the ublock of the stub process . this is similar to the manner in which the kernel stack is maintained in a single processor unix system when the process is executing in the kernel mode . entries 428 , 429 and 430 contain the necessary information so that the user process of the extended process , newuser process 111 , has a text area , data area and a stack for the execution of the program that was obtained from the a . out file as described earlier . in the user process of the extended process , the variables lockip and execip , entries 431 and 432 , respectively , are used to identify the old and new a . out files . in the present example , computer 103 is storing the new a . out , and computer 103 is storing the old a . out file . entry 431 points to the old a . out file , and entry 432 points to the new a . out file which is executed as a result of the exec system call . if both files are local to the processor executing the user process of the extended process , then these entries are pointers which point into the inode table maintained by the kernel of the local processor in a standard unix system manner to identify the local files . the system file table is not used since the a . out files are not used by the process directly but rather by the kernel . however , if the file is remote , e . g . associated with another processor , the entry contains an identification of an entry in the user process port table such as port table 440 . for example , this entry in port table 440 then identifies the virtual channel and remote entries such as 411 or 412 are identified in a stub process of the extended process . for example , if entry 431 indicates a remote file , then it points to a corresponding entry 411 in the stub process associated with the processor that is local to the remote file . more information concerning these entries is given with respect to fig6 . in general , the ublock of a stub process of the extended process contains three types of entries with respect to the ublock of the user process . the first type is entry 408 which is never used in the stub process but is used in the normal way in the user process . the second type of entry in the ublock of the stub process is an entry which is always used , and an example of this is the acptr entry 414 which is described in greater detail later in this section . the third type of entry in the ublock of the stub process is an entry which is only populated as needed with the necessary information being transferred over from the user process of the extended process when the requesting packet to perform a particular function is transmitted from the user process to the stub process . one example of this is the dirp entry 413 , and other examples are entries 411 and 412 . the entry 413 is a pointer which points to the path name . in the user process of the extended process , this entry always points into the user &# 39 ; s address space to designate the path name . however , in a stub process , the information concerning the path name is received from the user process and is then stored by the kernel at a convenient location . at this point and time , the kernel sets the dirp entry to point to the path name . an example of when the path name is transmitted is during an open system call . since the open system call is executed on the processor executing the user process of the extended process , the path name information is not available on the stub process . the acptr entries 414 and 434 point to the achan list 419 and 439 , respectively . an achan list of a user process may have a multitude of structures each defining a virtual channel to a stub process . in the present example , newuser process 111 &# 39 ; s achan list 439 has a number of structures with each defining a virtual channel to a stub process of the extended process . each structure comprises link and port pointers and other information for virtual channel operation . these structures are linked together by the link pointers 442 and 435 in a link list . the list is terminated upon the contents of the last link pointer being a null . the virtual channels are identified by the port pointers . the port pointers 431 and 436 point into port table 440 . the newuser process 111 identifies the virtual channels associated with it by utilizing acptr entry 434 to point into the link list associated with newuser process 111 in achan list 439 . the port pointers then are utilized to access port table 440 . host process 112 similarly has acptr entry 414 which points into the structures containing pointers 415 and 416 of achan list 419 . since a stub process of the extended process can never have more than one virtual channel , the link pointer 415 terminates the link list since the contents of pointer 415 are null . port number 417 defines virtual channel 314 to newuser process 111 . further detail concerning the virtual channels is given in the copending application of bishop et al ., case 4 - 2 - 1 - 3 - 2 which is hereby incorporated by reference . consider the virtual channels in light of blocks 234 and 236 of fig2 . when the reconnection information is initially transmitted by block 234 , the stub processes of the extended process have virtual channels set up with olduser process 109 which at that point in time is the user process in a similar manner as illustrated in fig4 . upon receiving the reconnect information , each receiving kernel updates the port table and the other channel information resulting in the stub process &# 39 ; virtual channel being connected to newuser process 111 rather than olduser process 109 . part of operations performed by block 236 is to transform achan list 439 and port into the tables illustrated in fig4 . block 226 changes olduser process 109 &# 39 ; s tables into tables similar to those illustrated for host process 112 in fig4 . fig5 illustrates the manner in which the files of the extended process are identified by the user process of the extended process . if a file is local to the processor that is executing the user process of the extended process , such as computer 104 and newuser process 111 , then the standard unix system file control structure is utilized . for example , local file 507 is identified via entry 504 of file table 501 . the latter table is part of the ublock of newuser process 111 and is referred to as the u - ofile structure . the contents of entry 504 in turn identify entry 505 of system file table 502 . the system file table 502 is then utilized to point to inode table 503 and entry 506 . entry 504 is identified in table 501 by using the file descriptor number associated with file 507 in a normal unix system manner . entry 506 then identifies the local file 507 in a normal unix system manner . if the file is remote such as remote file 517 , which is assumed to be local to computer 105 , then entry 520 identifies that this file is remote and rather than pointing into system file table 502 points into port table 440 . the file descriptor number for file 517 is used to access entry 520 . entry 508 is identified in table 440 by entry 520 of port table 440 which identifies virtual channel 509 . virtual channel 509 is interconnected as previously described into file process 510 which is a stub process of the extended process . a packet containing the file descriptor number for file 517 is transmitted to the kernel of computer 105 . the latter kernel uses the file descriptor number to identify entry 514 of file table 511 which is in the ublock of file process 510 . the file control structure then identifies remote file 517 in a normal unix manner via entries 515 and 516 in tables 512 and 513 , respectively . fig6 illustrates in greater detail the utilization of the lockip and execip variables in the user process of the extended process and the remlockip and remexecip variables in a stub process of the extended process . fig6 shows that the state of the multiprocessor system illustrated in fig1 before the execution of block 224 of fig2 . at this time , the user process of the extended process is olduser process 109 being executed by computer 102 . fig6 assumes that the original a . out file which was used to execute the exec system call , is local to computer 102 . in the present example , the original a . out file is old a . out file 607 . the new a . out file from which the new program is to be obtained is remote and is associated with computer 103 . this file is denoted as a . out file 617 . the stub process of the extended process being executed on computer 103 is a . out process 110 . illustrated for olduser process 109 is its ublock 601 and port table 622 . illustrated for a . out process 110 is its ublock 611 . entry 604 of ublock 601 of olduser process 109 identifies old a . out file 607 in a standard unix system manner utilizing entries 604 of ublock 601 and entry 606 of inode table 603 . since the lockip variable identifies a local file , there is no corresponding remlockip variable used in any stub process associated with the extended process . the new a . out file , however , is remote from computer 102 . entry 620 of ublock 601 rather than pointing into inode table 603 points to entry 621 in port table 622 . entry 621 identifies virtual channel 509 which is connected to ublock 610 of a . out process 110 . entry 614 of ublock 610 then points entry 616 of inode table 613 to a . out file 617 . since the old a . out file is local to computer 102 , entry 623 , remlockip variable , is not utilized in ublock 611 . it is to be understood that the above - described embodiment is merely illustrative of the principles of the invention and that other arrangements may be devised by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention . | 6 |
referring to the drawings , in particular , the inventive system preferably includes a remote port 10 provided in a surface 12 of a hydrodynamic element 14 or a remote port 514 provided in a surface 501 of an enclosed space exercise arrangement 500 . the remote port 10 is exposed to the pressure acting perpendicular to the submerged surface 12 . the remote port 514 is exposed to the pressure of the gas within the enclosed space exercise arrangement the remote port 514 is connected to a transducer 20 by plastic tubing 516 . in this way , pressure is relayed via the plastic elbow joint 16 ( such as craftech part no . 0302 - 1 or value plastics # kl230 - 2 ) and plastic tubing 18 to a connection port 22 of the transducer 20 . for attachment to some arrangements , a straight plastic conductor 301 ( such as craftech part no . 0300 - 5 or value plastics # k230 - 2 ) may mount the remote port in the most advantageous manner ( see fig5 ). the transducer 20 ( such as motorola model mpx - 3100 dp ) measures fluid pressure in a line or provides a differential pressure signal representing two sensed pressures . a second remote port 24 is provided on an opposite surface 26 of the hydrodynamic element 14 . the second remote port 24 is connected to a second connection port 28 of the transducer 20 by means of an elbow joint and plastic tubing in the same manner as the first remote port 10 . the remote ports 10 and 24 are mounted on different sides of an arrangement such as a hydrodynamic element , such as element 14 , to allow a differential pressure to be measured at the transducer 20 . depending on the orientation of the transducer , the remote port may not be necessary . in some cases the pressure may be sensed directly at the transducer ports 22 and / or 8 by positioning the transducer ports in or on the hydrodynamic device or enclosed space arrangement . transducer 20 is advantageously enclosed in a plastic box 32 which can be mounted to a surface by support elements or feet 34 . the transducer 20 includes terminals , such as output 30 , ground 36 , and voltage 38 . these terminals are connected via a cable or wires , respectively 40 , 42 , 44 to the calibration circuit board 50 . the calibration circuit 50 board is preferably positioned within a plastic box 48 ( such as polycase 883 - 043 - 1 with polycase cover 883 - 0471 ) or a container of other material which is waterproof or may be waterproofed . referring to fig3 and 4 particular , the output of the transducer 20 is a voltage signal . this voltage signal varies directly with the differential pressure between the positive and negative ports . the calibration circuit 50 allows the base line voltage signal ( representing the pressure differential ) which is omitted from the transducer , to be adjusted so that the base line signal can be centered on a base line of the computer screen or the like . the adjustment may be made by turning the trimmer 104 which is mounted on the calibration circuit board 50 . as shown specifically in fig3 the signal from transducer 20 is first inverted by inverting amplifier 102 ( i . e . gain equal negative 1 ). the output from the inverting amplifier is input into a second amplifier 103 . the output from the trimmer 104 is also input into amp 103 . the output from the trimmer 104 can be adjusted , thereby adding or subtracting voltage to the signal and allowing it to be centered on the desired base line . the output from amp 103 is input into the data acquisition board 60 . the actual wiring of the arrangement is best shown in fig4 . the calibration circuit board 50 is wired to two transducers 201 , 202 . the output and ground ( common ) from each of the two transducers 201 , 202 is wired to the board 50 . the voltage connection to both transducers is connected directly to the plus 5 volt connection on the data acquisition board 60 . the output of the calibration board 50 consists of an output and ground for each of the transducers connected . the calibration board also has a plus 12 volt and minus 12 volt connection to the data acquisition board to power the circuit . an eight channel arrangement may be provided with eight transducers which are to be wired to four calibration boards ( two transducers per board ). all the boards are preferably housed in a single enclosure or expansion box with output of the same data acquisition board . the calibration circuit board 50 is provided with output terminals 52 connected to the output cable 56 which leads out of plastic box 48 . the cable 56 is connected to a data acquisition board 60 . the data acquisition board 60 ( for example , metrabyte model das 8 - pga ) may be mounted and housed in an expansion box 62 , ( for example , axonix , thinpack model 1100 ). the calibration circuit board 50 may also be placed in expansion box 62 . the data acquisition board 60 preferably has eight analog channel inputs 61 . this arrangement allows eight sensors on different pieces of equipment to be sampled simultaneously , or two sensors on four pieces of equipment , etc . this is extremely useful as it is possible to employ an enclosed space exercise assembly with a plurality of chambers thereby allowing a plurality of exercises using one set - up , i . e . enclosed space exercise shoe 400 with four sensor connection lines 426 , 428 , 430 and 432 positioned on one exercise arrangement . also different chambers may be monitored to provide additional information to check if the exercise is being performed properly . additionally , absolute pressure transducers may be used in some configurations . absolute pressure transducers allow measurement of ambient air pressure or the water depth when the transducer ( or transducer remote port ) is mounted on a surface parallel to the direction of movement of the hydrodynamic device . the expansion box 62 is advantageously connected to a lap top computer 70 preferably secured beneath the lap top computer 70 ). the lap top computer 70 may be , for example , toshiba model t1100 +. the expansion box 62 may simply be connected by a cable 74 to the expansion slot 75 of the computer 70 . of course , a standard desk top type personal computer or the like may also be employed . additionally , a lap top computer ( e . g . dell computer corporation model 316 lt ) which can receive a data acquisition card , ( e . g . metrabyte model das - 8 ) internally , and still have sufficient battery power would be most advantageous . such arrangements provide even further advantages with regard to the ease of use and mobile aspects of the entire system . fig2 shows a preferred arrangement employing an aquatic exercise assembly 100 or aquatic dumbbell including hydrodynamic portions 14 with surface 13 and other surfaces not shown . with this arrangement , it is possible to evaluate information with regard to the force acting on one of the perpendicular sets of surfaces . it is also possible to provide additional parts which are redundant ports for an even more accurate measurement or to check for error and to measure twisting motion or differences due to depth . several alternative arrangements are possible without departing from the principles of the invention . for example , individual pressure transducers may be mounted on surfaces of the aquatic exercise device and then directly wired to the calibration circuit board 50 or transmitted via a transmitter to a receiver which is connected to the calibration circuit board 50 . such a transducer and transmitting arrangement is disclosed in my u . s . pat . no . 4 , 654 , 010 , which is hereby incorporated by reference . as seen in fig5 and as discussed above , the transducers such as transducer 201 and 202 are available in a size which is small enough to provide the transducers within an enclosure 32 which may be attached to a hydrodynamic surface such as thin hydrodynamic surface 314 . the enclosure 32 may be connected by plastic screws or connectors 306 and 304 mounting the feet of the enclosure 32 to the surface 314 . as shown in fig5 pressure ports 301 and 302 may be provided in a simple manner with the pressure port 301 being provided in a surface 312 , the surface forming part of the enclosure 32 . the other port 302 may be provided connected to the surface 316 . this arrangement provides an alternative to having the transducers provided a distance from the remote pressure ports . fig6 a and 6b show still another embodiment of the invention in which a relatively thin hydrodynamic surface at 314 is provided with remote ports 301 , 302 which are connected to the transducers 201 , 202 or the like by a plastic elbow joint connector 316 ( such as craftech part no . 0302 - 1 or value plastics no . kl230 - 2 ). these connectors may be connected to plastic tubing or the like 318 . in the arrangement shown in fig6 a and 6b , the pressure ports 301 and 302 are shown off set , for illustration purposes . it should be understood that the ports may be in alignment one behind the other or several other possible arrangements without departing from the concepts of the invention . fig7 depicts a hydrobell hydrodynamic arrangement 320 with pressure ports 330 and 332 arranged on opposite surfaces . the hand of the user may be clasped around the handgrip 334 . the tubing is provided away from the user ( as far away as possible such that it does not interfere with the exercise ). the ports , tubing and sensor may also be installed inside the handgrip as an alternate arrangement . the data which is provided to the computer of the system can be evaluated in many ways . the system of the invention may employ software to display a graph or the like of differential pressure versus time . the sampling rate for therapy and exercise purposes is generally about 50 samples per second . however , the system designed in software allows sampling in rates of about 250 samples per second without changes in hardware or any other problems . the pressure may be converted into units of force so that by integration of the curves produced during exercise , peak force , average force , impulse and number of repetitions may easily be calculated . if the distance of the movement is also measured by some means other than the sensors of the invention ( such as entering distance data into the computer of the system ), work , power , and torque can also be calculated . software may also be provided for allowing the adjustment of the base line pressure to be handled through the computer . it has been observed that such a software base line adjustment works best for fine adjustment , where as the hardwired hardware adjustment by the calibration board is better for more course adjustment . software may also provide for channel switching , gain switching and to stop and start data collection . all of these functions may also be controlled by hardware switching . however , such software switching makes the equipment completely controllable at the keyboard and also eliminates the parts necessary for the switch box and the connecting cables . however , in some cases an external on - off switch may be more consistent with typical situations ( i . e . the coach could use the external on - off switch as a stop watch which could also start and stop data collection ). the above arrangement may also be used for analyzing and observing swimming technique provided the swimmer is stationary . this is accomplished using water treadmills or swimming flumes or where the swimmer is tethered . according to a further variant of the system of the invention , the remote pressure ports may be provided connected to closed containers to thereby sense the pressure in the closed containers . this arrangement can be used especially for impact situations such as running , boxing , handball and the like . referring to fig8 in particular , the arrangement according to a further aspect of the invention includes a plurality of closed containers 410 through 416 which are each connected to a pressure port such as remote pressure ports 418 through 424 . each of these remote pressure ports may be connected by tubing to a port of one or more transducers such as transducers 201 , 202 . the closed containers 410 through 416 preferably are filled with air . according to the arrangement of fig8 the closed containers 410 through 416 are provided in a sole structure of an athletic shoe such as a running shoe or the like . the closed containers are each provided at locations to sense specific information . for example , in the case of running , it may be desirable to provide several closed containers 410 through 416 positioned at important locations such as the ball of the foot ( 410 ), the arch of the foot ( 414 ) or the heel of the foot ( 416 ). more containers and more pressure ports may be provided as desired . according to a preferred arrangement , the pressure ports 418 through 424 are connected to pressure conduit tubes such as 426 through 432 , respectively . tubes may be connected to the transducer at the shoe or the tubes may be run up to a central transducer arrangement such as transducer arrangement 20 which may be strapped to the user or the like . fig9 and 10 show an enclosed space exercise arrangement or a bellows shaped arrangement generally designated as 500 . the bellows 500 includes a top wall 506 and a bottom wall 502 . these top and bottom walls ( 506 and 502 ) hingeably connected at a pivot point 504 to a top wall 506 . opposite the pivot point 504 is a collapsible end wall or bellows wall 501 . the arrangement is enclosed and made airtight by collapsible side walls 510 and 512 . similar to port 302 as shown in fig5 the bellows 500 includes a pressure port 514 . connected to the pressure port 514 is an interface cable 516 which is connected to a pressure transducer port 22 of transducer 20 . the other transducer port may be exposed to atmosphere for a base comparison . the bellows 500 also includes an intake valve 518 which may be adjusted to regulate the resistance of air flowing through it . the bellows 500 also includes an exhaust valve 520 to regulate the resistance of air flowing out of the bellows . referring now to fig1 a , 11b , and 11c the bellows 500 is shown being utilized as an exercise / therapy device wherein the forces exerted f and f &# 39 ; collapse the bellows 500 . the force is determined from the pressure read from the pressure port 514 . the force required to compress the bellows is regulated by exhaust valve 520 . the reverse motion , to open the bellows , is provided by the subject pulling against straps 522 and 524 . the force required to open the bellows is regulated by intake valve 518 . the performance of the subject is recorded and displayed by computer 100 . fig1 a , and 12b show the bellows 500 used against a stationary surface such as a floor or a bed . the bellows 500 behaves similarly to the bellows shown in fig1 a and 11b except the expansion of the bellows 500 is provided by resiliency in the collapsible side walls 510 and 512 and end wall 508 , or by another appropriate biasing means ( not shown ). the intake valve can be completely opened or slightly closed to damp the re - expansion forces . an alternative for the bellows would be a commercially available chamber , such as the air splint ( jobst institute , inc . ; u . s . pat . reg . 26046 ). after the airsplint was inflated around a joint ( see fig1 ), the valve could be connected to transducer 20 via port 22 and tubing 18 . once connected , the valve could be opened and the pressure within the airsplint could be monitored during exercise . although such a system would require minor modification of existing equipment , it would lack the advantage of constant resistance throughout the range of motion as in the bellows system . the fluid within the airsplint would be trapped and pressure would increase with the range of motion at a joint . provision of valves 518 and 512 between the interior and exterior of the airsplint removes this problem . fig1 shows a right leg of a rider on a horse shown in phantom with the pressure system utilized by securing a closed container on either the medial surface of the rider &# 39 ; s knee , or on the side of the horse . fig1 shows a closed container element 528 provided on a boxing glove 530 to measure impact force . a plurality of sensors may be used on the glove 530 surface to measure boxing technique and determine areas of greatest impact and as a feedback system to avoid injuries to the boxer &# 39 ; s hands and arms . other sensing arrangements may be provided using the basic features of the invention without departing from the principles of the invention . while specific embodiments of the invention have been shown and described in detail to illustrate the application of the principles of the invention , it will be understood that the invention may be embodied otherwise without departing from such principles . | 0 |
fig1 provides an overall view of the present invention in use with a conventional work boat 1 . skimmer 2 which has the appearance of a flattened sock with an open front end is maintained open by floating frame 3 and with floats 4 . the frame is attached to the work boat by lines 5 which connect with the boat well ahead of the position alongside the boat where the skimmer is deployed . with the lines placed forward and with a special bumper ( described hereafter ) the motion of the skimmer is effectively uncoupled from the motion of the boat , thereby allowing the skimmer to move freely up and down , pitch , roll , etc . in the prior art where a skimmer or boom is deployed alongside a vessel by a rigid connection , the motion of the vessel is translated into the skimmer or boom , causing it to dip beneath the water or raise above the water and in either case permitting oil to pass thereby , thus hindering effective removal of the oil from the water . u . s . pat . no . 3 , 983 , 034 exemplifies the prior art in its employment of cable supported outrigger 68 which causes outboard boom 66 to dip in and out of the water with the roll of the vessel . fig1 a shows how the self - floated skimmer of the present invention remains uncoupled from the roll motion of the vessel 1 while the skimmer of the prior art permits the oil boom 10 ( supported by outrigger 12 ) to raise out of the water 11 ( or sink into the water if the roll were reversed ) thereby causing oil to escape . a bumper 32 is deployable between the inboard float 33 of the skimmer of the present invention and the vessel 1 to prevent damage to the vessel by the skimmer . note how the rotatable bumper 32 acts as a hinge to uncouple the motions . fig1 b shows how the rotatable bumper 32 permits the float 33 to raise up and maintain the desired water level even though the vessel side 34 is falling . this ability to translate ( float and vessel ) is important in preventing oil loss between the skimmer and the vessel . clearly , impact damage to the skimmer or the vessel is also prevented by such a bumper . oil lines 6 from the rear part of the skimmer pass oil into the container 7 which is employed both as a device for separating oil and water from the skimmer , as more particularly described hereinafter , and also as a container for the skimmer and power components used to deploy the skimmer . oil lines 8 extend from container 7 to a bag 9 towable behind the work boat 1 as a convenient means for storing separated oil , especially in the instance of larger spills which require extra storage space . referring now to fig2 and 3 of the drawings , a more detailed view of the skimmer is shown . the skimmer includes floats 20 which are mounted on opposite sides of a frame 21 which holds the front of the skimmer open and in a position to receive incoming oil and water . the top of the skimmer 22 is of a flexible material such as nitrile rubber or rubberized fabric which flexes easily with incoming waves and entrapped air . air exhaust ports 24a expel air captured by the sock and prevent the occurrence of any air space between the top of the skimmer 22 and collected oil 23 . this makes the removal of oil from the skimmer much easier as will be discussed more particularly hereinafter . by comparison , the funnel disclosed in u . s . pat . no . 3 , 653 , 510 does not have vents and allows air pockets to form in the rear of the funnel in the oil collection area . the skimmer top 22 is provided with air or pneumatic and foam flotation 24 which keeps the top of the skimmer above water level and yet does not raise it above the oil level as above noted . the foam flotation provides permanent stiffness for the top part , while the pneumatic flotation provides adjustable stiffness , depending on skimming speed and wave condition . inflatable flotation 25 is provided around the sides of the rear section of the skimmer . the bottom of the skimmer 26 as shown in fig3 is spaced from the top of the skimmer by side walls 27 and ties 28 which prevent the top of the skimmer from billowing and further prevent an air interface between top 22 and collected oil 23 . the skimmer has an open bottom 26a between the rear of the bottom 26 and the rear &# 34 ; curtain &# 34 ; section 30 to allow water to exit . preferably , side walls 27 are parallel or almost parallel to each other in the forward part of the skimmer . thus , tapering of the side walls toward each other is predominantly in the aft part of the skimmer . this permits the entry of incoming wave trains without reflections and resulting oil loss around the skimmer . hence the skimmer is essentially like an open window to incoming oil and water . by comparison , the sharply tapered funnel shown in u . s . pat . no . 3 , 653 , 510 focuses incoming wave trains in front of the skimmer , and deflects incoming oil around the sides of and then behind the skimmer . top 22 and bottom 26 articulate easily with large waves and swells and yet the water motion within the skimmer is relatively quiescent not only because the top 22 tends to dampen wave chop but also because bottom 26 supported by the top 22 through ties 28 intercepts wave particle motion and sharply reduces orbital water motion within the skimmer which normally would sweep oil down and out of the skimmer . the ties 28 and the flotation 24 add some stiffness to the skimmer which tends to baffle or dampen &# 34 ; chop &# 34 ;, i . e ., the high frequency components of waves , yet still allows the skimmer to &# 34 ; ride &# 34 ; with the major low - frequency components of the waves . stiffness may be varied from forward to aft ( preferably the forward section is more stiff ) by varying air pressure in different parts of the flotation , i . e , less pressure in aft sections , and by providing more flexible ties in the aft part of the skimmer . by comparison , the funnel described in u . s . pat . no . 3 , 653 , 510 has no ties and no stiffening flotation elements to dampen wave chop . the skimmer is purposely designed with an upwardly extended lip 29 which prevents wave splashover , particularly in the case of extremely choppy water . the raised lip flexes , presenting little interference to incoming waves permitting the skimmer to behave essentially as an open window with the floats 20 being to either side of the window or mouth to control the mean water elevation of the mouth . the device of u . s . pat . no . 3 , 653 , 510 on the other hand , has no raised flexible lip , and it employs stiff , discrete floats in the mouth of the skimmer , both of which cause wave / structure collisions resulting in the oil being entrained in the water , passing around the skimmer and then being lost . water and oil entering the skimmer as shown by arrows in fig3 proceed to the rear section 30 which is concave facing toward the front of the skimmer and water exits at the bottom of the skimmer , the oil remaining at the top part of the skimmer with any debris which collects within the skimmer . while the bottom - rear of the skimmer may be generally open as shown in fig3 a more preferred arrangement is shown in fig3 a . a cresent - shaped piece 33 formed preferably of a double layered fabric 34 having crossing warp directions , is provided with holes 35 so that the crescent is about 25 - 75 % closed . this functions to hold down and stabilize the rear of the skimmer , providing a more quiet collection region for the oil . the rear of the skimmer may be raised periodically to allow debris which cannot be pumped to be exhausted . alternatively , a large - mesh ( 1 inch to 12 inch ) net may be provided at the mouth of the skimmer to prevent at least large debris from entering into the skimmer . the rather open net does not significantly hinder the entry of oil and water into the skimmer . an air interface is not allowed between the top of the skimmer and the oil . the oil is selectively withdrawn from the skimmer by well point suction , preferably through a number of smaller oil recovery suction points 31 rather than through a single large suction point . undesirably , more water and less oil is withdrawn through a single large suction device , particularly one which is not integral well point suction but which floats on the oil sump and , in the case of prior art skimmers , moves up and down with wave motion , alternately pulling air above the oil sump and then water below the oil sump . well point suction provides a smooth surface about the mouth of the withdrawal lines 31 so that there is no disturbance to the flow of oil into the lines . by comparison , the skimmer of u . s . pat . no . 3 , 715 , 034 employs a baffle plate 26 which disrupts flow into line 24 due to wave oscillations . referring now to fig4 of the invention , there is shown a more detailed disclosure of the container 7 shown in fig1 . container 7 includes all the components necessary for use with the present invention . as already mentioned , it is practical to store the container on drilling platforms to be near potential spills . if an oil spill is reported to the platform , the device is quickly loaded on board a work boat . the components of the skimmer can be assembled on deck as the boat proceeds toward the spill and be ready for deployment upon arrival . after use , the device can be repaired , cleaned and re - packaged to wait for its next use . the kit includes a hinged cover 40 which opens to disclose the skimmer nestled within the container 7 , hydraulic crane 41 which is used to deploy the skimmer from the container alongside a work boat or other vessel of convenience , crane controls 42 which are employed to direct the operation of deploying the skimmer , and a power package 43 which powers the hydraulic crane 41 and other devices necessary for operation of the skimmer . fig5 discloses the container of fig4 in use for separating oil and water from the skimmer . an oil / water mixture comes from the skimmer via line 6 and proceeds into a first compartment 50 which is formed by one end of the container and a solid overflow baffle 51 and into one of several chambers 52 through 54 formed by perforated surge baffles 55 . the oil and water flow through these chambers and into next - to - terminal chamber 56 formed by one of the perforated baffles 55 where oil is removed by floating suction head 56a and flowed via line 8 to a towable bag 9 as shown in fig1 . water from the next - to - terminal chamber 55 passes beneath a solid underflow baffle 57 and into terminal chamber 58 . a smaller baffle 59 is provided ahead of line 60a which removes clear water from chamber 58 . the baffles , except for baffle 59 , are all hinged so that they fold against the sides of the container when not in use and allow deployment of the skimmer and associated components within the container . while the skimmer of the present invention is preferably employed alongside a movable vessel , it is apparent that is may also be used in a stationary position in streams or currents for oil collection purposes with or without a vessel . also , it may be deployed between hulls of a catamaran vessel . manifestly , the present invention is useful also for collecting floating debris and floating liquid pollutants other than oil . where possible , multiple skimmers may be deployed on one or both sides of the vessel in use . the container is useful also with other water / oil separation techniques known in the art . similarly , the wave damping part of the skimmer of this invention can be used separately to reduce wave turbulence in front of other types of skimmers . for particularly viscous oils , an absorbent rope belt ( u . s . pat . no . 3 , 668 , 118 ) can be threaded into the sock and used in place of the integral well point suction components . of course , even though the oil to be removed is amenable to well point suction , any endless loop sorbent can be used in place of well point suction ( u . s . pat . no . 3 , 700 , 593 ). for both viscous oils and debris , nets having a suitable fineness can be held in the water just behind the sock ; the rear of the sock can be raised , allowing accumulated oil and debris to spill into the trailing net . if the net is hoisted from the water surface , water drains out and the remaining contaminant is deposited in the top of the container in a batch process . folding of a large offshore - type skimmer is shown in fig6 a , 6b and 6c . to recover the skimmer 2 after a skimming operation , a winch 60 mounted on the framework 3 ( supported by floats 4 ) is used to pull in fold - up cables 61 (&# 34 ; cable &# 34 ; broadly is interpreted to include lines , ropes , belts , etc .). the cables 61 run from the winch 60 through d - rings or fairleads 62 on the framework 3 , through two or more d - rings 63 on the fabric of skimmer 2 , and are attached to d - rings 64 near the rear of the skimmer . drawing up on the cables 61 pulls the rear forward while the intermediate d - rings 63 hold up the tops of the desired folds 65 . in effect , the skimmer folds up &# 34 ; accordian - style &# 34 ;. to deploy the skimmer , tension is released on the cables 61 and a slight forward motion of the tow vessel 1 straightens out the folds 65 . folding of a smaller skimmer 70 is shown in fig7 a , 7b and 7c . cable 61 is pulled by a crane or davit ( not shown ). from a spreader bar 71 , the cable is passed through d - rings 63 and affixed to the d - ring 64 closest to the end or rear of the skimmer . fig7 b shows the desired folds beginning to be formed with the skimmer in a partially folded disposition . fig7 c shows the skimmer lifted clear of the water by the crane or davit . there are alternative ways of implementing this fold - up technique as shown in fig8 - 11 . cables can be located on the sides or bottom instead of the top , or the cables can be located in two or three places on the skimmer . one cable or multiple cables could be used . grommets or fairleads or pulleys could be used in place of d - rings or triangular rings . the number of d - rings used depends on the allowable load on each and the number of folds desired . for example , three sets of rings may be used on a skimmer 42 feet long so that each fold is about 6 feet high and would not hang below framework floats of that height . a small triple - drum winch may be used to pull in the cables , or multiple single - drum winches may be used , or in smaller models the cables may be attached to a spreader bar or lift ring as shown . lifting of the bar or ring with a crane or davit folds the fabric together and then lifts the entire assembly out of the water . in fig8 a triple - drum winch 80 is used to pull cables 81 , 82 and 83 through multiple d - rings 84 . the drums of the winch are preferably of equal diameter . the cables are attached to the terminal d - rings . as shown in fig9 cables 85 , 86 and 87 slide through the terminal rings 88 , double back to frame 3 and are affixed thereto at points 89 , 90 and 100 , respectively . fig1 shows a spreader bar 101 which may be employed to pull cables 81 , 82 and 83 through d - rings or fairleads 84 . alternatively , as shown in fig1 , a lift ring may be substituted for spreader bar 101 ( element 84 is shown as fairleads in fig1 and as d - rings in fig1 ). of course , the purpose and necessity for folding the skimmer ( and this applies to other similar equipment ) is to reduce the size of the load to be lifted onboard a support vessel . folding in this manner makes a neat , compact , nearly rigid load which is much easier to handle and store than the fully deployed skimmer fabric . in fig1 is shown a sequence of steps for launching and retrieving skimmer 2 with one or at least two inclinable ramps . inclinable ramp 103 rests on top of skimmer container 7 and is formed of two segments connected by joint 104 . upwardly extending segment 105 helps secure the skimmer in place in the at ready position , step one . the second step for launching the skimmer is initiated by activating hydraulic piston 106 to lower segment 105 to a position such that it extends over the side of vessel 1 . next , step three , the entire ramp is inclined by means of jack 107 , and the skimmer is allowed to slide toward the water off segment 108 and onto segment 105 which is now adjacent the side of the vessel . during the winching down operation of step four , the skimmer is held securely by a cable 109 . in step five , the skimmer is in the water and ready to be turned 90 ยฐ to assume a skimming position alongside the vessel . recovery of the skimmer , as depicted by step 6 in fig1 , involves reversing the order of the preceding steps . | 8 |
when referred to hereafter , the terminology โ wtru โ includes but is not limited to a user equipment ( ue ), a mobile station , a fixed or mobile subscriber unit , a pager , a cellular telephone , a personal digital assistant ( pda ), a computer , or any other type of user device capable of operating in a wireless environment . when referred to hereafter , the terminology โ node - b โ includes but is not limited to a base station , a site controller , an access point ( ap ), or any other type of interfacing device capable of operating in a wireless environment . fig2 is a block diagram of an example node - b 200 for encoding hs - scch data . the node - b 200 comprises an encoder 201 , a rate matching unit 204 , a masking unit 206 , a multiplexer 210 , a crc unit 212 , a masking unit 214 , an encoder 218 , a rate matching unit 220 , and a transceiver 224 . the hs - scch data comprises part 1 data and part 2 data . the part 1 data is sent to the encoder 202 . the encoder 202 performs channel coding on the part 1 data 201 . the channel coded part 1 data 203 is then punctured by the rate matching unit 204 for rate matching . the rate matched part 1 data 205 is then masked with a mask by the masking unit 206 . the mask may be generated based on the wtru id 208 . codes are usually selected for both their performance and for the simplicity of the decoders . convolutional codes are a good example of codes that have both good performance and low decoder complexity . there is of course some tradeoff between performance and decoder complexity . however , the decoder complexity is not a factor when selecting a code to use for the masking because the corresponding decoder need not exist in the wtru . all that is needed is the mask itself which can be created by the much simpler encoder . the masking unit 206 generates the mask by block coding the wtru id 208 with a generator matrix which produces masks with a maximum minimum - hamming - distance . the mask is generated by a vector - matrix product of the wtru id and the generator matrix . the resulting mask is a linear combination of the rows of the generator matrix . an example generator matrix for ( 40 , 16 ) code is given below . it should be noted that the generator matrix shown below is provided as an example , not as a limitation , and any other generator matrix may be used alternatively . in this example , the mask is the 40 - bit mask , and the wtru id is 16 - bits long . this example uses a block code with a specified generator matrix which produces masks with minimum distance of twelve ( 12 ). this provides much better performance when multiple hs - scch transmissions at the minimum distance are used . conventionally , the mask is generated by encoding the wtru id 208 using the rate ยฝ convolutional coding . the minimum hamming distance of the conventional masks is eight ( 8 ). the improved hamming distance of the masks generated by the present invention results in a performance improvement of the part 1 hs - scch decoder at the wtru . fig4 shows simulation results for the selection error probability of the part 1 data v . snr comparing the performance of the two hs - scch masking methods ( prior art and the present invention ) where two hs - scch codes are transmitted with different mask distances dictated the corresponding methods . fig4 shows performance improvement when using the mask with the hamming distance of twelve ( 12 ) compared to the mask with the hamming distance of eight ( 8 ). referring again to fig2 , the part 1 data 201 and the part 2 data 211 are sent to the crc unit 212 to calculate crc bits . the crc bits are attached to the part 2 data 211 . the number of crc bits may be less than the length of the wtru id so that more data , ( e . g ., data for mimo ), may be included as the part 2 data . the combined part 2 data and the crc bits 213 are sent to the masking unit 214 . the masking unit 214 performs masking to the crc bits or crc bits plus some or all of the part 2 data with a mask , which will be explained in detail below . the masked part 2 data and crc bits 217 are encoded by the encoder 218 . the encoded part 2 data and crc bits 219 are punctured by the rate matching unit 220 . the rate matched part 2 data and crc bits 221 and the rate matched part 1 data 209 are multiplexed by the multiplexer 210 and sent to the transceiver 224 for transmission . in accordance with one embodiment , the masking unit 214 may generate a mask having a size equal to or smaller than the size of the crc bits plus the part 2 data . a portion of the mask is extracted and applied to the crc bits and the remaining portion of the mask is applied to all or part of the part 2 data . the mask may be generated using the wtru id 216 and a generator matrix as disclosed above with respect to part 1 data masking to maximize the minimum hamming distance of the masks . in accordance with another embodiment , the wtru id may be used as a mask . the length of the wtru id may be longer than the crc bits . therefore , a part of the wtru id is used to mask the crc bits and the remaining of the wtru id is used to mask the part 2 data . in accordance with yet another embodiment , the wtru id is punctured to be the same length as the crc bits and the punctured wtru id is used to mask the crc bits . in accordance with still another embodiment , the masking unit 214 may be moved between the encoder and the rate matching unit . the masking unit 214 generates a mask of length equal to the rate matched part 2 data and crc bits 221 . the masking unit 214 then applies the mask to the encoded part 2 data and crc bits 219 . alternatively , the masking unit 214 may be moved between the rate matching unit 220 and the multiplexer 210 , and applies the mask to the rate matched part 2 data and crc bits 221 . the mask may be 80 - bits long . the mask may be generated using the wtru id 216 and a generator matrix as disclosed above with respect to part 1 data masking to maximize the minimum hamming distance of the masks . fig3 is a block diagram of an example wtru 300 for decoding hs - scch data . the wtru 300 includes a transceiver 302 , a de - multiplexer 304 , a de - masking unit 306 , a de - rate matching unit 310 , a decoder 312 , a de - rate matching unit 314 , a decoder 316 , a de - masking unit 318 , and a crc unit 322 . the transceiver 302 receives a hs - scch transmission 301 including a first part on a first time slot of an hs - scch frame corresponding to the part 1 data and a second part on the second and third time slots of the hs - scch frame corresponding to the part 2 data . the first part 305 a and the second part 305 b are de - multiplexed by the de - multiplexer 304 . the first part 305 a is de - masked by the de - masking unit 306 . the de - masking unit 306 generates the same mask used at the node - b in the same way using the wtru id 308 . the mask may be generated with the wtru id 308 and the generator matrix as disclosed above . the de - rate matching unit 310 reverts the puncturing performed at the node - b on the de - masked first part 309 . the de - rate matched first part 311 is then decoded by the decoder 312 to output part 1 data 313 . the part 1 data is also sent to the crc unit 322 . the second part 305 b is de - rate matched by the de - rate matching unit 314 to revert the puncturing performed at the node - b . the de - rate matched second part 315 is then decoded by the decoder 316 to output part 2 data ( may or may not be masked at the nodeb ) and masked crc bits 317 . the masked crc bits and optionally the masked part 2 data 317 are de - masked by the de - masking unit 318 . the de - masking unit 318 uses the same mask used at the node - b for the de - masking . the mask may be the wtru id 320 , punctured wtru id , or a mask generated by using the wtru id 320 and a generator matrix . the de - masking unit 318 outputs de - masked part 2 data and crc bits 321 to the crc unit 322 . the crc unit 322 then performs a crc check with the part 1 data 313 , the part 2 data , and crc bits . the de - masking unit 318 may be moved between the decoder 316 and the de - rate matching unit 314 , or between the de - rate matching unit 314 and the de - multiplexer 304 depending on the masking scheme performed at the node - b . in this case , the mask may be 80 - bits long , and the mask may be generated using the wtru id 216 and a generator matrix as stated above to maximize the minimum hamming distance of the masks . although the features and elements of the present invention are described in particular combinations , each feature or element can be used alone without the other features and elements or in various combinations with or without other features and elements . the methods or flow charts provided may be implemented in a computer program , software , or firmware tangibly embodied in a computer - readable storage medium for execution by a general purpose computer or a processor . examples of computer - readable storage mediums include a read only memory ( rom ), a random access memory ( ram ), a register , cache memory , semiconductor memory devices , magnetic media such as internal hard disks and removable disks , magneto - optical media , and optical media such as cd - rom disks , and digital versatile disks ( dvds ). suitable processors include , by way of example , a general purpose processor , a special purpose processor , a conventional processor , a digital signal processor ( dsp ), a plurality of microprocessors , one or more microprocessors in association with a dsp core , a controller , a microcontroller , application specific integrated circuits ( asics ), field programmable gate arrays ( fpgas ) circuits , any other type of integrated circuit ( ic ), and / or a state machine . a processor in association with software may be used to implement a radio frequency transceiver for use in a wtru , user equipment ( ue ), terminal , base station , radio network controller ( rnc ), or any host computer . the wtru may be used in conjunction with modules , implemented in hardware and / or software , such as a camera , a video camera module , a videophone , a speakerphone , a vibration device , a speaker , a microphone , a television transceiver , a hands free headset , a keyboard , a bluetooth ยฎ module , a frequency modulated ( fm ) radio unit , a liquid crystal display ( lcd ) display unit , an organic light - emitting diode ( oled ) display unit , a digital music player , a media player , a video game player module , an internet browser , and / or any wireless local area network ( wlan ) module . | 7 |
the following are examples of preparation of representative compounds of this invention given by way of illustration only , without any intention of limiting the present invention . to 1 . 95 g ( 10 m moles ) of 3 - hydrazino - 6 - morpholino - pyridazine dissolved in 12 ml of acetic acid , 1 . 71 g ( 12 m moles ) of 3 , 6 - octanedione dissolved in 4 ml of acetic acid are added at room temperature . the mixture is heated at 67 ยฐ c . for 2 hours and then evaporated to dryness under vacuum . the oily residue is dissolved in toluene and the solution is evaporated to dryness . the residue is slurried with ice - water and neutralized with sodium bicarbonate to yield 2 . 58 g of a solid product . said material , after crystallization from isopropanol gives 1 . 25 g ( 42 %) of the title product , melting at 186 ยฐ- 9 ยฐ c . elemental analysis , i . r ., n . m . r . and mass spectra are in agreement with the assigned structure . to 105 ml of acetic acid , 15 . 3 g ( 60 m moles ) of 6 - diethylamino - 3 - hydrazino - pyridazine dihydrochloride , 9 . 85 g ( 120 m moles ) of sodium acetate and 7 . 51 g ( 66 m moles ) of 2 , 5 - hexanedione are added and the mixture is heated at 67 ยฐ c . for 3 . 5 hours . the solvent is evaporated off under vacuum yielding an oily residue which is dissolved in toluene . the toluene solution is evaporated and the residue obtained , is slurried with ice - water and neutralized with a saturated sodium carbonate solution . after extraction of the mixture with three portions of 150 ml of chloroform , the organic layer is washed with water and evaporated in vacuo to yield 17 g of crude product . said material is purified by chromatography through a silicagel column by eluting with cyclohexane - ethyl acetate mixtures wherein the ratio of ethyl acetate to cyclohexane is gradually increased from 1 : 4 to 1 : 1 . by evaporation of the eluate 6 g ( 39 %) of the product of the title are obtained . after crystallization from isopropanol the compound melts at 148 ยฐ- 150 ยฐ c . elemental analysis , i . r . and n . m . r . data are in agreement with the assigned structure . ( a ) 8 . 25 grams ( 42 . 3 m moles ) of 3 - hydrazino - 6 - morpholino pyridazine and 5 . 82 g ( 51 m moles ) of 2 , 5 - hexanedione in 40 ml of acetic acid are heated at 67 ยฐ c . for 3 . 25 hours . the solvent is evaporated off under vacuum and the residue is slurried with ice - water and neutralized with aqueous sodium carbonate . the product is purified through column chormatography on silicagel by eluting with cyclohexane - ethyl acetate mixtures wherein the ratio of ethyl acetate to cyclohexane is gradually increased from 1 : 4 to 2 : 1 . the fractions containing the purified product are combined and evaporated to dryness giving a solid residue which , after crystallization from isopropanol , melts at 191 ยฐ- 193 ยฐ c . ( yield 6 g , 52 %). elemental analysis , i . r . and n . m . r . data are in agreement with the assigned structure . ( b ) the same compound is obtained also by following the procedure of example 2 using 14 g of 3 - hydrazino - 6 - morpholino - pyridazine dihydrochloride , 8 . 6 g of sodium acetate and 6 . 52 g of 2 , 5 - hexanedione in 90 ml of acetic acid . the yield is 9 . 5 g ( 48 %) of the product of the above title . ( c ) a further procedure to prepare the compound of the title is the following : to 58 . 6 g ( 200 m mol ) of 6 - hydrazino - 3 -( 4 - morpholino )- pyridazine sulfate dissolved in 100 ml of water , 200 ml of 1 n sodium hydroxide are gradually added under cooling and when this addition is completed , 25 g ( 220 m mol ) of 2 , 5 - hexanedione are added to the mixture which then is heated at 70 ยฐ c . for four hours . after cooling to about 20 ยฐ c ., a further addition of 200 ml of 1 n sodium hydroxide is made and the product precipitated is removed by filtration and washed on filter with three portions of 100 ml of ice - water . after drying at 50 ยฐ c . over p 2 o 5 the solid weights 54 . 4 g ( 99 %). the product shows satisfactory analytical characteristics . the 6 - hydrazino - 3 -( 4 - morpholino )- pyridazine sulfate is obtained by adding the stoichiometric amount of h 2 so 4 to an aqueous solution of the hydrazine and evaporating off the water . the sulfate melts at 202 ยฐ- 4 ยฐ c . when crystallized from ethanol containing 10 % of water . the hydrochloride of the compounds of the title is obtained by dissolving 17 g of the free base in 150 ml of absolute ethanol at 70 ยฐ c . and then adding to said solution 45 ml of ethyl ether saturated with hydrogen chloride . further addition of 300 ml of ethyl ether to the cooled solution yields a precipitate which after filtration is crystallized from 200 ml of 85 % ethanol . yield 13 . 5 g ; the compounds decomposes at 260 ยฐ c . the compound is prepared according to the procedure of example 2 by contacting 3 . 8 g ( 12 . 8 m moles ) of 6 -( 2 , 6 - dimethyl - morpholino )- 3 - hydrazino - pyridazine dihydrochloride ( prepared according to the procedure described in u . k . pat . no . 1 . 157 . 642 ; m . p . 217 ยฐ- 220 ยฐ c . ), 2 . 2 g ( 25 . 6 m moles ) of sodium acetate and 1 . 61 g ( 14 . 1 m moles ) of 2 , 5 - hexanedione in 20 ml of acetic acid . the yield is 1 . 8 g ( 47 %) of the product of the title which melts at 147 ยฐ- 148 ยฐ c . when crystallized from ethyl ether . elemental analysis , i . r . and n . m . r . data are in agreement with the assigned structure . to 4 . 9 grams ( 20 m moles ) of 1 - hydrazino - 4 - morpholino phthalazine ( prepared from 1 , 4 - dichlorophthalazine ) according to the procedure of u . k . pat . no . 1 . 157 . 642 ; m . p . 255 ยฐ- 260 ยฐ c .) dissolved in 30 ml of acetic acid , 2 . 74 g ( 24 m moles ) of 2 , 5 - hexanedione are added and the mixture is heated at 65 ยฐ c . for 3 hours . the solvent is evaporated off under vacuum and the residue is slurried with water and neutralized with a saturated solution of sodium carbonate . the row product is extracted with ethyl acetate and the organic solution , after washing with water and drying over caso 4 is evaporated to dryness . the residual product is purified by chromatography through a silicagel column using cyclohexane - ethyl acetate 1 : 3 as the eluent . evaporation of the eluate , yields 2 . 7 g ( 47 %) of the product of the title which after crystallization from acetone , melts at 205 ยฐ- 209 ยฐ c . elemental analysis , i . r . and n . m . r . data are in agreement with the assigned structure . to 7 g ( 25 m moles ) of 6 - diallylamino - 3 - hydrazino - pyridazine dihydrochloride ( ger . appl . 2 . 002 . 107 ; c . a . 73 , 66596 , 1970 ), and 4 . 1 g ( 50 m moles ) of sodium acetate dissolved in 40 ml of acetic acid , 3 . 42 g ( 30 m moles ) of 2 , 5 - hexanedione are added . after heating for 4 hours at 65 ยฐ c ., the mixture is evaporated to dryness . the residue is slurried with ice - water and neutralized with sodium carbonate . the mixture is extracted with ethyl acetate and the row product obtained by evaporayion of the organic extract ( 7 g ) is purified by chromatography through a silicagel column using chloroform and a mixture chloroform - methanol 98 . 5 : 1 . 5 as the eluent . evaporation of the eluate yields a product which , after crystallization from ethyl ether , melts at 135 ยฐ- 136 ยฐ c . ( 2 . 6 g , 37 %). elemental analysis , i . r . and n . m . r . data are in agreement with the assigned structure . to a mixture of 5 . 2 g ( 20 . 7 m moles ) of 3 - hydrazino - 6 -( 1 - pyrrolidinyl ) pyridazine dihydrochloride ( prepared according to u . k . pat . no . 1 . 157 . 642 . the compound was characterized through the dihydrochloride of the corresponding hydrazone with acetone melting at 215 ยฐ- 220 ยฐ c .) and 3 . 56 g ( 43 m moles ) of sodium acetate in 60 ml of acetic acid , 2 . 74 g ( 24 m moles ) of 2 , 5 - hexanedione are added . after stiring for 3 hours at 65 ยฐ- 55 ยฐ c . the solvent is evaporated off under vacuum . the residue is slurried with water , neutralized with sodium bicarbonate and then dissolved in chloroform . the chloroform solution is chromatographed through silicagel by eluting with cyclohexane - ethyl acetate mixtures wherein the ratio of ethyl acetate to cyclohexane is gradually increased from 1 : 1 to 4 : 1 . the eluate is evaporated to dryness and the solid residue is crystallized from ethyl acetate yielding 3 . 35 g ( 63 %) of the product of the title which melts at 208 ยฐ- 209 ยฐ c . elemental analysis , i . r . and n . m . r . data are in agreement with the assigned structure . a mixture of 7 . 4 g ( 28 m moles ) of 3 - hydrazino - 6 - piperidino - pyridazine , 2 . 3 g of sodium acetate and 3 . 7 g 2 , 5 - hexanedione is heated for two hours at 65 ยฐ c . the solvent is evaporated off under vacuum and the solid residue is dissolved in water and neutralized with sodium hydroxide . the product is purified by chromatography through a silicagel column using as the eluent a mixture methanol - chloroform 2 . 5 : 97 . 5 . the solid recovered by evaporation of the eluate is crystallized from ethyl acetate yielding 2 g ( 27 %) of the product of the title which melts at 185 ยฐ- 187 ยฐ c . elemental analysys ; i . r . and n . m . r . data are in agreement with the assigned structure . a mixture of 7 g ( 35 m moles ) of 3 - hydrazino - 6 -( 4 - methyl - 1 - piperazinyl )- pyridazine and 4 . 1 g ( 36 m moles ) of 2 , 5 - hexanedione in 100 ml of acetic acid is heated for 3 hours at 70 ยฐ c . the solvent is evaporated off under vacuum and the oily residue is dissolved in water and made alkaline with 10 % sodium hydroxyde . the mixture is extracted with ethyl acetate and the organic layer is evaporated to dryness in vacuo . the solid residue is crystallized first from ethyl ether and then from ethyl acetate yielding 2 . 6 g ( 26 %) of the product of the title which melts at 181 ยฐ- 182 ยฐ c . elemental analysis , i . r . and n . m . r . data are in agreement with the assigned structure . a mixture of 9 . 2 g ( 40 m moles ) of 3 - hydrazino - 6 -( 1 - piperazinyl )- pyridazine hydrochloride ( m . p . 257 ยฐ c . ; prepared according to the procedure of u . k . pat . no . 1 . 157 . 642 ), 3 . 28 g ( 40 m moles ) of ethyl acetate and 4 . 82 g of 2 , 5 - hexanedione in 100 ml of acetic acid is heated at 75 ยฐ c . for 2 hours and then allowed to stand for two days at room temperature . after filtration , the solvent is evaporated off in vacuo and the residue is dissolved in water and made alkaline with 10 % sodium hydroxide . extraction with ethyl acetate and evaporation of the organic layer , yields 4 . 1 g of crude product which is purified by chromatography through a silicagel column using a methanol - chloroform 7 : 3 as the eluent . yield 3 g ( 28 %) of a the title product which after crystallization from acetonitrile melts at 189 ยฐ- 191 ยฐ c . elemental analysis , i . r . and n . m . r . data are in agreement with the assigned structure . the following products are prepared by contacting the corresponding hydrazinopyridazines dihydrochlorides and 2 , 5 - hexanedione in the presence of ethyl acetate according to the procedure described in example 2 . the starting hydrazino - pyridazine compounds of examples 11 to 15 are literature compounds . the starting material of example 15 was prepared according to the procedure described in u . k . pat . no . 1 . 157 . 642 and was employed as such for the further reaction without isolation and characterization . to 1 . 36 g ( 5 m moles ) of n -( 2 , 5 - dimethyl - 1h - pyrrol - 1 - yl )- 6 - morpholino - 3 - pyridazineamine in 13 . 6 ml of dimethylformamide , 0 . 26 g ( 5 . 5 m moles ) of 55 % sodium hydride are added . the mixture is stirred for 30 minutes at room temperature and for additional 30 minutes at 55 ยฐ c . then , a solution of 0 . 78 g ( 5 . 5 m moles ) of methyl iodide in 2 ml of dimethylformamide is gradually added at 10 ยฐ c . when the addition is completed the mixture is heated at 50 ยฐ c . for 45 minutes . the dimethylformamide is evaporated off in vacuo and the residue is dissolved in ethyl acetate . the organic layer is washed with water and then evaporated to dryness to give a solid which is crystallized from hexane . yield 0 . 7 g ( 54 %) of the product of the title which melts at 119 ยฐ- 122 ยฐ c . elemental analysis , i . r . and n . m . r . data are in agreement with the assigned structure . a mixture of 6 g ( 22 m mol ) of n -( 2 , 5 - dimethyl - 1h - pyrrol - yl )- 6 - morpholino - 3 - pyridazineamine , 30 ml of acetic anhydride , and 6 ml of pyridine is heated for one hour at 110 ยฐ c . the reaction mixture is evaporated to dryness under vacuum and the oily residue is dissolved in 150 ml of ethyl acetate . the organic solution is washed first with 50 ml of an aqueous solution of sodium bicarbonate and then with 50 ml of water . the organic layer is dryed over ca so 4 and evaporated to yield an oily residue which is chromatographed on a silicagel column using cyclohexane - ethyl acetate 3 : 2 as the eluent . after evaporation of the eluate the oily residue dissolved in ethyl ether is additioned with a hydrogen chloride ethyl ether solution . the solid precipitate , which is highly hygroscopic , is recovered by filtration and crystallized from isopropanol - ethyl ether 1 : 1 . yield 4 . 9 g ( 64 %) of the product of the title melting at 162 ยฐ- 68 ยฐ c . elemental analysis , i . r . and n . m . r . data are in agreement with the assigned structure . 3 - hydrazino - 6 -( 4 - thiomorpholinyl )- pyridazine di - hydrochloride and 2 , 5 - hexanedione are reacted in acetic acid in the presence of sodium acetate according to the procedure of example 2 . the product is recovered by evaporating the acetic acid and slurring the residue in aqueous sodium bicarbonate . the solid obtained after filtration is purified by chromatography through silicagel using a chloroform - methanol mixture 97 . 5 : 2 . 5 mixture as the eluent . yield 50 %. m . p . 203 ยฐ c . ( from ethyl acetate ). elemental analysis , i . r . and n . m . r . data are in agreement with the assigned structure . the compound is obtained according to the same procedure described in example 2 by reacting 3 - hydrazino - 6 -[ n , n - bis ( 2 - methoxyethyl ) amino ]- pyridazine dihydrochloride and 2 , 5 - hexanedione in acetic acid in the presence of sodium acetate . the chromatographic purification or a silicagel column is carried out by using a mixture ethyl acetate - cyclohexane 3 : 1 as the eluent . yield 60 % m . p . 112 ยฐ- 14 ยฐ c . ( from ethyl acetate ). the 3 - hydrazino - 6 -[ n , n - bis ( 2 - methoxyethyl ) amino ]- pyridazine dihydrochloride , m . p . 198 ยฐ- 200 ยฐ c ., is obtained by employing the procedures of methods e , f , g described by g . pifferi et al . in j . med . chem ., 18 , 741 ( 1975 ). the compound is prepared according to the procedure of example 19 from 3 - hydrazino - 6 -[ n - metyl - n -( 2 - methoxyethyl ) amino ]- pyridazine dihydrochloride and 2 , 5 - hexanedione in acetic acid in the presence of sodium acetate . yield 55 %. m . p . 106 ยฐ c . ( from ethyl ether ). the dihydrochloride of 3 - hydrazino - 6 -[ n - methyl - n -( 2 - methoxyethyl ) amino ]- pyridazine , m . p . 219 ยฐ- 221 ยฐ c ., is obtained by employing the procedures of methods e , f , g described by g . pifferi et al . in j . med . chem ., 18 , 741 ( 1975 ). the compound is prepared according to the procedure of example 19 , from 3 - hydrazino - 6 -[ n , n - bis ( ethoxyethyl ) amino ]- pyridazine dihydrochloride and 2 , 5 - hexanedione in acetic acid , in the presence of sodium acetate . yield 70 %. b . p . 180 ยฐ c ./ 0 . 2 mm hg . the dihydrochloride of 3 - hydrazino - 6 -[ n , n - bis ( ethoxyethyl ) amino ]- pyridazine , m . p . 181 ยฐ- 183 ยฐ c ., is obtained by employing the procedures of methods e , f , g described by g . pifferi et al . in j . med . chem ., 18 , 741 ( 1975 ). the product is obtained according to the procedure of example 19 by reacting 3 - hydrazino - 6 - dimethylamino - pyridazine dihydrochloride and 2 , 5 - hexanedione in acetic acid in the presence of sodium acetate . yield 47 %; m . p . 165 ยฐ- 167 ยฐ c . ( from ethyl ether ). the product is obtained according to the procedure of example 19 by reacting 3 - hydrazino - 6 -[ 4 -( 2 - methoxyphenyl - 1 - piperazinyl ]- pyridazine and 2 , 5 - hexanedione in acetic acid in the presence of sodium acetate . yield 51 %, m . p . 194 ยฐ- 196 ยฐ c . the starting hydrazine was prepared from 3 , 6 - dichloropyridazine according to the process described in u . k . patent 1 . 157 . 642 . the 3 - chloro - 6 -[ 4 -( 2 - methoxyphenyl )- 1 - piperazinyl ]- pyridazine intermediate melts at 141 ยฐ- 143 ยฐ c . the hydrazine was not characterized as a free base but was employed as such for the reaction with 2 , 5 - hexanedione . the benzilidene hydrazone of said hydrazine melts at 230 ยฐ- 233 ยฐ c . ( from methanol ). to 5 . 85 g ( 30 m mol ) of 3 - hydrazino - 6 - morpholino - pyridazine in 130 ml of ethanol , ethyl ether ( 45 ml ) saturated with hydrogen chloride is added . the suspension of pale yellow precipitate which forms is additioned with 12 g ( 90 m mol ) of 2 , 5 - dimethoxytetrahydrofuran and the mixture is refluxed ( 60 ยฐ c .) for 6 hours . the solvent is removed under vacuum and the residue is dissolved in water , brought to ph 8 by addition of a sodium carbonate solution and extracted with four portions ( each of 100 ml ) of dichloromethane . the organic extracts are pooled together , washed with water ( 50 ml ) and anhydrified over sodium sulfate . evaporation of the solvent yields an oil which is purified through column chromatography ( silicagel , 500 g ) using as the eluent a mixture of dichloromethane and ethyl acetate wherein the ratio of ethyl acetate is gradually increased from 20 % to 100 %. evaporation of the more polar fraction yields 0 . 15 g ( 2 %) of the product of the title which melts at 228 ยฐ c . to a solution of 6 . 76 g ( 22 . 5 m mol ) of 3 -( 1 - methylhydrazino )- 6 - morpholino - pyridazine dihydrochloride monohydrate in 135 ml of ethanol , a saturated solution of hydrogen chloride in ethyl ether ( 18 ml ) and 4 . 46 g ( 33 . 75 m mol ) of 2 , 5 - dimethoxytetrahydrofuran are added . after refluxing for 3 hours , the solvent is evaporated off under vacuum and the residue , dissolved in water is neutralized with aqueous sodium bicarbonate . after extraction with three portions ( each of 200 ml ) of dichloromethane , the extracts are combined and anhydrified over sodium sulfate . evaporation of the solvent yields a product which is purified through a silicagel column ( 350 g ) using a mixture ethyl acetate - cyclohexane 1 : 3 as the eluent . crystallization from ethyl ether yields 2 . 31 g ( 50 %) of the product of the title , which melts between 105 ยฐ and 117 ยฐ c . ( thermal analysis shows that two crystalline forms are present , one melting at 105 ยฐ c . and the other at 117 ยฐ c .). the hydrazone of 3 - hydrazino - 6 - morpholino - pyridazine with acetaldehyde is prepared from 3 - hydrazino - 6 - morpholino - pyridazine and acetaldehyde in water solution ; m . p . 175 ยฐ- 180 ยฐ c . the hydrazone , after drying , is heated ( 55 ยฐ c ., 30 minutes ) with a slight excess of 55 % sodium hydride in dimethylformamide . to the suspension is then added a slight excess of methyl iodide and heated at 53 ยฐ c . for 90 minutes . evaporation of the solvent yields a residue which is dissolved in ethyl acetate , washed with water and dried over sodium sulfate . removal of ethyl acetate and taking up the residue with cyclohexane yields a product which is used for the further step . a sample of the acetaldehyde methyl ( 6 - morpholino - 3 - pyridazinyl ) hydrazone crystallized from ethyl ether melts at 136 ยฐ c . the acetaldehyde hydrazone is hydrolyzed according to the procedure of method g described by g . pifferi et al . in j . med . chem ., 18 , 741 ( 1975 ). the 3 -( 1 - methylhydrazino )- 6 - morpholino - pyridazine dihydrochloride monohydrate , crystallized from methanol , melts at 183 ยฐ- 190 ยฐ c . ( softening at 177 ยฐ c .). to a solution of 1 . 5 g ( 5 . 8 m mol ) of 1 - hydrazino - 4 -( 4 - hydroxypiperidino )- phthalazine in 60 ml of acetic acid , 0 . 79 g ( 6 . 9 m mol ) of 2 , 5 - hexanedione are added and the mixture is heated at 67 ยฐ c . for 3 hours . after evaporation of the solvent the residue is neutralized with aqueous sodium bicarbonate and extracted with ethyl acetate . the organic solution is chromatographed through a silicagel column using ethyl acetate as the eluent . yield 0 . 5 g ( 26 %) of the product of the title which melts at 180 ยฐ- 185 ยฐ c . the 1 - hydrazino - 4 -( 4 - hydroxypiperidino )- phthalazine is prepared by reacting 1 , 4 - dichlorophthalazine with 4 - hydroxypiperidine to yield 1 - chloro - 4 -( 4 - hydroxypiperidino )- phthalazine ( m . p . 139 ยฐ- 142 ยฐ c .) and then converting this latter to the corresponding hydrazino derivative by reaction with an excess of hydrazine hydrate . these reactions are carried out according to the procedure described in u . k . pat . no . 1 . 157 . 642 for analogous hydrazino pyridazine derivatives . in the exploitation of the invention , the preferred administration route of the new compounds of this invention is per os in the form of capsules , tablets , troches , lozanges , granules , suspensions , syrups , elixirs or solutions . if desired , for severe cases , parenterally administrable dosage forms can also be prepared as injectable ampoules . the dosage forms for oral use are prepared by common procedures . capsules , besides the active ingredient may contain pharmaceutically acceptable excipients , such as , for instance , dextrin , starch , lactose , cellulose derivatives , and magnesium stearate . coated or hard shell capsules can also be prepared . tablets may include inert diluents such as lactose , glucose and talk , granulating and disintegrating agents such as starch and alginic acid ; binding agents ; and lubricating agents such as magnesium stearate , talk etc . for example , a gelatin capsule suitable as a dose unit may contain 10 mg of the compound of example 3 or its hydrochloride , 1 . 5 mg of magnesium stearate and 118 . 5 mg of corn starch . other possible oral dosage forms such as suspensions , syrups and elixirs are formulated as known in the art ( see for instance the book &# 34 ; remington &# 39 ; s pharmaceutical sciences , 13th ed . mack publishing co . easton , pennsylvania ) and may contain suspending agents , such as methyl cellulose , tragacanth or alginates ; wetting agents such as polyoxyethylene sorbitan monoleate ; and preservatives . the liquid solutions for both oral and parenteral use may contain antioxidants , preservatives , buffering agents , and dispersing or wetting agents . the solvents which may be employed generally are water or mixture of water and polihydric aliphatic alcohols . for instance , a suitable dose unit form for extemporaneous parenteral use may be prepared by dissolving the content of a lyophylized vial consisting of 3 mg of the compound of example 3 or its hydrochloride , 50 mg of mannitol and 0 . 5 mg of disodium edetate in 10 ml of water for injection . in general , the antihypertensive effective amount of the novel compounds of this invention depend on several factors such as the particular compound administered , the body weight , the severity and the origin of the hypertensive disorders , the effects and the nature of other pharmacologically active substances which may be associated thereto in the treatment of the hypertension . in general , the treatment of hypertensive disorders with the new pyrrolyl - pyridazineamines of this invention may be started with low dosages which may be generally increased according to the individual response . the antihypertensive effective dosage in oral administration usually ranges from about 0 . 10 mg / kg to about 3 mg / kg , with the daily dosage of from about 0 . 25 mg / kg to about 2 mg / kg being preferred . in parenteral administration , the antihypertensive effective dosage generally ranges from about 0 . 01 mg / kg to about 1 . 5 mg / kg daily , the dosage range from about 0 . 03 mg / kg to about 1 mg / kg daily being preferred . it is however clear that a dose beyond the above indicated ranges may also be employed depending on the individual conditions of the subject to be treated . table i__________________________________________________________________________r r . sub . 1 r . sub . 2 r . sub . 3 r . sub . 4 r . sub . 5 r . sub . 6 r . sub . 7 r . sub . 8__________________________________________________________________________ch . sub . 3 h h ch . sub . 3 h -- c . sub . 2 h . sub . 5 -- c . sub . 2 h . sub . 5 h hch . sub . 3 h h ch . sub . 3 h -- ch . sub . 2 -- ch . sub . 2 -- choh -- ch . sub . 2 -- ch . sub . 2 -- h hch . sub . 3 h h ch . sub . 3 h -- ch . sub . 2 -- ch . sub . 2 -- nh -- ch . sub . 2 -- ch . sub . 2 h - hch . sub . 3 h h ch . sub . 3 h -- ch . sub . 2 -- ch . sub . 2 -- n ( ch . sub . 3 )-- ch . sub . 2 -- ch . sub . 2 -- h hch . sub . 3 h h ch . sub . 3 h -- ch . sub . 3 -- ch . sub . 2 -- choh -- ch . sub . 3 h hch . sub . 3 h h ch . sub . 3 h -- ch . sub . 2 -- ch . sub . 2 oh -- ch . sub . 2 -- ch . sub . 2 oh h hch . sub . 3 h h ch . sub . 3 h -- ch . sub . 2 -- ch . sub . 2 oh -- ch . sub . 2 -- choh -- ch . sub . 3 h hch . sub . 3 h h -- ch . sub . 3 h -- ch . sub . 2 -- ch โ ch . sub . 2 -- ch . sub . 2 -- ch โ ch . sub . 2 h hch . sub . 3 h h -- ch . sub . 3 -- ch . sub . 2 -- ch . sub . 2 -- -- ch . sub . 2 -- ch . sub . 2 -- o -- ch . sub . 2 -- ch . sub . 2 h - h -- n ( ch . sub . 3 ). sub . 2ch . sub . 3 h h ch . sub . 3 h -- ch . sub . 2 -- ch . sub . 2 -- ch . sub . 2 -- ch . sub . 2 h - hch . sub . 3 h h ch . sub . 3 h -- ch . sub . 2 -- ch . sub . 2 -- ch . sub . 2 -- ch . sub . 2 -- ch . sub . 2 -- h hch . sub . 3 h h ch . sub . 3 h -- ch . sub . 2 -- ch . sub . 2 -- o -- ch . sub . 2 -- ch . sub . 2 h - hch . sub . 3 h h ch . sub . 3 ch . sub . 3 -- ch . sub . 2 -- ch . sub . 2 -- o -- ch . sub . 2 -- ch . sub . 2 h - hch . sub . 3 h h ch . sub . 3 h -- ch . sub . 2 -- ch ( ch . sub . 3 )-- o -- ch ( ch . sub . 3 )-- ch . sub . 2 -- h hch . sub . 3 h h ch . sub . 3 h -- ch . sub . 2 -- choh -- ch . sub . 3 -- ch . sub . 2 -- choh -- ch . sub . 3 h hc . sub . 2 h . sub . 5 h h c . sub . 2 h . sub . 5 h -- ch . sub . 2 -- ch . sub . 2 -- o -- ch . sub . 2 -- ch . sub . 2 h - hch . sub . 3 h h ch . sub . 3 -- coch . sub . 3 -- ch . sub . 2 -- ch . sub . 2 -- o -- ch . sub . 2 -- ch . sub . 2 h - hch . sub . 3 h h ch . sub . 3 h -- ch . sub . 2 -- ch . sub . 2 -- o -- ch . sub . 2 -- ch . sub . 2 -- ch โ ch . sub . 2 -- ch โ ch . sub . 2 -- ch . sub . 3 h h ch . sub . 3 h -- ch . sub . 2 -- ch . sub . 2 -- och . sub . 3 -- ch . sub . 2 -- ch . sub . 2 och . sub . 3 h hch . sub . 3 h h ch . sub . 3 h -- ch . sub . 2 -- ch . sub . 2 -- oc . sub . 2 h . sub . 5 -- ch . sub . 2 -- ch . sub . 2 -- oc . sub . 2 h . sub . 5 h hch . sub . 3 h h ch . sub . 3 h -- ch . sub . 3 -- ch . sub . 2 -- ch . sub . 2 och . sub . 3 h hh h h h h -- ch . sub . 2 -- ch . sub . 2 -- o -- ch . sub . 2 -- ch . sub . 2 h - hch . sub . 3 ch . sub . 3 ch . sub . 3 ch . sub . 3 h -- ch . sub . 2 -- ch . sub . 2 -- och . sub . 2 -- ch . sub . 2 h - hch . sub . 3 h ch . sub . 3 h h -- ch . sub . 2 -- ch . sub . 2 -- o -- ch . sub . 2 -- ch . sub . 2 h - hch . sub . 3 h h ch . sub . 3 h -- ch . sub . 2 -- ch . sub . 2 -- s -- ch . sub . 2 -- ch . sub . 2 h - hch . sub . 3 h h ch . sub . 3 h -- ch . sub . 2 -- ch . sub . 2 ococh . sub . 3 -- ch . sub . 2 -- ch . sub . 2 ococh . sub . 3 h hch . sub . 3 h h ch . sub . 3 h -- ch . sub . 3 -- c . sub . 6 h . sub . 5 h hc . sub . 2 h . sub . 5 ch . sub . 3 ch . sub . 3 c . sub . 2 h . sub . 5 h -- ch . sub . 2 -- choh -- ch . sub . 3 -- ch . sub . 2 -- choh -- ch . sub . 3 h hch . sub . 3 h h ch . sub . 3 h -- ch . sub . 2 -- ch . sub . 2 -- n [( 2 -- och . sub . 3 ) c . sub . 6 h . sub . 4 ]-- ch . sub . 2 -- ch . sub . 2 -- h hch . sub . 3 h h ch . sub . 3 h -- ch . sub . 2 -- ch . sub . 2 -- n [( 4 -- cl ) c . sub . 6 h . sub . 4 ]-- ch . sub . 2 -- ch . sub . 2 -- h hch . sub . 3 h h ch . sub . 3 h -- ch . sub . 2 -- ch . sub . 2 -- n [( 3 -- ch . sub . 3 ) c . sub . 6 h . sub . 4 ]-- ch . sub . 2 -- ch . sub . 2 -- h hch . sub . 3 h h ch . sub . 3 h -- ch . sub . 3 -- ch . sub . 2 [( 3 , 4 -- och . sub . 3 ) c . sub . 6 h . sub . 3 ] h hch . sub . 3 h h ch . sub . 3 h ch . sub . 3 -- ch . sub . 2 -- ch . sub . 2 [( 3 , 4 -- och . sub . 3 ) c . sub . 6 h . sub . 3 ] h hch . sub . 3 h h ch . sub . 3 h ch . sub . 3 -- ch . sub . 2 --[( 3 , 4 , 5 -- och . sub . 3 ) c . sub . 6 h . sub . 2 ] h hch . sub . 3 h h ch . sub . 3 -- coc . sub . 2 h . sub . 5 -- ch . sub . 2 -- ch . sub . 2 -- o -- ch . sub . 2 -- ch . sub . 2 h - hch . sub . 3 h h c . sub . 2 h . sub . 5 h -- ch . sub . 2 -- ch . sub . 2 -- n [( 3 , 4 -- och . sub . 2 o ) c . sub . 6 h . sub . 3 ]-- ch . sub . 2 -- ch . sub . 2 -- h hch . sub . 3 h h ch . sub . 3 c . sub . 2 h . sub . 5 -- ch . sub . 2 -- ch . sub . 2 -- o -- ch . sub . 2 -- ch . sub . 2 -- ch โ ch -- ch โ ch -- ch . sub . 3 h h ch . sub . 3 h -- ch . sub . 2 -- ch . sub . 2 -- ch . sub . 2 -- ch . sub . 2 -- ch โ ch -- ch โ ch -- ch . sub . 3 h . sub . 3 h ch . sub . 3 h -- ch . sub . 2 -- ch . sub . 2 -- ch . sub . 2 -- ch . sub . 2 -- ch . sub . 2 -- -- ch โ ch -- ch โ ch -- ch . sub . 3 h h ch . sub . 3 h -- ch . sub . 2 -- ch . sub . 2 -- mh -- ch . sub . 3 -- ch . sub . 2 -- ch โ ch -- ch โ ch -- ch . sub . 3 h h ch . sub . 3 h -- ch . sub . 2 -- ch . sub . 2 -- nch . sub . 3 -- ch . sub . 2 -- ch . sub . 2 -- -- ch โ ch -- ch โ ch -- ch . sub . 3 h h ch . sub . 3 h -- ch . sub . 2 -- ch . sub . 2 -- n ( ch . sub . 2 -- c . sub . 6 h . sub . 5 )-- ch . sub . 2 -- ch . sub . 2 -- h hch . sub . 3 h h ch . sub . 3 h -- ch . sub . 2 -- ch . sub . 2 -- n [ ch . sub . 2 -- ch . sub . 2 ( 3 , 4 -- och . sub . 3 ) c . sub . 6 h . sub . 3 ] ch . sub . 2 -- ch . sub . 2 -- h hch . sub . 3 h h ch . sub . 3 cocf . sub . 3 -- ch . sub . 2 -- ch . sub . 2 -- o -- ch . sub . 2 -- ch . sub . 2 h - hch . sub . 3 h h ch . sub . 3 -- ch . sub . 2 -- ch . sub . 2 -- -- ch . sub . 2 -- ch . sub . 2 -- o -- ch . sub . 2 -- ch . sub . 2 h - h -- n ( c . sub . 2 h . sub . 5 ). sub . 2__________________________________________________________________________ | 2 |
referring to the drawings , wherein the reference characters designate like or corresponding parts throughout the views , fig1 shows the general configuration of a data processing system 2 comprising a service processor unit ( spu ) or console 4 , an array control unit ( acu ) or memory controller 6 and an array of memory modules 8 associated with the memory controller 6 . the memory module array 8 typically comprises four or eight modules , but the number of modules in the array 8 varies according to design considerations as known in the art . likewise , although only one of the memory controllers 6 is shown with one of the memory module arrays 8 , typically the processing system 2 will comprise a plurality of the memory controllers 6 , each memory controller 6 having an associated one of a plurality of the memory module arrays 8 . the number of memory controllers 6 and memory module arrays 8 is determined by design considerations as known in the art . according to the present invention , the processing system 2 has three modes that are implemented to preserve the processed data during scanning and power up / power down sequences that involve stopping , stepping or bursting the system clock . these modes comprise the standby , the step and the normal modes . the normal mode is used for all ordinary data processing operations that do not involve the interruption of the system clock to the memory controller 6 . in this mode , the memory array 8 must remain synchronized to the system clock , and the system clock cannot be interrupted if the dram &# 39 ; s in the memory array 8 are to be properly refreshed . the standby mode is used to protect the dram &# 39 ; s in the memory array 8 during any scanning operations . in this mode , the memory array 8 is made insensitive to the system clock , and the periodic refreshment of the dram &# 39 ; s is timed according to a separate clock on board the memory array 8 for this purpose . because this mode is insensitive to the master clock , and not in synchronization with the memory controller 6 , it is unresponsive to commands from the memory controller 6 and cannot be used to execute any operations that have been scanned in . the step mode allows the system clock to be stopped , single - stepped , or burst during ordinary data processing operations . in this mode , the memory controller 6 can perform normal operations one step at a time , or in a short sequence of steps , by controlling the system clock signal . while in the step mode , the memory array 8 uses its on board clock so that stopping , stepping or bursting of the system clock does not adversely affect the refresh cycle for the dram &# 39 ; s in the memory array 8 . in this way , the operations that are scanned in during the standby mode may be executed in the step mode one step at a time , or in a short sequence of steps . thus , for performing single step or short sequence scanning operations , the entire scanning process involves shuttling between the standby mode to scan in a normal operation or sequence of operations , transferring to the step mode to execute the operations , and transferring back to the standby mode to scan out the result . in the discussion of the preferred embodiment of the invention below , the mode switching order is described with specific constraints to insure data integrity in the dram &# 39 ; s used in the memory modules of the array 8 . although this order is preferred for the described implementation , the present invention can be adapted to another order of mode switching or mode switching with a different number of modes , according to design requirements . in the preferred embodiment there are four mode switching operations that are made to implement the present invention . these mode switching operations are standby to step , step to standby , step to normal and normal to step . from system power on to normal system operation the mode switching order is standby to step followed by step to normal . from normal system operation to standby , such as required for battery backup during power loss or during scanning , the mode switching order is normal to step followed by step to standby . from normal system operation to an operation that allows the system clocks to stop the mode switching order is normal to step . the mode switching order from an operation that allows system clocks to stop to normal system operation is step to normal . the memory unit 8 receives dram control signals for execution of its dram &# 39 ; s operations from the memory controller 6 via a line 21 . for proper execution of these operations when the memory array 8 is in the normal mode , the memory controller 6 must be synchronized to the system clock . as part of the present invention , the dram control signals are still received by the memory unit 8 from the memory controller 6 , but in the step mode the memory array 8 stores these dram control signals and then executes them with its own clock . to implement this operation , the operation of the memory array 8 is altered under control of the special handshake signals according to the present invention . the first of these handshake signals is a step mode enable signal that is transmitted from the memory controller 6 to the memory array 8 on a line 16 . the step mode enable signal is asserted to indicate to the memory array 8 that the memory controller 6 wants the memory array 8 to go into the step mode . the second of these handshake signals is a step mode request signal that is transmitted from the console 4 to the memory controller 6 on a line 14 . this signal is asserted to communicate to the memory controller 6 that it should enable the memory array 8 to switch into the step mode . the third of these handshake signals is a step mode acknowledgment signal that is transmitted from the memory unit 8 to the console 4 on a line 20 . this signal is asserted to communicate to the console 4 that the memory array 8 has switched over to the step mode . the fourth of these handshake signals is a step mode busy signal that is transmitted from the memory array 8 to the memory controller 6 on a line 18 . this signal is asserted to communicate to the memory controller 6 that the memory array 8 either cannot accept commands in the step mode or is busy performing a previously accepted command . this signal is also asserted when the memory array 8 is in transition to the step mode , when it is in the standby mode and also when it is in transition to the normal mode . the fifth of these handshake signals is a standby mode enable signal that is transmitted from the console 4 to the memory array 8 on a line 10 . this signal is asserted to communicate to the memory array 8 that the memory array 8 should switch to the standby mode . the standby control enable signal serves to isolate the dram &# 39 ; s from the dram control signals from the memory controller 6 while the memory array 8 is in the standby mode . in this way , data can be scanned into and out of the memory controller 6 without affecting the states of the dram &# 39 ; s in the memory array 8 . during standby mode the dram &# 39 ; s in the memory array 8 are periodically refreshed using the clock in the memory unit 8 . the sixth of these handshake signals is a system initialization signal that is transmitted from the console 4 to the memory unit 8 on a line 12 . this signal is asserted while the memory array 8 is in the standby mode , and is used to initialize the step mode dram controller in preparation for transitions from the standby mode the step mode when desired . the step mode acknowledgment signal is deasserted by the memory array 8 to communicate to the console 4 that the memory array 8 is or is not in the standby mode , respectively . and the step mode busy signal is asserted by the memory array 8 to communicate to the memory controller 6 that the memory array 8 cannot accept commands in the step mode , even though the step control enable signal has been asserted by the memory controller 6 . a functional block diagram of the mode switching circuitry for a four memory module implementation of the memory module array 8 is shown in fig4 . the mode switching circuitry is divided into a miscellaneous logic ( misc ) section 110 and a dram control array ( dca ) section 112 for each of the four memory modules ( not shown ) in the array 8 . each of the dca &# 39 ; s 112 receives dram control signals for the dram &# 39 ; s that it controls from the memory controller 6 . in normal operation , each of the dca &# 39 ; s 112 process the dram control signals for their corresponding dram &# 39 ; s . the dca &# 39 ; s 112 also control the refresh cycles of their respective dram &# 39 ; s while in the step mode using their own clocks that run asynchronously with the system clock . also in the step mode , each of the dca &# 39 ; s 112 store the dram control signals and apply these signals to the respective dram &# 39 ; s again using its own clock for proper dram cycle timing . in the standby mode , the dca &# 39 ; s 112 are non - responsive to the dram control signals from the memory controller 6 . in this mode , the dca &# 39 ; s 112 are completely inactivated and the control of refresh cycles for the dram &# 39 ; s are transferred to each one of the corresponding misc &# 39 ; s 110 . the misc &# 39 ; s 110 control the refresh cycles of their respective dram &# 39 ; s utilizing their own respective on - board clocks . each of the misc &# 39 ; s 110 comprise a standby to dca synchronizer circuit 124 that has an input for the standby mode enable signal on the line 120 . the standby to dca synchronizer circuit 124 senses the level of the standby mode enable signal and transmits a sync standby mode enable signal of similar level on an output line 134 that is synchronized with the respective on - board clock . it should be noted that if the cda 112 and the misc 110 use different on - board clocks , than another level of synchronization is needed at the input of the dca 112 . the synchronizer circuit 124 also has a complementary sync standby mode enable signal on an output line 136 . a simple implementation of the synchronizer circuit 124 is shown in fig5 . it comprises a first d - type flip - flop 148 and a second d - type flip - flop 150 . the d input of the first flip - flop 148 receives the standby mode enable signal on the line 120 . the non - inverted q output of the first flip - flop 148 is fed to the d input of the second flip - flop 150 on a line 151 . the sync standby mode enable signal is fed from the non - inverted q output of the second flip - flop 150 on the line 134 . the complementary sync standby mode enable signal is fed from the inverted q output of the second flip - flop 150 on the line 136 . the clock inputs of the first flip - flop 148 and the second flip - flop 150 receive an on - board clock signal on a line 147 . the set inputs of the first flip - flop 148 and the second flip - flop 150 receive a battery back - up acknowledgment signal on a line 149 that , when deasserted , that is , in the low state , forces the synchronizer 124 to generate an asserted sync standby mode enable signal . when the battery back - up acknowledgment signal on the line 149 becomes asserted , the forced set on the flip - flops 148 and 150 is removed and the synchronizer circuit 124 is allowed to operate normally . this in effect initializes the synchronizer 124 to generate sync standby mode enable signals as the data processing system 2 is powering up . each of the misc &# 39 ; s 110 also comprises a standby busy logic circuit 126 that has an input for the complementary sync standby mode enable signal on the line 136 and an input for a dca standby mode enable signal on a line 140 . the standby busy logic circuit 126 senses the levels of the complementary sync standby mode enable signal on the line 136 and the dca standby mode enable signal on the line 140 and generates a standby mode busy signal on an output line 138 . the level of the standby mode busy signal on the line 138 indicates to the dca 112 that the corresponding memory module in the memory array 8 is either not ready to enter the step mode because the standby mode dram controller is busy refreshing the dram &# 39 ; s or it is ready to enter step mode . a simple implementation of the standby busy logic circuit 126 is shown in fig6 . a standby sequencer state machine 152 senses the levels of the complementary sync standby mode enable signal on the line 136 , the dca standby mode enable signal on the line 140 , the battery back - up acknowledgment signal on the line 149 , a start standby mode signal on a line 153 and a dram refresh request acknowledgment signal on a line 155 . the state machine 152 asserts a clear refresh signal on an output line 157 . the clear refresh signal is asserted to indicate that a refresh cycle is completed . the state machine 152 also asserts a standby select signal on a line 161 to indicate that the standby circuitry is busy . note that the asserted level of this signal is low . the standby busy logic circuit 126 also comprises a d - type flip - flop 154 and a first and gate 156 . a logic high signal is fed to the d input of the flip - flop 154 whenever the battery back up acknowledgment signals on the line 149 is asserted level high . the clear refresh signal on the line 157 is fed to the reset input of the flip - flop 154 to reset the flip - flop 154 whenever the clear refresh signal is asserted . the output of the first and gate 156 is fed to the clock input of the flip - flop 154 on a line 159 . one input of the first and gate 156 receives the complementary sync standby mode enable signal on the line 136 and the other input of the first and gate 156 receives the dca standby mode enable signal on the line 140 . the output of the first and gate 156 is thereby asserted whenever the complementary sync standby mode enable signal and the dca standby mode enable signal are both asserted . the standby busy logic circuit 126 also comprises a second and gate 158 . one input of the second and gate 158 receives the standby select signal on the line 161 . the other input of the second and gate 158 receives the start standby signal on the line 153 . the output of the second and gate 158 is the standby mode busy signal on the line 138 . in the preferred embodiment described above , the data processing system 2 powers up such that the battery back - up acknowledgment signal on the line 149 becomes asserted high first . this makes the d input of the flip - flop 154 high . in time , the next thing that occurs is that the complimentary sync standby mode enable signal becomes asserted high . this is followed by the high level assertion of the dca standby mode enable signal on the line 140 . when this occurs , the output of the and gate 156 on the line 159 transitions from low to high . this edge , when applied to the edge sensitive clock input of the flip - flop 154 , causes the flip - flop 154 to become set due to the high state of the d input . note that the clear refresh signal on line 157 to the flip - flop 154 is deasserted because a refresh has not yet occurred . the action of setting the flip - flop 154 causes the start standby signal on the line 153 to be asserted low . this in turn causes the output of the and gate 158 to go low and therefore the standby mode busy signal on the line 138 becomes low , which is its asserted state . the assertion of the standby mode busy signal completes the handshake loop between the standby busy logic circuit 126 and the dca 112 . by that , it is meant that now both of these circuits acknowledge the standby mode . the assertion of the start standby signal on the line 153 is also felt by the state machine 152 . when the state machine 152 receives the dram refresh request acknowledgment signal on the line 155 it starts its first dram refresh cycle . upon entering into the dram cycle , the standby select signal on the line 161 becomes asserted low . note that the application of the asserted low standby select signal to the input of the and gate 158 does not change its output because the output is already low due to the low assertion of the start standby signal on the line 153 on the other input . when the dram refresh cycle is completed , the state machine 152 asserts the clear refresh signal on the line 157 . the low assertion on the clear input of the flip - flop 154 causes the outputs of the flip - flop 154 to toggle and thus the start standby signal on the line 153 to become deasserted high . note that the disassertion of the start standby signal does not cause the output of the and gate 158 to change from its low level because the other input , the standby select signal on the line 161 , is keeping its output low . therefore , the standby mode busy signal on the line 138 remains asserted low . in time , the data processing system 2 will transition from the standby mode to the step mode . at that time , the complementary sync standby mode enable signal on the line 136 will become deasserted , followed some amount time later by the deassertion of the dca standby mode enable signal on the line 140 . when this occurs , and immediately following the next dram refresh cycle , the state machine 152 deasserts the standby select signal on the line 161 . this , in turn , causes the output of the and gate 158 to become high and consequently the deassertion of the standby mode busy signal on the line 138 . at this time , the handshake loop is complete between the dca 112 and the standby busy logic circuit 126 , whereby both acknowledge step mode . at some time , the data processing system 2 will decide to transition from step mode to standby mode . the initial sequence of events as discussed above will happen again , in that the two input signals on the and gate 156 will become high asserted , thus causing the setting of the flip - flop 154 . each of the misc &# 39 ; s 110 also comprise a step control ok logic circuit 128 that has an input for a step mode control ok signal and an input for a dca step control acknowledgment signal on a line 142 . one of the misc &# 39 ; s 110 receives its step mode control ok signal input from its corresponding dca step control acknowledgment signal on the line 142 . the other misc &# 39 ; s 110 receive their stepmode control ok signal input on a line 144 that is not from a corresponding dca step control acknowledgment signal on the line 142 , but from another misc 110 , for reasons described below . the circuits 128 for each of the misc &# 39 ; s 110 are connected together in a &# 34 ; daisy chain &# 34 ; configuration . the reason for doing this is to insure that the step mode acknowledgment signal on the line 122 is neither asserted nor deasserted until all of the memory modules of the memory array 8 are in agreement as to the proper output level . it can be seen in fig4 that the daisy chain starts with the misc 110 on the left and ends with the misc 110 on the right . at the start of the daisy chain , since the misc 110 has no previously misc 110 to get input from , it observes only its own situation when determining what its output to the next misc 110 in the daisy chain should be . it does this by using the level of the dca step control acknowledgment signal on the line 142 as its only criterion for determining the level of its output signal , the step mode control ok signal on the line 144 . the misc &# 39 ; s 110 between the start and the end of the daisy chain determine the level of their step mode control ok signal on the line 144 by examining their corresponding dca step control acknowledgment signal on the line 142 and the step mode control ok signal on the line 144 from the preceding misc 110 in the daisy chain . the last misc 110 in the daisy chain examines signals similar to the previous stages , but unlike the others , its output becomes the step mode acknowledgment signal on the line 122 that goes back to the console 4 . in summary , the step mode acknowledgment signal on the line 122 to the console 4 is not asserted until all of the modules of the memory array 8 are in step mode and is not deasserted until all of the modules of the memory array 8 are out of the step mode . a simple implementation of the step control ok logic circuit 128 is shown in fig7 . the dca step mode acknowledgment signal on the one of the lines 142 from the corresponding dca 112 is fed to a first input of a first and gate 160 and a first inverted input of a second and gate 162 . the step mode control ok signal on the one of the lines 144 , from the previous one of the circuits 128 in the daisy chain , or from the dca step mode acknowledgment signal , depending on its position in the daisy chain , is fed to a second input of the first and gate 160 and a second inverted input of the second and gate 162 . the first circuit 128 in the daisy chain has the dca step mode acknowledgment signal on the one of the lines 142 for the corresponding dca 112 fed to both inputs of the first and gate 160 and both inverted inputs of the second and gate 162 . the output of the first and gate 160 is fed to the s ( set ) input of a r - s ( reset - set ) type flip - flop 164 on an output line 166 . the output of the second and gate 162 is fed to the r ( reset ) input of the r - s flip - flop 164 on a line 168 . the on - board clock signal for the memory module corresponding to the circuit 128 is fed to the clock input of the r - s flip - flop 164 on a line 170 . the q ( non - inverted ) output of the r - s flip - flop 164 is the step mode control ok signal on the line 144 or the step mode acknowledgment signal on the line 122 , depending on its position in the daisy chain . consequently , when the dca step mode acknowledgment signal fed to the first circuit 128 in the daisy chain is asserted high on the lines 142 and 144 from its associated one of the dca &# 39 ; s 112 , the first and gate 160 asserts its output on the line 166 to set the r - s flip - flop 164 on the next pulse from the memory module clock . this causes the step mode control ok signal from the q output of the r - s flip - flop 164 to be asserted on the line 144 that is coupled to the next circuit 128 in the daisy chain . however , if the dca step mode acknowledgment signal to the first circuit 128 is deasserted , the second and gate 162 asserts its output on the line 168 to reset the r - s flip - flop 164 on the next memory module clock pulse . this deasserts the step mode control ok signal from the q output of the r - s flip - flop 164 on the line 144 that is coupled to the next circuit 128 in the daisy chain . since the same signals appear on the inputs of both the first and gate 160 and the second and gate 162 the potential for a race condition to the flip - flop 164 exists . this condition can be alleviated by insuring that the input signals are allowed to change only at times between when the clock pulses reach the flip - flop 164 utilizing methods well known in the art . in a similar fashion , each one of the rest of the circuits 128 that are in the daisy chain assert the q output of their respective r - s flip - flop 164 when both the dca step mode acknowledgment signal on the line 142 from its respective one of the dca &# 39 ; s 112 and the step mode control ok signal on the one of the lines 144 from the preceding circuit 128 in the daisy chain are both asserted . likewise , each one of the rest of the circuits 128 that are in the daisy chain deassert the q output of their respective r - s flip - flop 164 when both the dca step mode acknowledgment signal on the line 142 from its respective one of the dca &# 39 ; s 112 and the step mode control ok signal on the one of the lines 144 from the preceding circuit 128 in the daisy chain are both deasserted . the output of the r - s flip - flop 164 for the last circuit 128 in the daisy chain is the step mode acknowledgment signal on the line 122 . it is asserted only when the dca step mode acknowledgment signal from the one of the dca &# 39 ; s 112 corresponding to each one of the circuits 128 is asserted and the step mode control ok signal from each preceding one of the circuits 128 in the daisy chain is asserted . likewise , the output of the r - s flip - flop 164 for the last circuit 128 in the daisy chain , the step mode acknowledgment signal on the line 122 , is deasserted only when the dca step mode acknowledgment signal from the one of the dca &# 39 ; s 112 corresponding to each one of the circuits 128 is deasserted and the step mode control ok signal from each preceding one of the circuits 128 in the daisy chain is deasserted . each of the step control busy logic circuits 130 for each of the dca &# 39 ; s 112 has four inputs , as shown in fig4 . a first input receives the system initialization signal on one of the lines 114 . a second input receives the step mode enable signal on the line 116 . a third input receives the sync standby mode enable signal on one of the lines 134 . a fourth input receives the standby mode busy signal on one of the lines 138 . each of the circuits 130 has two output signals . the first output signal is the dca standby mode enable signal on one of the lines 140 that is received by an associated one of the circuits 126 as described above . the second output signal is the dca step mode acknowledgment signal on one of the lines 142 that is received by the circuit 128 as described above . each of the step cycle busy logic circuits 132 has two inputs . one of the inputs receives the step mode enable signal on the line 116 . the other input receives the standby mode busy signal on the line 138 from an associated one of the circuits 126 as described above . each of the circuits 132 has an output providing the step mode busy signal on the line 118 . to initiate the step mode from the normal mode , the step mode enable signal on the line 116 is asserted by the memory controller 6 . each of the dca &# 39 ; s 112 starts its associated dram controller ( not shown ) in preparation for entering the step mode . as stated above , and described in detail below , the step cycle busy logic circuit 132 of each dca 112 asserts it associated step mode bus signal on the line 118 which informs the memory controller 6 that the particular memory module of the memory array 8 is not yet able to accept step mode operations . the memory array 8 has switched to the step mode when the step mode acknowledgment signal on the line 122 is asserted as described above . the array 8 switches to the step mode as the step mode acknowledgment signal on the line 122 is asserted . as explained above , the standby mode is initiated as a part of the power up / down and scanning operations . after power up , the standby mode can be entered only after the memory array 8 has switched into the step mode . when the memory array 8 is in the step mode , the console 4 requests the standby mode by asserting the standby mode enable signal on the line 120 . the circuit 124 of each of the misc &# 39 ; s 110 then asserts the sync standby mode enable signal on one of the lines 134 and sends it to the associated one of the dca &# 39 ; s 112 . the circuit 130 of the dca &# 39 ; s 112 then asserts the dca standby enable signal on one of the lines 140 . the assertion of these two signals causes the circuit 126 in each of the misc &# 39 ; s 110 to assert the standby mode busy signal on one of the lines 138 and put the memory array 8 ready to go into the standby mode . the memory array 8 switches to the standby mode only after any dram cycle in progress is completed . the dca step mode acknowledgment signal on one of the lines 142 is then deasserted by the step control busy circuit 130 in each of the dca &# 39 ; s 112 and the step mode busy signal on the line 118 is asserted by the step cycle busy circuit 132 in each of the dca &# 39 ; s 112 to switch the memory array 8 to the standby mode . during scan operation or during system power loss the memory module array 8 is put into standby mode . standby operation keeps refreshes going to the dram &# 39 ; s to insure that the contents of the memory module array 8 are not compromised . when power is restored the memory array 8 remains in standby mode until after the initialization by the console 4 . in order for the memory array 8 to switch to the step mode from the standby mode , the memory controller 6 keeps the step mode enable signal on the line 116 asserted and the console 4 deasserts the standby mode enable signal on the line 120 . the circuit 124 in each of the misc &# 39 ; s 110 then deassert the sync standby mode enable signal on one of the lines 134 . the circuit 130 in each of the dca &# 39 ; s 112 then deasserts the signal dca standby mode enable signal on one of the lines 140 to request the end of the standby operation . as soon as the standby mode dram control has completed with the current refresh cycle , the standby mode busy signal is deasserted by the circuit 126 in each of the misc &# 39 ; s 110 to indicate that the array 8 is ready to switch to the step mode . the circuit 130 in each of the dca &# 39 ; s 112 then asserts the dca step mode acknowledgment signal . the step mode acknowledgment signal is asserted on the line 122 to indicate that the memory array 8 has switched to the step mode when the inputs of the circuit 128 for each of the misc &# 39 ; s 110 receive asserted signals . in order to switch the memory array 8 from the step mode to the normal mode , the memory controller 6 deasserts the step mode enable signal on the line 116 . the dca &# 39 ; s 112 of the memory array 8 will then exit the step mode only after any memory cycle in progress is completed . otherwise , they will continue to assert the step mode busy signal on the line 118 . after the current memory cycle is completed , the step mode busy signal on the line 118 is deasserted by the dca &# 39 ; s 112 . the dca &# 39 ; s 112 also deassert the dca step mode acknowledgment signal and the misc &# 39 ; s 110 deassert the step mode acknowledgment signal on the line 122 as the memory array 8 switches to the normal mode . a simple implementation of the step control ok and step control busy logic circuit 130 is shown in fig8 . the sync standby mode enable signal from the associated one of the misc &# 39 ; s 110 is fed to the d ( data ) input of a first d - type flip - flop 176 on the line 134 . the first d - type flip - flop receives the system initialization signal on its inverted set input from the line 114 , a logic zero via a line 178 on its reset input and the clock signal for the corresponding memory module on the on - board clock input via a line 180 . the inverted output of the first d - type flip - flop 176 is fed to the reset input of a second d - type flip - flop 18 via a line 184 . a logic one is fed to the d input of the second d - type flip - flop 186 via a line 182 . a step mode switching sequencer state machine 188 provides a sequencer standby enable signal for the clock input of the second d - type flip - flop 186 via a line 190 . the sync standby mode enable signal on the line 187 is fed to an inverter 185 . the output of the inverter 185 is fed to the first inverted input of an and gate 192 via a line 187 . the system initialization enable signal on the line 114 is fed to the second inverted input of the and gate 192 . the output of the and gate 192 is fed to the set input of the second d - type flip - flop 186 via a line 194 . the non - inverted output of the second d - type flip - flop 186 is the dca standby mode enable signal on the line 140 . the inverted output of the second d - type flip - flop 186 is the dca step mode acknowledgment signal on the line 142 . shortly after the data processing system 2 is powered on , the sync standby mode enable signal becomes asserted high . this has two effects on the circuit 130 . first , when the on - board clock strobes the flip - flop 176 , the line 184 on the inverted output of the flip - flop 176 becomes low , thereby not holding the flip - flop 186 reset . secondly , an inverted version of this signal supplied by the inverter 185 via the line 187 is placed on the first inverted input of the and gate 192 . at some later time , when the console 4 asserts the system initialization signal on the line 114 , that is low asserted , the output of the and gate 192 transitions from low to high which causes the flip - flop 186 to become set and therefore the dca standby mode enable signal on the line 140 becomes asserted and the dca step mode acknowledgment signal on the line 142 becomes deasserted . a short time later , the console 4 will deassert the system initialization signal on the line 114 which in turn removes those on the flip - flop 186 . when the console 4 decides to switch from the step mode to the standby mode , it deasserts indirectly via the misc 110 circuitry , the sync standby mode enables signal line 134 . at the occurrence of the next on - board clock , the flip - flop 176 toggles and the inverted output line 184 becomes high thereby resulting the flip - flop 186 . this causes the dca standby mode enable signal on the line 140 to become deasserted and the dca step mode acknowledgment signal on the line 142 to become asserted . this completes the handshake loop between the respective misc 110 and the dca 112 to acknowledge the step mode . when the console 4 decides to transition from the step mode to the standby mode , it indirectly asserts the sync standby mode enable signal on the line 134 via the respective misc 110 through its synchronization circuit 124 . when the next on - board clock signal occurs , the flip - flop 176 toggles again and the inverted output on the line 184 becomes low and removes the reset from the flip - flop 186 . when all step mode operations to the dram &# 39 ; s have been completed , the step mode switching sequencer state machine 188 asserts the sequencer standby enable signal to the clock input of the flip - flop 186 via the line 190 . this causes the flip - flop 186 to be set due to the logic high present on the d input via the line 182 . in turn , this causes the dca standby mode enable signal on the line 140 to be asserted and the dca step mode acknowledgment signal on the line 142 to be deasserted . this completes the handshake loop between the respective misc 110 and the dca 112 acknowledging the standby mode . a simple implementation of the step cycle busy logic circuit 132 is shown in fig9 . the step mode switching sequencer state machine 188 supplies a clear step mode command signal to the clear input of a step mode command buffer 194 via a line 192 . the output of the step mode command buffer 194 is fed to the first input of an and gate 196 via a line 198 . the dca step mode acknowledgment signal on the line 142 from the respective one of the dca &# 39 ; s 112 is fed to the second input of the and gate 196 . the dca step mode acknowledgment signal on the line 142 is also fed to a first inverted input of an or gate 200 . the output of the step mode command buffer 194 on the line 198 is also fed to a second input of the or gate 200 . the output of the or gate 200 is fed to the hold input of the step mode command buffer 194 . the output of the and gate 196 is fed to a first input of a four input or gate 202 via a line 204 . the sync standby mode enable signal on the line 134 from the respective one of the misc &# 39 ; s 110 is fed to a second input of the four input or gate 202 . the dca standby mode enable signal on the line 140 from the respective circuit 130 is fed to a third input of the four input or gate 202 . a sequencer step to normal mode switch signal from the step mode switching sequencer state machine 188 on a line 206 is fed to a fourth input of the four input or gate 202 . the output of the four input or gate 202 is the step mode busy signal on the line 118 for the respective dca 112 . as noted above , there are a number of instances that cause the step mode busy signal on the line 118 to become asserted . this happens whenever the respective module of the memory array 8 is in the standby mode . this can be seen in fig9 by observing that asserted high levels of either the dca standby mode enable signal on the line 140 or the sync standby mode enable signal on the line 134 cause the output of the four input or gate 202 to become high , which is the step mode busy signal on the line 118 . another way that the step mode busy signal can become asserted is when a memory module in the memory array 8 is transitioning from the step mode to the normal mode or from the normal mode to the step mode . referring again to fig9 the output on the line 206 of the step mode switching sequencer state machine 188 is asserted whenever these two cases arise . the high assertion of the signal on the line 206 again causes the output of the four input or gate 202 to become high , and subsequently the step mode busy signal on the line 118 . the other instance when the step mode busy signal is asserted is when either the step mode dram controller is busy doing a step mode operation or is unable to accept a step mode operation command from the memory controller 6 . again referring to fig9 the step mode sequencer state machine 188 causes the assertion of the clear step mode command signal to occur just prior to acknowledging the transition from the standby mode to the step mode . this action clears the step mode command buffer 194 , which allows it to receive step mode operation commands from the memory controller 6 . when a step mode operation command is received , the step mode command buffer 194 high asserts the signal on the line 198 . this signal is applied to one input of the or gate 200 whose output also becomes high and holds the contents of the step mode command buffer 194 , thereby disallowing no other commands to be accepted . the assertion of the signal 198 is also applied to one input of the and gate 196 . the other input of the and gate 196 is the dca step mode acknowledgment signal that was asserted high prior to the assertion of step mode acknowledgment signal that signals to the console 4 that the memory array 8 is in the step mode as described above . therefore , this input to the and gate 196 becomes asserted prior to any step mode operation command being sent to the module . it should also be noticed that when the dca step mode acknowledgment signal is low , or deasserted , the inverted input of the or gate 200 causes the output to become high , thereby holding the contents of the command buffer 194 . therefore , whenever the respective module is not in the step mode , the step mode command buffer 194 is closed to the memory controller 6 . because the inputs of the and gate 196 are both high , the output in the line 204 becomes high , causing the output of the four input or gate 202 to also become high , and subsequently the step mode busy signal on the line 118 . fig2 is a timing diagram representing the signal levels of the six special handshake signals described above between the console 4 , the memory controller 6 and the memory module array 8 of the processing system 2 shown in fig1 during a complete cycle of the processing system states between the normal , step and standby modes that includes the power down / power up sequence , shown starting in the normal mode . these handshake signals are necessary to provide proper sequencing between the console 4 , the memory controller 6 and the memory array 8 , because they may all be running from different clocks . also shown are the ac and dc power signal levels , the associated system clock states and memory module array modes during the power down / power up sequence . line 22 represents the signal level of an ac power signal for the processing system 2 . it deasserts from a high level representing a power on condition to a low level representing a power down condition at a first time t 1 during the normal mode represented by a transition point 24 . line 25 represents the signal level of the system initialization signal transmitted from the console 4 to the memory module array 8 . it remains deasserted in the normal mode . line 26 represents the signal level of the step mode request signal transmitted from the console 4 to the memory controller 6 . the console 4 asserts this signal in response to the deassertion of the ac power signal at the time t 1 to order the memory controller 6 to enable the memory module array 8 to switch to the step mode after it finishes the dram cycle , if one is in progress . the assertion of this signal occurs at a second time t 2 represented by a transition point 28 after the first time t 1 . line 30 represents the signal level of the step mode enable signal transmitted from the memory controller 6 to the memory module array 8 . the memory controller 6 asserts this signal in response to the assertion of the step mode request signal occurring at the time t 2 to enable the memory module array 8 to switch to the step mode after the memory controller 6 completes any dram cycle , if one is in progress . the assertion of this signal occurs at a third time t 3 represented by a transition point 32 after the time t 2 . line 34 represents the signal level of the step mode busy signal transmitted from the memory module array 8 to the memory controller 6 . the array 8 asserts this signal in response to the assertion of the step mode enable signal occurring at the third time t 3 to indicate to the memory controller that it is switching to the step mode and cannot yet receive step mode commands . the assertion of this signal occurs at a fourth time t 4 represented by a transition point 36 after the time t 3 . line 38 represents the signal level of the step mode acknowledgment signal transmitted from the memory module array 8 to the console 4 . the array 8 asserts this signal after the entire memory module array 8 is in the step mode . the assertion of this signal occurs at a fifth time t 5 represented by a transition point 40 after the time t 4 . after the time t 5 the system 2 is in the step mode and the system clocks are free to be stopped , single stepped or programmed burst as desired . the step mode busy signal on the line 34 is deasserted by the memory module array 8 after the array 8 is free to accept step mode commands . this occurs at a sixth time t 6 represented by the transition point 42 after the time t 5 . line 44 represents the signal level of the standby mode enable signal transmitted from the console 4 to the memory module array 8 . this signal is asserted at a seventh time t 7 represented by a transition point 46 after the time t 6 to prepare the memory module array 8 to switch to the standby mode . the memory module array 8 then deasserts the step mode acknowledgment signal on the line 38 to advise the console 4 that the array 8 has completed the switch to the standby mode . this occurs at an eighth time t 8 represented by a transition point 48 after the time t 7 . also at the time t 8 , the memory module array 8 asserts the step mode busy signal , as represented by a transition point 49 on the line 34 , to inform the memory controller 6 that the array 8 can no longer accept step mode commands . line 50 represents the signal level of a dc power signal for the processing system 2 . it shifts from a high level representing power on to a low level representing power off . after the memory module array 8 has engaged the standby mode , the array 8 is immune to power loss because the battery backup is then available . therefore , the dc power is maintained until after the time t 8 to allow the array 8 to engage the standby mode . thus , system dc power is only removed at a ninth time t 9 , represented by a transition point 52 after the time t 8 when the memory 8 has switched to the standby mode . after the time t 9 , only battery back - up power is available . battery back up power is only suitable for keeping the dram &# 39 ; s refreshed in the standby mode until the system dc power is restored . while the dc power level signal is low , the signal levels of the system initialization signal on the line 25 , the step mode request signal on the line 26 , the step mode enable signal on the line 30 , the step mode acknowledgment signal on the line 38 and the step mode busy signal on the line 34 are all undefined in level . however , the standby mode enable signal on the line 44 remains asserted to let the console 4 directly keep the memory module array 8 in the standby mode . when the system power is restored , the ac power level signal shifts to the high level from the low level at a tenth time t 10 represented by a transition point 54 after the time t 9 restoration of the system power allows the dc power in the system 2 to be restored . restoration of the dc power is indicated by the shift of the dc power level signal back to the high level at an eleventh time t 11 represented by a transition point 56 after the time t 10 . after the dc power level is brought up at the time t 11 , the console 4 deasserts the system initialization signal on the line 25 and asserts the step request signal on the line 26 . the standby mode enable signal remains asserted . the console 4 then asserts the system initialization signal for a short pulse period starting at a twelfth time t 12 represented by a transition point 58 after the time t 11 . after the assertion of the system initialization signal on the line 25 at the time t 12 , the memory module array 8 deasserts the step mode acknowledgment signal on the line 38 at a thirteenth time t 13 represented by a transition point 60 if it is not already deasserted . the array 8 also asserts the step mode busy signal , as represented by a transition point 61 on the line 34 , at the time t 13 if it is not already asserted to indicate that the array 8 cannot accept step mode commands . the standby mode enable signal must remain asserted to maintain the system in the standby mode . to transfer to the step mode from the standby mode , the memory controller 6 must assert the step mode enable signal before the console 4 deasserts the standby mode enable signal . this is necessary to prevent the memory unit 8 from going directly into the normal mode from the standby mode , which could result in loss of data and damage to the dram &# 39 ; s under certain circumstances . the assertion of the step mode enable signal on the line 30 is shown to occur at or before a fourteenth time t 14 represented by a point 62 after the time t 13 . the assertion of the step mode enable signal is in response to a scanning operation by the console 4 into the memory controller 6 between the time t 11 and the time t 14 . the console 4 then deasserts the standby mode enable signal on the line 44 at a fifteenth time t 15 represented by a transition point 64 after the time t 14 to allow the memory modules of the array 8 to enter the step mode . the array 8 then enters the step mode and informs the console 4 of this by asserting the step mode acknowledgment signal on the line 38 at a sixteenth time t 16 represented by a transition point 66 . also at the time t 16 , the array 8 deasserts the step mode busy signal , represented by the transition point 67 , to tell the memory controller 6 that the memory array 8 is ready to receive step mode commands . the console 4 then deasserts the step mode request signal on the line 26 at a seventeenth time t 17 represented by the transition point 68 to inform the memory controller 6 to prepare for the normal mode . the memory controller 6 deasserts the step mode enable signal on the line 30 at an eighteenth time t 18 represented by a transition point 70 after the time t 17 to inform the memory module array 8 to exit the step mode . the memory module array 8 asserts the step mode busy signal on the line 34 at a nineteenth time t 19 represented by a transition point 72 after the time t 18 to inform the memory controller 6 that the array 8 can no longer accept step mode commands . the array 8 deasserts the step mode acknowledgment signal on the line 38 at a twentieth time t 20 represented by a transition point 73 after the time t 19 to inform the console 4 that the array 8 is now in the normal mode . the array 8 then deasserts the step mode busy signal on the line 34 at a twenty first time t 21 represented by a transition point 74 after the time t 20 to inform the memory controller 6 that the array 8 is ready to accept normal mode dram operations . fig3 is a timing diagram representing the signal levels of five of the special handshake signals described above between the console 4 , the memory controller 6 and the memory module array 8 of the processing system 2 shown in fig1 during a complete cycle of the processing system states between the normal , step and standby modes that includes the scanning operation , shown starting in the normal mode . also shown are the associated system clock states and memory module array modes during the scanning operation . line 76 represents the signal level of the step mode request signal transmitted from the console 4 to the memory controller 6 . the console 4 asserts this signal at a first time t 1 represented by a transition point 78 to order the memory controller 6 to enable the memory module array 8 to switch to the step mode after the memory controller 6 finishes any dram cycle , if any is in progress . line 80 represents the signal level of the step mode enable signal transmitted from the memory controller 6 to the memory module array 8 . the memory controller 6 asserts this signal in response to the assertion of the step mode request signal occurring at the time t 1 . the assertion of this signal occurs at a second time t 2 represented by a transition point 82 after the first time t 1 . line 84 represents the signal level of the step mode acknowledgment signal transmitted from the memory module array 8 to the console 4 . the array 8 asserts this signal in response to the assertion of the step mode enable signal occurring at the second time t 2 . the assertion of this signal occurs when all of its modules have switched to the step mode at a third time t 3 represented by a transition point 86 after the time t 2 . line 88 represents the signal level of the step mode busy signal transmitted from the memory module array 8 to the memory controller 6 . the array 8 asserts this signal in response to the assertion of the step mode enable signal on the line 80 occurring at the second time t 2 to indicate to the memory controller that it cannot receive the step mode commands . the assertion of this signal occurs at the time t 3 , as represented by the transition point 89 , and continues until the module of the array 8 is ready to accept step mode commands . it is then deasserted at a fourth time t 4 represented by a transition point 90 after the time t 3 to indicate to the memory controller 6 that the array 8 can now receive step mode commands . line 92 represents the signal level of the standby mode enable signal transmitted from the console 4 to the memory module array 8 . this signal is asserted at a fifth time t 5 represented by a transition point 94 after the time t 4 to prepare the memory module array 8 to switch to the standby mode . the memory module array 8 deasserts the step mode acknowledgment signal on the line 84 at a sixth time t 6 represented by a transition point 96 after the time t 5 to inform the console 4 that the memory module array 8 has switched from the step mode to the standby mode . also at the time t 6 , the array 8 asserts the step mode busy signal , represented by the transition point 97 on the line 88 , to inform the memory controller 6 that the array 8 can no longer receive step mode commands . when the console 4 is to initiate the step mode to leave the standby mode at a seventh time t 7 after the time t 6 , it deasserts the standby mode enable signal on the line 92 as represented by a transition point 98 . the memory module array 8 responds by asserting the step mode acknowledgment signal on the line 84 at an eighth time t 8 represented by a transition point 100 after the time t 7 to inform the console 4 that the array 8 has switched to the step mode . the array 8 also deasserts the step mode busy signal at the eighth time t 8 represented by a transition point 101 after the time t 7 to inform the memory controller 6 that the array 8 can receive step mode commands . the console 4 then deasserts the step mode request signal on the line 76 at a ninth time t 9 represented by a transition point 102 after the time t 8 to inform the memory controller 6 to order the array 8 to prepare to switch from the step mode to the normal mode . the memory controller 6 responds by deasserting the step mode enable signal on the line 80 at a tenth time t 10 represented by a transition point 104 after the time t 9 . the memory module array 8 then asserts the step mode busy signal on the line 88 at an eleventh time t 11 represented by a transition point 106 after the time t 10 to inform the memory controller 6 that the array 8 cannot accept step mode commands . the array 8 then deasserts the step mode acknowledgment signal on the line 84 at a twelfth time t 12 represented by a transition point 107 after the time t 11 to inform the console 4 that the array 8 is now in the normal mode . the array 8 then deasserts the step mode busy signal at a thirteenth time t 13 at a transition point 108 after the time t 12 to inform the memory controller 6 that the array 8 is ready to receive normal mode dram operations . as is evident from the description of the power down / power up and scanning operation timing diagrams in fig2 and 3 , the state of the memory module array 8 is evident from the states of the standby mode enable and step mode enable signals . when they are both deasserted , the array 8 is in the normal mode , or soon will be . when they are both asserted , the array 8 is in the standby mode or soon will be . when the standby mode enable signal is deasserted while the step mode enable signal is asserted , the array 8 is in the step mode , or soon will be . it will be understood that various changes in the details an arrangement of parts , systems and processes that have been described above in order to explain the nature of the present invention may be made by those skilled in the art within the principle and scope of the present invention as expressed in the appended claims . | 6 |
fig1 shows a currently available photopolymer deposition system 10 . the system has a manufacturing table 12 that can move up and down as needed , and a deposition surface 14 . the object under construction 16 results from the print head 18 that deposits the material for the object and any supporting materials from reservoirs 22 and 24 . the curing system 20 follows the print head , typically along the same axis of travel as the print head . the curing system 20 cures the deposited polymer at a fixed point in space and time from the printhead . since the printhead follows the same linear , single axis path each time it prints , the spacing between the printhead and curing system can be fully optimized . with the advent of 6 - axis , robotic deposition heads , the need exists for the curing device to move independently of the deposition , or print , head in more axes of motion . fig2 shows a diagram of the three linear axes of motion , x - y - z . the disk 30 represents the print head and point 32 represents the point of deposition . the embodiments here detail a curing system for a 6 - axis robotic system integrated into the deposition head , but with independent motion . with an offset curing system , such as a laser , held in a fixed position relative to a print head along a non - planar path , the laser spot position has inconsistent fixing points , as shown in fig3 - 5 . in fig3 , as the print head 30 moves , it leaves behind the deposited material 36 . the curing component directs a beam of light 34 to cure the material 36 . the curing component , such as a laser , has a fixed spatial relationship with the deposition point 32 . this works in some positions , but not in others . as shown in fig3 , the light 34 ( or heat ) reaches the deposited material as intended . however , as shown in fig4 , the light or heat does not strike any of the deposited material . in fig5 , it now strikes the material again , but a significant portion of the material between the two points in fig3 and fig5 does not receive any curing energy . in the embodiments discussed here , the curing device 40 can move in an arbitrary path with respect to the x / y plane . with fixed curing , curves in the deposition process prevent the laser from properly being directed to the deposited material . fig6 shows a graphical representation of this problem . on the far left side of the diagram , the curing platform 40 has a curing component 46 , such as a uv led or heating element , which falls in line with the deposition path , shown by the line 42 . the circle 44 represents the dispensing tip . as can be seen in the middle diagram , as the dispensing tip moves along the deposition path , the curing component no longer lies in line with the deposition path . in the left diagram , the curing component 46 lies even further off the deposition path 42 . fig7 shows one embodiment of the curing platform 40 having an array of leds such as 46 . similar to fig6 , the right side diagram shows the curing component 46 in line with the deposition path 42 . in the middle diagram , as the dispensing tip moves along the deposition path , and it lies between two of the array , but in the right diagram as the path curves , another component 50 has moved into the deposition path . by providing an array of curing components , the amount of deposited material that goes uncured , or that has a delay before curing , had been reduced considerably . fig8 shows another embodiment of a platform having a single curing component but now has the ability to rotate as needed . in fig8 , in the middle diagram , as the print head moves along the deposition path 42 , the platform 40 rotates to keep the curing component in line with the deposition tip . as the print head continues to move along the deposition , the platform rotates as needed to ensure the component remains in line . fig9 shows an approach that combines the array of components and rotation . this reduces the number of leds needed as compared to the embodiments of fig7 and the additional leds reduce the amount of rotation needed as compared to the embodiments of fig8 while still maintaining the integrity of the curing path relative to the deposition path . fig1 and 11 shows one embodiment of a curing device that integrates with , but moves independently of , the print head . the curing device 60 has a dispensing tip 62 that dispenses material received from at least one reservoir coupled to the non - dispensing end 62 . the platform 40 connects to the dispensing tip through one or more linear actuators such as 68 . the platform 40 has at least one curing component , such as 66 that is on a surface of the curing component 40 . in one embodiment , the curing component has an array of curing components , and the curing components may be leds , heaters or other types of curing components . the array of curing components may be positioned to provide curing at different distances from the dispensing tip . for example , the array of curing components may form circles or rings around the dispensing tip , each at a different distance from the tip . the system could then select which circle to activate depending upon the material being cured . the array of curing components can also be spaced so that each curing component provides a curing area that is equidistant when perpendicular to the nozzle , but at a different angular alignment to the tip . in this case , the curing device which lines closest the the direction of motion can be used . the actuators such as 68 define the plane of the curing component as well as control the rotation . fig1 and 13 show side views of the curing device 60 . in one embodiment , the actuators cause the platform 40 to undergo a plane change from tilted from left to right in fig1 to being tilted from right to left in fig1 . these actuators are connected to both the dispensing component and the curing plane through a joint capable of motion in 3 axis . this joint can be a ball - joint , with rotational freedom . because the joint has rotational freedom , controlling the length of the linear actuator can control both the rotation and angle relative to the dispensing tip of the curing plane . for example , if the length of a single actuator is increased the angle of the plane will change such that point closer to the actuator whose length is changed in closer to the dispensing tip . if the length of all three linear actuators is changed , the relative alignment of the curing plane will not change , but instead the plane will rotate around the axis of the dispensing tip . in this manner , the direction of any curing energy can be directed in all directions independently of the axis of dispensing with minimal points of control and complexity . fig1 and 15 show a top view of the curing component . the three linear actuators can cause rotation by having a bias slightly to one side , or a stop , on the actuators . the bias may occur by making one of the actuators 68 , 70 or 72 , longer equally . as platform moves , the difference in lengths will cause the disk to rotate . as shown in these figures , the curing platform consists of a disk , either circular as shown or any shape , having an aperture 78 through which the dispensing tip 62 inserts . fig1 shows a portion of an embodiment of a 3d depositing system having an integrated , independent , curing device . in the system 80 , the reservoirs 84 and 82 provide the construction and supporting materials as needed to the end 62 of the dispensing tip 64 . the curing platform 40 surrounds the dispensing tip 62 . the platform has at least one curing component 66 . as the print head moves to deposit the material that constructs the object , the platform moves , shifts and rotates as needed to allow the curing energy to be applied to the material . fig1 - 18 show an alternative embodiment of a curing platform 90 . in this embodiment , the curing platform consists of a bundle of optical fibers coupled to the platform 40 . the platform allows light from the laser 92 , coupled to the bundle of fibers 96 through a lens 94 . this allows the curing energy to reach the deposition surface . fig1 shows an end view of the bundle from the perspective of the dispensing tip . the platform 40 allows the ends of the fibers to face the deposition surface . in this manner , a curing device that functions independently from , but is integrated with , the deposition tip moves to allow curing . the curing components have a dynamic relationship with the dispensing tip being able to move independently to provide curing in all orientations and positions of the deposition head . it will be appreciated that variants of the above - disclosed and other features and functions , or alternatives thereof , may be combined into many other different systems or applications . various presently unforeseen or unanticipated alternatives , modifications , variations , or improvements therein may be subsequently made by those skilled in the art which are also intended to be encompassed by the following claims . | 1 |
fig1 - 9 show various aspects of a vertical deployment system ( vds ) 100 generally corresponding in structure to the device for inspecting the interior of steam generators disclosed in u . s . pat . no . 6 , 145 , 583 , issued on nov . 14 , 2000 , to gay et al ., which device is configured to visually inspect steam generator tubes , including upper portions of steam generator tubes , tops and bottoms of support plates , wrapper - to - support plate welds , and other steam generator internal structures . in general , the vds 100 is designed for a vertical lift of instruments , sensors , tools and / or payloads about 30 - 33 feet or more , depending on the structure of the particular type of steam generator to be inspected . in the accompanying figures , the steam generator represented is the framatome model 68 / 19 , but the vds may be utilized in other steam generators such as , but not limited to the westinghouse model f steam generator and other steam generators . the vds 100 is deployable on steam generator models having the flow distribution baffle ( fdb ) 275 ( see fig3 ) on center or below the hand hole access which have at a minimum a 4 โณ ( 102 mm ) diameter clear access into the steam generator . in an alternative configuration , a deployable support may be utilized in combination with the rail assembly 110 to provide a support to another steam generator component or surface . in yet another configuration , the rail assembly may be simply connected to the access port 205 such that the rail assembly is cantilevered within the steam generator . the steam generator support plates 225 must also contain flow holes in the approximate dimension of about 3 . 5 โณ ( 89 mm ) in diameter or equivalent in width for a rectangular cut out , or larger . the vds 100 comprises two main structural components , a rail assembly 110 ( e . g ., a โ first boom โ) and a telescoping boom assembly 120 ( e . g ., โ second boom โ). in at least some aspects of the present concepts , the telescoping boom assembly 120 comprises a hydraulically - actuated stacked cylinder set and , at a distal end , a delivery capsule 130 , described below . the rail assembly 110 of the vds 100 , as is shown in fig1 - 5 , for example , is disposed through an access port 205 of the steam generator 200 wall and is attached to an access port flange ( not shown ) by an access port mounting plate ( not shown ). when the rail assembly 110 is attached , at a proximal end , to the access port 110 , the rail assembly provides a stabilization leg that provides system stability for deployment of the telescoping boom assembly 120 , such as is shown in u . s . pat . nos . 5 , 265 , 129 , 5 , 504 , 788 , and 6 , 145 , 583 , each of which is incorporated by reference in its entirety herein . the rail assembly 110 attaches , at a distal end , to the telescoping boom assembly 120 at a pivot clamp 135 that can be manually actuated or actuated via a conventional actuating device , such as a rotary actuator or a linear actuator . in at least one configuration , a rack drive servo motor attaches to the access port mounting plate and a manual crank handle 140 drives a linkage ( e . g ., gear ( s ) or gear ( s ) and rod ( s )) attached at a distal end to the pivot clamp 135 , which is secured to the telescoping boom assembly 120 . once the vds 100 is inserted in thru the tube lane or โ no - tube lane โ as it is sometimes called , shown in fig3 - 5 , and secured , the telescoping boom assembly 120 can then be up - righted using the mechanical crank handle 140 . the tube lane is the narrow area created by the innermost inverted u - tubes . steam enters one side of the u - bend ( the hot pipe ) and travels around the u - bend of the pipe and is quenched by the cool water in the steam generator and proceeds around to the other side of the u - bend ( the cool pipe ). the manual crank handle 140 is operatable to both deploy the telescoping boom 120 and to retract the telescoping boom to the retracted position for extraction of the vds 100 . in lieu of the manual crank , one or more actuators ( e . g ., linear actuator ( s ), rotary actuator ( s ), or combination thereof , etc .) could alternatively be used . as is shown in fig3 , following securement of the vds 100 to the access port 205 of the steam generator 200 , the retracted or folded vds is extended horizontally into the steam generator through the flanged access port and through the steam generator wrapper 201 . in this configuration , the telescoping boom assembly 120 is aligned to be substantially parallel with the rail assembly 110 to facilitate insertion through the access port 205 . the vds 100 is disposed initially near the base of the steam generator 200 in the tube lane , the narrow area created by the innermost inverted u - tubes 210 , and more specifically through the โ no - tube lane โ thereof , as is shown in fig3 . in this installed configuration , the vds 100 system is about 90 โณ long , 4 โณ high , and 4 โณ wide . this length can be adjusted to a greater or lesser length during the installation process via insertable and removable section if the plant geometry and drawback requirements dictate . once the vds 100 is installed horizontally through the access portion , as shown in fig3 , the telescoping boom assembly 120 and delivery capsule 130 borne thereby is raised to a vertical position in the tube lane to a height of about 30 โณ, and extended via actuation of the telescoping boom assembly 120 stacked cylinder set , through a flow slot 220 in the support plates 225 of the steam generator , as is shown in fig4 . fig5 shows continued extension of the telescoping boom assembly 120 and delivery capsule 130 borne to successively higher flow slots 220 in higher support plates 225 , as is further shown in fig6 . a camera 134 is provided at a top portion of the delivery capsule 130 and may comprise a fixed camera or , as is shown in fig2 b , a pan , tilt and / or zoom camera . the delivery capsule 130 itself may be fixed to a distal end of telescoping boom assembly 120 or may alternatively be rotatably attached thereto with an associated drive system ( e . g ., motor , rotary actuator , etc .) to rotate the delivery capsule 130 through a selected range . the camera 134 enhances the operator &# 39 ; s ability to navigate the delivery capsule 130 vertically through the flow slots 220 and , for the pan , tilt and / or zoom embodiment , provides additional visual inspection capability as well . fig7 shows the delivery capsule 130 extending through an inner flow slot 220 above a steam generator 200 support plate 225 . the rail assembly 110 is configured to be moved in or out of the steam generator 200 to align the telescoping boom assembly 120 with a desired one of the flow slots along the support plates 225 . the rail assembly 110 may be moved back and forth slightly or jogged to facilitate vertical movement of the telescoping boom assembly 120 so as to keep the delivery capsule 130 aligned with the flow slot 220 in each support plate 225 . the telescoping boom assembly 120 is able to extend telescopically to any desired vertical position in the steam generator 200 along the flow slots 220 . as noted above , the support plates 225 are disposed in a spaced relation vertically throughout the height of the steam generator at about three foot to six foot intervals , depending on the make and model of the steam generator . as is represented in fig3 - 5 , for example , the hydraulically - controlled telescoping boom assembly 120 is activated to extend vertically to a desired height within the steam generator 200 . the vertical movement of the telescoping boom assembly 120 and / or horizontal movement of the rail assembly 110 may be computer - controlled or , alternatively , manually controlled . when the telescoping boom assembly 120 is initially deployed into a vertical position at a desired horizontal position , the horizontal position is verified . this verification may be accomplished either visually ( e . g ., by reference to the tube columns or other visual landmarks ), via mechanical or electromechanical devices ( e . g ., mechanical distancing apparatuses , such as pulleys or gears , rotary encoders , etc . ), or via one or more positioning sensors . to facilitate horizontal or lateral movement of the telescoping boom assembly 120 , a registration apparatus is preferably provided , the registration apparatus ( not shown ) comprising sets of registration guides ( e . g ., finger - like projections ) that can be selectively pneumatically powered outwardly from a retracted position at rest or inwardly from an extended position . when each guide set is extended , one guide set contacts the hot leg of a u - tube and one guide set contacts the โ cold โ leg of the same u - tube . hydraulic control of the telescoping boom assembly 120 is provided by a conventional electrically driven hydraulic pump system . the presently preferred hydraulic pump for the telescoping boom assembly 120 comprises a centrifugal vane pump , pressure relief valve , two proportional control valves , a solenoid block valve , a fluid reservoir and pressure gauges . control power and signals are fed from the main control console over a single cable and main 110v ac power to operate the pump is obtained from a source local to the pump . the telescoping boom assembly 120 may alternatively comprise a pneumatically - driven design , as opposed to hydraulically - driven . operation of the vds 100 are controlled by a main operating station where data from the vds instrumentation and cameras ( and systems deployed by the vds ) are stored in or on a physical storage media and / or viewed . fig1 is a schematic of one potential control layout for the vds 100 . area monitor 300 , control interface computer 302 , optional auxiliary electronics 304 , and hydraulic pump 306 are preferably positioned outside of a bioshield 308 and have their cables 310 directed to control electronics 312 and power and air supplies 314 , which are set up adjacent the generator access opening 321 . a rack and pinion drive 316 is attached to rail assembly 110 which is attached to pivot clamp 135 . the control hardware for the present invention is optionally divided into primary control hardware and operator station hardware , wherein the primary control hardware is set up at the steam generator platform . in this configuration , the primary control hardware comprises two small suitcase - sized cases 312 , 314 , the first containing the main control console 312 and the second case 314 containing bulk power supplies . plant supplied ac power and compressed air are supplied to these cases for system operation . a switching - type power supply provides power to computer hardware from the main control console case . the main control console 312 provides the system manual control capability . power for motor loads , lighting , cameras and support circuitry is supplied by the bulk power supply case 314 via appropriate electrical connectors 317 . line 318 represents control cabling for the delivery capsule 130 and all associated systems including , but not limited to , electrical power cable , a / v cables , pneumatic supply line , etcetera , to operate all delivery capsule systems and subsystems . all system component connections terminate at the main control console 302 . the operator station for the device preferably contains a control computer 302 , running a graphical user interface ( e . g ., a microsoft windows ยฎ platform ), associated control hardware 304 , video monitoring 300 and recording equipment and audio communication equipment . in one embodiment , audio communications link the steam generator platform and the operator station to assist in setup , installation , and / or operation . as described above , the vds 100 is used to access internal regions of steam generators , specifically the various support plate 225 elevations . following extension of a distal end of the telescoping boom assembly 120 to a desired support plate 225 , such as is shown in fig7 , a robot or โ rover โ 150 is deployed from the delivery capsule 130 , such as is shown in fig8 . the rover 150 is controlled via a tether / umbilical cable 155 housing all control , video and auxiliary conductors necessary for operation of and positive retention of the rover 150 and all associated systems . on - board equipment for the rover 150 may comprise , but is not limited to , one or more cameras or video recording devices , one or more led packages or other lighting systems , one or more examination probes , an eddy current sensor and deployment tool , and / or retrieval tooling . the rover 150 chassis comprises a main frame 152 to which all components are attached to or reside within . twin polymer tracks 154 are mounted on either side of the frame centerline and are independently driven by respective dc servo - gear motors for use with a closed loop control system or by dc stepper motors allowing use of an open loop control system . to facilitate operation and examination of steam generator internals , a plurality of on - board camera assemblies are advantageously provided to provide visual feedback not only of the steam generator internals , but also of the immediately surroundings of the rover , such as to facilitate navigation . in one aspect , a first camera assembly 155 , which may be a black and white camera or a color camera utilizing led lighting or an infrared camera utilizing infra red leds , is mounted on the front of the crawler . in another aspect , a second camera assembly ( not shown ) is mounted on another side of the rover 150 ( e . g ., a back side or a lateral side ). these camera systems for the rover 150 , where a plurality of cameras are provided , advantageously comprise a mix of color cameras , utilizing led lighting , and infrared cameras utilizing infra red led &# 39 ; s . examination of the no - tube lane , or other accessible portions of the steam generator , may be accomplished using one or more of the rover 150 cameras while the rover is securely retained within the delivery capsule 130 . in - bundle examination ( i . e ., examination between the steam generator u - tubes 203 ) can be accomplished by deploying , from a cavity or storage bay 158 of the rover 150 , a small , mechanized in - bundle rover 160 that itself comprises on - board video and lighting ( color video , ir , uv , ccd , etc .) and optionally , one or more additional sensors and / or tools ( e . g ., a retrieval tool ). the in - bundle rover comprises a drive system ( e . g ., motor - operated belt ( s ), track ( s ), wheels , etc .) that permit the in - bundle inspection rover to move laterally away from the rover 150 and into the tube bundle region . to facilitate movement of the in - bundle rover 160 between the steam generator u - tubes , the width of the in - bundle rover 160 must correspondingly be less than that of the spacing of adjacent u - tubes ( e . g ., less than 0 . 5 ,โณ less than about 0 . 25 ,โณ etc .) and in at least one aspect is about 0 . 25 โณ in width . the in - bundle rover 160 comprises a forward facing camera 164 , such as a q - see qmscc ultra - mini color camera , manufactured by digital peripheral systems , inc . of anaheim , calif ., which is 4 . 6 mm in diameter and approximately 17 mm in length . in another aspect , the on - board video and lighting of the in - bundle rover 160 comprises a video probe including a flexible stainless jacket , or a laminated flexible wand , containing structural reinforcement to provide structural support while allowing some flexibility and containing all associated camera and lighting conductors . optionally , a rear facing camera and / or a down facing camera ( front and / or rear ) are also provided , with attendant lighting ( e . g ., led , ir led , etc .). the in - bundle rover 160 may also optionally comprise sensors ( e . g ., non - destructive testing / examination , etc .) and / or retrieval ( e . g ., grappling ) tooling . the in - bundle rover 160 is attached to the rover 150 by cabling ( e . g ., electrical cable , a / v cable , etc .) 169 , which may be unified in an outer cable jacket , that is in turn connected to a rotating drum configured to let out and retract the cabling 169 as the in - bundle rover 160 moves outwardly and back , respectively , through the steam generator tube 203 columns . in - bundle positioning of the in - bundle rover 160 is accomplished , in at least some aspects , using electronic encoding ( e . g ., a rotary encoder used in combination with the rotating drum ) in combination with the on - board video capabilities to provide feedback on the deployed distance and tube position . once the vds 100 is inserted and the telescoping boom assembly 120 is locked in the upright position , a stabilization leg ( not shown ) is lowered to further stabilize the system . the telescoping boom assembly 120 is then deployed vertically via the stacked hydraulic cylinder to the desired support plate elevation with height positional feedback provided by sensors , such as string encoders . once the delivery capsule 130 is at the desired elevation , the rover 150 may be deployed from the delivery housing onto the support plate 225 , index the tube columns and begin examinations utilizing its on - board video system . retrieval of the system begins with recalling the in - bundle rover 160 into the storage bay 158 of the rover 150 , recalling the rover 150 into the storage bay 132 of the delivery capsule 130 . once the rover 150 is secured in position , the stack cylinder set slowly releases fluid pressure to lower the system to the collapsed state shown in fig4 and then into the insertion state shown in fig3 by rotation of the telescoping boom assembly 120 . the vds 100 may then be disengaged from the access port 205 and removed . the hydraulically - controlled telescoping boom assembly 120 is then activated allowing the device to extend vertically to the desired height which may cause the device to proceed through the flow slots of successive support plates 225 . computer - controlled or manually controlled machinery sensitively and accurately measures the height of the distal end of the telescoping boom assembly 120 to ensure precise vertical positioning and of the delivery capsule within the steam generator 200 . in conjunction with the vertical extension and monitoring of the vertical position of the telescoping boom assembly 120 , the horizontal position of the telescoping boom assembly 120 is also preferably verified visually ( e . g ., via the delivery capsule camera 134 and / or numerically ( e . g ., encoder , mechanical distancing apparatuses such as pulleys or gears , position sensors , pattern recognition sensors , etc .). horizontal movement of the telescoping boom assembly 120 may be accomplished , for example , using a pneumatically - powered registration apparatus to sequentially extend and retract sets of registration guides , finger - like movable members configured to extend from a first position to a second position , to provide a โ walking โ motion . when each registration guide set is extended , one guide will contact the hot tube and , on the opposing side , another guide will contact the cool tube of the same u - tube . thus , in accord with the above - described vds 100 and rovers 150 , 160 borne thereby , an operator may move the delivery capsule to a desired support plate 225 , deploy the rover 150 to a desired position along the center lane of the support plate , and further deploy the in - bundle rover 160 , which , as noted above , comprises its own drive system ( e . g ., belt ( s ), track ( s ), wheels , etc .) that permit the in - bundle inspection rover to move laterally away from the plate rover and into the tube bundle region . fig1 a - 11 b show a magnetic rover delivery system 500 configured to be inserted into an access port 205 ( e . g ., hand hole ) of a steam generator 200 or other vessel or enclosed area . the overall dimensions of the magnetic rover 500 are about 8 โณ in length , 3 . 2 โณ in height , and 3 . 5 โณ in width . the magnetic rover 500 system is deployable on steam generator models having the flow distribution baffle ( fdb ) on center or below the hand hole access which have at a minimum a 4 โณ ( 102 mm ) access port or hand hole , wrapper cutouts in the support plates in 3 . 75 โณ ( 95 . 25 mm ) wide and 3 . 6 โณ ( 91 . 4 mm ) in depth measured from the wrapper tangent to the back of the cut . if the fdb is above the hand hole access the fdb must also contain these cutouts . the operator of the magnetic rover 500 is located outside of the steam generator ( e . g ., remotely ) and uses a user interface ( e . g ., gui , joystick , etc .) to receive sensor feedback from the magnetic rover 500 ( e . g ., visual feedback , gps signal , etc .) to control the movement of the magnetic rover . the magnetic rover 500 comprises rare earth magnets ( e . g ., neodymium , etc .) or electromagnets in the tracks 554 or under tracks 554 ( or wheels , optionally provided with scrapers ). the total number of magnets in the tracks could vary . in some aspects , there are approximately twenty magnets distributed along each track . in various aspects , the total magnetic force required to maintain the magnetic rover firmly in place when vertically disposed on the wrapped would exceed 5 pounds of force and would still more preferably exceed about 10 pounds of force . by way of example , the tracks 554 may comprise a rubber lug type track or a custom rubber track with magnet lugs . in another example , a plurality of separate , independently actuatable electromagnets ( e . g ., front , mid , rear ) are provided . the magnetic tracks 554 ( or wheels ) permit the magnetic rover 500 to climb vertically along the inner diameter ( id ) of the steam generator wrapper 201 between the wrapper 201 and the tube 203 bundle and through openings 210 in the tube support plates 225 , such as the openings 210 in the framatome 68 / 19 steam generator , as shown in fig1 a . the magnetic tracks 554 ( or wheels ) are advantageously , but not necessarily , configured to permit the magnetic rover to also move while upside down . as shown in fig1 a - 11 b , a forward - facing camera 555 and associated lights 556 ( e . g ., leds , etc .) are provided for navigation . a storage bay 558 , described below , is also provided . fig1 b shows an in - bundle rover 160 , as described above , deployed from the storage bay 558 of the magnetic rover 500 , the in - bundle rover 160 being connected to the magnetic rover 500 by retractable cabling 169 , as previously described . a plurality of position and inspection cameras ( e . g ., hd ccd camera ) 557 and corresponding lights ( e . g ., white leds )( not shown ) for illumination are advantageously provided in locations about the magnetic rover 500 to provide extensive , potentially even redundant , image data for positional feedback and inspection . to access the in - bundle region , the magnetic rover 500 utilizes the in - bundle rover 160 to deliver inspection cameras in - bundle , allowing the inspection of many attainable columns of tubes . in one aspect , one camera / lighting assembly 555 is mounted on the front of the crawler and two camera / lighting assemblies are mounted on the lateral sides of the magnetic rover . it is advantageous , but not necessary , for the magnetic rover 550 to comprise a combination of different camera systems of differing cover , such as one or more color camera ( s ) utilizing led lighting and one or more infrared cameras utilizing infrared led &# 39 ; s . the magnetic rover 500 chassis comprises a main frame having dual polymer / magnet tracks 554 are mounted on opposing sides of the frame centerline . the polymer / magnet tracks 554 are independently driven by dc servo - gear motors for use with a closed loop control system or by dc stepper motors allowing use of an open loop control system . combined with the magnetic tracks 554 , the main frame also advantageously houses an electromagnet , or a plurality of electromagnets , utilizable during deployment of the magnetic rover 500 to the various support plate 225 elevations . mounted on the side of the magnetic rover 500 track carriage is an actuator member 550 , such as an electro - mechanical or pneumatic arm , configured to aids the magnetic rover &# 39 ; s 500 egression from the wrapper 201 onto the support plate 225 and vice versa by pushing the rover away from or lifting it up to the wrapper . fig1 b shows the magnetic rover 500 in an intermediate position transitioning between movement along the steam generator wrapper 201 to movement along the support plate 225 . the actuator member 550 , noted above , is configured to push against the wrapper 201 to counter the magnetic forces causing the magnetic rover 500 to adhere to the wrapper . the actuator member 550 pushes against the wrapper 201 and rotates generally synchronously with the forward motion of the magnetic rover 500 , thereby causing the magnetic rover to separate from the wrapper with an increasing angle for increased forward movement of the magnetic rover . at some point , the center of gravity of the magnetic rover 500 will shift sufficiently so that gravity will pull the front part of the magnetic rover down to the position shown in fig1 c . alternatively , other devices may be employed to achieve separation of the magnetic rover 500 from the wrapper 201 , such as but not limited to , a pneumatic nozzle blowing compressed air or an extendable linear actuator . where the magnetic rover comprises a plurality of electromagnets , the front , mid , and then rear electromagnets are sequentially deactivated to facilitate the separate of the magnetic rover 500 from the wrapper 201 in conjunction with the action of the actuator member . fig1 c shows the magnetic rover 500 positioned over the opening 210 ( not shown in fig1 c ), wherein it is able to then resume movement along the support plate 225 to any desired location , as is generally shown in fig1 g - 12 h ( or optionally to return and move downwardly back through the opening 210 ). fig1 d shows the magnetic rover 500 on a support plate 225 in the tube lane region between the hot legs and cold legs of the u - tubes 203 . accordingly , the magnetic rover 500 is configured to both perform inspections and to deploy an in - bundle rover 160 , described above , and does not require use of the vds 100 , described above , or other related systems developed by r . brooks associates of williamson , n . y ., shown by way of example in u . s . pat . nos . 6 , 145 , 583 and 5 , 265 , 129 , to get into position . fig1 e - 12 f show the magnetic rover 500 positioned midway into the opening 210 as it returns back into contact with the steam generator wrapper 201 , wherein it would then be able to resume movement upwardly or downwardly along the wrapper . in this operation , the actuator member 550 is deployed differently than that described above with respect to the movement of the magnetic rover 500 onto the support plate 225 . specifically , the actuator member 550 is shown to provide a resistive force against the support plate to retard downward motion of the magnetic rover 500 . as the magnetic rover 500 moves into greater and greater contact with the wrapper , the actuator member 550 is rotatable out of the way so as to permit increased forward movement of the magnetic rover . at some point , the magnetic force of the magnetic rover 500 magnets are sufficiently to securely adhere the magnetic rover to the wrapper . fig1 g - 12 h show the in - bundle rover 160 in a deployed position wherein the in - bundle inspection rover , under the control of its own drive system 162 ( e . g ., belt ( s ), track ( s ), wheels , etc .) moves laterally away from the magnetic rover 500 and into the tube 203 bundle region . the in - bundle rover 160 itself comprises , as noted above , a variety of cameras ( e . g ., front , rear , down ) and associated lights ( e . g ., white leds ) providing positional data useful for maneuvering and / or positioning the in - bundle rover , as well as for obtaining useful inspection data . the magnetic rover 500 is controlled via cabling 539 containing all associated control , video and auxiliary conductors for operation of the magnetic rover , in - bundle rover 160 and all associated systems ( e . g ., lighting , video , actuators , etc .). on - board equipment for the magnetic rover 500 and / or the in - bundle rover 160 may include , but is not limited to , camera / led units of various type ( e . g ., color , black and white , ir , etc .) allowing a wide range of viewing options , to stored examination probes / devices , sensors , and tools and retrieval tooling that may be deployed from the magnetic rover 500 storage bay 558 or another storage bay . for example , a robotic arm ( not shown ) may be used to attach and remove a variety of tools and sensors to corresponding ports of the in - bundle rover 160 . the magnetic rover 500 system advantageously utilizes a cable management system like that shown in u . s . patent application ser . no . 12 / 714 , 090 , titled โ inspection system and inspection process utilizing magnetic inspection vehicle ,โ which is assigned to the assignee of the present application , and which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety , to feed in and feed out the appropriate amount of cabling . such cable management system feeds and controls the cables and tubes linking the magnetic rover 500 to external systems ( e . g ., computer used by operator , open loop control box , etc .) and comprises , for example , a mount flange to permit the cable management system to be mounted to the steam generator access port 205 and a roller housing that houses the rollers and motors that grip or โ pinch โ the cabling to positively drive it into or out of the steam generator responsive to or synchronously with control signals provided by the operator to the magnetic rover . electric drive motors , such as micromo 2842s012s + 30 / 1 246 : 1 motors , may be used in combination with rollers to pinch and push the cable in or out of the access port . the cable management system also advantageously comprises a tension adjuster comprising a shaft that can be pulled to facilitate cable installation and a spring to maintain tension on the cable ( s ). an electrical interface box comprises the electrical connection point or interface between the internal electric dc servo motors of the cable management system and the control module , the open loop control system ( olcs ). to set up the magnetic rover 500 for inspection , a cable management mounting plate is installed to the access port and the magnetic rover is inserted into the steam generator 200 and the cable ( reference number 539 in fig1 a ) is threaded through the cable entry of the cable guide , which is then installed on the access port . a motorized cable feeder is then mounted to the access port mount and the cable 539 inserted through a cable slot by pulling up on a spring loaded plate . when the cable 539 is properly positioned between the feed wheels , the spring plate is released and both the front and back cable 539 positioned and held in place . the cable container is positioned directly behind the cable management system and cable coiled inside so to minimize any tangling . the foregoing disclosure has been presented for purposes of illustration and description . the foregoing description is not intended to limit the present concepts to the forms , features , configurations , modules , or applications described herein by way of example . other non - enumerated configurations , combinations , and / or sub - combinations of such forms , features , configurations , modules , and / or applications are considered to lie within the scope of the disclosed concepts . | 8 |
fig1 represents a flow of a preferred embodiment of the invention . it shows steps and registers involved in a branchless , constant time execution of an ascii integer to binary decimal conversion within the vector processor . the ascii integer value can be any value equal to , less than or greater than zero and comprising any number of digits , less than or equal to 10 . in the example of fig1 , the integer is less than zero , therefore a negative number , whose absolute value is 234567890 . thus the number in the example is comprised of 9 digits plus a sign ( in this case negative ) and ends in a string terminator . fig1 illustrates the steps that are performed by the system , comprising a vector processor , access to a memory ( 32 bytes of which is shown ), a plurality of registers , a routine comprising a set of instructions and means to perform operations on the data fetched from memory and to store the results within and transfer the results between data registers . in step 1 , the system executes an instruction for ascii to binary decimal conversion which begins by fetching the ascii number within a 32 byte memory word , 1 , from the memory and detecting the beginning and end of the integer . in this embodiment the integer is contained in the 32 byte memory word , which is not aligned with a word boundary of the vector processor &# 39 ; s registers . the system detects the integer as being between the sign bit and the string terminator . in step 2 , the routine aligns the loaded word &# 39 ; s first byte with the first byte of a first 16 byte vector register , 2 , and aligns the word &# 39 ; s last byte with the last byte of a second 16 byte vector register , 3 , and places a first portion of the ascii string in 2 and a second portion in 3 . in step 3 , the routine shuffles the contents of the first and second registers into a third 16 byte register , 4 , such that the left most byte contains the sign and the following bytes to the right contain the integer digits . in step 4 , the routine detects the sign , stores and strips the sign from the word , detects the string end , and shifts the remaining digits of the integer to a right justified aligned position in a fourth register , 5 . the routine , in parallel with the sign detection , masks unused leading characters as zeros in the fourth register , 5 . in step 5 , the routine subtracts a binary decimal forty eight , contained in a fifth register , 6 , from each character of the word in the register of step 4 to perform the ascii to binary conversion of each digit of the integer . the routine then places the results of the subtraction in a sixth register , 7 . in step 6 , counting from the right to the left in the sixth register , the routine performs an extraction , 8 , of the digits to the left of the eighth byte ( in this embodiment , the ninth and tenth characters ), performs a multiplication of a power of ten , 9 , to the ninth character from a first table lookup operation , 10 , and performs a multiplication of a power often , 11 , to the tenth character from a second table lookup operation , 12 . in steps 7 a and 7 b , the routine promotes the now eight byte integer word into two short integer words and stores the results in a sixth register , 13 , and seventh register , 14 . in steps 8 a through 8 d , the routine applies vector multiplication to each digit of the two short integers by an appropriate power of ten , residing in an eighth register , 15 , and ninth register , 16 , corresponding to each digit &# 39 ; s placement inside the decimal number and places the results in a tenth register , 17 , and eleventh register , 18 . in step 9 , the routine performs vector addition on the resultant bytes of steps 8 a through d , which were stored in 17 and 18 , and stores the results in a twelfth register , 19 . in step 10 , the routine horizontally adds the results in 19 and stores the result in a thirteenth register , 20 . in steps 11 , the routine performs a scalar addition on the results , 9 and 11 from step 6 and step 10 and stores the result in a fourteenth register , 21 . in step 12 , the routine performs a scalar multiplication of the sign stored from step 4 and the result , 21 , from step 11 and stores this , the final result in a fifteenth register , 22 . while the embodiment of fig1 shows an example of the execution of the integer format conversion in a vector processor using an ascii string of 10 or fewer digits , the technique can be extended to support any number of digits , greater than 10 , by hierarchical combination of the same process over multiple sections of the ascii string , still giving a constant , albeit longer , time of conversion . as stated above , the ascii integer size may vary , but through the application of the parallel arithmetic means and operations and by adjusting the number and lengths of the registers and / or the word sizes , the execution time of the conversion will remain constant and the conversion will be performed without branching . | 6 |
referring to fig1 , the inventive assembled modular pole 10 is depicted . the modular pole comprises a plurality of corner pieces 20 and a plurality of sides 80 . each side 80 includes at least two panel members 82 , as shown in fig5 , arranged in parallel , and slidably engaged to corner pieces 20 . modular pole 10 has a pole height 16 , defined as the distance between a pole base 12 and a pole top 14 . referring to fig2 and 3 , corner piece 20 is depicted . each corner piece 20 has a corner length 21 , which may be less than or equal to pole height 16 . corner splicing posts 100 , described in greater detail below , may adjoin adjacent corner pieces 20 when a pole height 16 greater than corner length 21 is desired . each corner piece 20 has a cross sectional geometry defined by an outer corner surface 22 , an inner corner surface 24 , a first end 26 and a second end 28 . outer corner surface 22 and inner corner surface 24 are separated by a corner width 25 . first end 26 and second end 28 are intermediate outer corner surface 22 and inner corner surface 24 along opposing ends of corner piece 20 . first end 26 includes a first center support 31 intermediate a first inner finger 34 and a first outer finger 30 , while second end 28 includes a second center support 35 intermediate a second inner finger 36 and a second outer finger 32 . a gap between first outer finger 30 and first center support 31 defines a first outer receiving slot 42 . a first inner receiving slot 46 is defined by a gap between first center support 31 and first inner finger 34 . along second end 28 , a second outer receiving slot 44 is defined by a gap between second center support 35 and second outer finger 32 and a second inner receiving slot 48 is defined by a gap between second center support 35 and second inner finger 36 . in an alternate embodiment , first and second ends 26 , 28 each include a plurality of inner fingers ( not shown ) defining additional slots ( not shown ) therebetween . 5 first outer receiving slot 42 is parallel with first inner receiving slot 46 and second outer receiver slot 44 is parallel with second inner receiving slot 48 . first inner and outer receiving slots 42 , 46 are at a corner angle 40 relative to second inner and outer receiving slots 44 , 48 . corner angle 40 is less than 180 ยฐ, with the dimension being defined by the number of sides 80 of modular pole 10 . the value of corner angle 40 is dependent upon the predetermined number of sides modular pole 10 is to have . for example , corner angle 40 will range from 0 ยฐ for a two - sided pole ( not shown ) to 60 ยฐ for a three - sided pole ( not shown ) to 135 ยฐ for an eight - sided pole ( not shown ). a four - sided modular pole 10 is depicted in fig1 and 8 , having a corner angle 40 that is 90 ยฐ. modular pole 10 may have any number of sides with the value of corner angle 40 being defined by the equation : the value of corner angle 40 may be slightly different due to various causes , including minor twisting corner pieces 20 during the formation of such pieces . as shown in fig4 , receiving slots 42 , 44 , 46 , 48 have u - shaped slot surfaces 50 defined by finger wall 52 and side wall 54 , separated by a slot width 56 . each receiving slot 42 , 44 , 46 , 48 has a slot depth 58 . a track 60 protrudes from each finger wall 52 of slot surface 50 and extends towards side wall 54 along the entire distance of corner length 21 . track 50 has a track width 61 , which is the width of the protuberance of track 60 along finger wall 52 between an inner track side 62 and an outer track side 64 . track 60 also has a track depth 66 , which is the distance track 60 extends from finger wall 52 toward side wall 54 . track 60 may have an arcuate cross sectional shape . the location of track 60 may be along finger wall 52 such that outer track side 64 abuts a finger end 38 . alternatively , a finger extension ( not shown ) may separate outer track 64 from finger end 38 . the distance from inner track side 62 to a point on slot surface 50 farthest from finger end 38 defines slot location 68 . corner piece 20 may include at least one channel 70 along corner length 21 . additional side channels 72 and 74 may also be formed in corner piece 20 by including channel walls 76 , 78 within channel 70 . channel 70 and side channels 72 , 74 may be filled with a type of foam ( not shown ) such as polyurethane closed cell foam to increase rigidity of modular pole 10 and to provide an improved basic insulation level . alternatively , or in addition to the foam fill , wiring 140 ( shown in fig7 and 8 ) may be threaded through channel 70 and / or additional channels 72 , 74 . channel 40 has a channel width 77 and a channel depth 79 . fig5 and 6 depict modular panel members 82 . panel members 82 may have a panel length 85 that is equal to or less than the length of pole height 16 . panel splicing pieces 110 , described below , may adjoin co - planar , consecutive panel members 82 when a pole height 16 that is greater than panel length 85 is desired . panel members 82 include a base edge 84 having a base width 83 and a top edge 86 having a top width 87 . panel members 82 also include a first long edge 88 and a second long edge 89 intermediate base edge 84 and top edge 86 . panel members 82 may be tapered in shape having base width 83 greater than top width 87 , thereby providing increased robustness to the assembled pole 10 . base edge 84 , first long edge 88 , top edge 86 , and second long edge 89 border a grooved surface 90 and a flat surface 92 of each panel member 82 . the distance between grooved surface 90 and flat surface 92 is a panel thickness 91 . a first and second groove 93 and 94 are formed in grooved surface 90 of each panel member 82 along panel length 85 . first and second grooves 93 , 94 are each bounded by an outer groove edge 95 , which is closest first or second long edge 88 or 89 , respectively , and an inner groove edge 96 , which is farthest from first or second long edge 88 or 89 , respectively . the distance between outer groove edge 95 and inner groove edge 96 of each of first and second groove 93 and 94 is a groove width 98 . the depth of each groove 93 , 94 into panel member 82 from grooved surface 90 is a groove depth 99 . first and second grooves 93 and 94 may have an arc - shaped profile to match the profile of track 60 . first groove 93 extends along panel length 85 parallel to first long edge 88 . second groove 94 extends along panel length 85 in a direction parallel to second long edge 89 . the distance from first long edge 88 or second long edge 89 to outer groove edge 95 defines a groove location 97 . groove width 98 is sized to accommodate track width 61 and groove depth 99 is sized to accommodate track depth 66 , so that track 60 nests within first or second groove 93 or 94 . slot depth 58 and groove location 97 are sized to align first and second grooves 93 , 94 with their respective tracks 60 . slot width 56 is wide enough to accept panel thickness 91 . thus , panel members 82 are retained along first and second long edges 88 and 89 by receiving slots 42 , 44 , 46 , and 48 in corner piece 20 with track 60 fitting within first or second groove 93 or 94 . the plurality of panel members 82 of sides 80 increases the structural strength of modular pole 10 . a foam fill ( not shown ) such as polyurethane closed cell foam , may be added between panel members 82 on each side for additional rigidity and insulation . referring to fig9 and 10 , a corner splicing post 100 is depicted . corner splicing posts 100 are used to adjoin consecutive corner pieces 20 until the sum of the corner lengths 21 of consecutive corner pieces 20 equals pole height 16 . corner pieces 20 may be subdivided into corner piece sets 120 , depicted in fig1 . each corner piece set 120 is adjoined with panel members 82 to form a tubular structure that makes up a segment of the entire modular pole 10 . to adjoin two adjacent corner piece sets 120 , corner splicing posts 100 are placed into channel 70 of each corner piece 20 in the lowest corner piece set 120 at what is or will be an upper end 18 of the corner pieces 20 of the lower corner piece set 19 . each corner splicing post 100 has a post width 102 and a post depth 104 . post width 102 and post depth 104 are sized to provide an interference fit with channel width 77 and channel depth 79 . post width 102 and post depth 104 may be slightly smaller at each end of corner splicing post 100 to facilitate insertion into channel 70 of corner pieces 20 being adjoined . corner splicing post 100 also has a post length 106 . when inserted into channel 70 of a corner piece 20 , approximately half of post length 106 is held within channel 70 . channel 70 of a lower end 19 of corner pieces 20 in an adjacent corner piece set 120 are then placed over the free end of corner splicing posts 100 . the size of post length 106 of corner splicing post 100 is determined by the length of corner splicing post 100 to be held within channel 70 of each of the consecutive , adjacent corner pieces 20 . upper end 18 of one corner piece set 120 abuts lower end 19 of another corner piece set 120 when properly adjoined by corner splicing posts 100 . referring to fig1 and 12 , panel splicing pieces 110 may adjoin co - planar panel members 82 until the sum of panel lengths 85 of consecutively adjoined panel members 82 equals pole height 16 . panel members 82 may be subdivided into panel sets 182 . each panel set 182 is used with a corner piece set 120 to form a tubular structure that makes up a segment of the entire modular pole 10 . panel splicing pieces 110 are h - shaped , comprising two parallel plates 111 and 112 adjoined by a center member 113 to form two splicing slots 114 and 115 . the splicing slot width 116 between parallel plates 111 and 112 is sufficient to snugly receive panel thickness 91 of top edge 86 of the panel members 82 of the lower panel set 182 and panel thickness 91 of base edge 84 of the panel members 82 of the upper panel set 182 . panel splicing pieces 110 have a splice piece width 117 sufficient to fit between corner pieces 20 with which adjoined co - planar panel members 82 engage . parallel plates 111 and 112 may have slightly tapered outer edges 132 and 134 to correspond to the taper of adjoining panel members 82 , making the splice piece width 117 wider proximate top edge 86 of the lower panel members 82 than proximate bottom edge 83 of upper panel members 82 . center member 113 of panel splicing pieces 100 has a center depth 118 . the size of center depth 118 of each panel splicing piece 110 is considered with panel length 85 of each panel member 82 along a side 80 to determine pole height 16 . panel members 82 and corner pieces 20 may be made from a polymer with fiberglass reinforcement . other possible materials include other fiberglass composites , other plastics , metals , and wood . corner pieces 20 made from fiberglass composites , other plastics , or metals may be extruded . to assemble a modular pole 10 , first long edge 87 of one panel member 82 is slidingly inserted into first outer receiving slot 42 of a first corner piece 20 and second long edge 88 is slidingly inserted into second outer receiving slot 44 of a second corner piece 20 . another panel member 82 is slidingly inserted into between the same two corner pieces 20 , with first long edge 87 inserted into first inner receiving slot 46 of the first corner piece 20 and second long edge 88 inserted into second inner receiving slot 48 of the second corner piece 20 . the first long edge 87 of two additional panels members 82 are inserted into first inner and first outer receiving slots 42 and 46 of the second corner piece 20 . second long edge 88 of the additional panels 82 are inserted into second inner and second outer receiving slots 44 and 48 of a third corner piece 20 . this process is continued until two panel members 82 are inserted between corner pieces 20 such that the modular pole 10 has the number of sides 80 that was previously determined . there are some alternative embodiments to modular pole 10 . if a pole height 16 is desired that is greater than the length of panel members 82 and corner pieces 20 , panel splicing pieces 110 and corner splicing posts 100 are used as previously described . first end 26 and second end 28 may be formed with additional receiving slots ( not shown ) therein , thus permitting additional panel members 82 to be inserted between corner pieces 20 . insulation or other material may be used to fill the space created within modular pole 10 bounded by panel members 82 retained by first and second inner retaining slots 46 , 48 . assembled modular poles 10 may be utilized to hold various types of electrical equipment , electrical wires , wireless communications equipment , lighting fixtures , traffic equipment or signs . the foregoing description of the invention illustrates a preferred embodiment thereof . various changes may be made in the details of the illustrated construction within the scope of the appended claims without departing from the true spirit of the invention . the present invention should only be limited by the claims and their equivalents . | 4 |
the present invention relates to a regular expression authoring environment and optimization processes and system for regular expressions . in contrast to prior systems that would produce optimized binary representations of regular expressions , implementations of the present invention produce optimized regular expressions that are presented in the form of regular expressions . in other words , the optimized regular expressions are presented with syntax , operators , and other constructs that are consistent with regular expression notation . in this manner , the optimized regular expressions are readily understood by users familiar with regular expressions ( e . g ., linguistic specialists ) who can examine the expressions for correctness . the present invention also relates to systems and processes for normalizing regular expressions in sets or collections of regular expressions and then optimizing each regular expression with knowledge of the entire set of regular expressions to which it belongs . normalization increases the likelihood of identifying duplicate and near duplicate regular expressions . by using knowledge of the entire set the occurrence of duplicate or near duplicate regular expressions can be minimized , overlapping regular expressions can be collapsed or aggregated , and semantic errors can be identified . the present invention is illustrated and described in terms of systems and software for authoring and optimizing regular expressions for use in applications that match specified text patterns to text patterns in a data stream . specifically , the present invention is useful in packet sniffing type systems that examine data packets on a network to identify patterns that are defined by sets of regular expressions . however , the present invention is useful in any application that uses regular expressions to define patterns including search engines , data compression , pattern recognition , computational biology , database searching , electronic mail and message filtering as well as network security . various features of the present invention can be implemented in a variety of programming languages and programming environments . in a typical implementation , a linguistic specialist will author a set of regular expressions that are intended to match certain desired text patterns in a target data set . the regular expressions are optimized by performing certain transformations that may change the order in which an expression is evaluated , split regular expressions in to two or more expressions , combine two or more regular expressions into a lesser number of expressions , or otherwise re - write the authored set of regular expressions into a form that will be more efficient when run by a particular application . to be useful to a particular software application , the regular expressions are transformed ( i . e ., interpreted or compiled ) into sets of instructions that can be executed by a computer processor or virtual machine . after compilation / interpretation , the sets of instructions no longer use the regular expression syntax and operators and so , are not readily understood by linguistic specialists . when the optimization is performed during the compilation / interpretation process , making the optimization results un - reviewable to the linguistic specialist who authored the set of original expressions . the optimization processes may be performed with varying degrees of aggressiveness . for example , an aggressive optimizer can be designed to improve execution performance irrespective of how long it takes to determine the optimization and / or the degree to which the optimized expressions are rewritten as compared to the original regular expressions . on the other hand , a less aggressive optimizer can be constrained so as to minimize the changes made to the authored regular expressions . more aggressive optimization typically is preferred when the application is performing text pattern matching in real time or of large data sets . less aggressive optimization , however , can make the optimized results more readable by the linguists and therefore , easier to maintain . one optional feature of the present invention is the ability to specify a โ readability โ attribute which can direct the optimization process for a particular expression or set of expressions to be optimized for performance disregarding readability or optimized but limited by readability concerns to provide better feedback to the regular expression maintainers . fig1 illustrates an exemplary system 100 implementing features of the present invention . system 100 includes an authoring tool 101 used by an author to write one or more regular expressions 103 . for a given problem or application , a set 105 of regular expressions 103 are typically written to define any number of text patterns that will be of interest to the application . authoring tool 101 may be provided by a text editor , word processor , or special purpose tools such as powergrep and editpad pro and regexbuddy by jgsoft as well as expresso which is a tool for building and editing regular expressions in the microsoft . net environment available through ultrapico . com . further , in some embodiments , the features of the invention shown in exemplary system 100 may be embodied as a plug - in to an existing regular expression ( re ) authoring tool ( such as by modifying the tool or plugging in the functional modules of system 100 described herein into such a tool , e . g ., the tools described in the preceding sentences or the like ). optimizer 107 produces optimized regular expressions 113 that may be collected in a set 115 of optimized expressions where the set 115 contains some or all of the optimized regular expressions 113 for a particular software application . optimizer 107 examines regular expressions 103 and / or sets 105 to transform the authored regular expressions 103 into optimized regular expressions 113 . it is preferred that optimizer processes 107 have knowledge of a related set 105 of regular expressions 103 so that the optimization can identify duplicate and near duplicate expressions . a duplicate expression 103 may arise as a result of author error or simple oversight in large sets 105 . also , an author may be unaware of how constraints in a data set 125 will affect evaluation of an expression . such constraints may be natural or imposed by preprocessor 123 . the constraints may be such that two expressions that would be distinct if applied against unconstrained data sets will evaluate to the same or nearly the same pattern when applied against a constrained data set 125 . accordingly , providing optimizer 107 knowledge of a collection of expressions 105 as well as knowledge of any natural or imposed constraints on the data set 125 improves optimization . when a regular expression 103 is optimized , optimizer 107 may generate one or more messages 109 upon detection of one or more conditions . for example , when the optimized regular expression 105 has a potential of changing the matching results , a message 109 can be generated to notify a user that the potential change has occurred . notification messages 109 may be presented interactively or logged for later review . an exemplary set of notification rules is shown in table 1 . with regard to the third condition in table 1 , in the specific case of a typical perl re engine , the empty string matches everything instead of โ nothing โ as described in table 1 . regardless of the re engine , about the only reasonable behaviors for an empty string are โ match everything ,โ โ match nothing ,โ and โ syntax error .โ in most of applications , none of these behaviors is desirable . with regard to the fifth or last condition of table 1 , besides low - level typographical errors , this condition also applies to common semantic errors . for example , when someone attempts to match a single quoted string in c , c ++, perl , and other applications , it is a common mistake for re authors to write something like : /โ. *โ/ which matches everything from the beginning of the first quoted string to the end of the last quoted string , instead of something like : /โ([^โ\\]+|\\.)*โ/. because the auto - corrected result will often match something different than the original , the re author is preferably notified . in a particular embodiment , it is desired to generate messages 109 only when some action or intervention may be required by the user . hence , when a transform performed by the optimizer is known to produce the same matching result , there is no need for a message 109 . in other embodiments , however , it may be desirable to generate a message 109 for every transform so that there is an auditable record or log created indicating what transforms were made . moreover , not all notification messages 109 require further action by a user . for example , a message 109 that relates to an automatic correction that was applied to correct a presumed typographical error does not require any user response when there was in fact a typographical error . once regular expressions 103 are optimized and any messages 109 reviewed , the collection 115 of optimized regular expressions is created and made available for use by an application . in a particular implementation , optimized regular expressions 113 are incorporated into application logic 119 by interpreter / compiler 117 . application logic 119 implements user interfaces , interfaces to other hardware , interfaces to other software and data sets , and the like . application logic 119 includes algorithms , for example matching engines , which use the optimized regular expressions . in operation , a software application generated or implemented by interpreter / compiler 117 implements , among other things , processes that find pattern matches for a particular optimized expression 105 within a data set 125 using a particular matching algorithm . a variety of matching engines ( e . g ., algorithm 1 , algorithm 2 , algorithm n ) are available and can be used in the application logic of a particular implementation , alone or in combination with special - purpose matching engines developed for a particular implementation . three classes of matching algorithms of particular interest include deterministic , non - deterministic , and aho - corasick algorithms . each matching algorithm has particular strengths and weaknesses for particular applications . for example , deterministic algorithms may execute very quickly but because they are inflexible it is sometimes difficult to define a deterministic algorithm that will perform a particular matching function . non - deterministic algorithms are very flexible and easier to define but can execute very slowly as a result of their recursive nature . aho - corasick implementations do not evaluate regular expressions but are useful for parallel string matching ( i . e ., matching a many strings in parallel with only one pass through the data ). in contrast , almost all regular expression engines match only one pattern at a time , although the pattern can contain alternations and other complexities . when matching a large collection of patterns on lengthy data , aho - corasick is a faster matcher although is often the least flexible . transformation of a regular expression into a form that is useful to an aho - corasick string matching algorithm involves generating a list of strings containing a string for each possible pattern match . for example , โ[ 0 - 9a - za - z ]{ 10 }โ expands to 839 , 299 , 365 , 868 , 340 , 224 possible strings , which is impractical to implement . however , other regular expressions may expand to just tens or hundreds of strings , especially when domain constraints are taken into consideration , which may be very practical . while it is possible to perform matches against raw data directly , in many instances it is valuable to use preprocessor 123 to perform certain transformations on the data itself to generate a preprocessed data set 125 . examples of pre - processing include removing punctuation , removing common words and phrases ( e . g ., โ the โ, โ a โ and the like ), transforming upper case characters to lower case , removing excess spacing , and the like . preprocessing rules are developed by linguistic specialists to reduce the number and complexity of patterns required to recognize a particular semantic , which , in turn , improves both cpu and storage efficiency . data preprocessing allows a single pattern , even a single literal string in some cases , to match a great many variations of input data , and this makes the work of the linguistic specialists easier as well as making pattern matching more processor and storage efficient . preprocessing may also be more aggressive by re - writing certain words , phrases and acronyms so that the preprocessed data set 125 becomes more consistent and / or less ambiguous . for example , โ hd โ may refer to โ high - definition โ in some contexts whereas it refers to โ hard drive โ in other contexts . while it may not be possible to resolve all such ambiguity , preprocessing 123 can be performed with domain - specific knowledge so as to expand โ hd โ into an appropriate term based upon rules for a particular data set . given that one set of preprocessing rules may not be sufficient for all instances , the present invention contemplates that raw data may be preprocessed into multiple data sets 125 , each according to a unique set of rules . in turn , each pre - processed data set 125 may be more or less suitable for matching by a particular type of algorithm or for a particular type of data . returning to the example of acronyms , for example , a data set 125 that removes capitalization and punctuation may greatly speed pattern matching for a variety of common words but at the same time make acronyms harder to recognize . hence , a regular expression that is designed to match a particular acronym ( or a phrase including that acronym ) may be best executed against a data set 125 in which capitalization and punctuation remain intact . by implementing multiple data sets 125 and multiple matching algorithms , the present invention creates an environment in which regular expressions can be optimized to a greater degree than if a single data set and / or single algorithm were available . optimizer processes 107 may take into account the specified target matching algorithm such that some or all of the transformations performed take into account the specific needs of a particular matching engine . for example , one type of matching engine may be more efficient when executing long , complex regular expressions . in this case , optimizer 107 will prefer to combine multiple shorter expressions 103 into a lesser number of more complex regular expressions 113 . conversely , for a matching engine that handles multiple shorter expressions more efficiently , optimizer 107 may decompose some complex regular expressions 103 into several less complex regular expressions 113 . one feature of a preferred implementation of the present invention is that the regular expression author can specify a target matching engine for each regular expression or for a group of regular expressions . another feature of a preferred implementation of the present invention is that the regular expression author can specify a target data set 125 for each regular expression or for a group of regular expressions . a data set 125 comprises a collection of data that is to be analyzed by an application . optimizer processes 107 preferably take into account the specified target matching algorithm and / or specified target data set such that some or all of the transformations performed take into account the specific needs of a particular matching engine . for example , one type of matching engine may be more efficient when executing long , complex regular expressions . in this case , optimizer 107 will prefer to combine multiple shorter expressions 103 into a lesser number of more complex regular expressions 113 . conversely , for a matching engine that handles multiple shorter expressions more efficiently , optimizer 107 may decompose some complex regular expressions 103 into several less complex regular expressions 113 . to allow better recognition of duplicate ( and near - duplicate ) patterns , optimized regular expressions 113 should be โ normalized โ to choose a specific syntax when multiple alternatives for the same semantic exist ( preferably the most efficient alternative ). for example , the semantic โ one or more โ can be written as either โ+โ or โ{ 1 ,}โ in a regular expression . similarly , the semantic โ zero or one โ can be written as either โ?โ or โ{ 0 , 1 }โ and the semantic โ zero or more โ can be written as either โ*โ or โ{ 0 ,}โ. normalization forces all optimizations to use one of the available syntactic alternatives . likewise , whenever alternate orderings are possible , the output should be sorted . normalization does not change the meaning or result of a pattern but may affect the efficiency of the optimized pattern 113 . in some cases , the normalized form of an optimized regular expression 113 may be a form that executes less efficiently but places it in a form that allows duplicates and near duplicate regular expressions to be more readily detected . recognition of duplicates allows automated collapsing of multiple patterns into one regular expression or a lesser number of regular expressions . recognition of near - duplicates is a cue to the human maintainers of potential unintended redundancies . when data transformations are applied to the raw data by preprocessor 123 , care should be taken to ensure that compatible transformations are applied when generating optimized regular expressions 105 . for example , in fully preprocessed data , different types of white space are collapsed into exactly one regular space . optimizer 107 performs corresponding transformations on input regular expressions 103 and generates a message 109 when the input pattern 103 requires multiple consecutive spaces . moreover , although the preferred implementations allow or require a regular expression to be associated with a target algorithm ( e . g ., matching engine ), it is contemplated that it may be useful to allow optimizer 107 to change the target algorithm to one that may be executed more efficiently . for example , an author may specify a non - deterministic algorithm . optimizer 107 will consider optimizations for the specified non - deterministic algorithm but will also consider optimizations for other available algorithms such as the aho - corasick algorithm and deterministic finite automata regular expression engines . additionally , optimizer 107 may consider alternative forms of data sets 125 or alternative pre - processing 123 from that specified by an author . in this manner , optimizer 107 can greatly improve optimization by contemplating transformations that were not contemplated by the linguistic specialist . fig2 a conceptually illustrates a descriptor corresponding to an original pattern 103 generated , for example , by a linguistic specialist . by comparison , fig2 b conceptually illustrates a descriptor corresponding to an optimized pattern 113 generated by optimizer 117 . original pattern 103 comprises a pattern specification such as a regular expression as well as an identification of a target algorithm and target data source . similarly , optimized pattern 113 is described by a combination of a pattern specification such as a transformed regular expression as well as target algorithm and target data source . of the three components in the pattern descriptors shown in fig2 a and fig2 b ( pattern specification , target algorithm and target data set ), all , some , or none may be transformed between the original pattern 103 and the optimized pattern 113 . in other words , it is contemplated that some regular expressions 103 may have been generated in an optimized form . a pattern descriptor may include other data and metadata that can be used by optimizer 107 and / or interpreter compiler 117 for application specific purposes . for example , the descriptor for an original pattern 103 may include an attribute that specifies no optimization should be performed or may specify that the optimization be performed without changing the target data set and / or target algorithm . this allows a linguistic specialist to control the optimization process to achieve desired results . fig3 illustrates a simplified set of activities performed in an implementation of the present invention . in 301 , a regular expression 103 is received either singly or as a collection 105 . in activity 303 , one or more optimal transformations are determined . optimal transformations may be identified by applying pre - specified transformation rules as described in more detail below . activity 303 also includes identifying whether the target algorithm and / or target data set associated with a regular expression 103 can and / or should be altered . activity 303 may generate a number of potential pattern descriptors ( e . g ., such as shown in fig2 b ) that can be considered optimizations of the original pattern 103 . when an optimization or candidate optimization may produce different results than the original regular expression , it should be noted that a message 109 should be generated at step 309 . a similar notation should be made if other activities in the transformation step 303 indicate a message generating condition , such as an auto - correction of a typographical error and the like . some or all of the potential optimizations are normalized at activity 305 . normalization enforces certain rules related to ordering and semantics on the transformed patterns so as to make it more likely to detect duplicate or near duplicate patterns . although fig3 suggests a serial implementation , activities 303 and 305 are essentially performed together , although it is useful to understand that the present invention involves not just transformation into more optimal forms , but also normalization which may or may not be consistent with optimization . activity 307 involves checking for duplicates and near duplicates . activity 307 refers to situations in which a collection of regular expressions are being optimized together and involves comparing a candidate optimized regular expression to some or all previously optimized regular expressions 113 in a collection 115 . pattern matching techniques that operate on the literal representation of the candidate and optimized regular expressions are a suitable mechanism for detecting duplicates and near duplicate expressions . when a precise duplicate pattern is identified optimizer 107 often can safely discard one of the duplicates . in activity 309 , any notations of a condition that would require a message 109 are identified and appropriate messages 109 generated to a user or log file . by way of example only , a useful set of optimization and normalization rules implemented in a particular example of optimization processes 107 include : it is beneficial to apply optimizing / normalizing transformations iteratively until either no more transformations can be applied ( e . g ., all transformation rules are exhausted ), or until a previously - encountered result is detected ( a transformation loop ). often , one optimization enables another , which in turn , enables yet another . for example : for the most part , auto - corrections and optimizations are written assuming the normalized form as input . this often allows transformations to be simpler since not every possible input representation need be accounted for . likewise , one normalization transformation may depend on another normalization transformation . although the invention has been described and illustrated with a certain degree of particularity , it is understood that the present disclosure has been made only by way of example , and that numerous changes in the combination and arrangement of parts can be resorted to by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention , as hereinafter claimed . | 6 |
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