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in the following detailed description , reference is made to the accompanying drawings that show , by way of illustration , specific embodiments in which the invention may be practiced . these embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention . it is to be understood that the various embodiments of the invention , although different , are not necessarily mutually exclusive . furthermore , a particular feature , structure , or characteristic described herein in connection with one embodiment may be implemented within other embodiments without departing from the scope of the invention . in addition , it is to be understood that the location or arrangement of individual elements within each disclosed embodiment may be modified without departing from the scope of the invention . the following detailed description is , therefore , not to be taken in a limiting sense , and the scope of the present invention is defined only by the appended claims , appropriately interpreted , along with the full range of equivalents to which the claims are entitled . in the drawings , like numerals refer to the same or similar functionality throughout the several views . one or more embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a device for removing heat from industrial equipment such as vehicular brakes . in an embodiment , the device is used in connection with the brakes on an aircraft . fig1 illustrates an example embodiment of a heat dissipation device 100 . the device 100 includes three primary parts — a heat conducting container 110 , a phase changing and heat absorbing fluid 120 contained within the container 110 , and a capillary or wick structure 130 . in an example embodiment , the container 110 may be manufactured out of any heat conducting material such as copper , aluminum , and stainless steel . the phase changing and heat absorbing liquid 120 may be water , an ethylene glycol - water mixture , toluene , etc . the capillary or wick structure 130 may be made out of copper , steel , aluminum , or nickel mesh . the pore sizes of the mesh may vary from a range of approximately 2 to 30 meshes per linear inch . the mesh may further include fibrous materials such as ceramics and carbon fiber filaments . in a particular embodiment , the capillary , wick , or mesh structure 130 is inserted into the heat conducting container 110 . the container is then filled with the fluid 120 , and the container 110 is sealed under pressure . in an embodiment , the pressure within the container 110 may be suitably reduced below atmospheric pressure . in an embodiment , the liquid is drawn into the container because of negative pressure created in the container by a simple vacuum pump . when the example embodiment is a pipe , the pipe is sealed at one end , the mesh is inserted into the pipe at the open end , the liquid is drawn into the pipe via the negative pressure , and the other end of the pipe is sealed . one end of the pipe is referred to as an evaporator end , and the other end of the pipe is referred to as a condenser end . in an example embodiment in which the heat dissipating device 100 is used in connection with the brakes on an aircraft , the container is adapted to the required length and shape , and it is then inserted into existing heat shields in the aircraft brake drum . this arrangement is illustrated in fig2 , 3 a , and 3 b . referring to fig2 , a brake drum 300 includes one or more heat shields 310 . one or more heat dissipation devices 100 are positioned between the heat shields 310 and the brake drum 300 . fig3 a and 3b illustrate an example of the position of the heat dissipating device 100 and a brake heat shield 310 . in fig3 a , two individual devices 100 a and 100 b are positioned in proximity to a heat shield 310 . in one embodiment , the heat shield is shaped to receive and mate with the devices 100 a and 100 b . in the embodiment of fig2 , the heat from the brake drum will dissipate to the evaporator portion of the heat dissipating devices 100 a and 100 b , as shown in fig3 a . the evaporator portion of the heat dissipating devices are primarily those portions of the devices which are in contact with the brake drum . the liquid in the evaporator portion of the device evaporates , and dissipates via the mesh ( not shown in fig3 a ) to the condenser segment of the heat dissipating devices . in the embodiment of fig3 a , the condenser portion of the heat dissipating devices 100 a and 100 b are those segments that are exposed to cooler atmospheric air . the heated liquid in the condenser portion gives up its heat to the environment surrounding the condenser portion , and the condensed liquid returns to the evaporator segment to begin the cycle again . fig3 b illustrates another embodiment of a heat dissipating device 100 positioned in proximity to a heat shield 310 . the embodiment of fig3 b includes a single heat dissipating device 100 positioned in proximity to a heat shield 310 . the device 100 includes three evaporator segments 325 a , 325 b , and 330 b , and two condenser segments 330 a and 100 . as previously disclosed , the heat from the heat shield will cause the liquid in the evaporator section to evaporate and dissipate to the condenser sections . the liquid will condense in the condenser section , and return via the mesh within the device to the evaporator sections 325 a , 325 b , and 330 b . therefore , in general , heat generated by a brake will be transferred from the brake drum , heat shield , and other components of the brake system to the device 100 . the heat causes the liquid in the evaporator end of the device 100 to vaporize . when this occurs , latent heat dissipates to the condenser end of the pipe , where the heat from the liquid is dissipated to the atmosphere and the liquid condenses . after condensation , the liquid is returned to the evaporator by the mesh via capillary action of the mesh . as shown in fig3 a and 3b , the heat dissipating device 100 may be formed or shaped such as to mate with a heat shield . the heat dissipating device may be secured in place by attachment to the heat shield and brake drum . this can be done via connecting means such as bolts or other means such as welding . in another embodiment , it may be attached and secured to other structures that are part of the brake system or that are in proximity to the brake system . as can be gleaned from fig3 a and 3b , the length and shape of the device 100 are determined by the components of the brake system and the surrounding environment . while the present disclosure deals primarily with heat dissipation devices used in connection with vehicular brakes , one of skill in the art will realize that embodiments of the present disclosure may be used in connection with other apparatuses from which there is a need to remove heat . in the foregoing detailed description of embodiments of the invention , various features are grouped together in one or more embodiments for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure . this method of disclosure is not to be interpreted as reflecting an intention that the claimed embodiments of the invention require more features than are expressly recited in each claim . rather , as the following claims reflect , inventive subject matter lies in less than all features of a single disclosed embodiment . thus the following claims are hereby incorporated into the detailed description of embodiments of the invention , with each claim standing on its own as a separate embodiment . it is understood that the above description is intended to be illustrative , and not restrictive . it is intended to cover all alternatives , modifications and equivalents as may be included within the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims . many other embodiments will be apparent to those of skill in the art upon reviewing the above description . the scope of the invention should , therefore , be determined with reference to the appended claims , along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled . in the appended claims , the terms “ including ” and “ in which ” are used as the plain - english equivalents of the respective terms “ comprising ” and “ wherein ,” respectively . moreover , the terms “ first ,” “ second ,” and “ third ,” etc ., are used merely as labels , and are not intended to impose numerical requirements on their objects . the abstract is provided to comply with 37 c . f . r . 1 . 72 ( b ) to allow a reader to quickly ascertain the nature and gist of the technical disclosure . the abstract is submitted with the understanding that it will not be used to interpret or limit the scope or meaning of the claims .	5
the various parts of a single handle faucet valve that embodies the invention are best shown by fig3 and they include bonnet 11 , retainer member 13 , retainer peripheral o - ring seal 15 , stem 17 , stem ball o - ring seal 19 , stem bearing member peripheral o - ring seal 21 , stem bearing member 23 , slide member 25 , control disc 27 , inlet porting seal housing 29 , inlet porting disc 31 , inlet port o - ring seals 33 , spout member hub o - ring seals 35 , valve body 37 , spout member hub 39 , and spout member hub bearing ring 41 . the valve body 37 is generally cylindrical , having an open end and a closed end , so that the valve body inner cylindrical wall 43 and planar inner closed end surface 45 define a chamber . the valve body is provided on its exterior with a pair of spaced peripheral grooves 36 for receiving spout member hub o - ring seals 35 . the valve body is also provided at its exterior upper end portion a set of threads 38 for receiving bonnet 11 . the inlet porting disc 31 has a generally cylindrical exterior surface 47 with a first pair of oppositely disposed protuberances 48 at its upper end portion and a second pair of oppositely disposed protuberances 50 displaced 90 ° from the first pair . the exterior surfaces of the protuberances 48 , 50 are cylindrical and are matingly received by the valve body inner cylindrical wall 43 . the first pair of protuberances 48 each has a slot 96 merging with the porting disc upper surface 51 , for a purpose to be hereinafter explained . the inlet porting disc 31 also has a planar lower surface 49 that abuts the valve body inner closed end surface 45 , and a planar upper surface 51 . the valve body closed end is provided hot and cold water inlet openings 53 which are aligned with inlet openings 55 in the inlet porting disc 31 . in the embodiment shown , the inlet porting disc 31 is provided a cavity 57 for matingly receiving the inlet porting seal housing 29 , which incorporates conventional seal elements 59 . the usual inlet port o - ring seals 33 are received by the lower end portion of the inlet openings in the inlet porting disc 31 . the control disc 27 has a planar lower surface 61 which engages the upper surfaces of the inlet porting seal elements 59 . the control disc 27 is provided suitable control openings 63 which merge with planar lower surface 61 and the control disc side surface 65 . the control disc 27 upper side 67 is provided a depression which forms a rack portion 69 for receiving a single gear tooth 71 which is formed on the lower end portion 72 of the stem 17 . the metal slide member 25 has a pair of downturned flanges 73 that are matingly received by the controlled disc side surface 65 and a pair of upturned flanges 75 that are matingly received by a first pair of side surfaces 77 of a stem bearing member base portion 79 . the retainer 13 , stem 17 and stem bearing member 23 make up a cartridge assembly . the retainer member 13 has a generally cylindrical exterior surface including an upper portion 81 , an intermediate portion 83 and a lower portion 85 . the upper portion 81 , which is of smaller diameter than the intermediate portion 83 merges with same to form a shoulder 87 . the intermediate portion 83 is provided a groove 89 to receive the retainer peripheral o - ring seal 15 . the intermediate portion is also provided with a rectangular protrusion 91 which mates with an orientation notch 93 on the upper end of the valve body 37 . the lower portion 85 forms the exterior of a pair of generally rectangular depending legs 95 , each of which carries at its lower end a rectangular protuberance 97 that is matingly received by a respective slot 96 when the retainer member 13 is assembled relative to the inlet porting disc 31 . the retainer member 13 has a generally triangular opening 99 at its upper end portion , the side wall of which serves as a guide for lever portion 101 of the stem 17 . the interior of the retainer member 13 includes a first cylindrical portion 103 which merges with a tapered shoulder portion 105 , which in turn merges with a second cylindrical portion 107 , which in turn merges with an upper stem ball seat 109 . a slot 111 traverses the second cylindrical portion 107 and the upper stem ball seat 109 and is disposed symmetrically with respect to a plane that is a longitudinal bisector of the retainer member 13 and its legs 95 . each leg is provided a rectangular opening 113 at its upper end portion for a purpose to be hereinafter described . the base portion 79 of stem bearing member 23 , which is generally rectangular , has a second pair of side surfaces 115 which are , of course , perpendicular to the first pair 77 . centrally disposed on each of said second side surfaces 115 is a generally rectangular protuberance 117 , for a purpose to be hereinafter described . the base portion 79 of the stem bearing member 23 merges with a cylindrical portion 119 , which is provided a groove 121 to receive the stem bearing member peripheral o - ring seal 21 . the stem bearing member 23 is provided a generally triangular opening 123 to permit passage of the lower end portion 72 of the stem 17 . the side wall 125 of the triangular opening 123 merges with a lower stem ball seat 127 , which in turn merges with a stem bearing member o - ring groove 129 which in turn merges with the upper end surface 131 of the stem bearing member 23 . the lever portion 101 of the stem 17 merges with a stem ball 133 which in turn merges with the stem lower end portion 72 . projecting from the upper hemisphere of the stem ball 133 is a guide pin 135 for a purpose to be hereinafter described . to make up the cartridge assembly above - mentioned , the retainer peripheral o - ring seal 15 is placed in groove 89 and the stem 17 is installed in the retainer 13 , with the lever portion 101 projecting through the triangular opening 99 , the stem ball received in the upper stem ball seat 109 , and the guide pin 135 disposed in the slot 111 . the stem bearing member peripheral o - ring seal 21 is placed in the groove 121 , the stem ball o - ring seal 19 is placed in the stem bearing member o - ring groove 129 and this assembly is inserted into the retainer member first cylindrical portion 103 with the protuberances 117 bearing on the inner surfaces of legs 95 , forcing them to move slightly outwardly until the protuberances 117 are received by respective rectangular openings 113 , at which time the legs 95 return to their normal positions and the stem bearing member 23 is locked on the retainer member 13 . the bonnet 11 is generally cylindrical and is open on one end 137 and is provided an internal flange 139 at the other end portion 141 , with the inner surface of the internal flange 139 forming a shoulder 143 . the bonnet 11 is provided internal threads 145 that merge with its open end and are adapted to be matingly received by the external threads 38 on the valve body 37 . the diameter of the internal flange 39 is greater than the diameter of the retainer member upper portion cylindrical surface 81 but less than the diameter of the retainer member intermediate portion cylindrical surface 83 , so that the bonnet shoulder 143 will engage retainer member shoulder 87 in assembly . to assemble the single handle faucet valve , the inlet porting disc 31 , with inlet port o - ring seals 33 and inlet porting seal housing 29 and conventional seal elements 59 all installed , is placed into valve body 27 so that its planar lower surface 49 is adjacent the valve body closed end surface 45 and so that the porting disc inlet openings 55 are aligned with the valve body hot and cold water inlet openings 53 . the slide member 25 is then installed on the stem bearing member 23 and control disc 27 is installed on the slide , with the stem gear tooth 71 received by the control disc rack portion 69 . this entire assembly is then inserted into the valve body so that legs 95 bottom out on the inlet porting disc planar upper surface 51 with the leg protuberances 97 being received by the respective slots 96 on the inlet porting disc protuberances 48 , and the retainer member rectangular protrusion 91 being received by the valve body orientation notch 93 . next , the spout member hub bearing ring 41 is installed on the valve body ( the valve body having been mounted to a conventional base not shown ) and the spout member hub o - ring seals 35 are installed in respective grooves 36 on the valve body 37 . then the spout member hub 39 is installed on the valve body 37 and the bonnet 11 is threaded onto the valve body . when the bonnet shoulder 143 contacts the retainer member shoulder 87 , and as the bonnet continues downward , the retainer member 13 moves downward with its legs 95 bottomed out on the inlet porting disc upper planar surface 51 , so that the inlet porting disc 31 also moves downward until its planar lower surface 49 bottoms out on the valve body closed end inner surface 45 , at which time the threading of the bonnet 11 onto the valve body 37 is stopped . the depth of the valve body o - ring grooves that receive the inlet port o - ring seals 33 is such that when assembly is completed the o - ring seals 33 are properly compressed for sealing . the interrelation of the valve body orientation slot 93 , retainer member rectangular protrusion 91 , rectangular protuberances 97 of legs 95 , and inlet porting disc slots 96 assures proper alignment of the relevant valve parts . a primary aspect of this invention is the manner in which stem sealing is accomplished . as best seen in fig4 clearance is provided between the stem bearing member protuberances 117 and the retainer member rectangular openings 113 , and between the stem bearing member upper extremity and the retainer member shoulder portion 105 , so that the stem bearing member 23 is allowed limited movement in the directions of the valve body central axis . the showings of fig1 and 5 assume that the single handle faucet valve has been fully installed and is turned on to permit water flow and that the water pressure is sufficient to move the stem bearing member 23 upwardly so that the lower stem ball seat 127 is in contact with the stem ball 133 . whether or not the lower stem ball seat 127 will be in contact with the stem ball 133 will depend on the magnitude of the water pressure . the compression of the stem ball o - ring seal 19 will vary with the magnitude of the water pressure . the stem ball o - ring seal 19 is not subject to excessive compression , due to the fact that upward movement of the stem bearing member 23 is limited by contact of the lower stem ball seat 127 with the stem ball 133 . because the stem ball o - ring seal compression varies with water pressure magnitude and is not subject to excessive compression , wear on the stem ball o - ring seal 19 is minimized . the foregoing disclosure and the showings made in the drawings are merely illustrative of the principles of this invention and are not to be interpreted in a limiting sense .	8
the friction gear according to fig2 , comprises the ferrous drive rollers 1 , 2 and the ferrous off - drive roller 3 . rollers 1 , 2 , 3 are completely surrounded by a casing 4 . the drive rollers 1 , 2 are supported within the casing 4 in bearings on adjustable axes 5 , 6 while the off - drive roller 3 is secured to a shaft 7 being likewise supported in bearings in the frontal walls of the casing 4 opposite the roller 3 . at one frontal side the drive rollers 1 , 2 are provided with gear wheels 8 , 9 through which they are driven by a drive ( not shown ) for instance a motor and a common chain . instead of a chain drive , a gear drive can be provided for within or outside the casing . the axes 5 , 6 of the drive rollers 1 , 2 are oppositely polarized socalled magnet axes of a magnetic circuit closing the magnetic system , with part of them being disposed outside the casing 4 together with the further elements of the magnetic system . the further elements of the magnetic system are block magnets 10 , 11 being polarized in parallel to the plane of axis of rollers 1 , 2 with pole shoes 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 being mounted on both sides of the frontal surfaces of the drive rollers 1 , 2 and secured to the axes 5 , 6 by the pole shoes 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 . this gives a completely closed magnetic circuit being practically free of stray , originating from the block magnets 10 , 11 and extending through the pole shoes 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 and through the axes 5 , 6 . the lines of force of the magnetic circuit are exclusively concentrated within the operating air gap in the interior of the circuit between rollers 1 , 2 , and the magnetic circuit is closed by means of off - drive roller 3 being supported on rollers 1 , 2 which results in a strong mutual magnetic attraction of rollers 1 , 2 , 3 and a simultaneous partly relief of the bearings by means of mutual magnetic support , as well as force - locking transmission of the torque . due to the arrangement of the block magnets 10 , 11 and of the pole shoes 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 outside the casing 4 they can be arranged in practically any possible size . thus auxiliary forces for the entrainment of rollers 1 , 2 , 3 can be achieved which could not be reached until now . fig3 shows a friction gear being similar to that of fig1 however , provided with a reinforced and with a connectable and disconnectable magnetic system . in this case , on both sides of the frontal surfaces of drive rollers 1 , 2 block magnets 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 with pole shoes 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 are disposed in pairs outside the casing 4 , said block magnets being oppositely magnetized to one another vertically to the plane of axis of drive rollers 1 , 2 and connected by one short - circuit element 24 , 25 each at the surface opposite the pole shoes 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 . the block magnets 16 , 17 and their pole shoes 20 , 21 respectively are connected to the correspondingly polarized block magnets 18 , 19 and their pole shoes 22 , 23 respectively via the thus oppositely polarized axes 5 , 6 so that also in this case the magnetic circuit is completely closed within the casing 4 . the operating air gap again lies between the drive rollers 1 , 2 . it is also closed by means of the superposition of off - drive roller 3 so that this system is practically free of stray . by means of a switching element being disposed between the pole shoes 20 , 21 and 22 , 23 and consisting of the two segments 26 , 27 conveying the magnetism , and an unmagnetized circuit breaker 28 connecting the segments 26 , 27 to form a rotor , the magnet pairs 16 , 17 and 18 , 19 can be short - circuited via their pole shoes 20 , 21 and 22 , 23 . the axes 5 , 6 then become practically ummagnetized and the magnetic adhesion of the drive rollers 1 , 2 with the off - drive roller 3 is neutralized . the neutralization of the magnetic adhesion can be desirous for repairs or disassemblies of the friction gear . in addition , the magnetic capacity can be adjusted via the switching elements 26 , 27 , 28 from 0 up to the maximum magnetic force depending on the position of the swiching elements 26 , 27 , 28 , i . e . that the magnetic transmission of force is variable . for increasing the magnetic induction the distance between the drive rollers 1 , 2 and thus the air gap can be reduced so that they are closely adjacent to one another with their peripheries , see fig4 . in case of the friction gear of fig5 the magnetic system for drive rollers 1 , 2 and off - drive roller 3 is even reinforced by an increased operating air gap induction by arranging on the pole shoes 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 additional block magnets 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 with analogous poles , their free poles also being connected to short - circuit plates 34 , 35 . the short - circuit plates 24 , 25 and 34 , 35 respectively can also be connected to one another because of constructional reasons . the course of the magnetic lines of force within the magnetic circuit remains unchanged by this . the friction gear of fig5 can be further modified according to fig6 and 7 by providing above the off - drive roller 3 two further drive rollers 36 , 37 instead of two drive rollers 1 , 2 . the bearing of these rollers 36 , 37 by axes 38 , 39 lies also within the casing 4 . in addition , the axes 38 , 39 are in connection with the pole shoes 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 so that they are correspondingly polarized . besides the increase of the driving force on the off - drive roller 3 by means of the arrangement of the drive rollers 1 , 2 , 36 , 37 to the off - drive roller 3 being symmetrical in both directions of the axes , also a practically complete relief of the bearings and thus a reduction of the friction values can be achieved by means of the embodiment of the friction gear . according to fig8 the friction gear can be formed in such a way that it operates with three drive rollers . in modification of the friction gear of fig1 the pole shoes 13 , 15 are then u - shaped with the legs 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 forming auxiliary poles to which the two axes 5 , 6 of the outside drive rollers 1 , 2 disposed within the casing 4 are connected and are correspondingly oppositely polarized to the axis 45 of the drive roller 40 . while the axes 5 , 6 , 45 again constitute the elements of a closed magnetic circuit , the drive rollers 1 , 2 , 40 are magnetically short - circuited by the off - drive roller 3 being in direct touch with them , and mutually attracted by the magnetic adhesion . instead of cylindrical drive rollers , those of a conical form can be used together with a friction wheel or a drive roller being disposed therebetween , see fig1 . here , the magnetic system of fig3 and 4 is taken as a basis . the conical drive rollrs 46 , 47 &# 39 ; are with their axes 5 , 6 also mounted within the casing 4 and connected to the pole shoes 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 of the block magnets 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 being connected to one another in pairs by means of the short - circuit plates 24 , 25 . the conicity of drive rollrs 46 , 47 &# 39 ; with one another is opposite , while the cylindrical off - drive roller 3 being disposed between the drive rollers 46 , 47 &# 39 ; and lying with its axis 7 also within the casing 4 , is displaceable on the drive rollers 46 , 47 &# 39 ; with continuous modification of the rotational speed . fig1 shows a friction gear with more than two drive rollers and more than one off - drive roller . the magnetic system on both sides of the rollers consists of an uneven number of block magnets 47 , 48 , 49 , 50 , 51 with pole shoes 52 , 53 , 54 , 55 , 56 . at each side of the friction gear the block magnets 47 , 48 , 49 , 50 , 51 are connected to one another by a short - circuit plate 57 , 58 , and magnetized oppositely to one another in the vertical plane of axis . thus the axes 59 , 60 , 61 , 62 , 63 being again disposed in a closed magnetic circuit obtain alternating polarities together with the drive rollers 64 , 65 , 66 , 67 , 68 with adjacent drive rollers forming an operating air gap between one another . due to the supported off - drive rollers 69 , 70 , 71 , 72 the operating air gaps are magnetically short - circuited so that the drive rollers 64 , 65 , 66 , 67 , 68 and the off - drive rollers 69 , 70 , 71 , 72 are under strong mutual magnetic attraction . as in the above examples the drive rollers 64 , 65 , 66 , 67 , 68 are driven by a common drive , for instance a motor via chain wheels or a common chain or gear wheels , as well as mounted in a common casing together with the off - drive rollers 69 , 70 , 71 , 72 , whereby outside said casing the connectable and disconnectable magnetic system is disposed with its block magnets 47 , 48 , 49 , 50 , 51 with pole shoes 52 , 53 , 54 , 55 , 56 . due to this increased number of drive rollers 64 , 65 , 66 , 67 , 68 and off - drive rollers 69 , 70 , 71 , 72 the friction gear is of particular advantage for the simultaneous execution of several working operations with multiple drills . according to fig1 the magnetic system of fig1 is modified so that every second block magnet 48 , 50 is replaced by an auxiliary pole 73 , 74 . instead of a short - circuit plate the block magnets 47 , 49 , 51 with analogous poles are mounted on pole plates 75 , 76 with the auxiliary poles 73 , 74 extending up to the block magnets 47 , 49 , 51 and their pole shoes 52 , 54 , 56 respectively , and operating as corresponding antipoles . the use of auxiliary poles serves the purpose of saving expensive magnetic material in adaptation to every correspondingly necessary magnetic adhesion . the friction gear can further be modified so that the poles 52 , 54 , 56 , 73 , 74 are of different heights and the off - drive rollers 69 , 70 , 71 , 72 are different diameters thus rotating at a different number of revolutions . the friction gear of fig1 and 14 consists of one drive element 77 and one off - drive element 78 each , both being mounted outside the casing 4 with the bearings 79 , 80 being mounted in pole shoes 81 , 82 of the magnetic system and one of the pole shoes 81 , 82 -- in the given example pole shoe 81 -- being partly displaceable by means of a pinion 97 and toothed rack 98 out of the magnetic system . the drive element 77 comprises a crowned roll - off surface . same can also be provided for with the off - drive element 78 instead of with the drive element 77 , or with both elements 77 , 78 . each pole shoe 81 , 82 is disposed between four block magnets 83 , 84 , 85 , 86 and 87 , 88 , 89 , 90 which on their part by means of the short - circuit plates 91 , 92 , 93 , 94 lie as pairs of magnets against the pole shoes 81 , 82 with opposite poles , thus being connected to form a closed magnetic system . each pole shoe 81 , 82 receive a fourfold analogous polarization being transmitted to the drive element 77 and off - drive element 78 via the axes 95 , 96 , with these elements 77 , 78 being at their areas of contact exposed to a strong opposite magnetic attraction , due to the mutually opposite polarities of the pole shoes 81 , 82 . the rotational speed of this friction gear is adjustable by the displacement of the pole shoes 81 . as can be taken from fig1 and 16 , a further modification of the friction gear consists of arranging several block magnets 100 with pole shoes 101 each at the inner periphery of one cylindrical or polygonal short - circuit plate 99 , 102 each . an off - drive roller 103 is assigned to each block magnet 100 , the axis 104 of said roller being mounted in the casing 4 , connecting the short - circuit plates 99 , 102 via pole shoes 101 and block magnets 100 . all off - drive rollers 103 are driven by one single drive roller 105 being supported in the center of the short - circuit plates 99 , 102 in the bearing 106 at the side of the casing . as the block magnets 100 are arranged in the short - circuit plates 99 , 102 with alternating poles , and the axes 104 always only connect analogous poles of the block magnets 100 or their pole shoes 101 respectively , the polarity of the off - drive rollers 103 alternates . the air gaps between the off - drive rollers 103 are bridged by the contact of the off - drive rollers 103 with the drive roller 105 , i . e . the magnetic field is short - circuited and the tangent elements are thus exposed to a strong magnetic attraction . said friction gear can for instance be used as multiple spindle boring mill in case of which boring heads 107 can be mounted on the elongated axes 104 . in addition , the off - drive rollers 103 can be of different diameter according to the destination of the friction gear , so that the rollers 103 rotate at different speeds . if desired , the friction gear can be run in such a way that the off - drive rollers 103 with analogous diameters are actuated as drive rollers , and the drive rollers 105 as off - drive rollers . the friction gear would in that case have the inverse function to what was described above . the driving force is then concentrated to a larger off - drive roller and can correspondingly be used for great and greater boring performances . the magnetic system according to the invention can be applied with equal success in case of multiple stage change - over gears if they operate on the basis of a friction gear . during recent years oil companies working in this field have developed special lubricants , particularly of synthetic type , for improving the lubricated friction , said lubricants being known under the name of traction - liquids . the special character of these traction - liquids resides in the fact that they do not only act as good lubricants but have an extremely improving effect upon friction gear transmissions at the surfaces of contact of two or several bodies with extremely high pressure up to 5000 n / mm 2 ( n = newton units ) or about 502 kp / mm 2 forming at these points by temporary solidification of the usually adequately liquid lubricating film . after passing the point of pressure the lubricating film again liquefies . by means of that recent development in the field of lubricant - research for instance the construction of mechanical continuous friction gears has again become attractive for the achievement of higher performances . said oil can contribute to the further improvement of friction gears also with the magnetic friction wheels according to the invention .	5
the present invention and various features and advantageous details thereof will now be described with reference to the exemplary , and therefore non - limiting , embodiments that are illustrated in the accompanying drawings . descriptions of known programming techniques , computer software , hardware , network communications , operating platforms and protocols may be omitted so as not to unnecessarily obscure the invention in detail . it should be understood , however , that the detailed description and the specific examples , while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention , are given by way of illustration only and not by way of limitation . various substitutions , modifications , additions and / or rearrangements within the spirit and / or scope of the underlying inventive concept will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this disclosure . before describing embodiments of the invention in detail , it might be helpful to clarify a few terms used in this disclosure . a “ file classification ” can have one or more file attributes and can be associated with one or more volumes . a volume is a mountable share where objects ( e . g ., subject files ) reside on a server . a file attribute is an entity , an instance of a file classification or file system metadata . the term “ file system metadata ” or its acronym “ fsmd ” encompasses file system attributes that embodiments of the invention maintain about files . an exemplary list of file system attributes implementing embodiments of the invention can be found in the user &# 39 ; s guide , storediq appliance 4 . 0 , july 2006 edition , pp . 106 - 125 , attached as appendix a to the present application . fsmd may comprise metadata such as access and creation times , file size , etc . a content - based entity is an instance of data , type of entity , location of entity , or data match . examples of entities can be found in the aforementioned user &# 39 ; s guide . attention is now directed to systems , methods and apparatuses for a classification pipeline configured to provide a set of tagging and extraction services . the classification pipeline disclosed herein may be embodied in computer - executable program instructions residing on computer - readable media . in one embodiment , a system implementing the classification pipeline disclosed herein is programmed with computer - executable program instructions for extracting and / or analyzing the data of files or other objects in the filesystem ( collectively referred to as objects ) or metadata pertaining to these objects , in order that the objects may be classified and / or certain actions taken based on the classification of the object . actions ( e . g ., executing a business policy , harvesting metadata , generating a report , etc .) may be taken based upon the classification of the object or based upon metadata associated with the objects . in embodiments of the invention , the tagging and extraction services provided by the classification pipeline are made available to one or more clients ( i . e ., machines running client software ) through an interface . in the present disclosure , this interface is interchangeably referred to as the “ classification pipeline interface ” or simply “ the interface ”. the interface may be implemented in various ways . for example , it may be implemented as an application web interface or an applications programming interface ( api ). it may be implemented as a single synchronous interface or a set of asynchronous interfaces . one example of a synchronous interface for a classification pipeline is described below with reference to fig1 . one example of a set of asynchronous interfaces for a classification pipeline is described below with reference to fig2 . in both examples , the classification pipeline configuration can be controlled through the interface , which is implemented as an api exposed as a series of xml request and replies over tcp . a synchronous interface implementing embodiments of the invention may comprise two components : the classify object request and the classify object response . the classify object request is designed to pass a set of parameters to the classification pipeline for a single file . the metadata for the specified file is extracted and passed back to the requesting application on the classify object response . the interface of this type may be referred to as an “ object_classify_request interface ”. in one embodiment , the classify object request can pass at least two types of parameters : required and optional . required parameters may include file name ( i . e ., the name of the file to be classified ) and volume ( i . e ., the volume where the file is located .) the file name parameter could be fully qualified relative to the context provided by the volume parameter . in one embodiment , the volume parameter refers to a volume defined within an appliance that is hosting the pipeline ( e . g ., a storediq appliance ), in which case , a volume must first be defined on that appliance ( e . g ., using the storediq user interface ) before it can be given as a parameter . various volume types ( e . g ., cifs , nfs , netware , centera , exchange , etc .) may be implemented in embodiments of the invention . examples of volume configuration options can be found in the aforementioned user &# 39 ; s guide , storediq appliance 4 . 0 , july 2006 edition , pp . 36 - 39 . pipeline profile name — refers to the name of a pipeline profile that is defined on the appliance hosting the classification pipeline . the pipeline profile determines what sets of metadata the client application will receive from the classification pipeline . using the storediq appliance as an example , the pipeline profile is set up in the system configuration tab of the storediq user interface . if no pipeline profile name is passed , the default is to provide all sets of metadata . other configurations are possible . object system metadata — this parameter includes data such as file size , access times , and modified times . the data will vary depending upon the underlying object system ( e . g ., cifs , nfs , netware , etc .). embodiments of the classification pipeline are configured to extract all types of metadata . in cases where user ( s ) inherently have object system metadata “ in hand ” ( e . g ., as a function of learning or acquiring the name of the file to be classified ), the classification pipeline is operable to allow the user ( s ) to pass the user - acquired data into the pipeline . external metadata — this parameter provides a mechanism for client applications to pass in metadata that is not created by the pipeline per se , but can be referenced within the object classification rules engine to assist in the classification processing . there are many different types of metadata , including metadata about electronic documents created by client applications . document metadata describes document attributes such as the title , author , content , location , and date of creation . since it is often possible to view a history of every change ever made to an electronic document during its lifetime , acquiring this type of information can help in “ historicizing ” and / or classifying the document . document metadata can include edits and comments made by the author and other users to a document as well as hidden information about the document . exemplary document metadata may include one or more of the following : text changes , comments , document versions , document revisions , template information , file properties and summary information , author &# 39 ; s name , author &# 39 ; s initials , author &# 39 ; s email address , company or organization &# 39 ; s name , name of the computer on which it is created , name of the hard disk , volume , or network server on which the document is saved , routing information , names of previous authors , hyperlinks , macros , hidden text , and non - visible portions of embedded object linking and embedding ( ole ) objects , etc . fig1 depicts a block diagram illustrating a synchronous integration flow of a classification pipeline according to one embodiment of the present invention . api 120 can be used by any type of software application to interface with the classification pipeline . for example , application 100 may wish to receive information pertaining to a certain object or to a certain location on a particular filesystem . more details on the term “ object ” will be described below with reference to fig3 - 5 . to obtain this information on the object , application 100 may send a & lt ; classify object request & gt ; 102 (“ request 102 ”) to classification pipeline 110 with information pertaining to the object on which application 100 wishes to receive information . the information pertaining to the object sent via request 102 may include information such as the volume on which the object is located or the name of the object . to facilitate the sending of request 102 ( and possibly of response 104 to request 102 ), request 102 may be formulated according to api 120 or any suitable api that classification pipeline 110 is operable to implement . classification pipeline 110 may then obtain or extract metadata on or about the object , and / or classify the object according to a set of classification parameters . in one embodiment , the metadata extracted or obtained on the object may be dependent on a level of service specified in conjunction with classification pipeline 110 . in response to request 102 , classification pipeline 110 may send a & lt ; classify object response & gt ; 104 (“ response 104 ”). response 104 may contain information pertaining to the object on which information was requested in request 102 . this information on the object may be metadata pertaining to the object ( e . g ., pipeline metadata ) or data contained by the object , or a classification of the object , or tagged entities that were found within the content of the object . in one embodiment , metadata in response 104 may be formulated as an xml string . the interaction with classification pipeline 110 depicted in fig1 may occur in a synchronous manner . in other words , application 100 may send request 102 to classification pipeline 110 , which in turn will respond with response 104 to the same application 100 when metadata has been obtained on the object , or the object has been classified . in some cases , however , it may be desirable to have separate , asynchronous interactions , such that a request pertaining to an object may be sent by one application and the metadata or classification information about that object may be sent to , or obtained by , another distinct application , portion of application or location . asynchronous interfaces allow an asynchronous ingest and an asynchronous publish subscribe interface to the pipeline &# 39 ; s output . they may be configured with one or more of the following abilities : get and set volume definitions , get and set file classification definitions , get and set new entity types , and get and set pipeline profile configurations . fig2 depicts a block diagram illustrating an asynchronous integration flow of a classification pipeline according to one embodiment of the present invention . in this example , application 200 may send a & lt ; classify object request & gt ; 202 (“ request 202 ”) to classification pipeline 110 with information pertaining to the object on which application 200 wishes to receive information . the information pertaining to the object sent via request 202 may include information such as the volume on which the object is located or the name of the object . request 202 may also contain information on the location to which a response to request 202 is to be delivered , such as to what application the response should be delivered , what portion of an application the response should be delivered , or if the response should be stored etc . to facilitate the sending of request 202 , request 202 may be formulated according to api 120 or any suitable api that classification pipeline 110 is operable to implement . in response to this initial request 202 , classification pipeline 110 may send a & lt ; classify object response & gt ; 204 (“ response 204 ”) indicating that request 202 has been received by classification pipeline 110 and that information will be delivered to the requested application / location . classification pipeline 110 may then operate to obtain or extract metadata on or about the object , or to classify the object according to a set of classification parameters . in one embodiment , the metadata extracted or obtained on the object may be dependent on a level of service specified in conjunction with classification pipeline 110 . once this information has been obtained , classification pipeline 110 may send a & lt ; classified object assertion & gt ; 206 (“ response 206 ”). response 206 may contain information pertaining to the object on which information was requested in request 202 , and may be sent to the location , application or portion of application specified in request 202 . although response 206 is depicted in fig2 as being sent to application 200 , this is for the convenience of depiction and for the purpose of illustration only . response 206 may be delivered to another application ( not shown ), a location ( not shown ), or a certain procedure or portion of application 202 . this information on the object may be metadata pertaining to the object or data contained by the object , or a classification of the object . in one embodiment , metadata in response 206 may be formulated as an xml string . upon receiving response 206 , application 200 ( or a portion of application 202 ) may send a & lt ; classified object acknowledgement & gt ; 208 (“ response 208 ”) acknowledging that the information pertaining to the object has been received . moving to fig3 , one embodiment of a classification pipeline is depicted . classification pipeline 300 may comprise a plurality of layers through which metadata can be obtained and / or processed for submission to object classification rules engine 326 . the term “ layers ” is representative of the various ways in which the functionality of classification pipeline 300 may be implemented ( e . g ., services , stages , etc .). in one embodiment , the functionality of classification pipeline 300 can be divided into three levels ( object system metadata processing 301 , content - based metadata processing 303 , and entity processing 305 ). object system metadata processing 301 may comprise layers 302 , 304 , and 306 for extracting system - level metadata which pertains to the keeper of the object ( e . g ., the system on which the object resides , the surrounding systems , the type of filesystem on which the object resides , the security settings pertaining to the object , other filesystem information such as user directories , etc .). current filesystems generally provide ample amounts of system metadata . object system metadata extraction 302 may operate to extract raw system metadata pertaining to the location and type of filesystem on which an object resides . this can be done by using the volume parameter passed in on the & lt ; object classification request & gt ;. each volume has a system type . object system metadata extraction 302 may operate to map available attributes based on the system type . the type of volume is extensible ( i . e ., new system types can be readily added ). object system metadata extraction 302 may operate to collaborate , from within the pipeline and based on detailed information extracted thus far , with other software facilities within a network ( e . g ., an enterprise policy engine in an enterprise network ) to aggregate , enrich , and / or augment the extracted metadata ( e . g ., the enterprise policy engine may recursively feed analyzed attributes back into object system metadata extraction 302 ). security extraction 304 may operate to extract an object &# 39 ; s security settings such as access permissions . like system metadata , the security settings are a type of metadata that exist on objects which can be extracted , tagged , and classified via classification pipeline 300 . the extracted security information can be useful for forensic and / or reporting purposes . for example , one might desire to know , while an object is being tagged , how many times the object had been accessed , when and perhaps by whom . in this way , access behavior may be analyzed based on the extracted security information and the historic value ( s ) associated therewith . user directory extraction 306 may operate to extract system metadata pertaining to user directories associated with the object . user directory extraction 306 can enrich the extracted system metadata with directory information ( e . g ., the active directory where an object currently resides on a user computer ). additional system - level processing is possible to extract from the keeper of an object other types of metadata germane to the structure ( e . g ., file type ) of the object ( e . g ., “ sender ” may be germane to “ email ”, “ author ” may be germane to “ document ”, etc .). the keeper of the object refers to the system ( s ) on which the object resides . as an example , a client can simply plug in , insert or otherwise add new metadata extraction algorithm ( s ) or processing layer ( s ) to classification pipeline 300 . content - based metadata processing 303 may comprise layers 308 , 310 , 312 , 314 , 316 and 318 for obtaining metadata on an object based upon the content of the object ( e . g ., free form text of an email or document , etc .). for example , duplicate hash computation 308 may operate to perform a binary hash to detect possible duplicate objects which can then be removed ( also called “ deduplication ”). in one embodiment , another layer ( not shown ) can be added to perform a text - based hash on the content of the object to see if it has changed semantically . this can be done before extractions 314 , 316 , 318 . content typing 310 may operate to determine the type of object by its content and not by its extension . as an example , a file named “ work . doc ” may be an . mp3 file in disguise . determining the type of a document based on what &# 39 ; s in it can help to ensure the accuracy of its classification . text conversion 312 may operate to process and prepare the text of the object for content - based extraction operations ( e . g ., keyword extraction 314 , raw entity extraction 316 , text pattern extraction 318 , etc .). other content - based metadata extraction operations are also possible . in one embodiment , another layer or module ( not shown ) can be added to remove any ambiguity ( also called “ the disambiguity ” layer ”) in the content of the object . as one skilled in the art can appreciate , removing ambiguity ( e . g ., run - on sentences , improper punctuation , extra spaces , tables , dashes or hyphens in words and sentences , etc .) from the content can improve performance . the aforementioned text - based hashing can be performed on the converted text as well . the converted text next is broken down into speech units ( e . g ., names , cities , nouns , verbs , etc .) and goes through a battery of extraction processes ( e . g ., keyword extraction 314 , raw entity extraction 316 , text pattern extraction 318 , etc .). these layers of extraction operate to look for keywords , semantic entities , word units , expressions , text patterns , etc . and extract them from the text based on some predetermined parameters ( e . g ., a client desiring to locate documents discussing patient privacy might specify a list of relevant keywords such as “ patient ” and “ privacy ” based on which keyword extraction 314 is operable to go through the text and tag documents that contain those keywords ). in some embodiments , third party text processing software development kits such as thingfinder ® by inxight software , inc . of sunnyvale , calif . can be used to supplement this functionality . inxight thingfinder ® can automatically identify , tags , and indexes about 35 types of named entities in a document , such as persons , organizations , dates , places , and addresses . entity processing 305 may comprise layers 320 , 322 , and 324 for processing the object and / or metadata previously obtained from the object . in particular , the object and metadata previously obtained may be combined or analyzed to produce further metadata on the object . in embodiments of the invention , filtering / scoping 320 may operate to tag metadata according to predetermined scope ( s )/ filtering rule ( s ), which are user - definable . this can be useful in classifying objects in compliance with privacy policies and / or rules . with this functionality , objects may be included ( scoping ) and / or excluded ( filtering ) from one or more classes . proximity analysis 322 may operate to tag or select an entity ( metadata ) based on its proximity or affinity to another entity or entities . for example , to distinguish from all dates a user may specify for proximity analysis 322 to find dates in proximity to a particular word or entity . as another example , to find names of people who work in hospitals , a user might first create an entity called “ hospital names ” and distinguish from all names only those that are in proximity to hospital names using proximity analysis 322 . these are examples of proximity - based entities . at this point , everything about an object is tagged and there could be a plurality of entities ( extracted as well as created by the layers in the classification pipeline ) of various types . user level entity assertion 324 may operate to normalize these entities and interface with object classification rules engine 326 for submitting objects and their associated data . in this respect , user level entity assertion 324 can be seen as interfacing between the tagging functionality and the classification functionality of classification pipeline 300 . that is , an object may move up or through classification pipeline 300 as metadata concerning the object continues to be collected , enriched , and augmented . once it reaches the last node , in this case , proximity analysis 322 , the tagging aspect of the pipeline is done and user level entity assertion 324 can assert all the data in its aggregate into object classification rules engine 326 . in one embodiment , object classification rules engine 326 is operable to classify objects according to a set of rules which define classes for objects based upon various data , metadata or various combinations associated therewith . each object is classified based on its associated data according to these rules . these classification rules are user - definable and can be expressed in the form of conditions . in one embodiment , a condition has an attribute in terms of a value or value plus instances . in this way , if an object has an entity associated therewith that satisfies a condition , object classification rules engine 326 may classify that object to be a member of a class having that condition . once the class membership is asserted , its class can be expressed in terms of another class ( i . e ., the class becomes the object &# 39 ; s another attribute ). this complex class membership can be interpreted subsequently during class processing . it will be apparent to those of skill in the art that the stages or layers 302 - 326 depicted with respect to classification pipeline 300 are exemplary only , and that classification pipeline 300 may include more or fewer stages depending on the functionality of classification pipeline 300 desired . as an example , fig3 a depicts an embodiment of classification pipeline 330 comprising layers 332 , 334 , 336 , 338 , 340 , 344 , and 346 for operating on metadata spaces listed in table 1 below . in one embodiment , layers 332 , 334 , 336 , 338 , 340 , 344 , and 346 are implemented as a set of tagging and extraction services available through a web interface or an api interface . in one embodiment , clients ( e . g ., application 100 ) of the classification pipeline ( e . g ., classification pipeline 110 ) can subscribe to specific metadata spaces listed above by defining a pipeline profile . if no pipeline profile is provided ( e . g ., request 102 contains no pipeline profile ), the classification pipe may be configured to provide all sets of metadata . in embodiments of the invention , any of the above - described layers and options of the classification pipeline can be turned on and off by metadata subscription . as an example , a client may choose to subscribe to a particular profile of the pipeline and configure it accordingly . as another example , a client may choose to tag an object but not classify it . in some cases , a client may desire to have some dimensions of classification that is germane to a particular application domain , but not necessarily part of the classification pipeline . for example , a class may require its members to contain the name “ steve ”, be bigger than one megabyte in file size , be created over one year ago , mention a software product called “ classification pipeline ,” and references the city of austin . in one embodiment , a user can pass the classification requirements in from the application domain to the classification engine ( e . g ., object classification rules engine 326 ) and the classification pipeline ( e . g ., classification pipeline 300 ) can synthesize the user - defined classification requirements with all the tag attributes ( e . g ., name , size , date , text pattern , keyword , etc .) and feed them into the classification engine to assert classification accordingly . in this way , classification can be done based on dynamically inserted requirements from external applications . fig4 depicts an exemplary configuration of one embodiment of the classification pipeline , illustrating by example how embodiments of the classification pipeline disclosed herein may be utilized in conjunction with external applications or data . pipeline configuration can be controlled via an application web interface , or through an api exposed as a series of xml request and replies over tcp . the example shown in fig4 exemplifies pipeline configuration via the api and adopts the following terminology : object - class — consists of one or more conditions , all of which can be combined by an “ and ” and “ or ” boolean operations or instance requirement counts . condition — consists of a single object - attribute and value / occurrence based expression whose scope is constrained by the object - attribute properties . for the purpose of inclusion within an object - class , a condition on an object - attribute has the following dimensions . object - attribute — consists of file system metadata , content based data , and user - defined ( i . e ., custom ) attributes . each object - attribute can have the following properties : base type ( e . g ., string , integer , date , occurrence ) sparse or dense indicator single or multiple instance data values or partial data values ( is , contains , begins with , ends with , regular expression values ) custom object - attributes — object - attributes created by applications ( including the classification pipeline ) users , available for viewing and updating . custom object - attributes can have the following types : there are four types of pipeline configuration objects that control the behavior of the classification pipeline : volumes , pipeline - profile , object - attributes , and object - classes . in the example shown in fig4 , pipeline configuration objects 400 ( volume 410 , object - classes 420 , object - attributes 430 , and pipeline profile 440 ) control the behavior of classification pipeline 300 . volume — a volume is an aggregation of data needed to address a repository of objects somewhere on the network . a volume can include the name of the server , the name of the share , the protocol to be used in communicating with the server , authentication credentials ( if applicable to the protocol ), a starting directory from which subsequent file requests are relative , and an include directory regular expression . the latter two items can allow for specification of subsections of share when it is desirable to logically break up a network share . pipeline - profile — a pipeline - profile comprises a series of options that control which sets of metadata are extracted from an object as it passes through the pipeline . following the example shown in fig3 a , these options may include the following : enable / disable content signature calculation ; enable / disable system metadata extraction ; enable / disable content based object file - type calculation ; enable / disable classification engine ; enable / disable directory resolution ; enable / disable extraction of security information ; enable / disable the extraction of content object - attributes ; and maximum number of content object - attributes to extract per type per object . object - attribute — depending upon implementation , object - attributes can fall into two categories : core or custom . core object - attributes are provided with the classification pipeline and are immutable . the definition of custom object - attributes is controlled by the user . “ person ” and “ address ” are examples of core object - attributes . one embodiment of the invention supports two custom object - attribute types , keyword and regular expression . users can create and modify custom object - attributes of these types . since object - attributes are the vocabulary upon which object - classes are built , the ability to add custom object - attributes allows a user to extend this vocabulary . name — name of the object - attribute ; custom —( boolean ) determines whether object - attribute is of type custom ; base - type — integer , date , string , occurrence ; dense —( boolean ) determines whether the object - attribute is dense or sparse ( i . e ., is it always present ); and multi - instance —( boolean ) determines whether multiple instances are possible . the latter four determine what conditions can be applied to a particular object - attribute . object - class — an object - class is a collection of conditions expressed across object - attributes . each condition within an object - class enumerates value / instance - based expressions across a single object - attribute . an object - class may be associated with one or more volumes and there can be multiple object - classes associated with a given volume . one example of an object - class is defined as a path containing a sub - string “ home ” and the presence of a social security number ( ssn ) and is associated with all volumes . in this case , the conditions are : referring to fig4 , classification pipeline 300 may receive volume 410 specifying a location on a filesystem , a filename or object name , or a profile of an object which may indicate which objects to process through classification pipeline 300 or which may indicate services within classification pipeline 300 are desired . utilizing some of this information , classification pipeline 300 may extract metadata and classification information on the object and pass this metadata or classification to another application . as described above , classification pipeline 300 may be utilized in conjunction with configuration data 400 to tailor classification pipeline . pipeline profile 440 received by classification pipeline 300 may indicate desired layers or services of classification pipeline 300 ( e . g ., extract security information but no hash computation ) or may indicate how classification pipeline 300 is to be set up . other configuration data may include various volumes of filesystems , particular servers , protocols or various access information associated with objects on which classification pipeline 300 is to operate . objects classes may be defined by rules which define classes to which objects may belong . these object classes may be associated with certain volumes or filesystem types such that when files from a particular filesystem or filesystem type are processed by classification pipeline 300 , classification pipeline 300 may determine if these objects are of that class . components of the classification pipeline disclosed herein can be controlled programmatically through an xml over tcp interface . for example , a plurality of methods can be provided to getall , get , create , update , and delete for each of the pipeline configuration objects 400 described above . an exemplary breakdown of methods , parameters , parameter descriptions , types , and return values is attached to this disclosure as appendix c . other implementations are also possible . embodiments of the classification pipeline disclosed herein may be utilized as part of a broader system . one embodiment of such a system 500 is depicted in fig5 . classification pipeline 300 may interface with a set of applications 510 ( e . g ., storediq walkers , storediq event sinks , etc .) designed to provide objects and object data to an ingest queue 520 where objects to be processed by classification pipeline 300 are organized . ingest queue 520 may be operable to implement an api 515 such that information on objects may be provided to ingest queue 520 . for example , if applications 510 which may be provided in conjunction with classification pipeline 300 only cover a certain set of filesystems , the “ external ” api 515 may allow objects in a filesystem outside the set of filesystems to be classified by classification pipeline 300 by passing information on the object , or the object itself , to ingest queue 520 . this information on an object or the object may be passed in by a third party application or any other application that wishes to utilize the capabilities of classification pipeline 300 . from ingest queue 520 objects are then processed by classification pipeline 300 . the processing of these objects may lead to one or more pipeline events 530 . these pipeline events may be the fact that an object has been classified a certain way , that certain metadata of an object comports with certain criteria , etc . based on the pipeline events generated , metadata or other object data may be stored to a repository 540 and / or utilized to implement policies 550 and / or inform applications ( e . g ., a web application external to classification pipeline 300 ) through api 535 . policies may be actions to be taken and may for example be based upon the classification of an object . these policies may be either predefined or user defined , such that system 500 may take user - defined actions based upon a pipeline event . these pipeline events or other results of processing by classification pipeline 300 may also be reported using api 535 as discussed above , such that client applications may receive requested information on objects that have been processed by classification pipeline 300 . fig6 depicts one embodiment of an exemplary architecture for the implementation of a system 600 for processing objects using a cluster of classification pipelines disclosed herein . filesystems ( e . g ., cifs 662 , nfs 664 , netware 666 in a network filesystem environment 660 ) may be accessed by various applications ( e . g ., filesystem walkers 611 , real time event sinks 613 ) to obtain objects as well as information on objects in these filesystems and events pertaining to these systems . these applications may place these events and information into a pipeline queue ( e . g ., ingest queue 620 ) which is managed by a queue manager ( e . g ., ingest queue manager 628 ). additionally , an external interface ( e . g ., api 605 ) may allow external applications ( e . g ., applications 601 ) to provide information on objects in external filesystems to the pipeline queue . from this queue ( e . g ., ingest queue 620 ), the queue manager ( e . g ., ingest queue manager 628 ) may distribute objects to computer nodes ( e . g ., nodes 682 , 684 , 686 ), each which is operable to implement one or more instances of a classification pipeline ( e . g ., classification pipeline 300 ), or a subset thereof . thus , each of the objects in the queue may be processed by an instance of a classification pipeline implemented on a node . the processing of these objects by the instances of the classification pipeline on the various nodes results in the generation of various pipeline events ( e . g ., pipeline events 630 ). the pipeline events may result in the various actions taken by volume subscribers ( e . g ., volume subscribers 690 ) based upon the volume with which the object that caused a pipeline event to be generated is associated . thus , if a pipeline event was generated based upon an object in a certain volume , the pipeline event , object metadata or other information associated with the object may be stored in a repository or storage location ( e . g ., repository 640 ). additionally , the pipeline event , object metadata or other information associated with the object may implement some predefined policies ( e . g ., policies 640 ) and / or be reported to external applications through an external interface ( e . g ., api 625 ), as described above . it will be apparent from the above descriptions that many other architectural arrangements may be implemented and utilized in conjunction with embodiments of the classification pipeline disclosed herein . although the present invention has been described in detail herein with reference to the illustrative embodiments , it should be understood that the description is by way of example only and not to be construed in a limiting sense . it is to be further understood , therefore , that numerous changes in the details of the embodiments of this invention and additional embodiments of this invention will be apparent to , and may be made by , persons of ordinary skill in the art having reference to this description . accordingly , the scope of the invention should be determined by the following claims and their legal equivalents .	8
hereinafter , embodiments of the present invention will be explained in conjunction with the drawings . fig1 is an overall structural view of a multicolor projecting exposure apparatus utilizing a liquid crystal cell of the laser - written type as an intermediate image medium or photosensitive medium and employing an inventive laser beam scanning device . in fig1 the multicolor projecting exposure apparatus is comprised of a projecting exposure system 62 , an image writing system 61 including the laser beam scanning device and a developing system 63 . the projecting exposure system 62 is comprised of a halogen lamp 29 , a reflecting mirror 28 effective to increase light collecting efficiency , a pair of condenser lenses 30 and 32 for converting light emitted from the halogen lamp 29 into somewhat of a converging light beam ; a filter 31 disposed between the condenser lenses 30 and 32 for cutting off a thermal beam contained in the light beam ; a half mirror 27 for reflecting the light beam from the halogen lamp 29 to a liquid crystal cell on a rotating or rotary disc 33 and for passing a reflected light beam from the liquid crystal cell ; a projecting lens 26 for projecting and focusing the light beam transmitted from the half mirror 27 onto a photosensitive film 21 , a winding roller 22 for winding the photosensitive film 21 , and a back tension roller 43 for uniformly tensioning the photosensitive film 21 . the photosensitive film 21 is composed of a microcapsule sheet produced by the mead company of the u . s . a . the microcapsule sheet is composed of pet film coated uniformly with three different kinds of microcapsules composed of a thin film enclosure made of , for example , gelatin and containing three different color formers a1 , a2 and a3 exhibiting cyan , magenta and yellow tones , respectively , and three different photosensitive compositions b1 , b2 and b3 photosensitive to light having different wavelengths λ1 , λ2 and λ3 corresponding to the respective color formers and effective to change their own viscosity to immobilize the color formers . the image writing system 61 is comprised of a laser beam primary scanning unit including a semiconductor laser ( not shown ), a polygon mirror 41 , a main motor 9 for rotating the polygon mirror 41 , and a reflecting mirror 42 , a bowl screw 38 for driving a base 64 mounting thereon the laser beam primary scanning unit in a secondary scanning direction , a pulse motor 39 for rotating the bowl screw 38 , a flexible coupling 40 connecting between the bowl screw 38 and the pulse motor 39 , a rotary disc 33 ( fig4 shows its plan view ), another pulse motor 34 for rotating the rotary disc 33 around a shaft 37 , a worm wheel 35 for transmitting a driving force from the pulse motor 34 to the shaft 37 , and a bearing 36 for supporting the shaft 37 . the base 64 , bowl screw 38 and pulse motor 39 constitute a secondary scanning unit . as shown in fig4 of plan view , the rotational disc 33 is provided with liquid crystal cells or panels 51 , 52 and 53 for exposures of yellow , cyan and magenta , respectively . the respective liquid crystal panels 51 , 52 and 53 are disposed around the rotational shaft at equi - angular distance of 120 °. each liquid crystal panel can be written thereon by an image by means of a scanned laser beam . the developing system 63 is comprised of a feeding roller 23 for feeding a receiver sheet coated uniformly with developer effective to react with the color formers a1 , a2 and a3 on the photosensitive film to cause color development reaction , a pressing roller 24 for pressing the superposed photosensitive film 21 and receiver sheet to each other , and a pressing spring 25 for applying a pressing force to the pressing roller 24 . fig7 shows a circuit diagram of the image writing system 61 or laser scanning device including a pll - control or feedback circuit of the polygon motor 9 and a driving or feed forward circuit of the pulse motor 39 . the pll - control circuit has the same structure as the conventional circuit shown in fig3 and includes an oscillating source circuit 91 utilizing a quartz resonator and generating an oscillating clock signal effective to regulate the rotation of the polygon mirror as a reference signal or clock pulses . the pulse motor driving circuit shares the common oscillating source circuit 91 , and includes a frequency - dividing circuit 71 for frequency - dividing the basic oscillating signal outputted from the oscillating source circuit 91 to reduce its frequency to a necessary number , a phasing circuit 72 for phasing the output signal from the frequency - dividing circuit 71 to apply phased signal components to respective coils of the pulse motor 39 to set timings of activation of the respective coils , and a current amplifier 73 receptive of the output signal components from the phasing circuit 72 to amplify the same to apply driving current pulses needed to actually drive the pulse motor 39 . next , the operation of the multicolor projecting exposure apparatus will be explained with reference to an explanatory diagram of fig5 . first , the rotational disc 33 is angularly displaced to position the liquid crystal panel 51 for yellow color exposure under the laser beam scanning device . then , the secondary scanning unit is initially moved to a home position as shown in fig6 which shows moving positions of the secondary scanning unit . then , the secondary scanning unit is started to move in the secondary scanning direction by means of the pulse motor 39 . when the pulse motor 39 for driving the bowl screw is applied with n1 number of the driving current pulses and the secondary scanning unit arrives at a position to stop writing , the writing of yellow color image component is started by scanning the laser beam two - dimensionally in the primary and secondary scanning directions . when the pulse motor 39 receives n2 number of the driving current pulses from the starting of writing and the secondary scanning unit arrives at a position to stop writing , the writing operation is stopped while the pulse motor 39 is continuously applied with the driving current pulses . when the pulse motor 39 receives n3 number of the pulses after the termination of writing operation and the secondary scanning unit arrives on a stop position , the application of pulses is terminated to the driving of pulse motor 39 . by such operation , the yellow color image component is written into the liquid crystal panel 51 . in the next step , n1 + n2 + n3 number of driving current pulses are applied to the pulse motor 39 reversely to return the movable secondary scanning unit to its home position . during this operation , the rotational disc 33 is angularly displaced to position the liquid crystal panel 52 for cyan color exposure in place under the laser beam scanning device . thereafter , a cyan color image component is written onto the liquid crystal panel 52 for use in cyan color exposure in a similar manner to the writing operation of yellow color image component onto the first liquid crystal panel for use in the yellow color exposure . further , in similar manner , the returning operation of the secondary scanning unit and the angular displacement of the rotational disc 33 are carried out to switch from the cyan - color - related liquid crystal panel 52 to the magenta - color - related liquid crystal panel 53 . then , using a similar writing operation , the magenta color image component is written into the magenta - color related liquid crystal panel 53 . next , after the writing , the liquid crystal panels are irradiated with light from the halogen lamp 29 . the liquid crystal panels reflect the light and the reflected light is projected onto the photosensitive film 21 through the projecting lens 26 to superpose the yellow , cyan and magenta color image components on the photosensitive film 21 to compose a color image . in detail , the rotational disc 33 is angularly displaced to position the yellow - color - related liquid crystal panel 51 in alignment with the photosensitive film 21 , and projection and exposure of the yellow color image component is carried out onto the film 21 . after the yellow color image component is formed onto the photosensitive film 21 , the rotational disc 33 is angularly displaced and the cyan color image component written in the liquid crystal panel 52 is projected and exposed onto the same portion of the photosensitive film 21 to superpose the yellow and cyan color image components to each other . in the same manner , the magenta color image component of the liquid crystal panel 53 is projected and exposed onto the film so that the yellow , cyan and magenta color image components are superposed to compose the color image . by such an operation , the starting positions of image writing are coincident in the respective liquid crystal panels 51 , 52 and 53 for use in the respective yellow , cyan and magenta color exposures in both the primary scanning direction by means of the optical sensor 8 and of the secondary scanning direction by means of the pulse motor 39 according to the writing timing control shown in fig6 . accordingly , the yellow , cyan and magenta color image components projected onto the photosensitive film 21 are perfectly matched to avoid color dislocation . in the present embodiment , a liquid crystal panel of the laser beam written type is used as an intermediate image - writing medium . however , the medium is not limited to the liquid crystal panel , but other types of medium can be used such as a photosensitive drum and selenium plate . further , while the liquid crystal panels are switched by angular displacement of a rotational disc in the present embodiment , other method and structure can be utilized such as shifting the medium along a guide rail so as to obtain the same function . as described above , according to the present invention , while maintaining the conventional primary scanning system and without providing an additional position sensor , the image can be written and reproduced from a desired position in the secondary scanning direction .	7
the present disclosure is not limited to the particular details of the assemblies depicted , and other modifications and applications may be contemplated . further changes may be made in the assemblies without departing from the true spirit of the scope of the disclosure herein involved . it is intended , therefore , that the subject matter in this disclosure should be interpreted as illustrative , not in a limiting sense . in one embodiment of the present disclosure , as shown in fig1 through 4 , a pallet wrap 100 is configured to retain articles 128 stacked on a pallet 102 . in this example , pallet wrap 100 includes main panel 106 , side straps 120 , top strap 130 , restraint 116 , first pocket 114 , second pocket 112 , and third pocket 110 , and strap connection points 132 . in one embodiment , the main panel 106 of pallet wrap 100 is a piece of material to which the other elements of the device are attached . main panel 106 can be made of vinyl coated polyester mesh but other types of material can also be used . other suitable natural and synthetic materials can also be used such as canvas , nylon , polypropylene , polyethylene , cotton , or composite woven materials as well . as shown in fig1 , main panel 106 is preferably rectangular in shape so as to appropriately interface with a transportation platform such as a pallet . as shown in fig5 through 8 , main panel 106 has an appropriate length such that when pallet wrap 100 is wrapped around a plurality of articles 128 stacked on a transportation platform or pallet 102 , pallet wrap 100 substantially surrounds the plurality of articles 128 . a gap , as shown fig5 , may exist between the ends of main panel 106 when pallet wrap 100 is installed . preferably , the gap is less than twelve inches but other gaps and configurations can be used depending on the size of articles 128 being transported . in one example , pallet wrap 100 is used in conjunction with a traditional size pallet and the main panel 106 of pallet wrap 100 is approximately fourteen feet long and has a height of four feet . other sizes of main panel 106 can also be used as well as other shapes , however , so long as pallet wrap 100 is able to prevent a plurality of articles 128 from unwanted movement or shifting during transportation . as stated above , main panel 106 may have a height of four feet in one example . other heights of main panel 106 may also be used . as shown in fig6 , 7 and 8 , different heights of main panel 106 may be used to create small height pallet wrap 300 , with a height of two feet , medium height pallet wrap 400 , with a height of four feet , and tall height pallet wrap 500 , with a height of six feet . other heights can also be used such that the size of main panel 106 is configured for the needs of a user or to be used to interface with a certain size or shape article 128 . in one embodiment , referring back to fig1 , side straps 120 , top strap 130 , restraint 116 , first pocket 114 , second pocket 112 , and third pocket 110 , and strap connection points 132 may be attached to main panel 106 of pallet wrap 100 . in this embodiment , four side straps 120 extend from a first end of main panel 106 . each side strap 120 can be made of two inch wide nylon webbing material but other sizes and materials can be used . a portion of each side strap 120 is attached to main panel 106 and another portion extends outward from first end of main panel 106 . located on a second edge of main panel 106 are strap connection points 132 . in this example , two rows of four strap connection points 132 are attached to and positioned along and near second end of main panel 106 . each row of strap connection points 132 is configured to interface with the side straps 120 previously described . as can be seen in fig5 , when main panel 106 is wrapped around a plurality of articles stacked on a pallet , side strap 120 interfaces with connection point 132 so as to secure main panel 106 in position around articles 128 . as shown in fig1 , in this example side strap 120 includes pieces of hook and loop fasteners and connection points 132 include a metal d - ring . in this example , when main panel 106 is wrapped around articles 128 on pallet 102 , side strap 120 is inserted through the d - ring on connection point 132 and folded back on itself such that the complimentary pieces of hook and loop fasteners retain side strap 120 in position and keep pallet wrap 100 snugly positioned around articles 128 . in this fashion , in this example , each side strap 120 can be looped through a connection point 132 to retain pallet wrap 100 in a desired position . other configurations of side strap 120 and connection point 132 can also be used , such as , interfacing clips , snaps , hooks , cleats , and the like . as can be seen in fig1 , two rows of connection points 132 may be provided on main panel 106 . in this configuration , a second row of connection point 132 allows for interfacing with side straps 120 such that pallet wrap 120 can be used with varying sizes of pallets or varying loads or sizes of articles 128 that may be stacked on a transportation platform . in this example , two rows of connection points 132 can be included on main panel 106 but in other examples more rows and configurations of connection points 132 or side straps 120 can be provided to as to provide further flexibility of use . as stated above , main panel 106 may also include top strap 134 . top strap 134 may also be a piece of nylon webbing . top strap 134 extends upward from a top edge of main panel 106 . top strap 134 is configured to interface with and connect to top attachment point 108 . in one example , top strap 134 and top attachment point have pieces of interfacing hook and loop fasteners that allow top strap 134 to be secured to top attachment point 108 . as can be seen in fig3 and 4 , top strap 134 is configured so as to extend across a stack of articles 128 that may be located on pallet 102 and attach to an opposite surface of main panel 106 when main panel 106 has been wrapped around articles 128 . top strap 134 further provides stability and restricts movement of articles 128 when installed as described and shown . referring back to fig1 , pallet wrap 100 also includes restraints 116 and restraint attachment points 136 . restraint 116 can also be a length of nylon webbing or other material . restraint 116 , as can be seen , extends downward from a bottom of main panel 106 . in one embodiment , restraint 116 extends downward at an oblique angle from bottom edge of main panel 106 . restraint 116 may include a piece of hook and loop fastener that complimentarily interfaces with a second piece of hook and loop fastener located at restraint attachment point 136 . as can be appreciated , the position of restraint attachment point 136 on main panel 106 is configured such that the two are at complimentary oblique angles such that the two can be easily joined as will be explained . additionally , in one embodiment , inside or attached to restraint 116 is a stiffening member 138 . stiffening member 138 may be foam encased inside of restraint 116 but it may also be a piece of semi - rigid material such as plastic , or other suitable material . stiffening member 138 provides added rigidity to restraint 116 such that restraint 116 can be pushed or fed through openings or under pallet 102 during installation . restraint 116 , in this embodiment , is used to secure pallet wrap 100 to a transportation platform such as pallet 102 . as can be seen in fig5 , when pallet wrap 100 is installed around a plurality of articles 128 on pallet 102 , restraint 116 can be pushed , pulled , or otherwise fed through an opening on pallet 102 . the end of restraint 116 is then attached to restraint attachment point 136 . as can be appreciated , stiffening member 138 assists the user in feeding restraint 116 under pallet 102 . in this manner , pallet wrap 100 is secured to pallet 102 . pallet wrap 100 may include one or more restraints 116 located at each corner or at other locations . in one example , two restraints 116 are provided such that the restraints 116 and complimentary restraint connection points 136 are located at two corners of pallet 102 , at corners diagonally opposite one another . referring now to the embodiment shown on fig1 , restraint 1618 may also include restraint d - ring 1650 . restraint d - ring 1650 is attached at or near to the end of restraint 1618 that is attached to main panel 1608 . in the course of use of pallet wrap 1600 , restraint 1618 may become damaged , torn , or otherwise unusable . restraint d - ring 1650 is provided such that a replacement or additional restraint 1618 can be added to pallet wrap 1600 . this feature allows for continued use of pallet wrap 1600 without the need for repair of the damaged restraint 1618 . instead , a replacement restraint can be provided that can be attached to restraint d - ring 1650 and used as if the damaged restraint 1618 was still operational . other types or configurations of restraint d - ring could also be provided such as additional hood and loop fasteners , clips , cleats , or other suitable attachment means . in addition , restraint d - ring 1650 could be provided separate from restraint 1618 such as separately attached at or near the attachment location of restraint 1618 to main panel 1608 . further provided in the embodiment shown in fig1 is strap grabber 1602 . in this embodiment , strap grabber 1602 is a piece of hook and loop fastener attached to main panel 1608 . strap grabber 1602 can be any suitable releasable fastener that can releasably attach to one of more of the straps associated with pallet wrap 1600 . in this example , strap grabber 1602 is located approximately midway between the top edge and the bottom edge of main panel 1608 . strap grabber 1602 is configured to releasably connect to one or more straps of pallet wrap 1600 so that the free end of a strap can be retained so that the free end of a strap does not interfere during the installation of pallet wrap 1600 . for example , when pallet wrap 1600 is being wrapped around a plurality of articles 128 on a transportation platform , restraint 1618 would likely be dangling at or near the floor . with restraint 1618 in this position , the operator could step on restraint 1618 or restraint 1618 could become tangled around one or more of the other elements of pallet wrap 1600 . to keep restraint 1618 up off of the floor or away from other elements , the free end of restraint 1618 can be attached to strap grabber 1602 . as can be appreciated one or more of the other straps could also be attached to strap grabber 1602 as well . referring back to the embodiment shown in fig1 , pallet wrap 100 may also include first pocket 114 , second pocket 112 , third pocket 110 and one or more rods 104 . first pocket 114 is piece of material , such as nylon webbing , attached to main panel 106 at or near a first end . first pocket is configured such that it can receive rod 104 . rod 104 , in one example is a piece of pvc tubing with an outer diameter of three - quarters of an inch . other types , materials , and sizes of rod 104 can also be used as are known to one of ordinary skill in the art . an opening can be located at an upper end of first pocket 114 such that rod 104 can be inserted into first pocket 114 . in this manner , when installed in first pocket 114 , rod 104 extends along first end of main panel 106 and is retained in this general position . second pocket 112 and third pocket 110 can also be provided similarly to first pocket 114 . second pocket 112 and third pocket 110 , in this example , are located at or near the rows of strap connection points 132 . second pocket 112 and third pocket 110 can also be configured to receive rods 104 . first pocket 114 , second pocket 112 , and third pocket 110 with installed rods 104 provide structure to pallet wrap 100 . when pallet wrap 100 is installed onto a plurality of articles 128 on a transportation platform , the size of main panel 106 can be unwieldy to manipulate and wrap around articles 128 . the structure that can be added to pallet wrap 100 helps during installation , removal and storage of pallet wrap 100 . in one embodiment , and as shown in fig2 , pallet wrap 100 may include reinforcing elements 140 located at or near the locations at which the different elements are attached to main panel 106 . the above - described elements , such as for example , side straps 120 , strap connection points 132 , top strap 134 , and restraint 116 , can be stitched to main panel 106 . in other examples , the elements may be glued , welded , riveted , or the like . reinforcing elements 140 can be located on a back side of main panel 106 , as shown in fig2 . the attachment , whether stitched or otherwise , can then be placed through both the attached element , such as a strap , on the front side of main panel 106 , through main panel 106 and through reinforcing element 140 . in this manner , pallet wrap including the attached elements is more durable and reliable for repeated use . in another embodiment , shown in fig9 and 10 , a pallet wrap is provided with the capability to extend to a larger size such that varying heights of stacked articles 128 can be accommodated . extended pallet wrap 900 can be similar to the configuration of pallet wrap 100 with the addition of extension panel 902 . extension panel 902 can be similar to the main panel 106 of pallet wrap 100 . extension panel can include side straps , d - rings , strap connection points , top straps , pockets and rods as described above . extension panel 902 is configured such that , in a first state , it can be folded over onto main panel 906 as shown in fig9 and 17 . in this configuration , extended pallet wrap 900 is configured to fit a first size of stacked articles , for example a four foot tall stack of articles . extension panel 902 can also be operated in a second state , as shown in fig9 and 18 , in which the extension panel 902 is in an extended position that effectively creates a larger surface for the wrapping of articles . in the second state , extended pallet wrap 900 can be installed onto , for example , a six foot tall stack of articles . fig1 and 18 show extended pallet wrap in use . fig1 shows extended pallet wrap 900 in use in a first state where the size of the articles is at a first height . fig1 shows extended pallet wrap 900 in use where the size of articles is larger than the height in the first state . as shown in fig1 , extension panel 902 is raised such that the additional height can be accommodated . in still another embodiment , as shown in fig1 through 15 , a cart wrap 1100 is provided . in this embodiment , cart wrap 1100 is configured for use with a cart such as a u - boat or similar transportation trolley . in this embodiment , cart wrap 110 includes front section 1102 , front tabs 1104 , back section 1106 , back tabs 1108 , cover section 1110 , cover tabs 1112 , and side secure tabs 1114 . front section 1102 , back section 1106 and cover section 1110 are panels of material that can be a single piece of material or separate pieces of material attached together . front section 1102 , back section 1106 and cover section 1110 can also be made of the same material of different materials . in one embodiment , front section 1102 and back section 1106 are made of vinyl coated polyester mesh and cover section 1110 is made of vinyl . other natural and synthetic materials can also be used as are known to one of ordinary skill in the art . in one embodiment , cover section 1110 is positioned between front section 1102 and back section 1106 . attached to front section 1102 are front tabs 1104 . front tabs 1104 extend outward from side edges of front section 1102 . front tabs , in one example , are made of nylon webbing , but other suitable materials can also be used . cart wrap 1100 can include one or more front tabs 1104 . in the embodiment shown in fig1 , six front tabs 1104 extend from front section 1102 . three front tabs can be positioned on each edge of front section 1102 . other configurations can also be used . in a complimentary arrangement , in this embodiment , back tabs 1108 can be positioned along edges of back section 1106 . back tabs 1108 can also be made of nylon webbing or other suitable material . back tabs 1108 extend outward from edges of back section 1106 and include a connection element . connection element can be one or more d - rings as shown but other types of connection elements such as clips , hook and loop fasteners , snaps , buttons , or like can also be used . referring now to fig1 , the bottom side of cart wrap 1100 is shown . cart wrap 110 may also include side secure tabs 1114 . side secure tabs 1114 can be made of nylon webbing but other suitable materials can also be used . side secure tabs 114 extend outward from back section 1106 . in this embodiment side secure tabs are attached to the bottom side of back section 1106 and are positioned and configured in a similar pattern to back tabs 1108 . in this example configuration , reinforcement webbing is not required on bottom side of back section 1106 at the attachment locations . as can be appreciated , the attachment method , either stitching or other method as previously described , can be placed through back tabs 1108 , back section 1106 , and side secure tabs 1114 to provide a durable connection . at the location of attachment of front tabs 1104 on back section 1102 , reinforcements 1116 are located on the bottom side of front section 1102 to increase the durability of the attachment . also , on this embodiment , located in a configuration complimentary to cover tabs 1112 but on the bottom side of cover section 1110 are cover tabs attachment points 1118 . cover tab attachment points can be interfacing pieces of hook and loop fastener material . cover tab attachment points not only can provide increased durability of attachment of cover tabs 1112 to cover section 1110 but also allow cover tabs 1112 to releasably attach to cover tab attachment points as will hereafter be described . as seen in fig1 - 15 , cart wrap 1100 can be removably attached to a mobile transportation cart such as a u - boat or similar transportation trolley . back section 1106 can first be attached to cart 1120 by wrapping back tab 1108 around the outside of side members 1402 of cart 1120 and wrapping side secure tab 1114 from the inside of side members 1402 of cart 1120 and securing the free end of side secure tab 1114 to the d - ring on the end of back tab 1108 . this process is repeated until all complimentary back tabs 1108 and side secure tabs 1114 are connected on either end of cart 1120 . as can be seen in fig1 , the d - ring , or other connector element , located on side secure member is now positioned at a point that is accessible for attachment of front tab 1104 as will be described . in this example , cover section 1110 can be placed on the top of cart 1120 and cover tabs can be wrapped around top member 1404 of cart 1120 and secured to cover tab attachment point 1118 . in this example configuration , front section 1102 is free to be folded over as shown in fig1 . in this configuration , items to be transported on cart 1120 can be loaded or removed from cart 1120 without the need to completely remove cart wrap 1100 from cart 1120 . furthermore , front section can be folded back over the open side of 1120 and secured in position by connecting front tabs 1104 to the d - rings positioned at the sides of cart 1120 on side secure tabs 1114 . as can be appreciated , the steps associated with the installation of cart wrap 1100 can be accomplished in different orders or not at all , depending on the configuration and attachment locations of the different elements . in the embodiment shown , when fully installed on a cart , cart wrap 1100 provides retention of material being transported on cart 1120 . in addition , items can be easily loaded and unloaded by detaching and reattaching front section 1102 to cart 1120 . furthermore , cover section 1110 , front section 1102 , or back section 1106 , if constructed of suitable material , can provide protection from rain , snow , wind , or other elements . the preceding detailed description is merely some examples and embodiments of the present disclosure and that numerous changes to the disclosed embodiments can be made in accordance with the disclosure herein without departing from its spirit or scope . the preceding description , therefore , is not meant to limit the scope of the disclosure but to provide sufficient disclosure to one of ordinary skill in the art to practice the invention without undue burden .	1
embodiments of circuitry are described for systems and methods for transient thermal modeling of multisource power devices . illustrative embodiments will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying figures . while various details are set forth in the following description , it will be appreciated that the present invention may be practiced without these specific details , and that numerous implementation - specific decisions may be made to the invention described herein to achieve the device designer &# 39 ; s specific goals , such as compliance with process technology or design - related constraints , which will vary from one implementation to another . while such a development effort might be complex and time - consuming , it would nevertheless be a routine undertaking for those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of this disclosure . for example , selected aspects are depicted with reference to simplified drawings in order to avoid limiting or obscuring the present invention . such descriptions and representations are used by those skilled in the art to describe and convey the substance of their work to others skilled in the art . various illustrative embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the figures . fig1 is a block diagram illustration of an integrated circuit 100 comprising functional components operable to implement embodiments of the invention . the integrated circuit 100 comprises a plurality of cores , 102 a , 102 b , . . . , 102 n . it further comprises functional modules 104 a , 104 b , . . . , 104 n . the functional modules 104 a , 104 b , . . . , 104 n can be various modules typically found in an integrated circuit . for example the functional modules may include dedicated graphics processors , input - output multiplexers , etc . the dynamic thermal modeling techniques described herein can be implemented to predict the thermal response for virtually any of the cores or functional modules shown in the integrated circuit 100 of fig1 . in some embodiments of the invention , one of the cores , for example core 102 a , can be used to execute code for processing algorithms to implement the systems and methods disclosed herein . in some embodiments , the executable code is stored in memory 106 , while in other embodiments , it may be stored in firmware inside one of the cores 102 a , 102 b , . . . , 102 n . to maintain predetermined temperature thresholds , the thermal management unit 108 is operable to monitor the real - time power consumption of a plurality of cores and functional modules and , when power consumption reaches a predetermined level , to issue control signal to cause one of the cores , e . g ., core 102 a to initiate execution of a dynamic thermal monitoring algorithm . the control signals issued by the thermal management and control unit 110 also contain codes identifying the specific cores or functional modules that are to be simulated . the power consumption of each of the cores is monitored by corresponding power monitors 103 a , 103 b , . . . , 103 n and the power consumption of the functional blocks 104 a , 104 b , . . . , 104 n are monitored by corresponding power monitors 105 a , 105 b , . . . , 105 n . the outputs of the respective power control monitors are provided to the thermal resistor - capacitor bank controller 112 , which is operable to direct incoming signals to the appropriate rc ladder in the rc ladder corresponding to a particular core or functional block . the respective rc ladders in the thermal rc ladder bank 114 each comprise specific combinations of resistors and capacitors that have been selected accurately predict the thermal response of a specific core or functional model to specific changes in power consumption levels . the specific resistor and capacitor values can be derived from actual testing or from simulations . using techniques discussed in greater detail hereinbelow , the response of the respective rc ladder can be used to predict the thermal response of the core or functional module to the change in power consumption . the response signal from the respective rc ladders are processed by the step impulse response processor 116 , using techniques discussed in greater detail below to provide digital input data for a processor , e . g . core 102 a . the processor 116 uses digital filtering techniques and data processing other processing techniques , discussed below , to generate output data corresponding to the real - time thermal response of the module or core being tested . the processor processes the data and generates a real - time thermal response output signal that may be used by the thermal management control unit 108 to issue predetermined control signals to maintain power consumption within predetermined levels . for example , the thermal management control unit may change the frequency of the clock generator 110 . alternatively , or in conjunction , the thermal management unit 108 may turn off or lower the clock speed of one or more of the cores 102 a , b , . . . , 102 n or the functional blocks 105 a , b , . . . , 105 n . fig2 is an illustration one of the rc ladders 1 , 2 , . . . , n shown in the rc ladder bank 114 of fig2 . as discussed above , each of the resistors and capacitors have values that are selected to generate thermal response signals that correspond to specific cores or modules on the integrated circuit 100 . the thermal impedance , z th , of an rc ladder shown in fig2 is given by the following equation : fig3 is a graphical representation of the change in thermal impedance of a representative system in response to a step function power excitation . the temperature response t ( t ) to an arbitrary power trace input p ( t ), with respect to ambient t 0 , can be calculated using the following equation : fig4 a - c provide graphical illustrations of methods for extracting values of r and c using a time constant spectrum r ( t ). fig4 a is a graphical illustration of the time - domain response of thermal impedance zth ( z ) with respect to ln ( t ). fig4 b is a graphical illustration of the derivative of the curve show in fig4 a . the respective curves can be obtained using the following mathematical relationships . fig4 c is an illustration of the thermal resistance as a function of impedance ( r ( z )). referring to fig5 , it can be seen how the various rc blocks in the rc ladders are used to obtain data samples that can be use to generate a digital representation of the time - constant spectrum shown in fig4 c . in response to a power input signal , each of the various rc combinations is used to generate an output corresponding to a predetermined portion of the mathematical integral of the area under curve 500 . for example , the first and portions 502 a and 502 b correspond to first and second rc pairs 504 a and 504 b , respectively . likewise the “ ith ” and “ nth ” portions correspond to the “ ith ” and “ nth ” rc pairs 504 c and 504 d . the set of the rc combinations shown in fig5 can be used to generate data providing an instantaneous digital representation of the time - spectrum constant curve for further processing to generate a real time representation of the thermal response of the module under test . those of skill in the art will understand that the rc pairs shown in fig5 are analogous to an analog filter . conversion from analog to digital filtering can be accomplished using the following relationship : those of skill in the art will recognize that the response of an infinite impulse response ( iir ) filter “( a i = 0 ) output ” is a function of both inputs and outputs at a present time and a previous time period . however , the response of a finite impulse response filter “( a i = 0 )” output is a function of only input at current and previous time instants . therefore , the response characteristics of the iir filter make well suited to implementations of embodiments of the present disclosure . in a continuous frequency - domain , the complex impedance of the foster thermal rc ladder network is : in discrete frequency - domain ( z - domain ), the transfer function of the foster thermal rc ladder network : extending this formulation to arbitrary number of heat sources , using linear superposition : where n is the number of heat sources . the number of filter stages in general may differ from source to source as a tradeoff between the accuracy of approximation and calculation speed , depending on the location where temperature is calculated . then all time - constants and associated resistances can be re - formulated with the second subscript , j , which enumerates the heat source . the processing of the output signals of the various rc ladders by the rc ladder processor 116 using the mathematical relationships shown above can be accomplished using data processing techniques known by those of skill in the art . fig6 is a flowchart representation 600 of the processing steps for implementing embodiments of the invention as described herein . in step 600 , processing is initiated using the processing techniques described herein . in step 602 , a power excitation input signal is provided to an rc ladder network that comprises a plurality of rc pairs having resistive and capacitive values selected to simulate the thermal response characteristics of a predetermined functional unit of an integrated circuit . in step 604 , the rc ladder generates an analog thermal response output signal in response to the power excitation input signal . in step 606 , the output signal from the rc ladder is processed using a inverse z transform to generate coefficients for an infinite impulse response filter . in step 608 , the analog thermal response output signal is converted to a digital representation of the analog thermal response signal using an infinite impulse response filter . in step 610 , the thermal response signal is analyzed by the thermal management unit 108 to determine whether the operational characteristics of the functional unit should be modifies . if it is determined that the operating characteristics should be modified , processing proceeds to step 612 wherein the functional unit &# 39 ; s are modified accordingly . processing then proceeds to step 614 to determine whether additional test should be formed on the functional unit . if there is a determination to perform additional testing , processing returns to step 602 and the aforementioned steps are repeated . if , however , the resulting of the processing in step 614 is to conduct no further tests , processing is ended in 616 . embodiments of the invention disclosed herein can be fabricated using well known techniques that can be implemented with a data processing system using code ( e . g ., verilog , hardware description language ( hdl ), etc .) stored on a non - transitory computer usable medium . the code comprises data representations of the circuitry and components described herein that can be used to generate appropriate mask works for use in well known manufacturing systems to fabricate integrated circuits embodying aspects of the invention . although the described exemplary embodiments disclosed herein are directed to various examples of a system and method for managing hysteresis in data processing circuits , the present invention is not necessarily limited to the example embodiments . thus , the particular embodiments disclosed above are illustrative only and should not be taken as limitations upon the present invention , as the invention may be modified and practiced in different but equivalent manners apparent to those skilled in the art having the benefit of the teachings herein . accordingly , the foregoing description is not intended to limit the invention to the particular form set forth , but on the contrary , is intended to cover such alternatives , modifications and equivalents as may be included within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims so that those skilled in the art should understand that they can make various changes , substitutions and alterations without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention in its broadest form . benefits , other advantages , and solutions to problems have been described above with regard to specific embodiments . however , the benefits , advantages , solutions to problems , and any element ( s ) that may cause any benefit , advantage , or solution to occur or become more pronounced are not to be construed as a critical , required , or essential feature or element of any or all the claims . as used herein , the terms “ comprises ,” “ comprising ,” or any other variation thereof , are intended to cover a non - exclusive inclusion , such that a process , method , article , or apparatus that comprises a list of elements does not include only those elements but may include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to such process , method , article , or apparatus .	6
in the arrangements described below , an extended web service allows applications running on pervasive devices to offload some computational tasks to the web service . such offloading may reduce the size of the response received from the web service , thus reducing the airtime and power consumption of the pervasive device . the availability of the extended web service allows each application hosted on the pervasive device to have an associated benefit analysis policy to choose between the base and extended web service . fig3 shows a schematic block diagram of a web services system 1 . the system 1 is simplified for the purposes of aiding understanding . a first pervasive wireless device ( wd 1 ) 10 , such as a pda or cellular mobile telephone , is provided . a second wireless device ( wd 2 ) 30 also is shown . there can , of course , be many such pervasive wireless devices within the system 1 . the devices wd 1 10 and wd 2 30 are in radio communication with a cell sight ( cs ) 40 , between which radio frequency information passes . the cs 40 is in communication with a network 50 . the wireless pervasive device 10 , 30 hosts applications that connect to web services running on remote servers such as servers 70 , 80 , 90 , 100 for various usages such as information retrieval and data processing . typical examples of such applications using the web service are providing the location / address of an atm , hospital or gas station for the given zip code . examples of pervasive devices are two - way pagers , personal digital assistants ( pdas ), cellular phones , smart appliances for the home and smart devices permanently mounted in vehicles . typically , pervasive devices have limited processor speed , memory capacity and communication bandwidth compared to less transportable computing devices such as a desk - top computer . there is frequently a need to maximize the relatively short battery life of portable pervasive devices , which limits the addition of memory capacity or processor power to the pervasive device . pervasive devices 10 , 30 typically have limited processing power and memory compared with computing devices that are not designed to be carried around . in general , the pervasive devices have built - in power supplies such as a battery . accordingly , power consumption is a consideration in designing applications for the pervasive devices 10 , 30 , as it is undesirable for the available power to be exhausted too quickly . the power consumption of the pervasive device 10 , 30 varies between standby operation and airtime . airtime is the time during which the device 10 , 30 is used for conversation and data exchange . standby time is the time in which the pervasive device 10 , 30 is ready to receive or transmit data , but is not actually being used in a call . the devices wd 1 10 and wd 2 30 act as “ clients ” in a client - server context . the servers — providing requested web services to the clients — are formed by a composite server ( cs 1 ) 60 , which is also in communication with the network 50 . the cs 1 60 provides intermediary functionality , having connection with a plurality of dedicated web services servers : ws 1 70 , ws 2 80 and ws 3 90 . a further dedicated web services server ( ws 4 ) 100 , also is in communication with the network 50 . fig9 is a schematic representation of a computer system 300 of a type that is suitable for executing software for the provision of a web service . computer software executes under a suitable operating system installed on the computer system 300 , and may be thought of as comprising various software code means for achieving particular steps . the computer system 300 may be used as any of the servers 60 - 100 . with the modifications described below , the structure of the computer system 300 may also be used in the pervasive devices 10 , 30 . the components of the computer system 300 include a computer 320 , a keyboard 310 and mouse 315 , and a display 390 . the computer 320 includes a processor 340 , a memory 350 , input / output ( i / o ) interfaces 360 , 365 , a video interface 345 , and a storage device 355 . the processor 340 is a central processing unit ( cpu ) that executes the operating system and the computer software executing under the operating system . the memory 350 may include random access memory ( ram ) and read - only memory ( rom ), and is used under direction of the processor 340 . the video interface 345 is connected to display 390 and provides signals for display on the display 390 . user input to operate the computer 320 is provided , for example , from the keyboard 310 and mouse 315 . other types of input , such as a microphone , may also be used . signals may also be output audibly , using one or more speakers ( not shown ). the storage device 355 may include a disk drive or any other suitable storage medium . each of the components of the computer 320 is connected to an internal bus 330 that includes data , address , and control buses , to allow components of the computer 320 to communicate with each other via the bus 330 . the computer system 300 may be connected to one or more similar computers via a input / output ( i / o ) interface 365 using a communication channel 385 to a network , represented in fig9 as the internet 380 . the computer software may be recorded on a portable storage medium , in which case the computer software program is accessed by the computer system 300 from the storage device 355 . alternatively , the computer software can be accessed directly from the internet 380 by the computer 320 . in either case , a user can interact with the computer system 300 using , for example , the keyboard 310 and mouse 315 to operate the programmed computer software executing on the computer 320 . other configurations or types of computer systems can be equally well used to execute computer software that assists in implementing the techniques described herein . furthermore , custom - made devices and specialized hardware such as digital signal processors may be used in the implementation of the described techniques . the handheld pervasive device 10 , 30 may have a similar computational structure to that shown in fig9 . the display 390 and keypad are integrally formed in the pervasive device 10 , which typically does not have a mouse 315 . the i / o interface 365 in device 10 may be a transceiver for sending and receiving signals via a cellular network , and the device 10 further includes a microphone and speaker to process audible inputs and outputs . the application hosted on the wireless pervasive device 10 , 30 connects to the web service over the http and / or https protocol as provided by the pervasive device operating system and software and the network service provider . once the device 10 , 30 is connected to the server hosting the web service , the application can invoke the web service by referring to the name of the service and passing the required input parameters to the web service . typically , web services provide an xml data format to specify the request and the response . the pervasive application , therefore , passes the request parameters encoded in xml as per the syntax specified by the web service . on receiving the parameters , the web service executes the request and prepares the response in pre - defined xml syntax . the response is communicated back to the application via the network 50 . the web service can be implemented to execute the request synchronously or asynchronously . if the web service is synchronous , the application ‘ waits ’ until the time the web service executes the request and prepares the response . on receiving the response , the application parses the xml data and extracts the required information either to process the data further or present a result to the end user . fig4 shows the basic flow sequence and fig5 shows an example application and web service sequence diagram between an application and a web service . fig4 illustrates a base ( or non - extended ) method 400 performed by a client application 401 running on a pervasive device 10 in accessing a web service 402 . the web service 402 has an explicitly defined request and response schema to allow any external third party application to transparently interact with the web service 402 . since the response schema is published in detail , it is programmatically easy for applications to parse and extract information from the same . if the service is developed to cater to the requirements of diverse cross - vendor applications , the service response may require data filtering to extract relevant information at the client end 10 . this may create performance overheads for pervasive applications . in step 404 , the client application 401 composes the request in the format required by the web service 402 . in step 406 , the application 401 invokes the web service 402 and receives a response in the format specified by the web service schema . then , in step 408 , the client application extracts the relevant data from the response xml received from the web service 402 . in step 410 the client application 401 processes the extracted data and prepares a response for display to the user of the pervasive device 10 . fig5 illustrates the base ( or non - extended ) method 500 of requesting a web service , using the atm location example for illustrative purposes . the web service running on a server is ‘ listatmws ’ 502 . in initial step 506 , a client application 506 running on the pervasive device 10 sends a request to the web service for a list of atms near a specified location . the request has the format ‘ listatmnearzip ( string ): string ’. next , in step 508 , software on the server executes to provide a response which may , for example , have the form shown in fig1 . the response is received by the pervasive device 10 , which must then perform further processing 510 , 512 , 514 to extract the desired subset of information relating to amx cards . step 510 , ‘ extractatmforamx ()’, extracts information relating to atms that accept amx cards . step 512 , ‘ sortatmbytxfee ’, then sorts the atm locations according to the respective transaction fees . finally , step 514 , ‘ selectfirstthreeatm ()’, selects the three atms from the head of the list for display on the pervasive device 10 . the resultant output may be that shown in fig2 . typically , while deploying the web service the service developer explicitly defines and publishes the request and response specification ( schema ) of the service to allow any external third party application to transparently interact with the web service . the directory servers are used to register the request and response specification . since the response schema is published in detail , it is programmatically easy for applications to parse and extract information from the same . if the service is developed to cater to the requirements of diverse cross - vendor applications , the service response may require data filtering to extract relevant information at the client end . this may create performance overheads for pervasive applications . the interaction between the application and the service using such a scheme is shown in fig4 and 5 and is described above . to benefit the pervasive devices 10 , 30 , the service interface of the web services is extended in a way that allows the applications running on the pervasive devices to dynamically specify the schema ( syntax ) of the response xml . the extended interface takes the response schema as an added input , in addition to the input parameters required by the ‘ base ’ service interface . this extended interface is also deployed as a web service , coupled with the original service ( a . k . a . base service ). this allows applications running on pervasive devices to ‘ offload ’ part of their ‘ data parsing ’ overheads to the service provider by getting the response transformed to a schema that is not only easy to parse but also relevant to the application , thus saving on the airtime and response processing time at the pervasive device 10 , 30 . the extended interface can also assist to improve the performance further , by allowing the applications to offload part of their ‘ data processing ’ task to the service . this allows the application to pass certain post - processing instructions for the response xml to the service provider . these instructions would otherwise be processed on the pervasive device itself . the post - processing instructions allow further filtering of the response to make the response even more relevant to the application . the current xsl [ http :// www . w3 . org / style / xsl ], xpath [ http :// www . w3 . org / tr / xpath ] and xquery [ http :// www / w3 . org / tr / xquery ] technologies provide certain evaluation and computation functions in the transformation schema . such functions allow applications to specify certain data processing instructions to the web service . this response transformation is illustrated in the first scenario 600 of fig4 . the client application 604 runs on pervasive device 10 , and the web service ‘ listatmws ’ 502 runs on one or more of the servers 60 - 100 , together with the extended interface ‘ extendedlistatmws ’ 606 . in an initial step , the client application 604 sends a request for atm information , together with the desired xsl schema . the format of the request is ‘ listatmnearzipwithxsl ( string , string ): string ’ and the request is sent to the extended service interface 606 . in turn , in step 610 the extended interface 606 sends a request 610 to the web service using the schema expected by the web service , here ‘ listatmnearzip ( string ): string ’. in step 508 the web service extracts the requested information ( e . g . the result seen in fig1 ) and returns the result to the extended interface 606 . in step 612 the extended interface 606 transforms the response according to the specified xsl schema ‘ transformresponse ( string response , string xsl ): string ’. the output of step 612 is sent to the pervasive device 10 , which performs step 614 , ‘ extractatmanddisplay ()’, which extracts the atm information and displays it for the user . thus , although the final output to the user is the same , method 600 requires less memory usage and data processing in the pervasive device 10 than method 500 . the web service interface can further be extended to benefit the pervasive applications if the service request parameter schema is complex and resource intensive for the pervasive application to compose due to the hierarchical nature of the xml data model . the concept of data transformation can be applied to allow applications to send request xml parameter in a format ( schema ) that is simple to construct and compose for the pervasive application even though the simple schema may not be compliant with the service request parameter schema . the extended service interface allows applications to send an xsl ( extensible stylesheet language ) associated with the request xml parameter that can translate the application - specified request xml to the xml compatible with the web service specification at the service provider node . this allows applications to offload “ data composition ” overheads to formulate the complex request parameters required to interact with the service . the second scenario 602 , in which the extended service interface 606 transforms both the request and the response is shown in fig4 . in a first step 620 , a client application 604 running on pervasive device 10 sends a service request to the extended service interface 606 ‘ extendedlistatmws ’. the request has the format : in step 622 the extended service interface 606 transforms the request to match the schema 15 required by the web service 502 ‘ listatmws ’. step 622 may have the format ‘ transformrequest ( string request , string reqxsl ): string ’. the transformed request is sent to the web service 502 and , in step 508 , the web service 502 issues the required information , for example the response shown in fig1 . next , in step 626 (‘ transformresponse ( string response , string xsl ): string ’), the extended service interface 606 transforms the response into the form required by the client application 604 . the transformed response carries processed xml elements as attributes , thus making response parsing easy and fast for pervasive application 604 . finally , in step 628 the client application 604 extracts and displays the atm information . the described methods allow the application 604 to efficiently exchange request and response xml data with the web service 502 in a format that is efficient for the application 604 . the xsl can alternatively be also passed as request header to the web service . the extended web service 606 provides a wrapper over the base web service 502 and is used to accept requests that are meant for base web service 502 . the interface of the extended web service 606 is the same as that of the base service 502 , having an additional two xsl parameters to : a . transform the response of the base web service 502 ; and b . compose the request to the base web service 502 using the request parameters provided by the client application 604 . the extended web service 606 is a facade to which the application 604 connects to invoke the base web service 502 . the interaction between the application 604 and the extended web service 606 is similar to the interaction with the base web service 502 , as described above . the additional xsl parameters passed to the extended service 606 are used to transform and compose data , thereby transferring data parsing , data processing , data composing tasks to the server . in the scenarios described above , the extended web service 606 receives the xsl from the client application 604 at runtime . alternatively , the schemas used by the extended web service 606 may be retrieved from a local or remote database . for example , having identified what client application 604 or pervasive device 10 is seeking to use the web service 502 , the extended web service 606 may retrieve an appropriate xsl from a database . in a further alternative , the schema may be dynamically generated by the extended web service 606 based on the runtime environment characteristics of the pervasive device 10 and the application requirements . in the example used to illustrate the advantage of the proposed service extension , the web service 502 provides the list of atms near the given zip and country code . different applications may consume different parts of the response to provide certain business or information value to the end user . one such application , offered by amx corporation , may use this service to list atms accepting amx cards near the given zip and country code to its card holders . such an application can provide a schema that allows the service provider to filter out atms that do not accept amx cards , and further transform the response to a syntax that is less hierarchical and easy to parse and consume by the application . if the atms accepting amx cards charge a transaction fee , then the amx application filters the results to show three atm locations in ascending order of transaction fee . this requires data sorting at the device end . however , using the existing xsl and xpath standards , the application can offload such data processing tasks to the extended service 606 . in this case , for example , the xsl can be specified to first select atms that accept amx cards ( using xsl : for - each element of xsl ), and then sort the list in ascending order of the transaction fee ( using xsl : sort element of xsl ) and then construct the response with first three atm elements from the sorted list ( using xsl : if element and position method of xsl ). the xsl thus allows offloading part of the application logic to the service to improve service response time and resource utilization . this method also eliminates the earlier described overhead where the service response size is so large that the pervasive application 10 , 30 cannot receive or parse the response due to the limited memory capacity of the pervasive device 10 , 30 . an xsl that can offload the described processing is shown in fig7 and the response produced by the extended service using the xsl is shown in fig8 . the new response is transformed to carry processed xml elements as attributes , thus making response parsing easy and fast for pervasive application . the support required to offload data filtering and processing tasks from the application 604 to the service 606 requires additional computation and resources from the service provider . in a commercial setup where services are offered for a fee , an extended deployment to benefit the clients may demand an additional fee over the base service . the extra cost to use the extended service is to be borne by the end user using the service . end users having devices with ample resources may not see enough benefit to pay an extra cost to use the extended service , until the point when their device is low on available resources . this leads to a requirement to allow pervasive applications perform benefit analysis to dynamically choose between the base service 502 and extended service 606 to optimize the resource utilization and amount spent to interact with the service . using the extended service 606 may reduce the time required for the user to obtain a response from the web service . the reduced processing time may decrease the power consumed by the pervasive device 10 in obtaining the desired information . the development of the extended service 606 may be implemented , for example , as a plugin for ibm ™ websphere studio application developer ( wsad ) ide ( ibm , db2 and websphere are trademarks of international business machines corporation ). the plugin adds a new command to extend the web service 502 and generates the code required for xml transformation for the extended service 606 using the xslt libraries . the command may offer to create two extended services . the first extended service allows application 604 to pass the response xsl for response transformation while the second extended service allows the application 604 to pass both request and response xsl for transforming the request and response respectively .	7
referring to fig2 - 5 , apparatus 10 for producing ethanol through the fermentation of carbohydrate - containing substances is shown . the apparatus 10 includes a pit 12 in which material to be fermented is placed , a sediment trap 40 for filtering solid material from ethanol - containing pit drainage , a storage reservoir 50 for storing pit drainage , distillation equipment 60 for separating the pit drainage into connected ethanol and a mixture of water and enzymes , and a storage reservoir 80 for storing the separated water / enzyme mixture for subsequent use in another fermentation process . the pit 12 is built by forming a generally rectangular opening in the earth . the bottom of the pit 12 is provided with a bed of gravel 14 . the sides of the pit 12 ( fig3 ) are insulated with insulating sheets 16 made of expanded synthetic resinous material such as that marketed under the mark styrofoam . the remainder of the pit 12 is formed of reinforced concrete having a bottom wall 18 , side walls 20 , end walls 22 inclined from the horizontal ( fig5 ), and end aprons 24 . the end walls 22 and the aprons 24 permit conventional farm machinery such as tractors and wagons to be driven into the pit 12 . the bottom wall 18 includes a plurality of parallel grooves 26 within which heating pipes 28 are disposed . the pipes 28 are made of one - half inch diameter steel tubing which are connected at their ends to a hot water supply manifold 30 and a hot water return manifold 32 . the pipes 28 and the manifolds 30 , 32 convey heated water so as to heat the contents of the pit 12 and promote the fermentation process . the notches 26 are sufficiently deep that the pipes 28 are below the surface of the bottom wall 18 . accordingly , equipment such as tractors can be driven into the pit 12 without damaging the pipes 28 . also , the pipes 28 cannot be damaged by scraper blades because the pipes 28 are below the surface of the bottom wall 18 . one end of the pit 12 is deeper than the other . this is indicated by the dimension &# 34 ; a &# 34 ; in fig5 and by the dimension &# 34 ; b &# 34 ; in fig5 . in a typical application , dimension a is on the order of 3 . 5 feet , and dimension b is on the order of 2 . 5 feet . the width of the pit 12 is on the order of 20 feet , and the spacing between adjacent pipes 28 is on the order of two feet . the length of the pit 12 from apron to apron is about 60 feet . in order to sustain the loads which can be expected to be imposed upon the pit 12 , the gravel bed 14 is approximately four inches thick , and the bottom wall 18 is approximately six inches thick . the insulating sheets 16 are on the order of four inches thick . in order to seal the pit 12 during the fermentation , process , a cover 34 is provided . the cover 34 is sealed at the edges of the pit 12 by dirt mounds 36 . the cover 34 may be a commercially available swimming pool cover consisting of an ultravoilet stabilized plastic film , air bubbles entrapped between layers of plastic film to provide heat - insulating qualities , and a backing of a solar selective coating to absorb solar radiation and thereby provide additional heat during the daytime . the cover includes a small hose ( not shown ) for venting the pit 12 as carbon dioxide gas is produced during the fermentation process . the sediment trap 40 is located adjacent the lower end of the pit 12 at one corner . the sediment trap 40 includes a gate 42 for controlling the discharge of liquids from the pit 12 . the sediment trap 40 in the form of a trough - like structure 44 . a plurality of screens 46 are placed in the trough 44 . the screens 46 are vertically oriented and are supported in spaced location to each other by a plurality of guides 48 . the screens 46 can be removed easily from the trough 44 for cleaning . liquid passing from the pit 12 through the trough 44 also passes through the screens 46 , thereby filtering solids from the liquid . the storage reservoir 50 receives liquid , or wash , drained from the pit 12 . the wash is pumped into the reservoir 50 through conduits 52 , 54 by means of a pump 56 . the reservoir 50 largely is identical to the reservoir 80 . a detailed discussion of the reservoir 80 will be set forth subsequently . from the reservoir 50 , the wash is conveyed by gravity through a conduit 58 to the distillation equipment 60 . although the wash can be separated into ethanol and non - ethanol components by the use of semipermeable membranes and chemical dewatering compounds , a distillation process is preferred . the distillation equipment includes commercially available components such as a boiler 62 , a first distillation column 64 , a second distillation column 66 , and a condenser 68 . a supply of water is provided for the boiler 62 through a conduit 70 . hot water from the boiler 62 is conveyed to the hot water supply manifold 30 by way of a conduit 72 . water passing through the pipes 28 is returned to the boiler 62 from the hot water return manifold 32 by way of a conduit 74 . as has been mentioned already , hot water supplied to the pipes 28 from the boiler 62 serves to heat the pit contents during the fermentation process . wash from the storage reservoir 50 is conveyed through the conduit 58 to the condenser 68 where the wash is pre - heated . from the condenser 68 , the wash is conveyed to the first distillation column 64 and then to the second distillation column 66 . distilled ethanol is conveyed from the second distillation column 66 to the condenser 68 by way of a conduit 76 . concentrated ethanol discharged from the condenser 68 is conveyed to a fuel tank ( not shown ) for subsequent use as a fuel . concentrated wash ( distilland from the distillation process ) is conveyed to the storage reservoir 80 by way of a conduit 78 . the distilland essentially is a mixture of water and hydrolyzing agents such as enzymes . the distilland is usable in subsequent fermentation processes . the reservoirs 50 , 80 are largely identical , and include a cylindrical steel tank 82 having a diameter of approximately 20 feet , a height of approximately 12 . 5 feet , and a capacity of approximately 30 , 000 gallons . each tank 82 is supported atop a concrete platform 84 . the outer surface of the tank 82 is painted with a solar selective coating to absorb solar radiation and thereby pre - heat the contents of the tank 82 before distillation or before being returned to the pit 12 , as the case may be . the entire outer surface of each tank 82 is encapsulated within an ultraviolet stabilized plastic film 86 supported by spaced structural members 88 , 90 which may take the form of two - by - fours . the film 86 is spaced from the outer surface of the tank 82 several inches so as to provide a &# 34 ; greenhouse &# 34 ; effect to assist in heating the contents of the tank 82 . the reservoir 80 , but not the reservoir 50 , includes a drain pipe 92 extending outwardly of the tank 82 near its bottom . the drain pipe 92 is supported by braces 94 and includes a valve 96 for controlling discharge of the contents of the reservoir 80 through the conduit 92 . as can be seen in fig3 the conduit 92 extends slightly over the pit 12 so that the water / enzyme mixture stored in the reservoir 80 can be discharged into the pit 12 when desired . the apparatus 10 described thus far can produce approximately 5 , 000 gallons of 190 proof ethanol every three days . the capacity of the apparatus 10 can be increased if an additional pit 12 is provided . the additional pit , identical in construction to the pit 12 , could be provided to the left of the reservoirs 50 , 80 as viewed in fig2 . if an additional pit 12 is employed , the output of the apparatus 10 essentially can be doubled . the procedure for producing ethanol utilizing the drive - through pit fermentation process according to the invention can be broken down into several steps . referring to fig1 these steps are : 1 . carbohydrate - containing material such as corn , sugar cane , sorghum , and the like is chopped using conventional farm equipment . this equipment might include a row crop tractor , an ensilage chopper , and one or more wagons . in short , the same farm equipment presently used by farmers to chop silage can be used to chop the carbohydrate - containing material used with the invention . 2 . the chopped carbohydrate - containing material is dumped into the pit 12 and packed . conventional farm equipment such as a tractor and scraper blade are used to spread and pack the chopped material into the pit 12 . yeast is sprinkled in with the material as the pit 12 is filled . 3 . the contents of the reservoir 80 are discharged into the pit 12 so as to flood the pit 12 with a dilute solution of enzymes such as amylase and / or hydrolyzing solvents such as mineral acids . sufficient solution is added to completely cover the contents of the pit with at least six inches of liquid . 4 . the top of the pit 12 is sealed with the cover 34 and the dirt mounds 36 . the hose included with the cover 34 is placed into the sediment trap 40 to permit carbon dioxide gas to escape during the fermentation process . 5 . the contents of the pit 12 are fermented at 120 degrees fahrenheit for three days . heat is provided by pumping hot water from the boiler 62 through the manifolds 30 , 32 and the conduits 28 located in the bottom wall 18 of the pit 12 . heat also is provided by the thermal characteristics of the cover 34 . the insulating materials 14 , 16 positioned around the walls 18 , 20 of the pit 12 assist in making the heating process more efficient . 6 . after fermentation is completed , the gate 42 is opened and the pit 12 is drained into the trough 44 . solids are filtered out of the wash by the screens 46 and the wash is pumped into the wash storage reservoir 50 . drainage of the pit 12 can be speeded by driving a tractor or other vehicle over the contents of the pit 12 and squeezing out the last remaining liquids . 7 . the wash is drained from the reservoir 50 and is distilled by the distillation equipment 60 into 190 proof ( 95 %) ethanol . the ethanol is stored in a fuel tank ( not shown ) and the distilland , consisting essentially of water and enzymes , is pumped into the storage reservoir 80 . 8 . the solid residue remaining in the pit 12 is removed by using conventional farm equipment such as a tractor and front end loader . the residue either can be fed to livestock or used as fertilizer . although the basic chemical reactions employed to produce ethanol according to the invention do not differ from those of fermentation steps employed for many years previously , the method and apparatus according to the invention permits the entire bulk of a plant , including its stock , leaves , and grain , to be processed into ethanol . the method and apparatus according to the invention thereby offers several distinct advantages over methods previously employed to make ethanol . these advantages include the production of more ethanol per acre of land since the entire plant , not just its grain , can be processed into ethanol . moreover , the use of conventional farm equipment such as tractors and wagons can be used , thereby significantly reducing the investment required by farmers . additionally , the ability to utilize two or more crops per year from the same piece of land is made possible because fully matured crops are not required in the process . yet an additional advantage of the method and apparatus according to the invention is that the pit 12 and the reservoirs 50 , 80 function as solar collectors , thereby increasing the efficiency of the overall process . although a preferred embodiment of the invention has been described in some particularity , it will be appreciated that many variations and modifications in the preferred embodiment may be made without deviating from the invention . accordingly , it is to be understood that , within the scope of the appended claims , the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described .	8
a tube is generally shown at 10 of fig1 . the tube includes a shaft 14 disposed between opposing distal ends 12 . referring also to fig2 , the shaft 14 defines a shaft diameter 16 and the opposing distal ends 12 define a yoke diameter 18 as will be explained further herein below . the shaft 14 defines the shaft diameter 16 that is narrower than the yoke diameter 18 by way of roll or cold forming elements 19 and 20 . the roll forming elements 19 , 20 forcibly engage the shaft 14 to reduce the shaft diameter 16 from the yoke diameter 18 , which is substantially identical to the original tube diameter ( not shown ) prior to roll forming the shaft 14 . the roll forming elements 19 and 20 provide force in the direction of f 3 and f 4 substantially , narrowing the diameter of the tube to achieve a predetermined shaft diameter 16 . two , and possibly three roll forming elements 19 , 20 can be used to form the shaft 14 to the predetermined shaft diameter 16 . during the forming process , the tube is elongated in a direction of force arrows f 1 and f 2 as represented in fig2 . the elongation of the tube 10 aligns the material grain of the tube 10 in the directions of arrows f 1 and f 2 . alignment of the material grain provides an increase in tube strength in addition to the cold working increase in material strength . it should be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that various materials may be used including steel , aluminum , copper , and variations thereof . it is also contemplated by the inventor that certain polymeric materials may also be used to form the integrated drive shaft of the present invention . furthermore , the shaft 14 may be formed from extrusion dies , and flow forming . the opposing distal end 12 includes a yoke wall 21 having a yoke wall thickness 22 as will be explained further herein below . the shaft 14 includes a shaft wall 23 having a shaft wall thickness 24 that is less than the yoke wall thickness 22 . while roll forming , the shaft wall thickness 22 is decreased from the yoke wall thickness 24 , which is substantially the same thickness as the original tube thickness prior to forming . referring now to fig3 , the distal end 12 of the shaft 14 has been formed into a yoke 27 . it should be understood by those of skill in the art that this embodiment includes both opposing distal ends 12 being formed into a yoke 26 . one yoke 18 engages in driving element such as , for example , an axial driven transmission element ( not shown ) and the other yoke 18 engages in a driven element such as , for example , a differential ( not shown ). each yoke 27 includes opposing ears 28 , each defining an aperture 30 . each aperture 30 receives a pin or cruciform to engage an opposing yoke to establish a universal joint as is known to those of skill in the art . it is further possible to form a cardon joint ( not shown ). therefore , an integrated shaft providing connecting features is established where increased wall thickness is provided at the yoke 26 and where a substantial portion of the forces known to cause failure , in such as , for example , drive shafts of automobiles is known to occur . furthermore , the reduced wall thickness of the shaft 14 , relative to the yoke 26 , provides a means for reducing the overall weight of a typical driveshaft of an automotive vehicle by providing wall thickness only where necessary . the integrated shaft 10 of the present invention may also be used for steering columns and other devices where driving elements transfer rotational force to driven elements . referring to fig4 , and 6 , a seal is provided to prevent contamination from entering the shaft 14 through the yoke 27 in the instance of the integrated shaft 14 being used in an exterior environment . the seal 32 is affixed to the shaft 14 by way of welding , or interference fit , or equivalent . an alternative embodiment is shown in fig7 through 11 . in this embodiment , it is contemplated that a thinner yoke wall thickness may be used . as best represented in fig8 , a flange 34 is formed at the opposing distal ends 12 of the shaft 14 . the flange 34 effectively doubles the thickness of the distal ends 12 of the shaft 14 . as represented in fig9 , the flange distal end 12 is machined or otherwise cut by laser , water jet , or mechanical device to form an alternative yoke 36 . similar to that stated above , alternative ears 38 are formed defining apertures 40 so that the alternative yoke 36 functions as set forth above . while fig8 represents the flange being formed onto an exterior surface 42 of the shaft 14 it should be understood by those skilled in the art that the flange 34 may also be formed into an inner surface 44 of the shaft 14 . it should also be understood by those skilled in the art that the seal 32 described above is also included in this alternative embodiment , when necessary . a still further embodiment is shown in fig1 , 13 and 16 . in this embodiment , an alternative shaft 46 is formed having ribs 48 extending lengthwise on the alternative shaft 46 to provide additional strength to the alternative shaft 46 . it should be understood to those skilled in the art that the ribs 48 may be formed on an inner surface , outer surface , or both inner and outer surface of the alternative shaft 46 . the ribs 48 may be formed by the roll forming elements 19 , 20 set forth above , or by way of an alternative or subsequent forming operation . a still further embodiment is shown in fig1 and 15 . in this embodiment , an integrated shaft 50 includes a yoke 26 on only a single distal end . the integrated shaft 50 is received by a second integrated shaft 52 having a larger diameter so that the shaft provides axial movement to collapse upon impact of the vehicle . as shown in fig1 , the alternative shaft ribs 51 engage alternative shaft ribs 53 disposed upon the second integrated shaft 52 for locking engagement providing rotational movement between the first integrated shaft 50 and the second integrated shaft 52 . while the invention has been described with reference to an exemplary embodiment , 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 while 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 embodiment 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 .	1
referring to fig1 , the underside of drawer 102 is shown . undermount drawer slide clip mounting apparatus 100 is mounted on the underside of the drawer adjacent drawer face 104 . the front mounted location allows for easy adjustment by hand without disengaging the drawer from the drawer slide assembly . the drawer slide assembly is comprised of three slidingly engaged rails as is common in the art . drawer rail 106 is removably engaged with mounting apparatus 100 and slidingly engaged with intermediate rail 108 . intermediate rail 108 is slidingly engaged with cabinet rail 110 ( fig6 a and 6b ). cabinet rail 110 is mounted to the cabinet carcass with conventional mounting hardware such as wood screws . drawer rail 106 includes tab 114 and is further fitted with shoe 112 . tab 114 defines slot 115 . both shoe 112 and tab 114 are positioned on the front end of drawer rail 106 . referring to fig2 and 3 , undermount drawer slide clip mounting apparatus 100 is comprised of base 202 slidingly engaged with bonnet 204 . base 202 is a generally flat , rectangular plate rigidly mounted to the underside of the drawer with convention mounting hardware such as wood screws through holes 212 and 213 . base 202 includes ends 208 and 210 . end 208 is mounted adjacent drawer face 104 . end 208 includes holes 214 and 215 . hole 214 passes completely though base 202 while hole 215 may or may not pass completely through . recess 218 is a rectangular shaped cutout beneath hole 215 . saddles 226 and 227 project from base 202 near the longitudinal midpoint of base 202 . bridge 220 extends from end 208 adjacent hole 215 , projects along an edge of base 202 , and reconnects to base 202 adjacent saddle 227 forming block 234 . bridge 220 includes teeth 230 and recess 232 . spindle 240 is a threaded shaft with knob 242 adjacent collar 250 on one end and barrel 244 on the opposite end . spindle 240 has threaded section 246 flanked by two bare sections 248 and 249 . bare sections 248 and 249 are seated in saddles 226 and 227 respectively . collar 250 is adjacent saddle 226 . barrel 244 is adjacent saddle 227 . height adjuster 252 is adjustably engaged with base 202 at bridge 220 . height adjuster 252 is comprised of arms 254 and 256 extending generally parallel to each other from ramp 258 . opposite ramp 258 , arm 254 includes hook 260 . opposite ramp 258 , arm 256 includes teeth 262 adjacent extension 264 . teeth 262 are sized to engage teeth 230 and hook 260 is sized to engage recess 218 . lever arm 228 is generally elbow shaped and comprised of strike 238 on one end and trigger 239 on an opposite end . pivot hole 236 is displaced between the ends at the elbow bend . lever arm 228 is pivotally connected between base 202 and bonnet 204 with screw 207 through pivot hole 236 . bonnet 204 is a generally flat , rectangular plate slidingly engaged with base 202 . screws 206 and 207 affix bonnet 204 to base 202 through oblong holes 222 and 224 respectively . stanchions 310 and 312 extend from bonnet 204 . each stanchion includes a hole to receive screws 206 and 207 . the generally rectangular , hollow shape of box 313 forms channel 314 adjacent stanchion 312 . one side wall of box 313 includes gap 315 . block 316 is positioned adjacent stanchion 310 and includes threaded slot 322 . the threads of threaded slot 322 are sized to engage threaded section 246 of spindle 240 . arm 318 extends from bonnet 204 and further includes slot 320 . the longitudinal axes of channel 314 and threaded slot 322 are generally parallel to each other and generally perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of slot 320 . in the preferred embodiment , stanchions 310 and 312 , box 313 , block 316 , and arm 318 are all integrally formed with bonnet 204 . catch 330 is sized to be slidably engaged with channel 314 . catch 330 includes notch 332 adjacent angled edge 333 on a first end and spring 334 on an opposite end . disposed between the two ends of catch 330 is slot 336 . slot 336 is sized to accommodate strike 238 of lever arm 228 . referring additionally to fig4 and 5 , depth adjuster 270 is comprised of housing 272 fitted with cover 274 . housing 272 has a generally rectangular shaped , hollow body including pivot hole 294 . stanchions 297 and 298 extend from one side of housing 272 . stanchion 298 includes a hole sized to receive screw 308 . adjacent pivot hole 294 is rib 296 . partially surrounding pivot hole 294 and integrally formed into opposing sidewalls of housing 272 are arcuate guides 306 . cover 274 is a z - shaped , generally rectangular plate releasably fitted to housing 272 . cover 274 includes pivot hole 280 and arcuate slot 282 . adjacent arcuate slot 282 , cover 274 further includes an arcuate strip of teeth 291 . lever 276 includes axel 284 on a first end and teeth 290 adjacent extension 292 on its opposite end . teeth 290 are sized to engage teeth 291 . lever 276 is pivotally engaged with housing 272 and cover 274 by axel 284 through pivot holes 294 and 280 . surrounding axel 284 is collar 286 . collar 286 is sized to rotate freely between arcuate guides 306 and further includes teeth 288 . plunger 278 has a hollow , t - shaped body where face 302 is positioned along the top of the “ t ”. plunger 278 further includes slot 304 sized to accommodate rib 296 of housing 272 and teeth 300 sized to engage teeth 288 of lever 276 . depth adjuster 270 is rigidly connected to base 202 by screw 308 through hole 214 and the hole in stanchion 298 . stanchion 297 is fitted to hole 215 . in the preferred embodiment , components of undermount drawer slide clip mounting apparatus 100 including base 202 , bonnet 204 , lever arm 228 , spindle 240 , height adjuster 252 , depth adjuster 270 , and catch 330 are manufactured of a molded plastic such as polystyrene , pvc ( polyvinyl chloride ), or nylon . in use , clip mounting apparatus 100 is affixed to the underside of the drawer , adjacent drawer face 104 , with screws through holes 212 and 213 . to releasably clip the drawer to drawer rail 106 , lever arm 228 is pivoted about pivot hole 236 by applying a force to trigger 239 in a direction generally parallel to the bottom surface of the drawer towards the drawer slide assembly . trigger 239 is sized and shaped to be manipulated by hand without tools . strike 238 projects through gap 315 , abuts catch 330 within slot 336 , and slides catch 330 within channel 314 against the bias of spring 334 . tab 114 of drawer rail 106 is slidingly inserted into slot 320 and the front end of drawer rail 106 slides over ramp 258 on height adjuster 252 . trigger 239 is released allowing notch 332 to pass through slot 115 and under shoe 112 . angled edge 333 assists in the alignment of notch 332 with slot 115 . to adjust the vertical position of the drawer relative to the cabinet carcass , a force is applied to extension 264 in a direction towards the bottom of the drawer . teeth 262 are released from their engagement with teeth 230 . as long as teeth 262 and teeth 230 are disengaged , height adjuster 252 is free to slide relative to base 202 in a direction generally parallel with the opening and closing direction of the drawer . sliding height adjuster 252 towards drawer rail 106 causes the front end of drawer rail 106 to move up ramp 258 and thus the drawer in an upward direction relative to the cabinet carcass . sliding height adjuster away from drawer rail 106 causes the front end of drawer rail 106 to move down ramp 258 and thus the drawer in a downward direction relative to the cabinet carcass . hook 260 engaged with recess 218 limits the sliding movement of height adjuster 252 and prevents height adjuster 252 from becoming disengaged with base 202 . once the desired drawer height is reached , the force on extension 264 is released and teeth 262 reengage teeth 230 . to adjust the horizontal position of the drawer relative to the cabinet carcass , a rotational force is applied to spindle 240 via knob 242 . during rotation , the spindle &# 39 ; s horizontal position relative to base 202 is prevented from changing by barrel 244 abutting saddle 227 and collar 250 abutting saddle 226 . threaded section 246 interacts with threaded slot 322 . as spindle 240 rotates , bonnet 204 moves horizontally with respect to base 202 . drawer rail 106 is releasably clipped to bonnet 204 via arm 318 and slot 320 . once the desired horizontal position is reached , rotation of spindle 240 is stopped . as shown in fig6 a and 6b , when the drawer is in a closed position , cabinet rail 110 abuts face 302 on plunger 278 . the position of plunger 278 and thus face 302 determines the depth of the drawer relative to the cabinet carcass . to adjust the depth the drawer closes to relative to the cabinet carcass , plunger 278 is extended from or retracted within housing 272 . as plunger 278 extends from housing 272 , the closed position of the drawer relative to the cabinet carcass is extended further out of the cabinet carcass . to extend plunger 278 out of housing 272 , a force is applied to extension 292 to release teeth 290 from engagement with teeth 291 . once the teeth are disengaged , lever 276 is pivoted about pivot hole 280 via axel 284 . rotation of collar 286 is confined by arcuate guides 306 . teeth 288 engaged with teeth 300 convert the rotational movement of lever 276 into linear movement of plunger 278 . movement of extension 292 from point 340 to point 342 translates into extending plunger 278 from housing 272 resulting in a closed position where the position of the drawer relative to the cabinet carcass is extended further out of the cabinet carcass . movement of extension 292 from point 342 to point 340 translates into retracting plunger 278 back into housing 272 resulting in a closed position where the position of the drawer relative to the cabinet carcass is retracted , or less extended out of the cabinet carcass . once the desired depth is achieved , the force on extension 292 is removed and teeth 290 reengage with teeth 291 . it is understood that extension 292 may also be positioned anywhere between points 340 and 342 along arcuate slot 282 to effect different drawer closing depths . it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes could be made to the embodiments described above without departing from the broad inventive concept . it is understood , therefore , that this disclosure is not limited to the particular embodiments herein , but it is intended to cover modifications within the spirit and scope of the present disclosure as defined by the appended claims .	0
the purpose of the safety circuit is to permit operating an electrical or other device when the device is in a safe environment . the environmental parameters that could be monitored include , but are not limited to , ph , temperature , humidity , gas concentration , particulate concentration , conductivity , resistance , electrical charge , light intensity , salinity , radiation , and any other environmental parameter capable of being measured . the sensor will typically be a gas sensor . although any type of gas may be sensed , typically the gases may be : propane vapor , gasoline vapor , hydrogen , oxygen , other explosive or flammable gases ; or carbon monoxide , freon , or other toxic gases . this system uses a regulated power supply to provide power to both the logic circuit and to the sensor . the sensor provides an output signal which will vary depending on the environmental parameter that the sensor is designed to detect . the logic circuit receives the signal from the sensor . when the logic circuit detects a signal indicating that a safe environment is present , the logic circuit will indicate a safe condition to the power control circuitry . a safe environment is an environment where the environmental variable being monitored is safe for both personnel and the equipment ( which the safety circuit controls ) to operate . upon receiving an indication of a safe condition , ( including proper and safe operation of the safety circuit ) the power control circuit will act to permit the operation of the electrical or other device that is controlled by the safety circuit . a safe condition is a safe environment together with the proper and safe operation of the safety circuit . for example , if a safety circuit with an explosive gas sensor was installed in a portable drill , and if the operator inadvertently took the portable electric drill into an area which had an explosive concentration of propane gas , the circuit would prevent the drill from being operated by preventing the electricity from reaching the motor . referring now to the drawings in detail , wherein like numerals indicate the same elements throughout the views , fig1 shows a block diagram of safety circuit 10 . safety circuit 10 is comprised of the following functional blocks : power supply 20 , sensor 40 , logic circuit 60 , and control circuit 80 . power supply 20 supplies the power to both sensor 40 and logic circuit 60 . power supply 20 typically provides the proper voltage for both logic circuit 60 and sensor 40 . logic circuits typically operate on between 3 and 5 volts and thus power supply 20 should provide an output at the proper voltage for the logic circuits utilized . additionally , sensors 40 utilized with this circuit typically have voltage requirements from 5 to 25 volts dc . however some sensors that may be interfaced with this circuit may require different voltages . therefore , power supply 20 will typically have a second voltage output if the sensor 40 requires a different voltage than the logic circuit 60 . sensor 40 is any sensor that is required or desired to be used in a specific application . typically , a single sensor will be used , however , there are safety circuits that can effectively use two or more sensors connected either in series or parallel . when two or more sensors 40 are employed , the sensors 40 may be identical sensors 40 placed in two different locations so that a larger area is monitored . alternatively , the sensors 40 may monitor two different environmental variables , for example , both a conductivity sensor 40 and a ph sensor 40 could be used to monitor a steam system for proper operation . typically , the sensor 40 selected will be used to detect an explosive gas mixture in the atmosphere . there are , however , applications for sensors capable of detecting other environmental parameters . for example : using a toxic gas sensor on the safety circuit to prevent inadvertent entry to a room into which a toxic gas has leaked ; or using both temperature and humidity sensors in the safety circuit to shut down a steam system on indications of a steam rupture . logic circuit 60 contains the appropriate circuits necessary to determine when a safe environment is present based on the signal provided by the sensor . since this is a safety device , it is preferred that the logic circuit use redundant logic subcircuits . additionally , since this is a safety circuit each logic subcircuit should provide an affirmative signal indicating that the environmental parameter measured is in the safe range . when the environment is safe and all the upstream portions of the circuit are operating properly the output of the logic circuit is a signal which will cause the power control circuit 80 to permit the device to which the safety circuit 10 is attached from operating . typically the safety circuit 10 will be used in or on an electric device and the power control circuit 80 would permit the electrical power to energize this device . fig2 provides a circuit diagram for the preferred embodiment of a safety circuit 10 in accordance with the present invention . the safety circuit 10 has the same basic components as shown in the functional block diagram ( fig1 ). these components are : power supply 20 , sensor 40 , logic circuit 60 , and power control circuit 80 . power supply 20 is a regulated power supply that typically supplies a relatively constant voltage to the sensor 40 and logic circuit 60 . the power supply is designed to provide the appropriate power level for the sensor 40 , the logic circuit 60 , and if required , the appropriate voltage for the rest of the electrical circuit ; including , the power control circuit 80 . in the preferred embodiment power control circuit 80 does not use any power from the power supply 20 . control circuit 80 receives its power directly from the same source as the device which safety circuit 10 controls . sensor 40 will use the output of power supply 20 to provide power for the sensing element and , if required , for a heating or other element of the sensor . power supply 20 also provides power to the op amps and to the resistors used in a voltage divider to set a “ safe ” window voltage to which the output of sensor 40 is compared in logic circuit 60 . the design and manufacturing of regulated power supplies providing specific output voltages is well known and thus will not be described in detail . the sensor 40 samples the environment around the sensor and provides a detection signal to the logic circuit 60 . sensors 40 that are used to detect flammable or explosive atmospheres typically have a heating element which maintains the sensor at a specific temperature and a sensing element whose resistance varies with the concentration of flammable or burnable materials in the atmosphere . fig3 a shows a typical response curve for a combustible gas sensor . the resistance of this sensor lowers as the concentration of a combustible gas increases . the resistance of the sensing element of the sensor 40 will determine voltage of the signal that is input to the logic circuit 60 . additionally , the resistance of the sensing element in combustible gas sensors will vary with the temperature / humidity of the air around the sensor as shown in fig3 b . thus , the voltage of the output signal from sensor 40 will depend upon the environment around the sensor and the input voltage from power supply 20 . during safe conditions , the voltage of the output signal from sensor 40 stays within a relatively narrow band . since this is a safety circuit , logic circuit 60 is formed primarily from two identical lm393 window comparators 62 , 64 . each window comparator has two op amps that are wired in a logical “ or ” configuration . the voltage range over which the comparators 62 , 64 will produce a high output is determined by the values selected for resistors r 7 , r 8 , and r 9 for comparator 64 and resistors r 18 , r 19 , and r 20 for comparator 62 . some sensors 40 used to measure environmental parameters other than temperature have output voltages that are subject to undesired temperature variations ( fig3 b ). if the output voltage of sensor 40 is subject to undesired temperature variations , then a thermistor th 1 is added to resistors r 7 , r 8 , and r 9 to shift the “ safe ” voltage window for comparator 64 to compensate for the temperature dependence of sensor 40 . similarly , a thermistor th 2 is added to resistors r 18 , r 19 , and r 20 for comparator 62 . it is preferred that the temperature response curve of thermistors th 1 and th 2 compensate for the temperature dependency of sensor 40 over the expected operating temperatures of safety circuit 10 . when the voltage output of the gas sensor 40 is in the safe range , the output of both window comparators will be high . when the voltage output of the sensor 40 is outside the “ safe ” window the logic circuit will act as if an unsafe environment existed . thus , the output of one or both window comparators 62 , 64 will be low when the voltage output from sensor 40 is outside the “ safe ” window . for example , in the present circuit the voltage output of a sensor 40 may fall below the safe range either due to a failure of sensor 40 or power supply 20 , or due to a low voltage condition . when the voltage input to window comparators 62 , 64 is below the safe window the output of op amp u 2 a of comparator 64 and op amp u 3 a of comparator 62 will go low , forcing the output of each window comparator 62 , 64 to be low . thus , the output of logic circuit 60 to power control circuit 80 will be low . alternately , when the sensor 40 is a combustible gas sensor and , senses an unsafe condition , the sensor &# 39 ; s 40 output voltage increases due to the explosive or flammable gas in the atmosphere reducing the resistance of the sensing element in sensor 40 , with the voltage input to comparators 62 , 64 is above the “ safe ” window , the output of op amp u 3 b of comparator 62 and u 2 b of comparator 64 will go low with the same result as discussed above when op amps u 2 a and u 3 a go low . power control circuit 80 is also constructed in a redundant fashion . power circuit 80 has two switch circuits 82 , 84 ; two triac pulse detection circuits 86 , 88 ; two over current protection circuits 90 , 92 ; an one idec rssan relay r 1 . only one relay r 1 is used , since a failure of relay r 1 would cause the circuit to fail in a safe manner by preventing the operation of the equipment attached to or controlled by safety circuit 10 . switch circuit 82 is coupled to and receives an input from window comparator 62 and switch circuit 84 is coupled to and receives an input from window comparator 64 . when there are no faults within power control circuit 80 , and a “ safe ” condition exists , a high output ( safe condition ) from the comparator 62 will actuate switch circuit 82 and a high output ( safe condition ) from comparator 64 will actuate switch circuit 84 . both switch circuits 82 and 84 are coupled to and provide a low resistance current path to relay r 1 . when both switch circuits 82 and 84 are triggered , current will flow to relay r 1 causing relay r 1 to energize , closing contacts 94 that will permit the electric or other device to which safety circuit 10 is connected to operate . additionally , the preferred embodiment has an artisan 436 u . s . a . time delay relay ( not shown ). this relay typically has a one minute time delay upon energizing the circuit 10 and time delay relay . this one minute time delay will prevent erroneous response of safety circuit 10 while circuit 10 is warming up . additionally there is a two minute time delay after safety circuit 10 removes power from the device due to the detection of an unsafe condition . switch circuits 82 and 84 are triggered by high outputs from window comparators 62 , 64 of logic circuit 10 . for example , a high output form window comparator 62 will cause current to flow through a h11j3 opto - isolator u 6 provided that pulse detection circuit 88 is sensing pulses across triac q 2 . thus , a voltage will be applied to diac cr 8 , when the voltage applied to diac cr 8 reaches diac &# 39 ; s cr 8 break over voltage , diac cr 8 will allow current to flow through diac cr 8 and trigger triac q 2 . diac means either a diac or an assembly of diodes or other devices that will permit a large enough voltage to develop across the triac , during the portion of the ac cycle when the opto - isolator is forward biased , to trigger the opto - isolator before the triac is triggered . when triac q 2 is triggered , triac q 2 will permit current flow through triac q 2 . since this circuit uses an ac power source , triac q 2 will pulse because diac cr 8 will not constantly trigger triac q 2 . as a further safety feature there are two triac pulse detection circuits 86 , 88 . these circuits sense the voltage across the triac in each switch circuit 82 , 84 . the pulse detection circuit 86 senses the voltage across triac q 2 in switch circuit 82 and pulse detection circuit 88 senses the voltage across triac q 1 in switch circuit 84 . when switch circuit 82 is activated the voltage across the triac q 2 will pulse , indicating that the triac q 2 has been triggered and is functioning properly . the triac q 1 in switch circuit 84 will behave in a similar manner . when detection circuit 86 detects that triac q 2 of switch circuit 82 is turned on and functioning properly , the detection circuit 86 will permit switch circuit 84 to be activated . similarly , when detection circuit 88 detects that triac q 1 of switch circuit 84 is triggered and functioning properly , the detection circuit 88 will permit switch circuit 82 to be activated . for example , when triac q 1 pulses there is a time period where triac q 1 has a voltage difference and a time period when triac q 1 does not have a voltage difference across triac q 1 . when there is a voltage difference across triac q 1 , a 4933 opto - isolator is 02 will permit current flow . thus , a 1re capacitor c 1 will discharge and the voltage between the base of and the collector of a 2n3906 transistor q 3 will permit current to flow through transistor q 3 . with current flowing through transistor q 3 , current will flow through opto - isolator u 6 to ground . when triac q 1 is permitting current to flow , there will not be a voltage difference across triac q 1 . thus , opto - isolator tor is 02 will prevent current to flow through opto - isolator is 02 to ground and capacitor c 1 will recharge . during the initial portion of the capacitor &# 39 ; s c 1 recharge the voltage between the base and the collector of transistor q 3 will be low enough that transistor q 3 will continue to permit current to flow through transistor q 3 . capacitor c 1 is sized to accommodate the pulse length of the triac q 1 selected , so that before the voltage rise across capacitor c 1 is sufficient to turn off transistor q 1 , the triac q 1 has a voltage across the triac q 1 and capacitor c 1 is discharged . however , if triac q 1 stops pulsing but does not have a voltage drop across the triac q 5 , then the capacitor c 1 will continue to charge and the voltage across capacitor c 1 and across the base and collector of transistor q 3 will increase until transistor q 3 turns off . with no current passing through transistor q 3 , no current will flow through opto - isol ator u 6 resulting in switch circuit 82 turning off or preventing switch circuit 82 from turning on . pulse detection circuit 86 will operate in a similar fashion to that described above . if the detection circuit 86 does not detect a pulsing voltage across triac q 2 , then the pulse detection circuit 86 would prevent switch circuit 84 from accuating or turn off switch circuit 84 if this circuit was already operating . if there is a short or fault within power control circuit 80 which causes a high current within control circuit 80 , then either or both current protection circuits 90 , 92 will operate to protect power control circuit 80 . protection circuit 90 protects power control circuit 80 by shunting the output from window comparator 62 to ground . the shunting of the output from window comparator 62 to ground will cause switch circuit 82 to see a low input , which results in switch circuit 82 turning off . similarly , protection circuit 92 will cause switch circuit 84 to turn off . for example , the current protection circuit 90 operates by using the voltage developed across resistor r 22 to trigger a h11j3 opto - isolator u 7 . resistor r 22 is selected so that when the current through resistor r 22 exceeds safe levels then the voltage across resistor r 22 will trigger opto - isolator u 7 . when u 7 is triggered the output of window comparator 62 of logic circuit 60 is stunted to ground with the result described above the power supply 20 provides power to gas sensor 40 and to logic circuit 60 . sensor 40 will provide a steady or relatively steady output signal to logic circuit 60 . this signal will fall within the “ safe ” voltage window of the window comparators 62 , 64 of logic circuit 60 . the window comparators 62 , 64 will produce a high output which accuates switch circuits 82 , 84 of power control circuit 80 . upon accuation of both switch circuits 82 , 84 relay r 1 is energized . energizing relay r 1 will permit the device to which the circuit is attached to function . when there is a low voltage supplied to power supply 20 , the voltage regulator vr 1 fails to provide a high enough voltage , or sensor 40 fails to send an output signal , then the voltage input to window comparators 62 , 64 of logic circuit 60 will be below the “ safe ” voltage window . this input to window comparators 62 , 64 will result in an overall low output from window comparators 62 , 64 resulting in a low signal to switch circuits 82 and 84 of power control circuit 80 . a low input to switch circuits 82 and 84 will prevent these circuit from operating or if operating to turn off . when switch circuits 82 or 84 are off relay ri will be deenergized and the contacts in the motor controller for the electric device will remain open and the device will not start . when over - current protection circuit 90 detects an over current condition it shunts the output from the window comparator 62 to ground . as a result of this shunt switch circuit 82 will see a low input and will turn off . when switch circuit 82 is off relay r 1 will be deenergized with the results as described above over protection circuit 92 will function in a similar manner to that described above . high current in power control circuit 80 would typically be caused by a short circuit or a fault to ground within the circuit . in the event that there is an unsafe environment detected by that gas sensor 40 , sensor 40 will typically produce a high voltage output that will be above the “ safe ” voltage window of window comparators 62 , 64 . a voltage input to logic circuit 60 above the “ safe ” voltage window for comparators 62 , 64 will cause window comparators 62 , 64 to have a low output with the results described above . if a short develops across triac q 2 of switch circuit 82 either due to a failure or due to an over voltage condition , then the pulse detection circuit 86 will not detect the pulsing of the triac q 2 . when detection circuit 86 no longer detects the pulsing of the triac q 2 , then the detection circuit 86 will prevent switch circuit 84 from operating . without both switch circuits 82 , 84 operating , relay r 1 will be de - energized and , as a result , the attached electrical device will either shut down or not be permitted to start . a short across triac q 1 of switch circuit 84 would cause detection circuit 88 to act in a similar fashion and produce similar results . in summary , numerous benefits have been described which result from employing the concepts of the invention . the foregoing description of a preferred embodiment of the invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description . it is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed . obvious modifications or variations are possible in light of the above teachings . the embodiment was chosen and described in order to best illustrate the principles of the invention and its practical application to thereby enable one of ordinary skill in the art to best utilize the invention in various embodiments and with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated . it is intended that the scope of the invention be defined by the claims appended hereto .	6
referring now to these drawings and first to fig1 - 6 , there is illustrated an improved wall assembly 10 according to the invention . wall assembly 10 includes a floor runner 12 , a ceiling header 14 , and studs 16 extending between the runner and header , when the wall assembly is installed , the runner is secured to the floor 18 and the header to the ceiling 20 by screws 22 . one or both sides of the wall assembly is / are covered by wall panels 24 . in the particular wall assembly shown , wall panels are installed on one side only of the wall assembly , although the broken lines illustrate that wall panels may be installed on both sides . according to the present invention , the wall panels 24 are held in place in the wall assembly magnetically in such a way that the panels may be removed and replaced quickly and easily by even unskilled persons , such as office workers , to permit movement of the wall assembly from one place to another as well as storage of the wall when not in use . moreover , any selected wall panel may be removed and replaced without disturbing the adjacent panels . to these ends , the invention provides novel magnetic clips 26 which are mounted on the wall studs 16 and cooperate with magnetic means 27 on the wall panels 24 to secure the panels to the wall assembly . these magnetic clips constitute a primary feature of the invention . each magnetic clip 26 comprises a bracket 28 and magnetic means 30 on the bracket which cooperate with the wall panel magnetic means 27 to magnetically secure the adjacent wall panels to the wall assembly . referring now in more detail to the magnetic clips 26 , each clip bracket 28 has a flat mounting portion 32 and at least one end portion 34 which is turned relative to the mounting portion so as to extend beyond one side , the normally rear or back side , of the mounting portion . the clip bracket is attached to a wall stud 16 with the bracket mounting portion 32 seating against the side of the stud facing the respective wall panels 24 and with the bracket end portion or portions extending laterally beyond and toward the opposite side of the stud . depending on the arrangement of a wall assembly 10 , it may have one or two extreme end studs 16 , such as the left - hand stud in fig1 . the bracket 28 of a magnetic clip 26 for installation on such an end stud may have either one or two end portions 34 depending upon the wall arrangement and the space available between the end stud and any adjacent structure . in any event , a magnetic clip 26 will be mounted on such an end stud with its single end portion 34 or one end portion extending beyond the stud toward the adjacent intermediate stud of the wall assembly , i . e ., beyond the right side of the left - most stud in fig1 toward the second from the left stud . the magnetic means 30 of the magnetic clip 26 comprise a magnetic member 36 on each bracket end portion 34 . the magnetic means 27 on each wall panel 24 comprise magnetic members 38 , in this case magnetic strips , secured to the back side of each wall panel 24 adjacent to its vertical edges . the magnetic clips 26 and magnetic members are arranged in such a way that when a wall panel is placed in position on the wall assembly the panel is held in place by the magnetic attraction between the clip and panel members . in the embodiment of fig1 - 6 , the magnetic clip bracket 28 has a flat mounting portion 32 . each bracket end portion 34 includes a section 40 at right angles to and extending beyond the rear side of the mounting portion and an out - turned terminal portion 42 parallel to the mounting portion . each magnetic member 36 of the magnetic clip 26 comprises a magnet assembly flat rectangular permanent magnet 44 between two flat rectangular , magnetically permeable pole plates 46 which project edgewise slightly beyond the edges of the magnet . each magnetic assembly 36 , or magnet as it will be hereafter referred to , is secured , face to face , to the outer side of a right angle end section 40 of the clip bracket 28 by a fastener 48 . each magnet 36 has one edge adjacent and parallel to its bracket terminal portion 42 which keeps the magnet from turning on the fastener 48 . the opposite edge off the magnet is substantially coplanar with and preferably projects just slightly beyond the bracket mounting portion 32 . each fastener 48 loosely secures its magnet 36 to the respective bracket end section 40 in such a way that the magnet has limited freedom of movement both edgewise and parallel to the fastener 48 . the bracket is constructed of a non - magnetic material so as to not restrict this freedom . as shown best in fig3 each wall stud 16 is a channel having parallel flanges 50 joined by a web 52 . the floor runner 12 is an upwardly opening channel having upstanding flanges 54 joined by a web 56 which seats on and is secured to the floor 18 . the ceiling header 14 is an extrusion having inner depending flanges which are slotted at intervals to form pairs of laterally aligned depending fingers 58 , and outer depending flanges 60 . the studs are vertically positioned , usually at uniform intervals , along the floor runner 12 and ceiling header 14 with the stud flanges 50 parallel to the sides of the wall assembly . the lower ends of the studs are positioned within and secured to the floor runner channel , as shown best in fig6 . the upper stud ends are positioned within the ceiling header channel with the header fingers 58 positioned between and secured to the stud flanges 50 . each magnetic clip 26 is mounted on its stud at the side of the stud , i . e ., the stud flange 50 , to which wall panels 24 are to be installed . in the drawings , this is the front side in fig1 bottom side in fig5 and right side in fig6 . as mentioned earlier and shown in broken lines in fig5 and 6 , however , wall panels may be installed on both sides of the wall assembly . referring particularly to fig3 and 5 , each magnetic clip is placed on its stud with the mounting portion 32 of the clip bracket 28 seating against the adjacent stud side or flange and with its end portions 34 extending laterally beyond and toward the opposite side of the stud in straddling relation to the stud . as mentioned earlier , the magnetic clips mounted on the end studs , such as the left - hand stud in fig1 may have only one bracket end portion and magnet . each clip is secured to its stud by a fastener 62 extending through the clip bracket mounting portion 32 and adjacent stud flange 50 . several magnetic clips 26 are mounted along each stud . the width of the wall panels 24 substantially equals the center - to - center spacing between the studs 16 . the wall panels are installed on the wall assembly with their upper ends engaging within the space 64 between the ceiling header fingers 58 and outer flanges 60 and their lower ends close to or seating against the floor runner flanges 54 . the several wall panels are disposed edge to edge with the adjacent vertical edges of each pair of adjacent panels overlying a common intervening stud 16 and with the adjacent magnetic members or strips 38 on the panel in contact with the adjacent magnetic clip magnets 36 . the wall panels 24 are thus magnetically held in place in the wall assembly by the magnetic attraction between the magnetic clips 26 and wall panel magnetic members 38 . the panels may be quickly and easily removed by pulling outwardly on the lower ends of the panels sufficiently to enable the upper panel ends to be withdrawn from the ceiling header space 64 . in this regard , it will be observed in fig6 that the width of the space 64 is greater than the thickness of the panels so as to enable the lower ends of the panels to be pulled outwardly . installation of the panels is accomplished by reversing this procedure . since adjacent panels do not interfit in any way , any one or more panels may be removed and replaced without disturbing the adjacent panels . the modified magnetic clip 26a of fig7 and 8 is similar to the magnetic clip 26 and like the latter clip includes a non - magnetic bracket 28a having a mounting portion 32a and end portions 34a offset to the same side of the mounting portion . each clip end portion 34a has an end section 40a and a terminal section 42a . unlike clip 26 , the terminal sections 42a of clip 26a are disposed in a common plane parallel to and offset to one side ( the rear side ) of the clip mounting portion 32a . each clip magnet 36a is generally flat and rectangular and includes a magnetic channel 46a containing a permanent magnet 44a and is loosely secured to a clip bracket end section 42a by a fastener 48a . the magnets 36a are disposed substantially in a common plane parallel to the clip bracket mounting portion 32a with their front faces substantially flush with or , preferably , projecting slightly forwardly of the mounting portion . the modified magnetic clip 26a is installed on a stud 16 in the same way as the magnetic clip 26 with the clip mounting portion 32a secured to the stud by a fastener 62a and with the clip bracket end portions 42 extending laterally beyond and toward the opposite side of the stud . the clip magnets 36a engage the magnetic members or strips 38 on the adjacent wall panels to magnetically hold the panels in position .	4
fig1 illustrates an example of the basic structure of a high speed memory . in the example shown , eight control pins 1a - h are used to transfer control and address information between an external bus ( not shown ) and the memory device 6 . eight data pins 2a - 2h transfer data between the external bus and the memory . a memory device may have more or fewer address and data pins depending on the required address and data bandwidth . wires 3a - 3b distribute row address information and wires 4a - 4b distribute column address information from the control pins 1 via the control logic 7 to the entire memory 6a - 6h . each of the data pins 2 has i / o circuitry 5 associated with it , through which the data pins 2 communicate with the memory 6 . the memory 6 includes portions of the memory 6a - 6h , each of which is associated with one of the data pins 2a - 2h . fig2 illustrates the basic structure of a single data pin and the circuitry used to communicate with the portion of the memory associated with the data pin in a single data rate system . the data pin 2a provides data to an input receiver 8 and receives data from an output driver 9 . data to be written to the portion of the memory 6a associated with the data pin 2a is provided serially to an input shift register 10 via the input receiver 8 . the data is then presented to the portion of the memory 6a associated with the data pin 2a in parallel on the write data lines 11a - 11h . data being read from the portion of the memory 6a associated with the data pin 2a is read from the portion of the memory 6a on the parallel read data lines 12a - 12h into the output shift register 13 . the data is then shifted serially out to the data pin via the output driver 9 . redundant columns of memory cells may be provided to be used as substitutes when memory cells in regular columns are damaged . fig3 illustrates one prior art column redundancy scheme , in which one or more spare columns 15 is provided for each sub - portion 14 of the memory associated with each pair of read / write data lines 11 - 12 . if a regular column in the sub - portion associated with a pair of read / write data lines includes a damaged cell , a spare column 15 is substituted for the regular column : read operations from the damaged cell , and write operations to the damaged cell are suppressed , and the data is written to and read from the corresponding cell in the spare column instead . however , matching the addresses for the redundant column and suppressing access to the damaged cell location is relatively complex and consequently may limit the speed of the memory . additionally , this approach requires a relatively large number of spare columns -- at least one for each pair of read / write data lines . furthermore , this may not be sufficient if there is more than one damaged cell within the memory associated with a single pair of read / write data lines . another prior art approach is illustrated in fig4 in which one or more spare columns 16 are added in the portion of the memory 6a associated with each data pin 2a . an eight - to - one multiplexor 17 , consisting of 8 tristate drivers 17a - 17h , is placed between the input shift register 10 and the memory 6a . the input shift register 10 provides data to a regular column within the portion of the memory 6a associated with the data pin 2a . the multiplexor 17 selectively provides one data bit to a spare column 16 . a sixteen - to - eight multiplexor 18 , consisting of smaller two - to - one multiplexors 18a - 18h , is placed between the output shift register 13 and memory 6a , so that the multiplexor 18 can select between reading data from a regular column and reading from a spare column 16 . the multiplexors 17 - 18 enable data from a spare column to be multiplexed during read or write operations to a damaged cell , so that a cell in a spare column 16 can substitute for a damaged cell at any bit of the input shift register 10 or the output shift register 13 . while this approach is more flexible and may require fewer spare columns than the approach illustrated in fig3 the large number of multiplexors and the lengthy wires required add substantial complexity and delay . fig5 illustrates one embodiment of the invention for a single data rate system , wherein data is transmitted on only one edge of the clock . as in the approach illustrated in fig4 one or more spare columns 16 is included at the same place in the array 6a , preferably near the wires connecting the input shift register 10 to the input receiver 8 and the output shift register 13 to the output driver 9 . a multiplexor 19 is provided between the spare columns 16 and the output driver 9 . when data must be read from the spare column due to a damaged cell in a regular column , the multiplexor 19 selects the spare column 16 only for the bit time corresponding to the read from the damaged cell . in addition , a wire 20 is provided between the input receiver 8 and the spare column 16 . when data must be written to the spare column 16 , the incoming data is latched during the bit time when it passes the spare column 16 . this column redundancy scheme may be used for either single data rate systems , where data is transmitted on only one edge of the clock , or for double data rate systems , where data is transmitted on both edges of the clock . however , in a double data rate system , changes may be made to the input circuitry associated with each data pin to relax the timing requirements for the shifting circuitry . an embodiment of the invention for a double data rate system with modified input circuitry is illustrated in fig6 . the memory device includes an even input shift register 21 and an odd input shift register 22 , as well as an even output shift register 23 and an odd output shift register 24 . the even input shift register 21 inputs even bits which are transmitted relative to the rising edge of the clock , and the odd input shift register 22 inputs odd bits which are transmitted relative to the falling edge of the clock . similarly , the even output shift register 23 outputs even bits , and the odd output shift register 24 outputs odd bits . an even input receiver 25 receives the even bits from the data pin 2a and provides them to the even input shift register 21 , and an odd input receiver 26 receives the odd bits from the data pin 2a and provides them to the odd input shift register 22 . one or more spare columns 16 is included in the same place in the array 6a . preferably near the wires connecting the shift registers 21 - 24 with the input receivers 25 - 26 and the output multiplexor / driver 27 . a multiplexor 28 multiplexes data from one or more spare columns 16 and the even output shift register 23 , and permits data to be read from a spare column 16 if a cell in portion of the array associated with an even shift register bit is damaged . a second multiplexor 29 multiplexes data from one or more spare columns 16 and the odd output shift register 24 , and permits data to be read from a spare column 16 if a cell in portion of the array associated with an odd shift register bit is damaged . the output of the first multiplexor 28 and the second multiplexor 29 is provided to an output multiplexor and driver 27 , which switches between accepting even bits from the first multiplexor 28 on the rising edge of the clock and accepting odd bits from the second multiplexor 29 on the falling edge of the clock . the output multiplexor and driver 27 provides the stream of alternating even and odd bits to the data pin 2a . a third multiplexor 30 receives data from the even input receiver 25 and the odd input receiver 26 . when , due to a damaged cell in a regular column , an even bit must be written to the spare column 16 , the even bit is selected by the multiplexor 30 on the rising edge of the clock . the even bit is then latched into the spare column during the bit time before the even bit is to enter the even input shift register 21 -- that is , as the even bit passes the input of the multiplexor 30 . similarly , when an odd bit must be written to the spare column 16 , it is selected by the multiplexor 30 on the falling edge of the clock and latched into the spare column during the bit time before the odd bit is to enter the odd input shift register 22 . the foregoing description , for purposes of explanation , used specific nomenclature to provide a thorough understanding of the invention . however , it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that the specific details are not required in order to practice the invention . in other instances , well known circuits and devices are shown at the logic gate level in order to avoid unnecessary distraction from the underlying invention . thus , the foregoing descriptions of specific embodiments of the present invention are presented for purposes of illustration and description . they are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed , as obviously many modifications and variations are possible on view of the above teachings . the embodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention and its practical applications , the thereby enable others skilled in the art to best utilize the invention and various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated . it is intended that the scope of the invention be defined by the following claims and their equivalents .	6
a system or a method is described with which a respiratory signal or a signal of the cardiac activity is robustly identifiable . fig2 shows such a system 100 , which can be implemented in a patient couch 200 . the system has a multiplicity of radar sensors 110 a and 110 b which in the example shown are arranged in two different subsections 120 a and 120 b . both the subgroups of the radar sensors 110 in the subsections 120 a and 120 b are physically separated from each other . both subsections can , for example , be 50 cm long and 40 cm wide but other proportions are also conceivable . altogether , the two subsections are dimensioned such that a respiratory signal or a cardiac signal can be detected in a subject who can be moved into an imaging device 300 ( shown only in a diagrammatic view ) either feet - first , i . e . with the feet in the direction of the edge a , or head - first . the couch 100 may be part of the imaging device . the imaging device 300 may be an mr system or ct system of a known type . as the subject can either be moved into the imaging device 300 in a supine position or face - down , the subsections 120 a and 120 b must be designed such that the cardiac movement can be detected in both a face - down and a supine position . the ribcage of the subject can therefore be located either in the subsection 120 a or in the subsection 120 b . the two subsections 120 a and 120 b are preferably arranged symmetrically to one another so that a face - down and a supine position or a position in which the subject is moved feet - first or head - first into the imaging device can be covered . however , more than two subsections 120 a and 120 b can also be provided . each subsection 120 a , 120 b can in turn be divided into three subsections , each with a subsection for the detection of respiration and two subsections for the detection of cardiac activity depending on a face - down or supine position . radar sensors can be used as sensors ; alternatively coils can also be used that are designed such that bodies in the vicinity of the coils generate another magnetic field in the coils . when using radar sensors , in principle they can all be controlled simultaneously so that they all transmit and receive simultaneously . however , care should be taken so that the radar signals transmitted by one radar sensor are not received by another radar sensor . it is therefore conceivable for all radar sensors in a very fast cycle to each be activated only briefly , so that at any one time only one radar sensor is ever briefly active . furthermore , it is possible that , at any one time , only radar sensors are activated that are far enough away from each other so as to geometrically exclude mutual disturbances . at any one time , therefore , only one subgroup is active . this active subgroup can be , for example , a group of sensors in the subsection 120 a , and another group of sensors in the subsection 120 b , or various groups in a subsection that are far enough away from each other for a radar sensor of one subgroup not to receive the reflection signal that has been sent by a radar sensor of another subgroup . all the radar sensors can be briefly active in succession until the sequence recommences . in doing so , depending on the position of the subject , the radar sensors are now dynamically assigned to a group for the detection of respiration or to a group for the detection of cardiac activity , wherein the sensors which are not assigned to either of the two groups can be deactivated . as described in detail below , the signals of the individual groups are each added to generate a cardiac activity signal 155 or a respiratory activity signal 156 which can be supplied by an evaluation unit 150 , subsequently described in more detail , to an imaging device 300 . how the cardiac activity signal or the respiratory activity signal can be generated and how the respiratory and cardiac signals can be separated is explained below with reference to fig3 and 4 . in a learning phase , as noted above the various radar sensors can be individually controlled , either in succession or simultaneously , depending on the respective spacing of the sensors . in connection with fig3 , the determination of a cardiac activity signal is explained with the use of the movement signals that are detected by the radar sensors 110 a and 110 b . the movement signals are detected in step s 30 . then the signals can be filtered with a high pass filter or band pass filter to pass all the signal components in the typical cardiac rate range of 35 per minute to 200 per minute , i . e . between approx . 0 . 58 hz and 3 . 3 hz . as a result of this filtering , cardiac movement signals that essentially contain the signal components on the basis of the cardiac movement are thus generated in step s 31 . then the radar signal that detects the cardiac activity with the highest amplitude is determined from the filtered signals . this determination can take place in the time range of the signal , as well as in the frequency range , wherein the highest peak or the highest amplitude in the frequency range is decisive . this corresponds to the step s 32 of fig3 of the determination of the cardiac reference signal . with reference to fig2 , this may be the sensor with the reference character 110 h , for example . in the presence of a total of n movement sensors , all the additional n − 1 sensors can then be assessed with regard to the similarity of the signals to the reference signal of the reference sensor 110 h . this can be done , for example , with the use of a cross - correlation , wherein all the signals filtered in the cardiac rate range can be assessed for similarity , or only signals from sensors in the vicinity which are at a predetermined distance from the reference sensor . in the example shown in fig2 , it may be useful , for example , not to take the sensors of the subsection 120 b into consideration if the cardiac reference sensor 110 h is located in the subsection 120 a . the cross - correlation function is as follows : r xy ( k )= σ n =−∞ ∞ x ( n )· y ( n + k ) ( 1 ) the cross - correlation function r xy describes the similarity between two temporal signals , namely the signals x and y , as a function of the time n . this determination of the cardiac addition signals takes place in step s 33 with reference to fig3 . in this step s 33 , all the signals which have an adequate relationship to the cardiac reference signal are taken into consideration , adequate here meaning similar up to a limit or threshold value . this limit or threshold value may also be selected and altered by a user of the system of fig2 as a function of the quality of the respective signals . thus only signals with adequate similarity are taken into consideration , so that signals with a poor signal - to - noise ratio are not taken into consideration . then the cardiac reference signal can be added to the cardiac addition signals to form the cardiac activity signal , as shown in step s 34 of fig3 . similarly , the respiratory activity signal can be generated , as explained below with reference to fig4 . the movement signals detected by the sensors 110 a , 110 b are recorded ( s 40 ). then the signals are filtered with a low pass filter or band pass filter to pass all the signal components in the typical respiratory frequency range between 0 . 16 hz and 0 . 5 hz , or to suppress the other signal or frequency components . this is with reference to step s 41 in fig4 : determination of the respiratory movement signal for the individual sensors . in a step s 42 the respiratory reference signal is then determined , wherein in turn either in the time or frequency range the highest amplitude in the time or frequency range which forms the respiratory reference signal is established . in step s 43 , the respiratory addition signals that are sufficiently similar to the respiratory reference signal are then determined . all n − 1 signals of the radar sensors filtered in the respiratory frequency range can in turn be correlated with the signal of the respiratory reference sensor filtered in the respiratory frequency range using the above equation ( 1 ) where k = 0 . the signals that have a greater similarity than a limit or threshold value can then be used as respiratory addition signals to obtain the activity signal in step s 44 . instead of cross - correlation , another cross - covariance function can be used as shown below in equation ( 2 ). g xy ( k )= σ n =−∞ ∞ [ x ( n )− μ x ]·[ γ ( n + k )− μ y ] ( 2 ) with the cross - covariance function , mean - adjusted signals are used , wherein the mean - adjusted signals are totaled to determine the respective activity signal . altogether , for equation ( 1 ) and ( 2 ) only a finite number of samples is added to determine the cross - correlation or cross - covariance function . in another embodiment , not only k = 0 is used for the evaluation of the equation as a number , but a range which , for example , corresponds to half a second . the adequate relationship then to be measured is then determined according to the maximum peak occurring in the band of n used . this takes into account that the signals of the radar sensors may have a small phase delay or lag between them which may be caused by the movement sequences in the body , or by various transmission delays in the hardware used . the addition in step s 34 or in step s 44 must be accordingly corrected by this k for each radar sensor . the processing steps shown with regard to fig3 and 4 may be performed in an evaluation computer 150 shown in fig2 , which has at least one processor 151 and one memory 152 . the evaluation computer receives the movement signals via the input - output unit 153 , via which it also controls the sensors 110 . the evaluation computer 150 can finally transmit the respiratory activity signal 155 and / or the cardiac activity signal 156 to the imaging device 300 . the components of the evaluation computer 150 can be designed as hardware components , as software components or as a combination of the two . both the filters for the generation of the respective addition signals can be provided as separate units , or the associated functions can be performed by the processor unit 151 . fig5 , for example , shows a radar sensor signal in which the signal of cardiac activity , which has a higher frequency , outweighs the respiratory activity . in selecting the respective sensors , which may provide an addition signal which is sufficiently similar to the respective reference signal , not all the signals need to be assessed by all the sensors of fig2 . in the example described , the two reference sensors are located in one of the two subsections 120 a , 120 b . for example , with sensor signals from the subsection 120 b , it is impossible to assess at all whether they create addition signals as it is highly unlikely that a sensor in the subsection 120 b still supplies cardiac movement signals with an acceptable signal - to - noise ratio . furthermore , subgroups 121 or 122 can be created as a function of the position of the respective reference sensor . subgroup 121 may , for example , create the subgroup of sensors , the signals of which are only or are first assessed for similarity . subgroup 122 may create the group of sensors in which respiratory addition sensors are sought . in fig5 the amplitude or the peak 51 of cardiac activity is higher than the amplitude or the peak 52 . fig6 shows a frequency range of a sensor signal in which the peak of the respiratory signal 61 is higher than the peak 62 of the cardiac signal . the sensor , the signal of which is shown in fig6 , could for example be located under the other half of the ribcage but not far from the sternum . fig5 and 6 also show clearly that in principle the two signals can be separated from one another by appropriate filters such as low pass in relation to band pass or high pass . the aforementioned processing steps can be performed by the evaluation unit 150 or its processor 151 , wherein programs may be found in the storage unit 152 which perform the aforementioned steps during execution by the processor . the system or method described supplies automatic signals for any position of the subject without the attachment of sensors to the subject . these signals describe the cardiac or respiratory movement well and can thus be used to trigger imaging . although modifications and changes may be suggested by those skilled in the art , it is the intention of the applicant to embody within the patent warranted hereon all changes and modifications as reasonably and properly come within the scope of the applicant &# 39 ; s contribution to the art .	0
preferred are hydrazone derivatives of formula ( i ) or the physiologically compatible salts thereof wherein x denotes sulfur and a stands for hydrogen . particularly preferred are hydrazone derivatives of formula ( i ) or the physiologically compatible salts thereof wherein x denotes sulfur , a stands for hydrogen , r1 denotes a saturated or unsaturated ( c 1 - c 12 )- alkyl group , a hydroxy -( c 1 - c 12 )- alkyl group , an amino -( c 1 - c 12 )- alkyl group , or a substituted or unsubstituted phenyl group , and r2 and r3 independently of each other denote hydrogen , a saturated or unsaturated ( c 1 - c 12 )- alkyl group , a cyano group , a nitro group , an amino group , a ( c 1 - c 12 )- alkylamino group , a ( c 1 - c 12 )- dialkylamino group , a c ( o ) o —( c 1 - c 12 )- alkyl group or a substituted or unsubstituted phenyl group or a naphthyl group , or r2 and r3 together with the remainder of the molecule form a carbocyclic , unsaturated , substituted or unsubstituted ring system . 3 - methyl - 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone , 3 , 4 - dimethyl - 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone , 4 - tert . butyl - 3 - methyl - 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone , 3 - methyl - 4 - phenyl - 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone , 3 - methyl - 4 -( 4 - tolyl )- 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone , 4 -( 4 - methoxy ) phenyl - 3 - methyl - 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone , 4 -( 4 - ethoxy ) phenyl - 3 - methyl - 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone , 4 -( 4 - bromophenyl )- 3 - methyl - 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone , 4 -( 3 - bromophenyl )- 3 - methyl - 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone , 4 -( 4 - chlorophenyl )- 3 - methyl - 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone , 4 -( 3 - chlorophenyl )- 3 - methyl - 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone , 3 - methyl - 4 -( 4 - nitrophenyl )- 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone , 3 - methyl - 4 -( 3 - nitrophenyl )- 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone , 4 -[( 1 , 1 ′- biphenyl )- 4 - yl ]- 3 - methyl - 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone , 3 - methyl - 4 -( 2 - naphthalenyl )- 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone , ethyl 2 - hydrazono - 2 , 3 - dihydro - 3 - methyl - 4 - thiazolecarboxylate , 3 , 4 , 5 - trimethyl - 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone , 3 , 4 - dimethyl - 5 - phenyl - 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone , 3 , 5 - dimethyl - 4 - phenyl - 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone , 3 - methyl - 4 , 5 - diphenyl - 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone , 5 - ethyl - 3 - methyl - 4 - phenyl - 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone , 4 -( 4 - bromophenyl )- 3 - methyl - 5 - phenyl - 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone , 3 - methyl - 5 - phenyl - 4 -( 4 - tolyl )- 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone , 5 -( 4 - chlorophenyl )- 4 - phenyl - 3 - methyl - 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone , 5 -( 4 - chlorophenyl )- 4 -( 4 - methoxyphenyl )- 3 - methyl - 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone , ethyl 2 - hydrazono - 2 , 3 - dihydro - 3 , 4 - dimethyl - 4 - thiazolecarboxylate , 4 - amino - 2 - hydrazono - 2 , 3 - dihydro - 3 - methyl - 5 - thiazolecarbonitrile , 3 - ethyl - 4 , 5 - dimethyl - 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone , ethyl 2 - hydrazono - 2 , 3 - dihydro - 3 - ethyl - 4 - methylthiazolecarboxylate , 5 - methyl - 3 -( 1 - methylethyl )- 4 - phenyl - 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone , 4 , 5 - dimethyl - 3 -( 1 - methylethyl )- 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone , 3 -( 1 - methylethyl )- 4 , 5 - diphenyl - 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone , 4 , 5 - dimethyl - 3 - propyl - 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone , 4 , 5 - diphenyl - 3 - propyl - 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone , 3 - butyl - 4 , 5 - diphenyl - 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone , 4 , 5 - dimethyl - 3 -( 2 - methylpropyl )- 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone , 3 -( 2 - methylpropyl )- 4 , 5 - diphenyl - 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone , 3 - hydroxyethyl - 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone , 3 - hydroxyethyl - 4 - methyl - 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone , 3 - hydroxyethyl - 4 , 5 - dimethyl - 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone , 3 - aminoethyl - 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone , 3 - aminoethyl - 4 - methyl - 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone , 3 - aminoethyl - 4 , 5 - dimethyl - 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone , 3 , 4 - diphenyl - 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone , 4 - methyl - 3 - phenyl - 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone , 4 - p - biphenylyl - 3 - phenyl - 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone , 4 -( 4 - methoxy ) phenyl - 3 - phenyl - 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone , 4 - tert . butyl - 3 - phenyl - 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone , 4 , 5 - dimethyl - 3 - phenyl - 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone , 5 - methyl - 3 , 4 - diphenyl - 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone , 3 , 4 , 5 - triphenyl - 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone , 4 , 5 - dimethyl - 3 -( phenylmethyl )- 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone , 3 -( 2 - propenyl )- 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone , 4 - methyl - 3 -( 2 - propenyl )- 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone , 4 - tert . butyl - 3 -( 2 - propenyl )- 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone , 4 - phenyl - 3 -( 2 - propenyl )- 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone , 4 , 5 - dimethyl - 3 -( 2 - propenyl )- 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone , 4 , 5 - diphenyl - 3 -( 2 - propenyl )- 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone , ethyl 2 - hydrazono - 2 , 3 - dihydro - 3 -[( phenylamino ) carbonyl ]- 4 - methylthiazolecarboxylate , 3 - methyl - 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 - tetrahydro - 2 ( 3h )- benzothiazolone hydrazone , 3 - methyl - 2 ( 3h )- benzothiazolone hydrazone , 3 , 6 - dimethyl - 2 ( 3h )- benzothiazolone hydrazone , 6 - chloro - 3 - methyl - 2 ( 3h )- benzothiazolone hydrazone , 7 - chloro - 3 - methyl - 2 ( 3h )- benzothiazolone hydrazone , 6 - hydroxy - 3 - methyl - 2 ( 3h )- benzothiazolone hydrazone , 5 - methoxy - 3 - methyl - 2 ( 3h )- benzothiazolone hydrazone , 7 - methoxy - 3 - methyl - 2 ( 3h )- benzothiazolone hydrazone , 5 , 6 - dimethoxy - 3 - methyl - 2 ( 3h )- benzothiazolone hydrazone , 5 - ethoxy - 3 - methyl - 2 ( 3h )- benzothiazolone hydrazone , 6 - ethoxy - 3 - methyl - 2 ( 3h )- benzothiazolone hydrazone , 3 - methyl - 5 - nitro - 2 ( 3h )- benzothiazolone hydrazone , 3 - methyl - 6 - nitro - 2 ( 3h )- benzothiazolone hydrazone , 5 - acetamido - 3 - methyl - 2 ( 3h )- benzothiazolone hydrazone , 6 - acetamido - 3 - methyl - 2 ( 3h )- benzothiazolone hydrazone , 5 - anilino - 3 - methyl - 2 ( 3h )- benzothiazolone hydrazone , 6 - anilino - 3 - methyl - 2 ( 3h )- benzothiazolone hydrazone , 2 - hydrazono - 2 , 3 - dihydro - 3 - methyl - 6 - benzothiazolecarboxylic acid , 2 - hydrazono - 2 , 3 - dihydro - 3 - methyl - 4 - benzothiazolesulfonic acid , 2 - hydrazono - 2 , 3 - dihydro - 3 - methyl - 5 - benzothiazolesulfonic acid , 2 - hydrazono - 2 , 3 - dihydro - 3 - methyl - 6 - benzothiazolesulfonic acid , 2 - hydrazono - 2 , 3 - dihydro - 3 - methyl - 7 - benzothiazolesulfonic acid , 2 - hydrazono - 2 , 3 - dihydro - n , n , 3 - trimethyl - 6 - benzothiazolesulfonamide , [( 2 - hydrazono - 2 , 3 - dihydro - 3 - methyl - 6 - benzothiazolyl ) oxy ] acethydrazide , 3 - methylnaphtho [ 2 , 3 - d ] thiazole - 2 ( 3h )- one hydrazone , 3 - ethyl - 2 ( 3h )- benzothiazolone hydrazone , 6 - ethoxy - 3 - ethyl - 2 ( 3h )- benzothiazolone hydrazone , 3 - propyl - 2 ( 3h )- benzothiazolone hydrazone , 3 - butyl - 2 ( 3h )- benzothiazolone hydrazone , 3 - hexyl - 2 ( 3h )- benzothiazolone hydrazone , 3 - hydroxyethyl - 2 ( 3h )- benzothiazolone hydrazone , 3 - aminoethyl - 2 ( 3h )- benzothiazolone hydrazone , 3 - p - methylbenzyl - 2 ( 3h )- benzothiazolone hydrazone , 2 - hydrazono - 2 , 3 - dihydro - 3 -( 2 - hydroxyethyl )- 6 - benzothiazolecarboxylic acid , 2 - hydrazono - 2 , 3 - dihydro - 6 - methoxy - 3 ( 2h )- benzothiazolepropanesulfonic acid , 6 - hexadecyloxy - 2 - hydrazono - 3 ( 2h )- benzothiazolepropanesulfonic acid , ethyl 2 - keto - 3 - benzothiazoline acetate hydrazone , 3 - acetyl - 2 ( 3h )- benzothiazolone hydrazone , 2 - hydrazono - 3 ( 2h )- benzothiazole carboxaldehyde , 3 - methyl - 2 ( 3h )- oxazolone hydrazone , 3 - phenyl - 2 ( 3h )- oxazolone hydrazone , 3 - methyl - 2 ( 3h )- benzoxazolone hydrazone , 3 - phenyl - 2 ( 3h )- benzoxazolone hydrazone , n - acetyl - 3 - methyl - 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone , n - acetyl - 3 , 4 - dimethyl - 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone , n - acetyl - 3 - methyl - 4 - phenyl - 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone , n - acetyl - 4 -( 4 - methoxy ) phenyl - 3 - methyl - 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone , n - acetyl - 3 - methyl - 4 -( 4 - nitrophenyl - 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone , n - acetyl - 4 -[( 1 , 1 ′- biphenyl ) 4 - yl ]- 3 - methyl - 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone n - acetyl - 3 - methyl - 4 -( 2 - naphthalenyl )- 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone ethyl n - acetyl - 2 - hydrazono - 2 , 3 - dihydro - 3 - methyl - 4 - thiazolecarboxylate n - acetyl - 3 , 4 , 5 - trimethyl - 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone , n - acetyl - 3 , 4 ,- dimethyl - 5 - phenyl - 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone , n - acetyl - 3 , 5 ,- dimethyl - 4 - phenyl - 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone , n - acetyl - 3 - methyl - 4 , 5 - diphenyl - 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone , n - acetyl - 3 - ethyl - 4 , 5 - dimethyl - 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone , n - acetyl - 4 - methyl - 3 - phenyl - 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone , n - acetyl - 4 , 5 - dimethyl - 3 - phenyl - 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone , n - acetyl - 3 , 4 - diphenyl - 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone , n - acetyl - 4 - p - biphenylyl - 3 - phenyl - 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone , n - acetyl - 4 -( 4 - methoxy ) phenyl - 3 - phenyl - 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone , n - acetyl - 4 - tert . butyl - 3 - phenyl - 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone , n - acetyl - 3 , 4 , 5 - triphenyl - 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone , n - acetyl - 3 - methyl - 2 ( 3h )- benzothiazolone hydrazone , n - acetyl - 3 - ethyl - 2 ( 3h )- benzothiazolone hydrazone , n - acetyl - 3 - butyl - 2 ( 3h )- benzothiazolone hydrazone , n - acetyl - 3 - hexyl - 2 ( 3h )- benzothiazolone hydrazone , n - acetyl - 3 - p - methylbenzyl - 2 ( 3h )- benzothiazolone hydrazone , n - acetyl - 3 - methyl - 2 ( 3h )- oxazolone hydrazone , n - acetyl - 3 - phenyl - 2 ( 3h )- oxazolone hydrazone , n - acetyl - 3 - methyl - 2 ( 3h )- benzoxazolone hydrazone , n - acetyl - 3 - phenyl - 2 ( 3h )- benzoxazolone hydrazone , n - formyl - 3 - methyl - 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone , n - formyl - 3 , 4 - dimethyl - 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone , n - formyl - 3 - methyl - 4 - phenyl - 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone , n - formyl - 4 -( 4 - methoxy ) phenyl - 3 - methyl - 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone , n - formyl - 3 - methyl - 4 -( 4 - nitrophenyl - 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone , n - formyl - 4 -[( 1 , 1 ′- biphenyl ) 4 - yl ]- 3 - methyl - 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone n - formyl - 3 - methyl - 4 -( 2 - naphthalenyl )- 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone ethyl n - formyl - 2 - hydrazono - 2 , 3 - dihydro - 3 - methyl - 4 - thiazolecarboxylate n - formyl - 3 , 4 , 5 - trimethyl - 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone , n - formyl - 3 , 4 ,- dimethyl - 5 - phenyl - 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone , n - formyl - 3 , 5 ,- dimethyl - 4 - phenyl - 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone , n - formyl - 3 - methyl - 4 , 5 - diphenyl - 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone , n - formyl - 3 - ethyl - 4 , 5 - dimethyl - 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone , n - formyl - 4 - methyl - 3 - phenyl - 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone , n - formyl - 3 , 4 - diphenyl - 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone , n - formyl - 4 - p - biphenylyl - 3 - phenyl - 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone , n - formyl - 4 -( 4 - methoxy ) phenyl - 3 - phenyl - 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone , n - formyl - 4 - tert . butyl - 3 - phenyl - 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone , n - formyl - 4 , 5 - dimethyl - 3 - phenyl - 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone , n - formyl - 5 - methyl - 3 , 4 - diphenyl - 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone , n - formyl - 3 , 4 , 5 - triphenyl - 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone , n - formyl - 3 - methyl - 2 ( 3h )- benzothiazolone hydrazone , n - formyl - 3 - ethyl - 2 ( 3h )- benzothiazolone hydrazone , n - formyl - 3 - butyl - 2 ( 3h )- benzothiazolone hydrazone , n - formyl - 3 - hexyl - 2 ( 3h )- benzothiazolone hydrazone , n - formyl - 3 - p - methylbenzyl - 2 ( 3h )- benzothiazolone hydrazone , n - formyl - 3 - methyl - 2 ( 3h )- oxazolone hydrazone , n - formyl - 3 - phenyl - 2 ( 3h )- oxazolone hydrazone , n - formyl - 3 - methyl - 2 ( 3h )- benzoxazolone hydrazone and n - formyl - 3 - phenyl - 2 ( 3h )- benzoxazolone hydrazone . among the compounds of formula ( i ), the following thiazolone hydrazone derivatives are particularly preferred : 3 - methyl - 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone , 3 , 4 - dimethyl - 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone , 4 - tert . butyl - 3 - methyl - 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone , 3 - methyl - 4 - phenyl - 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone , 3 - methyl - 4 -( 4 - tolyl )- 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone , 4 -( 4 - methoxy ) phenyl - 3 - methyl - 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone , 4 -( 4 - ethoxy ) phenyl - 3 - methyl - 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone , 4 -( 4 - bromophenyl )- 3 - methyl - 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone , 4 -( 3 - bromophenyl )- 3 - methyl - 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone , 4 -( 4 - chlorophenyl )- 3 - methyl - 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone , 4 -( 3 - chlorophenyl )- 3 - methyl - 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone , 3 - methyl - 4 -( 4 - nitrophenyl )- 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone , 3 - methyl - 4 -( 3 - nitrophenyl )- 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone , 4 -[( 1 , 1 ′- biphenyl )- 4 - yl ]- 3 - methyl - 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone , ethyl 2 - hydrazono - 2 , 3 - dihydro - 3 - methyl - 4 - thiazolecarboxylate , 3 , 4 , 5 - trimethyl - 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone , 3 , 4 - dimethyl - 5 - phenyl - 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone , 3 , 5 - dimethyl - 4 - phenyl - 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone , 3 - methyl - 4 , 5 - diphenyl - 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone , 5 - ethyl - 3 - methyl - 4 - phenyl - 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone , 4 -( 4 - bromophenyl )- 3 - methyl - 5 - phenyl - 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone , 3 - methyl - 5 - phenyl - 4 -( 4 - tolyl )- 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone , 5 -( 4 - chlorophenyl )- 4 - phenyl - 3 - methyl - 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone , 5 -( 4 - chlorophenyl )- 4 -( 4 - methoxyphenyl )- 3 - methyl - 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone , ethyl 2 - hydrazono - 2 , 3 - dihydro - 3 , 4 - dimethyl - 4 - thiazolecarboxylate , 4 - amino - 2 - hydrazono - 2 , 3 - dihydro - 3 - methyl - 5 - thiazolecarbonitrile , 3 - ethyl - 4 , 5 - dimethyl - 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone , ethyl 2 - hydrazono - 2 , 3 - dihydro - 3 - ethyl - 4 - methylthiazolecarboxylate , 5 - methyl - 3 -( 1 - methylethyl )- 4 - phenyl - 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone , 3 -( 1 - methylethyl )- 4 , 5 - diphenyl - 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone , 4 , 5 - dimethyl - 3 - propyl - 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone , 4 , 5 - diphenyl - 3 - propyl - 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone , 3 - butyl - 4 , 5 - diphenyl - 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone , 4 , 5 - dimethyl - 3 -( 2 - methylpropyl )- 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone , 3 -( 2 - methylpropyl )- 4 , 5 - diphenyl - 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone , 3 -( 2 - propenyl )- 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone , 4 - methyl - 3 -( 2 - propenyl )- 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone , 4 - tert . butyl - 3 -( 2 - propenyl )- 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone , 4 - phenyl - 3 -( 2 - propenyl )- 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone , 4 , 5 - dimethyl - 3 -( 2 - propenyl )- 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone , 3 - hydroxyethyl - 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone , 3 - hydroxyethyl - 4 - methyl - 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone , 3 - hydroxyethyl - 4 , 5 - dimethyl - 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone , 3 - aminoethyl - 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone , 3 - aminoethyl - 4 - methyl - 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone , 3 - aminoethyl - 4 , 5 - dimethyl - 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone , 3 - phenyl - 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone , 4 - methyl - 3 - phenyl - 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone , 3 , 4 - diphenyl - 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone , 4 , 5 - dimethyl - 3 - phenyl - 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone , 4 - p - biphenylyl - 3 - phenyl - 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone , 4 -( 4 - methoxy ) phenyl - 3 - phenyl - 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone , 4 - tert . butyl - 3 - phenyl - 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone , 5 - methyl - 3 , 4 - diphenyl - 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone , 3 , 4 , 5 - triphenyl - 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone , 3 - methyl - 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 - tetrahydro - 2 ( 3h )- benzothiazolone hydrazone , 3 - methyl - 2 ( 3h )- benzothiazolone hydrazone , 3 - ethyl - 2 ( 3h )- benzothiazolone hydrazone , 3 - butyl - 2 ( 3h )- benzothiazolone hydrazone , 3 - hexyl - 2 ( 3h )- benzothiazolone hydrazone , 3 - hydroxyethyl - 2 ( 3h )- benzothiazolone hydrazone and 3 - aminoethyl - 2 ( 3h )- benzothiazolone hydrazone . some of the compounds of formula ( i ) are commercially obtainable . they can , however , also be prepared by methods of synthesis known from the literature , for example by the procedure described in research disclosure october 1978 , pages 42 - 44 , no . 17434 , or in analogy with the method described in de 1 049 381 b . suitable as couplers are , in particular , the following compounds or salts thereof : n -( 3 - dimethylaminophenyl ) urea , 2 , 6 - diaminopyridine , 2 - amino - 4 -[( 2 - hydroxyethyl ) amino ]- anisole , 2 , 4 - diamino - 1 - fluoro - 5 - methylbenzene , 2 , 4 - diamino - 1 - methoxy - 5 - methylbenzene , 2 , 4 - diamino - 1 - ethoxy - 5 - methylbenzene , 2 , 4 - diamino - 1 -( 2 - hydroxyethoxy )- 5 - methylbenzene , 2 , 4 - di [( 2 - hydroxyethyl ) amino ]- 1 , 5 - dimethoxybenzene , 2 , 3 - diamino - 6 - methoxypyridine , 3 - amino - 6 - methoxy - 2 -( methylamino ) pyridine , 2 , 6 - diamino - 3 , 5 - dimethoxypyridine , 3 , 5 - diamino - 2 , 6 - dimethoxypyridine , 1 , 3 - diaminobenzene , 2 , 4 - diamino - 1 -( 2 - hydroxyethoxy ) benzene , 1 , 3 - diamino - 4 -( 2 , 3 - dihydroxypropoxy ) benzene , 1 , 3 - diamino - 4 -( 3 - hydroxypropoxy )- benzene , 1 , 3 - diamino - 4 -( 2 - methoxyethoxy ) benzene , 2 , 4 - diamino - 1 , 5 - di ( 2 - hydroxyethoxy )- benzene , 1 -( 2 - aminoethoxy )- 2 , 4 - diaminobenzene , 2 - amino - 1 -( 2 - hydroxyethoxy )- 4 - methyl - aminobenzene , 2 , 4 - diaminophenoxyacetic acid , 3 -[ di ( 2 - hydroxyethyl ) amino ] aniline , 4 - amino - 2 - di [( 2 - hydroxyethyl ) amino ]- 1 - ethoxybenzene , 5 - methyl - 2 -( 1 - methylethyl ) phenol , 3 -[( 2 - hydroxyethyl ) amino ] aniline , 3 -[( 2 - aminoethyl ) amino ] aniline , 1 , 3 - di ( 2 , 4 - diaminophenoxy )- propane , di ( 2 , 4 - diaminophenoxy ) methane , 1 , 3 - diamino - 2 , 4 - dimethoxybenzene , 2 , 6 - bis -( 2 - hydroxyethyl ) aminotoluene , 4 - hydroxyindole , 3 - dimethylaminophenol , 3 - diethylaminophenol , 5 - amino - 2 - methylphenol , 5 - amino - 4 - fluoro - 2 - methylphenol , 5 - amino - 4 - methoxy - 2 - methylphenol , 5 - amino - 4 - ethoxy - 2 - methylphenol , 3 - amino - 2 , 4 - dichlorophenol , 5 - amino - 2 , 4 - dichlorophenol , 3 - amino - 2 - methylphenol , 3 - amino - 2 - chloro - 6 - methylphenol , 3 - aminophenol , 2 -[( 3 - hydroxyphenyl ) amino ] acetamide , 5 -[( 2 - hydroxyethyl ) amino ]- 4 - methoxy - 2 - methylphenol , 5 -[( 2 - hydroxyethyl ) amino ]- 2 - methylphenol , 3 -[( 2 - hydroxyethyl ) amino ] phenol , 3 -[( 2 - methoxyethyl ) amino ] phenol , 5 - amino - 2 - ethylphenol , 5 - amino - 2 - methoxyphenol , 2 -( 4 - amino - 2 - hydroxyphenoxy ) ethanol , 5 -[( 3 - hydroxypropyl ) amino ]- 2 - methylphenol , 3 -[( 2 , 3 - dihydroxypropyl ) amino ]- 2 - methylphenol , 3 -[( 2 - hydroxyethyl ) amino ]- 2 - methylphenol , 2 - amino - 3 - hydroxypyridine , 2 , 6 - dihydroxy - 3 , 4 - dimethylpyridine , 5 - amino - 4 - chloro - 2 - methylphenol , 1 - naphthol , 2 - methyl - 1 - naphthol , 1 , 5 - dihydroxynaphthalene , 1 , 7 - dihydroxynaphthalene , 2 , 3 - dihydroxynaphthalene , 2 , 7 - dihydroxynaphthalene , 2 - methyl - 1 - naphthol acetate , 1 , 3 - dihydroxybenzene , 1 - chloro - 2 , 4 - dihydroxybenzene , 2 - chloro - 1 , 3 - dihydroxybenzene , 1 , 2 - dichloro - 3 , 5 - dihydroxy - 4 - methylbenzene , 1 , 5 - dichloro - 2 , 4 - dihydroxybenzene , 1 , 3 - dihydroxy - 2 - methylbenzene , 3 , 4 - methylenedioxyphenol , 3 , 4 - methylenedioxyaniline , 5 -[( 2 - hydroxy - ethyl ) amino ]- 1 , 3 - benzodioxole , 6 - bromo - 1 - hydroxy - 3 , 4 - methylenedioxybenzene , 3 , 4 - diaminobenzoic acid , 3 , 4 - dihydro - 6 - hydroxy - 1 , 4 ( 2h )- benzoxazine , 6 - amino - 3 , 4 - dihydro - 1 , 4 ( 2h ) benzoxazine , 3 - methyl - 1 - phenyl - 5 - pyrazolone , 5 , 6 - dihydroxyindole , 5 , 6 - dihydroxyindoline , 5 - hydroxyindole , 6 - hydroxyindole , 7 - hydroxyindole and 2 , 3 - indolinedione . suitable persulfate salts are , for example , potassium persulfate , sodium persulfate or ammonium persulfate as well as mixtures thereof . the ready - to - use colorant ( a ) contains the persulfate salts in a total amount from about 0 . 01 to 10 weight percent and preferably from about 0 . 1 to 5 weight percent . besides the compounds of formula ( i ) and the couplers , the colorant of the invention can optionally also contain other common , physiologically harmless direct dyes from the group of cationic and anionic dyes , disperse dyes , azo dyes , quinone dyes and triphenylmethane dyes . the direct dyes are contained in the ready - to - use colorant ( a ) in an amount from about 0 . 01 to 10 weight percent and preferably from about 0 . 1 to 5 weight percent . besides the compounds of formula ( i ), the colorants of the invention can optionally contain other common developers , for example : 1 , 4 - diaminobenzene ( p - phenylenediamine ), 1 , 4 - diamino - 2 - methylbenzene ( p - toluylenediamine ), 1 , 4 - diamino - 2 -( thiophen - 2 - yl ) benzene , 1 , 4 - diamino - 2 -( thiophen - 3 - yl ) benzene , 4 -( 2 , 5 - diaminophenyl )- 2 -[( diethylamino ) methyl ] thiophene , 2 - chloro - 3 -( 2 , 5 - diaminophenyl ) thiophene , 1 , 4 - diamino - 2 -( pyridin - 3 - yl ) benzene , 2 , 5 - diaminobiphenyl , 2 , 5 - diamino - 4 ′-( 1 - methylethyl )- 1 , 1 ′- biphenyl , 2 , 3 ′, 5 - triamino - 1 , 1 ′- biphenyl , 1 , 4 - diamino - 2 - methoxymethylbenzene , 1 , 4 - diamino - 2 - aminomethylbenzene , 1 , 4 - diamino - 2 -[( phenylamino ) methyl ] benzene , 1 , 4 - diamino - 2 -{[ ethyl -( 2 - hydroxyethyl ) amino ] methyl } benzene , 1 , 4 - diamino - 2 - hydroxymethylbenzene , 4 -[ di ( 2 - hydroxyethyl ) amino ] aniline , 4 -{[( 4 - aminophenyl ) methyl ] amino } aniline , 4 -[( 4 - aminophenylamino ) methyl ] phenol , 1 , 4 - diamino - n -( 4 - pyrrolidin - 1 - ylbenzyl ) benzene , 1 , 4 - diamino - n - furan - 3 - ylmethylbenzene , 1 , 4 - diamino - n - thiophen - 2 - ylmethylbenzene , 1 , 4 - diamino - n - furan - 2 - ylmethylbenzene , 1 , 4 - diamino - n - thiophen - 3 - ylmethylbenzene , 1 , 4 - diamino - n - benzylbenzene , 1 , 4 - diamino - 2 -( 1 - hydroxyethyl )- benzene , 1 , 4 - diamino - 2 -( 2 - hydroxyethyl ) benzene , 1 , 3 - bis -[( 4 - aminophenyl )( 2 - hydroxyethyl ) amino ]- 2 - propanol , 1 , 8 - bis -( 2 , 5 - diaminophenoxy )- 3 , 6 - dioxaoctane , 2 , 5 - diamino - 4 ′- hydroxy - 1 , 1 ′- biphenyl , 2 , 5 - diamino - 2 ′- trifluoromethyl - 1 , 1 ′- biphenyl , 2 , 4 ′, 5 - triamino - 1 , 1 ′- biphenyl , 4 - aminophenol , 4 - amino - 3 - methylphenol , 4 - methylaminophenol , 4 - amino - 2 -( amino - methyl ) phenol , 4 - amino - 2 -[( 2 - hydroxyethyl ) amino ] methylphenol , 4 - amino - 2 -( methoxymethyl ) phenol , 5 - aminosalicylic acid , 2 , 4 , 5 , 6 - tetraaminopyrimidine , 2 , 5 , 6 - triamino - 4 -( 1h )- pyrimidone , 4 , 5 - diamino - 1 -( 2 - hydroxyethyl )- 1h - pyrazole , 4 , 5 - diamino - 1 - pentyl - 1h - pyrazole , 4 , 5 - diamino - 1 -( phenylmethyl )- 1h - pyrazole , 4 , 5 - diamino - 1 -( 4 - methoxyphenyl ) methyl - 1h - pyrazole , 2 - aminophenol , 2 - amino - 6 - methylphenol , 2 - amino - 5 - methylphenol , 1 , 2 , 4 - trihydroxy - benzene , 2 , 4 - diaminophenol , 1 , 4 - dihydroxybenzene or 2 -{[( 4 - aminophenyl ) amino ] methyl }- 1 , 4 - diaminobenzene . the compounds of formula ( i ) and the couplers and additional developers are contained in the ready - o - use colorant ( a ) in a total amount from about 0 . 01 to 10 weight percent , and preferably from about 0 . 1 to 5 weight percent , each . as a rule , the compounds of formula ( i ) and the couplers are stored separately from each other and only shortly before use are they mixed with each other and with the persulfate salt . if the compounds of formula ( i ), the couplers and the persulfate salt are solids , however , it is also possible to package them together and to prepare the ready - to - use colorant ( a ) shortly before use by mixing the compounds of formula ( i ), the couplers and the persulfate salt with water or with a liquid preparation containing the other ingredients of the agent . as a rule , the colorant of the invention thus consists of several components that are mixed with each other before use . preferably , the agent is in the form of a 2 - component kit consisting of a dye carrier composition ( a1 ) containing the compound of formula ( i ) and another dye carrier composition ( a2 ) containing the couplers and the persulfate salts . or the agent is in the form of a 3 - component kit consisting of a dye carrier composition ( a1 ) containing the compound of formula ( i ), another dye carrier composition ( a2 ) containing the couplers , and a third component ( a3 ) containing the persulfate salts . another object of the present invention is a multicomponent kit consisting of an agent of component ( a1 ), an agent of component ( a2 ), the persulfate possibly being packaged as component ( a3 ) separately from component ( a2 ), and optionally an agent for adjusting the ph ( alkalinizing agent or acid ). naturally , the agents of component ( a1 ) and ( a2 ) can also consist of several individual components that are mixed together only just before use . also possible is a 2 - component kit the first component of which consists of the compounds of formula ( i ), the couplers and the persulfate salts and optionally other common powdered cosmetic additives ( provided the afore - said contituents are solids ) and the second component of which is water or a liquid cosmetic preparation optionally containing an agent for adjusting the ph . particularly preferred , however , is a 2 - component kit consisting of an agent of component ( a1 ) and an agent of component ( a2 ). the aforesaid direct dyes can be contained in component ( a2 ) in a total amount from about 0 . 02 to 20 weight percent and preferably from 0 . 2 to 10 weight percent , whereas the additional developers and the couplers can each be contained in a particular dye carrier composition [ component ( a1 ) or component ( a2 )] in a total amount from about 0 . 02 to 20 weight percent and preferably from about 0 . 2 to 10 weight percent . the components ( a1 ) and ( a2 ) and the ready - to - use colorant ( a ) can be formulated , for example , as a solution , particularly an aqueous or aqueous - alcoholic solution , or as a cream , a gel or an emulsion . their composition consists of a mixture of the compound of formula ( i ) or of the couplers and the additives commonly employed for such preparations . the additives to the colorants commonly used in solutions , creams , emulsions , gels or aerosol foams are , for example , solvents such as water , lower aliphatic alcohols , for example ethanol , n - propanol and isopropanol or glycols such as glycerol and 1 , 2 - propanediol , moreover wetting agents or emulsifiers from the classes of anionic , cationic , amphoteric or nonionic surface - active substances , such as the fatty alcohol sulfates , ethoxylated fatty alcohol sulfates , alkylsulfonates , alkylbenzenesulfonates , alkyltrimethyl - ammonium salts , alkylbetaines , ethoxylated fatty alcohols , ethoxylated nonylphenols , fatty alkanolamides , ethoxylated fatty esters , furthermore thickeners such as the higher fatty alcohols , starch or cellulose derivatives , perfumes , hair pretreatment agents , conditioners , hair swelling agents , preservatives , moreover vaselines , paraffin oil and fatty acids and also hair - care agents such as cationic resins , lanolin derivatives , cholesterol , pantothenic acid and betaine . the said constituents are employed in amounts commonly used for such purposes , for example the wetting agents and emulsifiers at a concentration from about 0 . 5 to 30 weight percent [ always based on component ( a1 ) or ( a2 )], the thickeners in an amount from about 0 . 1 to 25 wt . % [ always based on component ( a1 ) or ( a2 )] and the hair - care agents at a concen - tration from about 0 . 1 to 5 . 0 weight percent [ always based on component ( a1 ) or ( a2 )]. the ph of the ready - to - use colorant ( a ) and of the dye carrier compositions ( a1 ) and ( a2 ) is from about 3 to 12 and preferably from 3 to 10 , the ph of the ready - to - use colorant ( a ) as a rule being established upon mixing the individual components [ for example component ( a1 ) with component ( a2 )]. the ph of the ready - to - use colorant ( a ) and of the dye carrier compositions ( a1 ) and ( a2 ) is preferably from about 3 to 7 when diaminobenzene derivatives are used as couplers , and from about 6 to 10 when derivatives of aminophenol or dihydroxybenzene are used as the couplers . if necessary , however , to adjust the ph of components ( a1 ) and ( a2 ) and of the ready - to - use colorant ( a ) to the value desired for coloring , it is also possible to use alkalinizing agents , for example ammonia , alkali metal hydroxides , alkaline earth metal hydroxides , alkali metal acetates , alkaline earth metal acetates , alkali metal carbonates or alkaline earth metal carbonates , or else acids , for example lactic acid , acetic acid , tartaric acid , phosphoric acid , hydrochloric acid , citric acid , ascorbic acid or boric acid . the ready - to - use colorant is prepared just before use by mixing components ( a1 ) and ( a2 ) or ( a1 ), ( a2 ) and ( a3 )— optionally by also adding an alkalinizing agent or an acid . the colorant is then applied to the fibers , particularly to human hair . depending on the desired color depth , this mixture is then allowed to act for about 5 to 60 minutes and preferably from about 15 to 30 minutes at a temperature from about 20 to 50 ° c . and particularly from about 30 to 40 ° c . the fibers are then rinsed with water , optionally washed with a shampoo and then dried . the colorant of the invention imparts to the fibers , particularly keratin fibers , for example to human hair , a uniform , particularly brilliant , intense and lasting coloration , with a wide range of yellow to blue shades being possible . the requirement for resistance to perspiration is met to an unusually high degree . the following examples will explain the subject matter of the invention in greater detail without limiting its scope to these examples . 21 g ( 200 mmol ) of 4 - methyl - 3 - thiosemicarbazide in 1000 ml of acetone was heated at reflux for 2 hours . to the solution was then added dropwise 20 . 4 g ( 220 mmol ) of chloroacetone . the reaction mixture was heated at reflux for 7 hours and then concentrated . the resulting crude product was recrystallized from acetone . this gave 23 g of an orange powder ( 63 % of the theoretical ). melting point 139 - 139 . 6 ° c . 1 h - nmr ( dmso , 300 mhz ): δ = 6 . 72 [ s , broad , 1h , h — c ( 5 )]; δ = 3 . 67 ( s , 3h , n — ch3 ); δ = 2 . 27 [ d , j = 0 . 9 hz , 3h , ch3 - c ( 4 )]; δ = 2 . 17 ( s , 3h , ch3 ); δ = 2 . 07 ( s , 3h , ch3 ). 13 c - nmr ( dmso , 300 mhz ): 169 . 16 ; 164 . 14 ; 139 . 02 c ( 4 ); 103 . 36 c ( 5 ); 34 . 47 ( ch 3 n ); 24 . 60 ; 19 . 91 ; 13 . 53 ( ch 3 — c ( 4 ). ms ( esi ): 184 ( m + + 1 ) 3 . 5 g ( 19 mmol ) of 3 , 4 - dimethyl - 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone -( 1 - methylethylidene ) hydrazone from step a in 60 ml of 6m hydrochloric acid was heated at 50 ° c . for 30 minutes . the reaction mixture was then concentrated , and the crude product was recrystallized from ethanol . this gave 2 g ( 60 % of the theoretical ) of a pink powder . melting point 156 . 4 - 156 . 6 ° c . 1 h - nmr ( dmso , 300 mhz ): δ = 6 . 58 [ q , j = 0 . 9 hz , 1h , h — c ( 5 )]; δ = 3 . 41 ( s , 3h , n — ch3 ); δ = 2 . 18 [ d , j = 0 . 9 hz , 3h , ch3 - c ( 4 )]; ms ( esi ): 144 ( m + + 1 ) 13 c - nmr ( dmso , 300 mhz ): 172 . 30 c ( 2 ); 138 . 79 c ( 4 ); 101 . 43 c ( 5 ); 32 . 92 ( ch 3 n ); 13 . 40 ch 3 —( c4 ). step a : 4 mmol of substituted thiosemicarbazide in 20 ml of acetone was heated at reflux for 2 hours . to the solution was then added dropwise 4 . 4 mmol of α - chloroketone . the reaction mixture was heated at reflux for 7 hours and then concentrated . the resulting 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone - 1 -( methylethylidene ) hydrazone derivative was recrystallized from acetone . step b : 2 mmol of the 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone - 1 -( methylethylidene ) hydrazone derivative from step a in 10 ml of 6m hydrochloric acid was heated at 50 ° c . for 30 minutes . the reaction mixture was then concentrated , and the crude product was recrystallized from ethanol or butanol . 1 h - nmr ( dmso / d 2 o , 300 mhz ): δ = 7 . 49 - 7 . 42 ( m , 5h , phenyl ); δ = 6 . 84 [ s , 1h , h — c ( 5 )]; δ = 3 . 31 ( s , 3h , n — ch 3 ). esi - ms : 205 [ m ] + ( 100 ) 1 h - nmr ( dmso / d 2 o , 300 mhz ): δ = 6 . 55 [ s , 1h , h — c ( 5 )]; δ = 3 . 60 ( s , 3h , n — ch 3 ); δ = 1 . 31 [ s , 9h , ( ch 3 ) 3 ]. esi - ms : 185 [ m ] + ( 100 ). 1 h - nmr ( dmso / d 2 o , 300 mhz ): δ = 6 . 58 [ s , 1h , h — c ( 5 )]; δ = 5 . 94 - 5 . 81 ( m , 1h , allyl ); δ = 5 . 22 ( dd , 1h , j = 0 . 9 hz , j = 10 . 5 hz , allyl ); δ = 4 . 94 ( dd , 1h , j = 0 . 9 hz , j = 17 . 1 hz , allyl ); δ = 4 . 57 ( m , 2h , n — ch 2 ); δ = 2 . 16 [ s , 3h , ch 3 — c ( 4 )]. esi - ms : 169 [ m ] + ( 100 ). 1 h - nmr ( dmso / d 2 o , 300 mhz ): δ = 7 . 50 - 7 . 42 ( m , 5h , phenyl ); δ = 6 . 81 [ s , 1h , h — c ( 5 )]; δ = 5 . 77 - 5 . 63 ( m , 1h , allyl ); δ = 5 . 15 ( dd , 1h , j = 0 . 9 hz , j = 10 . 5 hz , allyl ); δ = 4 . 80 ( dd , 1h , j = 0 . 9 hz , j = 17 . 1 hz , allyl ); δ = 4 . 40 ( m , 2h , n — ch 2 ); δ = 1 . 27 [ s , 9h , ch 3 — c ( 4 )] esi - ms : 231 [ m ] + ( 100 ). 1 h - nmr ( dmso / d 2 o , 300 mhz ): δ = 6 . 55 [ s , 1h , h — c -( 5 )]; δ = 5 . 90 - 5 . 77 ( m , 1h , allyl ); δ = 5 . 21 ( d , 1h , j = 9 . 0 hz , allyl ); δ = 4 . 81 - 4 . 75 ( m , 3h , allyl ); δ = 1 . 31 [ s , 9h , ( ch 3 ) 3 ] esi - ms : 211 [ m ] + ( 100 ). 1 h - nmr ( dmso / d 2 o , 300 mhz ): δ = 3 . 55 ( s , 3h , n — ch 3 ); δ = 2 . 16 ( s , 3h , ch 3 ); δ = 2 . 12 ( s , 3h , ch 3 ). esi - ms : 157 [ m ] + ( 100 ). at room temperature ( 20 - 25 ° c .) or with slight heating ( 35 - 40 ° c . ), the above components were uniformly mixed with one another . when necessary , the ph of the ready - to - use colorant ( a ) was adjusted to the value indicated in table 1 with sodium hydroxide , sodium carbonate , ammonia or citric acid . the ready - to - use hair colorant was applied to bleached hair and uniformly distributed with a brush . after an exposure time of 30 min at 40 ° c ., the hair was rinsed with lukewarm water washed with a shampoo , rinsed with lukewarm water and then dried . the amount of coupler used and the colorations obtained are summarized in the following table 1 . at room temperature ( 20 - 25 ° c .) or with slight heating ( 35 - 40 ° c . ), the above components were uniformly mixed with one another . when necessary , the ph of the ready - to - use colorant ( a ) was adjusted to the value indicated in table 2 with sodium hydroxide , sodium carbonate , ammonia or citric acid . the ready - to - use hair colorant was applied to bleached hair and uniformly distributed with a brush . after an exposure time of 30 min at 40 ° c ., the hair was rinsed with lukewarm water washed with a shampoo , rinsed with lukewarm water and then dried . the amount of coupler used and the colorations obtained are summarized in the following table 2 . at room temperature ( 20 - 25 ° c .) or with slight heating ( 35 - 40 ° c . ), the above components were uniformly mixed with one another . when necessary , the ph of the ready - to - use colorant ( a ) was adjusted to the value indicated in table 3 with sodium hydroxide , sodium carbonate , ammonia or citric acid . the ready - to - use hair colorant was applied to bleached buffalo hair and uniformly distributed with a brush . after an exposure time of 30 min at 40 ° c ., the hair was rinsed with lukewarm water washed with a shampoo , rinsed with lukewarm water and then dried . the amount of 2 ( 3h )- thiazolone hydrazone of formula ( i ) ( 1b - 1g ) and of coupler used and the colorations obtained are summarized in the following table 3 .	0
the lower saturated aliphatic monohydroxyl alcohols which are useful herein to accomplish the rapid filtration of ethylene - vinyl ester powders from their aqueous dispersions can be selected from among any of the monohydroxyl alkanols which are miscible with water at the levels used , e . g ., alkanols having from one to three carbon atoms such as methanol , ethanol , n - propanol and isopropanol . while the use of methanol as an anti - coalescing agent to improve filtration speed provides acceptable results , it is preferred to employ a higher alcohol when the filter cake is to be used for solid - phase alcoholysis since it has been found that the rate of alcoholysis is significantly higher with alcohols of increasing chain length . the primary alcohols are preferred for use herein and of these , ethanol , n - propanol , n - butanol and isobutanol are especially preferred , although excellent results are obtained with the secondary alcohol , isopropanol . the quantities of anti - coalescing alcohol employed will , of course , vary according to the tendency of the ethylene - vinyl ester interpolymer powder to resist rapid filtration and form agglomerates , which as stated above , is a function of the vinyl ester content and particle size distribution of the interpolymer . other factors influencing the level of use of the anti - coalescing alcohol include the concentration of the interpolymer powder in the dispersion media , the nature and amount of the dispersing agent ( s ) and the presence of diluents , e . g , water , in the anti - coalescing alcohol . simple and routine experimentation can readily establish the optimum quantity of anti - coalescing alcohol required for a particular filtration operation . for many ethylene - vinyl ester interpolymer powder dispersions , from about 0 . 2 parts to about 30 parts alcohol per part of dispersion by weight will provide entirely acceptable results with from about 0 . 5 parts to about 2 . 0 parts alcohol being preferred . it is also preferred that the anti - coalescing alcohol be provided in the most concentrated form commercially available . the alcohol - wet filter cake can , if desired , be washed with additional portions of anti - coalescing alcohol in order to remove any vestiges of dispersing agent and / or water accompanying the freshly filtered resin . the alcohol - containing filtrate , following purification and reconcentration of the alcohol by known and / or conventional means , is advantageously recycled to recover a further amount of ethylene - vinyl ester interpolymer powder from aqueous dispersions of the same . the ethylene - vinyl ester interpolymers which are susceptible to treatment with an anti - coalescing alcohol in accordance with this invention are normally solid at room temperature . preferably , such interpolymers comprise copolymers of ethylene and a vinyl ester such as vinyl formate , vinyl acetate , vinyl trimethylacetate , vinyl propionate , vinyl butyrate , vinyl trifluoroacetate , and the like . the interpolymers contain at least about 30 % vinyl ester by weight and can contain up to about 95 % vinyl ester by weight . partially hydrolyzed ethylene - vinyl ester copolymers are also suitable for use herein provided they contain at least about 30 % unhydrolyzed vinyl ester groups by weight . minor amounts of one or more other monomers copolymerizable with ethylene , i . e ., amounts of up to 10 % by weight of total comonomers , can be contained in the interpolymer as , for example , another vinyl ester , carbon monoxide , methyl acrylate , n - butyl acrylate , di - n - butyl maleate , diethyl itaconate , acrylic acid , methacrylic acid , fumaric acid , and so forth . while the invention herein is described and illustrated in connection with the rapid filtration of ethylene - vinyl acetate interpolymers , it is understood that the advantages of this invention are also conferred upon the rapid filtration of other ethylene - vinyl ester copolymers which are present in aqueous dispersion media , especially copolymers made therein by emulsion or dispersion copolymerization of ethylene and vinyl acetate . the advantages of this invention are particularly realized when the filtered ethylene - vinyl ester interpolymer particles are to be employed as source materials for conversion by solid phase alcoholysis into vinyl alcohol - containing interpolymers . the very high surface area presented by the non - coalesced alcohol - wet ethylene - vinyl ester interpolymer filter cakes of this invention results in efficient and rapid alcoholysis of the interpolymers and provides free flowing hydrolyzed powders even after drying . moreover , the alcohol - wet resin particles constituting the filter cakes herein remain swollen throughout the alcoholysis reaction , a factor which has been observed to facilitate contact of the alcoholysis catalyst with the resin , and therefore the rate with which a predetermined level of alcoholysis can be obtained . when the resin dispersions of this invention are prepared by a melt dispersion technique employing a surfactant or emulsifier to achieve dispersion of the resin in an aqueous medium ( see , for example , u . s . pat . nos . 3 , 418 , 265 ; 3 , 422 , 049 ; and 3 , 522 , 036 , each of which is incorporated by reference herein ), it is generally advantageous to recover the resin particles admixed with a residual amount of the surfactant as the presence of the latter appears to further enhance contact of the alcoholysis catalyst with the resin . accordingly , it is further within the scope of the present invention to directly alcoholyze the alcohol - wet ethylene - vinyl ester interpolymer filter cake obtained in accordance with this invention to provide non - blocking ethylene - vinyl ester - vinyl alcohol terpolymers and ethylene - vinyl alcohol copolymers . advantageously , the particles comprising the alcohol - wet ethylene - vinyl ester interpolymer filter cake will have diameters averaging less than 500 microns . in general , the particle size of the alcohol - wet ethylene - vinyl acetate copolymer does not suffer substantial change during the alcoholysis process , that is , the particle size of the alcoholyzed product is set in the dispersion process . the alcohol selected for accomplishing the alcoholysis reaction herein is selected from the same group of alcohols recited above as suitable anti - coalescing agents . for simplicity of operation it is generally preferred to alcoholyze the alcohol - wet ethylene - vinyl ester interpolymer filter cake with a lower saturated aliphatic mono - hydroxyl alcohol which is the same as the anti - coalescing alcohol added to the aqueous dispersion of interpolymer to improve the rate of filtration of the latter . in order to maintain the freshly filtered interpolymer in the wet condition , it may be necessary from time to time to add additional quantities of alcohol , or , preferably to keep the alcohol - wet particles in closed container , where they will retain their identity for prolonged periods . as recognized in the art , any of a variety of alkaline materials can be utilized as catalysts for the alcoholysis reaction . the preferred catalyst is an alkali metal or alkaline earth metal alkoxide of the alcoholyzing alcohol added to the filter cake , e . g , sodium ethoxide , potassium isopropoxide , potassium - t - butoxide , magnesium ethoxide , and the like . these catalysts can be added as such or can be prepared in situ by the reaction of the alcoholyzing alcohol with the appropriate alkali or alkaline earth metal . additionally , compounds such as lithium hydroxide , sodium hydroxide , potassium hydroxide , magnesium hydroxide and calcium hydroxide may be used as catalysts . although widely varying proportions of ethylene - vinyl ester interpolymer particles and alcoholyzing alcohol can be employed herein , it is generally preferred to employ only as much of the alcohol as is necessary to achieve the desired level of alcoholysis within a reasonable reaction time . ratios of 1 . 5 : 1 to 3 : 1 alcohol to dry polymer by weight are entirely suitable and provide good results . it is recognized that residual anti - coalescing alcohol present in the interpolymer filter cake will constitute a part , and possibly even all , of the requisite alcoholyzing alcohol for a particular alcoholysis operation , it being necessary in the latter case to only add catalyst . the alcoholyzing alcohol , in the presence of the basic catalyst , effects alcoholysis of the vinyl ester repeating units in the interpolymer , reacting with the same to form vinyl alcohol repeating units in the interpolymer and the by - product acetic ester of the alcoholyzing alcohol . the alcoholyzing alcohol is present in the reaction medium in an amount at least stoichiometrically equivalent to the number of moles of the vinyl ester repeating units to be alcoholyzed . alcoholysis temperatures of from about 0 ° c . to about 150 ° c ., and preferably from about 30 ° c . to about 100 ° c ., can be employed . the alcoholysis reaction can be conducted at ambient pressure or at superatmospheric pressures of up to about 5 , 000 p . s . i . reaction times can be broadly varied ; thus , the alcoholysis can be carried out for periods of from about 1 second to 2 hours and preferably , from about 15 seconds to 15 minutes . the alcohol - wet ethylene vinyl ester interpolymer particulate mass is combined with the alcoholysis medium with the temperature , pressure and reaction times regulated as aforesaid . the medium is desirably maintained substantially free of water and the reaction is carried out under a dry , preferably inert , atmosphere . accordingly , washing of the ethylene - vinyl ester interpolymer particles with a highly concentrated or anhydrous alcohol prior to carrying out the alcoholysis reaction is desirable as this preliminary step will have the effect of removing most if not all of the residual water associated with the freshly filtered resin . although it is preferred to employ the same alcohol for the washing procedure which was employed in the filtration procedure and which will be employed for the hydrolysis reaction , such alcohol can be different from the alcohol ( s ) used in the latter operations . the following examples are illustrative of rapid filtration processes employing a coagulating alcohol in accordance with this invention . filtration of a 30 ml aqueous dispersion ( 33 . 46 % solids content by weight ) of ethylene - vinyl acetate interpolymer particles containing about 40 % vinyl acetate by weight was attempted . filtration proceeded very slowly and could not be completed due to blinding and packing of the filter . to the same dispersion were added 30 ml of methanol to prevent coalescence of the interpolymer particles . an additional 15 ml of methanol were added to the dispersion under agitation in a waring blender . the dispersion was then filtered , washed with methanol and kept in the methanol - wet state . filtration was fairly rapidly accomplished although some minor agglomeration of resin particles was noted . in place of the addition of methanol in example 1 , ethanol in an identical filtration procedure , and isopropanol in another identical filtration procedure , were employed . both anti - coalescing alcohols provided good rates of filtration and still smaller quantities of particle agglomerates which were entirely acceptable for such uses of the particles as previously disclosed herein . a blend of 30 % pvc powder with the foregoing alcohol - wet filter cakes provided a free - flowing powder following drying . both alcohol - wet filter cakes were ideally suited for hydrolysis employing 10 % weight solutions of koh / ethanol . to 342 g of a 47 . 65 % solids dispersion of a vinyl acetate - ethylene copolymer containing about 40 % vinyl acetate by weight was added 544 ml ethanol ( 429 . 4 g ) and filtration was carried out using whatman filter paper no . 541 . filtration was complete within 5 minutes and the ethanol - wet filter cake contained 78 . 1 % solids by weight . to 299 . 3 g of the same resin dispersion were added 426 g water and filtration was carried out , again , with whatman filter paper no . 541 . filtration required 46 minutes for completion and coalescence of resin particles was observed . 25 grams of the methanol - wet filter cake prepared in accordance with examples 1 - 3 containing approximately 48 % solids , was charged to a small waring blender with 55 . 1 grams of 5 . 7 % methanolic potassium hydroxide and reacted with agitation for 5 minutes at a temperature ranging from 24 ° to 54 ° c . whereupon the reaction was terminated with water and acetic acid . the release of characteristic ester odor was noticed during the reaction , and the recovered polymer powder evidenced a residual vinyl acetate level of 35 . 8 percent by weight . 264 g of an ethanol - wet ethylene - vinyl acetate resin ( about 33 % vinyl acetate content by weight ) filter cake ( 67 . 19 % solids by weight ) containing 0 . 64 % water and 0 . 13 % residual surfactant ( pluronic f98 of basf wyandotte ind . chem . group , a nonionic surfactant of ethylene oxide with a hydrophobic base formed by condensing propylene oxide with propylene glycol and having a hydrophilic - lipophilic balance of 27 . 5 ) was alcoholyzed by the addition to the filter cake of 350 ml ( 314 . 65 g ) of 11 % koh ( actual ) in ethanol ( 0 . 0215 % water by weight in ethanol ). the filter cake was stirred in a flask placed in a water bath heated to 55 °- 60 ° c . the temperature of the contents of the flask increased from 55 ° to 67 ° c . over a period of 15 minutes indicating the progress of the alcoholysis reaction . after 30 minutes total alcoholysis reaction time , the vinyl acetate content was reduced to 2 . 14 %. no significant change in particle size distribution of the hydrolyzed resin compared to the resin prior to hydrolysis took place as shown below : ______________________________________particle particle size distributiondiameter weight , percent ( microns ) before alcoholysis after alcoholysis______________________________________ & lt ; 74 49 . 0 51 . 4 74 - 106 7 . 5 7 . 1106 - 149 12 . 4 9 . 0149 - 250 23 . 4 25 . 1250 - 420 7 . 2 7 . 1420 0 . 4 0 . 4______________________________________ 25 grams of the ethanol wet filter cake of example 2 , containing approximately 48 % solids , was charged to a waring blender with 55 grams of 5 . 7 % ethanolic potassium hydroxide and reacted with agitation for 5 minutes at a temperature ranging from 24 ° to 53 ° c ., whereupon the reaction was terminated with water and acetic acid . the recovered polymer powder evidenced a residual vinyl acetate level of 25 . 9 % by weight . in another run , the reaction was allowed to proceed for fifteen minutes , whereupon residual vinyl acetate of the recovered polymer was 7 . 7 % by weight . in a similar manner , 57 grams of 10 % ethanolic potassium hydroxide was used in the solid state alcoholysis to a final temperature of 57 ° c . at five minutes ; and the resultant hydrolyzed eva polymer evidenced a residual vinyl acetate level of 13 . 5 % by weight . in a further run , 57 grams of 15 % ethanolic koh solution was employed ; and residual vinyl acetate level was determined to be 4 . 0 % by weight in the resulting ethylene - vinyl acetate - vinyl alcohol terpolymer .	2
as shown in fig1 the preferred embodiment of hanger assembly 1 includes an object support member 10 and a support rod 20 , hooked beneath a tooth 13 ( fig5 , and 7 ) integral to support member 10 and projecting away from the fence - abutting wall 14 of support 10 . support rod 20 ( fig2 and 3 ), ideally constructed from a single piece of metal wire , is generally u - shaped , with a support - member connecting bite 22 and two parallel arms 21 bent at their &# 34 ; free &# 34 ; ends to form fence - engaging hooks 23 ( fig4 and 6 ). each leg 21 is first bent rearwardly at 21a ( i . e ., rearwardly as viewed in fig1 ) at approximately 30 ° from the vertical to define a rearwardly sloping upper leg portion 21b ( fig1 , 5 , 6 and 7 ), and is then bent laterally outwardly and downwardly to about 60 ° from the vertical , and back forwardly to define the downwardly and forwardly angled hook 23 . each of the hooks bends away from its counterpart on the adjacent leg 21 . hooks 23 are not bent back to the plane of upper legs 21b , but rather is bent slightly more toward the vertical . at the ends of hooks 23 , there is about a one - half inch ( 1 / 2 &# 34 ;) gap between the plane of legs 21b and the plane of hooks 23 . this helps &# 34 ; seat &# 34 ; the wire form in notches , v - grooves , and the like and cause the butt - end of wire form 23 to dig into the back side of wood privacy fences ( normally 1 &# 34 ; thick ). object support member 10 , as seen in fig4 and 5 , preferably has a generally dish - shaped configuration , including an outer rim 15 , a downwardly and inwardly sloping annular wall 16 , and an inner rim 17 having several v - shaped drainage notches 18 , and a circular opening 19 , the combination of said structures being suitable for accommodating pots of various sizes . the diameters of opening 19 , the outer diameter of inner rim 17 and the outer diameter of the top of annular sloped wall 16 are 3 inches , 4 inches and 41 / 2 inches respectively to accommodate 3 - inch , 4 - inch , 5 - inch and 6 - inch pots . object support member 10 also has two integral , structural reinforcing ribs 11 . these ribs 11 flank support - rod connecting slot 12 ( fig1 and 4 ). ribs 11 serve not only to strengthen , but also to channel water and liquid fertilizers away from and off the face of object support 10 . also integral to support member 10 , as depicted in fig2 and 7 , is fence - abutting wall 14 , which extends downward from object support member 10 approximately perpendicular to the horizontal plane of outer rim 15 , abutting the edges of the structural support ribs 11 . finally , the preferred embodiment of object support member 10 includes an integral tooth 13 protruding first inward from the fence - abutting wall 14 and then downward , generally parallel to said fence - abutting wall 14 . the entire object support member 10 is stamped of a single piece of metal . to complete the entire hanging assembly 1 ( fig1 ), support rod 20 is attached to and suspends object support member 10 from a fence by connecting tooth 13 ( fig5 , and 7 ). bite portion 22 of rod 20 is inserted down through slot 12 in support 10 and is passed beyond the tip of tooth 13 . bite 22 is then slipped in behind tooth 13 and is moved up relative to support 10 until bite 22 is seated against the base of tooth 13 . tooth 13 thus prevents rod 20 from being displaced from slot 12 ( fig4 ). hanging assembly 1 can be mounted to a chain - link , board or similar fence ( fig1 depicting a chain - link fence in &# 34 ; phantom &# 34 ; lines ) by means of the angled hooks 23 of the support rod 20 , which are placed behind the fence 2 . fence - abutting wall 14 , as seen in fig1 press against the fence 2 , preventing the lateral motion of the suspended hanger assembly 1 . once mounted to a suitable fence , a plant or similar ornamentation may be placed either in or upon object support member 10 ( fig1 ). a pot , for example , placed upon inner rim 17 will abut downwardly sloping annular wall 16 , preventing the pot from sliding off object support member 10 . if , in the alternative , a pot or similar ornamentation is placed in opening 19 , inner rim 17 acts as a rest either for the lip of the pot , or the wall of the pot whose circumference prevents it from passing through opening 19 . of course , it is understood that the above is merely a preferred embodiment of the invention and that various changes , alterations , and modifications , apparent to those skilled in the art , can be made without departing from the spirit and broader aspects thereof .	0
reference will now be made in detail to embodiments of the invention , examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings and described herein . wherever possible , the same reference numbers will be used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or like parts . the exemplary embodiments disclosed herein are intended for purposes of illustration and should not be construed to limit the invention in any manner . embodiments of the invention may be implemented in computer systems or networks . by way of example , fig1 illustrates an exemplary system 1 including a server device 2 and client devices 3 a - 3 c ( generally “ client devices 3 ”) connected by a network 4 . the network 4 may comprise a local area network ( lan ), a wide area network ( wan ), an intranet , the internet , and / or any other network . a user interface program 5 allows users to receive information from and input information into the server device 2 . client devices 3 may include internet browser programs to display the user interface screens and to enable the user to enter input . an organization may implement the system 1 of fig1 to handle data management in some or all of the organization &# 39 ; s business activities . this includes , but is not limited to , applications such as supply chain management ( scm ), customer relationship management ( crm ), financials ( fi ), etc . fig2 is a block diagram of an exemplary user - interface - architecture 10 , consistent with an embodiment of the invention . the architecture 10 may be used to implement the user interface program 5 . it may comprise a model - view - controller paradigm , a strategy in object oriented programming for separating the presentation of data ( view ) 11 from the data maintenance ( model ) 12 and the application flow control ( controller ) 13 . the model 12 is the representation of the logical structure of data in the application , the view 11 includes logic for generating web pages and the controller 13 consists of all object classes for communicating between model 12 and view 11 . the controller 13 may include a page - rendering controller 14 to provide page - rending information to the view 11 , and a page data controller 15 for modifying the data stored in the model 12 according to the input , which may be provided by the user . referring now to fig3 , the composition of an exemplary user interface ( ui ) is described . consistent with an embodiment of the invention , a user interface framework may be provided that introduces standardization to the process of creating user interfaces for web applications in order to achieve code reusability . the raw model used for the screen layout may be based on the assumption that a web application , shown , for example , in browser window 20 , is made up of a navigation menu ( or feature menu ) 21 , any given number of screen - frames 22 and / or any given number of graphical user interface ( gui ) components 23 - 27 contained in the screen - frames 22 . the gui components 23 - 27 may include any required number of different components 26 - 27 that may be configured to display business data and / or any other type of data . in one embodiment , the user interface framework provides all the components required to set up a screen layout . the components may include a tray component , a tab - strip component , a toolbar component , a text area component , a form - box component , a selection - box component , a chart component , a table - view component , and / or a table - view - for - time - series component . the components may be predefined and stored in a repository for later use . further , application screens may be designed using these components as screen building blocks . in fig3 , an exemplary composition of a user interface application screen is shown . in a browser window 20 , the user interface or ui is composed of a navigation menu 21 and an application screen - frame 22 . the application screen - frame 22 is composed of a first toolbar component 23 , a second toolbar component 24 , a selection - box component 25 , a form - box component 26 , and a table - view - for - time - series 27 . the application screen further includes a title bar , which is set on top of it . consistent with an embodiment of the invention , the framework may further provide a set of database tables where the layout settings and the components properties are stored . fig4 shows a screen shot of an exemplary transaction defining screen layout . a set of transactions is used to build the screen by changing the settings and properties stored in the database tables and to establish a relationship to the business data or other data that have to be contained by respective components . fig5 shows a screen shot of exemplary transaction defining methods in specialized classes . establishing the relationship between screen components and business data or other data includes generating the required specialized classes by inheriting from super - classes provided by the user interface framework . the user interface framework may provide all the basic characteristics for the correct communication to the scripting language used , which may be bsp , etc ., plus all additional features provided by the user interface framework itself . there may be a group of components that do not require this inheriting process , as they may not contain business data and may only require predefined content . these components may include the tray component , the tab - strip component , selection - box component and / or the toolbar component . usually , their content is subject to configuration only . other components require the inheriting process , as they do contain business data and / or other types of data . these components may include the table - view component , the table - view - for - time - series component , the form - box component , and / or the chart component . fig6 shows a class diagram of an exemplary ui framework . the class diagram 29 shows the relationship between an application 30 and its constituents 31 - 36 . every application 30 may include a navigation menu 31 and at least one screen - frame 32 containing one or more gui components 33 . in one embodiment , two different classes of gui components may be provided : one that requires specialization 34 and one that does not require specialization 35 . also , every application 30 may include at least one application model 36 . each application model 36 may provide a set of different application models 37 - 40 for different applications and backend systems 41 . specializing a required class by inheriting allows creating objects that have the properties of the super - class provided by the framework , and additionally contain the event - handlers required to elaborate the data as a result of a user activity . for example , in an application screen layout with at least a toolbar component including a save - button and a table - view component containing user editable business data , selecting and clicking the save - button may be required to start the process of saving the user changes in the business data into the respective backend database of the business application . the set of database tables of the ui framework may define that , when the save - button is pressed , an event savetodatabase has to be propagated to the table - view component . the table - view component may perform a particular action or method with a particular name defined by the application developer , when the event savetodatabase has been received . the component may be an object of a class created by the application developer and perform actions programmed by the application developer . the table - view component may include internal attributes that represent the business data in a gui - like format . the format of the attributes can vary with the component , but usually is a simple structure . after the action has been performed , all the components present in the visible screen may be called and the page rendered accordingly . therefore , there is no need to have detailed knowledge about the underlying scripting language used to create the html page output . it is only required to have knowledge about the structure and where to put the data in every particular component . the layout is configured separately . the merging of the business data and layout data is done within the ui framework . referring now again to fig4 and 5 and returning to the above - described example , the following is an exemplary process that can be performed for a component based - application : model the screen - frames and name them . choose one name or id for the application appid . choose the ids for the screen - frames scrid and the ids for the classes , which will contain business data appdataid . create the specialized classes for the application , for the application model , and for the components requiring specialization by inheritance . set the application specialized classes . set the model specialized classes . assign the application model object ( appdataid ) to its application id ( appid ). set the components specialized classes . set the screen layout . assign the application model object to the gui components . define all possible fieldnames ( e . g ., location , product , etc .). configure the components . define the event propagation . the ui framework may also support pattern - based screens and / or mixed pattern - components screens . the procedure for creating a pattern may be similar to the one used for creating a component - based screen and can be performed by any application developer . there is no need of a pattern developer profile . the ui framework , consistent with embodiments of the invention , can provide high flexibility and allow any application developer to use , create , and change patterns , and generate screens accordingly . both free - style and pattern - based user interfaces are supported . there is no knowledge required regarding the scripting language used , for example , bsp , jsp , asp , etc . the reutilization of written code is maximized . the separation of application data and user interface ( ui ) can be achieved by usage of a model - view - controller paradigm , a common criterion followed in the software design community . under this assumption it is always possible to switch from one user interface to another one , maintaining the application logic intact . a frequent problem in connection with software products is the code responsibility . in the event of customers reporting bugs , it is very important to quickly identify the responsible developer . thus , the response time required for the correction can be minimized and the whole maintenance process can be simplified . as a matter of fact , better code and smarter software architectures can signify for remarkable savings in a long - term horizon . embodiments of the present invention may be implemented bearing this in mind in order to separate the responsibilities of application developers from the responsibilities of ui framework developers . moreover , embodiments of the invention may allow a user to change the layout settings at runtime , and to store those changes . therefore , so - called personalization may be achieved . that is , the capability to change the properties of layout elements ( color , element position , default page , etc .) according to the user &# 39 ; s preference at runtime and retrieving the web page in that state at the next session logon . for instance , the order of the columns in a table - view can be changed according to the planning practice of a particular procurement department . a number of embodiments of the invention have been disclosed . nevertheless , it will be understood that various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention . accordingly , other embodiments are within the scope of the following claims . furthermore , other embodiments of the invention , including modifications and adaptations of the disclosed embodiments , will be apparent to those skilled in the art from consideration of the specification and practice of the embodiments of the invention disclosed herein . additionally , although aspects of the present invention are described for being stored in memory , one skilled in the art will appreciate that these aspects can also be stored on other types of computer - readable media , such as secondary storage devices and / or other forms of ram or rom . therefore , it is intended that the specification and examples be considered as exemplary only , with a true scope and spirit of the invention be indicated by the following claims .	6
referring now to fig1 where the preferred embodiment of the present invention is shown , in perspective , we can observe that the anchor 10 basically comprises a shank assembly 20 , a release mechanism 30 and a fluke assembly 40 . the shank assembly 30 is composed of two elongated flat rods 21 which are spaced apart from each other by spacer 22 on one end and the other end of the shank assembly terminates with 21 forming a fork with hole 23 substantially towards the end of rods 21 . spacer assembly 22 is basically a pin 25 riveted to the ends of rod 21 and washers 24 sandwiching chain lever 32 . pin 25 is inserted through an opening 31 of chain lever 32 and lever 32 is kept in place by a couple of washers 24 on each side of lever 32 . lever 32 pivots around pin 25 and is pivotally connected to tripping lever 35 which has a fork termination with holes 36 and a riveted pin 37 on one end and the other end being attached to a sliding bar 38 inserted and protruding through a longitudinal slot 26 in said rod 21 and kept in place by a headed termination 39 . an elongated flat pivoted member 50 rests on one end on said sliding bar 38 and the other end having stoppers 51 firmly secured , preferably welded , to member 50 . as shown in fig1 a and 1b , axle 70 is provided with an integrally built u - shape protrusion 71 positioned in the center of axle 70 and sandwiched between the fork termination of shank assembly 20 . member 50 is pivotally mounted in the center of axle 70 and is capable of rotating around it . by virtue of u - shaped protrusion 71 in axle 70 , when member 50 , and consequently stoppers 51 , rotate it will cause fluke assembly 40 to rotate when stoppers 51 come in contact with protrusion 71 since flukes 42 are rigidly attached to axle 70 . and , when fluke assembly 40 pivots around axle 70 , member 50 will follow , from the same transmission of forces . in practice , the rotation of the fluke assembly 40 is caused by tripping palm 41 , by digging in the seabed of flukes 42 or by the unequal weight distribution of fluke assembly 40 . rotation of the fluke assembly 40 will induce rotation of member 50 , as mentioned above , causing it to meet sliding bar 38 on which it rests , thereby preventing any further rotational movement of fluke assembly 40 . once you start pulling chain 80 to dislodge anchor 10 , the vessel will travel towards the anchor making the angle a formed between the seabed plane and chain 80 to increase from about 20 or 30 degrees to about 70 degrees , where tripping lever 35 is pulled enough to make member 50 trip and suddenly releasing the force being applied by stopper 51 to protrusion 71 allowing member 50 and fluke assembly 40 to rotate freely , as shown in fig2 . before tripping , flukes 42 could move out a maximum of 45 degrees with respect to the axis of shank assembly 20 . after tripping , assuming we are still trying to dislodge the anchor , the fluke assembly 40 will rotate from the 45 degree maximum angle of the flukes in the preferred embodiments towards a 180 degree angle with respect to the shaft assembly 20 . the benefits derived are obvious since it will allow the user to pull the flukes out in the opposite direction . this will prevent the user from being forced to pass the vessel over the anchor risking that the anchor cable could get caught with the propeller . also , if power is not being used and the anchor is being pulled without other help , it is harder to pull the boat towards the anchor as the angle of the anchor cable with respect to the seabed approaches 90 degrees . mathematically , if we call &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; the longitude of the cable and &# 34 ; x &# 34 ; the horizontal distance from the vessel to a point that is on the sea surface , perpendicularly above the anchor , then the rate of change of force , &# 34 ; f &# 34 ;, with respect to &# 34 ; x &# 34 ; is inversely proportional to &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ;. ## equ1 ## therefore , it is submitted that the present mechanism permits dislodging an anchor with a minimum of force required . the tripping angle a , of course , may be adjusted through the selection of dimensions for member 50 and / or tripping lever 35 . it is worthwhile noting that the present invention may be practiced with a simplified version of the preferred embodiment which eliminates tripping lever 35 , as shown in fig4 . here , we are using the end of chain lever 32 that is not connected to the chain 80 as our tripping member , provided , of course , that said lever 35 is of sufficient length as to be able to intercept member 50 when angle a is less than the desired critical tripping angle . another alternative embodiment is shown in fig3 and 3a , wherein hinged tripping palm 43 is hingedly mounted to axle 72 which is parallel to axle 70 . the hinged tripping palm 43 in this embodiment pivots around said axle 72 an angle of about 60 degrees and it basically performs the same function as the fixed tripping palms 41 of the above mentioned preferred embodiment . stopper 44 for hinged tripping palms 43 keeps said members from rotating more than 60 degrees , in the preferred embodiment , while still performing the needed tripping function . it is believed the foregoing description conveys the best understanding of the objects and advantages of the present invention . different embodiments may be made of the inventive concept of this invention . it is to be understood that all matter disclosed herein is to be interpreted merely as illustrative , and not in a limiting sense , except as set forth in the following appended claims .	1
in the figures like numbers refer to like objects and the thickness of materials have been exaggerated to clarify relationships in the drawings . receptacle 1 is formed from a single flat sheet having adjacent panels and tabs foldably joined to each other at fold lines , shown as long - short dashed lines . rectangular bottom panel 2 is foldably joined to side panels 3 and end panels 4 . gusset panels 5 and 6 span the space between side panels 3 and end panels 4 at the corners of bottom panel 2 . inside gusset panels 5 are foldably joined to end panels 4 and outside gusset panels 6 are foldably joined to side panels 3 . gusset panels 5 and 6 are foldably joined to each other along lines extending diagonally from the corners of bottom panel 2 and substantially bisecting the space between side panels 3 and end panels 4 . latch slots 11 are provided along the fold line between inside gusset panel 5 and outside gusset panel 6 . lock slots 12 are provided in outside gusset panel 6 , as shown in fig1 . end panels 4 have foldably secured thereto locking tabs 9 and vertical latch tabs 7 . vertical latch tabs 7 have foldably secured thereto horizontal latch tabs 8 . the fold lines between vertical latch tabs 7 and horizontal latch tabs 8 are diagonals such that horizontal latch tabs 8 will , in the folded position , lie along vertical latch tabs 7 to facilitate the insertion of latch tabs 8 into latch slots 11 . in fig2 and 3 the assembly of the corner gussets of receptacle 1 is illustrated . inside gusset panel 5 is brought into opposition with outside gusset panel 6 and thereafter , the opposed panels are folded over end panel 4 . horizontal latch tab 8 is folded into opposition with vertical latch tab 7 and the free end of horizontal latch tab 8 is inserted between gusset panels 5 and 6 and into latch slot 11 to achieve the configuration shown in fig2 . thereafter horizontal latch tab 8 is drawn through latch slot 11 drawing with it vertical latch tab 7 until latch tabs 7 and 8 are again coplanar as shown in fig3 . locking tab 9 is then inserted into lock slot 12 , as shown in fig3 to complete the assembly of a gusseted corner of receptacle 1 . the gusseted corners of prior art one piece seamless receptacles presented a number of deficiencies that are cured by this invention . first , the prior art gusseted corners are secured in place in pairs adjacent tot he end panels of the receptacles . the procedure for folding and securing the pairs of gusseted corners is generally awkward and difficult to achieve . the gusseted corner latching means of this invention permits the easy folding and latching in place of one gusseted corner at a time . second , the prior art gusseted corners exhibit retained resilience in the folds of the gusseted corners which urges the ends of the receptacle outward and often results in unwanted disengagement of the closures and disassembly of the receptacle . the latching and locking tabs of this invention serve to restrain and limit the bowing pressures that the folds can exert while providing superior structural strength and integrity to the corners . in fig4 the free ends of the horizontal latch tabs 8 are shown to be joined by means of tape 15 . the joining of tabs 8 serves to further strengthen the gusseted corners and to further restrict the degree of bowing of the end panels of receptacle 1 . joined horizontal tabs 8 can serve as convenient carrying handles or pulls for sliding receptacle 1 on a flat surface as , for instance , when removing receptacle 1 from a shelf . it is known in the art to provide integral covers for one piece seamless receptacles having gusseted corners . the latching and locking means of this invention provides a structure for securing an integral cover in the closed position . receptacle 21 of fig5 is similar to receptacle 1 of fig1 . long top panel 22 is foldably secured to one side panel 3 of receptacle 21 and short top panel 23 is foldably secured to the opposite side panel 3 . the combined lengths of the top panels 22 and 23 are such that long top panel 22 overlaps short top panel 23 when the tops are in the closed position as shown in fig6 . as shown in fig5 outside closure tabs 25 are foldably joined with long top panel 22 and inside closure tabs 26 are foldably joined to outside closure tabs 25 . the length and location of the fold lines between outside closure tabs 25 and inside closure tabs 26 is such that when receptacle 21 is assembled and top panel 22 is in the closed position , the fold lines will lie along and be coextensive with joined horizontal latching tabs 8 as shown in fig6 and 7 . inside closure tabs 26 and outside closure tabs 25 reenforce latching tabs 8 to provide receptacle 21 with conveniently located , sturdy , and reliable carrying and / or pull handles . the length of short top panel 23 is substantially the same as the height of side panel 3 . as shown in fig8 when receptacle 21 is resting on a flat surface , with short top panel 23 opposed to side panel 3 and with closure tabs 24 folded back over the ends of receptacle 21 , short top panel 23 is prevented from moving up to obstruct access to the inside of receptacle 21 , due to closure tabs 24 engaging the flat surface . that is , closure tabs 24 engage the flat surface and restrict the movement of short top panel 23 . when receptacle 21 is in the closed configuration it may be sometimes difficult to disengage inside closure tab 26 . this invention provides inside closure tabs 26 with opening tabs 27 , as illustrated in fig5 and7 , to provide a pull for disengaging inside closure tabs 26 . the inventor has provided an enabling disclosure which teaches the best mode of practicing the invention known to the inventor . however , the scope of this invention should not be limited to the embodiments disclosed herein , but should only be limited by the appended claims and all equivalents thereto which would become apparent to one skilled in the art .	1
the following detailed description of preferred embodiments of the invention will be made in reference to the accompanying drawings . in the following description , explanation of related functions or constructions known in the art are omitted for the sake of clarity in understanding the concept of the invention that would otherwise obscure the invention with unnecessary detail . scanning confocal acoustic diagnostic ( scad ) is utilized to detect regions of interest ( roi ) for identification of bone deterioration and fracture . a low intensity pulse ultrasound ( lipus ) device is implemented within the diagnostic scad , to provide localized treatment upon identification of a bone defect region . the lipus guided by the scad . enhanced local treatment using lipus device is obtained by combining the scad and lipus transducers . focused ultrasound transducers for therapeutic use at the scad guided bone deterioration location preferably operate in a frequency range of 0 . 5 - 1 . 5 mhz . in the present invention , an mlipus oscillatory force is applied in a focal region , to elevate the tissue therapy us level . the thermal application includes cavitations , radiation force , microstreaming and dynamic shear force , wherein a particle , such as a cell , within the focal region experiences transfer of momentum from the us wave . a us wavelength close to medium particle size , such as osteoblasts , osteoclasts , and osteocytes , generates local pressure wave gradients and initiates oscillatory fluid flow in the focal region exposed to the us wave . dynamic acoustic radiation force resulting from an intensity - modulated focused transducer and frequency mediated pressure gradient is optimized using deformation measurements . in preferred embodiments of the present invention , mlipus is applied at 1 . 5 mhz , 1 . 45 mhz , or dual frequency combinations having a frequency difference of approximately 0 . 01 ˜ 0 . 05 mhz , and modulated at combinations of 1 . 5 mhz and 1 . 45 mhz . the repetition frequency is preferably applied at steps of 0 . 5 khz , 1 khz , 1 . 25 khz , 1 . 5 khz and 2 . 25 khz , to control overall acoustic energy under 100 mw / cm 2 while optimizing effective energy at the treated region . thus , mlipus effectively mediates the local fluid acoustic streaming and fluid flow , as well as velocity gradients . the velocity and the velocity rate are used to calculate shear force , providing an expected mlipus optimized shear force in a range of 0 . 1 - 10 dyn / cm 2 , for bone cell activation . to overcome hurdles that include soft tissue and cortical shell interference , improved qualitative us is obtained by utilizing an image based scad system that increases the resolution , sensitivity , and accuracy in diagnosing osteoporosis through confocal acoustics to improve signal / noise ratio , and through extracting surface topology to accurately calculate uv . the image based scad system minimizes the scanning time while maintaining resolution via micro - processor controlled and phased array electronic confocal scanning , e . g ., in deep bone tissue scan , and increases bua accuracy by incorporating cortical shell attenuation in roi . the image based scad system validates structural and strength properties using micro - ct , nano - identification and mechanical testing ; predicts local trabecular bulk stiffness and microstructure of bone ; and generates a physical relationship between ut parameters and bone quality . the image based scad system , combined with the lipus device , provides guided us treatment for early , accelerated fracture healing . in the present invention , a combined lipus / scad system provides focused therapeutic us at an identified defect region for nondestructive treatment of osteopenia and fracture . the scad generates acoustic images in a region of interest in the skeleton , including cortical and trabecular bone , provides guided treatment , and monitors longitudinal healing process . the invention targets critical skeletal sites that are significantly affected by disuse osteopenia and potentially at risk of fracture , i . e ., hip , spine and wrist regions . in a preferred embodiment , us transducers are combined in the diagnostic mode of the scad with focused lipus us transducers for guided therapeutic application in a detected region of interest of bone deterioration . the transmitted us is preferably configured at characteristic frequencies of 0 . 5 - 1 . 5 mhz . the us transducer is preferably constructed with piezoelectric traducers sandwiched between layers of gold , and the focus lens was made by silicon composite material for better water coupling for tissue and ultrasound . the transducers are preferably designed to a constant focus length of 20 - 150 mm for multiple scan sites . the lipus is preferably controlled at 30 - 60 mw / cm 2 , comparable to diagnostic us intensities used in sonogram ( fetal monitoring ) procedures . however , since the lipus is applied in a guided mode with scad , the us energy is directly targeted to the roi and performs an effective treatment . the combined diagnostic unit is , in a preferred embodiment , provided in a portable treatment unit with the specifications set out in table 1 . rat model fracture healing was utilized to evaluate the accelerating fracture healing of another preferred embodiment of the present invention . in the rat model , evaluation was performed on eighteen animals divided into four groups , under disuse conditions using hind - limb suspension ( hls ), with standard fractures performed at a left femur and k - wire applied to the femur from a knee condyle . the first two groups include an age match fracture ( amf ) without hls , with the group one receiving us treatment with signal output , amf ( n − 5 ), and the second group receiving sham ultrasound control , without signal output ( n = 5 ). groups three and four included hind limb suspension with femur fracture , with group three receiving us treatment , hls + lipus ( n = 4 ) and group four not receiving us treatment , hls only ( n = 4 ). results obtained from the groups are shown in fig1 and 2 . on the following day , lipus was applied to all groups at 1 . 5 mhz , 1 khz pulsed , a 20 % duty cycle , and 30 mw / cm 2 intensity , sata , for 20 minutes a day , five days a week , for a total of three weeks . two percent isoflurane anesthesia is given to those groups when treated with ultrasound , as well as to the sham control group . at one - week intervals , x - rays were taken of the fractured femur for tracking of the healing procedure . after the third week , bone samples were harvested and the k - wire carefully removed from the femur , the callus density and quality was examined with microct scan ( scanco uct40 ) in the resolution of 18 um , 5 mm ( 278 slices ), covering the callus region . the protocol is able to calculate newly mineralized callus within the contour lines . the callus mineralization distribution shown in fig1 exhibits in group three , i . e . the suspended rats treated with ultrasound , a small peak distribution between 750 and 800 mg ha / ccm points , indicating a callus mineralization much higher than the other three groups , as shown in fig2 . the other three groups , however , did not display a significant difference between each other , other than group four , the suspended rats without ultrasound treatment , showing slightly less mineralization area around 600 mg ha / ccm point , making group four the lowest in high mineralization area (& gt ; 400 mg ha / ccm ), compared to other groups , as shown in fig2 . ct scan settings of 0 . 8 , 1 , 250 were chosen and applied to each callus , to threshold the ct pictures , and the average bv / tv as well as the standard deviation of each group is abstained and compared , listed in table 2 . the sham control group data was used as the baseline to calculate the difference change percentages after three weeks . as shown and described above , the hind limb suspension group with ultrasound treatment developed superior callus mineralization quality , over 20 % better than the other groups , and the suspended group without ultrasound treatment exhibited the worst bone mineralization among the groups , showing that the us treatment promoted bone mineralization . for the two unsuspended groups without ultrasound treatment , development of callus mineralization was mostly similar , which is not unreasonable since a three weeks recovery after fracture is shorter than normally required for broken bone recovery in rats . while the invention has been shown and described with reference to certain exemplary embodiments of the present invention 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 spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims and equivalents thereof .	0
the present invention is directed to a method of separating one or more polymeric components from a multi - component polymeric material . the method is particularly useful in separating one or more reclamation polymers from a mixed polymer waste stream . the method of the invention uses differences in temperature profiles between polymeric components to enable separation . for example , below the glass transition temperature , energy dissipation by the amorphous phase of a glassy or semi - crystalline polymer is greatly reduced and the material becomes much more brittle . in many mixed material streams , one material is far more brittle than others below specific temperatures . as another example , some adhesives embrittle or degrade at increased , or above - ambient , temperatures . when a material is in a brittle state it is more prone to be fractured to a reduced particle size if subjected to grinding . by grinding a stream of mixed polymeric materials at a temperature that allows one or more components within the stream to be fractured , separation of the polymeric materials becomes possible . similarly , by imparting a high level of mechanical energy to the material at higher or lower temperatures , the reduced adhesion due to the adjusted temperature is not sufficient to withstand delamination . the high level of mechanical energy may be induced by impact , shear , and / or ultrasonic forces , for example . this does not necessarily result in reduced sizes for the individually separate components but provides the needed separation nonetheless . in the method of the invention , the multi - component polymeric material , or mixed polymer waste stream , can be cooled using suitable liquid , gas , or solid agents . in one embodiment , for example , the material can be cooled by adding liquid nitrogen or other suitable coolant in the liquid or gaseous state to the material , thus cooling the material to a prescribed temperature range . in other embodiments , the multi - component polymeric material can be heated using suitable liquid , gas , solid , or radiation agents . for example , the material may be heated through radiation using either infrared or microwave radiation . the prescribed temperature range is a range at which decombination of the polymer mixture occurs . as defined herein , the term “ decombination ” refers to a separation of components of a mixture , which components are initially in intimate contact with each other due to chemical or physical forces , into a weakly agglomerated form . once separated into a weakly agglomerated form the components are no longer in intimate contact , but may still be weakly adhere to one another . in one embodiment , for example , the prescribed temperature range is the range below a glass transition temperature of a targeted reclamation polymer or polymers and above a glass transition temperature of other material ( s ) in the mixture , or is suitably low to facilitate separation due to a loss of adhesion . the prescribed temperature range varies depending on the polymers present in the mixture . while in the prescribed temperature range , the mixture is ground or otherwise exposed to high levels of mechanical energy . liquid nitrogen may be added to the mixture or another suitable cooling or heating technique may be used while the mixture is in a grinding device or similar device that provides sufficient mechanical energy to initiate separation to initially cool or heat the mixture . thus , the mixture may be exposed to mechanical forces prior to adjusting the temperature as well as while the temperature is changing . alternatively , the mixture may first be heated or cooled and then transferred to a grinding device or similar device that provides sufficient mechanical energy to initiate separation . in yet another embodiment , the mixture may be heated or cooled to reach the prescribed temperature range , then allowed to cool or heat to return to ambient temperature such that the mechanical energy may act upon the mixture at ambient temperature . the feasibility of such timing is specific to the polymers within the mixture . in some embodiments , depending upon the polymers within the mixture , the temperature may need to be raised or lowered only a moderate amount , such as ± 10 degrees celsius , to achieve a temperature within the prescribed temperature range . grinding or otherwise imparting mechanical energy to the mixture in the prescribed temperature range fractures the reclamation polymer to a smaller particle size and / or different geometry than the remaining polymers in the mixture or provides delamination , thus enabling separation of the reclamation polymer from the remainder of the mixture . more specifically , as a result of grinding , the reclamation polymer may be reduced to a powder while the remaining material having a lower glass transition temperature may remain fibrous . alternatively , the laminate material is delaminated to such an extent that each of the laminate layers or components is mutually separated . the reclamation polymer can be separated from the remaining particles by screening , using fluidized beds , or any other suitable method of separation based on particle size . the method of the invention is particularly suitable for separating mixed polymer waste streams , such as nonwoven - elastic composite materials , from such processes as stretch - bond laminating processes as disclosed , for example , in u . s . pat . no . 4 , 720 , 415 to vander wielen et al ., and vertical filament laminating processes as disclosed , for example , in pct publication wo 01 / 88245 to welch et al ., published nov . 22 , 2001 . the method of the invention is also well suited to separating mixed polymer waste streams resulting from the manufacture of a variety of materials such as nonwoven fabric made with multi - component polymeric strands . the method can be used to separate polypropylene , polyethylene , and / or linear low density polyethylene , for example , from such waste streams . one example of a nonwoven material made with multi - component polymeric strands is described in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 336 , 552 , issued aug . 9 , 1994 , to strack , et al . more particularly , this material is a nonwoven fabric made with multi - component polymeric strands including a blend of polyolefin and ethylene alkyl acrylate copolymer . using the method of the invention to separate the waste material resulting from making this material , a polypropylene portion can be reduced to a powder while leaving a polyethylene portion in a fibrous or fibrillar form since polypropylene has a higher glass transition temperature than polyethylene . although polyethylene would likely suffer some extent of size reduction , it should maintain a fibrous shape that would enable separation from the polypropylene portion through the use of screens or a fluidized bed . specific geometries of particles that lend feasibility to the separation process can be achieved by fracturing or grinding or delaminating the mixture at specific temperatures . since polypropylene has a higher glass transition temperature than polyethylene or linear low density polyethylene , polypropylene can be fractured to powder form while polyethylene or linear low density polyethylene remains fibrous , thus enabling reclamation of the polypropylene . alternatively , when applying the method of the invention to a mixture that includes polyethylene or linear low density polyethylene along with a polymer having an even lower glass transition temperature , the polyethylene and / or linear low density polyethylene can also be reduced to a powder form using liquid nitrogen and a grinder , thus enabling reclamation of the polyethylene or linear low density polyethylene . while in the foregoing specification this invention has been described in relation to certain preferred embodiments thereof , and many details have been set forth for purpose of illustration , it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the invention is susceptible to additional embodiments and that certain of the details described herein can be varied considerably without departing from the basic principles of the invention .	8
refer now to the drawings wherein depicted elements are , for the sake of clarity , not necessarily shown to scale and wherein like or similar elements are designated by the same reference numeral through the several views . referring to fig2 of the drawings , the reference numeral 200 generally designates a system in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention . the system 200 generally comprises a phased locked loop ( pll ) 202 , intermediate circuitry 204 , and drivers 300 - 1 to 300 - n . pll 202 can generally operate to provide one or more clock signals to intermediate circuit 204 ( which can be comprised of a variety of different types of circuit ). the intermediate circuitry 204 can then distribute signals to divers 300 - 1 to 300 - n for transmission across differential transmission lines 206 - 1 to 206 - n ( respectively ). turning to fig3 , an example of the drivers 300 ( which is generally the same as each of drivers 300 - 1 to 300 - n ) can be seen . driver 300 is generally divided into an input stage 302 and three output stage 304 , 306 , and 308 . this driver 300 takes advantage of the characteristics of bipolar and cmos transistors so that the supply voltage can be between about 1 . 8v and about 3 . 3v ( which is provided on supply rail vdd ). the input stage is generally comprised of differential input pairs of cmos transistors m 5 / m 6 and m 7 / m 8 , resistors r 1 and r 1 , and current sources 310 and 312 . the first input stage 304 is generally comprised of resistors r 4 and r 5 , diode - connected pnp transistors q 1 and q 2 , and current sources 314 and 316 . the second input stage 306 is generally comprised of pnp transistors q 3 and q 4 , resistors r 5 and r 6 and current mirror q 7 , q 8 , r 10 , and r 11 , and the third output stage 308 generally comprises resistors r 8 , r 9 , r 14 , and r 15 , transistors q 5 and q 6 , and current mirror q 9 , q 10 , r 12 , and r 13 . alternatively , transistors m 5 and m 6 can be replaced with bipolar transistors . in operation , differential input signals are received by input terminals inm and inp so that an output signal having a differential current can be provided by or carried by output terminals outp and outm . the state of the differential signal ( which does not need to be fully rail - to - rail for switching ), as applied to terminals inm and inp , influences the direction of the differential current carried by terminals outp and outm . the relative currents carried by the terminals outp and outm generally comprise the differential current with the direction of the differential current being related to the relative directions carried by terminals outp and outm . for a state of the differential input signal where a high signal is applied to input terminal inp and a low signal is applied to input terminal inm , a first current would travel out through terminal outp , and a second current would travel in through terminal outm . to accomplish this , the high and low signals are applied to the gates of nmos transistors m 5 and m 6 , respectively . as a result , high and low signals are respectively applied to the gates of transistors m 7 and m 8 ( which are coupled to the drains of transistors m 6 and m 5 , respectively ). current , then , flows through resistor r 4 and diode - connected pnp transistor q 1 , which is mirrored by pnp transistors q 5 and q 6 . because the collector of pnp transistor q 5 is coupled to terminal outp , the first current is carried out of the driver 300 by terminal outp . additionally , because the collector of pnp transistor q 6 is coupled to the diode - connected npn transistor q 10 , the current mirrored by pnp transistor q 6 is provided to diode - connected npn transistor q 10 and mirrored by npn transistor q 9 ( which is coupled to terminal outm at its collector ), allowing the second current to be carried into the driver 300 by terminal outm . alternatively , for a state of the differential input signal where a low signal is applied to input terminal inp and a high signal is applied to input terminal inm , the first current would travel in through terminal outp , and the second current would travel out through terminal outm . to accomplish this , the high and low signals are applied to the gates of nmos transistors m 6 and m 5 , respectively . as a result , high and low signals are respectively applied to the gate of transistors m 8 and m 7 . current , then , flows through resistor r 5 and diode - connected pnp transistor q 2 , which is mirrored by pnp transistors q 3 and q 4 . because the collector of pnp transistor q 4 is coupled to terminal outm , the second current is carried out of the driver 300 by terminal outm . additionally , because the collector of pnp transistor q 3 is coupled to the diode - connected npn transistor q 7 , the current mirrored by pnp transistor q 3 is provided to diode - connected npn transistor q 7 and mirrored by npn transistor q 8 ( which is coupled to terminal outp at its collector ), allowing the first current to be carried into the driver 300 by terminal outp . as shown , driver 300 also includes several other features that enhance its operation . for example , current sources 314 and 316 are coupled to the gates and collectors of diode - connected pnp transistors q 1 and q 2 , respectively . these current sources 316 and 314 ( which are coupled to supply rail vss that is typically at ground ) are provided to allow a standing current to remain in transistors q 1 and q 2 ( partially saturated ), which , in turn , causes a quiescent current to remain in transistors q 3 to q 10 . by providing current sources 314 and 316 , small swing differential signals may be applied to transistors m 7 and m 8 , and much more rapid switching can take place because of the partial saturation of transistors q 1 through q 10 . additionally , resistors r 14 and r 15 are coupled between terminals outp and outm so as to provide a common mode voltage to common mode terminal vcm . as a result of the configuration of the driver 300 , several advantages over conventional lvds drivers can be realized . for example , in systems ( such as system 200 ), there is better channel - to - channel isolation or reduced electromagnetic interference because of small - differential swings ( which are generally not rail - to - rail ) that generate minimal aggressor noise and because the fully - differential signaling is more immune to noise from adjacent channels . additionally , there is lower additive jitter and less phase noise at a 1 mhz offset by avoiding the use of short - channel cmos devices in a critical path . moreover , driver 300 maintains a generally constant amplitude at high frequencies ( i . e ., up to 100 mhz ). additionally , the supply voltage is scalable ( generally down to about 1 . 8v ), and the phase noise remains generally constant across the supply . having thus described the present invention by reference to certain of its preferred embodiments , it is noted that the embodiments disclosed are illustrative rather than limiting in nature and that a wide range of variations , modifications , changes , and substitutions are contemplated in the foregoing disclosure and , in some instances , some features of the present invention may be employed without a corresponding use of the other features . accordingly , it is appropriate that the appended claims be construed broadly and in a manner consistent with the scope of the invention .	7
fig1 shows a block diagram of an output preconditioning system according to the present invention . the output preconditioning system includes a level sense circuit 10 , a preconditioning circuit 13 , a control circuit 18 and a data output driver 16 . level sense circuit 10 is coupled to a circuit output 20 so that level sense circuit 10 can sense ( a ) the high voltage level at circuit output 20 if circuit output is above a second reference voltage or ( b ) the low voltage level if circuit output 20 is below a first reference voltage . preconditioning circuit 13 has a latch circuit 12 and a driver - and - clamp circuit 14 . latch circuit 12 latches the value from level sense circuit 10 . driver - and - clamp circuit 14 takes the value from latch circuit 12 and pulls up or pulls down circuit output 20 to an intermediate voltage level when circuit output 20 is either below a first reference voltage or above a second reference voltage , respectively . both latch circuit 12 and driver - and - clamp circuit 14 are controlled by control circuit 18 . driver - and - clamp circuit either acts as an active pull - up or pull - down clamp as appropriate . driver - and - clamp circuit 14 is disabled when the actual data arrives from data output driver 16 . control circuit 18 determines when latch circuit 12 should latch , when driver - and - clamp circuit 14 should be enabled or disabled and when data output driver 16 should be enabled or disabled . fig2 is an output preconditioning system according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention . the output preconditioning system shows the various components of the circuits in detail . the output preconditioning system includes a level sense circuit 70 , a preconditioning circuit 71 including a latch circuit 73 and a driver - and - clamp circuit 72 , control circuits 74 and 75 , and a data output driver circuit 76 . a load cs10 may be a heavy capacitive load or a light capacitive load . in the prior art , when cs10 is a light capacitive load , circuit output 98 can oscillate before the actual data arrives at circuit output 98 . however , the present invention prevents such oscillation of circuit output 98 , by incorporating latch circuit 73 . in fig2 level sense circuit 70 includes a first inverter i1 , a second inverter i2 and a third inverter i3 . inverter i1 has a low trip point and is used to enable the pull - up path of the preconditioning system . inverter i2 has a high trip point and is used to enable the pull - down path of the preconditioning system . when circuit output 98 is below the low trip point , the output of i1 is high and the output of i3 is low while the output of i2 is high . when circuit output 98 is above the high trip point , the output of i2 is low , while the output of i1 is low and the output of i3 is high . if circuit output 98 is between the high trip point of i2 and the low trip point i1 , the output of i2 is high , the output of i3 is high , and preconditioning circuit 71 is inactive so that circuit output 98 remains at its level . it will be appreciated that inverter i1 acts as a comparator in that it compares its input signal to its low trip point , where this trip point acts as a reference voltage ( in effect ); the input signal to inverter i1 is the circuit output 98 which is , in effect , compared to the reference voltage which is the trip point of inverter i1 . similarly , inverter i2 acts as a comparator in that it compares its input signal to its high trip point , where the high trip point acts as another reference voltage ; the input signal to inverter i2 is the circuit output 98 which is compared to another reference voltage which is the trip point of inverter i2 . it will be appreciated that a voltage level comparator circuit may replace the two inverters which have different trip points . when a pchg 62 signal goes low , analog switches s1 and s2 are off , and values of the output of i3 and the output of i2 are latched by a latch device l1 and a latch device l2 , respectively . during this time , an olat signal 63 is high , and an olatb signal 64 is low . since analog switches s1 and s2 are turned off , latch devices l1 and l2 are isolated from circuit output 98 . because latch devices l1 and l2 can be decoupled from circuit output 98 , latch circuit 73 can prevent circuit output 98 from oscillation . driver - and - clamp circuit 72 includes a first nand gate a3 , an inverter 93 , a second nand gate a4 , an inverter 94 , and a driver 95 . nand gate a3 has two inputs . one of the inputs is coupled to the output of l1 , and the other input is coupled to pchg signal 62 of control circuit 74 through an inverter i4 . inverter 93 includes a p - channel transistor p1 , an n - channel transistor c1 and an n - channel transistor n1 . each of the transistors has a drain , a source and a gate . the gates of p1 and n1 are coupled to the output of a3 , the gate of c1 is coupled to v cc . the source of p1 is coupled to v cc . the source of n1 is coupled to ground . p1 , c1 and n1 are connected in series . the drain of n1 and the source of c1 are the output of inverter 93 . nand gate a4 also has two inputs where the first input is coupled to the output of latch device l2 , and the second input is coupled to pchg signal 62 through inverter i4 . inverter 94 includes a p - channel transistor p2 and an n - channel transistor n2 where the gates of p2 and n2 are coupled to the output of nand gate a4 , and the drains of p2 and n2 are coupled to each other and become the output of inverter 94 . driver 95 includes an n - channel transistor n3 coupled to circuit output 98 , an n - channel transistor c2 coupled to circuit output 98 and an n - channel transistor n4 . the gate of n4 is coupled to the output of inverter 94 , the source of n4 is coupled to ground . transistors n3 , c2 and n4 are connected in series , and the drain of n3 is coupled to v cc while the gate of n3 is coupled to the output of inverter 93 , and the gate of c2 is coupled to the drain of c2 . components a3 , 93 and n3 are used to pull up circuit output 98 while components a4 , 94 , c2 and n4 are used to pull down circuit output 98 . first , the pull - up process is described . when circuit output 98 is below the trip point of i1 , i3 outputs a low signal , latch device l1 outputs a high signal . when pchg signal 62 outputs a low signal and the l1 output is high , nand gate a3 produces a low signal . while c1 is already on ( the gate of this n - channel mosfet is coupled to vcc ), the low signal of a3 turns on p1 , thereby turning on transistor n3 . the high output of inverter 93 is clamped to v cc subtracted by threshold voltage of c1 . circuit output 98 is clamped to an intermediate voltage level which is less than or equal to v cc subtracted by the threshold voltage of c1 and by the threshold voltage of n3 or v cc - 2 v tn . whether circuit output 98 reaches v cc - 2 v tn is determined by how long driver - and - clamp circuit 72 stays active and is determined by output load . pchg signal 62 enables driver - and - clamp circuit 72 . if pchg signal 62 stays low for a relatively long period of time , or output capacitive load is relatively small , then circuit output 98 will reach v cc - 2 v tn . when pchg signal 62 becomes high , nand gate a3 turns off transistor n3 , and nand gate a4 turns off transistor n4 , thereby disabling driver - and - clamp circuit 72 from circuit output 98 . when circuit output 98 is below the trip point of i1 , the output of i2 is high . when pchg signal 62 ( by being low ) turns off switch s2 , l2 latches a high signal from the output of i2 and outputs a low signal to a4 . when pchg signal 62 becomes low , because l2 outputs a low signal , a4 outputs a high signal , turning on transistor n2 and turning off transistor n4 . thus , the pull - down path is disconnected from circuit output 98 . second , the pull - down process is described . when circuit output 98 is above the trip point of i1 , i3 outputs a high signal . when pchg signal 62 disables analog switch s1 , l1 latches a high signal and outputs a low signal , and nand gate a3 of outputs a high signal . transistor n1 turns on because the output of a3 is high . the output of inverter 93 becomes low , and transistor n3 is off . thus , the pull - up path of the driver - and - clamp circuit is disabled . at the same time , when circuit output 98 is above the high trip point of i2 , i2 outputs a low signal . when pchg signal 62 is low , analog switch s2 disconnects the output of i2 from latch device l2 , latch device l2 latches the output of i2 , and the output of l2 is high . when pchg signal 62 becomes low , nand gate a4 outputs a low because the output of l2 is high . when the output of a4 is low , transistor p2 turns on , and the output of 94 turns on transistor n4 . circuit output 98 thereby is clamped to an intermediate voltage level which is equal to or greater than the threshold voltage of c2 above ground . thus , when circuit output 98 is below the trip point of i1 , the pull - up path comprising i1 , i3 , s1 , l1 , a3 , 93 and n3 pulls up circuit output 98 to an intermediate voltage level . when circuit output 98 is above the trip point of i2 , the pull - down path comprising i2 , s2 , l2 , a4 , 94 , c2 and n4 pulls down circuit output 98 to another intermediate voltage level . however if circuit output 98 is greater than the trip point of i1 and less than the trip point of i2 , preconditioning circuit 72 is disabled and circuit output 98 maintains its voltage level . it will be appreciated that in a typical embodiment where vcc and vss are the voltage rails , that : vcc & gt ;( high trip point of i 2 )& gt ;( the intermediate voltage levels )& gt ;( low trip point of i 1 )& gt ; vss . while preconditioning circuit 71 is active , olat 63 is high and olatb 64 is low so that the data cannot be sent to circuit output 98 . data driver circuit 76 includes an n - channel transistor n8 and another n - channel transistor n9 . transistor n8 has a drain , a gate and a source . the drain of n8 is coupled to v cc , the gate of n8 is coupled to i5 of control circuit 74 , and the source of n8 is coupled to circuit output 98 . the drain of n9 is coupled to circuit output 98 and to source of n8 , the gate of n9 is coupled to inverter i6 of control circuit 75 , and the source of n9 is coupled to ground . when preconditioning circuit 71 is active , olat 63 is high and olatb 64 is low so that data signals d 61 and d / 60 are disconnected from data output driver circuit 76 . it should be noted that d / or d is an inverted signal of d . to send data to circuit output 98 , olat 63 must be low , and olatb must be high . when olat 63 is low and olatb 64 is high , analog switch s4 turns on , and signal d / 60 can be transmitted to gate on n8 . when d / 60 is high , the gate of n8 is low , and thus , transistor n8 is off . when d / 60 is low , the output of i5 is high , turning on n8 and pulling up circuit output 98 to v cc - v tn where v tn is the threshold voltage of n8 . in addition , when olat 63 is low and olatb 64 is high , analog switch s6 is on . when d 61 is high , the output of i6 is low , turning off transistor n9 . when d 61 is low , the gate of n9 is high , turning on transistor n9 and pulling down circuit output 98 to ground . control circuits 74 and 75 control latch circuit 73 by turning on or turning off analog switches s1 and s2 and control driver - and - clamp circuit 72 by supplying either a high signal or a low signal to the second input of each of nand gates a3 and a4 . control signals olat 63 and olatb 64 control whether data values d 61 and d / 60 are to be sent to data driver circuit 76 . fig3 a shows a typical timing diagram of control signals pchg 62 , olat 63 and olatb 64 , data signal d 61 , and an output signal at circuit output 98 . during the time period of t1 , level sense circuit 70 senses the voltage level of circuit output 98 . circuit output 98 is initially at a logic 0 which is lower than the low trip point of i1 . in this example , the output of i3 is low , and the output of i2 is high . during the time period of t1 , pchg 62 is high , as shown as a region 101 , olat 63 is high ( a region 108 ), olatb 64 is low ( a region 113 ), and circuit output 98 is low ( a region 117 ). during t1 , analog switches s1 and s2 are turned on , and the output values of i3 and i2 are transmitted to latch devices l1 and l2 . during the period of t2 , pchg 62 goes low ( a region 102 ), the output values of i3 and i2 are latched by l1 and l2 , olat 63 stays high ( a region 109 ), olatb 64 stays low ( a region 114 ), circuit output 98 is pulled up to an intermediate level ( a region 118 ). during t2 , because pchg 62 is low as shown as region 102 , driver - and - clamp circuit 72 becomes active . in this case , because l1 outputs 1 and l2 outputs 0 , the pull - up path is active while the pull - down path is inactive . thus , driver - and - clamp circuit 72 pulls up circuit output 98 as shown in region 118 . during the period of t3a , pchg 62 becomes high , olat 63 becomes low , olatb 64 becomes high , sending data d / 60 and d 61 to data driver circuit 76 , thereby charging circuit output 98 according to the data . data d / 60 and d 61 are transmitted to data driver circuit 76 only when pcgh 62 is high , olat 63 is low and olatb 64 is high , as in period t3a . as a result , the values of d / 60 and d 61 during periods t1 , t2 , t3b and t4 do not affect circuit output 98 . during the period including t3b , t4 and t5 , the process of sensing the voltage of circuit output 98 , latching the output value of level sense circuit 70 , driving and clamping circuit output 98 repeats . during the time period of t4 and t5 , because circuit output 98 is high ( a region 119 ), the driver - and - clamp circuit pulls down circuit output 98 to an intermediate voltage as shown as a region 120 , and eventually transistor n9 of data driver circuit 76 pulls down circuit output 98 to a logic 0 ( a region 121 ). fig3 b presents a waveform at circuit output 98 . although , in fig3 a , the waveform of circuit output 98 shows a step between a logic 0 and logic 1 , in reality , when the time period t2 is very short , the waveform will look more like the one shown in fig3 b where the distinction between having a preconditioning circuit and not having a preconditioning circuit is not distinctive from the waveform . region 125 of fig3 b corresponds to regions 118 and 122 in fig3 a . fig4 a presents another embodiment of a level sense circuit . this level sense circuit includes a comparator 140 , a comparator 141 and an inverter 142 . the level sense circuit in fig4 a uses two reference voltages v ref1 and v ref2 . the positive inputs of 140 and 141 are coupled to a circuit output node , while the output of comparator 140 is coupled to analog switch s1 , and the output of inverter 142 is coupled to analog switch s2 of latch circuit 73 in fig2 . v ref1 is less than v ref2 so that when a circuit output is lower than v ref1 , comparator 140 outputs a low signal , and inverter 142 outputs a high signal . when the circuit output is greater than v ref2 , comparator 140 outputs a high signal , and the inverter 142 outputs a low signal . fig4 b shows an example of comparators 140 and 141 in fig4 a . fig5 presents a second embodiment of a driver - and - clamp circuit according to the present invention . driver - and - clamp circuit 72 &# 39 ; shown in fig5 is identical to driver - and - clamp circuit 72 of fig2 except that the gate of c1 &# 39 ; is connected to v ref3 instead of vcc so that when the circuit output is pulled up to an intermediate voltage level , that intermediate level voltage can be either less than or equal to v ref3 subtracted by the threshold voltage of c1 &# 39 ; and the threshold voltage of n3 &# 39 ; or v ref3 - 2v tn . in fig6 a third embodiment of a driver - and - clamp circuit is shown according to the present invention . in this example , the pull - down path circuitry comprising a4 &# 34 ;, p2 &# 34 ;, n2 &# 34 ;, c2 &# 34 ; and n4 &# 34 ; are the same as the pull - down path circuitry of driver - and - clamp circuit in fig2 . however , the pull - up path circuitry has an inverter including a p - channel transistor p1 &# 34 ; and an n - channel transistor n1 &# 34 ;, an n - channel transistor n5 &# 34 ; and an n - channel transistor n3 &# 34 ;. in this example , the gates of pi &# 34 ; and n1 &# 34 ; are connected to the output of a3 &# 34 ;. each of transistors n5 &# 34 ; and n3 &# 34 ; has a drain , a gate and a source . the drain of n5 &# 34 ; is coupled to vcc , the gate of n5 &# 34 ; is connected to the drains of p1 &# 34 ; and n1 &# 34 ;. the source of n5 &# 34 ; is connected to the drain of n3 &# 34 ; while the gate of n3 &# 34 ; is connected to v ref3 &# 34 ;. the source of n3 &# 34 ; is connected to the drain of c2 &# 34 ; and to a circuit output node . when the circuit output is pulled up to an intermediate level , the intermediate level can be less than or equal to v ref3 &# 34 ; subtracted by the threshold voltage of n3 &# 34 ; or v ref3 &# 34 ;- v tn . fig7 presents a fourth embodiment of a driver - and - clamp circuit according to the present invention . driver - and - clamp circuit 72 &# 39 ;&# 34 ; is identical to drive - and - clamp circuit 72 &# 34 ; of fig6 except that n5 &# 34 ; of fig6 is replaced by a p - channel transistor p3 &# 39 ;&# 34 ; and that nand gate a3 &# 34 ; fig6 is replaced by an and gate a3 . while the present invention has been particularly described with reference to fig1 through 7 , it should be understood that the figures are for illustration only and should not be taken as limiting the scope of the invention . many changes and modifications may be made to the invention , by one having ordinary skill in the art , without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as disclosed herein .	7
an expansible watch band according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention is shown in fig1 a and 1b , generally designated as 10 . at each end of the band 10 is provided with a crimped portion 12 adapted to be in engagement with a watch casing ( not shown ), in the conventional manner . the band 10 is made up of four band parts , p , q 1 , q 2 and r , in which the band parts q 1 and q 2 are the same . each of the band parts p , q 1 , q 2 and r is made up of a number of inter - engaging links . the band part p is made up of a number of links 14 a inter - engaged with one another to allow the band part p to expand and contract in the conventional manner . in particular , because of the construction of the links 14 a , the band part p is biased towards the contracted configuration , which is thus also the stable configuration . a cross sectional view of the link 14 a is shown in fig2 a . as to the band parts q 1 and q 2 , each is made up of a link 14 b and a number of links 14 a . in this example , the lengths of the band parts q 1 and q 2 are the same . it is of course possible for the lengths of the band parts q 1 and q 2 to be different , or to provide several of such band parts q 1 and q 2 , to increase the freedom in adjusting the length of the band 10 . again , the band parts q 1 and q 2 are movable between an expanded configuration and a stable contracted configuration . turning to the band part r , such is made up of a link 14 b engaged with a number of links 14 a , again allowing the band part r to expand and contract , in the conventional manner . a cross section view of the link 14 b is shown in fig2 b , and a perspective view thereof is shown in fig2 c . it can be seen that the link 14 b has a slightly curved upper surface 16 and two opposite end walls 18 . on each end wall 18 is formed two holes 20 , of which only part of one is shown in fig2 c . the link 14 b has a cavity 22 sized and configured to receive an engagement pin 24 , a side view of which being shown in fig2 d . the engagement pin 24 has a central thicker portion 24 a and two narrower end portions 24 b . each of the end portions 24 b is movable axially relative to the central portion 24 a between a retracted position and an extended position . the end portions 24 b are biased towards the respective extended position by a spring ( not shown ) in the central portion 24 a . the extent to which the end portions 24 b may be moved towards the central portion 24 a is governed by a respective narrow collar 24 c extending radially from the respective end portion 24 b . as shown in fig2 b , each of the end portions 24 b of the engagement pin 24 is received respectively within a hole 20 on the end wall 18 of the link 14 b . [ 0018 ] fig2 e shows in more detail the manner in which the link 14 a is engaged with the link 14 b . at the link 14 a adjacent to the link 14 b , a crimped portion 26 is formed to provide a channel 28 for releasably receiving the engagement pin 24 . the engagement pin 24 may thus be received within the link 14 b for releasable engagement therewith . [ 0019 ] fig3 a to 3 c show the manner in which the length of the band 10 may be adjusted . in these figures , in order to enhance clarity , the links 14 b are shown as hatched . it should however be appreciated that the outward appearance of the links 14 b and 14 a may be essentially identical to each other , to provide a homogeneous look . as shown in fig3 a , a user may use an implement with a sharp end to act on one of the end portions 24 b of the engagement pin 24 , against the biasing force of the spring in the central portion 24 a of the engagement pin 24 , and to push the engagement pin 24 slightly sideward . the engagement pin 24 , thus out of engagement with one of the holes 20 of the link 14 b , will allow the band part r to be detached from the rest of the band 10 , as shown in fig3 b . if necessary , the engagement pin 24 may also be detached from the crimped portion 26 . in the same way , the engagement between the band parts q 1 and q 2 may be released , thus detaching the band part q 1 from the band parts q 2 and p , as shown in fig3 c . the band parts q 2 and p and the band part r may be releasably engaged with each other by having the engagement pin 24 received within the crimped portion 26 of the band part q 2 . one end portion 24 b of the engagement pin 24 is then received within a hole 20 of the link 14 b of the band part r another end portion 24 b of the engagement pin 24 is then pressed axially towards the central portion 24 a to allow the engagement pin 24 to be wholly received within the cavity of the link 14 b . when the engagement pin 24 is aligned with both the appropriate holes 20 , the other end portion 24 b will move to its extended position under the biasing force of the spring in the engagement pin 24 to engage the other hole 20 , and thereby to engage the band part q 2 , and thus the band part p with which it is engaged , with the band part r . if desired , e . g . to further reduce the length of the resultant band , the band part q 2 may similarly be detached from the band part p , and the band parts p and r be releasably engaged with each other . it can be seen that , by way of the arrangement in the present invention , the length of the band 10 may be easily adjusted , even by the end user , by using a very simple hand implement . it should be understood that the above only illustrates and describes an example whereby the present invention may be carried out , and that modifications and / or alterations may be made thereto without departing from the spirit of the invention . it should also be understood that various features of the invention which are , for brevity , described here in the context of a single embodiment , may be provided or separately or in any suitable sub - combination .	0
a novel optimized mine ventilation system will be described hereinafter . although the invention is described in terms of specific illustrative embodiment ( s ), it is to be understood that the embodiment ( s ) described herein are by way of example only and that the scope of the invention is not intended to be limited thereby . an embodiment of the optimized mine ventilation system according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings . the following describes a summary of the optimized mine ventilation system functionality and links to external systems with references to fig3 . a third party machinery and personnel tracking system provides real - time data on the machinery location and operating status and on personnel location [ fig3 , item ( 55 )]. from the dynamic tracking status of each machinery a ventilation demand is calculated for each defined mine work zones as per the following [ fig3 , items ( 56 , 57 )]: cfm or m3 / s per diesel hp when diesel is “ on ”. cfm or m3 / s per diesel hp when diesel is “ off ”. this permits operations to have air available for machinery stopped at a location with personnel around . cfm or m3 / s per diesel hp when the diesel is “ off ” and its hydraulic - electric is “ on ”. those three parameters are configurable per machinery by the surface or underground operators . the system calculates the aggregate demand for each zone parent - child relationship from the zone definition database [ fig3 , item ( 57 )]. for example , the total demand for a level is equal to the total demand for all related ore extraction zones and service areas plus the total demand related to machinery and personnel directly tracked on the level . the system sets to a minimum the personnel ventilation demand requirement per zone and overrules the machinery calculation if the personnel demand is higher . if the calculated personnel and machinery total demand while on vod control mode , the vod controller will set the zone flow to a minimum air flow as defined by the ventilation engineer . the mine ventilation layout , fans and air flow regulators are created in the form of an electronic process and instrumentation diagram using the simsmarttm engineering suite modeling and simulation tool . parametric information for all layout and control elements present on the diagram is configured in the diagram database [ fig3 , item ( 52 )]. the diagram is compiled into a run - time engine execution environment [ fig3 , item ( 51 )]. the run - time engine environment executes in real - time all physics , characteristic , mathematics and logic based equations . the simsmart ™ engineering suite run - time engine is responsible for the following tasks : as described above , to calculate the dynamic ventilation air flow demand and summarized per defined mine area such as an ore extraction zone , a level , a service area and other workplaces . to model the ventilation network and establish an air flow mass balance . the air density , pressure and temperature are preferably compensated for depth . the real - time model execute real - time calculations for pressure , fluid velocity , flow , temperature , several other fluid properties , fan speed and regulator position [ fig3 , items ( 53 )]. to execute controls in manual , semi - automatic and vod mode to optimize the air distribution and fan energy consumption based on the calculated dynamic air flow demand [ fig3 , item ( 54 )]. to provide the required logic for fans and air flow regulators setpoint scheduling [ fig3 , items ( 63 )]. to declare and handle alarm and special event conditions . the following physics calculation assumptions describe the basic concepts and equations used for the simulation model components and the real - time resolution of the differential equations matrix [ fig3 , item ( 51 )]: the simulation model uses compressible air flow with a polytropic process . this is a process which occurs with an interchange of both heat and work between the system and its surroundings . the nonadiabatic expansion or compression of a fluid is an example of a polytropic process . the interrelationship between the pressure ( p ) and volume ( v ) and pressure and temperature ( t ) for a gas undergoing a polytropic process are given by eqs . ( 1 ) and ( 2 ), where a and b are the polytropic constants for the process of interest . these constants , determined from mine surveys . once these constants are known , eqs . ( 1 ) and ( 2 ) can be used with the initial - state conditions ( p1 and t1 or v1 ) and one final - state condition ( for example , t2 , obtained from physical measurement ) to determine the pressure or specific volume of the final state . because density varies significantly , the air weight effect is not negligible . in this case there is an auto compression effect . pressure variation not only causes density variation but also causes temperature variation accordingly based on the polytropic index . the calculations account for natural ventilation pressure ( nvp ). nvp is the pressure created in a ventilation network due to the density difference between air at the top and bottom of the downcast and upcast shafts . in deep hot mines there is usually a large difference between surface and underground temperatures — there is a difference in density between air on surface and underground and this causes air to move from high to low density . the nvp will either assist or retard fans in the system . when nvp assists a fan , it tends to move air in the same direction as the fan . the nvp can be the to lower the system resistance curve against which the fan operates . this means the fan will handle more air at lower pressure . the actual tunnel air resistance is calculated using the entered standardized atkinson resistance or the standardized atkinson friction factor . the air pressure , air velocity , flow resistance and air flow rate are calculated at all points in the system . the pressure and density calculation accounts for air weight ( air potential pressure ) and the bernoulli equation accounts for potential energy . calculation of variable speed fan flow , pressure , power and efficiency curves . ducting junctions , dovetails or transitions can calculate process pressure and flow resistance for each port . transitions , junctions and fan calculation accounts for positive and negative flow resistance . all components calculate air properties : temperature , pressure , viscosity , humidity , dew point temperature , particles , and contaminant concentrations . the ventilation demand calculation commands controllers to modulate fans and air flow regulators [ fig3 , item ( 54 )]. there are four types of regulatory controls for fans and air flow regulators in the optimized mine ventilation system : from the air mass flow balance calculations , the auxiliary fans speed is modulated so the output flow at the exit of the ducting section meets the calculated target demand flow for each work zone . from the air mass flow balance calculations , the air flow regulator opening position is modulated so the regulator output flow meets the calculated target demand flow for each work zone . if an air flow regulator is in manual mode or if the regulator is a fixed bulkhead opening , an intake compensation cascade controller will modulate the surface fans in order to meet the calculated target demand flow . the surface fan controller is a cascade controller [ fig3 , items ( 58 , 59 )] that optimizes the surface fan speeds in order to minimize energy consumption while assuring all levels to obtain their calculated target demand flow and maintaining a set maximum regulator opening . this maximum regulator opening is the cascade controller setpoint . it is assumed that all surface fans are driven by a variable frequency drive . as an example , if the surface fans cascade controller setpoint is set at 80 % opening maximum for any air flow regulator , the surface fans will be modulated in order to assure that any level air flow regulator will be at and not exceed this 80 % maximum opening . the surface fans cascade controller calculates a common modulated fan speed for all fans . this speed is then split by a ratio to intake fans and to another ratio to exhausts fans . the booster fan controller is a cascade controller over the air flow regulator controller . it will modulate the booster fan speed based on set maximum air flow regulator opening . for example if the cascade controller setpoint is set at 70 %, this means that when the booster fan will be modulated upward when the regulator position exceeds 70 %. the optimized mine ventilation system has the following control modes [ fig3 , item ( 54 )]. man : a fixed fan speed or regulator position setpoint is entered by the surface operator . the fan speed and / or regulator position not modulated automatically . the simulation model does not modulate the fan speed or the airflow regulator position to meet a cfm value . the machinery tracking has no effect on the control . the local underground controller requires to be in “ surface ” mode . a . vod : the cfm setpoint is calculated from the dynamic machinery tracking results . the fan speed and / or regulator position is automatically modulated to meet the cfm demand setpoint as per the calculated actual flow by the simulation model . the modulated fan speed or airflow regulator position setpoint is sent to the underground physical device . the controller also needs to be in aut mode for the vod mode to be active . the controller also requires to be in “ surface ” mode . a minimum flow setting is available for the vod mode . therefore , a dynamic tracking ventilation demand setpoint may never be lower than a defined pre - set . the minimum flow presets are defined in a purpose built hmi page . b . cfm : the cfm setpoint is a fixed value and is entered by the surface operator for fans or airflow regulator . the fan speed and / or regulator position is automatically modulated to meet the fixed value cfm setpoint as per the calculated actual flow by the simulation model . the simulation model will modulate the fan speed or the airflow regulator position to meet the desired cfm value . the equipment tracking has no effect on the control . the controller also needs to be in aut mode for the cfm mode to be active . the controller requires to be in “ surface ” mode . control is normally achieved from the surface , but an underground operator via a tablet pc may acquire a control mode called “ underground ”. when he acquires control he can operate the selected controller in manual mode . the surface operator receives an alarm when control is acquired by the underground operator . the surface operator is requested to acknowledge the alarm . when the alarm is acknowledged , the alarm condition disappears . when the underground operator releases control back to the surface operator , an alarm is displayed to the surface operator . the surface operator is requested to acknowledge the alarm . when the alarm is acknowledged , the alarm condition disappears . when the control is released by the underground operator , the selected controller goes back to the previous mode in use before he acquired control . sur : a fan speed and / or regulator position is set by the surface operator in man , aut ( vod / cfm ) modes ( see above ). und : when a controller is set to und , a fan speed and / or regulator position is manually set by an underground operator via a wifi tablet pc hmi control page . 34 the vod control mode setpoints are filtered [ fig3 , item ( 65 )] for stability , minimum time between up and down changes , ramp - up , ramp - down and deadband before they are sent to the basic control system and physical fans and air flow regulators via opc connection [ fig3 , items ( 66 , 67 )]. 35 since not all mine ventilation operating procedures call for work zone flow setpoints being calculated on machinery location , operating status and personnel location , controller modes and setpoints are also subject to scheduled or ad - hoc events [ fig3 , item ( 63 )]. therefore , presets for each controller modes and setpoints can be configured for an array of user definable events [ fig3 , item ( 64 )]. optionally , an autoswitch to tracking based ventilation ( vod mode ) can be enabled when a minimum ventilation demand has been detected by the dynamic tracking . likewise , another autoswitch to tracking based ventilation can be enabled when a defined period of time has elapsed . scheduling presets can also cover specific events such as pre - blast and post - blast events . the optimized mine ventilation system will warn the operator if pre - blast event is set with remaining personnel and machinery activity in the mine . the optimized mine ventilation system monitors critical key air flow measurements [ fig3 , item ( 60 )] and will alarm when a correlation deviation to the measurements calculated by the model [ fig3 , item ( 61 )]. the optimized mine ventilation system will call for a flow survey to verify if the measurement instrument or the calculated flow are in error . if it is concluded that the calculated flow must be calibrated , the ventilation engineer will set the related flow controller in calibration mode . then , it will automatically adjust the related system portion calculated k factor to match the survey data . while illustrative and presently preferred embodiment ( s ) of the invention have been described in detail hereinabove , it is to be understood that the inventive concepts may be otherwise variously embodied and employed and that the appended claims are intended to be construed to include such variations except insofar as limited by the prior art . indeed , the system of the invention can be used in any confined environment where there is a need for ventilation as a function of the presence of humans , animals and / or equipment , for example : tunnels . the foregoing description is provided to illustrate and explain the present invention . however , the description hereinabove should not be considered to limit the scope of the invention set forth in the claims appended here to .	4
fig1 - 9 illustrate a portion of a steering linkage , indicated generally at 12 , for a vehicle . the steering linkage 12 includes a drag link assembly 14 , which is comprised of an outer drag link socket assembly 16 , a drag link adjuster 18 , and a main drag link socket assembly 20 . the drag link assembly 14 is also sometimes called a tie rod assembly , depending upon the particular type of steering linkage , so when the term “ drag link ” is used herein , this also includes a tie rod ). the vehicle steering linkage 12 also includes a steering damper 22 that connects at one end to the drag link assembly 14 and at another end to an axle housing , not shown . the outer drag link socket assembly 16 includes an outer rod portion 24 , with adjustment threads 26 at an inner end and a first ball joint 28 at an outer end . the first ball joint 28 may connect to a steering knuckle , not shown . the first ball joint 28 and the steering knuckle will not be described in detail herein since they are both preferably conventional . the adjustment threads 26 engage with the drag link adjuster 18 . the drag link adjuster 18 includes an adjuster sleeve 30 , an outer adjuster bracket 32 , and an inner adjuster bracket 34 . the adjuster sleeve 30 has a first set of internal threads , not shown , that engage with the adjustment threads 26 on the outer drag link socket assembly 16 , and a second set of internal threads , not shown , that engage with adjustment threads 36 on the main drag link socket assembly 20 . the internal threads engage with their corresponding threads 26 , 36 so that when the adjuster sleeve 30 is rotated in one direction , the length of the drag link assembly 14 will decrease , and when rotated in the opposite direction , the length of the drag link assembly 14 will increase . the outer adjuster bracket 32 mounts near the outer end of the adjuster sleeve 30 and includes a first bolt and nut assembly 38 , while the inner adjuster bracket 34 mounts over the inner end of the adjuster sleeve 30 and includes a second bolt and nut assembly 40 . when the bolt and nut assemblies 38 , 40 are tightened on their respective brackets 32 , 34 , they secure the threads of the adjuster sleeve 30 relative to the adjustment threads 26 , 36 . the main drag link socket assembly 20 includes a main rod portion 42 , with the adjustment threads 36 at an inner end and a second ball joint 44 mounted in a pocket 46 at an outer end . preferably , the main rod portion 42 is a solid rod . the second ball joint 44 may connect to a steering knuckle , not shown . the second ball joint 44 and steering knuckle will not be described in detail herein since they are both preferably conventional . one will note that the main rod portion 42 of the main drag link socket assembly 20 includes a dogleg portion 48 and also a pad 50 with a hole therethrough for mating with another portion of the vehicle steering linkage 12 . these features , in addition to the orientation of the first ball joint 28 and second ball joint 44 relative to their respective steering knuckles , require the main drag link socket assembly 20 to be oriented in the vehicle in only one particular rotational orientation . consequently , the main drag link socket assembly 20 will have a particular orientation relative to the steering damper 22 . a clamp 52 , then , will need to have a particular orientation relative to the main rod portion 42 in order for it to line up with the steering damper 22 and secure the two assemblies together . the clamp 52 ( best seen in fig7 - 9 ) for securing the steering damper 22 to the drag link assembly 14 is preferably formed from stamped sheet metal in order to reduce the cost of fabrication . the clamp 52 includes a main body 54 from which a first leg 56 and an opposed second leg 58 extend . the main body 54 is formed into a cylindrical shape in order to define a rod receiving bore 60 , through which the main rod portion 42 of the main drag link socket assembly 20 is received . the first leg 56 extends outward from the main body 54 and includes a first mounting bolt hole 62 , and the second leg 58 also extends outward from the main body 54 and includes a second mounting bolt hole 68 that is axially aligned with the first mounting bolt hole 62 . a pair of guide flanges 64 preferably extend from each side of the first leg 56 and taper down in height as they extend from adjacent to the main rod portion 42 out toward the end of the first leg 56 . a second pair of guide flanges 66 preferably extend from each side of the second leg 58 and taper down in height as they extend from adjacent to the main rod portion 42 out toward the end of the second leg 58 . the guide flanges 64 , 66 , then , will not only provide support for the first and second legs 56 , 58 , respectively , but , during the assembly process , will also act as guides that direct the clamp 52 onto the main rod portion 42 while causing the legs 56 , 58 to flex the main body 54 outward around the main rod portion 42 . as will be discussed in more detail below , the clamp 52 is fixed at an axial location and a rotational orientation relative to the main rod portion 42 in two ways . a spot weld 70 is applied between the clamp 52 and main rod portion 42 , and a clamping force is applied by the main body 54 to the main rod portion 42 . this assures that the clamp 52 is and will remain located and oriented properly to mate with the steering damper 22 . the steering damper 22 includes a first telescoping part 72 mounted to a second telescoping part 74 . the first telescoping part 72 is coupled to a drag link attachment joint 76 , at a first end of the steering damper 22 , while the second telescoping part 74 is coupled to an axle attachment joint 78 , at a second end of the steering damper 22 . the axle attachment joint 78 mounts to a bracket , not shown , extending from the axle housing , not shown . the steering damper 22 , mounting bracket , and axle housing are preferably conventional and so will not be discussed in detail herein . the drag link attachment joint 76 is employed to mount the steering damper 22 to the drag link assembly 14 . a mounting bolt 80 engages with the drag link attachment joint 76 , at a first end , and engages with the clamp 52 , at a second end . the mounting bolt 80 includes a head 82 for retaining the mounting bolt 80 in the drag link attachment joint 76 . a shank 84 extends from the head 82 and includes a spacer portion 86 and a threaded portion 88 . the spacer portion 86 of the shank 84 has a diameter that is larger than the second mounting bolt hole 68 and a length that will space the steering damper 22 the desired distance from the drag link assembly 14 . the threaded portion 88 of the shank 84 has a diameter that is smaller than the diameter of the first and second mounting bolt holes 62 , 68 , and a length that is long enough to extend through both legs 56 , 58 of the clamp 52 . a nut 90 engages the threaded portion 88 outside of the first leg 56 , securing the mounting bolt 80 to the clamp 52 . the assembly and adjustment of the drag link assembly 14 , and the attachment of the steering damper 22 thereto , will now be described . for the main drag link socket assembly 20 , the second ball joint 44 is mounted to the pocket 46 of the main rod portion 42 . the clamp 52 — which can be mounted either before or after the second ball joint 44 — is mounted on main rod portion 42 and positively located both axially and rotationally . for example , it may be oriented at an angle a ( seen in fig6 )— with angle a being about thirty one degrees relative to the main rod portion 42 — and located at an axial distance b ( as seen in fig4 )— with distance b being about six hundred forty six millimeters from the center of the pocket 46 . of course , the actual axial distance b and orientation angle a needed will vary depending upon the particular vehicle and steering and suspension system . with the clamp 52 positively located , the small weld 70 , such as spot weld or tack weld , is then applied between the clamp 52 and the main rod portion 42 . although this spot weld 70 is generally not sufficient to hold the clamp 52 in place relative to the main rod portion 42 during vehicle operation , it is sufficient to hold it during shipping and while the drag link assembly 14 is being installed and adjusted on a vehicle . by applying only the small weld 70 , the cost and time spent on this operation is minimized , yet , after installation and adjustment , the clamp 52 is in the correct location and orientation to attach the steering damper 22 . for the outer drag link socket assembly 16 , the first ball joint 28 is mounted on the outer rod portion 24 . the inner and outer adjuster brackets 32 , 34 are mounted on the adjuster sleeve 30 , then the adjustment threads 26 , 36 are engaged with the adjuster sleeve 30 — thus forming the drag link assembly 14 . the drag link assembly 14 and steering damper 22 are mounted in the particular vehicle . the steering damper 22 is mounted in the vehicle by connecting the axle attachment joint 78 to the bracket extending from the axle housing . the drag link assembly 14 is mounted in the vehicle by mounting the first and second ball joints 28 , 44 to their respective steering knuckles and coupling it to another portion ( not shown ) of the steering linkage 12 . the drag link assembly 14 can now be adjusted . to adjust the distance between the ball joints 28 , 44 , the adjuster sleeve 30 of the drag link adjuster 18 is rotated , one way to lengthen and the other way to shorten the distance . when desired length is obtained , the bolt and nut assemblies 38 , 40 on the inner and outer adjuster brackets 32 , 34 are tightened to prevent the adjuster sleeve 30 from rotating . during this adjustment , the main drag link socket assembly 20 can be held in its proper rotational orientation since it does not need to rotate to adjust the length of the drag link assembly 14 . this allows the clamp 52 to also remain in its proper orientation without having to be rotated relative to the main rod portion 42 , thus allowing the spot weld 70 to remain intact . the mounting bolt 80 is inserted into the drag link attachment joint 76 on the steering damper 22 and through the mounting bolt holes 62 , 68 on the clamp 52 . the nut 90 is threaded onto the mounting bolt 80 . as torque is applied to the nut 90 , the first and second legs 56 , 58 of the clamp 52 are trapped between the spacer portion 86 of the bolt shank 84 and the nut 90 , causing the legs 56 , 58 to be drawn together . as the legs 56 , 58 are drawn together , the main body 54 of the clamp 52 will squeeze tightly around the main rod portion 42 , applying a clamping load to the rod 42 . this clamping action — in addition to the small spot weld 70 — will assure that the clamp 52 permanently maintains its proper axial location and rotational orientation on the main rod portion 42 during vehicle operation . while certain embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail , those familiar with the art to which this invention relates will recognize various alternative designs and embodiments for practicing the invention as defined by the following claims .	1
the first device according to the invention shown on fig1 comprises a supply vessel 22 in which the mixture 1 to be separated , which contains at least a first particle sort 2 and a second particle sort 3 , is routed to the first impact area 13 , 14 , in which particles 2 , 3 of mixture 1 are given an electrical charge varying by particle sort before the particles 2 , 3 carrying different electric charges are supplied to the second treatment area 31 , 32 , 35 , where they accumulate at different locations 33 , 34 in a separation vessel 35 , sorted according to type of particle based on their electric charge . through the force of gravity , the mixture 1 goes out of the feed vessel 22 , which tapers toward the bottom , into a conveyor device 18 , 19 consisting of a conveyor screw 18 and into a conveyor channel 19 . the conveyor screw 18 , which is driven by a drive motor 23 , conveys the mixture 1 through a product inlet 15 into a housing 14 , where a rotor element 13 is rotatably mounted . there is a gap area 21 between the rotor element 13 , which is driven by a drive motor 24 , and the housing 14 , such that the mixture 1 , which is supplied through the product inlet 15 and strikes the rotor element 13 , is accelerated both radially and tangentially through this gap area due to friction at the surface of the rotor element . the mixture 1 accelerated in this way passes through the gap area 21 and obliquely strikes the surface 11 of the inside wall of the housing , which has a concave curvature . due to its own inertia ( centrifugal force ) and due to constantly resupplied mixture , the mixture 1 is pressed against the surface 11 having a concave curvature and is conveyed along this surface until it comes out of the housing 14 through the product outlet 16 and enters a separation vessel 35 . the disk - shaped rotor element 13 has elevations 20 , which are situated on its disk surface facing the product inlet 15 . in addition to the above - mentioned friction on the surface of the rotor element 13 (“ baffle disk ”), these elevations 20 also contribute toward the acceleration of the mixture 1 and the ever - present air through the gap area 21 , and on the other hand , they also exert an impact effect ( baffle effect ) on the particles 2 , 3 of the mixture , so that any agglomerates of multiple particles which might be present are broken up . this impact separation ( baffle separation ) of agglomerates before or during the buildup of electric charge on the particles due to friction on the solid body surfaces is important , because such agglomerates may of course also consist of particles of different types , which would then reach the collecting site 33 or at the collecting site 34 , depending on their total charge . then , however , in any case one would have “ foreign particles ” at the respective collecting sites 33 and 34 . depending on their geometric shapes , these elevations 20 may have primarily an accelerating and / or pumping effect on the mixture and / or the air , or they may have primarily a dispersing effect on the particles of the mixture . a blocky , angular shape of these elevations 20 promotes a dispersing effect , while a paddle shape increases the acceleration or pumping effect . elevations of different shapes may also be provided on the rotor element 13 to achieve a controlled effect . to prevent the mixture 1 , which is supplied through the product inlet 15 , from traveling even a very short distance through the gap area 21 between the product inlet 15 and the product outlet 16 and thereby escaping the necessarily intense action in the first treatment area 13 , 14 , the product inlet 15 is situated eccentrically with respect to the rotor element 13 . in addition ( and not for reasons of better illustration as in fig1 ), the product inlet 15 is situated directly behind the product outlet 16 in the direction of rotation of the rotor element 13 peripherally , so that the mixture travels at least approximately 360 ° on a spiral pathway in the gap area 21 between the product inlet 15 and the product outlet 16 . this prevents “ short - circuiting ” of the pathway of the mixture between the product inlet and the product outlet . during its path through the gap area 21 , the particles 2 , 3 of the mixture 1 come in intense contact with the inside surfaces 11 , 12 of the housing 14 and with the surface of the rotor element 13 , in particular its elevations 20 and the concave curvature of the inside surface 11 of housing 14 . this leads to a specific electric charge buildup on the particles of the different types of particles 2 , 3 . because of their high velocity , the dispersed particles coming out through the product outlet 6 go approximately horizontally into the separation vessel 35 , whereby the cylindrical neck area 35 a of the separation vessel serves as a calming zone for the particles carrying different electric charges as they come out of the housing 14 . they then settle out in the interior of the separation vessel under the influence of gravity . in the interior of the separation vessel 35 , there is a first electrode 31 and a second electrode 32 opposite it . the first electrode 31 is grounded by a line 38 , which contains a voltage source 37 , while the second electrode 32 is grounded directly via a line 39 . the differently charged particles settling out in the electric field between the two electrodes 31 and 32 travel downward on different paths , depending on their electric charge . a partition 36 , which projects from the bottom area 35 b of the collecting vessel 35 into the electric field between the electrodes 31 , 32 subdivides the lower interior space of the separation vessel 35 into a first collecting area 33 and a second collecting area 34 in which the particles of the first type and / or the particles of the second type are collected . in an advantageous modification of this first exemplary embodiment from fig1 , an air classification is also performed in the first treatment area 13 , 14 . to this end , air or another gas mixture is pumped through an air inlet ( not shown ) into the first treatment area 13 , 14 and is guided within the first treatment area 13 , 14 so that the fines (“ flour ” from endosperm residues , optionally still adhering to the aleurone particles ) are separated from the coarse fraction ( pure aleurone particles and pure husk particles ), the fines being removed with the air stream through an air outlet ( not shown ) and only the coarse fraction passing through the product outlet 16 into the second treatment area 31 , 32 , 35 . the second device according to this invention as shown in fig2 differs from that shown in fig1 in its first treatment area . otherwise all the elements are identical and carry the same reference notation as those in fig1 . instead of the housing 14 with the rotor element 13 which is rotatably mounted on it and can be driven by the drive motor 24 , the device in fig2 has a curved channel with a first end 27 a and a second end 27 b . the mixture 1 coming from a feed vessel 22 , in particular aleurone particles and husk particles of the bran , is supplied through a product inlet 15 , and a moving fluid , in particular air , is supplied through a fluid inlet 29 to a fluidization area 17 at the end of which there is a dispersion angle 26 , which is connected to the first end 27 a of the curved channel 27 and through which the fluidization area 17 opens into the curved channel 27 . the second end 27 b of the curved channel 27 opens into a product separator 28 with a fluid outlet 30 and a product outlet 16 , which opens into the separation vessel 35 . the conveyor device 18 , 19 transports the mixture 1 out of the feed vessel 22 , through the product inlet 15 and into the fluidization area 17 . a sufficient amount of fluid at a sufficient velocity is used to achieve airborne conveyance without any accumulation of particles in the interior of the curved channel 27 . due to the abrupt deflection when the particles impact on the dispersing angle 26 , the above - mentioned dispersion / de - agglomeration of the particles of the mixture is accomplished . during their subsequent movement in the fluid stream and due to the friction between the particles moving along the inside surface of the curved channel 27 , there is a particle type - specific buildup of electric charge on the particle types 2 , 3 of mixture 1 . the fluid is separated through the fluid outlet 30 in the downstream product separator 28 , and the mixture of the differently charged particles according to type of particle then enters the separation vessel with its electric field . in principle , two cases of electric charging of the particles can be differentiated : the particles of the first type of particle are negatively ( positively ) charged and the particles of the second type of particle are negatively ( positively ) charged , but to a different extent . these particles thus differ only in the absolute value of their charge , but not in the polarity of the charge . the particles of the first type of particle are negatively ( positively ) charged and the particles of the second type of particle are positively ( negatively ) charged . the particles thus differ in polarity and possibly also in the absolute value of their charge . in the first case , the electrically charged particles of the first type and those of the second type repel one another , and there is practically no re - agglomeration of different particles . separation takes place in the electric field due to different amounts of deflection in the same direction . in the second case , the electrically charged particles of the first type and those of the second type attract one another and re - agglomeration of different particles is possible . separation takes place in the electric field due to different amounts of deflection in opposite directions . to prevent re - agglomeration of particles in any case before they are separated into the different types of particles in the electric field , the “ particle densities ” must be kept low and the “ particle dwell times ” must be kept short during the buildup of electric charge in the first treatment area accordingly . in the first exemplary embodiment in fig1 , this is accomplished because of the selected geometry due to the cross section of the gap area , which becomes wider in the radial direction , and due to a sufficiently high rotational speed of the rotor element 13 . in the second exemplary embodiment in fig2 , this is accomplished by adjusting a sufficiently low product throughput / fluid throughput ratio in the fluidization area 17 and a sufficiently high fluid velocity . in all the exemplary embodiments of the device according to this invention , the type of particle and the type of solid material on which the particles develop a triboelectric charge play a significant role whether the first case or the second case is obtained . thus , for example , very good charge buildup and separation results would be achieved for an aleurone particle / husk particle mixture if the solid surfaces 11 and 12 , which play a crucial role in the charge buildup , are made of stainless steel . while the foregoing description and drawings represent the present invention , it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes may be made therein without departing from the true spirit and scope of the present invention . 31 , 32 , 35 second treatment area ( first or second exemplary embodiment )	1
referring to fig1 - 2 , reference numeral 10 generally designates a instrument carrying case , having a handle 7 , variously designed to receive a plurality of musical instruments in an internal compartment 12 with an inside surface 14 adapted to receive a musical instrument ( not shown ). case 14 is generally kept closed with a plurality of fasteners 8 . fig1 depicts a guitar case , but a case designed for any instrument could also be adapted for the humidity control system of the present invention . reference numerals 16 and 18 generally designate two compartments adapted to receive a humidifier 20 and a desiccant filled pouch 22 . it should be noted that alternative embodiments of the invention envision the use of more than two compartments ( e . g . 16 or 18 ), as needed by the instrument owner . in this description then , two compartments 16 and 18 are used for the sake of simplicity . the carrying case 10 has an inside surface 14 , which is smaller than an outer surface 24 , and forms a lip 26 therewith . the lip 26 preferably forms a humidity impermeable seal . the inside surface 14 tends to conform to the particular cut or curvature of the individual instrument for which the carrying case 10 is designed . compartment 16 is adapted to receive humidifier 20 , which operates to maintain the relative humidity of the inside surface 14 and the instrument placed therein when said instrument is stored , transported , or moved in the carrying case 10 . the stability of the carrying case 10 environment is controlled by the owner or caretaker of the instrument carrying case as follows . when the case humidity is above 65 % the owner inserts a desiccant pouch 22 into a designated compartment 18 within the case and removes the humidifier 20 from the other compartment 16 . alternatively the humidifier 20 can be left in the carrying case 10 but not recharged with water . when the humidity within the case is below 35 %, or the atmospheric conditions are dry , the desiccant pouch 22 is removed from its compartment 18 , and the humidifier 20 is returned to its designated compartment 16 . the most preferable humidity range to maintain within the interior of the carrying case 10 is 45 % to 55 % humidity . when these alternative strategies , used according to locale ambient humidity , are used , a stable environment is created and maintained for the musical instrument to be protected . in addition , the owner of the case retains the flexibility to select the exact desired humidity for their instrument by manipulating the amount of desiccant used , or controlling the recharging of the humidifier 20 . the humidifier 20 consists of a container that preferably holds a clay 21 capable of absorbing moisture and thereafter slowly releasing it . “ clay ” is used with its usual meaning as defined in compton &# 39 ; s interactive encyclopedia copyrighted by compton &# 39 ; s newmedia , inc . in the instant disclosure , a clay is the preferred compound to act as the humidifier . clay is a generic term , which essentially refers to a number of species of fine - grained earths , plastic when wet , composed chiefly of hydrous aluminum silicate minerals . as is well known a variety of clays are used in the manufacture of brick , pottery and other ceramics . with respect to the use of clay as the chief component of the humidifier disclosed herein , the inventors rely upon the intrinsic nature of clay , when wetted , to retain moisture and give it up slowly . in this way a fully “ charged ” ( e . g ., charged by immersion in water ) humidifier contains a significant amount of water which will be emitted slowly over time to inject moisture into an otherwise dry atmosphere , acting to maintain a relative humidity in the range most desired to preserve musical instruments . to initially charge humidifier 20 , humidifier 20 is immersed in water , a cap ( not shown ) is then closed , excess water is wiped off , and humidifier 20 is returned to the case 10 . desiccant pouch 22 preferably contains any one of a plurality of anhydrous compounds or compounds capable of absorbing moisture from the ambient air such as a buffered silica gel or a saturated salt solution . when exposed to an environment that contains significant moisture , the selected anhydrous substance absorbs moisture and in this way removes it from the local environment inside the instrument case 10 disclosed herein . compartments 16 and 18 can also be releasably attached to the interior surface 14 of the case 10 . fastening means such as clips , snaps , velcro , or bolts would be employed to secure compartments 16 and 18 into the interior surface 14 of case 10 . referring to fig3 a plurality of air passages 28 in a partition 30 are small enough to retain the humidifier 20 in compartment 16 while allowing for free vapor exchange between the inside of case 10 and the humidifier 20 . likewise , a plurality of air passages 32 in a partition 34 are small enough to retain the desiccant 22 in compartment 18 , while allowing for free vapor exchange between the inside of case 10 and the desiccant pouch 22 . compartments 16 and 18 can include opening and closing means such as hinges 33 to enable access to the desiccant or humidifier . fig3 also shows an alternative embodiment of the present invention which permits the temperature of the interior of the carrying case 10 to be monitored through the presence of a thermometer 36 , whose gauge 37 is present in the inside surface 14 of the carrying case 10 . alternately , the carrying case 14 is constructed so that the gauge 37 of the thermometer 36 is readable from the exterior of carrying case 10 when said case is closed . in another embodiment , the humidity of the interior of the carrying case 10 is monitored through the presence of a hygrometer 38 , whose gauge 39 is present in the inside surface 14 of the carrying case 10 . alternately , the carrying case 14 is constructed to that the gauge 39 of the hygrometer 38 is readable from the exterior of carrying case 10 when the case 10 is closed . in embodiments of the invention containing the hygrometer 38 , the owner of the carrying case 10 ( also an instrument storage apparatus ) can use it to monitor the internal humidity of the case 10 and maintain the humidity for any geographic location in which the owner is located or through which the owner is travelling . the preferred desiccant will be one in which the composition thereof will contain at least 40 % silica gel with the balance being composed of activated charcoal . silica gel is a colloidal suspension of silicic acid made by dialysis from action of hydrochloric acid on water glass ; when dried to 5 % water , it resembles coarse sand and absorbs gases , especially water vapor , readily . the activated charcoal also functions to reduce or remove odors occurring within the case . preferably , the silica gel makes up 60 % of the desiccant mixture with activated charcoal . in addition , it is also preferred that the activated charcoal is derived from processed coconut husks , since this source appears to have superior capabilities in the reduction of odors . with regards to the silica gel used as a desiccant within this disclosure , it is known that buffered silica gels can be used to regulate relative humidity . silica gel will absorb a known amount of water within a particular relative humidity range . thus , when initially developed a given mixture of desiccant containing silica gel can be conditioned to maintain or retard movement away from a target relative humidity in a given local atmosphere , as within a closed instrument case . referring to fig4 an alternative embodiment uses only one compartment 40 having a container 42 with a saturated salt solution therein , which can be used as both a desiccant and humidifier to control and maintain the relative humidity in an instrument carrying case . saturated salt solutions will supply water vapor to a maintain a target relative humidity as long as any undissolved salt remains . saturated salts can absorb close to 100 % of their volume in water . once absorbed this solution can then allow desorption of 100 % of total water trapped by the salt solution . the result is that the salt crystals employed as a desiccant can in fact contribute to the maintenance of a given relative humidity , and require less relative maintenance than a silica gel desiccant . species of salt formulations useful for this purpose are nitrate salts such as calcium , sodium , or magnesium nitrate . alternative salts which are also useful at the relative humidity ranges that should be maintained for instrument storage are sodium dichromate , or potassium carbonate . accordingly , it is to be understood that the embodiments of the invention herein described are merely illustrative of the application of the principles of the invention . reference herein to details of the illustrated embodiments is not intended to limit the scope of the claims , which themselves recite those features regarded as essential to the invention .	6
in the drawings , the letter d designates generally a switched capacitor induction motor drive according to the present invention . referring now to fig3 drive d includes an input circuit r , a filter circuit f , an inverter circuit i , a commutating circuit c , and a commutation power supply p . input circuit r includes a three - phase alternating current line input 10 and a conventional six element , three - phase bridge rectifier 12 . rectifier 12 converts line alternating current voltage to direct current voltage which is impressed on filter f . motor voltage control is achieved in conventional manner by controlling the phase timing of silicon controlled thyristors 12a , 12b , 12c , 12d , 12e , and 12f which form rectifier bridge 12 . the details of the conventional motor voltage control do not form a part of the present invention and thus are not illustrated in fig3 . filter f includes inductor 14 and non - polarized capacitors 16 , 18 . capacitors 16 , 18 form a series circuit path at the output of the filter f and are each connected to a common neutral terminal 20 . input circuit r and filter f thus provide a d . c . link voltage v d at terminals 22 , 24 which is impressed upon inverter circuit i . inverter circuit i includes six switching elements s1 - s6 which form a force commutated inverter bridge to provide an output drive voltage to three - phase motor m . switches s1 - s6 may be any suitable switching element capable of reverse voltage blocking , such as insulated gate transistors , a transistor controlled thyristor combination as disclosed in my co - pending u . s . patent application ser . no . 534 , 567 or conventional thyristors , for example . in the preferred embodiment , switches s1 - s6 are silicon controlled rectifiers or thyristors . the unique commutation and switching control circuitry of the present invention permits the use of relatively inexpensive , readily available thyristors for switches s1 - s6 which are only exposed to relatively low rates of voltage change during switching . for example , switches s1 - s6 experience about one - half volt per microsecond during switching for a two - hundred - thirty volt alternating current motor drive . inverter i also includes thyristor switching control circuits g - 1 throught g - 6 associated with thyristors s - 1 through s - 6 , respectively . the details of circuits g - 1 , g - 6 are illustrated in fig6 . the switching of each thyristor s is dually controlled by commutation circuit c and by control circuit g . control circuit g ensures that thyristors s are not enabled unless the voltage difference from anode to cathode on the respective thyristor s is within prescribed low limits . in this manner , inexpensive , readily available thyristors can be used for switching , and the need for free - wheeling anti - parallel diodes around switches s1 - s6 is eliminated . one advantage obtained by eliminating these diodes , is that switches s1 - s6 may be reverse biased during commutation . another advantage is that in the drive of the present invention the need for snubbering is eliminated and the losses and adverse operating effects caused by harmonics introduced in conventional high voltage switching drives are greatly reduced . referring now to fig6 control circuit g - 1 , which is identical in all respects to circuits g - 2 , g - 6 , is connected to the gate 37 and anode 28 of thyristor s - 1 in the manner illustrated . control circuit g - 1 includes pnp gate drive transistor 30 and a series resistor voltage divider network 32 connected to the collector of transistor 30 to provide enabling gate current to scr s - 1 when appropriate . the emitter of transistor 30 is connected to a low level positive direct current voltage supply 34 , which may be fixed , for example , at positive six volts d . c . the collector of transistor 30 is connected through divider circuit 32 to a low level negative direct current supply 36 which may be fixed , for example , at negative five volts . a capacitor 38 is provided between the gate 37 and cathode 39 of scr s - 1 to delay briefly the enabling of scr s - 1 after a positive , enabling voltage is applied to gate 37 and to assist disabling scr s - 1 when the voltage applied to cathode 39 is reversed in the manner described hereafter . the primary purpose of circuit g - 1 is to enable scr s - 1 for motor control , and to do so only when the voltage across rectifier s - 1 is within prescribed low limits . rectifier s - 1 is enabled / disabled by providing / removing gate drive via transistor 30 . transistor 30 is enabled , and the voltage to gate 37 is made positive with respect to cathode 39 only when two conditions are satisfied : ( a ) the voltage across rectifier s - 1 is within prescribed limits ; ( b ) opto - isolator 40 is enabled in response to a frequency dependent enabling signal generated by conventional motor frequency control circuit 42 which is illustrated schematically in fig6 . circuit 42 provides a frequency dependent enabling signal to opto - isolator 40 to control the frequency of switching to to affect motor control in the conventional manner . control circuit g - 1 also includes rectifier 44 and resistor 46 in the collector circuit of opto - isolator 40 . as can be seen by referring to fig6 transistor 30 is only enabled when opto - isolator 40 is enabled in response to a control signal from motor frequency control circuit 42 and when the voltage applied to diode 44 is sufficient to forward bias diode 44 and allow base current to be provided to transistor 30 . thus transistor 30 is enabled only when the voltage at terminal 28 , i . e ., the voltage applied to scr s - 1 , is sufficiently low so that diode 44 is forward biased by the voltage provided via low voltage dc supply 34 across diodes 48 and resistor 46 . in this manner , rectifier s - 1 is enabled only when the voltage across rectifier s - 1 , i . e ., from terminal 28 to terminal 39 is less than a prescribed minimum so as to achieve low dv - dt switching of control rectifiers s - 1 through s - 6 . diodes 48 ( fig6 ) are provided to protect opto - isolator 40 from excessive voltages when rectifier s - 1 is reversed biased . the value of resistor 46 is selected so as to prescribe the maximum switching voltage which will be permitted , which in the preferred embodiment is approximately five volts . resistor 50 and capacitor 52 are provided in the emitter to base circuit of transistor 30 to delay turn - on of transistor 30 after both opto - isolator 40 and diode 44 are enabled . two alternate gating circuit designs are shown in fig7 and 8 . the gating circuit of fig6 provides gate drive when the circuit has been enabled and when the anode - cathode voltage across the thyristor or switch s - 1 drops below a low reference voltage . the two alternate circuits provide gate drive only when the gate drive circuit has been enabled and the anode - cathode voltage level is increasing , regardless of its value . this eliminates the possible switching of the thyristor s - 1 by the initial low voltage drop across it , thereby eliminating a small current surge . the circuits allow the thyristor s - 1 to be switched if the anode - cathode voltage does not decrease below a small reference value , enabling the motor drive d to deliver power during certain line disturbances . additionally , gate drive power is conserved because no drive is provided after the thyristor s - 1 begins conducting as the anode - cathode voltage remains constant in this state . the circuits shown in fig7 and 8 work similarly , but are enabled differently . fig7 is enabled by using an opto - isolator 142 while the circuit of fig8 is enabled by a switchable voltage source whose output is represented by the wave form 156 . this signal 156 can be developed from a controlled high frequency transformer and rectifier circuit or other commonly available circuits . referring now to fig7 a resistor 132 is used to dissipate gate current in the thyristor s - 1 to provide positive turn off . the circuit includes a pnp gate drive transistor 136 and has a series limit resistor 134 connected between the collector of the transistor 136 and the gate 37 of thyristor s - 1 . connected between the collector of transistor 136 and the cathode 39 of thyristor s - 1 is a zener diode 130 used to protect the gating circuit . the emitter of the gate drive transistor 136 is connected to a low level positive direct current voltage supply 34 , which may be fixed for example at positive 5 volts d . c . a voltage change sensing portion of the circuit is connected between the anode 28 and the cathode 39 of thyristor s - 1 . the voltage change sensing portion consists of a series combination of a voltage sense capacitor 152 and a current limit resistor 150 which is connected to the base of an npn transistor 144 whose emitter is connected to the cathode 39 . a parallel combination of a diode 148 and a resistor 146 are also connected between the base of transistor 144 and the cathode 39 to provide reverse circuit protection and effective circuit turnoff . the collector of the voltage sense transistor 144 is connected to the base of the gate drive transistor 136 through a series combination of a resistor 154 and an opto - isolator 142 . when the rate of voltage change between the anode 28 and the cathode 39 is sufficiently positive to turn on the voltage sense transistor 144 and the opto - isolator 142 is enabled , a base current path is provided for the gate drive transistor 136 , enabling the thyristor s - 1 to switch . a parallel combination of a resistor 138 and a capacitor 140 are connected from the emitter to the base of gate drive transistor 136 . the resistor provides positive turnoff characteristics and the capacitor provides a filtering function to limit the transients in the system from accidentally activating the thyristor s - 1 . the circuit of fig8 is similar to that of fig7 with the exception that the opto - isolator 142 is removed and the low level positive voltage supply 34 is replaced with a switchable voltage source as shown by the wave form 156 . commutation circuit c includes motor - run capacitors 54 , 56 and 58 connected at one end to motor winding circuits m - 1 m - 2 , and m - 3 , respectively ( fig3 ) and on the other end using conductors 100 , 102 and 104 respectively , to commutation thyristor and diode networks 60 , 62 and 64 , respectively . thyristor / diode networks 60 , 62 and 64 provide a circuit path from windings m - 1 , m - 2 and m - 3 through capacitors 54 , 56 , and 58 , respectively to power supply p to permit capacitors 54 , 56 and 58 to absorb recirculation current from motor terminals m - 1 , m - 2 and m - 3 during switching . capacitors 54 , 56 and 58 additionally provide reverse bias voltage for commutation of thyristors s - 1 through s - 6 in the manner described in detail below . thyristor / diode networks 60 , 62 and 64 are connected in anti - parallel pairs with polarities aligned in the manner illustrated in fig3 . networks 60 , 62 and 64 transmit voltage changes from terminals 66 and 68 to terminals 70 , 72 and 74 via capacitors 54 , 56 and 58 , respectively to provide reverse bias voltage to force commutate main thyristors s - 1 through s - 6 . two alternate thyristor / diode networks are shown in fig4 and fig5 . under certain transient operating conditions , for example , when the voltage on the main power capacitors 16 and 18 is increasing , a relatively low current may be flowing through a first network thyristor when a second opposing thyristor is gated on . this may result in a failure of a commutation power supply p unless a means is provided to commutate the relatively low current flowing through the first network thyristor . two alternative circuits for doing this are shown in fig4 and 5 . the two designs utilize saturable transformer / reactors 114 and 120 and 124 and 126 in series with thyristors 112 and 118 , respectively . the saturable reactors reverse bias the first network thyristor for a time sufficient to commutate the thyristor when the second network thyristor is gated on . the post - saturation reactance of the saturable transformer provides reverse current rate change limitation for the thyristor being commutated . a typical design will provide 50 microseconds of reverse bias to the thyristor being commutated and the saturation current will be approximately 10 % of the maximum commutation current . a relatively small capacitor 122 can be placed between the conductor 100 and ground to limit voltage change rates . commutation power supply p is fixed relative to the neutral terminal 20 and provides low level , direct current commutation voltage to commutation circuit c . power supply p includes conventional three - phase input transformer 75 which steps the voltage down from input line power 10 to provide approximately one percent of drive input power to a conventional three - phase full wave rectifier 76 . rectifier 76 provides a direct current voltage output on buses 106 and 108 at capacitors 78 and 79 to drive the commutation circuit c in the manner described hereinafter . the values of capacitors 78 and 79 and the other components of circuit p are selected to provide an output voltage on capacitors 78 and 79 which is typically five to ten percent of the drive voltage vd . self - commutating switching elements such as insulated gate transistors or transistor controlled thyristors do not require this external commutation circuitry . however , they do require the motor - run capacitors . the motor drive d allows braking of a load once the load has been brought up to a given speed and is desired to be reduced to a slower speed or stopped . if braking is done , power will be generated by the transfer from kinetic energy of the load to electrical energy in the drive d and during this regeneration interval a portion of this energy is fed into the commutation power supply p . this power must either be dissipated or returned to the input line to prevent damage to the circuitry . the maximum amount of power that needs to be dissipated is about 3 % of the full power rating of the drive . the simplest technique to dissipate the excess commutation power is shown in fig9 and is a simple resistive dissipation technique . a power resistor 160 is connected in series with a switch 162 and connected between the output buses 106 and 108 of the commutation power supply p . when the switch 162 is in the closed position the power resistor 160 will provide extra power dissipation and therefore allow regeneration to occur . the switch 162 is preferably controlled by a control circuit having hysteresis 164 so that the switch 162 is operated in a digital mode with sufficiently long closed position intervals . additionally , the power resistor is preferably connected only during regeneration , thereby not decreasing the overall efficiency of the drive d . the switch 162 may be a transistor , a gate turn - off thyristor or a force - commutated thyristor circuit . a higher efficiency design is shown in fig1 and 11 where the three - phase full wave rectifier 76 in the commutation power supply p is replaced by a self - controlled , transistor inverter 250 . this inverter 250 allows the regeneration power to be retransmitted to the input three phase system therefore eliminating the need for the power resistor and heat dissipation requirements of the resistive circuit . the circuit therefore increases the overall system efficiency on a longer term basis as well as a shorter term basis . the circuit 250 has the same general form as a full wave three - phase rectifier circuit with the addition of npn transistors and drive circuits in anti - parallel with the rectification diodes . in fig1 the pairs are diode 170 and transistor 172 , diode 174 and transistor 176 , diode 178 and transistor 180 , diode 182 and transistor 184 , diode 186 and transistor 188 and diode 190 and transistor 192 forming the six pairs . it should be noted that the inverter transistors are shown as single npn transistors in fig1 and in fig1 the transistors are shown as a darlington pair . when the motor drive d is delivering motoring power and is not regenerating , all the transistors are turned off and the circuit behaves as a standard three - phase rectification bridge with inductor 194 and capacitors 78 and 79 providing the filtering necessary for the commutation power supply p . when the circuit is in the braking or regeneration mode , the transistors are activated . an exemplary diode - transistor pair 206 is shown in fig1 with the gate drive circuitry required to activate the inverter transistors . the gating circuit is designed to allow the inverter transistors to conduct whenever the collector - emitter voltage across the transistor is less than about three volts . a low level , positive direct current voltage supply 224 , similar to the voltage supply 34 , is connected to the emitter of the commutation gate drive pnp transistor 218 . the collector of the transistor 218 is connected through current limiting resistor 216 which is connected to the base drive circuit of the darlington transistor of pair 206 . a positive turn - off resistor 220 is connected between the emitter and base of the commutation gate drive transistor 218 and a series combination of a current limit resistor 222 and a diode 226 is connected between the base of transistor 218 and the positive inverter rail 202 . the diode 226 provides reverse circuit protection by blocking any current flow when the voltage of the rail 202 is higher than the low level voltage source 224 . this blocking affect in combination with the various voltage drops of the circuit and the level selected for the low leve voltage 224 allow transistor 218 to be turned on only when the voltage difference between the rail 202 and the three - phase input line 204 is less than about three volts . preferably , the low level voltage 224 is enabled only when the drive is in regenerating mode and not when the drive is in motoring mode , thereby further improving overall drive efficiency . the commutation inverter circuit operates generally as follows . inverter transistors 172 and 192 are conducting with the remaining transistors being turned off because the voltage across them exceeds the preferable three volts . the voltage of the input line 244 is approaohing the voltage of input line 242 and is increasing . as the voltage of line 244 increases and exceeds the voltage of line 242 , current begins to flow through diode 174 adding current to the main current flowing through inverter transistor 172 . this current quickly builds in diode 174 and inverter transistor 172 , causing the voltage across inverter transistor 172 to increase because the inverter transistor 172 saturates . this voltage increase removes the base drive from inverter transistor 172 , turning off inverter transistor 172 . when inverter transistor 172 turns off , an excess current is then flowing through the leakage inductance of the three - phase line 242 and 244 , which is dissipated in voltage suppressor 196 because the current flowing through transistor 172 is diverted into voltage suppressor 196 and diode 182 . this excess current is quickly dissipated and the main current switches to transistor 176 . this process continues for the remaining phases . this drive supplies three - phase adjustable frequency and voltage drive to a three - phase induction motor . voltage is supplied to the output section by the previously described input and filter sections . alternating current is supplied to the motor by alternate conduction of each thyristor in a bridge . balanced three - phase output is achieved in the conventional manner by consecutively switching the polarity of the bridges . since silicon controlled rectifiers , or scr &# 39 ; s must be externally commutated , the commutation section c and commutation power supply p are provided to allow for external forced commutation of the main scr &# 39 ; s . start up of the drive is accomplished by applying a low voltage to the inverter section i with one scr on each of the three output bridges enabled . one bridge has a polarity opposite of the other two . current begins to flow through the motor windings from the applied voltage . additionally , commutating scr &# 39 ; s c - 1 through c - 6 are enabled when corresponding main scr &# 39 ; s s - 1 through s - 6 are on and are disabled when their corresponding scr &# 39 ; s s - 1 through s - 6 are off , the correspondence being shown in fig3 . this correspondence is established by opposite polarity . for example , commutation scr c - 1 on the low voltage side of the commutation power supply p corresponds to , and is enabled simultaneously with , main scr s - 1 on the high voltage side of the inverter section . clocking of the inverter i begins when a main scr s is commutated . the commutation process will be illustrated by example . a commutation is initiated by first removing gate drive from a main scr such as s - 1 , for example , which is to be commutated and its corresponding commutation scr , c - 1 . after a short time , typically 100 microseconds , the gate circuits of the main scr in the opposite position of the output bridge , i . e ., s - 2 , and its corresponding commutation scr c - 2 , are enabled . scr s - 2 will not receive gate current because diode 44 in fig4 is reversed biased as long as s - 2 blocks more than typically 5 volts in the forward direction . prior to the commutation of scr s - 1 , terminal 80 on motor run capacitor 54 is at the lower potential of commutation power supply p . when scr c - 2 is enabled , it turns on , thereby quickly raising terminal 80 to the higher potential of p . this causes the voltage at terminal 70 connected to capacitor 54 to apply a reverse bias voltage to s - 1 . current through scr s - 1 is stopped and quickly diverted into capacitor 54 , c - 2 , and p . scr s - 1 is reverse biased by typically 30 volts for a 230 volt drive . its gate also receives a negative bias to speed turn - off . current flow through scr c - 2 , capacitor 54 and motor winding m - 1 causes a voltage rate of change of typically 0 . 5 volts per microsecond across capacitor 54 . therefore scr s - 1 will be reversed biased for typically 60 microseconds . during this time , scr s - 1 changes from the conducting to the non - conducting state . when scr s - 1 again sees forward bias voltage , the rate - of - voltage - change is still typically 0 . 5 volts per microsecond for a 230 volt drive . this low dv / dt reduces the required reverse bias voltage by reducing the effective turn - off time . a significant amount of time , typically 600 microseconds , is required for the voltage across scr s - 2 to become low enough for gate drive to be applied to it . during this time , neither scr s - 1 nor scr s - 2 are conducting . the motor leakage inductance exchanging energy with motor run capacitor 54 is responsible for this low dv / dt and relatively long quiescent time . typically this leakage inductance is sufficient to cause the voltage across scr s - 2 to become negative , as capacitor 54 continues to absorb the motor recirculation current . at some point , current flow through winding m - 1 , capacitor 54 , and scr c - 2 stops and reverses since winding m - 1 now has a negative , with respect to motor neutral , voltage on it . until scr s - 2 is forward biased again , current flows through capacitor 54 and anti - parallel diode d - 2 . when scr s - 2 becomes forward biased , current is transferred from capacitor 44 and diode d - 2 into scr s - 2 and flows into terminal 24 . current flow through scr c - 2 has ceased and is therefore &# 34 ; off &# 34 ;. current flow through scr s - 2 continues until its half - cycle is complete , and scr c - 1 is enabled to begin the commutation of scr s - 2 . the commutation process on the other two output bridges is identical . drive control consists of driving the inverter section i , via motor control circuit 42 , at the frequency selected by manual or automatic external control . the output voltage is determined by the frequency and the load on the motor . generally , higher frequency calls for a higher voltage and more load calls for a higher voltage and vice - versa . voltage must be controlled accurately with load , because there are no recirculation diodes in the inverter section to accommodate low power factor . therefore , the voltage control used in association with the drive of the present invention should raise or lower the voltage as required by the load and frequency control to maintain the optimum power factor on the output . power factor sensing can be done by any of several well known techniques . the foregoing disclosure and description of the invention are illustrative and explanatory thereof , and various changes in the size , shape , materials , components , circuit elements , wiring connections and contacts , as well as in the details of the illustrated circuitry and construction may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention .	7
referring to fig1 an audio input device represented by microphone 10 is used to monitor the vocal behavior of the subject child . the signal produced by microphone 10 constitutes an input 12 for comparator 14 . comparator 14 has another input 16 , a predetermined audible threshold th , which input is used for comparison with the signal at input 12 to determine the presence or absence of subject vocal behavior equal to or above the threshold th . the result of this comparison is input at 18 to logic circuitry , generally represented by control means 20 . the presence or absence of the criterion response ( i . e ., vocal behavior equal to or above the predetermined threshold th ) is the only external data gathering necessary , with regard to the behavior of the subject child , for implementation of the schedule of reinforcement in accordance with the present invention . thus , the control means 20 may be comprised of a microprocessor device programmed in accordance with the methodology discussed further below , or control means 20 may be comprised of a hard - wired device accomplishing the same . specific selection of the precise physical embodiment of the control means 20 is subject to the design choice of one of ordinary skill in the art , and such choice may be dependent upon various factors , such as cost and size optimization , which are not the major areas of concern for the broader teachings of the present invention . a functional apparatus , however , operating per the present method is a feature of the present invention , as recited in the appended claims . implementation of the present methodology may be accomplished by a microprocessor device acting upon the comparator output 18 , with such device controlling a reinforcer mechanism 22 . reinforcer mechanism 22 may incorporate a cassette tape player or other device which replays specific sounds , or sequences thereof , which constitute positive reinforcers . these may include , for example , recordings of placental sounds or maternal heartbeats , as discussed above . however , any audible positive reinforcer may be used . alternatively , the reinforcer mechanism 22 may be specific lights or moving objects which present kaleidoscopic or patterned stimuli to the subject child in a fashion which constitutes a positive reinforcer . further exemplary reinforcer mechanisms may include physical structures ( such as mobiles ) which are controllably moved , rotated , or provided with some other motion in a fashion which constitutes a positive reinforcer . motion - causing devices ( such as rockers or vibrators for a crib ) are also optionally usable as the reinforcer mechanism 22 of the present invention . various selective combinations of any of the foregoing exemplary reinforcer mechanisms are also within the scope of the present invention , as discussed further below with regard to fig2 . the entire physical apparatus of fig1 may be selfcontained and battery operated in a relatively small package . such packaging technique would permit association of such a device with an existing child care device such as a playpen or crib . such packaging may also be adapted for attachment to other existing child care devices such as a highchair , walker , or stroller , etc . in any event , an apparatus in accordance with the present invention is adapted to desirably interface with the given environment of the subject child . the apparatus disclosed in fig2 additionally includes certain other optional features of the present invention which may be utilized in conjunction with an &# 34 ; advanced &# 34 ; version of the basic exemplary embodiment of fig1 . referring to fig2 element 10 , once again , represents a microphone device for pickup of the vocal behavior of the subject child . it is to be understood that this device may be any suitable microphone which is appropriately incorporated into the surface of the structure of the fig2 apparatus or remotely attached thereto by necessary wires . however , such pickup may be alternatively achieved by a wireless connection between the microphone device and the fig2 apparatus . audio preamplifier 24 may be optionally associated with the output of the microphone 10 to establish a proper ( i . e ., buffered ) signal for ultimate comparison with the threshold th . signal averaging and filtering means 26 ( conventional devices ) may be associated with the output of audio preamplifier 24 to provide improved signal acquisition for comparison with the threshold th . the threshold th itself may be variable as shown by element 28 . variability of the threshold th may be achieved through any number of conventional approaches , including use of a variable potentiometer or a variable resistor with a fixed voltage input . the output signal of the signal averaging and filtering means 26 is compared with the established variable threshold th from 28 in the comparator 30 . comparator 30 is essentially equivalent to comparator 14 of fig1 . thus , the data which are input to the control means 32 again need only be indicative of the presence or absence of the criterion response ( i . e ., vocal behavior equal to or above the variable threshold th ), as established by 28 . the control means 32 is represented in this exemplary embodiment as a microprocessor having data input from comparator 30 and having a plurality of peripheral outputs . these outputs are represented by 1 , 2 , . . . , n and control reinforcer mechanisms r1 , r2 , . . . , rn , respectively . as discussed above , these mechanisms may be of any variety and type which constitute positive reinforcers for human subjects in their infancy or early childhood . economic considerations and applicability to differing environmental settings are considerations in the selection of particular reinforcer mechanisms . for example , a particular embodiment , such as one designed for a crib or playpen , may have a rocker or vibrator reinforcer mechanism associated with it , while such rocker or vibrator reinforcer mechanism would not be practical for a stroller , walker , or highchair . specific selection of a reinforcer mechanism or combinations thereof thus depends on applicability of the present invention to a particular environmental setting , and such selection therefore need not form a limitation of the general teachings of the present invention . the remote unit transmitter 34 of fig2 enables the control means 32 to send data to a remote location , with such data being detected by remote unit receiver 36 . this component of the present apparatus enables the parent or care provider to remotely identify the particular mode or phase of the schedule of reinforcement currently in operation . remote unit receiver 36 incorporates lights 38 and 40 and alarm 39 , which are exemplary of indicator outputs which may be used with such a remote unit receiver . in addition to the convenience of this feature , there is the additional advantage of enabling the parent or care provider to avoid unwittingly reinforcing &# 34 ; undesirable &# 34 ; behavior . for example , the pickup of a particular transmitter signal as detected by the remote unit receiver and represented by the operation of green indicator light 38 may signify that the mode 1 schedule is in operation . such a signal would indicate successful maintenance of the absence of the criterion response . moreover , such a signal would alert the parent or care provider to the desirability of entering the subject child &# 39 ; s room to present additional positive reinforcers , especially those that an inanimate entity is incapable of providing ( e . g ., hugs , kisses , and so on ). operation of red indicator light 40 may signify that the mode 2 schedule of reinforcement or other appropriate mode ( i . e ., mode 3 discussed further below with regard to fig3 c ) is in operation . such a signal would indicate that the subject child has emitted the criterion response and that the subject child is currently being retrained with respect to the reduction of such behavior . furthermore , in the absence of actual distress , such a signal would alert the parent or care provider to the undesirability of entering the subject child &# 39 ; s room , thereby avoiding the differential reinforcement of &# 34 ; undesirable &# 34 ; behavior . however , operation of alarm 39 may be defined to signify that the subject child has been emitting the criterion response for a predetermined period of time . thus , operation of alarm 39 , by one definition , may be indicative of a high probability of actual distress , requiring immediate intervention by a parent or care provider . both devices ( transmitter 34 and receiver 36 ) may be any paired conventional devices permitting wireless communication of digital data ( e . g ., &# 34 ; yes &# 34 ; or &# 34 ; no &# 34 ; data for a particular indication ) over a relatively short distance . their particular embodiments are not intended as novel features of the present invention . additional lights , audible signals , or other indicators may be included for indicating other defined modes or phases of the schedule of reinforcement . reset input 42 of the microprocessor 32 provides a convenient and efficient mechanism for restarting the apparatus , e . g ., after a period of parental or care provider intervention . a parent or care provider who interrupts the operation of the apparatus may use the reset feature of the microprocessor to clear vocal behavior data which may have suspended the operation of the apparatus in accordance with the methodology of the present invention , as discussed below . for example , introduction of the &# 34 ; alarm &# 34 ; operation , discussed above , may also be accompanied by subsequent suspension of the operation of the apparatus . in such an instance , a parent or care provider can intervene to &# 34 ; manually &# 34 ; assist the subject child until criterion responding ceases . use of reset button 42 enables the fig2 embodiment to resume operation under the appropriate mode of the schedule of reinforcement . with regard to the methodology of operation of control means 20 ( of fig1 ) and microprocessor control means 32 ( of fig2 ), fig3 a - 3c fully outline , in flow chart format , the salient features of the present method . the present method utilizes a number of different timing sequences to determine the appropriate mode of the schedule of reinforcement , as a function of the continuously monitored vocal behavior of the subject child . the flow chart of fig3 a - 3c delineates a number of different timers , each usually associated with a given time period for comparison therewith , to determine appropriate reinforcer conduct . each of these given time periods is usually variable , although any of such given time periods may be preselected in a particular embodiment , or any of such given time periods may be randomly selected by a probability generator or other device accomplishing an analogous function . referring to fig3 a , start 100 may be associated either with the initial start operation for an apparatus of a fig1 or 2 embodiment , or with the reset operation 42 of the microprocessor 32 of fig2 . in either event , timer t1 1 is reset and started in step 110 . timer t1 1 times the duration during which the subject child does not emit the criterion response ( i . e ., vocal behavior equal to or above the threshold th ). decision branch 120 tests to determine if the audio input level ( i . e ., the vocal behavior of the subject child ) is equal to or above the threshold th . if the subject child emits vocal behavior equal to or above the threshold th , a &# 34 ; yes &# 34 ; branch ( i . e ., branch &# 34 ; b &# 34 ;) is taken from decision branch 120 to fig3 b , wherein mode 2 operation is engaged . if the subject child is not emitting the criterion response , a &# 34 ; no &# 34 ; branch is taken from decision branch 120 , and a &# 34 ; loop &# 34 ; is established around decision branch 130 , where the elapsed time t1 1 is compared with the given time x1 1 . this is the first instance of comparison between a timer and a given time , as alluded to earlier . also , it should be noted that monitoring of subject child vocal behavior is actually continuous , although the flow chart indicates that such monitoring is acted on discretely . x1 1 is the given time ( i . e ., the duration during which the subject child does not emit the criterion response ) required for the presentation of &# 34 ; reinforcer &# 34 ; r1 . when the elapsed time t1 1 is equivalent to or in excess of the given time x1 1 a &# 34 ; yes &# 34 ; branch is taken from decision branch 130 to step 140 , where timer t1 2 is reset and started . timer t1 2 times the duration of the &# 34 ; positive reinforcer &# 34 ; r1 presentation , as conducted in step 150 , which presentation is a function of the variable time ( vt ) schedule of mode 1 ( i . e ., timer t1 1 compared with the given time x1 1 causes the presentation of the &# 34 ; positive reinforcer &# 34 ; r1 to be conducted on the variable time ( vt ) schedule of mode 1 -- only in the absence of the criterion response ). decision branch 160 tests for continued absence of the criterion response . in the continued absence of the criterion response , a &# 34 ; no &# 34 ; branch is taken from decision branch 160 , and a &# 34 ; loop &# 34 ; is established around decision branch 170 , where the elapsed time t1 2 is compared with the given time x1 2 . x1 2 is the given time that the &# 34 ; positive reinforcer &# 34 ; r1 is presented in the continued absence of the criterion response . when the elapsed time t1 2 is equivalent to or in excess of the given time x1 2 , a &# 34 ; yes &# 34 ; branch is taken from decision branch 170 to step 180 , where the presentation of &# 34 ; positive reinforcer &# 34 ; r1 is suspended . upon the conclusion of step 180 , timer t1 1 is reset and started in step 110 . such an affirmative decision in decision branch 170 causes a continuation of the variable time ( vt ) schedule of mode 1 . it should be noted , however , that if the subject child emits vocal behavior equal to or above the threshold th before t1 2 is equivalent to or in excess of x1 2 , a &# 34 ; yes &# 34 ; branch is taken from decision branch 160 to step 190 , where the presentation of &# 34 ; positive reinforcer &# 34 ; r1 is suspended . upon the conclusion of step 190 , branch &# 34 ; b &# 34 ; is taken to fig2 b , wherein mode 2 operation is engaged . from the foregoing overview of fig3 a , it may be seen that the operation of mode 1 is characterized by the subject child not emitting the criterion response , resulting in the intermittent presentation of &# 34 ; positive reinforcer &# 34 ; r1 in accordance with the variable time ( vt ) schedule thereof . referring to fig4 the start position 200 corresponds to the start position 100 of fig3 a . exit from mode 1 to mode 2 ( i . e ., 210 to 220 in fig4 ) corresponds to exit , via branch &# 34 ; b &# 34 ;, from the affirmative branches of decision branches 120 and 160 of fig3 a . if the affirmative branch from decision branch 120 is taken , either the &# 34 ; positive reinforcer &# 34 ; r1 was not being conducted or step 180 had suspended such conducting . if the affirmative branch from decision branch 160 is taken , step 190 suspends the conducting of &# 34 ; positive reinforcer &# 34 ; r1 . in either case , operation of the mode 1 schedule [ i . e ., ( vt )] is suspended and branch &# 34 ; b &# 34 ; is taken to fig3 b , wherein mode 2 operation is engaged . thus , the ( vt ) schedule is suspended because the subject child is emitting the criterion response . referring to fig3 b , it is known by definition ( i . e ., an affirmative decision in decision branch 120 or 160 ) that the subject child is emitting the criterion response ( i . e ., vocal behavior equal to or above the threshold th . accordingly , in step 295 , the &# 34 ; red light on &# 34 ; signal ( discussed above with regard to elements 34 , 36 , and 40 of fig2 ) is transmitted simultaneously with the reset and start of timer t3 in step 300 . timer t3 times the duration during which the vocal behavior of the subject child is equal to or above the threshold th . decision branch 310 tests to determine if the audio input level ( i . e ., the vocal behavior of the subject child ) is equal to or above the threshold th . if the subject child continues to emit vocal behavior equal to or above the threshold th , a &# 34 ; yes &# 34 ; branch is taken from decision branch 310 and a &# 34 ; loop &# 34 ; is established around decision branch 320 until the elapsed time t3 is equivalent to or in excess of the given time x3 1 . when such event occurs , a &# 34 ; yes &# 34 ; branch ( i . e ., branch &# 34 ; c &# 34 ;) is taken from decision branch 320 to fig3 c , wherein mode 3 operation ( discussed further below with regard to fig3 c ) is engaged . however , as long as the timer t3 &# 34 ; loop &# 34 ; is operative , mode 2 is engaged , so that only positive reinforcer r2 can be presented , if any stimulus presentation is conducted . the presentation of positive reinforcer r2 is contingent upon the behavior of the subject child . specifically , the presentation of positive reinforcer r2 is contingent upon the cessation of the criterion response for a predetermined period of time . therefore , upon cessation of the criterion response , a &# 34 ; no &# 34 ; branch is taken from decision branch 310 to step 330 , where timer t2 1 is reset and started . timer t2 1 times the duration during which the subject child does not emit the criterion response , after mode 2 ( i . e ., fig3 b ) has been entered . decision branch 340 tests for continued absence of the criterion response . in the continued absence of the criterion response , a &# 34 ; no &# 34 ; branch is taken from decision branch 340 , and a &# 34 ; loop &# 34 ; is established around decision branch 350 , where the elapsed time t2 1 is compared with the given time x2 1 . x2 1 is the given time ( i . e ., the duration during which the subject child does not emit the criterion response ) required for the presentation of positive reinforcer r2 . when the elapsed time t2 1 is equivalent to or in excess of the given time x2 1 , positive reinforcer r2 is presented . it should be noted , however , that if the subject child emits the criterion response ( i . e ., vocal behavior equal to or above the threshold th ) after a cessation of such behavior but before t2 1 is equivalent to or in excess of x2 1 , a &# 34 ; yes &# 34 ; branch is taken from decision branch 340 , which causes a return to the input of decision branch 310 . such affirmative decision in decision branch 340 causes a suspension of the current operation of timer t2 1 . referring again to decision branch 350 , if the &# 34 ; yes &# 34 ; branch of decision branch 350 is taken , timer t2 2 is reset and started in step 360 . timer t2 2 times the duration of the positive reinforcer r2 presentation , as conducted in step 370 . decision branch 380 tests for continued absence of the criterion response . in the continued absence of the criterion response , a &# 34 ; no &# 34 ; branch is taken from decision branch 380 , and a &# 34 ; loop &# 34 ; is established around decision branch 400 , where the elapsed time t2 2 is compared with the given time x2 2 . x2 2 is the given time that the positive reinforcer r2 is presented , contingent upon the continued absence of the criterion response . when the elapsed time t2 2 is equivalent to or in excess of the given time x2 2 , a &# 34 ; yes &# 34 ; branch is taken from decision branch 400 to step 410 , where the presentation of positive reinforcer r2 is suspended simultaneously with the transmission of the &# 34 ; red light off &# 34 ; signal ( as discussed above with regard to elements 34 , 36 , and 40 of fig2 ) in step 415 , which causes a return , via branch &# 34 ; a &# 34 ;, to the reset and start of timer t1 1 in step 110 of fig3 a . that is , successful retraining of the subject child ( i . e ., cessation of the criterion response for the given time x2 2 ) causes a reversion from mode 2 operation to mode 1 operation ( i . e ., from fig3 b to fig3 a ). it should be noted , however , that if the presentation of positive reinforcer r2 does not result in the cessation of the criterion response for the given time x2 2 , a &# 34 ; yes &# 34 ; branch is taken from decision branch 380 , which suspends presentation of positive reinforcer r2 in step 390 and causes a return to the reset and start of timer t3 in step 300 [ i . e ., the initial starting point of mode 2 operation ( fig3 b )]. therefore , continued operation of mode 2 may result either in a reversion to mode 1 operation ( i . e ., fig3 a ) or a transfer &# 34 ; downward &# 34 ; to mode 3 operation ( i . e ., fig3 c ), as previously described with regard to branch &# 34 ; c &# 34 ; of decision branch 320 of fig3 b . referring again to fig4 the interrelationship existing between mode 2 and modes 1 and 3 is displayed diagrammatically therein . that is , mode 2 ( 220 ) may result either in a reversion to mode 1 operation ( 210 ) or a &# 34 ; transfer &# 34 ; to mode 3 operation ( 230 ). referring to fig3 c , mode 3 operation is engaged if the subject child continues to emit vocal behavior equal to or above the threshold th for the given time x3 1 ( i . e ., an affirmative decision in decision branch 320 of fig3 b ), after entering mode 2 . x3 1 is the given time during which the subject child continues to emit vocal behavior equal to or above the threshold th without a pause of sufficient duration to allow for the presentation of positive reinforcer r2 in accordance with the ( r & gt ; t ) schedule of mode 2 . mode 3 operation utilizes the presentation of novel stimuli n1 in an attempt to elicit an &# 34 ; orienting response &# 34 ; which will result in a pause in such vocal behavior of sufficient duration to cause a reversion to mode 2 operation . step 420 presents novel stimuli n1 , which stimuli may be any suitable nondetrimental audio or visual stimuli , such as flashing lights or brief audible stimuli . after the presentation of novel stimuli n1 in step 420 , decision branch 430 tests to determine if the audio input level ( i . e ., the vocal behavior of the subject child ) is equal to or above the threshold th . in the absence of the criterion response , the &# 34 ; no &# 34 ; branch of decision branch 430 is taken to step 440 , where the existing time t3 is held , so that timer t2 1 may be reset and started in step 450 . as discussed above ( i . e ., mode 2 of fig3 b ), timer t2 1 times the duration during which the subject child does not emit the criterion response . decision branch 460 tests for continued absence of the criterion response . in the continued absence of the criterion response , a &# 34 ; no &# 34 ; branch is taken from decision branch 460 , and a &# 34 ; loop &# 34 ; is established around decision branch 470 , where the elapsed time t2 1 is compared with the given time x2 1 . x2 1 is the given time ( i . e ., the duration during which the subject child does not emit the criterion response ) required for the presentation of positive reinforcer r2 . when the elapsed time t2 1 is equivalent to or in excess of the given time x2 1 , a &# 34 ; yes &# 34 ; branch ( i . e ., branch &# 34 ; d &# 34 ;) is taken from decision branch 470 to step 360 of fig3 b , where mode 2 operation resumes with the presentation of positive reinforcer r2 . referring again to decision branch 460 , if the subject child emits vocal behavior equal to or above the threshold th after the absence of such behavior is determined in decision branch 430 , a &# 34 ; yes &# 34 ; branch is taken from decision branch 460 to step 520 , where timer t3 is released from the &# 34 ; hold &# 34 ; put thereon in step 440 . upon the conclusion of step 520 , the presentation of novel stimuli n1 resumes in step 420 . referring once again to fig4 an affirmative decision in decision branch 470 of fig3 c corresponds to a reversion from mode 3 ( 230 ) to mode 2 ( 220 ) in fig4 . mode 3 operation ultimately causes either a reversion to mode 2 operation ( which may , in turn , result in a reversion to mode 1 operation ) or a &# 34 ; stop &# 34 ; at step 240 . it should be noted , however , that if the presentation of novel stimuli n1 in step 420 does not result in a pause in vocal behavior equal to or above the threshold th of sufficient duration to cause a reversion to mode 2 operation , a &# 34 ; yes &# 34 ; branch is taken from decision branch 430 and a &# 34 ; loop &# 34 ; is established around decision branch 480 , where the elapsed time t3 is compared with the given time x3 2 . x3 2 is the given time required for a given number of novel stimulus n1 presentations . when the elapsed time t3 is equivalent to or in excess of the given time x3 2 , a &# 34 ; yes &# 34 ; branch is taken from decision branch 480 to step 490 , which causes a termination of novel stimulus n1 presentations and a transmission of the &# 34 ; alarm &# 34 ; signal ( as discussed above with regard to elements 34 , 36 , and 39 of fig2 ) in step 500 . step 500 , in turn , causes a suspension ( i . e ., &# 34 ; stop &# 34 ;) in the operation of the apparatus in step 510 , which step corresponds to step 240 in fig4 . operation does not resume after a &# 34 ; stop &# 34 ; without a manual reset ( i . e ., reset 42 of fig2 ), as discussed above with regard to parent or care provider intervention . the &# 34 ; alarm &# 34 ; signal and &# 34 ; stop &# 34 ; functions of the present invention are included to ensure that operation does not continue indefinitely in the continued presence of criterion responding . such an &# 34 ; alarm &# 34 ; signal is interpreted as an indication of actual subject distress , requiring intervention by the parent or care provider . hence , in the event of actual subject distress , the operation of the present invention is suspended in favor of the exigencies of the &# 34 ; distress &# 34 ; situation . freedom for such vocal behavior to occur without any suppressive countermeasures protects the subject child from any harmful effects , with respect to any functions of the present invention . with regard to fig4 the foregoing discussion clearly describes each breakpoint ( i . e ., mode change ) in fig3 a - 3c where branching occurs relative to the branch indications of fig4 . many modifications and variations to the foregoing embodiments of the present invention are within the skill level of one of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the broader conceptual spirit and features of the present invention . for example , various component reinforcer mechanisms may be added to a basic unit as optional features without departing from the scope of the present invention . other indicators , such as tones or lights , may signal the subject child of a change among the various modes . for example , a change from mode 1 operation to mode 2 operation may be signaled by the cessation of a tone and / or a light . that is , the tone and / or light would operate continuously during mode 1 operation . a change from mode 1 operation to mode 2 operation may be contingent upon a duration measure in addition to the magnitude measure , discussed above . that is , such change may be contingent upon vocal behavior which is equal to or above the threshold th for a predetermined period of time . the presentations of &# 34 ; positive reinforcer &# 34 ; r1 may be separated by a number of &# 34 ; short &# 34 ; intervals immediately following a change from mode 2 operation to mode 1 operation . that is , &# 34 ; long &# 34 ; intervals between presentations of &# 34 ; positive reinforcer &# 34 ; r1 at this breakpoint may be undesirable . ( i ) a response dependent schedule of reinforcement may be used instead of or in addition to the variable time ( vt ) schedule of mode 1 . for example , vocal responses which fall within a specified audible range -- said specified audible range being below the threshold th -- may be reinforced according to a variable interval ( vi ) schedule . under such a schedule , the first such response which occurs after the passage of some variable time interval will be reinforced . however , other responses ( i . e ., nonvocal responses ) together with appropriate monitoring means as well as other schedules of reinforcement may be used to achieve the desired reinforcement density in mode 1 . ( ii ) reinforcer r2 may be a stimulas ( e . g ., the above mentioned tones and lights ) correlated with a return to mode 1 operation . such a stimulus may be referred to as a conditioned positive reinforcer . the foregoing discussion of schedule parameters ( i . e ., modes ) is intended to be comprehensive with respect to the current state of the art as it applies to the present methodology ( i . e ., nondetrimental reduction of infant &# 34 ; crying &# 34 ; behavior ). however , given the paucity of relevant data in the literature on infant &# 34 ; crying &# 34 ; behavior , certain questions and contradictions remain , which can be resolved only via the rigor of further scientific investigation . for example , under some circumstances , intermittent stimulation is known to increase arousal levels in infants . accordingly , mode 1 operation may serve to increase the arousal level of the subject child , thereby eliciting &# 34 ; crying &# 34 ; behavior -- rather than &# 34 ; reinforcing &# 34 ; the occurrence of behaviors which are incompatible with &# 34 ; crying &# 34 ; behavior . similarly , the presentation of a novel stimulus as a consequence of a response is known , under some circumstances , to reinforce such responding . accordingly , mode 3 operation may serve to reinforce &# 34 ; crying &# 34 ; behavior , rather than to elicit a pause in such behavior . also , the three modes herein described may be used separately or in different combinations of two &# 39 ; s , other than the all - combined ( modes 1 , 2 and 3 ) combination described for fig3 a - 3c . for example , modes 1 or 2 might be used alone , or the combinations 1 / 2 , 2 / 3 and 1 / 3 might be used . all such modifications and variations are intended to be included in the present invention , which is set forth in more particularity by the appended claims .	0
the following detailed description is merely exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the disclosure or the application and uses thereof . furthermore , there is no intention to be bound by any theory presented in the preceding background or the following turning now to fig1 , an exemplary environment 100 for the implementation of the disclosed system and method is shown . a fss structure 110 is configured of fit directly over the top of an existing molded antenna structure 120 . the fss structure may be configured as a cover which can be placed over existing antennas and radomes , or as a flexible substrate with an adhesive backing that may be adhered to the antenna . turning now to fig2 , an exemplary fss structure 200 is shown . the fss structure may be loaded with package components 210 such as high q packaged components such as electromechanical resonators , and / or surface mount inductors and capacitors and / or equivalent coplanar frequency selective structures , such as open and shorted transmission line stubs . turning now to fig3 , an exemplary process for manufacturing the fss is shown . the plurality of unit cells which comprise the fss may be etched onto a thin flexible single - sided copper clad substrate 310 such as , but not limited to , kapton or pet . one side of this substrate is coated with an adhesive material 220 . the adhesive backing 220 on the substrate is used to mount the assembled fss to an existing radome or antenna cover and may include graphics or other information and attached to the antenna radome similar to a decal . the fss loaded with packaged components such as , but not limited to , high q packaged components such as electromechanical resonators , and / or surface mount inductors and capacitors and / or equivalent coplanar frequency selective structures , such as open and shorted transmission line stubs which can be placed and soldered 320 on to the flexible single sided copper clad substrate . the plurality of unit cells which comprise the fss may be etched onto a thin flexible single - sided copper clad substrate such as but not limited to kapton or pet . one side of this substrate may be coated with an adhesive material . the adhesive backing on the substrate may be used to mount the assembled fss to a thermoformed plastic shell having the same shape and dimensions as the existing radome or antenna cover over which it is meant to be placed 330 . turning now to fig4 , an alternative method of adhering the fss is shown . attachment of this fss and plastic shell combination 410 over an existing radome 420 housing an antenna 430 may be accomplished by using adhesive material placed on a mounting foot 440 . the purpose of this mount foot 440 is to provide a flat surface for attachment of the proposed invention to surrounding support material such as the roof of a car . an example of the adhered fss to an existing radome 450 is shown . the fss may be coated with the adhesive on the back of the radome , wherein the mounting foot 440 is employed for additional adhesion strength . alternatively the fss 410 may not have an adhesive applied to the surface and only to the mounting foot 440 . in this example , the fss 410 is adhered only by the mounting foot 440 . turning now to fig5 , an exemplary method for assembling an apparatus according to the present disclosure is shown . an exemplary method of protecting the surface mount devices and the fss is shown by first etching the fss design on a flexible substrate with adhesive backing 520 . the fss is etched and , as needed , packaged components are then soldered onto the fss 530 . a thermoform solid antenna cover is created 510 to protect the components mounted on the fss . the solid antenna cover is then affixed to on the fss on the same side as the packaged components 540 to create a complete fss structure . the complete fss structure is then adhered to the existing radome / antenna 550 as described previously . attachment of these two plastic shells can be accomplished by using adhesive backing or acoustic welding to bond the mounting feet on the base of each shell . the frequency selective surface ( fss ) loaded with packaged components such as , but not limited to , high q packaged components such as electromechanical resonators , and / or surface mount inductors and capacitors and / or equivalent coplanar frequency selective structures , such as open and shorted transmission line stubs . the plurality of unit cells which comprise the fss are etched onto a thin flexible single - sided copper clad substrate such as but not limited to kapton or pet . the reverse side of this substrate is coated with an adhesive material . the adhesive backing on the substrate may be used to mount the assembled fss to an inner thermoformed plastic shell having the same shape and dimensions as the existing radome or antenna cover over which it is meant to be placed . attachment of this fss and plastic shell combination over an existing radome can be accomplished by using adhesive material placed on the bottom of the inner plastic shell mounting foot . the purpose of this mount foot is to provide a flat surface for attachment of the proposed invention to surrounding support material such as the roof of a car . turning now to fig6 , an exemplary method of implementing 600 the present disclosed system and method is shown . the fss 610 is shown encased in both and outer thermoformed cover and an inner thermoformed cover . the fss 610 is shown with the optional mounting feet . the fss 610 is configured to be conformed and adhered to the existing radome antenna structure 630 . the fss adhered to the radome antenna structure is shown 620 . turning now to fig7 , a method 700 for assembling a fss with inner and outer thermoformed covers is shown . an exemplary method of protecting the surface mount devices and the fss is shown by first etching the fss design on a flexible substrate with adhesive backing 720 . the fss is etched and the packaged components are then soldered onto the fss 730 . a thermoform solid antenna inner cover is created 710 to protect the components mounted on the fss . the solid antenna cover is then affixed to on the fss on the same side as the packaged components 540 to create a semi complete fss structure . a thermoformed outer cover is then created 750 to protect the outer surface of the fss . the outer cover is then adhered to the semi complete fss structure 760 to create a complete fss structure . the complete fss structure is then adhered to the existing radome / antenna 770 as described previously . attachment of these two plastic shells can be accomplished by using adhesive backing or acoustic welding to bond the mounting feet on the base of each shell . the frequency selective surface ( fss ) loaded with packaged components such as but not limited to surface mount inductors and capacitors and / or electromechanical resonators . the plurality of unit cells which comprise the fss are etched onto a thin flexible single - sided copper clad substrate such as but not limited to kapton or pet . the reverse side of this substrate is coated with an adhesive material . the adhesive backing on the substrate may be used to mount the assembled fss to an inner thermoformed plastic shell having the same shape and dimensions as the existing radome or antenna cover over which it is meant to be placed . attachment of this fss and plastic shell combination over an existing radome can be accomplished by using adhesive material placed on the bottom of the inner plastic shell mounting foot . the purpose of this mount foot is to provide a flat surface for attachment of the proposed invention to surrounding support material such as the roof of a car . it will be appreciated that while this exemplary embodiment is described in the context of a fully functioning computer system , those skilled in the art will recognize that the mechanisms of the present disclosure are capable of being distributed as a program product with one or more types of non - transitory computer - readable signal bearing media used to store the program and the instructions thereof and carry out the distribution thereof , such as a non - transitory computer readable medium bearing the program and containing computer instructions stored therein for causing a computer processor to perform and execute the program . such a program product may take a variety of forms , and the present disclosure applies equally regardless of the particular type of computer - readable signal bearing media used to carry out the distribution . examples of signal bearing media include : recordable media such as floppy disks , hard drives , memory cards and optical disks , and transmission media such as digital and analog communication links	7
please refer to fig2 , which is a schematic diagram of a power supply device 10 for driving an amplifier 12 according to an embodiment of the present invention . the amplifier 12 receives driving power through a positive power reception end 120 and a negative power reception end 122 , amplifies a signal v in received by a signal reception end 124 , and outputs a signal v out from a signal output end 126 . the power supply device 10 includes a first power generator 100 , a second power generator 102 , a charge pump 104 , and a control unit 106 . the first power generator 100 and the second power generator 102 generate voltages cv dd and cv cc for a positive power reception end 120 of the amplifier 12 and the charge pump 104 . the charge pump 104 converts the voltage cv cc provided by the second power generator 102 into a negative voltage cv ss , cv ss =(− n 2 )× cv cc , and outputs the voltage cv ss to the negative power reception end 122 of the amplifier 12 . thus , positive and negative powers driving the amplifier 12 are provided by different power generators . the control unit 106 controls the voltage cv cc of the second power generator 102 , so as to adjust the voltage cv ss to make the voltage cv dd equal to a multiple of the voltage cv ss , or cv ss =(− n )× cv dd . therefore , in the power supply device 10 , levels of positive and negative powers of the amplifier 12 may be different for applying to different situations . for example , please refer to fig3 and fig4 . fig3 is a schematic diagram of signal waveforms corresponding to the amplifier 12 in a condition of n = 0 . 5 , while fig4 is a schematic diagram of signal waveforms corresponding to the amplifier 12 in a condition of n = 1 . 5 . in fig3 , the output voltage v out of the amplifier 12 has a small amplitude when operating in a power saving mode , such as an idle mode , so that setting n smaller than 1 can reduce quiescent current and power consumption . on the contrary , in fig4 , the output voltage v out of the amplifier 12 has a greater amplitude when operating in a normal mode , so that n can be set larger than 1 . in this way , even if the voltage cv ss varies with charging and discharging capacitors of the charge pump 104 , signals outputted from the amplifier 12 can be prevented from being curtailed since the voltage cv ss is 1 . 5 times the voltage cv dd , meaning that the amplifier 12 has a wider output range in the negative polarity . thus , the capacitors in the charge pump 104 can be replaced with capacitors of less capacitance , so that a size of the charge pump 104 can be reduced . note that , the power supply device 10 shown in fig2 is an exemplary embodiment of the present invention , and those skills in the art can make modification , such as driving a plurality of amplifiers , not just one . please refer to fig5 , which is a schematic diagram of the power supply device 10 for driving amplifiers 500 , 502 according to the present invention . the amplifiers 500 , 502 receive driving power from positive reception ends 520 , 528 and negative reception ends 522 , 530 , amplify signals v in 1 , v in 2 received from signal reception ends 524 , 532 , and then output signals v out 1 , v out 2 to a load circuit 504 , such as a stereo headphone or a loudspeaker , through signal output ends 526 , 534 . in addition , the present invention can also accomplish the same performance by one power generator . please refer to fig6 , which is a schematic diagram of a power supply device 60 for driving an amplifier 62 according to a second embodiment of the present invention . the amplifier 62 receives driving power from a positive power reception end 620 and a negative power reception end 622 , amplifies a signal v in received by a signal reception end 624 , and outputs a signal v out through a signal output end 626 . the power supply device 60 includes a power generator 600 , a power conversion unit 602 , a charge pump 604 and a control unit 606 . the power generator 600 provides a voltage cv dd for a positive power reception end 620 of the amplifier 62 and the power conversion unit 602 . the power conversion unit 602 converts the voltage cv dd into a voltage cv cc and outputs the voltage cv cc to the charge pump 604 . the charge pump 604 converts the voltage cv cc provided by the power conversion unit 602 into a negative voltage cv ss ( cv ss =(− n 2 )× cv cc ) and outputs the voltage cv ss to the negative power reception end 622 of the amplifier 62 . besides , the control unit 606 controls the voltage cv cc of the power conversion unit 602 , so as to adjust the voltage cv ss to make the voltage cv dd equal to a multiple of the voltage cv ss , or cv ss =(− n )× cv dd . therefore , in the power supply device 60 , levels of positive and negative powers of the amplifier 62 may be different for applying to different situations . in a power saving mode ( as shown in fig3 ), the output voltage v out of the amplifier 62 has a small amplitude , so that setting n smaller than 1 can reduce quiescent current to reduce power consumption . on the contrary , in a normal mode ( as shown in fig4 ), the output voltage v out of the amplifier 62 has a greater amplitude , so that n can be set larger than 1 . in this way , even if the voltage cv ss varies with charging and discharging capacitors of the charge pump 604 , signals outputted from the amplifier 62 can be prevented from being curtailed since the voltage cv ss is 1 . 5 times the voltage cv dd , meaning that the amplifier 62 has a wider output range in the negative polarity . thus , the capacitors in the charge pump 604 can be replaced with capacitors of less capacitance , so that a size of the charge pump 604 can be reduced . in summary , in the present invention power supply device , levels of the positive and negative powers of the amplifier can be different . in the power saving mode , the present invention can set n smaller than 1 for reducing quiescent current and saving power . in the normal mode , the present invention can set n larger than 1 , so that the amplifier has a wider output range in the negative polarity . under this circumstance , the capacitors in the charge pump can be replaced by capacitors of less capacitance , so that the size of the charge pump can be further reduced . in addition , due to two power generators driving multiple amplifiers , the present invention can prevent current variation generated by switching transistors from affecting system operations . those skilled in the art will readily observe that numerous modifications and alterations of the device and method may be made while retaining the teachings of the invention . accordingly , the above disclosure should be construed as limited only by the metes and bounds of the appended claims .	7
fig1 shows a block diagram of a system 10 for producing personalized image - based products . an online printing system 20 can be established by an image service provider to provide image services and products on a wide area network such as the internet 50 . the online printing system 20 can include a data center 30 , one or more printing and finishing facilities 40 and 41 , and a computer network 80 that can facilitate the communications between the data center 30 and the finishing facilities 40 and 41 . in the present specification , the term “ personalized ” is used in personalized content , personalized messages , personalized images , and personalized designs that can be incorporated in the personalized products . the term “ personalized ” refers to the information that is specific to the recipient , the user , the gift product , or the intended occasion . the content of personalization can be provided by a user or selected by the user from a library of content provided by the image - server provided . the content provided can include stock images and content licensed from a third party . the term “ personalized information ” can also be referred to as “ individualized information ” or “ customized information ”. examples of personalized image - based products may include personalized photo greeting cards , photo prints , photo books , photo t - shirt , and photo , mugs etc . the personalized image - based products can include users &# 39 ; photos , personalized text , and personalized designs . the term “ photo book ” refers to books that include one or more pages and at least one image on a book page . a photo books can include a photo albums , a scrapbook , a photo calendar book , or a photo snapbook , etc . the photo book in the disclosed system can include personalized image and text content provided by a user or by a third party . a “ photo - book kit ” in the disclosed system refers to a photo book comprising personalized content as described above , as well as one or more book accessories such as a slip case for a book , a book insert such as a bookmark , and a dust jacket . the “ photo - book kit ” in the disclosed system can include personalized content on the book pages , the book cover , and the book accessories . the data center 30 can include one or more servers 32 , data storage devices 34 for storing image data , user account and order information , and one or more computer processors 36 for processing orders and rendering digital images . an online - photo website can be powered by the servers 32 to serve as a web interface between the users 70 and the image service provider . the users 70 can order image - based products from the web interface . the printing and finishing facilities 40 and 41 can produce the ordered image - based products such as photographic prints , greeting cards , holiday cards , post cards , photo albums , photo calendars , photo books , photo t - shirt , photo mugs , photo aprons , image recording on compact disks ( cds ) or dvds , and framed photo prints . the architecture of the data storage devices 34 is designed to optimize the data accessibility , the storage reliability and the cost . further details on the image data storage in online printing system 20 are provided in the commonly assigned u . s . pat . no . 6 , 839 , 803 , titled “ multi - tier data storage system ”, which is incorporated herein by reference . the printing and finishing facilities 40 and 41 can be co - located at the data center 30 . alternatively , the printing and finishing facility 40 and 41 can be located remotely from the data center 30 . the printing and finishing facilities 40 and 41 can be set up . each printing and finishing facility 40 or 41 can be geographically located close to a large population of customers to shorten order delivery time . furthermore , the printing and finishing facilities 40 and 41 and the data center 30 can be operated by different business entities . for example , a first business entity can own the data center 30 and host the website that can be accessed by the users 70 . the printing and finishing facilities 40 and 41 can be owned and operated by a second business entity , which can be referred as an application service provider ( asp ), responsible for fulfilling the image - based products ordered through at the website . the printing and finishing facility 40 can include one or more network servers 42 , printers 45 for printing images on physical surfaces , finishing equipment 46 for operations after the images are printed , and shipping stations 48 for confirming the completion of the orders and shipping the ordered image - based products to the user 70 or recipients 100 and 105 . the one or more network servers 42 can communicate with the data center 30 via the computer network 80 and facilitate the communications between different devices and stations in the printing and finishing facility 40 . the computer network 80 can include a local area network , a wide area network , and wireless communication network . the printers 45 can receive digital image data and control data , and reproduce images on receivers . the receivers can be separate photo prints , or pages to be incorporated into photo books . examples of the printers 45 include can be digital photographic printers such as fuji frontier minilab printers , kodak dls minilab printers , imaging solutions cyra fastprint digital photo printer , or kodak i - lab photo printers . the printers 45 can include offset digital printers or digital printing presses such as hp indigo digital printing press , xerox &# 39 ; s igen printer series , or eastman kodak &# 39 ; s nexpress digital press , etc . the printers 45 can also include large format photo or inkjet printers for printing posters and banners . the printing and finishing facilities 40 and 41 can include a film processor 43 for processing exposed films , and a scanner 44 for digitizing processed film stripes . the order information and image data can be transferred from servers 32 to the network servers 42 using a standard or a proprietary protocol ( ftp , http , among others ). the finishing equipment 46 can perform operations for finishing a complete image - based product other than printing , for example , cutting , folding , adding a cover to photo book , punching , stapling , gluing , binding , envelope printing and sealing , packaging , labeling , package weighing , and postage metering . the finishing operations can also include framing a photo print , recording image data on a cd - rom and dvd , making photo t - shirts and photo mugs , etc . furthermore , the printers 45 and the finishing equipments 46 can reside at different locations . a user 70 can access the online - photo website using a computer terminal 60 as shown in fig2 . the computer terminal 60 can be a personal computer , a portable computer device , or a public entry terminal such as a kiosk . the computer terminal 60 allows a user 70 to execute software to perform tasks such as communicating with other computer users , accessing various computer resources , and viewing , creating , or otherwise manipulating electronic content , that is , any combination of text , images , movies , music or other sounds , animations , 3d virtual worlds , and links to other objects . exemplary components of the computer terminal 60 , shown in fig2 , include input / output ( i / o ) devices ( mouse 203 , keyboard 205 , display 207 ) and a general purpose computer 200 having a central processor unit ( cpu ) 221 , an t / o unit 217 and a memory 209 that stores data and various programs such as an operating system 211 , and one or more application programs 213 including applications for viewing , managing , and editing digital images ( e . g ., a graphics program such as adobe photoshop ). the computer 200 also includes non - volatile memory 210 ( e . g ., flash ram , a hard disk drive , and / or a usb memory card , a floppy disk , a cd - rom , a dvd , or other removable storage media ), and a communications device 223 ( e . g ., a modem or network adapter ) for exchanging data with an internet 50 via a communications link 225 ( e . g ., a telephone line ). the computer 200 allows the user 70 to communicate with the online - photo website using the wired or wireless communication card or device 223 . the user 70 can set up and access her personal account . the user 70 can enter user account information such as the user &# 39 ; s name , address , payment information ( e . g . a credit card number ), and information about the recipient of the image - based products . the user 70 can also enter payment information such as credit card number , the name and address on the credit card etc . the user 70 can upload digital images to the online - photo website . the user can store the images in an online photo album , create personalized image - based product at the web user interface , and order a personal image - based product and a gift product for specified recipients 100 and 105 . the computer 200 can be connected to various peripheral i / o devices such as an image capture device ( digital camera , film scanner or reflective scanners ). the peripheral device can be a digital camera 208 . the digital images captured by a digital camera are typically stored in a memory card or a memory stick ( e . g ., smartmedia ™ or compactflash ™) that are detachable from the digital camera . the digital images on the memory card can be transferred to o a non - volatile memory 210 using a card reader 206 . the digital camera 208 can also be directly connected to the computer 200 using a firewire or an usb port , a camera docking station , or a wireless communication port to allow digital images to be transferred from the memory on the detail camera to the computer &# 39 ; s disk drive or the non - volatile memory 210 . the user 70 can also obtain digital images from film - based prints from a traditional camera , by sending an exposed film into a photo - finishing service , which develops the film to make prints and / or scans ( or otherwise digitizes ) the prints or negatives to generate digital image files . the digital image files then can be downloaded by the user or transmitted back to the user by e - mail or on a cd - rom , diskette , or other removable storage medium . the users can also digitize images from a negative film using a film scanner that is connected to the computer 200 or from a reflective image print using a scanner . digital images can also be created or edited using an image software application 213 such as adobe photoshop . once the digital images are stored on the computer 200 , a user can perform various operations on the digital images using application programs 213 stored in memory 209 . for example , an image viewer application can be used for viewing the images and a photo editor application can be used for touching up and modifying the images . an electronic messaging ( e . g ., e - mail ) application can be used to transmit the digital images to other users . the application programs 213 can also enable the user 210 to create a personalized image - based product on the computer 200 . several of the above described imaging functions can be incorporated in a client software application that can be installed on a user &# 39 ; s computer 200 . in addition to viewing the digital images on the computer display 207 , the user 70 may desire to have physical image - based products made of digital images . prints can be generated by the user 70 using a digital printer 230 that is connected to the computer 200 . typical digital printers 230 can include such as an inkjet printer or a dye sublimation printer . the user 70 can also purchase image - based products from the online image service provider . the production of these image - based products often require the use of commercial equipment which are usually only available at a commercial production location such as the printing and finishing facilities 40 and 41 . an example for the online image service providers is shutterfly , inc ., located at redwood city , calif . the user 70 can be a consumer that accesses the computer terminal 60 from home or a public entry terminal . the user 70 can also be a business owner or employee that may access the computer terminal 60 at a retail location such as a photo shop or a printing store . the disclosed system is compatible with a retail imaging service using a local computer 200 at the point of sales , or an online printing system wherein a user 70 access a server 32 using a remote computer terminal 60 . the formats of communication between the computer terminal 60 and the servers 32 as well as the graphic user interface can be customized for the consumer and commercial customers . the computer terminal 60 can also be a public entry terminal such as a kiosk for receiving digital image data from the user 70 and uploading the digital images to the server 32 . after the digital image files have been uploaded , the user can view , manipulate and / or order prints in the manners described above . the public entry terminal can also support various electronic payment and authorization mechanisms , for example , a credit or debit card reader in communication with a payment authorization center , to enable users to be charged , and pay for , their prints at the time of ordering . an exemplified process of using the online image service can include the following . the user 70 sends digital images to the servers 32 provided by the online printing system 20 by uploading over the internet 50 using a standard or a proprietary protocol ( ftp , http , xml , for example ) or electronic communication application ( for example , e - mail or special - purpose software provided by the photo - finisher ). the user 70 can also send digital image data stored on an electronic storage medium such as a memory card or recordable cd by us mail , overnight courier or local delivery service . the photo - finisher can then read the images from the storage medium and return it to the user , potentially in the same package as the user &# 39 ; s print order . the image service provider can load data or programs for the user &# 39 ; s benefit onto the storage medium before returning it to the user . for example , the photo - finisher can load the storage medium with an application program 213 for the user to create a personalized image - based product on his computer 200 . the user 70 can also send a roll of exposed film , and processed film negatives to the image service provider . the exposed film is processed by the film processor 43 and digitized by the scanner 44 in the printing and finishing facilities 40 and 41 . the digital image data output from the scanner 44 is stored on the data storage 34 . after the image service provider has received the user &# 39 ; s digital images , the image service provider can host the images on the online photo website , at which the user can view and access the images using a web browser or a locally installed software application . the user 70 can access the online - photo website to create and design a photo - based product such as a photo book and a photo greeting card , and specify the images to be reproduced on an image - based product and parameters relating to printing ( e . g ., finish , size , number of copies ). the user 70 can also designate one or more recipients 100 and 105 to whom the image - based products are to be sent . after the user &# 39 ; s images have reached the image service provider and have been made available online , the user can place an order with the image service provider . one way to place an order is by having the user 70 view the images online , for example , with a browser and selectively designate which images should be printed . the user can also specify one or more recipients 100 and 105 to whom prints should be distributed and , further , print parameters for each of the individual recipients , for example , not only parameters such as the size , number of copies and print finish , but potentially also custom messages to be printed on the back or front of a print . the user 70 can also authorize a recipient 110 to receive the user &# 39 ; s images electronically by entering the recipient 110 &# 39 ; s email address and other electronic identifications . the information entered by the user 70 can be stored on the server 32 and the data storage 34 , and subsequently transmitted to a printing and finishing facility 40 or 41 for making the image - based products . the image - based products can include photographic prints , but also any other item to which graphical information can be imparted , for example , greeting or holiday cards , books , greeting cards , playing cards , t - shirts , coffee mugs , mouse pads , key - chains , photo collectors , photo coasters , or other types of photo gift or novelty item . the image - based products are printed by the printer 45 and finished by finishing equipment 46 according to the printing parameters as specified by the user 70 . the image - based products are then delivered to the specified recipients 100 and 105 using standard u . s . mail , or courier services such as federal express and ups . referring to fig3 , an exemplified manufacturing workflow 300 for printing page products includes the following steps . content for printed products are first received from a user ( step 310 ) by a printing finishing facility 40 in the online printing system 20 , a local printing shop , and a retail location . the content can include text , images , page layout , background of a page , designs , styles , etc . the content can also include selections of text , images , and designs already stored at the printing finishing facility 40 . the content can be licensed from a third party by the user or a business entity associated with the printing finishing facility 40 . the user then designs layouts of the printed products using the content ( step 320 ). the printed products include one or more printed page ( s ) based on the content received from the user . example of the printed products include brochures , pamphlets , printed pages insertable to a binder , calendars , posters , books , photo books , product data sheets , book marks , and various types cards such as folded greeting cards , post cards , note cards , and flat holiday cards . some printed products can be in the form of single pages ( e . g . posters , flat post cards , and flat holiday cards , product data sheets , and printed pages ). a single - page printed product can be formed by cutting from a large printed page to its final dimension . some printed products include a collection of printed pages that need to be assembled by finishing operations such as sheet cutting , folding , gluing , threading , etc . the layout design ( step 320 ) can include the selection of text , font type and size of the text , image , sizes and locations of the images and text , background design , templates , and colors of the text and images . orders for printed products are next received by the printing finishing facility 40 ( step 330 ). each order includes one or more printed pages that incorporate the content submitted by a user . for efficiency reasons , referring to fig4 , several printed pages to be incorporated into a printed product can be printed on a large sheet 410 . a number of sheets 410 can be stacked into a stack 400 . the stack 400 can include printed pages from a plurality of orders . for example , the sheet 410 can be 16 ″ wide and 22 ″ long . the printed product can be greeting cards that are 7 ″ wide and 10 ″ long ( which can be folded into a 5 ″ by 7 ″ card after printing ). multiple images of printed pages are printed on a sheet 410 in the stack 400 ( step 350 ). for example , four card images 411 - 414 can be printed on a single sheet 410 . the images 411 - 414 can be slightly larger than the 7 ″ by 10 ″ final card dimensions . the long dimensions of the card image 411 - 414 can be aligned with the long dimension of the sheet 410 . the short dimensions of the card images 411 - 414 can be aligned with the short dimension of the sheet 410 . the sheet 410 can include margins 415 between the card images 411 - 414 and along the edges of the sheet 410 . for producing cards with double - sided printed images , the sheet 410 can be printed double - side with another set of card images printed on the back side . the card images on the two sides of the sheet 410 are registered in their locations on the sheet 410 . the card images 411 - 414 in different sheets 410 can be aligned in separate columns such that they can be cut into different card stacks as described below . a stack 400 of sheets 410 are typically printed in a batch by a printer or a printing press . the sheets 410 are typically stacked in an output tray of the printer or the printing press . each stack 400 usually includes printed pages from a plurality of orders each of which may have different number of printed pages . the arrangement of the printed pages in the stack needs to be optimized before printing to minimize paper waste ( step 340 ), as described in detail below . after the stack 400 of sheets 410 is printed , the stack 400 is cut along the borders of the card images 411 - 414 ( step 360 ). the margins 415 are discarded . four stacks 510 , 520 , 530 , 540 of printed pages , as shown in fig5 , are produced . the stack 510 contains individual printed pages 511 . similarly , the stacks 520 , 530 , and 540 respectively contain printed pages 521 , 531 , 541 . the printed pages 511 , 521 , 531 , 541 respectively carry card image 411 , 412 , 413 , and 414 printed on the sheets 410 as described above . each stack 510 , 520 , 530 , or 540 is separated into different orders , and packaged and shipped directly ( step 370 ). each order can include one or more greeting cards . the printed pages 511 , 521 , 531 , 541 can also be scored and folded in one or more finishing steps ( step 380 ) to form folded cards before they are packaged and shipped . for example , a printed page 511 , 521 , 531 , 541 can 10 ″× 7 ″ that can be folded into 5 ″ by 7 ″ folded card . the recipient of the order can be the same or different from the user who sent in the content , or submitted the order . while the above described process allows a large number of printed pages to be efficiently printed and cut in a batch , it can also generate a significant amount of paper waste , because each card stack 510 , 520 , 530 , or 540 can include significant number of unpainted pages . the card orders are usually broken into subbatches . the maximum card number in a card subbatch is determined by the number of sheets 410 in the stack 400 . for example , the maximum number of sheets 410 in the stack 400 can be set to 51 , which may be determined , for example , by ease of cutting the stack by a cutter . the maximum number of cards in a card subbatch is therefore also 51 . a card order containing 61 cards is thus separated into two smaller subbatches such as 51 and 10 . the two subbatches of 51 and 10 cards need to printed in different card stacks 511 , 521 , 531 , and 541 , and re - assembled into a single card stack after cutting ( normally before folding ) so they can be shipped together as an order . the card stacks 510 , 520 , 530 , and 540 have the same number of pages ( most are printed but some may be unprinted or blank ) because the card stacks 510 , 520 , 530 , and 540 are made from the same stack 400 . each card stack 510 , 520 , 530 , or 540 is formed by card subbatches that can have different numbers of cards . a card stack 510 , 520 , 530 , or 540 does not have unprinted pages if the total number of cards ( that can be from one or more subbatches ) in that card stack matches the number of pages in that stack ( which also equals to the number of sheets in the stack 400 ). in some situations , one or more pages in a card stack 510 , 520 , 530 , or 540 are not printed , if the total number of cards in the card stack is smaller than the number of printed pages in that card stack . the blank or unprinted printed pages represent a waste in the manufacturing process . the optimization of the card stacks ( step 340 ) is now described using the above example of card printing . in the present invention , a job or printing job refers to a group of subbatches to be printed together . to create a printing job , card subbatches need to assigned to form different columns in a stack of sheets . card orders having more than 51 cards are first separated into card subbatches smaller than or equal to 51 . in one example , a series of card subbatches having the following number of cards can be generated : an exemplified solution for the stack separation results in a job having 215 sheets ( 410 ) that contains five stacks respectively comprising 51 , 51 , 51 , 50 , and 12 sheets : the subbatches are moved around from the original chronicle sequence to balance the sizes of the stacks . the fourth and the fifth stack size are respectively reduced to 50 and 12 sheets to minimize blank pages . the subbatch containing 15 cards is s divided into 3 and 12 cards in two separate stacks . similarly , the subbatch containing 18 cards is divided into 9 and 9 cards in two separate stacks . the subbatch containing 4 card sheets is divided into 3 and 1 card in two separate stacks . the maximum stack number is determined by the column ( or stack ) that has the most items . for example , for the fifth stack comprising 10 , 12 , 9 ( 3 + 9 ) in the four stacks , the maximum stack size is 12 . the above s exemplified solution resulted in 6 un - printed or wasted pages . the separation of each series of card subbatches usually has multiple solutions . a worst stack separation can have 51 printed pages in a stack and all blank pages for b stack , c stack , and d stacks . a systematic approach is thus needed to seek for the solution producing the least number of blank pages . a “ stack - balancing ” algorithm installed on a computer at the printing finishing facility 40 or 41 attempts to separate them into four stacks ( a , b , c , and d ) corresponding to card stacks 511 , 521 , 531 and 541 . the maximum number of sheets for each stack can be 51 . to fulfill these card orders at the lower paper waste , the algorithm attempts to separate the stacks to have stack sizes as equal as possible , to reduce paper waste . referring to fig6 and 7 , the “ stack - balancing ” algorithm can include one or more of the following steps : collect enough number of subbatches to above a minimum number of total cards ( step 610 ). for the example of card printing described above and illustrated in fig4 and 5 , at least four card subbatches are needed to have four card images printed on a sheet 410 . unique item counts are defined by the number of unique values in the list of subbatch item counts to balance . for example , the group of subbatches respectively having 10 , 15 , 18 , 18 , and 10 printed pages has three unique item counts ( 10 , 15 , 18 ). a possible reduced stack size is next determined based on the difference between the two largest subbatch item counts found in the job ( step 620 ). if second to largest item count is less then 65 % of largest then the largest is moved to the next job . for example : if the item counts in a group of subbatches are 1 , 3 , 5 , 8 , 11 , 51 then 51 is skipped and the maximum stack size calculated will be 11 . if item counts are 1 , 3 , 5 , 8 , 11 , 46 , 51 then maximum size will be 51 . this step makes item counts more evenly distributed among subbatches , thus giving a better chance for balanced distribution between different columns of printed pages in the stack 400 or more balanced stacks 510 - 540 . the maximum stack size is next set to the maximum using one of the following two methods : a ) a sum of all item counts divided by the number of stacks . b ) the largest item count in any one subbatch as determined in the step 620 . example item counts and calculated stack size if there are 4 stacks ( e . g . 510 , 520 530 , 540 ): for item counts of 51 , 48 , 2 , 1 , 8 , the maximum stack size is set to 51 using method b ). 10 , 15 , 18 , 17 , 12 , 15 , 16 , 3 , 2 has a total of 108 items . the maximum stack size is et to be 108 / 4 = 27 using method a ). next , subbatches are sorted into a sequence having ascending item counts ( step 640 ). for example , 1 , 15 , 19 , 20 , 20 , 20 , 20 , 21 , 23 , 50 , 51 , 51 , 51 , 51 . a multiple of algorithms are then used to search for solutions using the sorted item counts and the max stack size ( step 650 ) before a least wasteful solution is selected . the first fit , best fit , worse fit , and almost worse fit are the conventional names used for fitting similar types of problems . each of the algorithms will be described using the above example of subbatch sequence : 1 , 15 , 19 , 20 , 20 , 20 , 20 , 21 , 23 , 50 , 51 , 51 , 51 , 51 . the maximum stack size is 104 using method b ) described above . key steps of this algorithm includes one or more of the following steps : assigns item count to the first stack that still has room . assigns each subbatch item count to the first stack that still has room . check if it will fit on the first stack . stop if it fits and assign to that stack . if will not fit , try the next stack . if it fits the next stack , stop and assign it to that stack . repeat until out of stacks . if it will not fit on any stack the item count is skipped . a stack : 1 , 15 , 19 , 20 , 20 , 20 [ 95 ] b stack : 20 , 21 , 23 [ 64 ] c stack : 50 , 51 [ 101 ] d stack : 51 , 51 [ 102 ] the sums in the stacks are shown above in brackets [ ] skipped : 51 [ 51 ] number of blank pages ( waste ): 46 . key steps of this algorithm includes one or more of the following steps : assign item count to the fullest stack that still has room . assign each subbatch item count to the fullest stack that still has room . add value to all stack sizes and select the one with the greatest value that does not exceed the maximum size allowed . if it will not fit on any stack the item count is skipped . the best fit solution gives a stack : 1 , 15 , 19 , 20 , 20 , 20 [ 95 ] b stack : 20 , 21 , 23 [ 64 ] c stack : 50 , 51 [ 101 ] d stack : 51 , 51 [ 102 ] the sums in the stacks are shown above in brackets [ ]. key steps of this algorithm includes one or more of the following steps : assigns item count to the second emptiest stack that still has room . sort stack sizes by current sum values in descending order ( emptiest first ). assign to second stack if it fits ; if it does not fit , assign to first stack . if it does not fit on first or second stack , the item count is skipped . a stack : 1 , 20 , 20 , 50 [ 91 ] b stack : 15 , 20 , 21 [ 56 ] c stack : 19 , 20 , 23 [ 62 ] d stack : 51 , 51 [ 102 ] the sums in the stacks are shown above in brackets [ ]. key steps of this algorithm includes one or more of the following steps : assigns item count to the emptiest stack that still has room . add value to all stack sizes and select the one with the smallest value that does not exceed the maximum size allowed . if it will not fit on any stack the item count is skipped . a stack : 1 , 20 , 23 , 51 [ 95 ] b stack : 15 , 20 , 50 [ 85 ] c stack : 19 , 20 , 51 [ 90 ] d stack : 20 , 21 , 51 [ 92 ] the sums in the stacks are shown above in brackets [ ]. after sorting solutions are found using the algorithms as described above , the same subbatches are sorted into a sequence having descending item counts ( step 660 ): 51 , 51 , 51 , 51 , 50 , 23 , 21 , 20 , 20 , 20 , 20 , 19 , 15 , 1 ( step 660 ). the same algorithms are then used to search for a solution for subbatch sequence having ascending order ( step 670 ). the following solutions are obtained using the above described fitting algorithms : a stack : 51 , 51 , 1 [ 103 ] b stack : 51 , 51 [ 102 ] c stack : 50 , 23 , 21 [ 94 ] d stack : 20 , 20 , 20 , 20 , 19 [ 99 ] waste : 14 skipped : 15 [ 15 ] a stack : 51 , 51 , 1 [ 103 ] b stack : 51 , 51 [ 102 ] c stack : 50 , 23 , 21 [ 94 ] d stack : 20 , 20 , 20 , 20 , 19 [ 99 ] wastes : 14 skipped : 15 [ 15 ] a stack : 51 , 50 [ 101 ] b stack : 51 , 23 , 20 [ 94 ] c stack : 51 , 21 , 20 [ 92 ] d stack : 51 , 20 , 20 , 1 [ 92 ] waste : 25 skipped : 19 , 15 [ 34 ] a stack : 51 , 51 [ 102 ] b stack : 51 , 50 [ 101 ] c stack : 51 , 23 , 21 [ 95 ] d stack : 20 , 20 , 20 , 20 , 19 , 1 [ 100 ] waste : 10 skipped : 15 [ 15 ] select the least wasteful solution from all solutions ( step 680 ). the solution with the least blank cards is selected . in the above described example , the least wasteful solution was found when almost worst fit is applied to subbatches sorted in descending item counts . the subbatches in each stack in the least wasteful solution are sequenced back in accordance to the original subbatch sequence they were received ( i . e . according to first - in - first - out ( fifo ) of the printing orders ) ( step 690 ), which can improve efficiency of finishing and shipping . lastly , blank pages are inserted to fill each card stack to the same stack size , as needed , and combine back into one stack ( step 700 ). it is understood that the described system and methods can be implemented in various forms without deviating from the spirit of the specification . for instance , each sheet in a stack can include two , three , four , five , six , and other number of printed images , which can be cut into same number of stacks . the maximum number of sheets in a stack can be different from 51 . for example , the maximum number of sheets in a stack can be a number higher than 10 , 20 , 30 , 40 , or 50 . the pages in different stacks can have different sizes . each printed image corresponds to a single printable item such a card , a page in a calendar or a book , etc . the described system and methods are compatible with different printing equipment : digital printing press , lithographic printing press , laser printing , ink jet printing , photographic printing , thermal printing , and thermal dye sublimation printing .	6
the purposes and functions of the present invention are directed to two primary features . first , a multiplexer is incorporated to reduce the overall system cost by sharing expensive components between numerous less expensive elements . previously , every mold assembly supporting platform , which is a relatively low - cost component , had to be joined to a dedicated rf generator , a high - cost component . to increase functionality and reduce overall costs of the equipment , the present invention allows leveraging the high - cost component , the rf generator , with multiple mold assembly supporting platforms . a multiplexer is used to provide this function whereby each of the mold assembly supporting platforms has access to the shared component , the rf generator . the use of a multiplexer provides serial access between each mold assembly supporting platform and the rf generator in the nature of time sharing . a second feature of the present invention relates to the input to a computer controlled rf generator of the parameters of a particular platform mounted mold assembly to obtain the requisite forming , molding , tipping or welding of the plastic material , which may be plastic tubing , to be acted upon . presently , such parameters are manually entered into a computer controlling operation of the rf generator . while this procedure is adequate , operator errors may occur through incorrect settings . furthermore , as each mold may have different parameters as a function of the forming , molding , tipping or welding to be accomplished , the settings for a previously used mold assembly may be inadvertently not changed . additionally , as throughput is always an important function in any manufacturing process , significant delays may result from the requirement of operator input of settings for each mold assembly . by incorporating a control circuit , such as a pc board or memory chip , in each mold assembly , it can be programmed to contain the parameters of the mold . upon interrogation of the control circuit by a computer , the required settings for the rf generator will be automatically established . this avoids potential operator error , reduces set - up time and facilitates changing of mold assemblies and attendant automatic resetting of the rf generator to provide the requisite rf generator operation . referring to fig1 a and 1b , a detailed system diagram illustrates the preferred embodiment of the present invention . it includes rf generator 10 , temperature and motion control circuitry attendant each mold and mold platform , an hmi touch screen 12 and a computer 14 . each platform 20 , 22 , 24 and 26 supports a mold assembly including a mold 28 , 30 , 32 and 34 and a trigger or switch 36 , 38 , 40 and 42 , respectively . a multiplexer 44 serially interconnects the mold assemblies and molds 28 , 30 , 32 and 34 with the rf generator , as well as various other functions to be performed . fig2 is a simplified block diagram of the system shown in fig1 a and 1b . each mold assembly is mounted on one of platforms 1 , 2 , 3 or 4 . each mold assembly includes a control circuit to provide electrical signals corresponding with the unique parameters of the mold . these signals are transmitted to multiplexer 44 via the electrical conductors identified as mold code . the mold code is transmitted via electrical conductor 46 to computer 14 . the computer controls operation of the rf circuit represented by rf generator 48 . a source 50 of air under pressure , identified as “ shop - air ”, conveys through tubing 52 air under pressure to pressure regulators 54 . the pressure regulators , under control of the computer through a conductor identified as pressure control in response to a signal conveyed to the computer through a conductor identified as pressure sense causes an outflow of air under pressure from the pressure regulators is interconnected by one manifold with the molds and fixtures on each of platforms 1 , 2 , 3 and 4 . as illustrated , a foot switch may be associated with each of the platforms and operation of the respective foot switch is conveyed through the multiplexer to computer 14 by the conduits identified as key 1 , key 2 , key 3 and key 4 . additionally , temperature sensing and control attendant each of the molds is conveyed through conductors identified by the term temperature and corresponding with each respective mold . when a foot switch attendant one of the platforms is closed , a signal is sent to the computer . once the computer receives the signal it then sends a specific platform select signal and a pressure control signal to the multiplexer . the multiplexer then connects the rf generator , pneumatic valves and temperature sensing signals for use in temperature and motion control to the triggered platform and disconnects the signals from the other platforms . for example , if the switch located on platform 1 is closed , the computer senses that platform 1 has been activated . the computer then signals the multiplexer to connect a thermocouple , rf conductor and motion control lines to platform 1 to the rf generator . the computer then signals the pressure control modules , which may be located in the multiplexer , to change to the appropriate pressure for platform 1 . all of the platforms share a common pressure source . referring to fig3 , there is shown an off - the - shelf digital pressure regulator 54 manufactured by smc . two of these regulators may be present in the multiplexer . they receive different signals from the rf generator depending on the setting for the particular platform to be activated . they adjust to pressure proportionately to the signal they receive ( 0 - 5 v ). the resulting pressure is relative to the platforms and may be continually shared . fig4 illustrates the sequential nature of multiplexing that may be entertained in the present invention . presently , the apparatus has two constraints unique to the apparatus : 1 . the rf generator has a duty cycle constraint of approximately 50 % to maintain a relatively small size cabinet and acceptable weight without further heat sink devices , fans , etc . ; 2 . the number of input / output lines available and the simultaneous processing tasks / times that can be handled by the controller are initially set by a known multiplexing apparatus . to maintain the enclosure size , power supply limits , heat generation , etc . the controller input / output lines are switched in the multiplexer and the process logic for the individual molds / platforms is run sequentially . 1 . mode 1 configures a system for a “ next up ” scenario . in an environment where each platform has an operator , the rf generator will only recognize triggers when it is in an idle state ( not providing signals to the platform ). whichever platform is triggered will then immediately begin to operate . for example , if the cycle for platform number 2 has just ended , and if someone now triggers platform number 3 it will begin to operate . 2 . mode 2 configures the system for a “ first come , first served ” or “ take a number ” operation . in an environment where each platform may have an operator , the rf generator will monitor triggers ( foot switches illustrated in fig2 ) even when it is not in an idle state . for example , if platform number 2 is running and platform number 3 is triggered before the cycle finishes , the rf generator will operate platform number 3 as soon as operation on platform number 2 has terminated . 3 . mode 3 allows the operator to set up a predefined order in which the platforms will be operated . by triggering ( foot switch actuation ) any one of the platforms will cause a sequence of operation to begin . for example , if the order of operation of the platforms is intended to be 1 , 3 , 4 and 2 , and platform number 3 is triggered , the rf generator will cause operation of platforms number 1 , 3 , 4 and 2 . this mode is commonly used in an environment where a single operator is operating several platforms . most molds used to form , mold , tip or weld plastic material , such as plastic tubing , require a unique set of parameters in order to perform the intended function . the parameters are simply settings used to operate the mold , mold assembly and the platform correctly for a particular application . though the parameters may be unique for any given mold , the type of information stored remains constant . for example , the parameters include temperature , heat time , cool time and pressure , to name a few . sometimes changing these in the rf generator ( or an associated computer ) every time a mold is changed is not only cumbersome but fraught with the possibility of erroneous entries . this is exacerbated by the fact that there may be up to 30 different parameters for each mold and the likelihood of operator mistake is high . one way of overcoming potential operator error is to store the parameters in the rf generator / computer . for a limited number of different molds , this may be practical but when there is a possibility of using 100 or more molds , the information to be stored in the rf generator / computer is far too vast . in addition , any repair work on the rf generator / computer creates a risk of changes to the stored parameters or even loss of some or all of the parameters . to prevent such potentially disastrous result , all of the parameters would have to be recorded and possibly reentered on completion of the repairs . such work would necessarily delay return to service of the equipment and give rise to the possibility of misentry of some parameters . by storing the information attendant a mold in the mold assembly itself and having the rf generator / computer interrogate the mold as to its unique parameters , any need for storing the parameters other than in a mold assembly is completely avoided . moreover , during manufacture of a mold to perform a particular forming , molding , tipping or welding function on plastic material , whether plastic tubing or otherwise , the attendant parameters are determinable and a circuit board , memory chip or other interrogatable data source formed as part of or attached to the mold assembly renders the mold ready for use on receipt by the user . these features are representatively illustrated in fig5 and 6 . fig7 is a representative illustration of a presently available conventional memory integrated circuit 56 that could be programmed to contain the respective parameters . moreover , the memory integrated circuit can be readily interrogated to provide the parameters attendant operation of the associated mold . a circuit board supporting the requisite information containing components could similarly be associated with or otherwise attached to each mold assembly . in particular , fig5 illustrates a voltage divider 58 located within the multiplexer electronic assembly 44 . it is shown with nodes 60 between resistors r that are connected to the connectors ( ports ) through which control signals are passed to each of the platforms . the connections are such that the applied voltage ( which may be + 5 vdc ) divided by five is connected to a platform number signal pin in the connector to attach platform number 1 . the corresponding pin in the second platform &# 39 ; s connector ( platform number signal ) is connected to the next higher divider node ; that is , 2 × v / 5 . if v + is 5 vdc then the platform number signal for platform number 1 is 1 vdc , platform number 2 is 2 vdc , platform number 3 is 3 vdc and platform number 4 is 4 vdc . the right hand side of fig5 illustrates these connections for platforms numbers 2 and 4 . it also shows the electrical connections connected to the memory id symbol number circuit 62 within the mold assembly and memory containing assembly 64 . this mold assembly is mechanically attached and electrically connected to a platform . two such platforms are shown in fig5 along with the mold assemblies connected to ports 2 and 4 . an additional connection is shown to each mold and platform assembly which is in turn connected to the others and then to the multiplexer . this additional connection is the “ 1 - wire bus ” signal . the 1 - wire network protocol is a serial bus connection . all devices share 1 - wire and each device node has a unique network address on that bus . it is necessary for the operation of this apparatus that the mold / memory be associated with the platform within which it is physically located in order to properly apply the control signals to that platform and the associated task . fig6 details the memory id number circuit within the mold assembly . a second voltage divider 66 similar to the one shown in fig5 is connected to a “ quad comparator ” ( such as a lm339 ) device 68 inverting inputs as references for v / 5 , 2 × v / 5 , etc . and the platform number signal is simultaneously connected to the non - inverting inputs of all comparators . in practice , the resistor values have slightly changed from the multiplex divider ( 58 fig5 ) such that the resistor closest to ground in the platform is somewhat smaller than its counterpart to allow a margin for noise . thus , with 1 vdc coming from the multiplexer platform number 1 connector , the reference at the v / 5 comparator would be set to 1 - 0 . 2 vdc . the outputs of the four comparators are routed to the least significant four address inputs of the ds28e04 - 100 memory device 69 ( 4096 bit 1 - wire eeprom , dallas semiconductor ). referring to the truth table , if the platform number signal is less than the voltage required to turn on the first comparator , then all address lines are 0 . if the signal is 1 vdc , then the result is a logical 0001 . if the voltage is 4 vdc then all four bits are set . these bits are contained in the 64 - bit device i . d . that may be read over the 1 - wire network . by this means , the 1 - wire network device discovery protocol software run in the generator / controller may associate the physical location within each platform for each of the memories found . a preferred embodiment of mold assembly is illustrated in fig8 - 13 . certain details of this mold assembly relating to the structure and operation is set forth in u . s . pat . no . 7 , 438 , 548 entitled “ apparatus for rapidly heating and cooling a catheter mold ”, filed oct . 31 , 2006 , which is assigned to the present assignee . the substance of the information contained in this patent is incorporated herein by reference . fig8 is an exploded view of mold assembly 70 and various components are functionally labeled . this particular mold assembly may be used for forming , molding , tipping and / or welding plastic tubing . fig9 illustrates a platform 72 for supporting mold assembly 70 and the fixtures 74 , 75 for inserting and withdrawing the plastic tubing from the mold assembly . the mold itself , identified by number 77 in fig8 , is disposed within the mold assembly . to remove mold assembly 70 in order to substitute another mold assembly having a different mold , the mold assembly may be withdrawn by raising it relative to platform 72 . referring jointly to fig1 - 15 , details attendant the mechanical and electrical interconnection between mold assembly 70 and the platform 72 will be described . a substrate 73 is disposed within the platform . the substrate mechanically supports a pair of female electrical connectors 76 , 78 mounted on a plate 80 . a bracket 82 extending downwardly from substrate 73 , as particularly shown in fig1 for supporting plate 80 . mold assembly 70 is inserted through opening 84 in substrate 73 , as shown in fig1 . upon such insertion , contacts attendant printed circuit board 86 engage electrical connector 78 . contacts attendant circuit board 88 electrically engage electrical connector 76 . as illustrated , guide pins 90 , 92 may be incorporated to ensure accurate alignment with the electrical connectors . printed circuit board 88 , identified as “ smart mold pcba ” contains the parameters attendant operation of the mold . these parameters are transmitted via electrical connector 76 to the above discussed computer and rf generator . additionally , printed circuit board 86 includes data attendant operation of the mold as a function of the rf generator . in particular , printed circuit board 86 includes data attendant operation of the mold as a function of the rf generator . in particular , printed circuit board 86 includes information for tuning the heater located within the mold assembly that ultimately heats the mold . moreover , the rf energy to be applied may be transmitted through this printed circuit board . as shown in fig1 a , the hmi ( human machine interface ), which is common in the industry , is used to display real time mold temperature , settings , graphical representation of the temperature versus time as well as identifying leds showing which processes are currently in operation . other information unique to the operation under way may be displayed to an operator .	1
referring now to the drawings , an apparatus in which the inventive process for the production of nano - scale metal particles can be practiced is generally designated by the numeral 10 or 100 . in fig1 and 2 apparatus 10 is a closed system comprising closed reactor vessel 20 whereas in fig3 - 5 apparatus 100 is a flow - through reaction apparatus comprising flow - through reactor vessel 120 . it will be noted that fig1 - 5 show apparatus 10 , 100 in a certain orientation . however , it will be recognized that other orientations are equally applicable for apparatus 10 , 100 . for instance , when under vacuum , reactor vessel 20 can be in any orientation for effectiveness . likewise , in flow - through reactor vessel 120 , the flow of inert carrier gas and decomposable moieties or the flow of decomposable moieties as drawn by a vacuum in fig3 - 5 can be in any particular direction or orientation and still be effective . in addition , the terms “ up ” “ down ” “ right ” and “ left ” as used herein refer to the orientation of apparatus 10 , 100 shown in fig1 - 5 . referring now to fig1 and 2 , as discussed above apparatus 10 comprises a closed - system reactor vessel 20 formed of any material suitable for the purpose and capable of withstanding the exigent conditions for the reaction to proceed inside including conditions of temperature and / or pressure . reactor vessel 20 includes an access port 22 for providing an inert gas such as argon to fill the internal spaces of reactor vessel 20 , the inert gas being provided by a conventional pump or the like ( not shown ). similarly , as illustrated in fig2 , port 22 can be used to provide a vacuum in the internal spaces of reactor vessel 20 by using a vacuum pump or similar device ( not shown ). in order for the reaction to successfully proceed under vacuum in reactor vessel 20 , it is not necessary that an extreme vacuum condition be created . rather negative pressures no less than about 1 mm , preferably no less than about 250 mm , are all that are required . reactor vessel 20 has disposed therein a support 30 which can be attached directly to reactor vessel 20 or can be positioned on legs 32 a and 32 b within reactor vessel 20 . reactor vessel 20 also comprises a sealable opening shown at 24 , in order to permit reactor vessel 20 to be opened after the reaction is completed to remove support 30 or remove nano - scale metal particles deposited on support 30 . closure 24 can be a threaded closure or a pressure closure or other types of closing systems , provided they are sufficiently air tight to maintain inert gas or the desired level of vacuum within reactor vessel 20 . apparatus 10 further comprises at least one feeder 40 , and preferably a plurality of feeders 40 a and 40 b , for feeding reactants , more specifically the decomposable moiety , into reactor vessel 20 . as illustrated in fig1 and 2 , two feeders 40 a and 40 b are provided , although it is anticipated that other feeders can be employed depending on the nature of the decomposable moiety / moieties introduced into vessel 20 and / or end product nano - scale metal particles desired . feeders 40 a and 40 b can be fed by suitable pumping apparatus for the decomposable moiety such as venturi pumps or the like ( not shown ). as illustrated in fig1 , apparatus 10 further comprises a source of energy capable of causing decomposition of the decomposable moiety . in the embodiment illustrated in fig1 , the source of energy comprises a source of heat , such as a heat lamp 50 , although other radiant heat sources can also be employed . in addition , as discussed above , the source of energy can be a source of electromagnetic energy , such as infrared , visible or ultraviolet light , microwave energy , radio waves or other forms of sonic energy , as would be familiar to the skilled artisan , provided the energy employed is capable of causing decomposition of the decomposable moiety . in one embodiment , the source of energy can provide energy that is preferentially couple - able to support 30 so as to facilitate deposit of nano - scale metal particles produced by decomposition of the decomposable moiety on support 30 . however , where a source of energy such as heat is employed , which would also heat reactor vessel 20 , it may be desirable to cool reactor vessel 20 using , e . g ., cooling tubes 52 ( shown partially broken away ) such that reactor vessel 20 is maintained at a temperature below the decomposition temperature of the decomposable moiety . in this way , the decomposable moiety does not decompose at the surfaces of reactor vessel 20 but rather on support 30 . in an alternative embodiment illustrated in fig2 , support 30 itself comprises the source of energy for decomposition of the decomposable moiety . for instance , a resistance heater powered by connection 34 can be incorporated into support 30 such that only support 30 is at the temperature of decomposition of the decomposable moiety , such that the decomposable moiety decomposes on support 30 and thus produces nano - scale metal particles deposited on support 30 . likewise , other forms of energy for decomposition of the decomposable moiety can be incorporated into support 30 . support 30 can be formed of any material sufficient to have deposit thereon of nano - scale metal particles produced by decomposition of the decomposable moiety . in a preferred embodiment , support 30 comprises the end use substrate on which the nano - scale metal particles are intended to be employed , such as the aluminum oxide or other components of an automotive catalytic converter , or the electrode or membrane of a fuel cell or electrolysis cell . indeed , where the source of energy is itself embedded in or associated with support 30 , selective deposition of the catalytic nano - scale metal particles can be obtained to increase the efficiency of the catalytic reaction and reduce inefficiencies or wasted catalytic metal placement . in other words , the source of energy can be embedded within support 30 in the desired pattern for deposition of catalyst metal , such that deposition of the catalyst nano - scale metal can be placed where catalytic reaction is desired . in another embodiment of the invention , as illustrated in fig3 - 5 , apparatus 100 comprises a flow - through reactor vessel 120 which includes a port , denoted 122 , for either providing an inert gas or drawing a vacuum from reactor vessel 120 to thus create flow for the decomposable moieties to be reacted to produce nano - scale metal particles . in addition , apparatus 100 includes feeders 140 a , 140 b , 140 c , which can be disposed about the circumference of reactor vessel 102 , as shown in fig3 , or , in the alternative , sequentially along the length of reactor vessel 120 , as shown in fig4 . apparatus 100 also comprises support 130 on which nano - scale metal particles are collected . support 130 can be positioned on legs 132 a and 132 b or , in the event a source of energy is incorporated into support 130 , as a resistance heater , the control and wiring for the source of energy in support 130 can be provided through line 134 . as illustrated in fig3 and 4 , when support 130 is disposed within flow - through reactor vessel 120 , a port 124 is also provided for removal of support 130 or the nano - scale metal particles deposited thereon . in addition , port 124 should be structured such that it permits the inert gas fed through port 122 and flowing through reactor vessel 120 to egress reactor vessel 120 ( as shown in fig3 ). port 124 can be sealed in the same manner as closure 24 discussed above with respect to closed system apparatus 10 . in other words , port 124 can be sealed by a threaded closure or pressure closure or other types of closing structures as would be familiar to the skilled artisan . as illustrated in fig5 , however , support 130 can be disposed external to reactor vessel 120 in flow - through reactor apparatus 100 . while support 130 can be a cyclonic or centrifugal collector ( not shown ), it can also be a structural support 130 as illustrated in fig5 . in this embodiment , flow - through reactor vessel 120 comprises a port 124 through which decomposable moieties are impinged on support 130 to thus deposit the nano - scale metal particles on support 130 . in this way it is no longer necessary to gain access to reactor vessel 120 to collect either support 130 or the nano - scale metal particles deposited thereon . in addition , during the impingement of the decomposable moieties to produce nano - scale metal particles on support 130 , either port 126 or support 130 can be moved in order to provide for an impingement of the produced nano - scale metal particles on certain specific areas of support 130 . this is especially useful if support 130 comprises the end use substrate for the nano - scale metal particles such as the component of a catalytic converter or electrode for fuel cells . thus , the nano - scale metal particles are only produced and deposited where desired and efficiency and decrease of wasted catalytic metal is facilitated . as discussed above , reactor vessel 20 , 120 can be formed of any suitable material for use in the reaction provided it can withstand the temperature and / or pressure at which decomposition of the decomposable moiety occurs . for instance , the reactor vessel should be able to withstand temperatures up to about 250 ° c . where heat is the energy used to decompose the decomposable moiety . although many materials are anticipated as being suitable , including metals , plastics , ceramics and materials such as graphite , preferably reactor vessels 20 , 120 are formed of a transparent material to provide for observation of the reaction as it is proceeding . thus , reactor vessel 20 , 120 is preferably formed of quartz or a glass such as pyrex ® brand material available from corning , inc . of corning , n . y . in the practice of the invention , either a flow of an inert gas such as argon or a vacuum is drawn on reactor vessel 20 , 120 and a stream of decomposable moieties is fed into reactor vessel 20 , 120 via feeders 40 a , 40 b , 140 a , 140 b , 140 c . the decomposable moieties can be any metal containing moiety such as an organometallic compound , a complex or a coordination compound , which can be decomposed by energy at the desired decomposition conditions of pressure and temperature . for instance , if heat is the source of energy the decomposable moiety should be subject to decomposition and production of nano - scale metal particles at temperatures no greater than 250 ° c ., more preferably no greater than 200 ° c . other materials , such as oxygen , can also be fed into reactor 20 , 120 to partially oxidize the nano - scale metal particles produced by decomposition of the decomposable moiety , to modify the surface of the nano - scale particles . contrariwise , a reducing material such as hydrogen can be fed into reactor 20 , 120 to reduce the potential for oxidation of the decomposable moiety . the energy for decomposition of the decomposable moiety is then provided to the decomposable moiety within reactor vessel 20 , 120 by , for instance , heat lamp 50 , 150 . if desired , reactor vessel 120 can also be cooled by cooling coils 52 , 152 to avoid deposit of nano - scale metal particles on the surface of reactor vessel 20 , 120 as opposed to support 30 , 130 . nano - scale metal particles produced by the decomposition of the decomposable moieties are then deposited on support 30 , 130 or , in a cyclonic or centrifugal or other type collector , for storage and / or use . thus the present invention provides a facile means for producing nano - scale metal particles which permits selective placement of the particles , direct deposit of the particles on the end use substrate , without the need for extremes of temperature and pressure required by prior art processes . all cited patents , patent applications and publications referred to herein are incorporated by reference . the invention thus being described , it will be apparent that it can be varied in many ways . such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the present invention and all such modifications as would be apparent to one skilled in the art are intended to be included within the scope of the following claims .	1
prior to the beginning a description of the preferred processing sequences of the invention as illustrated in fig1 - 5 , we would like to set forth certain background consideration which we believe will be apparent to one skilled in the art . while the following illustrates the formation of an n - channel fet transistor , obviously p - channel fet transistors can be formed using opposite conductivity type impurities . further , while in the following doping is typically by ion implantation , it will be appreciated by one skilled in the art that either thermal diffusion or ion implantation can be used . beginning with a conventional & lt ; 100 & gt ; p - silicon substrate 10 at a boron doping concentration of about 5 × 10 14 - 5 × 10 15 / cc or having a resistivity of about 2 - 20 ohm / cm , a conventional recessed oxide isolation ( roi ) ring 14 is formed , either semi roi or full roi , which is well known to one skilled in the art , and a channel stopper p - ring 12 is formed immediately below roi 14 . the p - ring is usually formed by implant or diffusion , to a boron concentration of 10 16 to 10 17 atoms / cm 3 , prior to the roi oxidation through an oxidation mask , usually a temporary silicon nitride layer over a thin buffer layer of sio 2 ( neither of which are shown as such are conventional ) to avoid stress damage to the substrate silicon 10 . nextly , the silicon surface defined by the roi 14 is cleaned , a thin layer of oxide ( not shown ) is grown and an n - type dopant ( as , sb , or p ) is implanted to a concentration of about 0 . 5 - 2 × 10 16 atoms / cc through the thin oxide to form n - silicon region 16 . alternatively , the n - type dopant implant can be made without growing a thin oxide . the implanted n - region 16 depth typically ranges from about 0 . 2 to 0 . 6 um . following the above procedure , a sio 2 layer is grown by chemical vapor deposition ( cvd ) over the entire surface of the device to a thickness on the order of 500 nanometers to 1 micron , for example , at 400 °- 850 ° c . and at low pressure or at atmospheric pressure using , for instance , an sih 4 / o 2 atmosphere , whereafter a conventional positive photoresist such as shipley az1350 j photoresist is applied over the cvd sio 2 layer and the same is exposed to ultraviolet light through an appropriate mask in a conventional fashion and developed in a conventional fashion , e . g ., using j100 solution , whereafter the cvd sio 2 layer is etched in a conventional fashion , for example , by directional reactive ion etching in a cf 4 / h 2 atmosphere , leaving sio 2 island 17 having a thickness , of course , of about 500 nanometers to 1 micron . reactive ion etching ( often referred to as rie herein ) as is utilized in the present invention is described in detail in &# 34 ; a survey of plasma - etching processes &# 34 ; by richard l . bersin , published in solid state technology , may 1976 , pages 31 - 36 . as will be appreciated by one skilled in the art , the atmospheres utilized for rie will vary greatly depending upon the material being etched , and the bersin article describes such in detail and is incorporated herein by reference . as one skilled in the art will appreciate , the figures herein present cross - sectional views of the device vertical structure ; the actual ( horizontal ) shape and dimensions of the device may be varied according to device and circuit design . following formation of sio 2 island 17 , the si wafers are chemically cleaned and a layer of silicon dioxide about 20 - 100 mm thick is thermally grown at 800 °- 1000 ° c . in dry oxygen over the entire horizontal surface of the device in a conventional fashion , whereby sio 2 layer 18 is formed . for purposes of simplicity , in fig1 sio 2 layer 18 thus formed is not shown as grown on island 17 or over recessed sio 2 isolation 14 ; as one skilled in the art will appreciate , however , growth would take place on all horizontal surfaces but , since at this stage sio 2 is merely being deposited over existant sio 2 areas in recessed sio 2 isolation 14 and island 17 , this is not separately shown . referring again to fig1 a polysilicon layer 20 ( hereafter this layer is merely referred to as polycrystalline silicon i to differentiate it from the later formed second polysilicon layer which will be identified as polycrystalline silicon ii ) is grown over the entire surface of the device by a low pressure cvd process , for example , at 50 - 500 millitorr using an sih 4 / h 2 atmosphere at 450 °- 800 ° c . ; this procedure is conventional in the art . as shown in fig1 conformal polycrystalline silicon i coating 20 results having a thickness of about 0 . 10 - 0 . 50 micron . following the above procedure , as now explained with reference to fig2 where layer 18 is shown as part of sio 2 isolation 14 for simplicity , directional rie etching in a 90 % ar / 10 %/ cl 2 atmosphere is conducted in a conventional manner at room temperature to remove polycrystalline silicon i coating 20 in all horizontal areas ; however , as shown in fig2 this directional rie etching does not affect polycrystalline silicon i sidewalls 20a and 20b which are grown on island 17 . the purpose of forming polycrystalline silicone i sidewalls 20a and 20b will later be apparent , i . e ., polycrystalline silicon i sidewall 20a in combination with a polycrystalline silicon ii sidewall later to be described will permit precise location of the igfet channel later to be described and , as will later be clear , can be used , if desired , to permit formation of an extremely short channel igfet where the channel is precisely located . following formation of polycrystalline silicon i sidewalls 20a and 20b by directional rie , thereafter a conventional boron implant is conducted at room temperature through the gate oxide to define the channel doping and to yield p zones 22a and 22b . the boron concentration is about 1 to 15 × 10 16 atoms / cm 3 and is typically conducted without masking to a depth of about 0 . 20 - 0 . 70 mm . only a portion of zone 22a will become the actual channel . as illustrated in fig2 following the above procedure the surface of the device is masked with a conventional photoresist such as az1350 j which is masked , exposed and developed in a conventional manner , whereby all horizontal surfaces of the device are provided with photoresist coating 24 except over zone 22b where photoresist coating 24 has been removed ( developed ). with reference to fig3 following selective photoresist removal over zone 22b which had earlier received the indicated boron implantation , a phosphorus ion implantation is conducted to a high phosphorus doping level ( greater than the doping level selected for the channel boron implantation which yields zones 22a and 22b , for example , up to about 1 . 5 to 10 17 atoms / cm 3 ), thereby resulting in zone 26 which is a highly doped n phosphorus zone , as shown in fig3 . since the phosphorus concentration is greater than the initial boron concentration in zone 22b , p zone 22b as shown in fig2 is converted to n zone 26 as shown in fig3 . all other areas of the device , being masked , do not receive the phosphorous implant . phosphorus ion implantation is typically at a dose of 1 . 0 - 15 × 10 12 / cm 2 to a depth of about 0 . 30 - 0 . 80 mm . after the above procedure , the photoresist layer 24 is removed in a conventional manner , e . g ., by an o 2 plasma etch . it is to be noted that the boron ion implantation which results in p zones 22a and 22b and the phosphorous ion implantation which converts p zone 22b to n zone 26 can be reversed in sequence with equivalent results being obtained . referring now to fig4 the next process step according to the present invention is to grow a polycrystalline silicon ii layer in a manner similar to that utilized to grow polycrystalline silicon i layer 20 , i . e ., low pressure cvd deposition at the above conditions , followed by rie directional etching at the above conditions , whereafter polycrystalline silicon ii islands 28a and 28b result as shown in fig4 . it is to be noted that there is no compositional difference of substance between the polycrystalline silicon i and polycrystalline silicon ii islands , and these are illustrated as separate in fig4 for purposes of explanation . in a typical short channel igfet , assuming a desired channel length of 5 , 000 å , polycrystalline silicon i sidewalls 20a and 20b would have a thickness of about 2 , 000 å and polycrystalline silicon ii sidewalls 28a and 28b would have a thickness of about 5 , 000 å . it is important that polycrystalline silicon i sidewall 20a have a lateral dimension greater than the lateral length of boron diffusion from the device channel during subsequent processing as will later be explained in detail . still referring to fig4 following the above procedure a conventional phosphorus implantation at the earlier indicated phosphorus implantation conditions is conducted to a high phosphorus concentration , e . g ., up to about 10 17 to 10 18 atoms / cm 3 , over the entire surface of the device . there is no need to mask during this phosphorus ion implantation since the phosphorus is firstly desirable in the polycrystalline silicon i and polycrystalline silicon ii sidewalls , sio 2 island 17 and sio 2 isolation ring 14 are both too thick to be influenced by this ion implantation and the phosphorus has no detrimental effect on the original phosphorus implantation which resulted in n phosphorus doped zone 26 . further , polycrystalline silicon i sidewalls 20a and 20b and polycrystalline silicon ii sidewalls 28a and 28b are too thick to permit implantation of the phosphorus ions into the areas thereunder . as a consequence of the above phosphorus ion implantation , that portion of zone 22a ( original p region ) which is not protected by polycrystalline silicon ii sidewall 28a receives a heavy phosphorus dope whereas that area of zone 22a under polycrystalline silicon ii sidewall 28a does not receive the phosphorus dope since it is shielded by polycrystalline silicon ii sidewall 28a and retains its original p character , as illustrated by element 30 in fig4 ; since that portion of zone 22a not protected by polycrystalline silicon ii sidewall 28a is converted from p to n type , it is indicated as zone 29 in fig4 . on the other hand , since zone 26 merely receives an additional phosphorus ion implant , it is still designated as numeral 26 in fig4 . as one skilled in the art will appreciate , arsenic ion implantation can be used in the place of phosphorus ion implantation to effect the above stated n regions shown respectively as 26 and 29 in fig4 . in addition , multiple ion implantation can be used if necessary to effect the desired dopant profile . following the above procedure , a conventional arsenic ion implantation is conducted over the entire surface of the device ( again , masking is not necessary for the essential reasons as advanced with respect to the second phosphorus ion implantation above ). whereas the second phosphorus ion implantation above discussed is to a depth of about 3 , 000 - 7 , 000 å in the device , the arsenic ion implantation is a shallow implantation to improve channel voltage breakdown and is typically at 20 - 100 kev and an arsenic dose density of about 1 × 10 15 to 1 × 10 16 / cm 2 in areas which are not protected by the polycrystalline silicon i and polycrystalline silicon ii sidewalls or sio 2 island 17 , resulting in the formation of n + arsenic zones 32a and 32b shown in fig4 . in this particular instance , the igfet is assumed to function as a control gate device ; as will be apparent to one skilled in the art , if the device were to be utilized as a charge storage device , the drain and source locations would be reversed in fig5 . with reference to fig5 the combination of n phosphorus doped zone 29 and n + arsenic doped zone 32a will function as the source region . the n - ( or n + , albeit n - doping is preferred ) region 16 will serve as a part of the drain region , which drain region comprises the combination of phosphorus doped zone 26 and n + arsenic doped zone 32b . p boron doped zone 30 , of course , serves as the channel of the igfet illustrated . polycrystalline silicon i sidewall 20a and polycrystalline silicon ii sidewall 28a will , of course , serve as the gate of the igfet illustrated . for the above device , it can be seen that the length of the channel 30 is very accurately controlled by the length of polycrystalline silicon ii sidewall 28a which , in combination with recessed sio 2 isolation 14 , essentially serves as a mask for the dominating n phosphorus implantation which results in partially converting p zone 22a to n zone 29 with remaining p channel 30 . channel 30 is thus seen to be inherently self - aligning under the igfet gate and its location and length are controlled by a combination of cvd / rie which is inherently controllable with more precision , typically , on the order of 10 times better than that achievable by conventional photolithographic techniques . as one skilled in the art will appreciate , of course , during the post implant annealing there will be some lateral diffusion of p boron channel 30 , and since it is desired that the gate overlie channel 30 with high accuracy , the lateral diffusion of p channel 30 into n - region 16 to its right should not extend beyond the inner dimension of polycrystalline silicon i sidewall 20a . thus , it is necessary that polycrystalline silicon i sidewall 20a have a lateral dimension greater than the expected length of the lateral diffusion of boron in channel 30 during the post implant annealing and any subsequent heating ( s ). one skilled in the art using conventional techniques will easily be able to predict in advance the expected length of lateral diffusion of boron in channel 30 . the above igfet thus has an extremely short channel , and exhibits very low capacitance . it should be noted that polycrystalline silicon i sidewalls 20a and 20b , as well as polycrystalline silicon ii sidewalls 28a and 28b , are physically connected around the sidewall of the oxide island 17 . to minimize gate capacitance , the polycrystalline silicon i 20a / polycrystalline silicon ii 28a sidewalls should be physically separated from the polycrystalline silicon i / polycrystalline silicon ii sidewalls 20b and 28b by etching through a mask . in fact , the polycrystalline silicon i 20b and polycrystalline silicon ii 28b sidewalls can be removed altogether without adversely affecting the device performance , if desired . the above igfet has an extremely short channel , and exhibits very low capacitance . it is known to one skilled in the art that a short channel device usually has a low punch - through voltage and low channel breakdown strength . these problems are overcome by the present invention by the n - region 16 in fig5 . the presence of the n - region 16 between the n + region 32b drain and the channel 30 allows the drain potential to spread over this n - region , thereby overcoming the low punch - through voltage and low channel breakdown problems . furthermore , because the gate electrode comprising polycrystalline silicon i sidewall 20a and poly ii sidewall 28a are far away from the drain n + region 32b , hot electron injection into the gate oxide under the gate electrode when the drain is biased at high voltage will be greatly reduced . the injection of hot electrons into the gate oxide induces device instability . the combined features of the precisely controlled short channel which can be operated at high drain voltages without injecting hot electrons into the gate oxide is one unique characteristic of the present invention . 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
the application described in fig1 and 2 refer to a mold 1 made of a non - ferromagnetic material for the application of a magnetic insert to be co - molded . in particular we can note a longitudinal section of the male punch 3 , the presence of two sunken areas inside which the metallic inserts 4 are inserted that hold the magnetic insert 5 to be co - molded . the positioning of the magnetic insert to be co - molded 5 takes place with the mold 1 open . in the case in question , on the male punch 3 around the magnetic insert 5 to be co - molded there is a suitable sunken housing 6 for completely surrounding the lateral perimeter of the magnetic insert 5 to be co - molded in the injection resin and to provide an easier extraction later , without the insert to be co - molded 5 being subject to sudden shifts in its position . after the correct positioning of the magnetic insert 5 to be co - molded on the male punch 3 , said male punch 3 , with the magnetic insert 5 to be co - molded held by the metallic inserts in the hollows realized in the body of said male punch 3 , is moved into position inside the female die 2 for the injection of the plastic material . the plastic material fully surrounds the magnetic co - molded insert 5 along the perimeter edges , securely holding the co - molded insert itself in the molded product 7 . it should be noted that the positioning of said insert 5 to be co - molded is securely held during the entire injection phase . once the cooling phase of the molded product 7 is complete it is removed with the help of an extractor 8 overcoming the resistance posed by the magnetic forces between the co - molded magnetic insert 5 and the metallic inserts 4 . when the mold 1 is open , the male punch 3 is free and ready for a successive molding cycle . fig3 shows the molded product 7 with a flush co - molded insert 5 on a face . fig4 to 10 show , by way of example , the flexible possibility of locating the co - molded inserts 5 , where the precision of the positioning with respect to the edges of the molded product 7 can be immediately seen .	1
referring initially to the non - limiting example embodiment show in fig1 , a system 10 includes an audio video device 12 such as a tv including a tv tuner 16 communicating with a tv processor 18 accessing a tangible computer readable storage medium 20 such as disk - based or solid state storage . the tv 12 can output audio on one or more speakers 22 . the tv 12 can receive streaming video from the internet using a built - in wired or wireless modem 24 communicating with the processor 12 which may execute a software - implemented browser 26 . video is presented under control of the tv processor 18 on a tv display 28 such as but not limited to a high definition tv ( hdtv ) flat panel display . user commands to the processor 18 may be wirelessly received from a remote control ( rc ) 30 using , e . g ., rf or infrared . audio - video display devices other than a tv may be used , e . g ., smart phones , game consoles , personal digital organizers , notebook computers and other types of computers , etc . tv programming from one or more terrestrial tv broadcast sources 32 as received by a terrestrial broadcast antenna 34 which communicates with the tv 12 may be presented on the display 28 and speakers 22 . the terrestrial broadcast programming may conform to digital atsc standards and may carry within it a terrestrial broadcast . epg , although the terrestrial broadcast epg may be received from alternate sources , e . g ., the internet via ethernet , or cable communication link , or satellite communication link . tv programming from a cable tv head end 36 may also be received at the tv for presentation of tv signals on the display 28 and speakers 22 . when basic cable only is desired , the cable from the wall typically carries tv signals in qam or ntsc format and is plugged directly into the “ f - type connector ” 38 on the tv chassis in the u . s ., although the connector used for this purpose in other countries may vary . in contrast , when the user has an extended cable subscription for instance , the signals from the head end 36 are typically sent through a stb 40 which may be separate from or integrated within the tv chassis but in any case which sends hdmi baseband signals to the tv . similarly , hdmi baseband signals transmitted from a satellite source 42 of tv broadcast signals received by an integrated receiver / decoder ( ird ) 44 associated with a home satellite dish may be input to the tv 12 for presentation on the display 28 and speakers 22 . also , streaming video may be received from the internet 46 for presentation on the display 28 and speakers 22 . the streaming video may be received at the computer modem 24 or it may be received at an in - home modem 48 that is external to the tv 12 and conveyed to the tv 12 over a wired or wireless ethernet link and received at an rj45 or 802 . 11x antenna on the tv chassis . fig2 shows details of an example tv 12 . as shown , the terrestrial signal in atsc format is input to the tv tuner 16 , as is basic cable - in ntsc or qam format in the event that basic cable is used and the wall cable plugged into the f - type connector 38 . on the other hand , streaming internet video may be received at a docsis tuner 50 and demodulated / decoded at a docsis decoder / demodulator 52 . typically , the docsis components are housed separately from the tv 12 but in some embodiments may be included in the chassis of the tv 12 . the output of the tuner 16 , depending on the signal format received , may be sent to an ntsc decoder / demodulator 54 , or a qam decoder / demodulator 56 , or an atsc decoder / demodulator 58 . the output from the ntsc decoder / demodulator 54 can be sent directly to the display 28 and speakers 22 for presentation . on the other hand , the output from the digital decoder / demodulators 56 , 58 typically is sent to a transport stream demultiplexer 60 , which separates the desired program from other programs in the selected stream and sends the desired program to an mpeg video decoder 62 , which in turn uncompresses the mpeg desired program and sends the uncompressed program to the tv display 28 for presentation . audio from the demultiplexer 60 may be sent to an audio decoder 64 which in turn sends the decoded audio to the speakers 22 for presentation . in contrast to the sequence of decoder / demodulators , demultiplexer , and mpeg decoders discussed above , video from either the stb 40 or ird 44 is in baseband hdmi when it is received by the tv 12 . accordingly , the signals from the stb 40 or ird 44 are sent directly to the tv display 28 for presentation without further video decompression between the stb 40 or ird 44 and tv display 28 . audio from the stb 40 or ird 44 may still be in a format , e . g ., ac3 , that requires decoding prior to play on the speakers 22 so the audio may be sent through the audio decoder 64 as shown . likewise , audio from the atsc terrestrial source 32 may be in ac3 format and so may be sent through the audio decoder 64 . internet video from the docsis decoder / demodulator 52 may be sent through the demultiplexer 60 and decoders 62 , 64 as shown . now referring to fig3 , at block 66 a user of the tv 12 can be conducted , using onscreen user interfaces ( ui ), through a set - up routine upon first power on or thereafter from a menu to set up various features of the tv . as an example , the user may be asked , for one or more licensable components within the tv , if the user desires to use that component . this may be done , implicitly , e . g ., by asking the user if the user wishes to automatically scan the broadcast spectrum to detect channels , in which case it may be inferred that the atsc decoder / demodulator 58 and mpeg decoder 62 will be required and , hence , that licenses to use those components will be needed . also , in this latter case it may be inferred that a license to the terrestrial broadcast epg may be required , whereas such a license would not be required if terrestrial broadcast were not being used as an input source . or again , the user may be given the choice to receive internet video through the built - in modem 24 or from an external modem 48 and if the latter is chosen , no license need be obtained for the internal browser 26 ; otherwise , a license may be required to use the internal browser 26 . proceeding to block 68 , for each license that is inferred to be required based on the user set - up selections at block 66 , the tv 12 uploads a request for the license over the internet , for example , or back through a two - way cable system , etc . or , as explained further below the request may be made by telephone . regardless of how made , the request typically identifies the component for which a license is required based on user input at block 66 along with a unique identification of the tv , e . g ., a hash of the tv model number and serial number , in some embodiments encrypted if desired . or , the unique identifier may be a high definition content protect ( hdcp ) key selection vector ( ksv ) of the device 12 , or a media access control ( mac ) address , or a digital transmission content protect ( dtcp ) certificate , one or more of which may be hashed with the serial number and / or model name of the device 12 . this hashed result can be sent to the server . the server can now uniquely identify the device . in the event the device needs to be repaired and the unique id contained in the device is changed , the device &# 39 ; s previous identity advantageously can be migrated to a new hashed id . to simplify this migration of the id , the server can generate a unique key , and send it to the repaired device after receiving the initial hashed id and notification ( e . g ., from the device 12 ) that the device was repaired and requires a new unique id . in some implementations the user of the device 12 can manually recall the original id , send it to the server , and the server , using the original id , migrates records of the licenses previously enabled by the device 12 to the new id . the request may be made at set - up time . alternatively , the request may be cached for later upload when , e . g ., an appropriate broadband connection is sensed . in any case , the request may be sent to an internet server at a prestored internet address or to a cable head end or to another appropriate licensing entity or agent . block 70 indicates that assuming it passes authentication the tv 12 receives back the license in the form of licensing information , typically a code that must be input to the tv processor 18 to enable or unlock the associated component . or the associated component may require software code to function and a critical piece of the code which is related to the licensable feature may be omitted when the device is vended , with this critical piece of code being supplied at block 70 to enable the licensable feature of the component . prior to provision of the critical piece of code , the licensable feature of the component in effect is not merely locked out , but rather is effectively missing altogether , even though other parts of software code needed to execute the licensable feature are vended with the device . the code may be automatically input to the appropriate internal , components of the tv at block 72 or the code may be displayed on the tv and the user prompted by means of an onscreen ui to enter the code using , e . g ., the rc 30 . proper input of the code activates the related component within the tv . block 74 simply indicates that license fee data is maintained and used to generate billing information from the licensing agency to the manufacturer of the tv , and may also be used to generate marketing data as discussed further below . the data may be kept in the tv until uploaded to a licensing entity / agent by means noted above . fig4 shows that automatic license determinations may be made outside of a user set - up routine if desired . in the example shown in fig4 , commencing at decision diamond 76 it is determined whether a predetermined physical condition exists in the tv , e . g ., a particular kind of connection , from which it may be inferred what licensable components will be required . in the example of fig4 , the physical condition is the presence of a voltage in the automatic gain control ( agc ) circuitry of the tuner 16 , which would occur when , for instance , a connection is made , at the tv chassis to the terrestrial antenna 34 or when a cable from the wall is connected to the f - type connector 38 . when the tested - for physical condition exists , the logic flows to block 78 , in this example to activate the ntsc demodulator 54 . this is done recognizing that ntsc demodulators typically require no licenses , so to avoid unnecessarily requesting licenses , the signal at the tuner 16 is first tested to determine if it is an ntsc signal . decision diamond 80 indicates that the test may be whether “ noise ”, is present in the signal . if the test indicates that ntsc signals only are present the logic ends , but otherwise the logic flows to block 82 to activate the qam decoder / demodulator 56 . if qam only is detected ( by the qam decoder / demodulator 56 recognizing qam signals and / or no noise ) the logic ends , but if the qam decoder / demodulator 56 does not recognize the signal , this indicates that the signal is neither qam nor ( from decision diamond 80 ) ntsc , with the inference thus being that the signal is atsc requiring use of the atsc decoder / demodulator 58 , which is activated at block 86 to process the signal . at block 88 an uplink is obtained by the tv processor 18 to the above - described licensing entity / agent to obtain the license code discussed above using the unique id of the tv , and at block 90 the code is received and used as necessary to permit use of the atsc decoder / demodulator 58 . or , the step at block 90 can be omitted and the atsc decoder / demodulator 58 immediately activated on the assumption that the processor 18 is programmed to send a message to the licensing entity / agent that licensing accounting is to be generated after activation of the atsc decoder / demodulator 58 . yet again , as shown in dashed lines in fig4 the logic may flow first from decision diamond 84 to blocks 88 and 90 to obtain the licensing “ unlock ” code and then back to block 86 to activate the atsc decoder / demodulator 58 using the code , to ensure that no use may be made of the atsc decoder / demodulator 58 until such time as the licensing entity / agent has been informed of its use , has authenticated the tv for the necessary atsc license , and has determined that under business rules the license code should be downloaded to fulfill the request . additional example inference rules that may be employed pursuant to automatically obtaining needed component licenses after vending the tv to avoid paying for unnecessary licenses prior to sale of the tv include , if there is atsc present , it is less likely that qam will be found ; if atsc is present , the total number of atsc channels will be much smaller than the number for qam channels . also , when signals are received from an external modem 48 , audio video programming does not require use of the built - in browser 26 and so receipt of video over an ethernet link without receipt of signals at the internal modem 24 may be inferred to mean that the browser 26 is not in use . fig5 - 7 illustrate logic that may be used during setup to obtain licenses . using , e . g ., the rc 30 , a person may input 92 a request to conduct auto - scan of available terrestrial or cable or satellite channels from , e . g ., an onscreen setup menu presented on an audio video display product 94 ( which may be implemented by the tv 12 ). in response , the av display product sends an activation request for , e . g ., the atsc decoder / demodulator 58 which may include the tuner id and product 94 id and / or the decoder / demodulator 58 id / product 94 id . activation of the atsc decoder / demodulator 58 is executed at 96 using activation codes from one or more licensing entities / agents such as server 98 , provided the licensing entities / agents determine , based on the information received from the product 94 , that the product is entitled to a license for the requested component . a log may be kept by the licensing entities / agents indicating what products and what components in those products have been activated and based on that log , licensing accounting data may be generated for purposes of presenting licensing invoices for activated components to the manufacturer of the product 94 . in any case , 100 indicates that the product 94 receives the activation response , e . g ., activation codes , to activate the demodulator / decoder 58 at 101 , which converts the product 94 to an atsc - capable device . the user may be notified using onscreen notification that atsc programming may now be viewed using the product 94 . fig6 shows an alternative embodiment . using , e . g ., the rc 30 , a person may input 102 a request to conduct auto - scan of available terrestrial or cable or satellite channels from , e . g ., an onscreen setup menu presented on an audio video display product 94 ( which may be implemented by the tv 12 ). in response , at 104 telephone information including a phone number to a licensing entity / agent is prepared and the user notified 106 of the information by means of , e . g ., a user interface or prompt presented on the product 94 . the user enters 108 the information into a telephone , either by speaking the number or by holding the telephone adjacent a speaker on the product 94 for receiving dual tone multifrequency ( dtmf ) tones from the product that are detected by the telephone and used to automatically dial the number using , e . g ., a voice response unit ( vru ) 110 . other alternate embodiments involve sending short message service ( sms ) messages to a server to send the above information or scanning bar - type codes on the tv or component to send the requisite information to the server to obtain the license . in any case , determining what licenses are needed may be accomplished upon start up and / or periodically during operation . tuner activation is generated at 112 by licensing entities / agents 114 such as internet servers and the activation code discussed above sent 116 to the vru 110 , which presents the code to the user to complete the activation process at 120 . activation of the licensable component , e . g ., the atsc decoder / demodulator 58 , is executed at 101 , which converts the product 94 to an atsc - capable device . the user may be notified using onscreen notification that atsc programming may now be viewed using the product 94 . fig7 shows another alternative embodiment . using , e . g ., the rc 30 , a person may input 122 a request to conduct auto - scan of available terrestrial or cable or satellite channels from , e . g ., an onscreen setup menu presented on an audio video display product 94 ( which may be implemented by the tv 12 ). in response , at 124 internet information including an internet address of a licensing entity / agent is prepared and the user notified 126 of the information by means of , e . g ., a user interface or prompt presented on the product 94 . the user enters 128 the information into , e . g ., a home computer 127 . tuner activation is generated at 130 by licensing entities / agents 132 such as internet servers and the activation code discussed above sent 134 to the computer , which presents 136 the code to the user by means of , e . g ., a web page or telephone to complete the activation process at 138 . activation of the licensable component , e . g ., the atsc decoder / demodulator 58 , is executed at 101 , which converts the product 94 to an atsc - capable device . the user may be notified using onscreen notification that atsc programming may now be viewed using the product 94 . alternatively , licensing information may be exchanged using short message service ( sms ) codes or by using bar codes . to use bar codes the tv can include a camera that images the bar codes on various components , which are interpreted by the processor 18 as identifying information . in some instances , if only a limited number ( e . g ., two ) ntsc channels are needed , a limited and less expensive license may be requested and granted to permit access to only those two channels through the ntsc demodulator with a license being requested and granted to any component such as a stereo audio decoder should the legacy device ( typically , a vcr ) use such audio . fig8 shows logic that may be executed by a licensing entity / agent computer . commencing at block 140 , a license request from , e . g ., the tv 12 is received at , e . g ., any of the above - described servers or head ends , which are programmed with software to execute the logic shown in fig8 . the unique id discussed above is looked up at block 142 and the requesting device is authenticated at decision diamond 144 by , e . g ., determining if the device is on a list of approved devices . if desired , it may be further determined whether a license for the particular licensable component that is the subject of the request has already been granted and if so , authentication fails . if the requesting device is approved and a license for the licensable component that is the subject of the request has not already been granted , the logic moves to block 146 to send license information , e . g ., activation codes , to the requesting device . block 148 indicates that license accounting data is generated pursuant to sending the activation code to the requesting device . this accounting data can be used to effect remuneration from the manufacturer of the requesting device to the licensing authority for the component that is the subject of the request . at block 150 the authorized device database is modified to record the grant of the license . marketing data may be generated at block 152 based on the license grant . as an example , the total number of devices vended with the licensable component may be compared against the number of licenses granted to requesting devices to ascertain usage of the component compared to other components within the requesting device . for instance , it might be noted that 30 % of vended devices of a particular tv model ever request activation of the atsc tuner . this data can moreover be correlated to demographic data obtained during device registration so that , as an example , of the 30 % of devices requesting activation of the tv tuner , it can be known which geographic region was more likely to request such activation , or which demographic age group , etc . it may be further ascertained , using device registration information submitted by purchasers , that of the devices requesting activation of the atsc tuner , for example , 90 % of those devices were second or third home tvs that consequently can be inferred to lack a cable or satellite hookup . it is preferred that once a licensable component has been activated by obtaining a license for it , it cannot subsequently be deactivated by the user , to avoid multiple license payments for the same component . accordingly , the tv processor 18 may be programmed to refuse deactivation commands from the user if any are input for any component that has been activated and licensed , at least insofar as deactivation would require another license to reactivate . verification of license may also be provided by the tv processor so that , for example , if a component license is requested by the tv but the corresponding feature never used within some period of time , the tv can retract the license request and any license fees refunded as a result . fig9 shows that license activation requests may be recorded and correlated to consumer - related information for exploitation as detailed in fig1 . commencing at block 200 , a license activation request is received from , e . g ., the tv 12 using any of the above - discussed modes . at block 202 the mode of the request ( e . g ., by one of the above modes including short message service ( sms ), internet , automatically , etc .) is recorded along with the subject matter of the request , i . e ., which licensable component was requested . proceeding to block 204 , individual characteristics of the requestor are recorded , if available , including personal demographic information such as age , income , gender , etc . of a human requestor and model number of requesting device . the logic proceeds from block 204 to block 206 to also record the time and date of the request and geographic location of the requesting device using , e . g ., gps information sent from the device as part of the request or by correlating an ip address of the requesting device to location or other means . this data is aggregated with other requests at block 208 and then the requested licensing activation / transaction is completed and royalty records altered accordingly at block 210 by , e . g ., paying a royalty for the now - activated licensable component that was the subject of the request received at block 200 . fig1 shows that at block 212 , using the data aggregated at block 208 of fig9 lightly used modes of request ( used for , e . g ., less than a threshold percentage of total request ) are “ pruned ”, i . e ., deactivated for future ce devices , since such modes consume more resources than are merited given their light use . also , at block 214 using the subject matter of the requests ( the identities of the licensable components for which activation was requested ), highly activated components ( activated , e . g ., in more than a threshold percentage of vended ce devices ) may be made the subject of automatic standard license pools , in which the manufacturer of the ce device pays a royalty for every ce device using a highly requested licensable component that is sold , with the highly requested component removed from those licensable components that may be individually enabled or activated by individual users post - sale . the logic here is that if a particular component is almost always activated , the inconvenience of forcing each consumer to request a license outweighs the marginal savings in royalties gained by not paying royalties for those relatively few ce devices whose users do not elect to enable or activate the otherwise highly used licensable component . in addition , if desired at block 216 the demographics and / or geographic locations of requested licenses in the aggregated data from block 208 of fig9 may be used to tailor marketing efforts and content . as an example , suppose a relatively high percentage of license requests ( e . g ., above a threshold of the total ) from location a were for component x , while a relatively high percentage of license requests from location b were for component y from users under the age of 21 . increased marketing resources could be expended in location a to market component x , while the same would be true for component y in location b particularly in youth channels such as youth - oriented social networking sites . at block 218 seldom requested licensable components as indicated by the aggregated data from fig9 can be eliminated entirely from future ce device products . block 220 indicates that licensable features available for activation can be presented on the ce device 12 according to principles above and that the order in which the features are presented can be changed such that more frequently requested licensable components or features provided thereby as indicated in the aggregated data from fig9 are presented higher on the list than less frequently requested features / components . newly reordered lists of the same features / components can be pushed to ce devices post - vending from time to time over , e . g ., the internet . without limitation , the need for paying for licenses for the following technologies may be determined : mpeg - 2 video , mpeg - 2 video with optical disk , mpeg4 advanced video coding ( avc ), mpeg4 visual , mpeg video codec ( vc ) 1 unified aac ( mpeg 2 & amp ; 4 aac ) 2ch , unified aac ( mpeg 2 & amp ; 4 aac ) 3ch , dolby digital ac3 2ch , dolby digital ac3 5 . 1 ch , dolby digital plus ( dd +) 2ch , prologic2 ( surround sound ), mpeg audio 1 & amp ; 2 layer , 1 , 2 , 3 ) mp3 , dts_blueray disk ( bd ) ( 2ch / 2ch + digital out ), bbe sound , sound retrieval system ( srs ) sound association of radio industries and businesses ( arib ) ( d + bs + cs ), atsc , digital video broadcasting ( terrestrial ) ( dvb - t ) joint photographic expert group ( jpeg ), digital transmission content protection ( dtcp )/ aacp / open mg , hdmi , system synchronized brightness control ( contrast enhancement ), inverter controller integrated circuit ( ic ), ieee 802 . 11 wireless license , ieee 802 . 11 ( n ), bd pool ( player ), bd pool ( recorder ), digital video disk ( dvd ) format , ieee 802 . 11 / 16 , ieee 1394 java , mhp / ginga interactive tv software , java - bd combination , divx codec software , windows media audio , windows media video , windows media network read , windows media digital rights management ( drm ), audio watermark , netfront , web browser software . additionally , production encryption keys and test encryption keys may be used to permit testing a licensable component in production , pre - sale , without triggering the above - described license request mechanisms . a tv may be placed in a test activation mode used only in the manufacturing or test phase , and if desired the test mode may have a hardwired time out . a test key or keys can be used to activate licensable components and the license request algorithm recognizes a test key and responsive to the recognition does not request a license . the test activation mode may be hardwired to deactivate after a single power cycle and the tv processor may not permit reactivation of the test mode thereafter . activation of a licensable component thereafter requires a production key which is associated with a license request . while the particular tracking details of activation of licensable component of consumer electronic device is herein shown and described in detail , it is to be understood that the subject matter which is encompassed by the present invention is limited only by the claims .	7
fig1 schematically shows an engine control apparatus according to the present invention provided in relation to an engine 10 , where the fuel injection control and the ignition timing control of the engine 10 is effected by an electronic control unit ( ecu ) 20 . in fig1 the engine 10 is of the 4 - cylinder and 4 - cycle spark ignition type , and the intake air introduced from the upstream side through an air cleaner 11 , an intake pipe 12 , a throttle valve 13 , a surge tank 14 and an intake branching pipe 15 into each of the cylinders . on the other hand , fuel is arranged so as to be supplied from a fuel tank ( not shown ) under pressure and then injected thereinto through fuel injection valves 16a , 16b , 16c and 16d provided in the intake branching pipes 15 . further , the engine 10 is equipped with a distributor 19 for distributing the high - voltage electric signal from an ignition circuit 17 to ignition plugs 18a , 18b , 18c and 18d for the respective cylinders , a rotational speed sensor 30 provided in the distributor 19 for detecting the rotational speed ne of the engine 10 , a cylinder - identifying sensor 37 for identifying the cylinders of the engine 10 , a throttle sensor 31 for detecting the opening degree th of the throttle valve 13 , an intake air pressure sensor 32 for detecting an intake air pressure pm at a downstream side of the throttle valve 13 , a warming - up sensor 33 for detecting the temperature of the cooling water of the engine 10 , and an intake air temperature sensor 34 for detecting an intake air temperature tam . the aforementioned rotational speed sensor 30 is provided to oppose a ring gear which rotates in synchronism with the crank shaft of the engine 10 so as to generate 24 pulse signals every two revolutions of the engine 10 , i . e ., every 720 ° ca , in proportion to the engine rotational speed ne . further , the cylinder - identifying sensor 37 is also provided to oppose the ring gear which rotates in synchronism with the crank shaft of the engine 10 so as to output one pulse signal g at the top dead center of the compression stroke in a predetermined cylinder every two revolutions of the engine 10 , i . e ., 720 ° ca . the throttle sensor 31 outputs an analog signal corresponding to the throttle opening degree th and is equipped with an idle switch for detecting the fully closing state of the throttle valve 13 to output an on - off signal . in an exhaust pipe 35 of the engine 10 there is provided a catalytic converter rhodium 38 for reducing the hazardous components ( cp , hc , nox and others ) of the emissions discharged from the engine 10 . at the upstream side of the catalytic converter rhodium 38 there is provided an air - fuel ratio sensor 36 which is an oxygen concentration sensor for generating a linear detection signal corresponding to the air - fuel ratio λ of the air - fuel mixture supplied into the engine 10 . the electronic control unit 20 includes well - known cpu 21 , rom 22 , ram 23 , backup ram 24 and others so as to be constructed as an arithmetic and logic unit . these devices are coupled through a bus 27 to an input port 25 for inputting the above - mentioned sensors and further to an output port 26 for outputting a control signal to each of actuators . through the input port 25 , the electronic control unit 20 inputs the intake air pressure pm , intake air temperature tam , throttle opening degree th , cooling water temperature thw , air - fuel ratio λ , rotational speed ne and others so as to calculate the fuel injection amount tau and the ignition timing aesa on the basis of the inputted data to output the corresponding control signals through the output port 26 to the fuel injection valves 16a to 16d and the ignition circuit 17 . the fuel injection valves 16a to 16d are independently controlled for the injections . a description will be made hereinbelow in terms of methods of speedily warming up the catalytic converter rhodium 38 . fig2 shows the rate of increase of the emission temperature and the rate of decrease of the emissions in both the cases that the ignition timing is retarded in all the ignition cycles and the ignition timing is retarded intermittently ( every other ignition cycle ) while the catalytic converter rhodium 38 is warmed up . although the engine torque decreases in response to the retardation of the ignition timing , in the case that both are compared with each other at the same torque decreasing point ( x , y ), as compared with the case of the retardation of all the ignition timings , the intermittent retardation of the ignition timings allows the rate of decrease of the emission and the rate of increase of the emission temperature to be more heightened . thus , the intermittent retardation causes the catalyst to be warmed up in an earlier stage as compared with the retardation of all the ignition timings , thereby suppressing the deterioration of the emissions . the fuel injection amount is more increased at every combustion cycle so as to shift the air - fuel ratio between the rich side and the lean side with respect to the theoretical air - fuel ratio to alternately perform the rich combustion and the lean combustion . here , carbon monoxide ( co ) is generated at the time of the rich combustion and oxygen ( o 2 ) is generated at the time of the lean combustion . the carbon monoxide and oxygen thus generated cause the oxidative reaction as indicated by the following formula , thereby generating a heat ( q ). the heat ( q ) generated due to this oxidative reaction allows the increase in the emission temperature to accelerate the warming - up of the catalytic converter rhodium 38 . this embodiment of this invention is arranged so as to warm up the catalytic converter rhodium in accordance with both the methods i ) and ii ). here , the above - described retardation control and fuel injection dither control respectively cause variation of the engine torque as illustrated in fig3 and 4 , and therefore both the control operations are required to be executed with the variation of the engine torque being suppressed . that is , when the air - fuel ratio is shifted ( adjusted ) to the rich side with respect to the theoretical air - fuel ratio ( λ = 1 ) to increase the torque , the ignition timing is shifted from mbt to tdc ( top dead center ) side , i . e ., retarded , to decrease the torque so as to suppress the torque variation . on the other hand , when the air - fuel ratio is shifted to the lean side to decrease the torque , the retardation amount of the ignition timing is reduced , thereby increasing the torque to suppress the torque variation . at this time , if the dither range and the retardation amount are set so that the variation δt1 of the torque due to the injection dither control becomes equal or close to the variation δt2 due to the retardation control , it is possible to minimize the deterioration of the driveability caused by the torque variation . secondly , a description will be made hereinbelow with reference to fig5 to 7 in terms of the intermittent retardation control and the injection dither control to be executed in the electronic control unit 20 . fig5 shows a routine for calculating an injection dither coefficient kdit and an intermittent retardation amount kret , which routine is executed at every 40 ms . in fig5 this routine starts with a step 10 ( the step will be referred hereinafter to as s10 ) to check whether a predetermined time period is elapsed from the start of the engine 10 ( for example , ne & gt ; 500 rpm ). this predetermined time period is a time period taken until the temperature of the catalytic converter rhodium 38 reaches the temperature at which the purification of the emissions can be effected and , for example , set to 100 seconds . if the decision of s10 is &# 34 ; no &# 34 ;, s20 follows to read the cooling water temperature thw to check whether the cooling water temperature thw is lower than 60 ° c . if &# 34 ; yes &# 34 ;, control advances to s30 and s40 to calculate the dither coefficient kdit and the intermittent retardation amount kret on the basis of the cooling water temperature thw in accordance with data previously stored in the rom 22 . the dither coefficient kdit takes a value in a range of 0 to 0 . 1 and takes a greater value as the cooling water temperature thw becomes higher . this is because the misfire region in relation to the air - fuel ratio becomes wider as the cooling water temperature thw becomes lower and , although the air - fuel ratio cannot be shifted greatly to the rich side and lean side when the temperature is low , the air - fuel ratio can relatively be shifted greatly thereto as compared with the case of the low temperature when the cooling water temperature thw heightens . further , the intermittent retardation amount kret takes a value in a range of 0 ° to 10 ° ca and takes a greater value as the cooling water temperature thw becomes higher . this is because the torque variation due to the dither control is set to be substantially equal to the torque variation due to the intermittent retardation control in order to cancel the variation of the torque as described with reference to fig3 and 4 . after the calculations of the injection dither coefficient kdit and the intermittent retardation amount kret in s30 and s40 , s50 is then executed to set a decision flag flg ( flg ← 1 ) which flag indicates whether the execution conditions for injection dither control and the intermittent retardation control are satisfied , thereafter terminating this routine . on the other hand , if the decision of s10 is made such that the predetermined time period has been elapsed from the start or the decision of s20 is made such that the cooling water temperature thw is above 60 ° c ., the operational flow goes to s60 to clear the decision flag flg ( flg ← 0 ), thereafter terminating this routine . further , a description will be made hereinbelow with reference to a flow chart of fig6 and 7 in terms of calculations of the final injection amount tau and the final ignition timing aesa . this routine is started at every 180 ° ca ( top dead center of each of cylinders ). in fig6 and 7 , s100 and s110 are first executed in order to read the engine rotational speed ne and the intake air pressure pm , then followed by s120 to check whether the decision flag flg is in the set state . if the decision flag flg is set , s130 follows to check whether a specific condition is satisfied . here , the specific condition means that the engine is not operated in a high - speed region or large - load region where the injection amount is set to the rich side with respect to the theoretical air - fuel ratio ( λ = 1 ) or not operated in a small - load region or low - speed region where the combustion is unstable . when satisfying the specific condition , s140 follows to calculate dither correction amounts kne and kpm for correction of the dither coefficient kdit on the basis of the engine rotational speed ne and the intake air pressure pm in accordance with maps , respectively . the data is stored in advance in the rom 22 . after the calculations of the dither correction amounts kne and kpm in s140 , s150 is executed to check whether a dither confirmation flag rflg is set which indicates whether the air - fuel ratio has been shifted to the rich side or lean side in the previous cycle . when the flag rflg is set ( rflg = 1 ), i . e ., when the air - fuel ratio is shifted to the lean side in the previous cycle , s180 is executed so as to perform the process for setting the air - fuel ratio to the rich side in the present cycle . in s180 the final dither coefficient tdit is calculated in accordance with the following equation . after the calculation of the final dither coefficient tdit in s180 , a190 follows to reset the flag rflg ( rflg ←.. 0 ), thereafter advancing to s200 . on the other hand , if in s150 the flag rflg is reset , that is , when the air - fuel ratio is shifted to the rich side in the previous cycle , s160 is executed in order to perform the process for setting the air - fuel ratio to the lean side in the present cycle . in s160 the final dither coefficient tdit is calculated in accordance with the following equation . after the calculation of the final dither coefficient tdit in s160 , s170 follows to set the flag rflg ( rflg ← 1 ), thereafter advancing to s200 . in s200 , correction amounts krne and krpm for correction of the intermittent retardation amount kret are calculated on the basis of the engine rotational speed ne and the intake air pressure pm in accordance with maps , respectively . the maps is in advance stored in the rom 22 . in response to the calculations of the correction amounts krne and krpm in s200 , s210 follows to check whether the previous final dither coefficient tditx is greater than 1 in order to determine whether the previously calculated air - fuel ratio has been set to the rich side . when tditx is smaller than 1 , that is , in the case that the previous air - fuel ratio is set to the lean side ( as described with fig4 ) so that the torque decreases , for suppressing the torque variation , s220 is executed so as to set the final retardation amount aret to 0 whereby the ignition timing is not retarded . on the other hand , when s210 decides that tditx is above 1 , that is , in the case that the previous air - fuel ratio is set to the rich side to increase the torque , the ignition timing is retarded in order to suppress the torque variation . thus , in s230 the final retardation amount aret is calculated in accordance with the following equation . in response to the calculation of the final retardation amount aret , s240 is executed to calculate the basic injection amount tp and the basic ignition timing abse in accordance with a two - dimensional map based on the engine rotational speed ne and the intake air pressure pm . further , s250 follows to calculate the final injection amount tau by multiplying the final dither correction coefficient tdit and a basic injection amount correction coefficient fc by the basic injection amount tp and further adding an invalid injection time correction value tv to the multiplication result as indicated by the following equation . thereafter , s260 is executed so as to calculate the final ignition timing aesa by adding a basic ignition timing correction amount c to the basic ignition timing abse and subtracting the final retardation amount aret from the addition result as indicated by the following equation . here , the final ignition timing aesa is indicative of an angle of btdc ( before top dead center ). after the calculation of the final ignition timing as described above , s270 is executed to rewrite tdit to tditx , thereafter terminating this routine . on the other hand , when in s120 the flag flg is reset , that is , in the case that the execution condition of the injection dither and intermittent retardation control is not satisfied , or in the case that in s130 the specific condition is not satisfied , s280 follows to set the final dither correction coefficient tdit to 1 , then followed by s290 to set the final retardation amount aret to 0 . thus , when the decision of s120 or s130 is &# 34 ; no &# 34 ;, in s250 and s260 the dither control is not executed with respect to the injection amount and the intermittent retardation control is not effected with respect to the ignition timing . as described above , the air - fuel ratio is shifted to the rich and lean sides at every combustion , and the retardation control of the ignition timing is performed ( every other ignition cycle ) only when the air - fuel ratio is shifted to the rich side . the above - described consecutive operations of the electronic control unit 20 will be described with reference to a time chart of fig8 where int represents an intake stroke , com designates a compression stroke , exp depicts an explosion stroke and exh denotes an exhaust stroke . in fig8 a signal a is a crank position signal to be generated at every 180 ° ca ( one per 6 signals each being generated at every 30 ° ca ) and generated at the top dead center of each of the engine cylinders , signals b to e are injection pulse signals for respectively driving the injectors 16a , 16c , 16d and 16b provided in the first , third , fourth and second cylinders , and a signal f indicates an ignition pulse signal . the routine shown in fig6 and 7 is started in response to each input of the signal a . now , let it be assumed that the routine shown in fig6 and 7 starts at the time e . after elapsed by several tens microseconds from the time e ( after the completion of the routine of fig6 and 7 ), an injection signal corresponding to the final injection amount tau calculated in s250 is outputted to the third cylinder . here , the final ignition timing aesa calculated in s260 of the routine started at the time e is the ignition timing corresponding to the first - cylinder final injection amount tau calculated at the time of the previous start ( the time d ). that is , the final ignition timing aesa calculated in the routine started at the time e corresponds to the time f , and the time f is the time that the first - cylinder final injection amount tau calculated in the routine started at the time d is injected during the intake stroke of the first cylinder before completing the compression stroke . thus , the ignition signal at the time f is led to the first - cylinder ignition plug 18a whereby the first cylinder takes the explosion stroke . similarly , the final injection amount tau calculated in the routine started at the time g is for the fourth cylinder , and the final ignition timing aesa calculated at that time is for the third cylinder . thus , the cylinder into which the rich - side final injection amount tau is injected is ignited at the final ignition timing aesa retarded , and the cylinder into which the lean - side final injection amount tau is injected is ignited at the final ignition timing aesa which is not retarded . the final injection amount tau is alternately shifted to the lean and rich sides in order of the first , third , fourth and second cylinders , and the ignition timing is intermittently retarded at every other ignition cycle . although in the above - described embodiment the injection amount is shifted to the rich and lean sides at every injection cycle , it is appropriate that the injection amount is shifted to the rich and lean sides at every two injection cycles . at this time , the ignition timing is intermittently retarded only when it is shifted to the rich side , thereby suppressing the variation of the torque . further , it is also appropriate that the fuel injection amount is not shifted to the lean and rich sides at every predetermined injection cycles , but the fuel injection amount is shifted to the lean and rich sides at every predetermined time period and the ignition timing is intermittently retarded at every predetermined time period . fig9 is a flow chart showing a second embodiment of the present invention where steps corresponding to those of fig6 and 7 are indicated with the same marks and the description thereof will be omitted for brevity . as shown in fig9 when the previous air - fuel ratio is shifted to the lean side , that is , when the decision of s210 is made such that the previous final dither correction coefficient tdit is below 1 , s280 is executed in order to calculate the final retardation amount aret in accordance with the following equation . this value corresponds to 1 / n of the retardation amount ( kret · krne · krpm ) calculated in s230 when the air - fuel ratio is shifted to the rich side . for example , n is set to 5 . that is , when the air - fuel ratio is shifted to the lean side , the ignition timing is retarded by 1 / 5 of the retardation amount calculated in the case of being shifted to the rich side . the other operations are similar to those in fig7 . furthermore , a description will be made hereinbelow in terms of a third embodiment of this invention which is for a group injection system . in view of the quick warming - up of the catalyst and improvement of the emissions , the effect is greater as the injection dither amount and the intermittent retardation amount becomes larger , while , considering the margin of misfire , fuel consumption , torque and others , the small injection dither amount and intermittent retardation amount is preferable . from both the viewpoints , as a result of the tests , this applicant confirmed the fact that it is preferable that the injection amount is shifted by about ± 10 % and the ignition timing is intermittently retarded by about 10 ° ca . however , since the torque variation in the case that the injection amount is shifted by about ± 10 % is smaller than the torque variation in the case that the ignition timing is retarded by 10 ° ca , the ignition timing retardation becomes great as the torque variation factor and the torque variation can be accelerated when continued so as to result in deterioration of the driveability . accordingly , in a group injection system where 2 ignitions are effected with respect to one injection , the retardation for 2 ignitions is not performed at every injection ( when being shifted to the rich side ) but only one of two ignition timings per one injection is retarded . this can more effectively suppress the torque variation . that is , the period of the intermittent retardation is not set to be equal to the period of the injection , but set to be shorter than the period of the injection , whereby the torque variation can be suppressed . the states of the emissions in the case that the intermittent retardation period is set to be shorter than the injection period are shown in fig1 and 11 . in fig1 , numeral 1 surrounded by a circle designates an hc discharge amount in the case of retardation , numeral 2 surrounded by a circle denotes an hc discharge amount in the case of no retardation , and numeral 3 surrounded by a circle represents the average value of hc discharge amounts in the case of being retarded when the air - fuel ratio is shifted to the rich side and not retarded when it is shifted to the lean side . this average value of the hc discharge amounts becomes greater than the average value ( numeral 4 surrounded by a circle ) of the discharge amounts in the case that the ignition timing is retarded and non - retarded while the air - fuel ratio is shifted to the rich and lean sides . that is , the hc discharge amount can be more reduced when the ignition timing retardation period is set to be shorter than the injection period . similarly , as illustrated in fig1 , in terms of nox discharge amount , the average value ( numeral 5 surrounded by a circle ) of the nox discharge amounts in the case that the ignition timing is retarded when the air - fuel ratio is shifted to the rich side and not retarded when the air - fuel ratio is shifted to the lean side becomes greater than the average value ( numeral 6 surrounded by a circle ) of the nox discharge amounts in the case that the ignition timing is retarded and non - retarded while the air - fuel ratio is shifted to the rich and leans sides . that is , the nox can be more reduced in the case that the ignition timing retardation period is set to be shorter than the injection period . secondly , a description will be made with reference to a flow chart of fig1 and 13 in terms of the injection control and the ignition timing control in the group injection system . here , the outline of the group injection system is substantially similar to the arrangement illustrated in fig1 and one difference therebetween is that the two injectors 16a and 16c simultaneously inject fuel at every 720 ° ca and the remaining two injectors 16b and 16d simultaneously inject fuel at the timing shifted by 360 ° with respect to the two injectors 16a and 16c . the routine for calculating the injection dither coefficient kdit and the intermittent retardation amount kret is similar to that of fig5 . the injection dither coefficient kdit and the intermittent retardation amount kret are set to values ( dither amount 10 %, retardation amount 10 ° ca ) which are effective values in view of the catalyst warming - up and the emission improvement in the case that the water temperature thw is 20 ° c . the routine shown in fig1 is started and executed at every 180 ° ca where parts corresponding to those in fig6 are indicated by the same marks and the description thereof will be omitted . one difference point is that s300 is further added between s130 and s140 . s300 is a step for checking whether now is the injection timing determined at every 360 ° ca . that is , s300 is a decision precess for effecting the injection dither process in the steps s140 to s190 at every 360 ° ca . in the routine of fig1 subsequent to the fig1 routine , s310 is executed in order to check whether an ignition timing decision flag retflg is in the set state . if being in the set state , the decision is made such that the retardation is not performed in the previous cycle and hence s230 follows to set the final retardation amount aret , then followed by s330 to reset the flag retflg . on the other hand , if the decision of s310 is made such that the flag retflg is not in the set state , that is , in the case of retardation in the previous cycle , the final retardation amount aret is set to 0 in s220 , then followed by s320 to set the flag retflg , thereafter executing s240 to s260 . as described above , according to this embodiment , the air - fuel ratio is shifted to the rich and lean sides at every 360 ° ca and the ignition timing is intermittently retarded at every 180 ° ca fig1 is a timing chart for describing the output states of the injection signals and the ignition signal in the above - described group injection system . in fig1 , signals i and j are respectively injection signals for the first , third cylinders and the second , fourth cylinders . the signals i and j are respectively generated at every 720 ° ca and shifted by 360 ° from each other . the injection signal is shifted to the rich and lean sides at every 360 ° ca and as a result the rich signal is always outputted with respect to the first and third cylinders and the lean signal is always outputted with respect to the second and fourth cylinders . further , the ignition signal is intermittently retarded at every 180 ° ca , i . e . every one ignition . more specifically , when the injection signal shifted to the rich side is outputted to the first and third cylinders , the first - cylinder ignition timing is retarded but the third - cylinder ignition timing is not retarded . as described above , with the ignition retardation period being set to be shorter than the rich and lean period of the injection signal in the group injection system , it is possible to perform the control based on the retardation amount and the injection dither amount which allow great catalyst warming - up and emission improvement effects , and further to accelerate the suppression of the torque variation and the emission improvement . this embodiment is not limited to the group injection system but is applicable to a simultaneous injection system . the similar effect can be obtained . further , although in the above - described embodiments both the injection dither control and intermittent retardation control are executed , it is also possible to shorten the time period that the catalyst takes the full intake state even if executing the injection dither control only or the intermittent retardation control only , thus suppressing the deterioration of the emissions . in addition , in the case of executing the injection dither control only or the intermittent retardation control only , if limiting to an operating region such as a large - load region , a middle rotational speed region in which the affection of the torque variation due to the control is small , it is possible to prevent the deterioration of the driveability . according to the above - described embodiments , when the warming - up of the catalyst is not completed , the engine alternately takes the rich combustion and the lean combustion so as to generate heat through the oxidative reaction of the carbon monoxide and oxygen produced thereby . the generated heat heats the catalyst which is in turn warmed up speedily so as to improve the emission purifying efficiency of the catalyst to thereby suppress the deterioration of the emissions . moreover , since the ignition timing is intermittently retarded at the time of no completion of the warming - up of the catalyst , the warming - up of the catalyst can be accelerated so as to similarly suppress the deterioration of the emissions . it should be understood that the foregoing relates to only preferred embodiments of the present invention , and that it is intended to cover all changes and modifications of the embodiments of the invention herein used for the purposes of the disclosure , which do not constitute departures from the spirit and scope of the invention .	8
referring now to the drawings , and particularly fig1 - 4 , a simplified method of forming hexagonal pins on an initial pin plate 10 is shown . a plurality of initial cuts are formed along a first direction , shown by arrow a , in the face 12 of the initial pin plate 10 to form a plurality of parallel grooves 14 . as shown in fig3 and 4 , two additional straight - through cuts are made in the surface 12 of the initial pin plate 10 at 60 ° and 120 ° from the initial cut , to form a plurality of spaced apart hexagonal pins 20 . it is immaterial which of the second or third cuts are at the 60 ° or 120 ° angle with respect to the first cut . however , for purposes of illustration , fig3 illustrates the second cut as being along arrow b which is at an angle of 120 ° with respect to the cut of arrow a , thereby producing a plurality of parallel grooves 16 in the face 12 of the initial pin plate 10 . fig4 illustrates the final straight - through cut as being along arrow c which is 60 ° with respect to the cut of arrow a , forming a plurality of parallel grooves 18 , and finally the plurality of spaced apart hexagonal pins 20 . three such initial pin plates 10 are formed in the same manner , with it being understood that the grooves 14 , 16 and 18 of each plate are formed with a desired width to accommodate the positioning of the pins of the other two plates therewithin and with the desired slot width between the assembled pins . fig5 through 7a illustrate the bonding of the three initial pin plates to a billet die , or a carrier plate as utilized in the practice of a laminated die . the schematic drawings are set forth only to illustrate the method of bonding and are not an accurate depiction of the hexagonal pins as they would appear in a more graphic illustration . fig5 shows the positioning of a first initial pin plate 10 with the surface 12 of the hexagonal pins 20 being positioned adjacent a surface 22 of a billet die or carrier plate 24 , as desired . fig5 a illustrates the pins 20 of the first initial pin plate 10 being fused to the billet die or carrier plate 24 to form the first set of hexagonal pins 30 thereon . also , fig5 a illustrates the fact that after the pins 20 have been fused to the die or plate 24 to form new pins 30 thereon , initial pin plate 10 is cut away from the pins 30 at 26 by any suitable means such as saw cutting or wire edm to form the discharge surface 28 ( fig7 a and 8 ) of the die . fig6 and 6a are similar are to fig5 and 5a except that they illustrate the bonding of the pins 20 from the second initial pin plate 10 to the die or plate 24 to form the second set of pins 30 thereon . finally , fig7 and 7a illustrate the bonding of the pins 20 from the third initial pin plate 10 to the die or plate 24 to thereby bond the final set of hexagonal pins 30 thereto , and thus produce the desired hexagonal discharge pin face with desired width hexagonal shaped slots 32 formed therebetween . fig8 is a plan view of the outlet or discharge face of the finished die or carrier plate 24 illustrating the sequence of the bonding operation . machinable materials of high yield strength , such as high strength tool steels or stainless steel alloys constitute the preferred fabrication materials for the pin plates 10 and the billet die or carrier plate 24 . the alignment between the pin plates and the die or carrier plate 24 is very important , since any mismatch will show up as a comparable variation in the final slot width 32 . one preferred method of alignment is the utilization of precision dowels and holes as is known in the prior art . u . s . pat . no . 3 , 678 , 570 to plaulonis et al . describes one suitable type of a diffusion bonding procedure which can be utilized with the present invention , since it is particularly useful for superalloy and stainless steel bonding , wherein the alloy interlayers are used to assist the diffusion bonding process through the formation of a transient liquid phase . also , these interlayers promote good diffusion bonding of similar materials at temperatures and pressures somewhat lower than required for conventional diffusion processes , which also may be utilized . with respect to the sequence of bonding operations as shown in fig8 it is apparent that although the second and third pin plates are identical to the first one , a different alignment location is required for each successive pin plate 10 , to insure that the pins 20 are positioned in the correct location on the receiving plate 24 with the desired hexagonal slots 32 positioned between the hexagonal pins 30 . it is apparent that at least three initial pin plates 10 are required to provide the pins 30 on a single die or faceplate 24 . the use of a minimum number of pin plates 10 is desirable , since each additional bonding operation exposes the assembly process to more opportunities for misalignment in bonding . thus , although more than three initial pin plates 10 may be utilized to produce the final die or carrier plate 24 , it is preferred to utilize only three initial pin plates as described hereinbefore . when it is desired to bond the pins 20 directly to a surface 22 of a billet die 24 , it is understood that appropriate feed holes will be formed in an inlet face of the billet die to communicate with root portions 34 of the hexagonal discharge slots 32 . also , when the ends 20 of the initial pin plates 10 are bonded to a carrier plate such as utilized in the practice for forming laminated dies , two alternatives are possible . one is to bond the carrier plate to a body plate and transition feed holes from the body portion to the root portions 34 of the hexagonal slots 32 . another would be to position the surface 28 against an outlet face of a die body portion with the discharge slots 32 in alignment with feed holes formed through the die body , and the pins 30 then fused to the die body with the pins being removed along surface 22 from the carrier 24 , in a manner similar to the procedure shown in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 761 , 787 . although for purposes of illustration i have disclosed certain specific embodiments of my invention , it will become apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims .	1
hereinafter , preferred embodiments ( hereinafter , referred to as “ embodiments ”) of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings . fig1 illustrates an example of a configuration of a 3d image display system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure . the 3d image display system 10 includes an image signal processing device 20 and an omni - directional 3d image display apparatus 30 . the image signal processing device 20 supplies a video signal obtained by capturing an object , for example , from all directions to the omni - directional 3d image display apparatus 30 . the omni - directional 3d image display apparatus 30 includes a display section 40 ( fig2 ) which is installed in a cylindrical section 31 which is formed with a plurality of slits 32 . the display section 40 includes array displays of the same number as the number of the slits 32 . the omni - directional 3d image display apparatus 30 extracts images in the case where the object is seen from respective viewpoints on the entire periphery around the object from a video signal input from the image signal processing device 20 to display the images on the respective array displays in a predetermined order . accordingly , the cylindrical section 31 rotates at high speed . thus , the images on the array displays which form the display section 40 pass through the slits 32 and are seen by a user who views a side surface of the cylindrical section 31 of the omni - directional 3d image display apparatus 30 . since led lights of r , g , and b components which are arranged in positions corresponding to the plurality of array displays are synthesized and seen , the images have their original colors , and in a case where the user views the side surface of the cylindrical section 31 from an arbitrary direction , the user can view a 3d image over the entire periphery of the object in the video signal . a configuration example of the display section 40 which is installed in the cylindrical section 31 of the omni - directional 3d image display apparatus 30 will be described with reference to fig2 to 6 . fig2 is a configuration example of the display section 40 , fig3 is a rear perspective view of array displays , fig4 is a cross - sectional view of the array displays , fig5 is a perspective view of a light emitting device substrate 43 , and fig6 is a cross - sectional view of the light emitting device substrate 43 . in the case of the configuration example shown in fig2 , the display section 40 includes three array displays . each array display is installed in a light housing 41 so that a curved surface is formed along respective led surfaces 52 of the plurality of light emitting device substrates 43 . each light housing 41 is arranged at an equiangular ( here , 120 degrees ) interval in a base of the cylindrical section 31 . thus , it is possible to reduce wobbling of a rotation axis when the cylindrical section 31 rotates . a slit 42 is formed on a side surface of the light housing 41 , and the display section 40 is installed inside the cylindrical section 31 so that the slit 42 corresponds to the slit 32 formed in the cylindrical section 31 . the light housing 41 has an approximately semi - cylindrical shape of a hollow structure , and a positioning hole for mounting the light emitting device substrate 43 is formed on the side surface thereof of an arc shape . thus , it is possible to mount the light emitting device substrate 43 on a predetermined location of the light housing 41 with high accuracy . further , the plurality of light emitting device substrates 43 are mounted in the form of fins along the positioning holes . it is possible to efficiently dissipate heat generated by the light emitting device substrate 43 or the like when the display section 40 rotates , using the above - described shape characteristic . further , a hole is formed on an upper surface and a lower surface of the light housing 41 . thus , if the display section 40 rotates , since air flow is generated in the light housing through the vertical hole , the heat exhausting is accelerated . the light emitting device substrate 43 has attachments 51 for installation to the light housing 41 in opposite ends in the length direction thereof . the attachment 51 employs a material having high thermal conductivity such as aluminum . thus , it is possible to efficiently move the heat generated by the light emitting device substrate 43 toward the light housing 41 , or to dissipate the heat . further , the light emitting device substrate 43 has a cross - section of an l shape ( or inverted l shape ), and has a rectangular led surface 52 in which a plurality of leds which are the light emitting devices are disposed in a position which is a short side of the l shape . that is , the length direction of the led surface 52 is parallel to the slit 42 of the light housing 41 . further , a driver substrate 53 for driving the leds is disposed in a position which is along side of the light emitting device substrate 43 . as shown in fig4 , the array displays have an arc screen . that is , the array displays are configured so that the respective led surfaces 52 of the plurality of light emitting device substrates 43 are arranged to be connected in an arc shape toward a point on a line which connects an arc center of the screen and the slit 42 of the light housing 41 . thus , usage efficiency of light emitted from the leds can be enhanced . further , since a gap between the respective light emitting device substrates 43 is generated , the generated heat can be dissipated therethrough . further , the plurality of light emitting device substrates 43 which form the array displays use an l - shaped cross - section and an inverted l - shaped cross - section with reference to the center of the array displays . thus , it is possible to prevent horizontal unevenness in an image due to steps in the screen ( for example , pixel gaps in a longitudinal direction stand out only on the right ( or left ) side of the screen ), which may be generated in a case where the array displays are configured using only one of the l shape and the inverted l shape . next , the led which forms the led surface 52 will be described with reference to fig7 to 13 . as described above , the led surface 52 is arranged toward the line where the arc center of the array displays is connected to the slit 42 . further , each led of the led surface 52 is configured so that directional characteristics of the irradiation light is enhanced compared with the led of the related art , and light usage efficiency is enhanced . fig7 illustrates a first configuration example of the led which forms the led surface 52 . in the first configuration example , a resin lens 64 is formed to cover an led chip 61 around the led chip 61 installed on a substrate 60 . the irradiation light of the led can be focused on the front surface by circularly forming the resin lens 64 when seen from the top of the led , and thus , stray light is reduced , thereby enhancing light usage efficiency . accordingly , the contrast of the displayed image is enhanced . further , since an apparent light emitting area increases , it is possible to restrict a dot effect of the 3d image from standing out . further , in order to form the position and shape of the resin lens 64 with high accuracy , a water repellent and oil repellent agent or the like is coated in a region of the substrate 60 other than a region where the resin lens 64 is formed , to thereby form a low surface tension film 63 . that is , by forming the low surface tension film 63 with high positional accuracy , it is possible to form the position and shape of the resin lens 64 with high accuracy . fig8 illustrates a second configuration example of the led which forms the led surface 52 . in the second configuration example , in addition to the same characteristic as the above - described first configuration example , a resin coat 72 is formed to cover a wire 62 which is wired in the led chip 61 . thus , protection of the wire 62 and insulation maintenance can be secured in parallel . in the second configuration example , the height of the resin coat 72 is formed to be lower than the height of the light emitting surface of the led chip 61 . thus , it is possible to restrict reduction in light extraction efficiency due to inner reflection of the led . here , the height of the resin coat 72 may be formed to be higher than the height of the light emitting surface of the led chip 61 . thus , since directional characteristic is enhanced while the light extraction efficiency decreases as the distance between the led chip 61 and the resin lens 64 increases , it is possible to enhance light usage efficiency as a result . further , as the height of the resin coat 72 increases , it is possible to avoid contact between the wire 62 and a mask 81 ( to be described later ). further , in the second configuration example , a copper foil layer 71 is formed on a substrate 70 . thus , temperature unevenness in the substrate 70 can be reduced , and thus , luminance unevenness and color unevenness in the led surface 52 can be restricted . fig9 illustrates a third configuration example of the led which forms the led surface 52 . in the third configuration example , in addition to the same characteristic as the above - described second configuration example , the mask 81 is installed to cover a portion other than the resin lens 64 on the highest layer . the mask 81 may use a metallic foil which is black matte surface - processed or insulation - processed , black matte resin sheet , or the like . the mask 81 has characteristic in the cross - sectional shape thereof . fig1 a to 10d illustrate three examples of the cross - section shapes of the mask 81 . that is , fig1 a represents an example where a cross - sectional shape of the mask 81 is formed so that a lower side thereof is narrower than an upper side thereof . fig1 b represents an example where a cross - sectional shape of the mask 81 is formed to be widened toward an upper side and a lower side from the center of the layer of the mask 81 ( corresponding to the case where the mask 81 is created by etching ). further , fig1 c represents an example where a cross - section shape of the mask 81 is formed so that a lower side thereof is wider than an upper side thereof . from the point of view that the resin lens 64 is formed with a dome shape with high accuracy , the example in fig1 a and the example in fig1 b are the same , which are superior to the example in fig1 c . further , also , from the point of view that an aspect ratio ( h / d ) which is the ratio of the height h to the diameter d of the resin lens 64 can be increased , the example in fig1 a and the example in fig1 b are the same , which are also superior to the example in fig1 c . here , this does not mean that the directional characteristic and light usage efficiency are enhanced as the aspect ratio increases . that is , if the lens is formed with an appropriate aspect ratio according to a distance “ h ” from the light emitting surface of the led chip 61 to the upper surface of the mask 81 or a hole diameter “ r ” of the mask 81 , the directional characteristic thereof increases , and thus , light usage efficiency can be enhanced . from the point of view that interference ( contact ) of the mask 81 with the wire 62 is prevented , the example in fig1 c is superior to the example in fig1 a and the example in fig1 b . fig1 illustrates a top view of the led surface 52 including the third configuration example of the led . as shown in the figure , since light leakage from portions other than the resin lens 64 can be prevented by installing the mask 81 , it is possible to reduce deterioration in the image contrast . fig1 illustrates a fourth configuration example of the led which forms the led surface 52 . in the fourth configuration example , the positions of the low surface tension film 63 and the mask 81 are switched in the above - described third configuration example , and thus , the low surface tension film 63 is formed on the highest layer , and the mask 81 is installed on the lower side compared with the third configuration example . thus , it is possible to enlarge the diameter of the resin lens 64 compared with the third configuration example , without combining the resin lenses 64 of the adjacent leds , and thus , it is possible to increase the density of the resin lenses 64 in the led surface 52 . further , as the diameter of the resin lens 64 increases , it is possible to enhance the extraction efficiency of the irradiation light . accordingly , it is possible to reduce the dot effect of the displayed 3d image . fig1 illustrates a fifth configuration example of the led which forms the led surface 52 . the fifth configuration example has the same configuration as the above - described fourth configuration example . however , the height of the resin coat 72 is formed to be higher than the led chip 61 , and a cross - sectional shape of the mask 81 is formed so that a lower side thereof is narrower than an upper side thereof . accordingly , in addition to the same effect as the fourth configuration example , it is possible to form the dome shape of the resin lens 64 with high accuracy according to the cross - sectional shape of the mask 81 , to further enhance the directional characteristic as the distance between the led chip 61 and the resin lens 64 increases , and to enhance the luminance of the displayed 3d image . arrangement of leds which emit light of wavelengths of r , g , and b components in the led surface 52 will be described . hereinafter , the leds which emit light of wavelengths of the respective r , g , and b components are referred to as leds 90 r , 90 g , and 90 b , respectively . fig1 illustrates a first arrangement example of the led in the led surface 52 . the longitudinal direction in the same figure corresponds to the length direction of the led surface 52 . in the first arrangement example , with reference to arbitrary 3 × 3 leds , the number of leds of the respective color components is the same , and with reference to an arbitrary led , the led having the same color component as the referenced led is not present on the adjacent up , down , right and left sides . here , the first arrangement example is ideal , but is difficult to be manufactured compared with a second arrangement example which will be described later . fig1 illustrates a first wiring example corresponding to the first arrangement example shown in fig1 . the longitudinal direction in the figure corresponds to the length direction of the led surface 52 . in the first wiring example , “ p ” lines 101 for driving the leds of the same color components are wired in an oblique direction according to the arrangement of the leds of the same color components , and “ n ” lines 102 are wired along the length direction of the led surface 52 . as the first wiring example is employed , it is possible to drive and control the leds which form the led surface 52 in a line sequential manner in the unit of several μ seconds . fig1 illustrates a second arrangement example of the leds in the led surface 52 . the longitudinal direction in the figure corresponds to the length direction of the led 52 . in the second arrangement example , the leds in the transverse direction have the same color components . here , with reference to arbitrary 3 × 3 leds , the number of leds of the respective color components is the same . the second arrangement example has a simplified structure easy to be manufactured compared with the first arrangement example . as in the present embodiments , in a case where the display section 40 is configured by three light housings 41 , leds having different colors are arranged on the corresponding positions of the respective array displays in the respective light housings 41 . for example , in the case of the first arrangement example , with reference to the three leds which are arranged on the corresponding positions of three array displays , the leds are sequentially arranged in the order of r , g , and b in the first array display , are sequentially arranged in the order of g , b , and r in the second array display , and are sequentially arranged in the order of b , r , and g in the third array display . as described above , as the cylindrical section 31 in which the display section 40 is installed rotates at high speed in the omni - directional 3d image display apparatus 30 , colors of the leds of the respective r , g , and b components which are arranged on the corresponding positions of the respective array displays are combined to be seen . accordingly , in a case where only leds of r , g , or b component are arranged in each of three array displays , if the rotational speed of the cylindrical section 31 becomes low , the combination state of the respective r , g , and b components is deteriorated , and the original colors cannot be reproduced . further , color breakup of the image may occur . however , as the above - described first arrangement example or the second arrangement example is employed , that is , as the leds of the respective r , g , and b components are mixed on one sheet of led surface 52 , even in a case where the rotational speed of the display section 40 is low , the occurrence of color breakup of the displayed 3d image and flickering can be restricted . fig1 illustrates a second wiring example corresponding to the second arrangement example shown in fig1 . the longitudinal direction in the figure corresponds to the length direction of the led surface 52 . in the second wiring example , the “ p ” lines 101 and the “ n ” lines 102 for driving the leds are arranged in the lattice form . as the second wiring example is employed , it is possible to drive and control the leds which form the led surface 52 in a line sequential manner in the unit of several μ seconds . incidentally , each led which forms the led surface 52 may not be directly mounted on the substrate , but a package type led having a p electrode and an n electrode on a lower surface thereof may be arranged on the substrate . fig1 a and 18b illustrate a configuration example of the package type led , in which fig1 a illustrates a top surface thereof and fig1 b illustrates a lower surface thereof . as shown in fig1 a , a “ p ” terminal ( electrode ) 111 is installed on the top surface of the package type led along the outer circumference thereof , and an “ n ” terminal ( electrode ) 112 is installed along the led chip 61 . further , as shown in fig1 b , on the lower surface of the package type led , the “ p ” terminal ( electrode ) 111 is installed at opposite ends thereof , and the “ n ” terminal ( electrode ) 112 is installed in the center thereof . for example , the package type led has an advantage that it is possible to easily exchange the leds in the unit of package , while in a case where a breakdown such as a disconnection in one led occurs , in a case where individual differences of the leds are uniformized , or in similar cases , if the directly mounted led is employed instead of the package type led , it is necessary to exchange the leds in the unit of the led surface 52 or in the unit of the light emitting device substrate 43 . one package is not necessarily formed by one led , but may be formed by a plurality of ( for example , 1 × 3 , 3 × 3 ) leds . fig1 illustrates a third wiring example corresponding to a case where the led which forms the led surface 52 is the package type led . the longitudinal direction in the figure corresponds to the length direction of the led surface 52 . in the third wiring example , “ p ” lines 121 and “ n ” lines 122 for driving the leds are arranged in the lattice form . here , in the figure , as the “ p ” lines 121 are intermittently wired and the package type led shown in fig1 a and 18b is arranged , portions where the “ p ” lines 121 are disconnected are connected to each other . as the third wiring example is employed , it is possible to drive and control the leds which form the led surface 52 in a line sequential manner in the unit of several p , seconds . as described above , as the first to fifth configuration examples are employed for the led , it is possible to enhance the directional characteristic . however , for example , if the led in which the irradiation direction thereof is adjusted to be focused in a direction other than the front direction is used as the led of the led surface 52 which is arranged in an end part or the like of the screen on the curved surface of the array displays , it is possible to further enhance the light usage efficiency . specifically , for example , the package type led in the irradiation direction suitable for the arrangement may be used , or the light distribution characteristic for each light emitting device substrate 43 is adjusted to be different and the light emitting device substrates 43 having the light distribution characteristic suitable for the arrangement are arrayed , to thereby form the array displays . thus , a configuration of the led in which the light distribution characteristic is adjusted will be described . fig2 illustrates a sixth configuration example of the led which forms the led surface 52 . in the sixth configuration example , the center of the led chip 61 installed on the substrate 60 and the center of the circular resin lens 64 are offset to each other . in the sixth configuration example and thereafter , the wire 62 , the resin coat 72 , the mask 81 , and the like may be appropriately omitted in the figures . fig2 illustrates a light distribution characteristic ( indicated by a dashed line ) of the first configuration example of the led shown in fig7 and a light distribution characteristic ( indicated by a solid line ) of the sixth configuration example of the led shown in fig2 . as shown in the figure , in the case of the first configuration example , the light distribution characteristic is highest in the front ( 90 °) direction . on the other hand , in the case of the sixth configuration example , the light distribution characteristic may be shifted in a direction different from the front direction ( 90 °). fig2 a and 22b illustrate a seventh configuration example of the led which forms the led surface 52 , in which fig2 a illustrates a cross - section taken in an arbitrary x direction , and fig2 b illustrates a cross - section taken in a y direction which is perpendicular to the x direction . in the seventh configuration example , the circular resin lens 64 is formed to cover the led chip 61 around the led chip 61 installed on the substrate 60 , and a reflector 131 is installed around the led chip 61 . here , the reflector 131 functions to enhance the directional characteristic in the x direction and to lower the directional characteristic in the y direction ( to distribute light in a wide range ). fig2 a and 23b illustrate a light distribution characteristic of the seventh configuration example of the led shown in fig2 a and 22b , in which fig2 a illustrates the light distribution characteristic in the x direction and fig2 b illustrates the light distribution characteristic in the y direction . as understood from the figures , due to the effect of the reflector 131 , the directional characteristic is enhanced in the x direction and the directional characteristic is lowered in the y direction ( light distribution range is widened ). fig2 illustrates an eighth configuration example of the led which forms the led surface 52 . in the eighth configuration example , a cross - sectional shape of the mask 81 is formed in the state shown in fig1 a , and the hole wall surface thereof is coated or deposited by a reflection material of white color , silver color , or the like to function as a reflector 141 . if a position having an effect of the reflector 141 and a position without the effect are provided according to the position of an inclined surface of the mask 81 , it is possible to achieve the same light distribution characteristic as the light distribution characteristic shown in fig2 a and 23b . fig2 illustrates a ninth configuration example of the led which forms the led surface 52 . in the ninth configuration example , an elliptical resin lens 64 in which a slit direction is the length direction thereof is formed to cover the led chip 61 installed on the substrate 60 . according to the ninth configuration example , it is possible to achieve the same light distribution characteristic as the light distribution characteristic shown in fig2 a and 23b . fig2 a and 26b illustrate a tenth configuration example of the led which forms the led surface 52 . in the tenth configuration example , in addition to the characteristic of the ninth configuration example , the center of the led chip 61 and the center of the elliptical resin lens 64 are offset to each other . according to the tenth configuration example , it is possible to achieve the light distribution characteristic obtained by combining the light distribution characteristics shown in fig2 and fig2 a and 23b . fig2 a and 27b illustrate an eleventh configuration example of the led which forms the led surface 52 , in which fig2 a is a cross - sectional view thereof and fig2 b is a top view of the led surface 52 including the leds according to the eleventh configuration example . the eleventh configuration example is a combination of the eighth to tenth configuration examples , and has the light distribution characteristic obtained by combining the light distribution characteristics shown in fig2 and fig2 a and 23b . as in the above - described sixth to eleventh configuration examples of the led , if the package type leds are used as the leds in which the light distribution characteristic is adjusted for each led and a suitable led is used according to the arrangement , it is possible to enhance light usage efficiency and to reduce power consumption . further , it is possible to reduce stray light ( light irradiation in an insignificant direction ). further , since it is easy to exchange the leds compared with the case where the led is directly mounted , adjustment and repair are easily available . incidentally , it is assumed that the configuration examples , arrangement examples , wiring examples , or the like of the leds as described above are applied to the omni - directional 3d image display apparatus 30 , but may be applied to other displays . further , in the present description , the term “ system ” represents the entire system including a plurality of devices . the present disclosure is not limited to the above - described embodiments , and may have a variety of modifications in the range without departing from the spirit thereof . the present disclosure contains subject matter related to that disclosed in japanese priority patent application jp 2010 - 155732 filed in the japan patent office on jul . 8 , 2010 , the entire contents of which is hereby incorporated by reference .	7
referring to the drawings , fig2 a - 2h illustrate different embodiments of a pmos esd protection device in accordance with the invention . in two variations devices 57 , 58 of a first embodiment , as shown in fig2 a and 2b , i / o pad 11 is coupled either directly ( fig2 b ) or through an optional resistor 12 ( fig2 a ) to the source of a pmos transistor t5 , the gate g5 of t5 is coupled directly to v cc , and the drain d5 of t5 is coupled to v ss . pmos transistor t5 is also situated within an n - well which is coupled to v cc . resistor 12 of device 57 provides additional esd protection by absorbing some of the esd energy and providing a voltage differential between input pad 11 and source s5 of transistor t5 thereby reducing the voltage differential between source s5 and both v cc and v ss . during the critical positive against v ss esd test , the esd high voltage forward biases the p + source / n - well junction , and breaks down the back biased n - well / p + drain junction resulting in esd current flowing from pad 11 through the source , the n - well and into the drain of transistor t5 which is coupled to v ss . similarly , during the positive against v cc esd test , the esd voltage causes the p + source / n - well junction to be forward biased , with current flowing from pad 11 through the source and into the n - well of transistor t5 which is coupled to the v cc . during the negative against v cc and negative against v ss tests , the single pmos transistor t5 of devices 57 and 58 is reverse - biased and hence operates predominantly in breakdown mode . note that although the gate g5 of transistor t5 is coupled to v cc , since there is no power applied to the ic , v cc is at an undefined voltage potential and so transistor t5 is partially on . as such , pmos transistor t5 is still more robust than an nmos transistor because pmos transistor t5 with an n - type gate g5 conducts through a &# 34 ; buried &# 34 ; channel formed below the surface the p - doped channel region that has not been depleted whereas an nmos transistor conducts through a surface channel formed by an inversion layer . in addition , pmos transistor esd protection devices 57 and 58 have the advantage of improved latch - up immunity . latch - up results from a parasitic bipolar transistor ( which exists intrinsically in a cmos structure ) turning on . such a parasite bipolar transistor can short the v cc ( power ) and v ss ( ground ) lines , either destroying the ic or causing system failure . the parasitic bipolar effect is illustrated in fig3 a and 3b . fig3 a and 3b show a typical cmos structure comprising a pair of pmos and nmos transistors 320 , 310 respectively , and the equivalent &# 34 ; bipolar &# 34 ; circuit for the cmos structure having parasitic bipolar transistors t31 , t32 , respectively . the latch - up effect is caused by the switching &# 34 ; on &# 34 ; of two bipolar transistors t31 and t32 . parasitic bipolar transistor t31 , an npn transistor , is the result of a collector 322 formed from the n - type substrate 322 , a base 312 formed from the p - well 312 of an nmos transistor 310 , and an emitter 311 formed from the n + source 311 of nmos transistor 310 . similarly , parasitic bipolar pnp transistor t32 is the result of an emitter 323 formed from the p + source 323 of pmos transistor 320 , a base 322 formed from the n - type substrate 322 and a collector 312 formed from the p - well 312 of nmos transistor 310 . when both bipolar transistors t31 and t32 are &# 34 ; on &# 34 ; there is a very low resistance path comprising transistors t31 and t32 , from v cc to v ss . the result is a very large current flowing from v cc to v ss through transistors t31 and t32 which can be large enough to cause a power failure . one conventional solution has been the use of a highly doped buried n + layer electrically insulating and separating the p - well of the nmos transistor from the n - type substrate . however , the buried layer increases the cmos transistor size . the pair of pmos and nmos transistors t3 and t4 of esd protection device 55 ( fig1 f ) forms the above described latch - up path comprising parasitic transistors t31 and t32 . in contrast , latch - up immunity of pmos transistor esd protection devices 57 and 58 is improved because the drain of transistor t5 is coupled to vs ( instead of v cc ), thereby improving latch - up immunity by eliminating a critical portion of the latch - up path , i . e . v cc is decoupled from the emitter of the otherwise parasitic transistor t32 . this structure 57 or 58 , i . e ., with the single pmos transistor t5 , can also be used in combination with one or more of the conventional nmos esd protection structures 50 through 56 , of fig1 a through 1g . nevertheless , depending on specific esd requirements , a single pmos transistor esd protection structure is adequate for most ic applications , since the potentially more destructive esd tests are the positive against v ss and positive against v cc . as such , the single pmos transistor esd protection device has superior overall esd characteristics when compared to any of the above - described conventional nmos transistor based esd protection devices . in another embodiment , esd protection device 59 and a variation 60 , as shown in fig2 c and 2d , respectively , i / o pad 11 is coupled either through optional resistor 12 or directly to the source of the pmos transistor t5 . again the drain of transistor t5 is coupled to v ss and transistor t5 is located in an n - well coupled to v cc . the gate of transistor t5 is coupled to the output of an inverter 25 whose input is coupled to v ss . such a single pmos esd device 59 or 60 has the same advantages and functions as single pmos esd protection devices 57 or 58 . ( see fig2 a and 2b .) fig2 e and 2f show variations 61 and 62 of esd protection devices 57 and 58 , respectively . in esd protection devices 61 and 62 , the gate of transistor t5 is coupled directly to v cc . in addition , esd protection devices 61 and 62 are combined with any one of esd protection devices 50 - 56 , by incorporation into block 100 , for better overall protection against all four types of esd tests . fig2 g and 2h show variations 63 and 64 of esd protection devices 59 and 60 , respectively . the difference is that the respective esd protection devices 63 and 64 have been combined with one of esd devices 50 through 56 by incorporation into block 100 , for better overall protection against all four types of esd tests . while several embodiments have been described , these descriptions are not intended to be limiting and other embodiments will be obvious to those skilled in the art based on this disclosure . thus , while this esd protection invention has been described using a single pmos transistor coupled directly to both v ss and v cc , with the transistor situated in an n - well coupled to v cc , the principles of this invention apply equally well to any esd protection device having a pmos transistor coupled directly to v ss .	7
the preferred embodiments of the present disclosure disclose how to perform code profiling on devices having a relatively short wake - up time compared to the sleep time ( low duty cycle ). a preferred embodiment of the disclosure performs code profiling on an ultra - low energy ( ule ) device . the disclosure can be applied to any other devices having low duty - cycle . the range of duty cycle , i . e . the ratio between wake - up time / sleep - time may be e . g . approximately 1 / 1000 . this means x mseconds wake - up time and x seconds sleep - time . the disclosure could be also advantageously be applied to other ratios fig1 shows a block diagram of an ule device 1 including its micro - controller 2 , timer 3 , and an external memory 4 . the code profiling method disclosed uses an available timer 3 on the ule device ( this may be a system timer ( systick ) or another on - chip timer ). the value of global variables is stored in an ( e . g . external ) non - volatile memory 4 ( e . g . eprom ) before the device 1 is going into sleep - mode . it should be noted that timers are usually available on devices having software implemented for different functions . such a timer can be used for code profiling because during code profiling the value of the timer 3 is only read and its value is never changed . every function has its own identical global variable which represents how many timer 3 ticks this function was active . reading out the eprom 4 at a later point of time shows the code profile of the ule device during wakeup . only the code profile during wake - up is interesting . during sleep mode nothing happens . in the preferred embodiment each function call has an own identical global variable and two local variables . alternatively the number of global variables may be higher as e . g . for counting the number a function is called or for a “ time - stamp ” noting when the function was called . it should be noted that in software it is not allowed to have global variables with the same name . therefore every global variable has its own definition ( name ). it should be noted that a global variable is known by the software during all the wakeup time , a local variable is only valid ( known by the software ) in the function call it is declared in . these global variables all start with value 0 after the application wakes up . after wakeup the timer is started and counts from 0 . . . ( e . g . 24 bits ) and then wraps around . if function call x is executed for the first time , the actual timer value is stored in local variable ‘ varx1 ’ at the start of this function . at the end of this function call x the actual timer value is stored in local variable ‘ varx2 ’. the global variable ‘ varx ’ is incremented with the difference between ‘ varx2 ’ and ‘ varx1 ’ at the end of this function x . so this global value ‘ varx ’ is now 0 +( varx2 − varx1 ). then for instance function y could be executed , it also has its own global variable ‘ vary ’ and 2 local variables ‘ vary1 ’ and ‘ vary2 ’. the actual timer value is stored in local variable “ vary1 ’ at the start of this function y . at the end of this function y the actual timer value is stored in local variable ‘ vary2 ’. the global variable ‘ vary ’ is incremented with the difference between ‘ vary2 ’ and ‘ vary1 ’ at the end of this function y . at the end of the function y global variable vary = 0 +( vary2 − vary1 ). in case e . g . function call x is called again , the local variables of function x varx1 and varx2 are getting the actual timer values at the start or correspondingly the end of the function x as described earlier . the global variable ‘ varx ’ is incremented with varx2 − varx1 again at the end of functionx . so varx will be ‘ previous value +( varx2 − varx1 )’, etc . after all functions of the wake - up mode are called and the device is going into sleep - mode , all global functions variables are first stored in the external non - volatile memory 4 ( e . g . eprom ). it should be noted that the user ( or application ) determines which functions are called , so it is possible that in certain circumstances some functions are not used ( called ). in that case the global variable is 0 the user can read out this eprom memory 4 for checking the code profiling at a later point of time , optimize the code and do code profiling again to check the improvements etc . the user can add more global variables , e . g . in order to count the number every functions is called and / or to get a kind of a ‘ timestamp ’ by measuring when the function was active . these count and timestamp global variables are also stored in eprom then . an example of the workflow of the software for code profiling is shown below : functions x , y , z etc . are called by main function , other functions , the main function is implemented in the ule device . every application has one main function and it is always called automatically a device wakes up . in case the code profile of the main function should be performed the same method as with the other functions can be used but the calculation of its global variable has to be done between the functions are called . fig2 illustrates a flowchart of a method to perform code profiling for processing devices having a low duty cycle . a first step 20 describes the provision of a processing device , having one or more functions with a low duty cycle , comprising a timer , wherein an external memory is connected to the device , and wherein for each function one or more own global variables are assigned . step 21 illustrates starting code profiling . step 22 shows calling functions of the device by a main function , determine the duration each function was active and put the duration results into a first of the one or more related global variable , wherein , in case a function was called multiple times , the durations of each call are incremented in its global variable . step 23 depicts writing at the end of the code profiling , after all function calls are done , the values the one or more global variables to the memory . step 24 discloses reading out the values from the memory and used them for code optimization of the functions . while the disclosure has been particularly shown and described with reference to the preferred embodiments thereof , it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure .	6
in read / write disks , data is stored in the form of marks , usually in the grooves of the disk . such marks can typically be a change in the nature of the material , such as in the structure of the material . storing , or writing , data onto the disk requires energy , typically in the form of laser light , to form the physical marks in the material . typically , the marks are written on groove portions of the disk . in the case of read only discs , data may be embossed or stamped in the form of pits or bumps in the surface of the disk . disks can be read - only , with pits or bumps , writeable with grooves and lands , or may have read - only regions and writeable regions . additional details regarding such disks are disclosed in u . s . patent application ser . nos . 09 / 854 , 333 and 09 / 764 , 042 , the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference in their respective entireties . the pits and grooves may be formed on the disk using a father stamper , which has features ( i . e ., bumps and lands ) that are mirror images or opposite polarity of the pits and grooves . father stampers are formed , beginning with a glass master disk . photoresist is deposited on the glass master disk . after being coated with photoresist , the master is placed on an air - bearing spindle . a master bench laser exposes selected portions of the photoresist to create the desired pattern of pits and / or grooves . after the photoresist is exposed and developed , which washes away the exposed resist to leave the surface topology in the desired mode for when the disk is finally molded , the master disk is plated with nickel in a process known as electroforming . the nickel mold , known as the father stamper , is separated from the photoresist and master disk . the father stamper has features that are mirror images of the features cut by the laser . using polycarbonate , for example , in an injection molding process creates the disk with pits and recessed grooves as originally cut by the laser . optionally , a mother stamper , a stamper that is the topological inverse or mirror image of the father stamper , may replace grooves with lands and pits with bumps in the completed disk . one such mother stamper is disclosed in u . s . patent application ser . no . 10 / 056 , 927 , the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety . the grooves are typically formed in a wobble that generates a sinusoidal signal used to control the rotational speed of the disk and to generate a clock signal . for example , u . s . pat . nos . 4 , 972 , 410 and 5 , 682 , 365 to carasso et al . describes disks with wobbles and are incorporated by reference in their entirety . the grooves may also contain high - frequency wobble marks within the wobble which can be used to indicate other information , such as the addresses of the physical sectors . details are disclosed in commonly - owned u . s . patent application ser . no . 09 / 542 , 681 , entitled “ structure and method for storing data on optical discs ”, which is incorporated by reference in its entirety . in reading the disk , features cut by the original mastering laser are tracked . thus , because disks created using a father stamper process have originally - cut features along the grooves , tracking is on the wobbled grooves , and information is written in the grooves . reading or playing back the information is typically achieved by the optical reader transmitting a light beam onto the information layer and detecting the characteristics of the reflected light . in the case of what are called front or first surface disks , the information surface is the first surface that the read or write laser impinges . to the contrary , in second surface disks , the information surface is the second surface that the read or write laser impinges , the first surface being the surface of the substrate . the stored information is read by detecting the absence or presence of the marks in the grooves of the coating layer , such as by an optical head or reader . this then allows the stored information to be played back . one detection principle for recorded information in such disks is often the change in the refractive indices of the coating layer , another principle in such disks is the detection of the change in the polarization axis of the light . commonly , however , the change in optical intensity resulting from optical phase shift is detected . reading or playing back the information in second surface disks is typically achieved by the optical reader transmitting a light beam through the substrate of the disk and onto the information layer ( i . e ., the groove and pits ) and reflecting the light beam back through the substrate . the substrate is typically a clear plastic material on which the information layer is formed . because the light is incident on two surfaces ( the substrate surface and the information surface ), this type of disk can be referred to as a second - surface or substrate - incident disk or media . the relatively thick and transparent substrate of second - surface optical media makes read - only or read / write operations relatively insensitive to dust particles , scratches and the like since they can be located more than approximately 500 wavelengths from the information layer and hence are defocused . on the other hand , the second - surface optical medium can be relatively sensitive to various opto - mechanical variations . for example , common opto - mechanical variations include tilt of the substrate relative to the optical axis , substrate thickness variations , and / or substrate birefringence . these variations give rise to optical aberrations which degrade system performance arising from the presence of the thick transparent layer and which can , at least theoretically , be partially compensated for by using a suitable optical path design . such an optical path typically can only provide compensation for a single , pre - defined thickness of the layer . because there are likely to be variations in the thickness or other properties of the transparent layer , such compensation may be less than desired at some locations of the medium . another drawback associated with second - surface optical media is that the optical requirements of such media are substantially inconsistent with the miniaturization of the disk drive and optical components for such media . as will be appreciated , a longer working distance ( distance between the objective lens and the information content portions ) is required for an optical system that will read information from or write information onto second - surface media . this is due to the relatively thick transparent layer through which the radiation must pass to access the recording layer . to provide the longer working distance , larger optical components ( e . g ., objective lenses ) are required . [ 0028 ] fig1 illustrates an optical disk 100 having a first side 102 and a second side ( not shown ). in one embodiment , the optical disk 100 comprises a hybrid , first surface optical disk having prerecorded and recordable portions and an overall diameter of less than about 50 millimeters . in a specific embodiment , the optical disk 100 has an overall diameter of about 32 millimeters . the optical disk 100 includes a graphics ring 104 . the graphics ring 104 comprises an annular region of the first side 102 between a first radius r 1 and a second radius r 2 . the second side ( not shown ) of the optical disk 100 may also include a graphics ring 104 . in one embodiment , the first radius r 1 is about 5 . 5 millimeters and the second radius r 2 is about 6 . 3 millimeters . moreover , the optical disk 100 includes a through hole 112 located at approximately the center of the optical disk 100 . as those skilled in the art will appreciate , the through hole 112 may be adapted with at least one hub ( not shown ) to facilitate spinning the optical disk 100 with disk spinning equipment , such as a disk drive ( not shown ). the graphics ring 104 includes a first portion 106 , a second portion 108 , and a third portion 110 . machine readable code , such as bar code information 116 , is disposed within the first portion 106 of the graphics ring 104 . human readable alphanumeric characters 118 are disposed within the second portion 108 of the graphics ring 104 . human readable alphanumeric characters 120 are disposed within the third portion 110 of the graphics ring 104 . the first portion 106 of the graphics ring 104 comprises about one half , or about 180 degrees , of the graphics ring 104 . the second and third portions 108 and 110 each comprise about one quarter , or about 90 degrees , of the graphics ring 104 . in one embodiment , the bar code information 116 is written in the first portion 106 of the graphics ring with a series of low reflectance stripes 117 arranged in a circumferential direction and extending radially substantially between the first radius r 1 and the second radius r 2 . a disk drive ( not shown ), may read the bar code information 116 using the optical head of the disk drive and an active focus servo to focus the bar code information 116 . pursuant to one embodiment , the bar code information 116 is formatted in a manner similar to the nbca ( new burst cutting area ) format used with dvd - type disks . additional details regarding dvd - type disks are disclosed in the dvd specification v . 1 . 0 and are available from the dvd forum , www . dvdforum . org . as discussed in more detail below , the bar code information 116 contains format information , which the disk drive , or other device , reads to determine the format of the electrically encoded information on the optical disk 100 . in addition , the bar code information 116 contains information that identifies when and where the master that produced the optical disk 100 was manufactured . some of the bar code information 116 may be defined on the master tape that is generated in the pre - mastering process . the formatter used to master the disk may also generate some of the bar code information 116 automatically at the time the master is being manufactured and will also embed in the bar code information 116 . additional details regarding the bar code information 116 are discussed below with reference to fig2 - 5 . a disk drive ( not shown ) may read the bar code information 116 of an inserted optical disk 100 by spinning the optical disk 100 and advancing an optical head ( not shown ) to a predetermined location . the predetermined location corresponds with the radial position of the bar code information 116 on the optical disk 100 . the disk drive may include a mechanical stop positioned to stop advancement of the optical head when the optical head arrives at the predetermined location . with the optical head thus positioned , the optical head may read the bar code information 116 using an active focus servo to focus the bar code information 116 . tracking , or the use of an active tracking servo , is not required to read information within the graphics ring 104 . other devices , such as bar code readers and optical disk scanners may also read the bar code information 116 . these devices , however , may or may not need to spin the optical disk 100 to read the bar code information 116 . the alphanumeric characters 118 may comprise master tape part number information , master cut number information , or both . in one embodiment , master tape part number information 115 includes an eight character alpha - numeric field , preceded by a pound character (“#”). the contents of this eight character alpha - numeric field are included on the master tape and are read by the formatter at the time the master is made . the master cut number information 119 , in one embodiment , is a six character alpha - numeric field , the contents of which are entered by an operator at the time the master is made . the alphanumeric characters 118 may reference actual content on the master tape . in one embodiment , the alphanumeric characters 118 are about 0 . 8 millimeter tall and are substantially centered in the second portion 108 of the annular ring 104 between the first and third portions 106 and 110 and between the first and second radii r 1 and r 2 . of course , the height of the alphanumeric characters 118 and the position of the alphanumeric characters within the second portion 118 may vary . the alphanumeric characters 120 are disposed in the third portion 110 of the graphics ring 104 and may include side identification information 122 and source identification information 124 . the purpose of the side identification information 122 is to permit human operators to be able to easily distinguish between the two sides of the optical disk 100 ( i . e ., first side 102 and the opposing second side ) before inserting the optical disk 100 into a cartridge during the manufacturing process . machine vision equipment with character recognition functionality may also read the alphanumeric characters 120 . in one embodiment , the side identification information 122 comprises language such as “ side a ” to identify a side of the optical disk 100 . pursuant to another embodiment , a trademark , a logo , or other set of alphanumeric characters or graphic may be employed for this purpose . the source identification information 124 may comprise a four character master disk source identifier , wherein each formatter has a source identifier associated therewith , which is hard coded into the associated formatter , such as by the formatter manufacturer . this can , for example , permit identification of the maker of the master disk itself after it has been recorded . in one embodiment , the alphanumeric characters 120 are 0 . 8 millimeter tall and are substantially centered in the third portion 110 of the annular ring 104 . of course , the height of the alphanumeric characters 120 and the position of the alphanumeric characters 120 within the third portion 110 may vary . pursuant to one embodiment , the second side ( not shown ) of the optical disk 100 has a ring ( not shown ) configured identical to the ring 104 , but having information pertaining to the second side . the bar code information 116 and the alphanumeric characters 118 , 120 may be mastered into the optical disk without the need for separate processes , such as laser etching or ink jet marking . details regarding the mastering of the bar code information 116 are described below with reference to fig2 . [ 0045 ] fig2 illustrates a section of a single low reflectance stripe 117 of the bar code information 116 of fig1 . data encoded for the bar code information 116 , in one embodiment , is encoded by phase encoding where a zero bit is represented by two channel bits set to one zero and a one bit is represented two channel bits set to zero one . the sequence of the channel bits may be modulated according to conventional return - to - zero ( rz ) modulation techniques . each of the low reflectance stripes 117 is mastered as short sections of “ lands ” 202 and “ grooves ” 204 between opposing edges 206 and 208 . the lands 202 are raised portions of the optical disk 100 that are closest to the light beam that reads data from the optical disk 100 . the grooves 204 separate the lands 202 and comprise recessed regions of the optical disk 100 that are farther from the light beam than the lands 202 . each land 202 and groove 204 may have a dimension in the radial direction of about 400 nm . each land 202 and groove 204 may have a dimension in the circumferential direction of about 7 . 4 um between the opposing edges 206 and 208 . each groove 204 may have a depth of about 85 nm relative to the adjacent lands 202 . in one embodiment , the distance between adjacent lands about 0 . 74 um , this distance may be referred to as the “ pitch ”. the overall dimensions of each low reflectance stripe 117 may be about 0 . 8 - 1 mm in the radial direction and about 7 . 4 um in the circumferential direction . accordingly , each low reflectance stripe 117 comprises a series of alternating lands 202 and grooves 204 . high reflectance regions 210 and 212 are disposed on adjacent circumferential sides of each low reflectance stripe 117 and have an elevation approximately equal to that of the grooves 204 . the high reflectance regions 210 and 212 comprise flat , or mirror , areas . edges 206 and 208 separate the low reflectance stripe 117 from the high reflectance regions 210 and 212 , respectively . when a low reflectance stripe 117 is read , a focused laser spot from an optical pickup head is diffracted by the areas with lands and grooves . higher orders of diffracted light that reflect from the optical disk tend to not pass through an aperture of an objective lens , which receives the reflected light . hence , when the focused laser spot is over an area with lands and grooves ( i . e ., a low reflectance stripe 117 ), the total return light that enters the objective lens is less than when the focused laser spot is over a flat area ( i . e ., a high reflectance region 210 ) of the disk that does not diffract as much light . thus , to the objective lens , the land and groove areas appear as low reflectivity areas , or stripes compared to flat , or mirror , areas of the optical disk between the land and groove areas . in some embodiments , the size of the spot is about the same as the track pitch . while the amount of reflected light differs when the focused laser spot is over a land or a groove , the amount of reflected light associated with a flat region is substantially greater than that of a land or a groove . further , the optical disk may have some radial runout . this radial runout may result from differences between a first center point of the disk defined by the mastering system during the mastering process and a second center point defined by the placement of the hub and spindle motor of the disk drive . due to mechanical tolerances , the first and second centers are rarely exactly the same and , therefore , some radial runout typically results . in some embodiments , in which the focused laser spot is small compared to the track pitch , the radial runout helps to make sure the focused laser spot crosses lands and grooves in the low reflectance stripe area . pursuant to these embodiments , the focused laser spot may be sufficiently small that each land and grove area appears to the objective lens as a flat area . however , with some radial runout , the spot will have to transition between land and groove areas . this transition will cause light to be diffracted as described above . a low pass filter is applied to the detected signal , which averages the light detected from the land and groove areas with the apparent flat , or mirror , areas between the land and groove areas . this low pass filtering produces a signal from the low reflectance stripe that is less than the signal from a flat , or mirror , area . hence , after low pass filtering , the net effect of the land and groove areas is a low reflectance stripe . the signal levels corresponding to a high and low reflectance are i bh and i bl , respectively , as measured relative to a zero light level . in one embodiment , the i bh and i bl signal levels meet the following : in one embodiment , the channel bit length of a bar code channel bit , expressed in microseconds , is about 5 . 10 microseconds at a reference velocity of 2 . 9 meters / second . an edge position of the bar code signal is the position at which the bar code signal crosses the mean level between i bh and i bl . the length of the pulses corresponding to the low - reflectance strip may be 2 . 55 microseconds ± 0 . 50 microseconds . the deviation of the time interval between successive leading edges , in one embodiment , is less than about 0 . 75 microseconds . similarly , the deviation of the time interval between the centers of successive pulses is less than about 0 . 75 microseconds . the center of a pulse is the middle point between the leading edge and the trailing edge . [ 0057 ] fig3 illustrates the data structure for the bar code information 116 . as shown , the bar code information 116 includes a pll ( phase locked loop ) sync field 302 , a preamble 304 , a data field 306 , and a postamble 308 , arranged in series . the pll sync field 302 may comprise two bytes , which may be set to ffh as a default and encoded by return - to - zero ( rz ) modulation . the bytes of the pll sync field 302 immediately precede the sync byte sb bar of the preamble 304 . the preamble 304 of the bar code information 116 may comprise four bytes pr 0 - pr 3 set to ( 00 ) preceded by the first sync byte sb bar . the preamble 304 signifies the beginning of the bar code information 116 and may comprise four bytes set to zero . the data field 306 includes information bytes 310 , error detection code ( edc ) bytes 312 , and error correction code ( ecc ) bytes 314 . in one embodiment , the information bytes 310 comprise 28 bytes ( i 0 , i 1 , . . . i 27 ), which may be arranged and analyzed by the reading device as seven rows . a resync byte rs bari is inserted before each 4 - byte row of i i bytes , changing every four rows . the following describes an example embodiment of the specific contents of the various information bytes 310 . byte i 0 is the disk format major identifier . the content of the byte i 0 may be included in the master tape and read by the formatter at the time of mastering . bytes i 1 and i 2 contain the serial number , or other identifier , of the formatter that produced the master from which the optical disk 100 resulted . the formatter manufacturer may hard code the contents of the bytes i 1 and i 2 into the formatter . byte i 3 contains the identification number of the lbr ( laser beam recorder ) that produced the master . the contents of the byte i 3 are entered at the time of mastering . bytes i 4 and i 5 contain identification data corresponding to the site that produced the pre - mastered tape . the contents of the bytes i 4 and i 5 are included in the master tape and read by the formatter at the time of mastering . bytes i 6 and i 7 contain identification data corresponding to the site that produced the master from which the optical disk 100 resulted . the formatter manufacturer may hard code the contents of the bytes i 6 and i 7 into the formatter . bytes i 8 - i 11 contain a time and date stamp of when the master was produced that mastered the optical disk 100 . the formatter may automatically generate these bytes at the time of mastering . fig5 as discussed below , illustrates example time stamp data . bytes i 12 - i 17 contain a side content identifier , which may comprise a unique number , such as a serial number , corresponding to the content of the master . the side content identifier may be assigned at the time of pre - mastering and is included in the master tape and read by the formatter at the time of mastering . bytes i 18 - i 19 are reserved and may be set to ffh as a default . bytes i 20 - i 24 contain a 40 - bit word whose contents may vary , depending on the particular application . bytes i 25 - i 26 are reserved and may be set to ffh as a default . byte i 27 is the disk format minor identifier . thus , the format of the disk may be identified from the bytes i 0 and i 27 taken together . the content of the byte i 27 may be included in the master tape and read by the formatter at the time of mastering . this specific designation for the various bytes is one example of the specific contents of the various information bytes 310 . of course , the specific contents and arrangement of the information bytes 310 may vary . the error detection code bytes 312 are used for the detection of errors in the information bytes 310 and may comprise four bytes ( d 0 , d 1 , d 2 , and d 3 ). the error detection code bytes 312 are preceded by a resync byte rs bar2 . regarding the error detection code 312 , the bytes d 0 to d 3 follow the information bytes i 0 and i 27 . polynomials edc bar ( x ) and i bar ( x ) are as follows . edc bar  ( x ) = ∑ i = 0 31  b i  x i i bar  ( x ) = ∑ i = 32 255  b i  x i where i is the bit number starting with zero and counted from the least significant bit of the last byte of byte d 3 , to the most significant bit of the first byte of information data , i 0 . the value of the i - th bit is represented by b i . a reed - solomon ecc code with a 4 - way interleave is applied to the information data and the error detection code 312 . polynomials r barj ( x ) and i barj ( x ) shall be as follows . r barj  ( x ) = ∑ i = 0 3  c j , i  x 3 - i i barj  ( x ) = ∑ i = 0 6  i ( j + 4  i )  x 51 - i + d j  x 44 where i m represents the m - th information data byte and d k represents the k - th edc bar byte . the error correction code bytes 314 are used for the correction of errors in the information bytes 310 . errors in the reading of the information bytes may arise as a result of dust disposed on the first side 102 ( fig1 ) of the optical disk 100 , among other causes . such dust may impede the accurate reading of the information bytes 310 . in particular , the error correction code bytes 314 may comprise sixteen bytes ( ci , j ) arranged in four rows . each row of error correction code bytes 314 is preceded by a resync byte . to calculate the bytes ( ci , j ), the concept of virtual information data is introduced . virtual information comprises the 28 bytes of information data , i 0 to i 27 , concatenated with 40 rows , or 160 bytes , of virtual information data with implicit values of zero . this would be the same information data populating 47 rows instead of 7 rows where the extra 40 rows are all zero . polynomial vi bar ( x ) is defined as follows . vi bar  ( x ) = ∑ i = 32 1535  b i  x i where i is the bit number in which bit numbers 32 through 1311 are bits of the virtual information and 1312 through 1535 are counted starting at the least significant bit of the last byte of the information data , i 27 , to the most significant bit of the first byte of the information data , i 0 . the value of the i - th is represented by b i . for values of i from 32 through 1311 , the value , b i , is zero . to calculate r barj , the concept of virtual information data , the virtual information is again used . polynomial i barj ( x ) shall be defined as follows . vi barj  ( x ) = ∑ i = 0 46  i ( j + 4  i )  x 51 - i + d j  x 4 where vi m represents the m - th information data byte and d k represents the k - th edc bar byte . r barj  ( x ) = vi barj  ( x )  mod   g pbar  ( x ) g pbar  ( x ) = ∏ k = 0 3  ( x + a k ) where α is the primitive root of the polynomial gp ( x )= x 8 + x 4 + x 3 + x 2 + 1 . the bar code sync byte sb bar and the resync bytes rs bari may have the bit patterns shown in the table below : sync byte bit patterns and fixed pattern sync code resync channel bits 4 data bits bytes ch15 ch14 ch13 ch12 ch11 ch10 ch9 ch8 b3 b2 b1 b0 sb bar 0 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 rs bar1 0 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 rs bar2 0 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 rs bar13 0 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 1 0 1 rs bar14 0 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 1 1 0 rs bar15 0 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 1 1 recorded in rz modulation recorded in pe - rz modulation lastly , the postamble 308 may comprise a row of four bytes ( po 0 , po 1 , po 2 , and po 3 ) set to ( 55 ) and preceded by a resync byte rs bar14 and followed by a resync byte rs bar15 . [ 0090 ] fig4 illustrates the contents of example bar code information 116 . in particular , the data 402 , the modulated data 404 , the rz waveform 406 , and the readback signal 408 are illustrated in an aligned fashion . the readback signal 408 is shown with reference to i bl and i bh portions . the modulated data 404 is shown be modulated at 5 . 10 microseconds at 2 . 9 meters / second and the readback signal at 2 . 55 microseconds at 2 . 9 meters / second . [ 0091 ] fig5 illustrates example time stamp data in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention . as shown , the byte i 8 and the most significant nibble ( msn ) of the byte i 9 of the information bytes 310 ( fig3 ) represent the julian day the master was created . the least significant nibble ( lsn ) of the byte i 9 and the msn of byte i 10 specify the year the master was created . the lsn of byte i 10 and the msn of the byte i 11 specify the hour the master was created . the lsn of the byte i 11 specifies the master count . thus , the example shown in fig5 is for a master that was generated on the 128 th day of the year 2001 , during the 14 th hour of the day , and it was the first master produced that hour . the above detailed description and accompanying drawings are provided to illustrate specific embodiments of the present invention and are not intended to be limiting . numerous modifications and variations within the scope of the present invention are possible . the present invention is particularly pointed out and distinctly claimed in the following claims .	6
fig1 illustrates a dc motor according to the invention , in which the rotor 30 is journalled for rotation about an axis of rotation 1 . this motor comprises a base plate 10 on which the essential motor components are mounted . this base plate 10 may be made of reinforced plastics material or of non - magnetic metallic material such as aluminium . a sleeve 11 is integrally formed with the inner periphery of the substantially annular base plate 10 , the bearings for the shaft of the rotor 30 being inserted into the bore of said sleeve . these bearings may , for instance , be ball bearings or plain bearings . in the embodiment illustrated , two axially spaced ball bearings 12 and 12 &# 39 ; are provided . the upper ball bearing 12 is in abutting relationship with a locking collar 13 inserted in an annular groove formed on the outer periphery of the rotor shaft . thereby the upper ball bearing 12 is restricted relative to axial movement thereof . on top of the locking collar 13 a sealing member 14 is provided which prevents escape of even the most minute dust particles . the magnetic circuit of the stator assembly is in engagement about the outer periphery of an annular flange 15 depending in axial direction from the base plate 10 . in the illustrated embodiment this magnetic circuit consists of an annular member 21 of soft ferrite . the meander - like conductive strip array 20 is in engagement with the smooth outer periphery of the ring with electrical insulation disposed therebetween . an electronic control system 23 is mounted on an annular circuit board 24 within the annular space inside the conductive strip array 20 and in direct contact therewith . the electronic control system 23 may be supplied with current and voltage for operation of the motor via a feed line ( not illustrated ). sensors ( not illustrated ) are furthermore provided for detecting the position of the magnetic field of the rotor relative to the stator assembly and for supplying corresponding signals to the electronic control system 23 . the pole faces of the permanent magnet 31 of the rotor 30 rotate in closely adjacent spaced relationship to the forward and backward extending meander sections of the meander - like conductive strip array of cylindrical configuration . in the illustrated embodiment this permanent magnet 31 is annular and is made of powdery magnetic material dispersed in a cured matrix of plastics material . the inner periphery of the annular permanent magnet 31 has a smooth surface . on the outer periphery of the annular permanent magnet 31 , magnetic return circuit material in the form of a soft - iron ring 32 is provided . a cylindrical extension disposed in concentric relationship with the axis of rotation 1 projects inwardly from the inside of the rotor housing 34 to form the shaft section 35 of the rotor . a shoulder is recessed on the outer periphery of said rotor shaft section 35 , and by means of said shoulder the rotor shaft section is firmly in engagement on the rotatably supported inner race of the lower ball bearing 12 &# 39 ;. the stationary outer periphery of said lower ball bearing 12 &# 39 ; engages the bore of the sleeve 11 of the base plate 10 and is retained against axial movement relative to the sleeve 11 by means of a locking collar 16 which is inserted into an annular groove formed on the inner periphery of the sleeve 11 . a concentric internal thread 36 -- which is continuous in the illustrated embodiment -- is cut from the solid material of the rotor shaft section 35 . in an alternative embodiment , the internal thread 36 proceeding from the inside could be non - continuous and could terminate before the rotor housing . a substantially hat - shaped plate top 40 comprises a cover plate 41 having a cylindrical wall portion 42 extending therefrom concentrically with the axis of rotation , said wall portion 42 terminating in a radially extending flange portion 43 . the top of the flange portion 43 defines the plane &# 34 ; b &# 34 ; of the plate top . the inner periphery of the cylindrical wall portion 42 is retained in closely spaced rotatable relationship with the outer periphery of the sleeve 11 . a centrally disposed shaft portion 44 of the plate top 40 projects inwardly from the cover plate 41 . the outer periphery of said shaft portion 44 of the plate top is in engagement with the rotatably retained inner race of the upper ball bearing 12 and with the rotatably retained inner race of the lower ball bearing 12 &# 39 ;. the upper ball bearing 12 and the lower ball bearing 12 &# 39 ; have an annular spacer member 17 disposed therebetween which is in engagement with the top of an ondular washer 18 having its bottom supported by the locking collar 16 . a centrally disposed bolt 45 having external threads 46 depends from the end face of the shaft portion 44 of the plate top . this threaded bolt is adapted to be threaded into the internal thread 36 on the rotor shaft portion 35 and includes a spherically rounded end portion 47 . for grounding of the rotor , said crowned end portion 47 may engage a grounded contact spring ( not illustrated ). the bolt 45 is threaded into the internal thread 36 of the rotor shaft portion 35 until the ondular washer 18 is mechanically tensioned . by adjusting the turning force relative to the ondular washer 18 , the distance &# 34 ; a &# 34 ; between the plane &# 34 ; b &# 34 ; of the plate top and a reference plane &# 34 ; c &# 34 ; defined by the base plate 10 may be set with high precision . in the presently described embodiment , the distance &# 34 ; a &# 34 ; could be adjusted to an accuracy of a few micrometers . when the desired setting has been made , the bolt 45 is locked against movement relative to the internal thread 36 , for instance by means of an adhesive . when the rotor housing 34 and the plate top 40 are made of aluminium or another metallic material such as &# 34 ; zamak &# 34 ;, an adhesive such as &# 34 ; loctite &# 34 ; may be used . below , the mutual relationship between the permanent magnet of the rotor and the conductive strip of the stator will be explained with reference to fig2 for the dc motor shown in fig1 . fig2 shows schematically a cross - section along the line ii -- ii of fig1 . for reasons of greater clarity , only an approximately 90 °- segment of the complete annular assembly has been illustrated . as viewed from the outside to the inside , the outer wall of the annular permanent magnet 31 is directly adjacent the inner wall of the soft - iron ring 32 . the individual pole pieces 38 , 38 &# 39 ;, 38 &# 34 ;, 38 &# 34 ;&# 39 ; etc . of the annular permanent magnet 31 are remagnetized alternatingly in radial direction , i . e . normal to the axis of rotation , which is indicated schematically by means of the orientation of the arrows &# 34 ; a &# 34 ;. in the illustrated embodiment , the depth &# 34 ; b &# 34 ; of the pole pieces -- i . e . the pole piece dimension in radial direction -- corresponds substantially to the width &# 34 ; c &# 34 ; of the pole pieces , i . e . the pole piece dimension in axial direction . a substrate 26 of a printed circuit is disposed in closely spaced stationary relationship ( the spacing is enlarged in fig2 for reasons of greater clarity ) to the inner surface of the annular permanent magnet 31 . on the outside of the substrate three respective parallel conductors 27 &# 39 ;, 27 &# 34 ; and 27 &# 34 ;&# 39 ; of a backward extending meander section 27 of the meander - like conductive strip array are disposed . in spaced relationship thereto , three respective parallel conductors 28 &# 39 ;, 28 &# 34 ;, 28 &# 34 ;&# 39 ; of a forward extending meander section 28 of the conductive strip array extend on the outside of the substrate 26 . corresponding backward and forward extending meander sections of a number of parallel conductors are provided in electromagnetically offset relationship on the inside of the substrate and are in direct engagement -- separated by electrical insulation 29 -- with the outer surface of a soft - ferrite ring 21 which constitutes the magnetic circuit for the permanent magnetic field passing through the conductive strip array . fig3 shows a further embodiment of a dc motor in accordance with the invention . this motor comprises substantially the same components as the motor according to fig1 ; however , with respect to the latter , rotor and stator have been exchanged . in the motor shown in fig3 the annular permanent magnet of the rotor rotates within a concentric cylindrical conductive strip array which is in turn supported on the motor casing ( internal rotor - type motor ). in detail , the motor shown in fig3 comprises a cup - shaped motor casing 111 having an annular flange 110 radially extending from the casing edge . by means of this annular flange 110 the motor may be mounted in pressure - tight fashion in a circular recess of a housing 102 which surrounds a pressurized space 103 . if required , a sealing member ( not shown ) may be provided in the sealing area . inside of said pressurized space the rotating recording media 104 and 104 &# 39 ; driven by the motor are provided , said media being separated from each other by an annular spacer member 105 . a cover plate 106 urges said recording media 104 and 104 &# 39 ; into a step - like recess on the outer periphery of the rotor body 130 . the inner surface of the cylindrical portion of the motor casing 111 is engaged by the magnetic circuit for the magnetic field of the rotating permanent magnet , said magnetic field passing through the meander - like conductive strip array 120 . in the embodiment illustrated , said magnetic circuit is formed by a magnetic ring 121 of soft ferrite material . a narrow gap separates the conductive strip array 120 from the pole faces of the rotating annular permanent magnet 131 . along its inner periphery the annular permanent magnet 131 is supported by a soft - iron ring 132 , which in its turn is fixedly mounted on an axially projecting annular flange 133 of the rotor body 130 . within the annular space enclosed by the conductive strip array 120 there is disposed the electronic control system 123 which is mounted on an annular circuit board 124 which in its turn is supported on the inside of the bottom of the motor casing 111 . by means of feed lines ( not illustrated ) the electronic control system 123 is supplied with current and voltage for driving the motor . in the free space beneath the permanent magnet 131 the circuit board 124 extends right to the cylindrical conductive strip array 120 to enable direct connection to the wiring leading to the electronic control system 123 . from the bottom of the motor casing 111 a pin 115 integrally formed with said casing 111 extends centrally inwardly in axial direction , the retained inner races of the bearings 112 and 112 &# 39 ; being in engagement with the outer periphery of said pin . the end portion of the pin 115 is stepped to result in a central extension 116 having external threads 117 cut into the outer surface thereof . the crowned end of the extension 116 is engaged by a contact spring for grounding the rotor . the inner surface of the substantially sleeve - like rotor body 130 is engaged by the rotatably retained outer races of the bearings 112 and 112 &# 39 ;. the inner surface of the rotor body 130 is provided with an annular groove having a locking collar 134 inserted therein , which supports the upper bearing 112 against axial displacement relative to the rotor body 130 . the inner surface of the rotor body 130 is engaged by an annular spacer member 135 having its top supported against the underside of the locking collar 134 and having its bottom supported by the upper surface of an annular ondular washer 136 . the underside of this ondular washer 135 engages the top of the rotatably mounted outer race of the lower bearing 112 &# 39 ;. the fixed inner race of this lower bearing 112 &# 39 ; is seated in a shoulder formed on the pin 115 of the motor casing 111 . an internally threaded member 118 may be threaded onto the external threads 117 of the pin extension 116 . a recessed portion of the outer periphery of said threaded member 118 is in engagement with the fixed inner race of the upper bearing 112 . through tightening of the threaded member 118 it is again possible to establish with a high degree of accuracy the axial arrangement of the rotor body 130 relative to the motor casing 111 . when the threaded joint between threaded member 118 and pin extension 116 has been secured , the central opening of the rotor body 130 is closed by means of a cap 137 . with the described embodiment of a dc motor according to the invention the bearings 112 and 112 &# 39 ;, which rotatably support the rotor 130 and thus also the plate top , are disposed within the pressurized space 103 so that a seal for the bearings is not required . the working gap between the permanent magnet 131 on the rotor 130 and the conductive strip array 120 , which is fixedly mounted on the motor casing 111 , is covered by a barrier member 119 disposed on the top of the annular flange 110 . this barrier member 119 prevents escape of dust particles from the motor into the pressurized space 103 . additionally , it may be appropriate with this embodiment to cover all of the components of the motor with a protective coating to prevent separation and escape of dust particles . the embodiment of a dc motor according to the invention as illustrated in fig4 is configured substantially analogously to the motor of fig1 the difference being that the stationary magnetic circuit provided in the motor of fig1 has been replaced by a further annular permanent magnet mounted on the rotor . more in detail , the stationary cylindrical conductive strip array 220 is disposed in the working gap between two annular permanent magnets 231 and 233 . the soft - iron ring 232 engages the periphery of the outer permanent magnet 231 . the inner surface of the inner permanent magnet 233 , which is concentric with the outer permanent magnet 231 , engages a soft - iron ring 234 . in this case each of the permanent magnets 231 and 233 alternately acts as magnetic circuit for the permanent magnetic field of the respective other permanent magnet crossing the conductive strip array 220 . with reference to fig5 a and 5b , different alternatives are schematically indicated for implementing a motor according to the invention with plural driving planes in a rotational plane about a common axis of rotation . the motor shown in fig5 a comprises three annular permanent magnets 331 , 332 and 333 arranged concentrically to each other in a common plane and being fixed on a rotor 330 . in the working gap between the permanent magnets 331 and 332 there is provided the first meander - like conductive strip array 320 . in the working gap between the permanent magnets 332 and 333 there is provided the second cylindrical meander - like conductive strip array 321 . the permanent magnet 331 serves as magnetic circuit for the magnetic field generated by the permanent magnet 332 and crossing the conductive strip array 320 . on the side of the permanent magnet 331 remote from the conductive strip array 320 the magnet is provided with a soft - iron ring 335 . in the same way the permanent magnet 333 serves as magnetic circuit for the magnetic field generated by the permanent magnet 332 and crossing the conductive strip array 321 . on the side of the permanent magnet 333 remote from the conductive strip array 321 , the permanent magnet is provided with a soft - iron ring 334 . by corresponding control of the conductive strip arrays 320 and 321 two driving planes are established with this motor . the embodiment shown in fig5 b also provides two driving planes . fig5 b is a fragment of an embodiment of a motor according to the invention substantially configured in accordance with the motor of fig1 . in addition to the motor of fig1 and distinctive therefrom , a second permanent magnet fixed to the rotor is provided . within the annular gap between the two permanent magnets a stationary magnetic circuit is provided . more in detail , two permanent magnets 431 and 433 are secured in concentric relationship on the rotor 430 of the motor of fig5 b in one rotational plane . an annular gap between these two permanent magnets 431 and 433 is sufficiently dimensioned so that a magnetic circuit in the form of a soft - ferrite ring 421 fixedly mounted on the motor base plate 410 may be disposed therein , said ring 421 being provided on the inside and on the outside thereof with a cylindrical meander - like conductive strip array 420 and 423 , respectively . thus , the first conductive strip array 420 is in the first working gap between permanent magnet 431 and stationary magnetic circuit 421 . the second conductive strip array 423 is in the second working gap between the other permanent magnet 433 and the stationary magnetic circuit 421 . on the side remote from the working gap the permanent magnet 431 is provided with a soft - iron ring 432 . likewise , the side of the permanent magnet 433 remote from the second working gap is provided with a soft - iron ring 434 . fig6 illustrates flat sheet or tape material for producing a cylindrical meander - like conductive strip array for a dc motor according to the invention . each side of the substrate material , which has been initially coated on either side with a thin copper film , has been provided by usual etching techniques with a meander - like conductive strip array . as will be apparent , each conductive strip array comprises three parallel conductive strips each having a starting and an end terminal . the long , relatively opposite sections of the conductive strips constitute the interconnected forward and backward extending meander sections of the conductive strip array . additionally , marks have been provided laterally of the conductive strip array . the relatively aligned orientation of these marks after the flat tape or sheet material has been closed to form a ring will ensure the desired predetermined configuration of the conductive strip array . fig7 illustrates -- in a fragmentary view -- a practical embodiment of a meander - like conductive strip array implemented as a printed circuit for use as stator winding in a dc machine according to the invention . this conductive strip array 500 comprises 11 meander - like conductive strips 501 extending in geometrically parallel relationship on a substrate surface 502 , said conductive strips having been produced by etching away the remaining coating . the gap width &# 34 ; d &# 34 ; between two adjacent forward or backward extending meander sections 503 and 504 is comparatively small relative to the width &# 34 ; e &# 34 ; of the meander sections , so that a large amount of magnetically active conductor material may be accommodated on the substrate surface . each of the 11 conductive strips 501 starts in an enlarged starting portion 505 and ends in an enlarged end portion 506 . for instance , the &# 34 ; second &# 34 ; conductive strip 501 / 2 starts at the starting portion &# 34 ; no . 2 &# 34 ; and ends at the end portion &# 34 ; no . 1 &# 34 ;. after production of the annular magnetic circuit the initial portions 505 of the conductive strip will overlie the end portions 506 of the conductive strip . more in detail , the end portion &# 34 ; no . 1 &# 34 ; will overlie the starting portion &# 34 ; no . 3 &# 34 ; of the third conductive strip 501 / 3 , the end portion &# 34 ; no . 2 &# 34 ; will overlie the starting portion &# 34 ; no . 4 &# 34 ; of the fourth conductive strip 501 / 4 , etc . the superposed end portions 506 and starting portions 505 are contacted through the substrate material , whereby all of the conductive strips 501 to 501 / 11 of the meander - like conductive strip array 500 will be electrically connected in series . on the back of the substrate 502 there is provided an identical meander - like conductive strip array ( not illustrated ) which is , however , electrically offset by 90 °. on the substrate there are furthermore provided at a defined spacing from the magnetic centre position of the forward and backward extending meander sections 503 and 504 the sensors 507 for sensing the respective instantaneous position of the permanent - magnet poles relative to the forward and backward extending meander sections 503 and 504 . marking elements 508 ensure during the etching operation the mutually correct orientation of the meander - like conductive strip array 500 on the front surface of the substrate 502 relative to the corresponding , but electrically phase - shifted , meander - like conductive strip array provided on the back of the substrate 502 . fig8 shows a substantially analogously constructed meander - like conductive strip array 510 obtained by etching . the difference resides in that the conductive strip array 510 has round winding heads 511 , and -- the scale being the same -- it would have more than twice the length of the conductive strip array 500 shown in fig7 . the front surface of the substrate 512 is provided with the conductive strip array 510 , and the back of the substrate is provided with an identical further conductive strip array ( not illustrated ) which is disposed at an electrical phase offset . both conductive strip arrays are covered by an insulating layer , for instance by cured insulating varnish or an additional film . the array shown in fig8 is intended for producing a stator winding with a dual - layer arrangement of the substrate 512 . contacting of the starting portions 515 and the end portions 516 through the substrate material is effected via the centrally provided contacting bridges 517 . fig9 shows a fragment of a meander - like wire coil 540 of cylindrical configuration for use as stator winding in a dc machine according to the invention . as shown , the linear , parallel , forward and backward extending meander sections 542 and 543 of the finished meander coil 540 of cylindrical configuration are provided on the periphery of an annular return circuit member 545 . the winding heads 539 and 544 are bent and are disposed outside of the cylinder configuration . for reasons of clarity only a few geometrically parallel conductive strips are shown . a meander - like wire coil having the structure shown in fig9 which is suitable for practical use , might comprise 10 to 20 parallel conductor turns in one wire layer . the finished meander coil may comprise a single or multi - layer wire array . for manufacture , one may proceed from an annular , single or multi - layer flat coil having the desired number of parallel wire turns and deform said annular flat coil to a meander - like flat coil . subsequently , the inner winding heads 539 on the end face of the annular return circuit member 545 are secured adjacent the edge thereof , and the linear forward and backward extending meander sections 542 and 543 are thereupon bent by means of a hollow - cylindrical male die member and are placed in the cylindrical configuration on the periphery of the return circuit member 545 . the lower winding heads 544 may thereupon be bent as required either inwardly ( towards the rotary axis of the rotor ) or outwardly to thereby save structural height . fig1 shows in a fragmentary view a wire coil array 550 suitable as stator winding for a dc machine according to the invention , comprising two relatively nested , but electrically isolated meander coils 551 and 555 . a respective meander section 552 of the one meander coil 551 is disposed on the same cylinder periphery within the gap between two adjacent forward and backward extending meander sections 556 , 557 of the other meander coil 555 . preferably , the width &# 34 ; b &# 34 ; of the meander section 552 corresponds to the gap width &# 34 ; c &# 34 ; between the two other meander sections 556 , 557 , so that practically the entire cylinder circumference may be covered with wire . the winding heads 554 , 558 are bent out of the cylindrical configuration so that the required crossings will not occur in the region of the cylinder circumference . it is possible with a comparatively simple electronic control system to achieve exact commutation of the two electrically isolated wire coils 551 and 555 for producing a magnetic field to drive the rotor . again , for reasons of clarity only a few parallel conductor windings have been illustrated ; a practical embodiment of such a wire coil array may comprise , for instance , 10 to 20 parallel wire turns in a single - layer array . the two wire coils 551 and 555 are produced separately . for instance , it is possible to this end to proceed from a single or multi - layer cylindrical coil having the desired number of parallel turns . generally , the cylindrical coil initially produced on a cylinder periphery is gripped by first and second gripping members and is displaced along a virtual tapering frusto - conical section such that simultaneously the coil diameter is reduced and the linear forward and backward extending meander sections of the meander coils 551 and 555 are produced . during implementation with a suitable winding machine , such displacement takes place along the central cross - sectional plane of the cylindrical coil . fig1 shows a fragmentary exploded view of an annular multi - pole permanent magnet 560 of u - shaped cross - section , a correspondingly matched meander - like wire coil 570 and matched inner and outer return circuit members 580 and 590 . the annular permanent magnet 560 of u - shaped cross - section is of laterally magnetized multi - pole configuration ; i . e . with a given u - shaped magnet section 561 the inner side 563 enclosing the u - shaped hollow space 562 constitutes the north pole , and the opposite outer side 564 constitutes the south pole . in the succeeding magnet section 565 the inner side 566 constitutes the north pole and the opposite outer side 567 constitutes the south pole ; etc . return circuit material in the form of a u - shaped ring 590 of appropriate dimensions may be in engagement with the outside 568 of the u - shaped permanent - magnet ring 560 . since no reverse magnetization will take place there , said return circuit member 590 may be made of common soft - iron . the meander - like wire coil 570 includes matched cylindrical u - configuration , so that it may be inserted in the hollow space 562 enclosed by the u - shaped permanent - magnet ring 560 and may be disposed at a minimum distance from the rotating permanent - magnet ring 560 . preferably , the winding heads 573 and 574 are bent and are disposed in parallel spaced relationship to the corresponding pole face . inside the u - shaped meander coil there is provided a ring 580 of high - permeability return circuit material . in practical use , the meander coil 570 will initially be secured in vibration - free fashion on the inner and the outer periphery of the return circuit member 580 , whereupon this assembly is disposed in non - contacting fashion inside the hollow space 562 enclosed by the permanent - magnet ring 560 . for manufacturing the meander - like wire coil 570 of u - shaped cylindrical configuration , it is possible for instance to proceed from a meander - like flat coil including sufficiently long meander sections . the meander sections are centrally disposed on the end face 583 of the inner return circuit member 580 . the portions of the meander sections which protrude beyond the wall thickness on either side are thereupon bent with the aid of a suitable annular die member of u - shaped cross - section and are brought into engagement with the inner periphery 581 and the outer periphery 582 of the return circuit member 580 . there results a u - shaped meander coil 570 of substantially cylindrical configuration whose forward and backward extending meander sections 571 and 572 are in engagement with the inner periphery 581 , with the end face 583 , and with the outer periphery 582 of the return circuit member 580 . the winding heads 573 and 574 may thereupon be bent out of the cylindrical configuration in order to save structural space . fig1 is a graph illustrating along the ordinate the amount of the angle - dependent torque variations for one revolution of the motor about 360 ° ( along the abscissa ). more in detail , curve a indicates the stationary moment of a conventional motor . curve b indicates the reluctance moment of the same conventional motor . curve a &# 39 ; indicates the stationary moment , and curve b &# 39 ; indicates the reluctance moment of a dc motor according to the invention with 40 pole pieces .	6
fig3 shows a basic diagram of an arrangement for the implementation of the process with constant delays . the arrangement includes a d flip - flop 6 , an arrangement 4 for the derivation of a short read pulse i21 and an arrangement 5 for the derivation of a reset pulse ri from the effective edge of a digital signal d1 , principal delay units &# 34 ; g &# 34 ; 7 - 11 additional delay units &# 34 ; z &# 34 ; 12 and 13 , arrangements 14 - 19 for the derivation of the pulses i11 - i16 , and gates 20 - 25 and 32 - 37 , sr flip - flops 26 - 31 and an or gate 38 . the arrangements 4 and 5 , and 14 - 19 may be implemented by a circuit such as that labelled &# 34 ; b &# 34 ; in fig5 . an input 2 receives a clock frequency t1 which may deviate slightly from the bit sequence frequency of a digital signal d1 at the input 1 and may have an arbitrary phase position with respect to it . the digital signal d1 is fed to the d input of the d flip - flop 6 . the rising edges of the digital signal d1 are the effective edges . in the arrangement 4 , read pulses i21 are derived from these edges . the duration of these pulses is small compared to a clock period t , but large enough so that logic elements can be driven by them . in the arrangement 5 further reset pulses ri of corresponding duration are derived from the effective edges of the digital signal d1 and fed to the r inputs of all the sr flip - flops 26 - 31 . the clock signal t1 is fed into the delay line of elements 7 - 13 , which comprises principal delays elements &# 34 ; g &# 34 ; 7 - 11 , and additional delay units &# 34 ; z &# 34 ; 12 and 13 . the principal and additional delays t1 are equal to t / 6 . each principal delay unit &# 34 ; g &# 34 ; drives from the effective edges of the clock signals t1 to t6 short pulses ill to i16 , whose duration is larger than the principal delay t1 and is large enough , even for big values of n , so that logic elements can be driven by them . the pulses i11 - i16 are each applied to one input of the and gates 20 - 25 . the second inputs are connected with the output of the arrangement 4 . when a read pulse i21 arrives from this output , then the pulse or pulses that are already present is / are switched through from the sequence i11 - i16 and arrive at the setting input s of the sr flip - flops 26 - 31 , which have been reset with a resetting pulse shortly before . the q outputs of these rs flip - flops 26 - 31 are connected to the first inputs of the and gates 32 - 37 , whose second inputs are connected with clock outputs of the principal delay units &# 34 ; g &# 34 ; 8 - 11 and the additional delay units &# 34 ; z &# 34 ; 12 and 13 . the pulses t3 - t8 have been renamed f1 - f6 for further processing . the outputs of the and gates 32 - 37 are wired to the inputs of the or gate 38 and its output is wired in turn to the clock input of the d flip - flop 6 . all the elements in this arrangement have propagation delays . due to the time interval between the arrival of the signals at the two inputs of the and gates 32 - 37 , the delay between the effective edge of the digital signal d1 and that of the input clock te at the clock input of the d flip - flop 6 can be set in such a manner that it is equal to t / 2 for each newly received pulse of the digital signal d1 . the emitted digital signal d2 thus consists only of correctly scanned pulses . fig4 shows a basic diagram of an arrangement for the implementation of the process with fluctuating delays . the arrangement comprises all the elements of the arrangement according to fig3 . in addition , it includes auxiliary delay units &# 34 ; h &# 34 ; 39 - 41 , arrangements 42 - 45 for the derivation of read pulses i21 - i24 , a clock period measurement device 46 , and gates 47 - 50 , 60 - 63 and 68 - 71 , supplementary delay units &# 34 ; e &# 34 ; 52 - 55 , arrangements 56 - 59 for the derivation of pulses i17 - i110 , sr flip - flops 64 - 67 and an or gate 51 . for the maximum delay t1 , the principal delay units &# 34 ; g &# 34 ; are sufficient . for the minimum delay , the number of supplementary delay lines &# 34 ; e &# 34 ; must be chosen in such a manner that a further delay , equal to a clock period t takes place along the delay units of these two kinds . since , in spite of the fluctuating delay , the delay between the effective edge of the digital signal d1 and that of the input clock te is to be equal to half a clock period t / 2 , an adjustable delay of the read command is introduced in the signal processing path . this is achieved by a gradual delay of the digital signal d1 so that a sequence of read pulses i21 - i24 is derived over the auxiliary delay elements &# 34 ; h &# 34 ; 39 - 41 with auxiliary delays t2 and the arrangements 42 - 45 . when a pulse ill has been derived in the arrangement 14 , the clock period measurement device 46 determines which of the arrangements 56 - 59 has a pulse at its output at that time . according to the result in each case , either a read pulse i21 is switched through over the and gate 47 , or a read pulse i22 , i23 or i24 which is delayed with respect to the read pulse i21 is switched through one of the and gates 48 - 50 , as a read pulse i2x . this pulse then arrives through the or gate 51 at the second inputs of the and gates 20 - 25 and 60 - 63 . the process then proceeds as has already been described with respect to fig3 . the arrangements 42 - 45 and 56 - 59 may be implemented by the circuit labelled &# 34 ; b &# 34 ; in fig5 . fig5 shows a practical arrangement using the basic circuit diagram of fig4 . the arrangement comprises a nand gate 72 , non - inverting gate elements 73 - 90 and inverting gate elements 91 - 99 , each of which is used for time delay , and gates 100 - 115 , d flip - flops &# 34 ; a &# 34 ; 116 - 124 , an or gate 125 , circuit complexes &# 34 ; b &# 34 ; 126 - 142 , circuit complexes &# 34 ; c &# 34 ; 143 - 157 , an or gate 158 and the d flip - flop 6 . the circuit complex &# 34 ; b &# 34 ; comprises an and gate 159 , an inverting gate element 160 for delay and non - inverting gate elements 161 and 162 for delay . the lower terminal is connected to the upper terminal ( not shown ) of the subsequent circuit complex &# 34 ; b &# 34 ; 126 . the circuit complexes 126 - 142 are connected with one another correspondingly . the circuit complex &# 34 ; c &# 34 ; comprises a nand gate 163 , an sr flip - flop 164 and an and gate 165 . in the d flip - flop &# 34 ; a &# 34 ; and the circuit complexes &# 34 ; b &# 34 ; and &# 34 ; c &# 34 ;, the terminals in the circuit diagram are arranged geometrically in the same manner as in the &# 34 ; black boxes &# 34 ; 116 - 124 , 126 - 142 and 143 - 157 . the circuit complexes &# 34 ; b &# 34 ; and &# 34 ; c &# 34 ; operate like the elements 7 - 37 and 52 - 71 in fig4 . the gates 73 , 75 , 77 , 79 , 81 , 83 , 85 and 87 form an auxiliary delay chain with eight members . the non - inverting gates 74 , 76 , 78 , 80 , 82 , 84 , 86 , 88 and 90 and the inverting gates 91 - 99 , when combined with the and gates 100 - 108 , each produce with respect to its two left - hand inputs an arrangement for the generation of a read pulse . in the d flip - flops &# 34 ; a &# 34 ; 116 - 124 , the pulse llx that is present in the circuit complexes &# 34 ; b &# 34 ; 132 - 140 at the time of a pulse i11 -- or two such pulses -- is stored at a terminal x of a circuit complex &# 34 ; b &# 34 ;. each of the and gates 100 - 108 which receives both a pulse ilx and a read pulse i2x emits a signal to the or gate 125 , at whose output the read pulse i2x appears with the desired delay . the nand gate 72 supplies a reset pulse ri for all the sr flip - flops 164 . the and gates 109 - 115 serve to suppress any second pulse ilx that may have been stored . if , for example , the q outputs of the d flip - flops &# 34 ; a &# 34 ; 116 and 117 are in the logic state &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ;, then the logic state at the output of the and gate 109 is also &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; and a logic state &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; can occur at the output of the and gate 102 . now if a logic state &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ; occurs at the q output of the d flip - flop &# 34 ; a &# 34 ;, then corresponding states must occur at the outputs of the and gates 110 - 115 . fig6 shows a practical embodiment of the arrangement according to fig3 . the arrangement contains inverting gate elements 166 - 169 and 172 - 187 for delay , exclusive or gates 170 and 171 and 188 - 193 , and gates 194 - 199 and 206 - 211 , d flip - flops 200 - 205 , an or gate 212 and the d flip - flop 6 already shown in fig3 . the digital signal d1 present at input 1 is read in the d flip - flop 6 with the input pulse te and received at the output 3 as a digital signal d2 . the remainder of the circuit is used to derive the input pulse te from the clock t1 that is present at the input 2 . for this purpose , the clock signal t1 is fed into a delay chain 172 - 187 with sixteen members , in which every two inverting gate elements form a delay element . their number is chosen in such a manner that the clock signal at the output of the inverting gate element 183 is always delayed by one clock period with respect to the clock signal t1 at the input 2 , when the delay time per gate element is at a minimum . the exclusive or gates 188 - 193 emit pulses with a width equal to three times the delay time of a gate element , if the state of the delay chain 172 - 187 changes in its range . these pulses cover , step by step , the phase range from 0 ° to 360 °. the exclusive or gate 170 , in conjunction with the inverting gate elements 166 and 167 , emits a resetting pulse ri , which resets all the d flip - flops 200 - 205 for each change in the state of the digital signal d1 . as a result , all the q outputs , the outputs of the and gates 206 - 211 and the output of the or gate 212 are in the logic state &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ;. the inverting gate elements 168 and 169 and the exclusive or gate 171 emit a read pulse that is delayed with respect to the resetting pulse ri . from the and gates 194 - 199 , the exclusive or gate receives at its output a logic state of &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; , in which case the same state occurs at the input of the respective delay element if the read pulse is present . in addition , a logic state of &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; must be present at the output of the respective exclusive or gate from the exclusive or gates 188 - 193 , which is true only when there is a logic state of &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ; at the output of the third inverting gate element following the input of the delay element . if the output of one or more of the and gates 194 - 199 switches to the logic state &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ;, then the q output of the next d flip - flop of the d flip - flops 200 - 205 also receives the logic state &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ;. the next and gate of the and gates 206 - 211 receives at its output a logic state of &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ;, if not only the q output of the respective d flip - flop but also the q output of the preceding d flip - flop has the same state . in addition , the logic state at the output of the next delay element after that must have the logic state &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ;. the outputs of and gates 206 - 211 will be linked at or gate 212 . if two of the and gates 206 - 211 have a logic state &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; 0 at the output , and are based on clock pulses which shift with respect to each other by a clock period , that causes no problem . there has thus been shown and described novel digital signal receivers and their method of operation which fulfill all the objects and advantages sought therefor . many changes , modifications , variations and other uses and applications of the subject invention will , however , become apparent to those skilled in the art after considering this specification and the accompanying drawing which disclose the preferred embodiments thereof . all such changes , modifications , variations and other uses and applications which do not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention are deemed to be covered by the invention which is limited only by the claims which follow .	7
fig1 schematically illustrates a convergent / divergent ( c / d ) nozzle system 20 for a gas turbine engine . the nozzle system 20 is movable between a minimal dilated position ( fig1 ), which is typical during non - afterburning operation and a maximum dilated position ( not shown ), which is typical during afterburning operation . the nozzle system 20 generally includes a plurality of circumferentially distributed convergent flaps 22 , each pivotably connected to a nozzle static structure 24 . a plurality of circumferentially distributed divergent flaps 28 are pivotably connected through a joint structure 30 to adjust an aft end section of each convergent flap 22 . a plurality of convergent seals 32 are each pivotally connected to a respective divergent seal 34 which are respectively distributed circumferentially between each divergent flap 28 and convergent flap 28 sets . each convergent seal 32 is pivotably connected to the static structure 24 with each divergent seal 34 pivotably connected through a joint structure 36 adjacent an aft end section of each convergent seal 32 . the convergent and divergent flaps 22 , 28 and the convergent and divergent seals 32 , 34 , taken collectively , define the radial outer boundary of a combustion gas path f to define a convergent section 38 and a divergent section 40 with a throat area 42 defined therebetween ( fig2 ). with reference to fig2 , an outer aerodynamic surface of the nozzle system 20 is defined by a plurality of external flaps 50 ( fig3 and 4 ). each of the plurality of external flaps 50 pivot relative a respective divergent flap 28 about a pivot axis 52 defined by an external flap hinge 54 ( fig4 ). each of the plurality of external flaps 50 also slide relative the nozzle static structure 24 through track arms 56 ( fig4 ). the plurality of external flaps 50 , taken collectively , define an outer aerodynamic surface of the nozzle system 20 and accommodate movement between the maximum dilated position and the minimal dilated position through sliding movement relative the static structure 24 and overlapping movement between adjacent external flaps 50 . with reference to fig5 , each external flap 50 includes an iso - grid construction ( fig6 ) that alternatively interrupts the internal load paths within a multiple of lateral ribs 60 and longitudinal ribs 62 so as to prevent an internal thermal fight which would heretofor cause internal dissolution of the component . in one non - limiting embodiment , the external flap 50 includes four longitudinal ribs 62 - 1 - 62 - 4 and five lateral ribs 60 - 1 - 60 - 5 . it should be understood that the particular rib arrangement is related to the desired shape of the component such as the external flap 50 . although the iso - grid construction is illustrated herein with regards to an external flap 50 in accords with one non - limiting embodiment , it should be realized that any composite iso - grid structure will benefit herefrom . it should also be understood that although relatively rectilinear iso - grid geometry is illustrated , other geometries are usable herewith . with reference to fig6 , the multiple of lateral ribs 60 and longitudinal ribs 62 of the iso - grid construction are formed from a multiple of uni - tape ply bundles 70 and spacers 72 in which only the spacers 72 are interrupted . in one non - limiting embodiment , each uni - tape ply bundle 70 is a buildup of four ( 4 ) uni - tape plies 74 - 1 ; 74 - 2 ; 74 - 3 ; 74 - 4 and one spacer ply 76 such that the spacer ply 76 separates two ( 2 ) uni - tape plies 74 - 1 ; 74 - 2 from two ( 2 ) uni - tape plies 74 - 3 ; 74 - 4 ( fig7 ). two ( 2 ) uni - tape plies 74 are generally of an equivalent height to one spacer ply 76 such that one ( 1 ) uni - tape ply bundle 70 is of an approximate equivalent height to three ( 3 ) spacer plies 76 within each of the ribs 60 , 62 . generally , no more than 4 uni - tape plies are located adjacent to each other and the middle spacer ply 76 of the uni - tape ply bundle 70 may be oriented at a 45 ° direction to the associated uni - tape ply 74 direction . the iso - grid composite component construction makes use of the higher strength uni - tape plies 74 to build up strong and low weight internal ribs 60 , 62 . internal thermal fights between transverse uni - tape plies 74 are avoided by selectively alternating each uni - tape ply bundle 70 at different heights within the rib pattern such that when one un - interrupted uni - tape ply bundle 70 is within one level of the longitudinal rib 62 , the lateral rib 60 transverse thereto is defined by a spacer 72 which is interrupted at that level . at an adjacent level , the uni - tape ply bundle 70 runs un - interrupted within the lateral rib 60 while the longitudinal rib 62 at the same level includes the interrupted spacer 72 . that is , each uni - tape ply bundle 70 runs un - interrupted regardless of the level or direction for that particular uni - tape ply bundle 70 . it should be understood that any number of levels may be provided to build up the particular iso - grid component such as the disclosed external flap 50 . in addition , each level of uni - tape ply bundles 70 and spacers 72 which form the multiple of lateral ribs 60 and longitudinal ribs 62 may be separated by an interstitial ply layer 80 . each interstitial ply layer 80 may itself be a layup of any number of spacer plies such as fabric plies which are arranged at particular relative angular orientations . it should be understood that any number of such plies may be so utilized between the multiple of lateral ribs 60 and longitudinal ribs 62 . the uni - tape ply bundles 70 are uninterrupted and the spacers 72 are utilized to equalize height such that the uni - tape ply bundles 70 within the lateral ribs 60 and longitudinal ribs 62 do not directly overlap to form uni - tape ply “ bumps ” at intersections between the lateral ribs 60 and longitudinal ribs 62 . that is , transverse uni - tape ply bundles 70 are separated and spaced by the spacers 72 so that a constant height is maintained as applicant has determined that such “ bumps ” may result in delamination regions since uni - tape has an inherent difference in thermal growth along the fiber direction as compared to across the fiber direction . typical differences in this thermal growth approach 20 times such that the thermal expansion at a “ bump ” in conventional rib layups in which uni - tape directly overlaps and forms a “ bump ” may often result in delaminating and potential internally generated destruction of the layup . moreover , applicant has determined that the spacers 72 cushion and accommodate the thermal expansion which results in a robust but relatively light weight component . the iso - grid construction is lighter than monocoque constructions as uni - tape fibers can be placed to selectively follow the load paths . the iso - grid construction is also considerably more compact in the thickness direction than top hat hollow rib construction which facilitates usage in confined regions such as c / d nozzles as well as various other components . it should be understood that like reference numerals identify corresponding or similar elements throughout the several drawings . it should also be understood that although a particular component arrangement is disclosed in the illustrated embodiment , other arrangements will benefit herefrom . although particular step sequences are shown , described , and claimed , it should be understood that steps may be performed in any order , separated or combined unless otherwise indicated and will still benefit from the present disclosure . the foregoing description is exemplary rather than defined by the limitations within . various non - limiting embodiments are disclosed herein , however , one of ordinary skill in the art would recognize that various modifications and variations in light of the above teachings will fall within the scope of the appended claims . it is therefore to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims , the disclosure may be practiced other than as specifically described . for that reason the appended claims should be studied to determine true scope and content .	1
the peelable seal described in this invention is a separable joint formed between a film and a rigid substrate . this separable joint is most commonly produced by heat sealing . the mechanical resistance of the peelable seal is low enough to permit ready manual opening of the joint , i . e ., without the use of any auxiliary instrument . it has been discovered that blends from 5 to 95 percent by weight of a polyolefin based plastomer or elastomer and from 5 to 95 percent by weight of a second plastomer or elastomer ( of different density and melt index ), have a seal strength in the range that would make them particularly well suited for use as a peelable seal to rigid substrates like polypropylene or crystalline polyester trays , namely in the 1 - 3 lbs / in range , measured at 275 degrees f ., 30 psia , 0 . 5 seconds dwell . the blend that has been developed , has shown an outstanding low seal initiation temperature as compared to other blends of similar polyolefins . this surprising discovery is disclosed here . the pealable seal blends include at least two components , and are particularly well suited for use as a peelable lidding seal . these blends are preferably configured to be processed by extrusion coating at melt temperatures between 225 - 350 ° c ., more preferably between 250 - 335 ° c . they can be incorporated in a monolayer or a coextruded layer , whichever best fits the extrusion coating equipment . the total thickness of this seal layer should be between 2 - 100 microns , preferably between 5 - 75 microns . the first component in the blends is a polyolefin plastomer with a density of between 0 . 84 and 0 . 910 gm / cubic cm based on astm d792 and a melt index between 3 and 10 gm / 10 min , based on astm d1238 . this component will exhibit vicat softening point in the 40 - 60 ° c . range based on astm d1525 . the seal layer may include 5 wt . % to 95 wt . % of the first plastomer , preferably 10 to 85 wt . %, or 20 to 75 wt . %. examples of this first component could be a variety of polyolefin plastomers such as dow &# 39 ; s affinity kc8852g or eg8200g or most generic polyolefin plastomers . the second component in the blends is a different polyolefin - based plastomer than the first component that has a density of between 0 . 880 and 0 . 92 gm / cubic cm based on astm d792 and a melt index between 6 and 10 gm / 10 min based on astm d1238 . this second component will exhibit a vicat softening point in the 60 - 90 degrees c . range based on astm d1525 . the seal layer may include 95 wt . % to 5 wt . % of the second plastomer , preferably 90 to 15 wt . %, or 80 to 25 wt . %. examples of this second component could be a variety of polyolefin plastomers such as dow &# 39 ; s affinity sq1503ue , pf1162g , pt1450g1 , or pt1451g1 , among many . certain additives are useful in modifying properties other than sealing properties of the peelable blend . examples of some of the properties which can be modified are coefficient of friction , resistance to blocking , uv stability , thermal stability and color . diatomaceous earth or silica may be added in the amount of 1 , 000 parts per million ( ppm ) to 10 , 000 ppm to add microscopic surface roughness which prevents sticking or “ blocking ” when the co - extruded blend side ( layer 1 ) is wound against the opposite side in a roll . fatty amides such as oleamide or erucamide may be added to modify the coefficient of friction of the material . the amount added is dependent on the coefficient of friction desired , the co - extrusion structure , lamination structure and co - extrusion thickness . in general , the amount of fatty amide required is 100 ppm to 2000 ppm . these sealant blends can be processed in various manners , preferably extruded by cast or blown techniques . these blends can be processed by extrusion coating at melt temperatures between 200 - 300 degrees c ., more preferably between 250 - 280 degrees c . they can be incorporated in a monolayer or a coextruded layer , whichever best fits the extrusion coating equipment . the total thickness of this seal layer should be between 10 - 100 microns , preferably between 15 - 75 microns . the base film onto which this seal layer is applied onto can be a commercially available polyester film such as toray plastics pa10 . the base film thickness should be between 9 - 75 microns , preferably between 9 - 50 microns . the base layer provides structural integrity of the film and support for the other layers . in some embodiments , the base layer may include predominantly a thermoplastic polymer such as semi - crystalline homopolymer polyethylene terephthalate or polyethylene terephthalate copolymer or a biopolymer such as polylactic acid . the base layer may also optionally include organic or inorganic particulates for various purposes , such as to facilitate winding and handling of the film , or to enhance the mechanical and optical properties of the film , including reduction of the density of the film via cavitation . representative examples of such particulate additives that may be added to the base layer include amorphous silica , calcium carbonate , clay , talc , diatomaceous earth , cross - linked spherical polymers such as poly ( dimethylsiloxane ), glass beads or mixtures of two or more of these . moreover , to reduce material costs the base layer can optionally include a filler or extender component , such as regrinded recycled layer or film composition , or other polymeric compositions having suitably compatible processing and physical properties . the base layer may be stretched in one or two orthogonal directions , i . e ., for mono - or biaxial orientation . this treatment provides greater strength for the layer , and thus also for the overall film . it also permits the film to be produced to a thinner cross section dimension . the resulting lidding article may be sealed onto rigid substrates such as frozen trays made of a variety of polymers such as polypropylene , polyester , coated paperboard , and coated aluminum . the sealing mechanism may be driven by temperature , pressure and contact time . the frozen trays and lidding film are usually sealed with drum sealers or platen sealers at speeds that vary from a few trays per minute to several hundred per minute . this invention will be better understood with reference to the following examples , which are intended to illustrate specific embodiments within the overall scope of the invention . the following examples show how this particular invention provides a lower seal initiation temperature as compared to other traditional lidding films . a heat seal layer with a thickness of 80 ga was formed from a blend of dow affinity ® pt1450g1 and dow affinity ® eg8200g as described herein . this heat seal blend was applied to toray plastics pa10 with a thickness of 48 ga . the film was made by extrusion coating the sealant blend onto the biaxially oriented polyester film layer . comparative example 1 is a lidding film made by toray plastics under the name 272xl5 . it is a 36 ga toray plastics pa10 polyester film layer with a 56 ga ethyl vinyl acetate ( eva ) seal layer . the film was made by extrusion coating the sealant blend onto the biaxially oriented polyester film layer . comparative example 2 is a lidding film made by toray plastics under the name 206xl5 . it is a 48 ga toray plastics pa 10 polyester film layer with a 70 ga eva seal layer . the film was made by extrusion coating the sealant blend onto the biaxially oriented polyester film layer . comparative example 3 is a test sample made of 48 ga toray plastics pa10 polyester base film layer with a 56 ga eva sealant layer . the film was made by extrusion coating the sealant blend onto the biaxially oriented polyester film layer . heat seals were made with a laboratory flat steel bar ( 1 ″× 12 ″) sealer ( sentinel sealer , sencorp ) at 30 psi , with a 0 . 5 second dwell at various temperatures in degrees ° f . the seals were made to a polypropylene tray . prior to peeling , the heat sealed material was cut into 1 ″ wide strips so that the film sample could be gripped in separate jaws of the tensile tester in a 180 degree configuration . the two jaws were separated at a rate of 12 in per minute and the average as well as the maximum force was recorded across the 1 inch seal width . the results of these tests are shown in the following table 1 . the above description is presented to enable a person skilled in the art to make and use the invention , and is provided in the context of a particular application and its requirements . various modifications to the preferred embodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art , and the generic principles defined herein may be applied to other embodiments and applications without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention . thus , this invention is not intended to be limited to the embodiments shown , but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and features disclosed herein . finally , the entire disclosure of the patents and publications referred in this application are hereby incorporated herein by reference .	8
the following description is merely illustrative in nature and is in no way intended to limit the disclosure , its application , or uses . for purposes of clarity , the same reference numbers will be used in the drawings to identify similar elements . as used herein , the phrase at least one of a , b , and c should be construed to mean a logical ( a or b or c ), using a non - exclusive logical or . it should be understood that steps within a method may be executed in different order without altering the principles of the present disclosure . the present disclosure provides a mouthpiece that can be attached to a lower portion of a mouth and can be used to replenish or remove and / or control saliva in a patient or user . the user can be a male or female and can be an adult or child . the mouthpiece can be used during treatment of temporary conditions such as a temporary loss of swallowing capability due to an accident or trauma , or chronic conditions and diseases such as xerostomia and cancers affecting salivary function . the mouthpiece can be used to supply and / or remove fluid from the mouth . the mouthpiece is designed so that it can be relatively inconspicuous and minimally intrusive , and can be continuously worn for prolonged periods , for example days and weeks . the mouthpiece is further designed so that it can be used to supply a saliva replenishment fluid in a manner that mimics a normal saliva flow within the mouth . by incorporating such design features , the mouthpiece can be comfortably used without compromising chewing , eating , speaking , and sleeping , and can promote patient compliance with therapies dependent on the use of the mouthpiece . in various aspects , the mouthpiece can be individually sized and made to fit a particular user . the mouthpiece can have a modular construction that further enables components of the mouthpiece as produced to be altered and custom fit to a particular patient . the modular construction can also enable one or more components of the mouthpiece to be individually replaced without the need for another complete replacement mouthpiece . the components can be individually replaced to maintain a desired sanitary condition of the mouthpiece . with particular reference to fig1 a - 3 , environmental views of a lower portion of an exemplary mouthpiece 12 according to the present disclosure . the mouthpiece 12 can be anchored adjacent the lower teeth 20 anchored in a lower jaw bone by gingiva or gum . the lower dental arch includes alveolar processes that receive roots of the lower teeth , the lower teeth , and portions of the gum covering the alveolar processes and surrounding the lower teeth . the lower teeth can include up to twelve deciduous teeth in a child and up to permanent teeth in an adult . for exemplary purposes , the lower teeth presented include twelve teeth : four incisors , two canines , four premolars , and two molars . the lower teeth include lingual surfaces facing the mouth cavity proper and a tongue ( not shown ), labial or buccal surfaces facing the vestibule 34 and a cheek ( not shown ) and lips ( not shown ), and surfaces of contact between adjoining teeth . the lower teeth further include crowns facing upper teeth of an upper jaw bone and defining a lower bite surface or plane . together , the lower teeth and the gum define an inner gum line and an outer gum line . openings of a submandibular duct within the mouth cavity proper , which may be referred to as the wharton &# 39 ; s duct , are illustrated by openings . the mouthpiece 12 can include a first foam anchoring member 100 , a second member 102 annularly disposed about the first foam anchoring member 100 , a first tubular member 104 partially disposed within the first foam anchoring member 100 and supported by the second member 102 . the first and second anchoring members 100 and 102 can be sized to fit within the spaces between the lower lip and the lower teeth , with the first tubular member protruding from the mouth the provide vacuum or saliva substitute to the mouth . optionally , the mouthpiece can include a deformable first foam anchoring member 100 can be generally solid structures and can have various shapes adapted to fit within the spaces adjacent to the molars and adjoining teeth of the lower teeth . with additional reference to fig2 and 3 , the mouth piece 12 can include a foam member 120 , an anchoring tube 122 ( shown here flattened ), and the first tubular member 104 . the hydrophilic foam member 120 extends about the lower gum . the hydrophilic foam member 120 can have a generally tapered polyhedral shape as illustrated , or can have a contoured shape resembling a natural tooth that may otherwise reside in the space . the foam member 100 can be hydrasorb ® foam hydrasorb ® the name of a group of medical - grade polyurethane , hydrophilic foams . this foam is manufactured from a base material of polyether polyisocynate resins . hydrasorb ® is sterilizable . and can be die cut or 18 ″× 36 ″ sheets ( ⅛ ″ to ¾ ″ wetted thickness ) or molded to shape . hydrophilic absorption capacity ( water ): up to 15 × dry wt . [ astm d1667 ] cell structure ( dry avg . ): 86 cells / linear in . density ( nominal / dry ): 7 . 5 lb / ft3 [ astm d3574 ] elongation % ( dry avg . ): 650 % [ astm d3574 ] expansion in water ( length )( avg . ): 31 % ( avg .) [ astm f1087 ] foam moisture content ( dry avg . ): 3 . 56 % [ karl fischer method ] indention force deflection ( idf ): [ astm d3574 test b1 ] idf @ 25 %: ( n ) 133 % idf @ 65 %: ( n ) 346 % resiliency / rebound test ( rt [ astm d3574 test b1 ] rt @ 25 %: ( n ) 121 % compression set ( dry avg . ): [ astm d3574 ] 25 %: 16 . 0 % 50 %: 36 . 0 % tensile strength ( dry ): 30 . 0 lbf / in2 [ astm d3574 test b1 ] as shown in fig4 a and 4 b , the anchoring tube 122 is preferably perforated two accept saliva from the mouth or saliva replacement tube 104 . the size and shapes of these perforations can vary . in a flattened configuration , a notch or pair of notches 106 , 107 are utilized to be positioned about the tube 104 and the hydrophilic foam 102 . the front surface 132 can be adapted and disposed to engage one or more of the surface of contact , the lingual surface , and the buccal surface of the molar . the front surface 132 can be further disposed to allow one end of the tube 104 to exit the front surface 132 adjacent the lingual surface of the molar and an opposite end of the passage to exit the front surface adjacent the buccal surface of the molar . in this way , the front surface 132 can be disposed to allow the first tubular member 104 to extend from the front surface 132 adjacent the lingual surface of the molar , and the second tubular member to extend from the front surface adjacent the buccal surface 62 of the molar . the front surface 132 can be generally flat as illustrated by the present example and , optionally , can include a portion complementary to the adjoining surface of contact of the molar . in this way , the front surface can engage and thereby resist relative movement between the first foam anchoring member 100 and the molar 56 . in various aspects , the first and second anchoring members 100 and 102 can be made in a mirror image to that described above . in this way , the mouthpiece 12 may be configured so that the tubular member 104 exits the mouth 10 on the left side of the user . in various aspects , the first and second anchoring members 100 and 102 can be attached in any suitable manner . for example , a suitable adhesive such as an adhesive that adheres dentures to gum may be used . in various aspects , the first and second anchoring members 100 and 102 can be attached in a semi - permanent manner using a bone fastener . in various aspects , the first and second anchoring members 100 and 102 can be made from any suitable dental material which allows saliva infiltration . suitable dental materials include , but are not limited to , biocompatible polymers such as acrylic materials , and metals such as titanium . fig4 represents a metal deformable support member 111 which can be inserted adjacent to the hydrophilic foam member 100 . this metal deformable support member can then be used to form the mouthpiece prior to insertion between the lip and gum adjacent to the lower teeth . fig6 a - 6 c represent tubes which are placed adjacent to the hydrophilic foam member and within the heat shrink material of tube 102 . as described about , a portion of the tube is passed though the slots 106 and 107 . the tube 104 has a first portion which is perforated or notched 112 to allow suction to be applied to the open pore hydrophilic foam 100 . fig7 a - 7 d represent an alternate upper and lower saliva replenishment prosthesis according to the present teachings . the upper and lower prosthesis are made of materials having a soft durometer . they define an inner passage and a plurality of apertures which link an outer surface of the prostheses with the inner aperture . as can be seen , each prosthesis utilizes an outer supply or extraction tube which can be coupled to a fluid supply or a vacuum as described above . fig8 represents the installation of a lower mouth prosthetic according to the present teachings . shown is a film layer , which is coupled to the teeth using a water soluble adhesive . the fluid extraction tube is placed along the outside of the tooth ridge . should a vacuum be drawn through the tube , fluid is drawn through apertures defined through the polymer layer . this configuration can be used as both the upper and lower prosthesis are made of materials having a soft durometer . they define an inner passages between the teeth which can us used to draw out saliva . the plurality of apertures link an outer surface of the prostheses with the inner aperture . as can be seen , each prosthesis utilizes an outer supply or extraction tube which can be coupled to a fluid supply or a vacuum as described above . fig9 a - 9 c represent an alternate upper saliva replenishment prosthesis according to the present teachings . as is shown , a deformable polymer material has a fluid transport tube disposed therethrough . the deformable member is generally oval and is configured to be fixed to the molars between the tooth and the gum line . the device has a through passage and a plurality of excretion or vacuum holes . the fluid extraction tube is placed along the outside of the tooth ridge . should a vacuum be drawn through the tube , fluid is drawn through apertures defined through the polymer layer . this configuration can be used as both the upper and lower prosthesis are made of materials having a soft durometer . they define an inner passages between the teeth which can us used to draw out saliva . the plurality of apertures link an outer surface of the prostheses with the inner aperture . as can be seen , each prosthesis utilizes an outer supply or extraction tube which can be coupled to a fluid supply or a vacuum as described above . fig1 a - 10 d represent an alternate saliva replenishment or removal prosthesis according to the present teachings . the fluid extraction tube is placed along the outside of the tooth ridge . the material is plastically deformable an as a plurality of through passages which remain open upon disposition over the teeth . they passages remain open because they have a surface which resists the sticking of one inner aperture surface to another . they are also configured to be strong enough not to collapse of the application of the vacuum . should a vacuum be drawn through the tube , fluid is drawn through apertures defined through the polymer material . this configuration can be used as both the upper and lower prosthesis are made of materials having a soft durometer . they define an inner passages between the teeth which can us used to draw out saliva . the plurality of apertures link an outer surface of the prostheses with the inner aperture . as can be seen , each prosthesis utilizes an outer supply or extraction tube which can be coupled to a fluid supply or a vacuum as described above . fig1 a - 11 j represent an alternate saliva replenishment prosthesis according to the present teachings . as is shown , a deformable polymer material has a fluid transport tube disposed therethrough . the deformable member is generally oval and is configured to be fixed to the molars between the tooth and the gum line . the device has a through passage and a plurality of excretion or vacuum holes . the fluid extraction tube is placed along the outside of the tooth ridge . should a vacuum be drawn through the tube , fluid is drawn through apertures defined through the polymer layer . this configuration can be used as both the upper and lower prosthesis are made of materials having a soft durometer . they define an inner passages between the teeth which can us used to draw out saliva . the plurality of apertures link an outer surface of the prostheses with the inner aperture . as can be seen , each prosthesis utilizes an outer supply or extraction tube which can be coupled to a fluid supply or a vacuum as described above . fig1 a - 12 f represent an alternate saliva replenishment prosthesis according to the present teachings . the prosthetic member is formed around the molars and do not interfere with the molar bite surface . similar to the teachings in fig7 a - 7 d , alternate upper and lower saliva replenishment prosthesis according to the present teachings . as can be seen the prosthesis travels over the molar region and is positioned under the tongue at only a single location . the upper and lower prosthesis are made of materials having a soft durometer . they define an inner passage and a plurality of apertures which link an outer surface of the prostheses with the inner aperture . as can be seen , each prosthesis utilizes an outer supply or extraction tube which can be coupled to a fluid supply or a vacuum as described above . fig1 a - 13 d represent over the tooth saliva replenishment prosthesis according to the present teachings . similar to the teachings in fig7 a - 7 d , alternate upper and lower saliva replenishment prosthesis according to the present teachings . as can be seen the prosthesis travels over the molar region and is positioned under the tongue at only a single location . the upper and lower prosthesis are made of materials having a soft durometer . they define an inner passage and a plurality of apertures which link an outer surface of the prostheses with the inner aperture . as can be seen , each prosthesis utilizes an outer supply or extraction tube which can be coupled to a fluid supply or a vacuum as described above . in various aspects , the first and second anchoring members can be off - the - shelf components , semi - custom components , or custom components . as used herein , off - the - shelf components can refer to components made without features based on a particular user . semi - custom components can refer to components made in advance that include a majority of predetermined features not based on a particular user and at least one feature based on a particular user . custom components can refer to components specifically made for a particular user . the patient - specific features of a semi - custom component and a custom component can be formed based on a particular user &# 39 ; s lower dental arch and surrounding mouth anatomy using various techniques such as dental impressioning techniques . each of the embodiments in fig7 a - 13 d can utilize the foam member 100 can be hydrasorb ® foam hydrasorb ® the name of a group of medical - grade polyurethane , hydrophilic foams . this foam is manufactured from a base material of polyether polyisocynate resins . hydrasorb ® is sterilizable . and can be die cut or 18 ″× 36 ″ sheets ( ⅛ ″ to ¾ ″ wetted thickness ) or molded to shape . hydrophilic absorption capacity ( water ): up to 15 × dry wt . [ astm d1667 ] cell structure ( dry avg . ): 86 cells / linear in . density ( nominal / dry ): 7 . 5 lb / ft3 [ astm d3574 ] elongation % ( dry avg . ): 650 % [ astm d3574 ] expansion in water ( length )( avg . ): 31 % ( avg .) [ astm f1087 ] foam moisture content ( dry avg . ): 3 . 56 % [ karl fischer method ] indention force deflection ( idf ): [ astm d3574 test b1 ] idf @ 25 %: ( n ) 133 % idf @ 65 %: ( n ) 346 % resiliency / rebound test ( rt [ astm d3574 test b1 ] rt @ 25 %: ( n ) 121 % compression set ( dry avg . ): [ astm d3574 ] 25 %: 16 . 0 % 50 %: 36 . 0 % tensile strength ( dry ): 30 . 0 lbf / in2 [ astm d3574 test b1 ] example embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough , and will fully convey the scope to those who are skilled in the art . numerous specific details are set forth such as examples of specific components , devices , and methods , to provide a thorough understanding of embodiments of the present disclosure . it is additionally envisioned the systems described above can be used in conjunction with a positive airflow sleep apnea machine . it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that specific details need not be employed , that example embodiments may be embodied in many different forms and that neither should be construed to limit the scope of the disclosure . in some example embodiments , well - known processes , well - known device structures , and well - known technologies are not described in detail . the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular example embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting . as used herein , the singular forms “ a ,” “ an ,” and “ the ” may be intended to include the plural forms as well , unless the context clearly indicates otherwise . the terms “ comprises ,” “ comprising ,” “ including ,” and “ having ,” are inclusive and therefore specify the presence of stated features , integers , steps , operations , elements , and / or components , but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features , integers , steps , operations , elements , components , and / or groups thereof . the method steps , processes , and operations described herein are not to be construed as necessarily requiring their performance in the particular order discussed or illustrated , unless specifically identified as an order of performance . it is also to be understood that additional or alternative steps may be employed . when an element or layer is referred to as being “ on ,” “ engaged to ,” “ connected to ,” or “ coupled to ” another element or layer , it may be directly on , engaged , connected or coupled to the other element or layer , or intervening elements or layers may be present . in contrast , when an element is referred to as being “ directly on ,” “ directly engaged to ,” “ directly connected to ,” or “ directly coupled to ” another element or layer , there may be no intervening elements or layers present . other words used to describe the relationship between elements should be interpreted in a like fashion ( e . g ., “ between ” versus “ directly between ,” “ adjacent ” versus “ directly adjacent ,” etc .). as used herein , the term “ and / or ” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items . although the terms first , second , third , etc . may be used herein to describe various elements , components , regions , layers and / or sections , these elements , components , regions , layers and / or sections should not be limited by these terms . these terms may be only used to distinguish one element , component , region , layer or section from another region , layer or section . terms such as “ first ,” “ second ,” and other numerical terms when used herein do not imply a sequence or order unless clearly indicated by the context . thus , a first element , component , region , layer or section discussed below could be termed a second element , component , region , layer or section without departing from the teachings of the example embodiments . spatially relative terms , such as “ inner ,” “ outer ,” “ beneath ,” “ below ,” “ lower ,” “ above ,” “ upper ,” and the like , may be used herein for ease of description to describe one element or feature &# 39 ; s relationship to another element ( s ) or feature ( s ) as illustrated in the figures . spatially relative terms may be intended to encompass different orientations of the device in use or operation in addition to the orientation depicted in the figures . for example , if the device in the figures is turned over , elements described as “ below ” or “ beneath ” other elements or features would then be oriented “ above ” the other elements or features . thus , the example term “ below ” can encompass both an orientation of above and below . the device may be otherwise oriented ( rotated 90 degrees or at other orientations ) and the spatially relative descriptors used herein interpreted accordingly .	0
at first , an embodiment of this invention will be described as referring to the drawings . fig1 a and 1b show a driving method according to a first embodiment of the invention . as shown in fig1 a , a numeral 1 denotes a scan electrode which is connected to a gate of a thin film transistor ( referred to as tft ) 11 to 22 . a numeral 2 denotes a signal electrode which is connected to a drain of the tft . the source of the tft is connected to one liquid crystal terminal and each opposite electrode is connected to the other liquid crystal terminal . v gk , v gk + 1 and v gk + 2 denote any gate voltage . v d denotes any drain voltage . v com denotes a voltage applied to the opposite electrode . c lc11 , c lc12 and c lc21 denote a liquid crystal capacitance ( pixel ). v c1 denotes a central voltage of an amplitude of v d . v c2 denotes a central voltage of an amplitude of v com . 1h denotes a selecting time ( scan time ) of one scan line . in operation , during a time interval of the first 1 / n field , positive - polarity signals v d are applied to the pixels c lc11 and c lc12 connected to a group of odd scan lines v gk and v kg + 2 . then , negative - polarity signals v d are applied to the pixels c lc21 and c lc22 connected to a group of even scan lines v gk + 1 . during the next 1 / n field , conversely , negative - polarity signals v d are applied to the pixels c lc11 and c lc12 connected to the odd scan lines v gk and v kg + 2 . then , positive - polarity signals are applied to the pixels c lc21 and c lc22 connected to the even scan lines v gk + 1 . later , this process is repeated . that is , positive - polarity signals and negative - polarity signals which are shown in one wave - form are switched with switches in a horizontal driver circuit and applied to a group of drain electrodes in such a manner that these positive - and negative - polarity signals are shifted by 1 / n ( n is an integer larger than one ) field . this driving method is , therefore , arranged so as to invert v d and v com like alternate current at each field . this makes it possible to more easily design both of the voltage - alternating circuits for v d and v com , thereby improving the reliability of an active matrix liquid crystal display to which the driving method applies . moreover , in the driving method , it is more likely that the flicker appearing in the group of pixels connected to the even scan lines may be offset against the flicker appearing in the group of pixels connected to the odd scan lines . this results in suppressing the flicker on the overall display . fig2 a and 2b show a driving method according to a second embodiment of the present invention . the circuit arrangement of the display of the second embodiment is such that the scan electrode 1 is connected to a gate of each tft , a signal electrode 2 is connected to a drain of each tft , one liquid crystal terminal is connected to a source of each tft , and the other liquid crystal terminal is connected to an opposite electrode . as shown , v gk and v gk1 denote any gate voltage . v d denotes any drain voltage . v com denotes a voltage applied to the opposite electrode . c lc denotes a liquid crystal capacitance . v c1 denotes a central voltage of an amplitude of v d . v c2 denotes a central voltage of an amplitude of v com . 1h denotes a selecting time of one scan line . in operation , during an interval of 1 / 2 field of a first field , positive - polarity signals are applied to the group of pixels connected to odd scan lines . then , during the remaining 1 / 2 field , negative - polarity signals are applied to the group of pixels connected to the even scan lines . later , this process is repeated . that is , the driving method of the present embodiment is arranged so that the positive - polarity signal and the negative - polarity signal are applied to the drain electrodes in a manner to shift these signals by 1 / 2 field within a one - field time interval . the use of the driving method makes it possible to invert v d and v com like alternate current at each field . hence , as compared to the conventional system for inversing the polarity at each scan line , the driving method of this embodiment can reduce the driving current to a small value . this results in making it easier to design both of the voltage - alternating circuits for v d and v com . further , the current of the active matrix liquid crystal display can be reduced and the noise voltage can be suppressed accordingly , which can offer a high - definition display and improve the reliability of the active matrix liquid crystal display . in addition , the use of this driving method makes it possible to offset the flicker appearing by applying a d . c . voltage into a group of a liquid crystal pixels connected to the even scan lines against the flicker appearing by applying a d . c . voltage into a group of pixels connected to the odd scan lines . this results in reducing the flicker on the overall screen . fig8 and 9 show how the flicker is reduced on the overall screen if the driving method of this embodiment is used . in particular , fig8 shows how the flicker of 60 hz is alleviated and fig9 shows how the flicker of 30 hz is alleviated . according to the driving method of the second embodiment as shown in fig8 if the flicker appearing to the pixels connected to the k - th scan line is added to the flicker appearing to the pixels connected to the ( k + 1 ) th scan line , the resulting flicker has a tabular waveform . this means that the flicker on the overall screen is made smaller . according to the driving method of the second embodiment as shown in fig9 the actual flicker is an addition of the flicker appearing in the pixels connected to the k - th scan line to the flicker appearing in the pixels connected to ( k + 1 ) th scan line . this additive flicker has only the flicker of 60 hz with no flicker of 30 hz . a human cannot visually feel the flicker of 60 hz . this means that the flicker on the overall screen is reduced . fig3 a and 3b show a driving method according to a third embodiment of the present invention . in the circuit arrangement of a pixel of a display unit , as shown , a gate of a tft is connected to a scan electrode 1 and a drain of the tft is connected to a signal electrode 2 . one liquid crystal terminal and a storage capacitance electrode are connected to a source of the tft . the other liquid crystal terminal and storage capacitance electrode are connected to an opposite electrode . as shown , v gk and v kg + 1 denote any gate voltage . v d denotes any drain voltage . v com denotes a voltage applied to the opposite electrode . c lc denotes a liquid crystal capacitance . c stg denotes a storage capacitance . v c1 denotes a central voltage of an amplitude of v d . v c2 denotes a central voltage of an amplitude of v com . 1h denotes a selecting time of one scan line . in operation , during a time interval of the first 1 / 2 field of one field , positive - polarity signals are applied to a group of pixels connected to odd scan lines . then , during a time interval of the remaining 1 / 2 field , negative - polarity signals are applied to the group of pixels connected to even scan lines . during the first 1 / 2 field of the next field , the negative - polarity signals are applied to the group of pixels connected to the odd scan lines . then , during the remaining 1 / 2 field , the positive - polarity signals are applied to the group of pixels connected to the even scan lines . later , this process is repeated . that is , the driving method of the third embodiment is arranged so that the positive - polarity signals and the negative - polarity signals served as a display signal within one field are applied to a group of drain electrodes in a manner to shift both of the signals by 1 / 2 field . the use of the driving method makes it possible to invert v d and v com like alternate current at each field . hence , this driving method makes it easier to design both of the voltage - alternating circuits for v d and v com and thereby improve the reliability of an active matrix liquid crystal display . in addition , the use of this driving method makes it possible to offset the flicker appearing in a group of a liquid crystal pixels connected to the even scan lines against the flicker appearing in a group of pixels connected to the odd scan lines . this results in reducing the flicker on the overall screen . fig4 a and 4b show a driving method according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention . in the circuit arrangement of a pixel of a display unit , as shown , a scan electrode 1 is connected to a gate of a tft and a signal electrode 2 is connected to a drain of the tft . one liquid crystal terminal is connected to a source of the tft and the other liquid crystal terminal is connected to an opposite electrode . one storage capacitance electrode is connected to a source of the tft and the other storage capacitance electrode is connected to a scan electrode at the previous stage . as shown , v gk - 1 v gk and v kg + 1 denote any gate voltage . v d denotes any drain voltage . v com denotes a voltage applied to the opposite electrode . c lc denotes a liquid crystal capacitance . c stg denotes a storage capacitance . v c1 denotes a central voltage of an amplitude of v d . v c2 denotes a central voltage of an amplitude of v com . 1h denotes a selecting time of one scan line . the other storage capacitance electrode is connected to the scan electrode at the previous stage . as shown , the gate voltage needs to have three stages . in operation , during a time interval of a first 1 / 2 field of one field , positive - polarity signals are applied to the group of pixels connected to odd scan lines . then , during the remaining 1 / 2 field , negative - polarity signals are applied to the group of pixels connected to even scan lines . during a time interval of a first 1 / 2 field of the next field , negative - polarity signals are applied to the group of pixels connected to the odd scan lines . then , during the remaining 1 / 2 field , positive - polarity signals are applied to the group of pixels connected to the even scan lines . then , this process is repeated . that is , the positive - polarity signals and the negative - polarity signals are applied to a group of drain electrodes in such a manner that these signals are shifted by 1 / n ( n & gt ; 1 ) field within one field . this driving method is , therefore , arranged so as to invert v d and v com like alternate current at each one field . this makes it possible to more easily design both of the voltage - alternating circuits for v d and v com , thereby improving the reliability of an active matrix liquid crystal display to which the driving method applies . moreover , in the driving method , it is more likely that the flicker appearing in the group of pixels connected to the even scan lines may be offset against the flicker appearing in the group of pixels connected to the odd scan lines . this results in reducing the flicker on the overall display . in a case that an active matrix liquid crystal display uses amorphous silicon tfts , since the amorphous silicon tft has a low current feeding capability , in actuality , it is quite difficult to actuate a high - definition display consisting of 1024 scan lines to keep the display at high quality . in particular , when a gate pulse width is short , a positive - polarity drain signal may not be sufficiently applied to the liquid crystal display terminal through the amorphous silicon tft ( a - si tft ). this is because the voltage v gs between the gate and the source when the tft is active is made lower according to the rise of an electric potential at the liquid crystal terminal and the on - resistance of each tft is made higher accordingly . on the other hand , when the drain signal is at negative polarity , v gs is kept constant without having any relation with lowering of an electric potential at the liquid crystal terminal . hence , the on - resistance of each tft is quite low . this means that when the drain signal is at negative polarity , the drain signal is allowed to be applied to the liquid crystal terminal at a relatively fast speed . next , the description will be directed to an embodiment which enables solving the foregoing problems . fig5 a and 5b show a driving method according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention . in the circuit arrangement of a pixel of a display unit , as shown , a scan electrode 1 is connected to a gate of a tft and a signal electrode 2 is connected to a drain of the tft . one liquid crystal terminal and storage capacitance electrode are connected to a source of the tft and the other liquid crystal terminal and storage capacitance electrode are connected to an opposite electrode . as shown , v gk and v gk + 1 denote any gate voltage . v d denotes any drain voltage . v com denotes a voltage applied to the opposite electrode . c lc denotes a liquid crystal capacitance . c stg denotes a storage capacitance . v c1 denotes a central voltage of an amplitude of v d . v c2 denotes a central voltage of an amplitude of v com . 1h (+) denotes a gate pulse width provided when a positive - polarity signal is applied . 1h (-) denotes a gate pulse width provided when a negative - polarity signal is applied . that is , the use of the driving method shown in fig5 a and 5b make the gate pulse width at the positive - polarity drain signal longer than the gate pulse width at the negative - polarity drain signal . hence , though the a - si tft has a low driving capability when a positive - polarity signal is applied , since the gate pulse width is longer , a sufficient drain signal is allowed to be applied to the liquid crystal terminal . the driving method of the fifth embodiment allows a high - definition display consisting of about 1024 scan lines to have an excellent display quality . fig6 a and 6b show a driving method according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention . one of the pixels included in a display unit is arranged so that a scan electrode 1 is connected to a gate of a tft and a signal electrode is connected to a drain of the tft . one liquid crystal terminal is connected to a source of the tft and the other liquid crystal terminal is connected to an opposite electrode . one storage capacitance electrode is connected to the source of the tft and the other storage capacitance electrode is connected to a scan electrode at the previous stage . as shown in fig6 v gk - 1 , v gk and v gk + 1 denote any gate signal . v d denotes any drain voltage . v com denotes a voltage applied to the opposite electrode . c lc denotes a liquid crystal capacitance . c stg denotes a storage capacitance . v c1 denotes a central voltage of an amplitude of v d . v c2 denotes a central voltage of an amplitude of vcom . 1h (+) denotes a gate pulse width provided when a positive - polarity signal is applied . 1h (-) denotes a gate pulse width provided when a negative - polarity signal is applied . that is , the driving method of this embodiment makes the gate pulse width given when the drain signal is at positive polarity longer than that given when the drain signal is at negative polarity . hence , the a - si tft has a low driving capability when it is at positive polarity . since , however , the gate pulse width is longer , the drain signal is sufficiently applied to the liquid crystal terminal . the driving method of this embodiment allows a high - definition display consisting of about 1024 lines to have an excellent display quality . fig7 shows a thin film transistor liquid crystal display ( referred to as a tft - lcd ). in order to apply the driving method of this invention to the tft - lcd , it is necessary to add a gate line switching circuit for separating the scan lines into odd lines and even lines at one field and a v com voltage - alternating circuit for changing a polarity of a v com voltage at each one field as shown in fig7 . this arrangement needs v d to be alternated just at each field . hence , it improves the reliability of the tft - lcd .	6
referring now to the accompanying drawings , fig1 shows , in an end section , a development apparatus designated generally by the numeral 10 . the development apparatus 10 includes a housing 12 having intercommunicating portions 12a , 12b , and 12c , of which a bottom portion 12a serves as a sump portion or reservoir for holding development material d . the housing 12 can , for example , be die - casted of an aluminum alloy . the developer material d is , for example , a two - component material consisting of magnetic carrier particles intermixed with pigmented toner particles . a single component developer material consisting simply of toner particles is also suitable for use with the development apparatus 10 . the top portion 12b of the housing 12 contains a magnetic development roller 14 for applying the toner particles of the developer material to image patterns formed electrostatically on a dielectric member 16 moving along a path p in juxtaposition to an opening in the top housing portion 12b . the magnetic development roller 14 includes a core 18 having a plurality of magnets 20 spaced around the peripheral surface of the core . the roller 14 also includes a non - magnetic , substantially cylindrical shell 22 which surrounds the core 18 , and which has its longitudinal axis offset from the longitudinal axis of the core 18 . such offset or eccentricity of the shell has the effect of decreasing the field strength of the magnets 20 over the area of the shell 22 that is spaced farther from the magnets . as such , after development , spent developer material moving on the surface of the shell 22 has less propensity to magnetically adhere to the shell when it reaches that particular area , and therefore falls off the shell and returns to the reservoir or bottom portion 12a . as is well known , the core 18 and / or shell 22 can be fixed or rotatable as long as the particular arrangement causes the developer material d to move within the fields of the magnets 20 into developer - applying contact with the dielectric member 16 . in the development roller 14 , as illustrated in fig1 the core 18 , with its magnets 20 , rotates clockwise , while the shell 22 rotates counterclockwise . a feed device 34 which is located within the housing portion 12c between the top and bottom portions 12b , 12a , respectively , serves to transport the developer material d into the field of the magnets 20 of the development roller 14 . the device 34 includes a roller 36 which is mounted rotatably on a shaft 38 , and includes a plurality of pickup members 40 . pickup members 40 , as shown , are moved through the developer material d for picking up and carrying quantities of developer material to a drop point within the magnetic fields of the magnets 20 . there the developer material is dropped off each member 40 , and is readily attracted by the magnets 20 to the outside surface of the shell 22 of development roller 14 . the roller 14 then moves the developer material , so attracted , into applying relation with the image patterns on the dielectric member 16 , where the imagewise patterns attract and adhere to toner particles from the developer material mix d . although some carrier particles are also attracted to the image patterns during such development , the carrier particles or spent developer , by design should be , and are indeed left behind in the development apparatus 10 . after such development , such spent developer material , consisting largely of carrier particles on the shell 22 , is moved thereon until it reaches that area of the shell surface where the magnetic influence of the magnets 20 is weak . there , the spent developer gravitationally falls back into the bottom portion 12a . fresh toner particles periodically are added to the sump portion 12a for mixing in order to achieve and maintain desired toner concentration and triboelectric charge values . at some point however , the quantity of carrier particles being returned to the sump portion 12a , as well as , their triboelectric properties , will become so diluted , such carrier particles should desirably be purged from the housing 12 , and replaced with fresh carrier and fresh toner particles . referring to fig1 and 2 , the development apparatus 10 accordingly includes a self - closing mechanism 50 , associated with the bottom portion 12a of the housing 12 , that is suitable for unloading or purging the spent developer material d from the housing 12 . such unloading or purging , as stated above , is carried out in order to refill the housing 12 with fresh carrier and fresh toner particles of developer material d . doing so provides a desired quantity of carrier particles to the housing 12 , and particularly carrier particles with strong triboelectric properties , in order to desirably improve and maintain developer material charge values , as well as , toner concentrations . as illustrated , the purging mechanism 50 includes an aperture 52 in the bottom portion 12a of the housing 12 . the aperture 52 opens into a connected conduit member 53 . the aperture 52 is located such that developer material d within the bottom portion 12a can discharge or drop therethrough into the conduit 53 . as shown in fig1 the bottom portion 12a includes a base area b and two upwardly extending side walls , w1 and w2 . in order to maintain developer within the aperture 52 in a free - to - flow condition , the aperture 52 is formed preferably in one of these side walls , for example w2 , and at a location thereon that is spaced above the base b . due to such a preferred location , developer material d elsewhere within the housing 12 , including the base b , must be moved to the aperture 52 . as additionally shown in fig2 the aperture 52 is also located at a position m that is halfway between the front end wall f , and back end wall k , of bottom portion 12a of the housing 12 . developer material d therefore must also be moved from the front f and back k to the midpoint m , where the aperture is located . the purging mechanism 50 accordingly includes developer moving means , such as a ribbon blender / transport device 54 that is located within the bottom portion 12a for moving developer material d across the aperture 52 , by moving such material d around and around within the bottom portion 12a , as well as , from the front and back ends f and k , respectively , to the middle m . as additionally shown , spent developer material falling back from the development roller 14 into the bottom portion 12a is immediately mixed in and moved as such by the moving means 54 . the device 54 , for example , may include a small diameter , inner helical ribbon 58a and a large diameter , outer ribbon 58b that are connected to a rotatable drive shaft 62 by means of radial members 60 . the ribbons 58a , 58b are arranged in two major front and back sections fm and km , respectively . the front and back sections , fm and km are pitched such that rotation of the shaft 62 , in the direction of the arrow 64 , will cause the respective sections to move developer material d circumferentially within the bottom portion 12a , as well as linearly in the directions of the arrows a 1 , a 2 and a 3 , a 4 for the larger diameter ribbons 58b , and in the directions of the arrows b 1 , b 2 and b 3 , b 4 for the inner , small diameter ribbons 58a . as indicated , the inner ribbons 58a are effective in moving developer material d outwardly from the center m to the front and back end walls f and k , respectively , but only that much of the developer material which , after filling the bottom portion 12a , lies above the level shown as ll . on the other hand , the larger diameter , outer ribbons 58b are effective in moving all developer material within the bottom portion 12a from the front and back ends f and k , respectively as indicated , to the middle m . such movement of the developer material d by the ribbon / transport device 54 desirably , and by design , also serves to stir and mix the carrier and toner particles that constitute such developer . as pointed out above , such stirring and mixing , triboelectrically charges the particles appropriately for effective image development by the apparatus 10 . the purging mechanism 50 , as shown , further includes the developer material conduit member 53 which is connected to the outside of the housing 12 , and over the discharge aperture 52 . conduit member 53 thus serves to hold as well as guide the flow of developer material discharging or dropping from the housing 12 , through the aperture 52 , into such conduit . as shown , the conduit 53 has a short downward section 53a over the aperture 52 . the section 53a is connected to a long substantially horizontal section 53b that runs from the aperture 52 to the front f of the bottom portion 12a . the sections 53a and 53b form a sharp conduit elbow 53c . the conduit 53 may be formed integrally with the housing 12 so that it forms a closed - sided channel over the aperture 52 , on the outside of housing . the short section 53a , the long section 53b and the sharp elbow 53c constitute an effective means for automatically closing or self - closing the mechanism 50 when the housing 12 of the apparatus 10 is filled or loaded with developer material d . because of the self - closing feature , the section 53b is simply left open at such front end f , where a quick connect and disconnect adapter 66 may be mounted over such opening . the conduit 53 is therefore completely open to the front f as well as into the discharge aperture 52 , when there is no developer material d inside the bottom portion 12a . however , when the bottom portion 12a is loaded or filled with developer material which is being moved by the device 54 , as described above , a small quantity of the developer material d will gravitationally drop through the aperture 52 , down the short conduit section 53a and into the sharp elbow 53c . such a small quantity of developer material d within the elbow 53c will on its own not flow horizontally through the section 53b . instead , it will sit there trapped , and will cause first the elbow 53c , and then the aperture 52 , to fill up with developer , thereby effectively blocking and causing the conduit 53 to automatically self - close . once the conduit 53 is closed as such , developer material d within the bottom portion 12a can be stirred , mixed and moved within the apparatus 10 , without spilling or leaking , for image development in the manner described above . such stirring and mixing will continue until it is desired to unload or purge all developer material from the apparatus 10 . to effect such purging or unloading , the developer material trapped in the elbow 53c is caused to flow horizontally through and out of the section 53b . for opening the previously closed conduit 53 and causing developer material to flow through the section 53b , force means for pulling the trapped developer material out of the elbow 53c should be applied through the horizontal section 53b . such force means can be supplied for example by a vacuum source 70 connected to the purging mechanism 50 by means of the adapter 66 . when connected and activated , vacuum source 70 will exert a pulling force on the developer material in the elbow 53c , thereby pulling it out through the section 53b , and thereby allowing more developer to discharge into the elbow for similar removal . vacuum source 70 should therefore just be strong enough to induce horizontal flow in , and to transport developer material through the horizontal section 53b of conduit member 53 . the vacuum source 70 as such can be attached to a corresponding connector for use with the adapter 66 without significant downtime , as well as , to a receiving container for receiving the developer material purged from the apparatus 10 . operationally , the housing 12 is normally filled with developer material d to a level well above that shown as ll . filling the housing 12 as such causes the conduit 53 to self - close . thereafter , the ribbon / transport device 54 functions purely as a stirrer / mixer , triboelectrically charging and moving the developer therein for appropriate development of images . the developer material so mixed is moved upwards by feed device 34 , as described above , to the development roller 14 for such image development . spent developer from such development drops back as indicated into the bottom portion 12a for continued mixing by the device 54 . when for the reasons cited above it is finally desirable to purge the apparatus 10 of developer material therein , the vacuum source 70 , with a receiving container attached thereto , is connected to the adapter 66 , and activated . the activated vacuum source 70 induces flow in , thereby sucking , developer material through the horizontal conduit section 53b and out of the elbow 53c . the sucked out developer can then be collected in the receiving container for clean disposal . within the housing 12 , the ribbon / transport device 54 , the feed roller 36 and development roller 14 are all rotated to move the developer material therein in the respective manners as described above . as the vacuum source 70 sucks up developer material , it empties the horizontal section 53b , as well as the elbow 53c , and aperture 52 . as this occurs , additional developer material being moved within the housing 12 , and by the device 54 to the aperture 52 , will drop or discharge through the aperture 52 into the elbow 53c to be similarly sucked up by the source 70 . before long , the level of developer material within the housing 12 will drop below the reach of the pickup members 40 of the feed roller 36 . consequently , the flow of developer material from the roller 36 to the development roller 14 will be cut off . thereafter , any quantity of developer material on the roller 14 will move with the roller as indicated and completely fall back into the bottom portion 12a for movement therein by the device 54 . within the bottom portion 12a , both the inner and outer ribbons 58a , 58b of the device 54 will continue to move developer material as long as the level of developer material therein is higher than the level indicated as ll . such back and forth , and around and around , movements serve to keep the material loose and free flowing through the aperture 52 . when the level of material finally falls below the ll level , only the outer ribbons 58b will continue to move such material circumferentially and inwardly to the aperture 52 until the entire housing 12 , including the base b of the bottom portion 12a , is completely empty ( point e ) of developer material . the vacuum source 70 can be de - activated and disconnected at that point , and the housing 12 refilled or reloaded with fresh developer material . as described , refilling or reloading the housing 12 as such will cause the conduit 53 to again self - close , thereby allowing the developer material in the housing 12 to be stirred , mixed and moved for development purposes , without risk of spilling or leakage . as can be seen , the development apparatus 10 of the present invention includes a simple , efficient and compact mechanism 50 for unloading or purging developer material therefrom . the purging mechanism 50 includes few moving components , and is automatically self - closing , thereby avoiding significant downtime , the risks of moving component failure , and the risk of inadvertent spills . the invention has been described in detail with particular reference to a preferred embodiment thereof , but it will be understood that variations and modifications can be effected within the spirit and scope of the invention .	6
fig1 shows , in the prior art , a block diagram of a hybrid optical / electronic communications network 10 . only relevant portions are shown . the left hand block is the head end 12 , for instance the head end of a cable television system which includes a conventional video server 16 connected as shown to an ethernet switch 18 which in turn is connected to a gbe ( gigabit ethernet ) dwdm transceiver 20 in turn connected to a dwdm ( dense wave division multiplexing ) ( mux ) and demultiplexing ( demux ) devices 22 , 28 . demux device 28 drives gbe transceiver 26 coupled to router 24 . conventional hub 14 includes dwdm ( mux and demux ) devices 30 , 38 . device 30 in turn drives another dwdm transceiver 32 in turn connected to an ethernet switch 34 which is connected , as shown , to a narrow - cast service gateway node ( nsg ) 36 which performs the function of converting an ip ( internet protocol ) video stream into qam format . various devices , for instance , cmts ( cable modem termination system ) 44 which in turn are connected to ultimately the user homes are connected to an ethernet switch 42 . gbe dwdm transceiver 40 and dwdm multiplexer device 38 are for the upstream data transmissions . hence this is a two - way - network providing transmissions upstream and downstream . fig2 shows a transceiver ( transmitter / receiver ) 54 which in fig1 corresponds to each of transceivers 20 , 26 , 32 , 40 . transceiver 54 includes a conventional fiber - optic transceiver module 60 which performs the function of providing one bidirectional high speed serial data transmission channel over optical fiber or wire interfaces conforming , e . g ., to the ieee 802 . 3z gigabit ethernet specification ( gbe ). module 60 provides electrical to optical and optical to electrical conversion . on the transmitter side there is associated clock and data recovery circuit 62 which in turn drives laser driver circuit 64 which in turn drives laser driver circuit 64 which in turn drives the itu ( international telecommunications union compliant ) 1550 nanometer wavelength laser 66 which in turn is connected to a single mode optical fiber ( smf ) 63 providing dwdm communication signals on the optical fiber 63 . on the receiver side , there is an optical fiber 61 which is in optical communication with a pin or apd ( avalanche photodiode ) 68 which in turn provides electrical signals to transimpedance and limiting amplifier 70 which in turn drives clock recovery circuitry 72 connected to the fiber optic transceiver module 60 . this is all conventional . the data communications to and from the optical portions of the system are shown at the right hand portion of fig2 at 65 labeled “ user interface ”. further detail of the fig2 transceiver 54 is shown in fig3 . similar blocks from other of the figures are similarly labeled . further shown in fig3 is the user interface 65 at the right hand side of fig2 to control the fiber optic transceiver module 60 and which includes microcontroller 92 , control lines 88 and control lines 90 . also shown for control of the data and clock recovery circuits are reference clock circuits 76 and 80 and clock drivers 78 and 82 . as described above , the fig1 , 2 and 3 system uses conventional components as circuitry in the various ethernet and gbe switches and in the fiber optic transceiver module 60 which is designed and intended for two - way communications ( both transmitting and receiving ). module 60 thereby supports one bidirectional channel ; it has one ( electrical ) data input port and one ( electrical ) data output port . module 60 is connected to an ethernet switch of the type shown as 18 ( in fig1 ). if ethernet switch 18 does not receive appropriate signals ( valid data ) from module 60 , ethernet switch 18 will declare a corresponding port failure and hence stops transmitting data downstream to module 60 . in accordance with the invention , this requirement for two - way ( bidirectional ) communications by switch 18 is overcome in the one - way communications environment using , instead of transceiver 54 , the transmitter 90 of fig4 which partakes of some of the same elements as the transmitter portion of the prior art transceiver 54 of fig2 but omits the receiver portion . hence this is a transmitter . the same fiber optic transceiver module 60 is used as in the prior art fig2 and fig3 devices . in place of the receiver portion shown in fig2 in transceiver 54 , there is flow control circuit 92 . circuit 92 generates the ( electrical ) “ stay alive ” signal which is coupled to the electrical data input port of the transceiver module 60 . circuit 92 provides the electrical signal which thereby emulates , e . g ., upstream traffic on a two - way network . flow control circuit 92 ( signal generator ) is connected to the same ( electrical ) input port of the fiber optic transceiver module as is the clock and data recovery circuit 72 of fig2 . clearly , however , rather than recovering data from a communication , the circuit 92 merely generates a fixed signal , in one embodiment , which is applied to that port . this effectively causes the fiber optic transceiver module 62 to understand that it is receiving upstream traffic at that port and is to be kept operational for purposes of passing on the downstream traffic as a transmitter . the nomenclature “ flow control circuit ” 92 is generic ; this is a signal generator which in one embodiment provides the predetermined “ stay alive ” signal as required by the appropriate network protocol . for instance , in the gigabit ethernet context this stay alive signal is the following 20 - bit digital word : 00111110101001000101 . in one embodiment the flow control circuit 92 , as shown in fig5 , includes a conventional 20 to 1 serializer 96 with its 20 input terminals tied off to appropriate high and low ( respectively , logic 1 and 0 ) voltages 98 to define the 20 bit digital keep - alive “ word .” the serializer 96 outputs this digital word ( signal ) as a serial signal which is coupled to the ( upstream ) data input port of module 60 . an example of the serializer 96 is amcc part no . 2046 . fig6 shows a one - way communications network in accordance with the invention using the transceiver ( transmitter ) 90 of fig4 and corresponds to fig1 . like elements have similar labels as in the previous figures . several video servers 16 a , 16 b and 16 c are provided in fig6 at the head end . two of these servers drive the gbe switch 26 which in turn is coupled to , in parallel , a plurality of transmitters 90 a - 90 n . each transmitter 90 a - 90 n is of the type 90 of fig4 and 5 . transmitters 90 a - 90 n are multiplexed together by optical multiplexer 120 coupled to the optical fiber 121 . the corresponding hub is shown in the right hand portion of fig6 and includes a demultiplexer 122 which in turn drives a number of optical receivers 124 a - 124 n . each receiver 124 is a conventional wavelength receiver ( dwdm receiver ) similar to the receiver in the bottom half of fig2 . several of these receivers in turn drive the gbe switch 32 . the gbe switch 32 in 10 drives a plurality of gateway node units 36 a ; gateway node unit 36 d is driven directly by receivers 124 n . these gateway node units 36 a - 36 d in turn are coupled to a number of hybrid fiber coaxial cable nodes 126 a - 126 c . extensions and modifications in accordance with the invention will be evident to those skilled in the art . for instance , a multi - channel one - way time domain multiplexer may be provided . this receives as input signals a number of optical or electrical signals , each applied to a transmitter 90 . each transmitter 90 includes its own flow control circuit as shown in fig4 . each of the optical output signals of these transmitters is then time domain multiplexed together and coupled to an optical fiber . hence one achieves one - way signal aggregation for a two - way communications protocol in accordance with the invention . the invention is not limited to the hybrid fiber / coaxial cable environment and not even limited to optical communications but is also suitable for use in purely electrical communications . the invention is also not limited to fiber optical or wired electrical communications but would also apply to free space optical or electrical communications ; that is , the invention is independent of the communications medium . the invention is also not limited to the disclosed one - way communications such as cable tv , but would also apply to highly asymmetric two - way communications , for instance , a cable tv system with a very high bandwidth requirement for downstream communications and a minimal requirement for upstream data communications which is effectively a two - way system but with the two communications channels not being of the same bandwidth and hence not sharing transceivers . this disclosure is illustrative and not limiting ; further modifications will be apparent to those skilled in the art in light of this disclosure and are intended to fall within the scope of the appended claims .	7
a general system chart of a communications system to which the invention can be applied may comprise a user equipment that can be a conventional mobile station equipped with a short message service . although in the following the invention will be described by means of a short message , a short message service , a wap ( wireless application protocol ) message and a wap message service , a message can comprise e . g . at least one of the following messages : a short message , an instant message , an e - mail message , a multimedia message , a unified messaging message , a wap message or a sip ( session initiation protocol ) message . the mobile station can also be mobile station equipped with e . g . an instant message , an e - mail message , a multimedia message , a unified messaging message or a sip ( session initiation protocol ) message service . the basic principles of the invention can be employed to enable privacy invoking between and / or within any mobile communications systems , such as gsm , gprs , tetra and umts . the invention may affect some of the elements of an end - to - end system for wireless applications . in the privacy invoking system a client element ( referred to a client later on in this application ) can be described to be any element which has the ability to receive and handle push messages . one client element can be a typical mobile wap terminal equipped with this ability . supporting repository server element ( referred to a supporting server later on in this application ) can be described to be any element which has the ability to send push messages to the client , triggered by requests for delivering personal information to other servers . one such supporting server can be a typical server equipped with this ability . in other words , in order to implement the invention and its embodiments terminals would need to be capable of accepting push messages and the supporting server would require the ability to be able to act as a push initiator . in addition some procedural logic would be required in the terminal and the supporting server . the narrow band push channel may be defined as a channel over which data or signaling can be sent by a server e . g . without a prior request received from a client . an example on this kind of a channel is a sms ( short message system ) channel . currently sms may be seen as a unique feature within the wireless world though it &# 39 ; s popularity is leading to it being replicated in the broader internet . also other types of channels , which are built on asynchronous transfer of data ( i . e . not request / response ) may be considered a push channel . the invention proposes the use of a narrow band push channel from the supporting server to the client in order to inform the client about a request for personal data which the supporting server is in possession of . the user can then respond to this request stating whether s / he wishes to allow this request or not . the invention thus proposes to exploit this push channel to protect users &# 39 ; privacy and provide better fulfillment of appropriate privacy directives . in fig3 there is an extra link drawn between the supporting server and the client . this link , link c , is called the push channel link . the sequence of data flows when using the push channel link may be as follows : 1 ) the client 1 makes the request for the resource to the origin server 2 over a first channel ( a ); 2 ) the origin server 2 make the request to the supporting server 3 requesting some personal user data ; 3 ) the supporting server 3 sends a push message over the narrow band channel ( c ) indicating that the origin server 2 has made the request for the data ; ( this step is related to the ftc guideline regarding notice and personal data .) 4 ) the client 1 responds to the push allowing or disallowing the request for data . ( this step is related to the ftc guideline regarding choice and personal data .) the response may be a simple yes / no . alternatively the client 1 and the supporting server 3 may negotiate on what data is given and for what purposes ; and 5 ) depending on the client &# 39 ; s 1 response the supporting server 3 will either deliver the data to the origin server 2 or refuse to deliver the data to the origin server 2 . the data which the origin server needs requires processing power on the client which the client does not have . in this case the supporting server supplies the required processing power . there are many ways of implementing the above - mentioned mechanism . two alternatives may include the implementation of the invention as an sms implementation or as a wap push implementation . in an sms implementation the supporting server would need to support an interface to an smsc ( short message service center ). when the request for personal data arrives from the origin server the supporting server would send the sms to the client notifying her / him of the origin server &# 39 ; s request . the client can then respond indicating her / his preference for the supporting server to accept or reject the origin server &# 39 ; s request . the exact content of the sms messages can be for example a small implementation detail as described above : 1 ) supporting server → client : “ mybank at www . mybank . com requests your location . do you wish to give it to them ? yes / no ”. in a wap system there is defined a push framework [ push ]. the framework defines 3 components : a push client , a push initiator pi and a push proxy gateway ppg . within this implementation the wireless client is also the push client capable of receiving wap push messages . the supporting server in this case acts as the push initiator , creating the push message for delivery to the client . in between the 2 entities there is an entity known as the ppg . the ppg &# 39 ; s role is to handle the addressing and delivery of the push message from pi to the push client . also in this implementation the exact format of the messages to be passed can be determined but the general procedure would be for the supporting server pi to compose the push message detailing the origin server &# 39 ; s request for personal data . the client would then respond to the message indicating their privacy preferences with regard to the origin servers request . as described above , the core idea of the invention is the use of the push narrow band channel to alert the user to the use and / or trying to use of their personal data . the response from the user may simply be a simple yes / no response indicating the user &# 39 ; s acceptance of the origin server request for the personal data . the response may also be some other type response if it can be read in the supporting server . however it is also possible that the push message can initiate a pull session allowing the user to negotiate which information they may wish to divulge . in the pull session the client may request data and the data may be returned on a pull channel . for example , if the origin server requests username and credit card details , the user could respond indicating s / he only wishes to divulge her / his name . as described above the invention may be applied within the wap system . one reason for this is the fact that supporting servers are well defined within the architecture of wap being generally at the forefront of standardisation of the wireless internet . however the scope of this invention is beyond the scope of the wap system and architecture and the principle of supporting servers extends beyond the wap architecture . for example , location servers are to be found in 3g ( 3rd generation ) environments regardless of whether that environment is a wap environment . the use of certificate uri &# 39 ; s is also being extended to the traditional web model . the transmission of user agent profiles is based on w3c work on cc / pp ( composite capability / preferences profiles ). in fact the deployment of supporting servers makes sense in any network where there is a wish to make efficient use of bandwidth . as a part of the secure handshake in the internet security protocol ssl / tls ( secure sockets layer / transport layer security ) the client and the server may exchange pki digital identity certificates in order to authenticate each other . the exchange of these certificates can require relatively large bandwidth in a wireless network . for this reason the wireless equivalent of ssl / tls , wtls ( wireless transport layer security ) allows for a certificate uri to be sent in place of the certificate . this allows for the origin server to retrieve the client &# 39 ; s identity certificate from another location on the network ( i . e . the supporting server for certificates ). one of the characteristics of wireless clients is that their characteristics and form factors are vastly different . this is not the case with the www , where clients are relatively homogenous . wap has defined a specification known as uaprof ( user agent profile ) which allows the client to transmit its characteristics to the origin server . due to bandwidth considerations the client may also transmit the uri which points to the supporting server that contains details of the client &# 39 ; s characteristics . one unique aspect of the mobile internet is that physical location is a relevant data value . one method of determining the client &# 39 ; s physical location relies on measurements being taken by servers in the supporting network . to provide a common abstraction there is defined the location server which is the server which can provide information about the client &# 39 ; s location . one unique feature of the location server is that it does essentially not even need the client &# 39 ; s interaction to be of use . the origin server may simply ask the location server for the user &# 39 ; s location . this type of interaction is particularly sensitive with regards to user privacy issues . although each of the supporting servers provide different functionality there are some commonalties between them . in each case : the origin server requires some data from the client ( e . g . who are they , where are they , what terminal are they using ); the client sends an identifier allowing the origin server to query the supporting server for the data ; the supporting server provides data that in the traditional web model would probably be provided by the client ; and the data asked for and provided has some particular reference to the user of the client ( e . g . the user &# 39 ; s identity in a certificate , the user &# 39 ; s client characteristics , the user &# 39 ; s physical location ). the invention assumes that there is a way to associate the msisdn ( integrated services digital network ) or fixed ip ( internet protocol ) address of the terminal with the user identification forwarded by the application ( whether name & amp ; address , cookie , etc ) to the repository . one possibility for this is the repository co - located with a wireless gateway , or containing a user database ( white pages ). if the user can have several on - going browsing sessions active as in different browser windows , the push message may have to provide an indication of which site is requesting the disclosure of private data . in the case of a background application that requests private information without the prior initiation by the end - user , the situation is substantially similar . the user should be informed about the application that is trying ( autonomously ) to gather information about her or him . whenever the application server , i . e . the origin server requests personal information from the repository , i . e . from the supporting server , the repository may send the push message to the end - user , i . e . to the client requesting confirmation for the delivery of the personal information to the application . in the state of the art supporting servers released this information without intervention from the client as was described previously . this means that there was no way for the user to receive notice or make a choice with regards to their own personal data . although in some cases implementations of supporting servers may have allowed a simple form of black / white listing which ensured that data was only given to selected parties , this method was and is quite static and limited to a predefined select set of origin servers . one advantage of the invention is that it improves over earlier solutions in that it is dynamic and flexible . there is no requirement for a user to set up preferences with the supporting server ( s ) prior to visiting the origin server . this process can take place during the user &# 39 ; s session with the origin server . however , it should be noted that as an optimisation the supporting server could retain the list of previous user choices as a dynamic black / white list . the invention allows for gray lists . instead of just simple black and white lists , it is now possible to have a gray list where entries on the gray list are queried off the user . this can be seen as an improvement on a simple black / white list solution . also the user is in control . in other methods the user must inform each and every supporting server that may contain their personal data about their privacy preferences . using this method the supporting servers ask the user what their preferences are when they need to know what they are . the mechanism according to the invention saves bandwidth . other schemes that attempt to allow for interactivity on behalf of the user ( such as digital signed requests ) consume extra round trips and bandwidth . the mechanism presented here uses minimal extra trips and bandwidth . this is a clear advantage since the bandwidth of the network link between the client and the origin server ( shown as link a in fig3 ) may be very low , or the latency of the link may be poor . with the assistance of the invention the network link between the origin server and the supporting server ( shown as link b ) may be much higher . the invention requires no previous relationship between the origin server and the supporting server , or the origin server and the user , client . it also makes use of unique wireless features such as push technology . the invention allows the use of any push channel to communicate directly with the user , not just the signaling channel of a communications network . the invention and its preferred embodiments do not assume the presence of a privacy preference negotiation framework ( such as p3p ), although it could be used in that context . the invention does not require entire programs to be downloaded to the terminal in order to perform the negotiation . it does not assume that the application server sends the description of its privacy policy to the terminal ; it does not assume that the terminal stores privacy preferences ; and it does assume that the notification is carried out on behalf of the client by the repository of personal data . it differs from the state of the art prototypes and research in the following way : it relies upon the wireless infrastructure for requesting and transmitting disclosure authorization from the end - user . published proposals consider only a wireline internet / www infrastructure ; and it does not assume that the information is presented as a form that must be filled in by the end - user ( or by an automatic form - filling program ), but that it is simply requested by applications from repositories containing user information . it closer mirrors privacy standards . although it is a new area the w3c does have a privacy standard known as p3p [ p3p ]. part of the p3p specification suite is a user privacy preferences language appel [ appel ]. appel lists 4 possible outcomes when determining whether p3p policies should be accepted . these outcomes are “ accept ”, “ reject ”, “ inform ”, “ warn ”. when translated to supporting servers , this method allows supporting servers to implement the “ inform ” and “ warn ” outcomes . this is not possible with e . g . a black / white listing ; the invention relies upon the capabilities of a wireless application infrastructure , and especially push , for requesting and retrieving disclosure authorizations from the end - user . this constitutes a major benefit in the case of non - interactive applications : the user might not have initiated the application ( e . g . an automatic www crawler trying to compile information from repositories scattered in the internet ) and might not even be on - line , but s / he will nevertheless be informed of the request for disclosure of personal data via push messages on his mobile phone . a service platform for wireless applications makes it possible to fine - tune the handling of the disclosure requests , e . g . by rejecting the requests automatically if it is determined that the end - user is not reachable . still another advantage of the invention is that is not specifically related only to requests for location information , but the invention covers nearly all personal data e . g . usernames , passwords , credit card details , address , date of birth , i . e . basically anything one might normally fill in on an internet form . using a narrow band push channel deals with 2 of the 4 privacy guidelines , namely notice and choice . by receiving the push message the user is notified of the request for the use of their private data . they can also respond with to the request stating whether they wish to allow the request or not . this allows the user to have a choice over whether their personal data is used in that fashion or not . it will be obvious to a person skilled in the art that , as the technology advances , the inventive concept can be implemented in various ways . the invention and its embodiments are not limited to the examples described above but may vary within the scope of the claims .	7
according to the present invention , spark plug 10 has a tube - shaped metal shell 13 , in which a ceramic insulator 24 is positioned . end 27 of insulator 24 facing the combustion chamber encases a center electrode 22 and insulates it electrically from shell 13 . it further includes a contact pin 20 that is used to transmit voltage to center electrode 22 , as well as a connecting device 11 at its connection end 28 . connecting device 11 ensures that center electrode 22 is in electrical contact with an external voltage supply not depicted in the drawing . its main components include a connecting bolt 12 which is also provided with a thread and a connecting nut 19 at its connection end . between connecting device 11 and contact pin 20 is situated an erosion resistor 25 made of electrically conductive glass that mechanically anchors the spark plug components positioned inside insulator 24 and also provides a gas - proof seal against combustion pressure . an inner sealing seat 17 is positioned between insulator 24 and shell 13 , sealing off the inside of the spark plug from the combustion chamber . one or several mass electrodes 21 are welded to shell 13 . the spark is produced between these and center electrode 22 . on its outside , shell 13 has a hexagonal profile 14 by means of which the spark plug can be screwed into an engine block . in addition , an outer sealing seat 16 is provided , sealing off the combustion chamber from the surrounding atmosphere . thread 18 molded onto shell 13 is used to fasten the spark plug in the engine block . insulator 24 includes , at least on its outside facing the surrounding atmosphere , a glaze 26 on the basis of a lead - free borosilicate glass . however , insulator 24 may also be glazed on other parts of its surface . in weight percent , the glaze has the following basic composition : the characteristics of glazes having the basic composition stated were tested on the following glazes , which are to be considered exemplary embodiments . all figures represent weight percentages . the quantities of the individual element oxides refer to glazes after addition of the respective quantities of kaolin or bentonite . a varying amount of kaolin was added to two base glazes , 1 and 5 , resulting in glazes 2 through 4 and 6 through 9 , the first base glaze 1 having a larger zinc , calcium and strontium content , the second base glaze 5 , however , containing more sodium oxide and potassium oxide than base glaze 1 . 1 ) thermal expansion coefficient , expressed in 1 / k , measured at 20 through 400 ° c . 2 ) head bending strength , expressed as an average in newtons , measured according to din iso 11565 . the measurement is effected by fixing the spark plug to be tested into an appropriate testing block , using the maximum tightening torque prescribed by the applicable spark plug standard . a force is applied at a right angle to the insulator axis within 5 millimeters from the connection end of the spark plug , and it is gradually # increased to the point of rupture . the force applied is taken as the value for the bending strength of the head . 3 ) thermal expansion value , expressed as the temperature in ° c . at which the specific resistance of the glaze is 1 megohm * cm . based on the two base glazes it can be observed that the thermal expansion coefficient drops when the proportion of kaolin is greater than 10 % by weight , with the head bending strength of the respective spark plug rising simultaneously . a kaolin content of more than 30 % by weight does not result in any significant improvements of the characteristics of those glazes compared to glazes containing 30 % by weight of kaolin . the glaze is manufactured by mixing a glaze frit in powder form with kaolin or bentonite , also in powder form , with the kaolin or bentonite content , selected in such a way as to result in a thermal expansion coefficient of & lt ; 7 * 10 − 6 1 / k . what is meant here by kaolin is mainly a kaolinite - containing clay , wherein kaolinite represents any mineral aluminum hydroxysilicate . bentonite is a clay substance that contains a mixed sodium - aluminum - magnesium hydroxysilicate . the raw materials in powder form are mixed with water or another solvent , with the addition of an organic binder , and then applied to insulator 24 to be glazed by means of spraying , rolling or immersion . the layer thickness of the glaze applied is preferably between 5 μm and 40 μm . to finish , insulator 24 is subjected to heat treatment at temperatures between 850 ° and 900 ° c ., in which the insulator is fired and the raw components are transformed into the glaze .	7
in the first embodiment of the invention , illustrated in fig1 - 4 , the pipe manifold 10 is shown to be an elongated rectangular parallelepiped , constructed from two parallel pipes 12 and 14 each of which has a side wall 16 or 18 which lie adjacent one another and may be welded together . the walls 16 and 18 jointly define the transverse wall of the pipe manifold which divides it into an inlet chamber 20 and a return flow chamber 22 . the right end of the pipe manifold 10 illustrated in fig1 and 3 is closed while the left end is open and shows a flange 24 which may be covered up with a blind cover if there are sufficient connecting pipes on the housing but to which another similar pipe manifold 10 may be attached by welding or bolting if the system is to be enlarged . a similar flange may also be provided at the other end of the housing and , in this manner , an overall system of any desired size may be constructed . in the vicinity of the edge of the transverse wall 16 , 18 , the top 28 and the bottom 30 of the pipe manifold housing 10 are provided with openings 26 . these openings 26 are disposed in the top wall 28 and in the bottom wall 30 so as to alternately lie on either side of the transverse walls 16 , 18 . mounted to the top wall 28 and the bottom wall 30 are pipe connectors 32 , in this case shaped in the manner of truncated cones with a constant cone angle and attached to the housing , for example , by welding . the pipe connectors are so sized and disposed as to overlap far enough on both sides of the transverse wall 16 so as to cover at least the width of one of the openings 26 disposed on either side of the transverse wall . accordingly , the pipe connections 32 may all have the same size and shape and are attached to the housing in a straight longitudinal line , i . e ., congruently with respect to the axial extent of the housing . furthermore , the pipe connections 32 attached to the bottom of the housing lie in a plane defined by the central axes of the connections mounted on top . the outer surface of the pipe connections 32 is provided with several markings 34 whose position is determined in consideration of the conical angle of the pipe connectors . the distance between markings is so chosen that when a pipe connector 32 &# 39 ; is shortened , for example as shown in the right portion of fig1 along a marking 34 ( which , in the shown example , is the second marking from the top ) the remaining height of the pipe connector 32 &# 39 ; is such that the opening cross section which it will acquire is matched to the inlet orifice diameter of an attached pump or valve having standard dimensions so that the actuating valve of such a pump or apparatus will be located at the same overall height with respect to the manifold housing 10 as would be the case if a correspondingly smaller pump or device is attached to the unshortened pipe connector 32 in fig1 . while the unshortened connectors 32 are higher , their opening cross section is smaller as is the size of the pump or valve attached to them , so that the overall height of the apparatus from the point of attachment on the manifold up to the location of the actuating plane is the same as will be the case if a larger apparatus or pump is attached to a shortened pipe connector 32 as is illustrated in the example of fig1 . by suitable choice of the conical angle and of the position of the markings 34 , it is possible to obtain a very practical simple and reliable installation and mounting of the pipe manifold and its associated apparatus . the ends of the pipe connectors 32 may be provided in known manner with connecting flanges 36 or threads 38 by welding for example . the pipe connectors 32 attached to the bottom 30 of the housing 10 serve primarily as the main supply or return line for the heating medium while the connectors or couplings 32 attached to the top wall 28 serve primarily for the attachment of supply and return lines of individual systems and devices , for example heaters or other sub - groups . the second exemplary embodiment illustrated in fig5 and 6 is different from the first embodiment in that differently shaped pipe connectors 40 are used , in this case having the shape of bent pipe couplers with constant cross section . the cross section of the couplers 40 is somewhat larger than the largest width of a single opening 26 and the connectors are bent in the manner illustrated in fig6 in order that their outer ends 42 lie in a straight line with respect to the long axis of the housing 10 . as shown in fig5 there may be connected to the pipe couplers 4 a truncated conical connector 32 having the previously defined markings 34 which is used in the manner illustrated with respect to the first example of fig1 and 4 . it is also possible , depending on the use and the requirements of assembly , to use different and variously configured pipe couplings in combination . in the second embodiment according to fig5 and 6 , the pipe couplers 32 previously attached to the bottom wall 30 are absent . their place is taken by a coupler 32 of truncated conical shape which is attached to a further flange 46 which is either bolted or welded to the flange 24 with interposition of a sealer plate 44 which seals the housing 10 . the coupler 32 communicates via an opening 26 in the sealer plate 44 with the inlet chamber 20 of the pipe manifold 10 . in other respects , the second embodiment is identical to that illustrated in fig1 - 4 . a third embodiment , which illustrates the possibility of combining various pipe couplers with the pipe manifold 10 , is illustrated in fig6 a . this figure shows substantially the same construction as fig6 except that a truncated conical pipe coupler 32 is attached to the top 28 of the manifold 10 whereas two identical couplers 32 are attached , one on top of the other , on the flange 46 and these communicate through openings 26 in the sealer plate 44 with the inlet chambers 20 or the return flow chamber 22 . the axes of the couplers 32 lie in the same plane as those of the couplers 32 attached to the top wall 28 . in a fourth exemplary embodiment of the invention illustrated in fig7 and 8 , the pipe manifold also consists of two parallel rectangular pipes 12 and 14 . however , these two pipes are disposed at a distance from one another and are rigidly connected by a bridge 48 between the tops of the pipes 12 and 14 . the gap between the adjacent walls 16 and 18 is filled with a thermally insulating material 50 . attached to the top of the manifold housing is a pipe coupler 52 in the shape of a truncated pyramid whose open base covers the entire width of the manifold housing including the insulating layer 50 . the return flow chamber 22 defined by the pipe 14 communicates via an opening 26 with the interior of the pipe coupler 52 . furthermore , the top wall 54 of the pipe coupler 52 has an opening 56 into which is welded a cylindrical pipe stud 58 of the desired length . even though the illustration only shows a single connector 52 , it will be clear to a person skilled in the art that other similar or differently shaped pipe couplers or headers may be attached according to the invention to the manifold and may be combined with the one which is illustrated so as to satisfy the actual requirements in practice . in order to simplify the drawing , other openings 26 and other elements of the apparatus , similar to those previously illustrated and discussed , are omitted from fig7 and 8 . in this embodiment , the end faces of the pipes 12 and 14 are shown closed . however , they may also be opened and provided with a flange 24 and attachments according , for example , to the illustrations of fig6 or 6a . instead of providing adjacent pipe couplers 52 along the axial extent of the manifold housing , it is also possible , as illustrated in a fifth embodiment according to fig9 to provide a single coupler box 60 in the general shape of a truncated pyramid so as to cover essentially the entire top surface of the manifold housing . the box 60 is subdivided internally by vertical walls 62 into individual connecting chambers each of which has an opening 56 into which are inserted pipe studs 58 of the desired diameter . in a manner not shown , each of the individual chambers defined by a wall 62 communicates through openings 26 , not shown , either with an inlet chamber 20 or the return flow chamber 22 of the manifold housing . fig1 and 11 represent an illustration of combining a pipe manifold housing 10 with a drainage trough or gutter 64 which extends over the entire length of the housing 10 and is closed at the end by vertical walls 66 and 68 , respectively . the wall 68 can also serve to close the end face of the manifold housing 10 so that a single closure wall is disposed at the end face of the manifold housing and the drainage trough . drainage troughs may also be bolted or welded to the housing 10 itself as illustrated in fig6 and 6a . the rear vertical surface 74 of the drainage trough 64 is shown attached to a wall 76 of the building where it may be fastened in a suitable manner . the pipe manifold housing 10 is thus located at some distance from the rear surface 74 , thereby defining an open gap between the housing 10 and the wall 74 . located in the bottom 78 of the drainage trough 64 and closable in a manner not shown , is a drainage stud 80 connected to suitable pipelines . extending obliquely upwardly from the bottom 78 of the trough is a front surface 82 with a crimped edge 84 which , together with the bottom 30 of the manifold housing 10 , defines an access slot 86 which makes the interior of the drainage trough accessible for cleaning and the like . the drainage trough 64 together with the pipe manifold housing 10 forms a compact box - like construction which is simply attached to the masonry wall 76 . the space which is defined between the rear surface 74 and the manifold housing 10 is used to admit drainage pipes 90 to the interior of the drainage trough 64 . the drainage pipes 90 are then connected to a pipe 94 coupled to the manifold housing 10 at a point further from the manifold housing than the location of the shut - off valve 96 . the drain pipes 90 are provided with shut - off valves 92 actually located in the interior of the drainage trough 64 and thus invisible from the outside , but easily accessible through the opening 86 . by closing the valves 96 and opening the valves 92 , any device or system attached to the pipes 94 may be emptied by draining its contents into the drainage trough 64 . the foregoing relates to preferred exemplary embodiments of the invention , it being understood that other embodiments and variants thereof are possible within the spirit and scope thereof .	8
in the following detailed description , reference is made to the accompanying drawings that form a part hereof , and in which is shown by way of illustration specific illustrative embodiments in which the invention may be practiced . these embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention , and it is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and that logical , mechanical and electrical changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention . the following detailed description is , therefore , not to be taken in a limiting sense . embodiments of the present invention provide a network with an asynchronous hub . in this network , a fault occurs , for example , when a node attempts to transmit during a timeslot assigned to another node . when the fault occurs , a bus guardian in the asynchronous hub uses an arbitration technique to assure that the message from the node assigned to the time slot is transmitted from the hub to its destination . advantageously , this technique uses indirect detection to detect the fault with the attempt to transmit during the wrong time slot . the indirect detection aspect of the invention is described in more detail in the &# 39 ; 916 and &# 39 ; 900 applications incorporated by reference above . fig1 is one embodiment of a network indicated generally at 100 . network 100 includes asynchronous hubs 102 and 104 connected in a star configuration with nodes 106 - 1 to 106 - n . hubs 102 and 104 are referred to collectively as “ the hub ” of network 100 . in this embodiment , network 100 includes two channels of communication for each node 106 - 1 to 106 - n . hub 102 provides the first communication channel between the nodes 106 - 1 to 106 - n . hub 104 provides the second communication channel between the nodes 106 - 1 to 106 - n . data is transmitted as messages , e . g ., frames , from one node to another in the network 100 . each node transmits each frame to both of hubs 102 and 104 . hubs 102 and 104 then selectively transmit the frames to the other nodes to provide 1 : n communication for each node . hubs 102 and 104 are asynchronous in that the hubs are not synchronized with the time base of the nodes 106 - 1 to 106 - n . in one embodiment , the network 100 implements a distributed , time - triggered communication protocol . for example , in one embodiment , the time - triggered protocol ttp / c described in the ttp specification edition 1 . 0 . 0 of jul . 4 , 2002 issued by tttech is used ( the ttp / c standard ). in this protocol , each node 106 - 1 to 106 - n maintains synchronization with a virtual clock . in other embodiments , the nodes maintain time synchronization using other techniques . the nodes 106 - 1 to 106 - n are assigned time slots to use for transmission . in one embodiment , the nodes 106 - 1 to 106 - n transmit a signal “ clear to send ” ( cts ) to the hubs 102 and 104 prior to the node &# 39 ; s assigned time slot . this alerts the hub to expect data from the node . in one embodiment , the cts signal is sent over the same communication medium as other messages exchanged between the node and the hub . in other embodiments , the cts signal is sent over a different communication medium . hubs 102 and 104 include bus guardians 110 and 112 , respectively . bus guardians 110 and 112 perform an arbitration function for hubs 102 and 104 to deal with competing claims to the same time slot . in one embodiment , guardians 110 and 112 use priority schemes to select among the competing claims to a common time slot . in one embodiment , the guardians 110 and 112 implement complementary priority schemes so that the message from each competing node is relayed by at least one of the hubs 102 and 104 . in operation , hubs 102 and 104 assure that frames of data transmitted from one node to another arrive at the proper destination despite faults that occur in the network from time to time . each node 106 - 1 to 106 - n is assigned a time slot to transmit frames in the network 100 . when a node 106 - 1 to 106 - n transmits a frame , the hubs 102 and 104 forward the frame to the other nodes on the network 100 . the intended destination node receives the frame as do all other nodes on the network 100 . the destination node processes the frame by determining , based on , e . g ., a destination address in the frame , that the frame is destined for the node . in the course of processing data , a fault may occur in that two of nodes 106 - 1 to 106 - n may attempt to transmit during the same time slot . each node that intends to transmit during a time slot sends out a cts signal to each of hubs 102 and 104 . in the event that a hub , e . g ., hub 102 , receives cts signals from two nodes for the same time slot , the hubs 102 and 104 implement a procedure to assure that the frame from the proper node is transmitted to the other nodes by the hubs 102 and 104 . in one embodiment , the two hubs 102 and 104 implement different priority schemes to assure that the proper message is relayed by the hubs to the other nodes . in one embodiment , the two hubs 102 and 104 use complementary priority schemes . complementary priority schemes result in one of the two frames being transmitted by one hub and the other of the two frames being sent by the other hub . in this embodiment , the correct message is received by the destination node because each node 106 - 1 to 106 - n receives both messages . the nodes 106 - 1 to 106 - n are able to verify the correct message has been received based on , for example , the transmit order list stored in each node 106 - 1 to 106 - n . advantageously , with this embodiment , the hubs 102 and 104 do not need to store the list of time slots for each node . an example of this embodiment is described in more detail below with respect to fig3 . fig2 is a block diagram of a system indicated at 200 that uses a communication network 100 of the type describe above with respect to fig1 . fig2 further shows that the nodes 106 - 1 to 106 - n are connected to a number of electronic devices 108 - 1 to 108 - n , e . g ., sensors , processors , actuators , controllers , input devices and the like that communicate messages over the network 100 . fig3 is a flow chart of one embodiment of a process for a bus guardian in an asynchronous hub for controlling relaying messages over a communication channel from nodes during time slots in a tdma network . for purposes of this specification , a channel in a tdma network includes a communication medium that connects one hub with all of the nodes in the network . thus , a tdma network with a star configuration and two hubs is considered a two channel network . the process begins at block 300 . at block 302 , the process receives a clear to send ( cts ) signal from a node in the network at a bus guardian of an asynchronous hub . the cts signal indicates that the node that originated the cts signal claims the next time slot on the channel associated with the hub . the process determines , at block 304 , if the guardian has received cts signals from more than one node for the same time slot on the channel . if so , the process grants the node with the highest priority access to the channel at block 306 and proceeds to block 308 . if at block 304 there was no other cts signal received at the hub , the process proceeds to block 308 . in one embodiment , the priority for a node is based on the port number of the port of the asynchronous hub that received the cts signal . in one embodiment , a two channel system is used with independent hubs and bus guardians . one bus guardian gives priority to the node with the lowest port number and the other bus guardian gives priority to the node with the highest port number . thus , when two nodes compete for the same time slot , one node will gain access to the time slot on one channel and the other node will gain access to the time slot on the other channel . at block 308 , the process relays the message from the node that was granted access to the channel . at block 310 , the process determines whether another cts signal has been received from a different node for the same time slot on the channel . if another cts signal has not been received , the process continues relaying the message at block 312 and returns to block 310 . if , however , the process does receive another cts signal for the same time slot on the same channel , the process determines whether the node for the additional cts signal has a higher priority than the node that has been granted access to the channel . at block 314 . if not , the process continues relaying the message at block 312 . if the process determines that the new cts signal corresponds to a node with a higher priority , the process stops relaying the current message , inserts a period of silence to ensure that all receiving nodes can reliably detect the start of the next transmission and then relays the message from the higher priority node at block 316 . the process returns to block 310 . fig4 is a flow chart of one embodiment of a process for a node for determining a proper message among different messages received in the same time slot . the process begins at block 401 . at block 403 , the process receives two messages . at block 405 , the process compares the sources of the two messages and determines , at block 407 , whether the two messages are from the same source based on , for example , the source address in the messages . in another embodiment , the process uses port driven authentication as described in the &# 39 ; 323 and &# 39 ; 587 applications to determine the source of the messages . if so , the messages are processed at block 409 and the process returns to block 403 . if the two messages are not from the same source , the process determines which of the messages is from the correct source . at block 411 , the process determines the expected source of messages in the current time slot . for example , in one embodiment , the process uses a list of time slots and assigned nodes to determine the expected source and uses port driven authentication to select the proper message between the received messages . at block 413 , the process selects the message from the expected source and further processes the message . the process returns to block 403 . the methods and techniques described here may be implemented in digital electronic circuitry , or with a programmable processor ( for example , a special - purpose processor or a general - purpose processor such as a computer ) firmware , software , or in combinations of them . apparatus embodying these techniques may include appropriate input and output devices , a programmable processor , and a storage medium tangibly embodying program instructions for execution by the programmable processor . a process embodying these techniques may be performed by a programmable processor executing a program of instructions stored on a machine readable medium to perform desired functions by operating on input data and generating appropriate output . the techniques may advantageously be implemented in one or more programs that are executable on a programmable system including at least one programmable processor coupled to receive data and instructions from , and to transmit data and instructions to , a data storage system , at least one input device , and at least one output device . generally , a processor will receive instructions and data from a read - only memory and / or a random access memory . storage devices or machine readable medium suitable for tangibly embodying computer program instructions and data include all forms of non - volatile memory , including by way of example semiconductor memory devices , such as eprom , eeprom , and flash memory devices ; magnetic disks such as internal hard disks and removable disks ; magneto - optical disks ; and dvd disks . any of the foregoing may be supplemented by , or incorporated in , specially - designed application - specific integrated circuits ( asics ). a number of embodiments of the invention defined by the following claims have been described . nevertheless , it will be understood that various modifications to the described embodiments may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the claimed invention . accordingly , other embodiments are within the scope of the following claims .	7
this disclosure generally relates to the alignment of male and female fluidconnectors , supported in respective couplers , for engagement of these components and in particular an engagement which compensates for a misalignment between the male and female fluidconnectors . fig1 illustrates a fluid coupler 10 which may comprise a support member 12 , a first connector member 14 and a piston member 16 . the first connector member 14 may be housed in the support member 12 . the piston member 16 may be axially slidable in the support member 12 . in an embodiment , the support member 12 may comprise a cartridge 18 and a mounting plate 32 . the cartridge 18 and the mounting plate 32 may be mutually connected . the cartridge 18 may be rigidly mounted to the mounting plate 32 . the cartridge 18 may have a configuration for engaging the mounting plate 32 and for accommodating the first connector member 14 . the cartridge 18 may be formed as a block and may have a first cartridge side 20 and a second cartridge side 22 . the first cartridge side 20 and the second cartridge side 22 may be parallel . the first cartridge side 20 may be in contact with a surface of the mounting plate 32 when cartridge 18 and mounting plate 32 may be mutually connected . the second cartridge side 22 may engage to a surface of a corresponding mounting plate of a corresponding coupler . the cartridge 18 may include a channel 24 . the channel 24 may be annular and may extend through cartridge 18 . the channel 24 may have openings on the first cartridge side 20 and the second cartridge side 22 . the longitudinal axis of the channel 24 may be perpendicular to the first cartridge side 20 and the second cartridge side 22 . in the fluid coupler 10 , the first connector member 14 may be substantially or completely accommodated within the channel 24 . the edge of the opening of channel 24 at the second cartridge side 22 may be inclined away from the longitudinal axis of the channel 24 to form an inclined edge 26 . the inclined edge 26 may encircle the opening of the channel 24 at the second cartridge side 22 . in an embodiment , the cartridge 18 may comprise a groove 30 . the groove 30 may be cut into the cartridge 18 . the groove 30 may be positioned at channel 24 such that a side opens to channel 24 . the groove 30 may be concentric with channel 24 and may be positioned at any point along the channel 24 . in an embodiment , the groove 30 may be positioned adjacent the opening of the channel 24 at the second cartridge side 22 . in an embodiment , the groove 30 may be positioned adjacent the inclined edge 26 . in an embodiment , the cartridge 18 may comprise a plurality of grooves 30 at channel 24 such that each groove has a side that opens to channel 24 . the opening of the channel 24 at first cartridge side 20 may have an abutment edge 28 . the abutment edge 28 may be configured to engage the first connector member 14 . the abutment edge 28 may be orthogonal to the longitudinal axis of the channel 24 . in an embodiment the abutment edge 28 may encircle the opening of channel 24 at first cartridge side 20 . in an alternative embodiment , abutment edge 28 may be disposed from the opening of channel 24 and within the channel 24 . the mounting plate 32 may be configured for engaging the cartridge 18 and for accommodating the first connector member 14 . the mounting plate 32 may be formed as a block and may have a first plate side 31 and a second plate side 33 . the first plate side 31 and the second plate side 33 may be parallel . in the fluid coupler 10 , the first plate side 31 may contact the first cartridge side 20 of the cartridge 18 . the mounting plate 32 may include a through cavity which may be formed by an abutment chamber 34 , a fluid chamber 36 and a fluid passage 35 . the cavity may have openings on the first plate side 31 and the second plate side 33 . the abutment chamber 34 may have an opening at the first plate side 31 . the fluid passage 35 may have an opening at the second plate side 33 . the opening of the abutment chamber 34 , at the first plate side 31 , may be greater than the opening of the fluid passage 35 , at the second plate side 33 . in an embodiment , each of the abutment chamber 34 , the fluid chamber 36 and the fluid passage 35 may have an annular geometry . the diameter of the abutment chamber 34 may be greater than the diameter of the fluid chamber 36 and diameter of the fluid passage 35 . the diameter of the fluid chamber 36 may be greater than diameter of the fluid passage 35 . the longitudinal axis of the cavity may be perpendicular to the first plate side 31 and the second plate side 33 . the longitudinal axis of the cavity may be continuous with the longitudinal axis of the channel 24 when the cartridge 18 is mounted to the mounting plate 32 to form a common longitudinal axis in the support member 12 . in the assembled support member 12 , the abutment edge 28 may extend over the opening of the abutment chamber 34 . the abutment edge 28 may be substantially perpendicular to the enclosing wall of the abutment chamber 34 . an abutment ledge 37 may extend from the enclosing wall of the abutment chamber 34 , substantially transverse to the longitudinal axis of the cavity of the mounting plate 32 , into the cavity of the mounting plate 32 . in the assembled support member 12 , abutment ledge 37 may be opposite and substantially parallel to the abutment edge 28 . the enclosing wall of the fluid chamber 36 may extend further into the cavity of the mounting plate 32 than the enclosing wall of the abutment chamber 34 . a piston guide 38 may be formed on the enclosing wall of the fluid chamber 36 . the piston guide 38 may be a protrusion into the fluid chamber 36 . the piston guide 38 may be a convex protrusion with a flattened apex . in an embodiment , the piston guide 38 may be formed as a continuous ring on the enclosing wall of the fluid chamber 36 and may have a raised central portion and sloping sides inclined away from the longitudinal axis of the cavity in the mounting plate 32 . the apex of the central raised portion of the piston guide 38 may be flattened . a fluid chamber ledge 39 may extend from the enclosing wall of the fluid chamber 36 , substantially transverse to the longitudinal axis of the cavity in the mounting plate 32 , into the cavity of the mounting plate 32 . the fluid chamber ledge 39 may be substantially parallel to the abutment ledge 37 . the enclosing wall of the fluid passage 35 may extend further into the cavity in the mounting plate 32 than the enclosing wall of the fluid chamber 36 . in the assembled support member 12 , the abutment chamber 34 and channel 24 may be contiguous to mutually house the first connector member 14 . the first connector member 14 may comprise a fluidconnector 40 and a fluidconnector sleeve 42 . the fluidconnector sleeve 42 may be configured to receive fluidconnector 40 . the fluidconnector sleeve 42 may comprise a body portion 43 having a central axis . the body portion 43 may include a compartment 44 which may be configured to receive and rigidly hold fluidconnector 40 . the compartment 44 may have an inlet 45 at an end . the fluidconnector 40 may be inserted into the compartment 44 and extracted from the compartment through the inlet 45 . the fluidconnector 40 may be assembled into fluid coupler 10 and disassembled from the fluid coupler 10 without removing the fluidconnector sleeve 42 . the servicing and / or replacement of the fluidconnector 40 may be performed through the extraction of only the fluidconnector 40 . the compartment 44 may have a treaded portion to rigidly mount the fluidconnector 40 . the body portion 43 of fluidconnector sleeve 42 may include a conduit 47 extending from the compartment 44 and along the direction of the central axis of the body portion 43 . the conduit 47 may extend to the end of the body portion 43 opposite the inlet 45 . the conduit 47 may have an opening at the end of the body portion 43 opposite the inlet 45 . the compartment 44 and the conduit 47 may form a continuos passage through the body portion 43 . in the first connector member 14 , having the fluidconnector 40 inserted into the fluidconnector sleeve 42 , a fluid channel in the fluidconnector 40 may be contiguous with the conduit 47 to form a continuos fluid passage through the first connector member 14 . the fluidconnector sleeve 42 may comprise a flange portion 46 at the end opposite inlet 45 . the flange portion 46 may extend in a direction substantially transverse to the central axis of the body portion 43 away from the conduit 47 . in an embodiment , the flange portion 46 may be formed as a continuous ring around the body portion 43 . in an alternative embodiment , the flange portion 46 may be formed as a discontinuous ring around the body portion 43 . the flange portion 46 may have an abutment seat 48 formed at a side thereof . the abutment seat 48 may be configured to engage the cartridge 18 . the body portion 43 and flange portion 46 may have a thrust surface 49 at the end opposite inlet 45 . the thrust surface 49 may be opposite and parallel to the abutment seat 48 . the thrust surface 49 may be transverse to the central axis of the body portion 43 . the conduit 47 of body portion 43 may have an opening at thrust surface 49 . the inner perimeter of the thrust surface 49 may delimit the opening of conduit 47 . the thrust surface 49 may be configured to engage a surface of the piston member 16 . the body portion 43 may have a bevelled edge 50 at the end provided with the inlet 45 . the bevelled edge 50 may be inclined toward the central axis of the body portion 43 . the bevelled edge 50 may form a ring around the body portion 43 adjacent the inlet 45 . in an embodiment , the body portion 43 may comprise a slot 51 . the slot 51 may be cut into the thrust surface 49 of body portion 43 . the slot 51 may be positioned at thrust surface 49 such that a side has an opening at thrust surface 49 . the slot 51 may be concentric with conduit 47 and may be disposed at any position along the thrust surface 49 which may engage piston member 16 . in an embodiment , the slot 51 may be positioned adjacent the inner perimeter of the thrust surface 49 which may delimit the opening of conduit 47 . in an embodiment , the fluidconnector 40 and the fluidconnector sleeve 42 may be integral so that the first connector member 14 may be a monolithic structure . the monolithic first connector member 14 may include the body portion 43 . in the fluid coupler 10 , the first connector member 14 may not be mounted or joined to the support member 12 . the first connector member 14 may be free to move within the channel 24 and the abutment chamber 34 . the fluid coupler 10 may comprise an alignment gap 52 between the support member 12 and the first connector member 14 for floating movement of the first connector member 14 . the alignment gap 52 may be formed by suitably configuring the body portion 43 , flange 46 , cartridge 18 , mounting plate 32 , channel 24 or the abutment chamber 34 or any combination thereof . the dimension and / or geometry of the body portion 43 , flange 46 , cartridge 18 , mounting plate 32 , channel 24 or the abutment chamber 34 may be suitably adapted to provide for the alignment gap 52 . the alignment gap 52 may enable a radial movement of the first connector member 14 relative to the support member 12 . first connector member 14 may be radially displaced in a direction transverse to the longitudinal axis of the channel 24 . the magnitude of displacement of first connector member 14 may be dependent on the alignment gap 52 . during a radial displacement of first connector member 14 the angle between the central axis of the body portion 43 and the longitudinal axis of the channel 24 may remain constant . the alignment gap 52 may enable a pivotal movement of the first connector member 14 relative to the support member 12 . first connector member 14 may be pivotably displaced at an angle relative to the longitudinal axis of the channel 24 . the magnitude of displacement of first connector member 14 may be dependent on the alignment gap 52 . during a pivotal displacement of first connector member 14 the angle between the central axis of the body portion 43 and the longitudinal axis of the channel 24 may vary . the alignment gap 52 may enable a combined pivotal and radial movement of the first connector member 14 relative to the support member 12 . first connector member 14 may be displaced at an angle relative to the longitudinal axis of the channel 24 and may be displaced in a direction transverse to the longitudinal axis of the channel 24 . the magnitude of a combined pivotal and radial displacement of first connector member 14 may be dependent on the alignment gap 52 . during a combined pivotal and radial displacement of first connector member 14 the angle between the central axis of the body portion 43 and the longitudinal axis of the channel 24 may vary . the body portion 43 of the fluidconnector sleeve 42 may be partly accommodated in the channel 24 and partly in the abutment chamber 34 of the mounting plate 32 . the movement of the body portion 43 in the support member 12 may be restricted by the enclosing wall of the channel 24 . the flange portion 46 may be accommodated in the abutment chamber 34 . the movement of the flange portion 46 in the support member 12 may be restricted by the abutment edge 28 of the cartridge 18 and the enclosing wall of the abutment chamber 34 and the abutment ledge 37 . in the fluid coupler 10 , the bevelled edge 50 of the body portion 43 and the inclined edge 26 of the channel 24 may have an angular spacing of about 20 °- 30 °. the piston member 16 may comprise a piston conduit 53 . the piston conduit 53 may form a through fluid passage and may be centrally positioned in the piston member 16 . the piston conduit 53 may have an opening at a piston thrust surface 54 and an opening at a piston surface 55 . the piston thrust surface 54 and the piston surface 55 may be mutually opposite and parallel . between and substantially perpendicular to the piston thrust surface 54 and the piston surface 55 may be a piston guide 56 . the piston guide 56 may have a piston inclined edge 57 adjacent to the piston surface 55 . the piston inclined edge 57 may be formed as a ring around the piston member 16 . in an embodiment , the piston guide 56 may have a further inclined edge adjacent to the piston thrust surface 54 . this further inclined edge may be formed as a ring around the piston member 16 . in an embodiment , the piston guide 56 may comprise a piston groove 58 . the piston groove 58 may be cut into the piston guide 56 . the piston groove 58 may be positioned at the piston guide 56 such that a side has an opening piston guide 56 . the piston groove 58 may be disposed at any position along the piston guide 56 which may engage guide 38 . in the fluid coupler 10 , the piston member 16 may be mounted in the support member 12 , within the enclosing wall of the fluid chamber 36 of the mounting plate 32 . the piston member 16 may be slidably engaged to the enclosing wall of the fluid chamber 36 and may move in an axial direction parallel to the longitudinal axis of the cavity in the mounting plate 32 . the guide 38 may engage to the piston guide 56 . the guide 38 and the piston guide 56 may be configured to enable the piston member 16 to axially slide in the mounting plate 32 . the dimension and / or geometry of the guide 38 and the piston guide 56 may be suitably adapted to allow piston member 16 to axially slide in the mounting plate 32 . in the fluid coupler 10 , the piston member 16 may be positioned between the thrust surface 49 of the first fluidconnector member 14 and the fluid chamber ledge 39 . the axial movement of the piston member 16 may be restricted . in a direction , the piston member 16 may be restricted by the fluid chamber ledge 39 contacting the piston surface 55 . in the opposite direction , the piston member 16 may be restricted by piston thrust surface 54 contacting the thrust surface 49 of the first fluid connector 14 when the abutment seat 48 abuts the abutment edge 28 of the cartridge 18 . in an embodiment , the piston member 16 may also be pivotable relative to the mounting plate 32 . the guide 38 and the piston guide 56 may be configured to enable the piston member 16 to pivot in the mounting plate 32 . the dimension and / or geometry of the guide 38 and the piston guide 56 may be suitably adapted to allow piston member 16 to pivot in the mounting plate 32 . in the fluid coupler 10 , the piston member 16 may be actuatable under fluid pressure to slide axially in the guide 38 toward first connector member 14 . the piston member 16 may push the first connector member 14 into abutting engagement with the cartridge 18 of the support member 12 . the piston member 16 may eliminate the need to connect a fluid hose directly to the first connector member 14 thereby eliminating any reaction forces that may be introduced by the fluid hoses . in the fluid coupler 10 , the fluid passage 35 , conduit 47 and the piston conduit 53 may have the same diameters . the fluid coupler 10 may comprise a compressible element 60 positioned in the groove 30 . the compressible element 60 may be positioned between the cartridge 18 of the support member 12 and the body portion 43 of the first connector member 14 . the compressible element 60 may be a flexible ring . the compressible element 60 may be made from a compressive material such as nitrile rubber or polyurethane . in an embodiment , the fluid coupler 10 may comprise a plurality of compressible elements 60 positioned in a plurality of grooves 30 . the compressible element 60 may return the first connector member 14 to a neutral position after disengagement from a second connector member . the compressible element 60 may return the first connector member 14 to the neutral position after disengagement of the fluidconnector 40 and a corresponding fluidconnector . the neutral position of first connector member 14 may be the position prior to engagement of the fluidconnector 40 and a corresponding fluidconnector . the fluid coupler 10 may comprise a thrust seal 62 positioned in the slot 51 . the compression of the thrust seal 62 may be positioned between the body portion 43 of the first connector member 14 and the piston thrust surface 54 . a movement of piston thrust surface 54 against the thrust surface 49 of the first connector member 14 may compress the thrust seal 62 . the thrust seal 62 may ensure that a fluid does not leak from between the piston member 16 and the first connector member 14 into the abutment chamber 34 . in an embodiment , the thrust seal 62 may be an o - ring . the fluid coupler 10 may comprise a piston seal 64 positioned in the piston groove 58 . the piston seal 64 may be positioned between the guide 38 and the piston member 16 . the piston seal 64 may ensure that a fluid does not leak from between the piston member 16 and the guide 38 into the abutment chamber 34 . in an embodiment , the piston seal 64 may also be configured to allow a pivotal movement of the piston member 16 . fig2 illustrates a fluid coupler 10 aligned to a corresponding fluid coupler 70 . the corresponding fluid coupler 70 may comprise a corresponding cartridge 72 and a second fluidconnector member 74 . the second fluidconnector member 74 may comprise a corresponding fluidconnector 76 and a sliding sleeve 78 . fluidconnector 40 may be suitably formed to engage with the corresponding fluidconnector 76 . the fluidconnector 40 and the corresponding fluidconnector 76 may be configured for detachable reciprocal engagement . the engagement surfaces of the fluidconnector 40 and corresponding fluidconnector 76 may be formed to allow efficient engagement and disengagement in a direction substantially parallel to the longitudinal axes of the fluidconnector 40 and corresponding fluidconnector 76 . in an embodiment , the fluidconnector 40 may be a male fluidconnector while corresponding fluidconnector 76 may be a female fluidconnector . in an alternative embodiment , the fluidconnector 40 may be a female fluidconnector while corresponding fluidconnector 76 may be a male fluidconnector . fig3 illustrates a fluid coupler 10 which may comprise a support member 12 , a plurality of first connector members 14 and a plurality of piston members 16 . the fluid coupler 10 may further comprise guiding pins 80 . in an embodiment , the fluid coupler 10 may be mounted in a mounting bracket for engagement to corresponding fluid coupler 70 . fig4 illustrates the corresponding coupler 70 which may have a corresponding cartridge 72 and a plurality of second fluidconnector members 74 and a plurality of corresponding fluidconnectors 76 . the corresponding fluid coupler 70 may further comprise guiding bushings 82 . in an embodiment , the corresponding fluid coupler 70 may be mounted in a quick coupler for engagement to the fluid coupler 10 . fig5 a - 5 c illustrate the guiding pin 80 of a fluid coupler 10 and the guiding bushing 82 of the corresponding coupler 70 at various stages of engagement . in fig5 a , the guiding pin 80 and guiding bushing 82 may be aligned when the fluid coupler 10 is mounted in a mounting bracket and the corresponding fluid coupler 70 is mounted in a quick coupler . in fig5 b , the guiding pin 80 and guiding bushing 82 may initiate engagement . in fig5 c , the guiding pin 80 and guiding bushing 82 may be engaged . in an embodiment , the first connector member 14 and the second connector member 74 may initiate engagement after the guiding pin 80 and guiding bushing 82 may be engaged . in an embodiment , the fluid coupler 10 may be mounted in a mounting bracket and the corresponding fluid coupler 70 may be mounted in a quick coupler for a reciprocal engagement . there may be a rough alignment between the quickcoupler and mounting bracket . the quickcoupler and mounting bracket may be locked after being positioned correctly by means of a locking member . after the connection between quickcoupler and mounting bracket is locked , the corresponding mounting plate 84 with the second connector members 74 may move towards the first connector members 14 . the guiding pins 80 on the fluid coupler 10 may align with the guiding bushing 82 in the corresponding coupler 70 and may initiate engagement . after engagement of the guiding pins 80 and the guiding bushing 82 the engagement of the first and second connector members 14 , 74 may commence . a method of aligned engagement of a fluidconnector 40 and a corresponding fluidconnector 76 , according to the present disclosure , may involve providing a floating first connector member 14 housed in a support member 12 , engaging the first connector member 14 to a second connector member 74 , and pressurising a fluid circuit to axially slide a piston member 16 in the support member 12 . during engagement of the first connector member 14 to the second connector member 74 , the first connector member 14 may be radially and / or pivotably displaced . the radial and / or pivotal displacement of the first connector member 14 may allow for a smooth and efficient engagement of the first connector member 14 to the second connector member 74 . in an embodiment , during engagement of the first connector member 14 to the second connector member 74 , the piston member 16 may also be pivotally displaced . the piston member 16 may be pivotally displaced in unison with a pivotal displacement of the first connector member 14 . the pivotal displacement of the piston member 16 may allow for the thrust surface 49 of the first connector member 14 to remain in parallel with the piston thrust surface 54 . during aligned engagement of the first connector member 14 to the second connector member 74 the fluid coupler is not under fluid pressure . after the engagement of the first connector member 14 to the second connector member 74 the fluid circuit is pressurised . the pressurised fluid may flow into the fluid chamber 36 through the fluid passage 35 . the flow of pressurised fluid pushes the piston member 16 to slide axially in the guide 38 . the piston member 16 may be forced by the pressurised fluid into pushing contact with the first connector member 14 . the piston member 16 pushing on the first connector member 14 may compress a thrust seal 62 disposed between the piston member 16 and the first connector member 14 . the first connector member 14 may be pushed into abutting engagement with the cartridge 18 of the support member 12 . in this abutting engagement , the first connector member 14 may not be radially and / or pivotably displaced . the first connector member 14 may be stably held against the cartridge 18 through the force of the pressurised fluid . prior to disengagement , the fluid circuit is depressurised which may allow the first connector member 14 to be radially and / or pivotably displaced . subsequently , the first connector member 14 and the second connector member 74 may be disengaged . the compressible element 60 may return the first connector member 14 to a neutral position after disengagement from the second connector member 74 . the skilled person would realise that foregoing embodiments may be modified to obtain the fluid coupler 10 of the present disclosure . this disclosure describes a fluid coupler 10 for aligning male and female fluidconnectors during reciprocal engagement . the fluid coupler 10 may align hydraulic fluidconnectors with high accuracy during engagement . the fluid coupler 10 may allow alignment of fluidconnectors in order to establish a reliable and leak free connection . depending on the misalignment of the fluidconnectors , the first connector member 14 carrying a fluidconnector 40 may be radially displaced in any direction and / or pivotably displaced . this may allow the fluidconnector 40 and the corresponding fluidconnector to engage smoothly so as to reduced potential wear . during engagement and disengagement , the first connector member 14 may be separated from the hydraulic hose entry ports as the fluid circuit is depressurized . accordingly , this disclosure includes all modifications and equivalents of the subject matter recited in the claims appended hereto as permitted by applicable law . moreover , any combination of the above - described elements in all possible variations thereof is encompassed by the disclosure unless otherwise indicated herein . where technical features mentioned in any claim are followed by references signs , the reference signs have been included for the sole purpose of increasing the intelligibility of the claims and accordingly , neither the reference signs nor their absence have any limiting effect on the technical features as described above or on the scope of any claim elements . one skilled in the art will realise the disclosure may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the disclosure or essential characteristics thereof the foregoing embodiments are therefore to be considered in all respects illustrative rather than limiting of the disclosure described herein . scope of the invention is thus indicated by the appended claims , rather than the foregoing description , and all changes that come within the meaning and range of equivalence of the claims are therefore intended to be embraced therein .	8
the present invention includes several embodiments of an optical vend sensing system that are particularly adapted for use in a glass front vending machine , e . g ., of the type disclosed in u . s . pat . no . 6 , 384 , 402 , although the present invention can also be used in other types of machines . in the example of a glass front vending machine , the optical vend sensing system is preferably positioned in the machine to detect articles which pass through the vend space . fig1 shows two emitter / detector arrays , each having a single optical emitter 14 and a plurality of detectors 16 , generally positioned in a straight row , although other arrangements can be used . in some preferred embodiments , the emitter / detector arrays are mounted on circuit boards 10 and 12 , which are preferably identical and can be merely reversed for installation opposite each other . an alternate number of emitters and detectors can be used on each board . for example , in some presently preferred embodiments , each array has one or two emitters ( which may be adjacent ) and between twelve and fourteen detectors . in some embodiments , the two ( or more ) emitters are on one end of the array . in some embodiments , there is at least one emitter on one end of the array , and at least one other emitter on the other end of the array , with the plurality of detectors being positioned between them . the positioning of the emitters and detectors can also be altered . for instance , the emitter does not have to be at the end of each array , as shown in fig1 , but can be positioned somewhere in the middle of the array , as shown , for example , the configuration depicted in fig2 . however , positioning the emitters on the ends of the arrays minimizes dead spots in the sensed area . those of skill in the art will realize that the relative spacing of the emitters and detectors on an emitter / detector array depends on the number of emitters and / or detectors and on how far apart the arrays are to be spaced and on the expected size of articles to be vended . an exemplary vending machine in which the optical vend - sensing system of the invention may be provided and used , is schematically illustrated at 100 in fig8 . much of the conventional structure has been omitted . in general , the vending machine 100 is shown including a cabinet 120 having opposite sidewalls , a back wall , a top wall and a bottom wall which cooperatively define a forwardly facing cavity 140 arranged to have a plurality of tray assemblies 160 mounted therein at a plurality of vertically spaced levels . in general , the vending machine has an electromechanical dispensing unit 160 a . in the example illustrated in fig8 , the electromechanical dispensing unit 160 a includes the tray assemblies 160 . each tray assembly 160 has a plurality of motorized horizontally arranged spirals which are spaced from one another widthwise of the tray , and each of which extends longitudinally in a front - to - rear depthwise direction of the tray . each spiral plugs into the driving chuck of a respective drive motor which is arranged to undirectionally rotate the spiral about the longitudinal axis of the spiral . in addition to the left , right upstanding flanges 180 used for mounting the tray assembly to the cabinet 120 preferably using drawer - mounting hardware which permits each tray assembly to be pulled out like a drawer , and a rear flange for mounting each motor assembly , the tray assembly includes a horizontal tray surface which underlies all of the spirals to provide support for the spirals and for the packaged products that are received in the respective upwardly opening pockets formed between neighboring turns of the respective spirals . some columns may have one spiral per column ; others may have two coordinately counter rotated spirals per column , with upstanding sidewall flanges mounted on the tray to divide columns from one another . spaced , for example , about 9 inches ( 23 cm ) in front of the front edges of the tray assemblies as a panel in an openable / lockable door ( not shown ), is a glass front 220 , through which a prospective customer can view the leading packaged products available for being vended upon operation of the machine . the door , to one side of the glass front , further includes a selector panel , or generally a payment and selection unit , ( not shown ) which includes means for accepting payment from the user , and for the user to select which column he or she wishes to receive the leading packaged product from . vending , upon selection , is accomplished by causing the respective motor assembly or assemblies for the spiral or spirals of the respective column to turn through a sufficient angular distance , as to advance all of the products nested in the turns of the respective spiral or spirals forward such that the leading one loses support from below as it reaches the front of the respective tray support surface aid the runout at the front end or ends of the respective spiral or spirals , and drops through the vend space 240 behind the glass front 220 , down into a vend hopper 260 , from which it can be retrieved by the customer , by temporarily pushing in from the bottom on the top - hinged , resiliently urged closed door 280 . ( typically , the door 280 is the outer part of a double - door arrangement configured such that as the user pushes in the outer door , a normally open inner door ( not shown ) at the top of the vend hopper correspondingly temporarily closes , for denying the user upward access to the vending machine cavity 140 via the vend hopper door 280 . an embodiment of the optical vend - sensing system 320 is schematically and diagrammatically illustrated in fig9 . the system of fig9 further includes vending machine control unit 620 of the vending machine 100 , to which the vending machine motors 640 ( i . e . for turning the spirals ) are operatively connected . in some presently preferred embodiments , each array has fourteen ( 14 ) detectors spaced approximately 0 . 45 inches apart and one emitter ( at the end ). the emitter is not spaced 0 . 45 inches from its closest detector . during operation , each emitter 14 is energized ( either constantly or pulsed ) and the opposing detectors 16 are checked to determine if they are receiving light from the opposing emitter 14 . the detectors may be checked one at a time ( sequentially or in any order ) or simultaneously or in groups . the emitters / detector arrays need not be mounted to a circuit board but can be positioned and connected to the vending machine in other manners . fig2 shows an embodiment of the present invention that uses one emitter 14 on one side and a plurality of detectors 16 on an opposing side . the emitter 14 is energized ( either constantly or pulsed ) and each detector 16 is checked to see if it received or is receiving light or is not because a vended object is obstructing the light . again , the detectors may be checked one at a time ( sequentially or in any order ) or simultaneously or in groups . fig3 shows an embodiment of the present invention in which a plurality of detectors 16 are positioned , e . g ., on a circuit board 18 , in a stationary manner ( fig3 a ) while an emitter 14 is mounted on an oscillating pendulum arm 20 ( fig3 b ). in some embodiments , the arm 20 is mounted to shaft 22 . some mechanism such as , e . g ., a motor 24 , is used to cause the arm to oscillate . instead of a motor 24 , an electromagnet in combination with a spring art may be used to produce the required oscillation . regardless of the mechanism , the emitter 14 is driven along an arc in an oscillating manner . the detectors 16 may be mounted on a circuit board or on some other location . in operation , the detectors 16 are checked to determine if there is an obstruction between the emitter and one or more detectors . in some embodiments , the detectors can be positioned in an arc corresponding to the arc of the emitter , although this is not required and they can be mounted in a straight line or other geometry . the range and speed of oscillation of the emitter can be varied as desired , but in a preferred manner , the arc of oscillation will span or substantially span the vend space . this embodiment could also be reversed with one or more fixed emitters and an oscillating detector . in one embodiment , the base drives the pendulum arm via use of an electromagnet and spring arm . fig4 shows an embodiment where an emitter 14 and detector 18 are mounted on opposing wheels 26 and 32 , respectively , both of which move . the movement of the wheels can be a rotary movement or an oscillating movement . they can move in unison to maintain their relative positions to one another or move independently of one another . each wheel ( 26 , 32 ) could have multiple emitters and / or detectors and each could be functional for only a portion of the cycle . one reason to have the emitter / detector non - functional for part of their cycle is that there may be obstructions ( such as the delivery bin ) for part of the cycle . in such as this case , two emitters can be mounted on one wheel ( e . g ., 180 degrees apart ) and two detectors can be mounted on the other wheel ( e . g ., 180 degrees apart ). the processor then can simply ignore a signal from the detector for the part of the cycle when the emitter / detector pair is obstructed by the bin . during this time , the processor would consider the signal from the other emitter / detector pair as valid . of course , more than two emitters and / or detectors can be used and each wheel can have both emitters and detectors ( not just one or the other ). the movement of the wheels 26 and 32 can be maintained with respect to one another by interconnecting the wheels with a shaft 34 . in such cases , one motor 24 can drive both wheels . alternatively , the separate wheels can be driven by separate motors and electronically controlled to move together . in one embodiment , the emitter ( s ) and detector ( s ) can rotate in opposite directions . this can be through a geared arrangement or can be accomplished via use of separate driving motors . the speed of movement can be set as desired but should be set fast enough to detect a product falling through the vend space . each wheel can be moving at a different speed . fig5 shows an embodiment combining features of the embodiments shown in fig3 and 4 . in this embodiment , the detector 14 , mounted on pendulum arm 22 of base of motor 24 , is rotated on one side and a plurality of detectors 16 are fixed on the other side . alternatively , the detector ( s ) can move and the emitter ( s ) be fixed . fig6 shows an embodiment similar to that of fig5 , but with the emitter 14 mounted on a rotating ( or oscillating ) wheel 26 . alternatively , the detector ( s ) can move and the emitter ( s ) be fixed . fig7 shows an embodiment similar to that of fig4 but with the emitter 14 and detector 16 mounted on rotating or oscillating pendulum arms 22 and 28 , respectively . within a vending machine , the positioning of the emitter / detector units can be below the article vending units . for instance , in one embodiment , the emitter and detector units substantially extend a depth , front to rear of the machine , of the area through which vended products naturally fall . other placements can also be used . for instance , the system shown in fig2 could be adapted and arranged such that the emitter is mounted to the top inside door of the vendor and the detector ( s ) mounted to the bottom inside of the door . in preferred versions of the embodiments disclosed herein , the emitters are not operated in a multiplexed manner . in each of the embodiments disclosed above , the emitting of the signals and detecting of the emitted signals can be controlled through a cpu or other processing circuitry , hardware or software to detect an interruption of light from the detector ( s ) to the emitter ( s ) corresponding to a product falling through the vend space . a logic circuit can be used with the detectors which allows conclusion of a vend on a detected occlusion of light to the detector of up to 100 % of the corresponding light emitted . for instance , the logic circuit can be set to allow conclusion of the vend if the occlusion of light is in the range of 50 - 100 % of the emitted light , or even less under certain circumstances . the spacing between the detectors can be set as desired to provide a desired balance between more accurate sensing ( i . e ., closer spacing , thus requiring more detectors ) and cost ( i . e ., larger spacing , requiring fewer detectors ). generally , the closer the spacing of the detectors , the more likely that an article dropping past the detectors will block a high percentage of the emitted light received by one or more of the detectors to more accurately sense a vend . where at least two emitters are used , with corresponding detectors positioned to receive the emitted light , the light of the different emitters can be pulsed at different frequencies and the detectors set to detect / signal only the light received at the pulsed frequency corresponding to the counterpart emitter . this can provide more accurate sensing by limiting consideration of emitted light not corresponding to the emitter ( s ) paired with the detector ( s ). the light emitters and detectors may be of any type , though infrared emitters and detectors are preferable . it is intended that various aspects of the different embodiments can be combined in different manners to create new embodiments . 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 .	6
referring now to fig1 and 4 , a baseball swing training device , generally designated 30 , includes an adjustable , elongated , elastic tensioning member 32 comprising adjacent sections having a first attachment member 34 attached to one of its sections and a second attachment member 36 attached to the opposing section . the training device is connectable to the leading arm 40 and trailing arm 42 of a batter 43 to develop a proper swinging motion by reinforcing a batter &# 39 ; s muscle memory corresponding to a preferred batting swing . for purposes of this invention “ baseball ” will be understood to refer to any baseball - like game , such as softball , over - the - line , stickball and the like . “ leading arm ” will be understood to mean that arm on the side from the ball is delivered . for example the leading arm of a right handed batter is the left arm . the tensioning member 32 is constructed of a single piece of an elastic material with a cloth covering and preferably is a section of a bungee cord which can purchased from bungee international mfg . corp in chatsworth , calif . the tensioning member 32 is preferably about 12 to 20 inches long in an unstretched condition and may stretch up to a length 36 inches long . these unstretched and stretched lengths have been found to accommodate a wide range of batter physiques , however , it will be appreciated that other combinations of such lengths may be selected to suitably accommodate different sized batters . it will further be appreciated that alternative stretch resistance characteristics of the tensioning member may be selected to provide a desired tension throughout the swing . the tensioning member is divided into two variable length sections including a first section forming an adjustable loop 38 and a second section providing a stretchable length of cord 40 terminating in an anchor loop 42 . such anchor loop is formed by doubling back a relatively short length of the tensioning member in the stretchable section 39 and securing the loop with a clamping ring 41 . separating the sections at an intermediate point along the length of the tensioning member is a slip ring assembly 44 including a pair of metallic rings which allows a portion of the cord in either section to be passed through to adjust the size of the adjustable loop 38 making its respective diameter smaller or larger as desired and respectively lengthening or shortening the length of the cord 40 . the slip ring assembly 44 pinches the tensioning member and frictionally retains the two adjacent sections of the tensioning member 32 so that no slippage will occur and maintain the respective sections in a desired configuration . by separating the rings in the slip ring assembly , a length of the tensioning member 32 may pass through the rings to adjust the overall length of the tensioning member . the tensioning member and slip ring combination may also be purchased at bungee international mfg . corp in chatsworth , calif . it will be appreciated that the adjustability of the tensioning member 32 provides a training device 30 that is suitable for both children and adults . a portion of the adjustable loop 38 is connected to the first attachment member 34 via a double slotted clip 46 . more specifically , a section of the adjustable loop passes through one slot of the double slotted clip and a portion of the attachment member 34 passes through the other slot . the first attachment member itself is formed of a multi - layered band . the band includes four layers that are typically stitched together , adhered , or pinned or a combination of any of these three binding devices . for illustrative purposes , pins 47 are shown in fig2 and 3 . these four layers cooperate to form an open ended loop allowing the batter to place his leading arm within the loop . the innermost first layer is a neoprene lining 48 to be placed against the batter &# 39 ; s skin or uniform providing a cushioning layer . the second layer 50 is a nylon or woven cloth providing strength and terminates at one in a link 52 such as those available from xmsurf more products located in san clemente , calif . these links have angled sides to better resist complete removal of a strip of material placed therein . the third layer 54 provides a bonding surface or anchor for the fourth layer 56 which includes a first fastener 58 formed with a pile material . as illustrated in fig2 the third layer extends beyond the neoprene and woven cloth layers on one end to provide an extension 60 from which a second fastener 62 complementary to the first fastener 58 is secured preferably by a suitable means such as stitching . the first fastener includes a series of hooks on its outer surface as is typically provided in velcro ® fasteners . the first fastener 58 is dimensioned to pass through the link 52 and double back onto the second fastener in an overlapping arrangement to close the loop around the batter &# 39 ; s leading arm 40 just above the elbow and resting against the elbow pit 71 ( fig4 ). the length of the first fastener 58 is sufficient to provide additional adjustability depending on the needs of the individual batter . a relatively tight but comfortable fit is preferred which ensures maximum assistance from the swing training device and thus should be adjusted until a snug fit is accomplished . connected to the opposing end of the tensioning member 32 is the second attachment member 36 which is similar in construction but is dimensioned to be placed around the wrist 74 of the trailing arm 42 of the batter 43 in training . typically , the dimensions are not as great and this attachment member is smaller in its maximum diameter than the maximum diameter of the first attachment member 34 because it is only required to fit on the batter &# 39 ; s wrist 74 . more specifically , the anchor loop 42 of the stretchable section 39 is attached to a double slotted clip as previously described for the first attachment member . all other components of the second attachment member 36 are the same as for the first attachment member except for the dimensions and in referring to the figures , like components are like numbered . referring now to fig4 - 14 , the operation of the training device 30 will now be described in detail . as illustrated in fig4 a batter 43 preparing to practice a right handed hitting motion dons the training device 30 by placing the first attachment member 34 just above the elbow 70 of the leading arm 40 of the batter . more specifically , the attachment of the first attachment member 34 is as follows . assuming both attachment members are initially unfastened , meaning the second fastener 62 is not connected to the respective first fastener 58 , the batter 43 wraps the first attachment member 34 around the lead arm 40 just above the elbow 70 with the neoprene layer 48 facing inwardly and abutting the skin or uniform . the free end of the first fastener 58 is threaded through the clip 52 such that the hooks are facing outwardly . the free end is moved outwardly to fold back onto and mesh with the pile material of the complementary second fastener 58 forming a closed loop with a cushioning inner layer 48 around the batter &# 39 ; s upper arm abutting the elbow pit 71 ( fig4 ). as desired , the snugness of the fit may be adjusted by loosening the first fastener 58 from the second fastener 62 and repositioning the amount of overlap of the first fastener with respect to the second fastener and then reattaching the complementary fasteners . when a desired comfort level has been attained , the first attachment member should be abutting the elbow pit 71 of the lead arm 40 . in a similar manner , the open looped second attachment member 36 is wrapped around the wrist 74 of the trailing arm 42 with the neoprene lining 48 on the inside contacting the skin or shirt of the batter . the batter 43 grasps the free end of the first fastener 58 and threads it through the clip 52 of the attachment member 36 ( fig1 ). by folding the first fastener 58 back onto and overlapping the second fastener 62 and placing it thereagainst to fasten the second attachment member 36 to the trailing arm 42 such that the loop is closed and abutting the trailing wrist 74 . if an adjustment is desired for a tighter fit , the first fastener 58 may be temporarily released from the second complementary fastener 62 by its free end and pulled through the clip 52 to reduce the diameter of the second attachment member loop . after both attachment members 34 and 36 have been adjusted to provide a comfortable fit , the right handed swinging batter 43 will have the training device 30 positioned as illustrated in fig4 . while the training device 30 is sized to fit a wide cross section of batter proportions with respect to the attachment members 34 and 36 , the tensioning member 32 is also adjustable as to its initial unstretched length for additional adjustability . by sliding the rings of the slip ring assembly 44 away from one another , a section of the tensioning member 32 may be slid through both rings and either reduce the length of the stretchable cord 39 or increase the length as desired . the adjustable loop 38 will increase or decrease accordingly . it will be appreciated that this tensioning member 32 adjustment procedure could be performed with the training device 30 worn or unworn . while the incorporation of a bat 76 into the swing training procedure is not necessary to develop the desired muscle memory it assists in a more realistic feel for actual game situations and thus the remaining portion of the swing process will assume the batter 43 is grasping a baseball bat 76 in a conventional fashion as is shown in fig6 for illustrative purposes . with both hands on the bat and the second set of knuckles 78 substantially aligned , the tensioning member 32 will be positioned in a relationship with the forearm 80 of the batter &# 39 ; s leading arm 40 ( fig5 and 6 ). at this time , there is little if any tension in the tensioning member 32 . referring now to fig5 and 8 , the batter 43 assumes the initial starting position or “ loaded ” position . in this position , the bat 76 is in a substantially vertical position and both hands have been brought up to the batter &# 39 ; s chest 82 and moved rearwardly away from the direction of a pitcher ( not shown ). typically , the batter &# 39 ; s feet will point forwardly and flare slightly outwardly away from the batter &# 39 ; s vertical centerline . in the loaded position , the elbows are flared outwardly as well thereby stretching the tensioning member 32 and inducing tension along its length . the hands are tucked up tight against the body and are positioned proximate the rearmost armpit 84 . as seen from above as in fig5 the tensioning member 32 is substantially parallel with the leading forearm 80 . thus , the batter 43 , when in the loaded position , may simply look down to view the tensioning member 32 the relationship with the leading forearm 80 . this is an illustration of a substantially correct starting position . on the other hand , if the batter 43 , while in the loaded position , looks down and sees that the tensioning member 32 is not substantially parallel with the leading forearm 80 , as illustrated in fig7 then an adjustment is required . a typical reason for such misalignment is that the second set of knuckles 78 on the batter &# 39 ; s respective hands are not substantially aligned . a slight adjustment bringing the second set of knuckles into alignment results in the parallel relationship between the tensioning member 32 and the leading forearm 80 . advantageously , the training device 30 provides an early indication that the subsequent swinging motion may not be optimized by providing a relationship between the tensioning member 32 and leading forearm 80 easily visible to the batter 43 . while the correct grip is a positive precursor to the remainder of the swing , additional points along the batter &# 39 ; s swing are critical as well such as the initial motion in reaction to the pitcher &# 39 ; s motion . while in the proper starting position ( fig5 and 8 ), the increased length of the tensioning member 32 between the leading arm 40 and the trailing wrist 74 presents a tensile force perceivable to the batter 43 drawing the batter &# 39 ; s elbows inwardly . the first motion of the batter 43 , upon initiating the swing , is to move the leading arm 40 in a linear motion across the chest region 82 toward the pitcher . the connection between the leading arm 40 and trailing wrist 74 via the tensioning member 32 ensures the trailing arm 42 will follow the leading arm 40 in the same linear motion across the chest 82 of the batter 43 initially . advantageously , this reduces the tendency to develop a “ casting ” motion or move the hands away from the body instead of across the chest 82 . as it is desirable to avoid full arm extension prior to reaching the back of home plate with the bat 76 , the training device 30 advantageously prevents the undesirable casting motion which introduces arm extension prior to the appropriate point in a desirable swing position . once a correct starting position is indicated ( fig5 and 6 ), the batter 43 may begin either a practice swing to begin build muscle memory imparting a short compact swing or actually hit baseballs hurled by a pitcher or batting machine . referring now to fig9 through 14 , the batter 43 will begin to drive the knob 86 of the bat 76 toward the inside of an imaginary or teal baseball flight path . at this point the bat 76 is moving in a substantially linear direction and the shoulders and upper torso begin to turn toward the pitcher . the parallel relationship between the tensioning member 32 and the leading forearm 80 is substantially maintained up through this point in the swing . referring now to fig1 , the batter 43 has turned further toward facing the pitcher including continuing turning the torso 82 to face the pitcher and bringing the hips around as well . the knob 86 of the bat 76 is still being driven toward a spot slightly inward of the path of the ball ( not shown ). the trailing wrist 74 and leading elbow 70 move closer together as the hands begin to extend away from the body . the inward motion of the trailing wrist 74 and / or leading elbow 70 decreases the length of the tensioning member 32 reducing the tension imparted to the batter 43 by the training device 30 . at this point , no tension is needed and the batter 43 progresses through the swing motion in a normal manner preparing to make contact with the ball while continuing to rotate toward the contact point . the batter 43 has avoided any casting motion . referring now to fig1 , illustrating a swing position slightly prior to contact with the ball . the knob 86 of the bat 76 has been driven to slightly inside the path of the ball and the batter 43 is preparing to snap the top or trailing wrist 74 through and “ hammer ” through the ball . in other words , the batter &# 39 ; s leading hand is palm down and the trailing hand is palm up as the wrists begin to rotate in relation to the respective forearm and induce a rotational motion and acceleration into the bat 76 bringing the contact surface of the bat 76 into a fully extended position . the hands have essentially ceased moving away from the body as the leading arm 40 is substantially straightened out . the tip of the bat 76 begins to travel in an arc as opposed to the previous linear motion produced in the earlier stages of the swing . the acceleration of the bat tip increases the impact force placed on the ball . this swing provides the shortest distance for a quicker swing speed while producing significant acceleration at the point of contact . fig1 illustrates the batter &# 39 ; s swing position at the contact point with the ball . as the trailing arm 42 enters into a straightened positioned substantially locking the elbow , the tensioning member 32 is again stretched a second time inducing tension between the attachment members 34 and 36 . due to the connection between the leading arm 40 and the trailing arm 42 and travel path of the arms , the tensioning member 32 pulls on the second attachment member 36 located on the trailing wrist 74 to pull the trailing hand through the contact point and snap the wrist 74 through causing the bat to travel in a rapid fashion through an arc imparting significantly improved swing acceleration to the bat 76 through the contact point to drive the ball its maximum distance . referring now to fig1 , the batter 43 continues with the follow through as the trailing wrist 74 of the top hand is straightened out as the trailing arm 42 is also straightened out fully extending the reach of the bat 76 which forms an outwardly projecting extension of the leading arm 40 . at this point the tensioning member 32 is again taut and substantially parallel to the leading forearm 80 . a continued follow through to the end of the swing motion with the leading arm 40 and trailing arm 42 coming together and the intermediate member 32 is slackened and does not interfere with the normal follow through ( fig1 ). it will be appreciated that the tensioning member 32 does not interfere with the swing of the batter 43 but instead provides feedback at three key points along the batter &# 39 ; s swing including the initial loaded position , initial swing motion across the chest 82 , and just prior to the top hand hammer through prior to and during contact with the ball . by providing such feedback , the proper motion is reinforced at critical points along the swing to build muscle memory of the correct swing over repeated training sessions . at other less critical points along the swing the tensioning member is slack and does not interfere with the batter &# 39 ; s swing motion . continued usage of the training device 30 builds muscle memory and proper swing motion such that the batter 43 will develop an improved swing that eventually becomes the batter &# 39 ; s natural swing even without using the training device 30 . advantageously , the short compact swing developed by training with the training device 30 reduces the time between the start of the swing and the contact point by enforcing muscle memory to avoid unnecessary or wasted motion providing a swing with the shorter distance to the contact point . the reduction of unnecessary or sloppy motion provided by the in tight motion increases the bat control resulting in increased accuracy of the bat placement as well . additionally , by shortening the swing path the batter 43 is able to view the ball longer after being pitched enabling more selective positioning of the striking center of the bat to place or drive the ball with greater accuracy . while several forms of the present invention have been illustrated and described , it will also be apparent that various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention .	0
a flowchart illustration of a method for estimating forest inventory is provided in fig1 . ground plots are initially established at different geographic locations within a forest . as indicated by step 14 , forest attributes are then measured for each of the ground plots . there are many types of forest attributes that may be measured by a person on the ground . several common measurements , or parameters of interest , include the number of trees in an acre , the biomass or volume of the trees in the acre , and the basal area in an acre . the term basal area , as used herein , describes the cross - sectional area of a tree at four and a half feet above the ground . various methods are known and used for measuring or computing these values . as indicated by step 10 , remotely sensed data is also obtained for the geographic regions corresponding to the various ground plots . the term “ remotely sensed data ” as used herein generally describes data about the earth obtained from an airplane , satellite , or other platform that is higher than the earth &# 39 ; s surface . the remotely sensed data may include various types of digital imagery such as passive optical imagery and small footprint light distance and ranging ( lidar ) data . “ passive optical imagery ” involves capturing images that are based on the reflectance of solar energy in the visible , near - infrared and / or shortwave infrared portion of the light spectrum . small footprint lidar data is generally collected by emitting pulses of laser light from an airborne or spaceborne platform , and then measuring the amount of time it takes for the pulse to return to the platform and the intensity of the returns . the term “ small footprint ” indicates that a relatively narrow laser beam ( typically less than 50 cm in diameter measured at the height of the canopy ) is used . remotely sensed data is preprocessed , as indicated by step 12 , mathematically transforming the data for analysis . during preprocessing , lidar data is rasterized as an array of pixels in a grid . if passive optical imagery is used , the remotely sensed data may be transformed to produce a vegetation index image . a vegetation index image is an image in which the numerical values associated with each pixel have been mathematically transformed to produce an array of pixels in which each pixel corresponds to the density and health of the vegetation in the corresponding area on the ground . multiple techniques are commonly used and known for calculating vegetation indices using passive optical imagery . for lidar data , canopy height models ( chms ) may be produced . a canopy height model is a grid of pixels produced from small footprint lidar data where each pixel is assigned a value corresponding to the height of the canopy at that location . most modern lidar instruments return five or more measurements per reading . these measurements typically include a “ distance ” measurement for the top of the canopy , the ground , and several intermediate measurements which indicate the height of branches or leaves . it should be noted that the intermediate measurements may also be incorporated to produce models that are even more sophisticated than chms . for simplicity , however , the following description will focus on chms . initial thresholds 16 are then applied to the grid of preprocessed data and sets of metrics are calculated which describe the remotely sensed data , as indicated by step 22 . for each threshold that is applied , a corresponding set of metrics is obtained . the metrics may include percentage of pixels of the grid which exceed the threshold , percentage of the pixel grid which represent core pixels , and average value of pixels in the grid which exceed the threshold . an example of remotely sensed data presented as an array of pixels is illustrated in fig2 . fig2 represents canopy height model data for a portion of a ground plot . grid 40 includes ten columns and ten rows ( or one - hundred total ) pixels 42 . each pixel 42 represents an area of the ground . for example , each pixel 42 may represent a 1 meter by 1 meter square of the ground . contiguous pixels represent contiguous areas of the ground . the numerical value of each pixel 42 represents the relative height of the canopy at a geographic location . although the numerical value may be the actual height of the tree &# 39 ; s canopy from the ground ( expressed as a unit of length ), the value may also describe the height of the tree &# 39 ; s canopy relative to another reference point . accordingly , the value of each pixel 42 directly or indirectly describes the height of the canopy at the geographic location represented by the pixel . fig3 a illustrates the application of a threshold to the data as indicated by step 22 . in the present illustration , the threshold that is applied is the numerical value twenty . the portion of data which exceed the threshold value of 20 is identified by grey shaded region 46 . the portion of data which does not exceed the threshold value of 20 is identified by non - shaded region 44 . although many possible sets of metrics may be computed by applying threshold to the data , several particularly useful metrics will be described herein . one possible metric is “ percentage of pixels which exceed the threshold .” percentage of pixels which exceed the threshold may be computed by multiplying 100 times the quotient of the number of pixels which exceed the threshold divided by the total number of pixels . in the example , shown in fig3 a , the percentage of pixels which exceed the threshold is 47 % ( 100 ×( 47 / 100 )). another possible metric includes the “ average value of pixels which exceed the threshold .” the average value of pixels which exceed the threshold for the example shown in fig3 a is 27 . 7 ( average of ( 21 , 22 , 30 , 22 , 21 , 24 . . . )). yet another possible metric may include the “ standard deviation of pixels that are above the threshold .” the standard deviation of pixels that are above the threshold for the example shown in fig3 a is 6 . 3 ( standard deviation of ( 21 , 22 , 30 , 22 , 21 , 24 . . . )). other metrics may incorporate the concept of core pixels . “ core pixels ” may be defined as pixels that exceed the threshold that are also surrounded by pixels that exceed the threshold . the concept of core pixels is illustrated in fig3 b . core pixels are identified by non - shaded region 48 that is contained within shaded region 46 . many of the aforementioned metrics used for pixels which exceed the threshold may also be used for core pixels , including the total percentage of core pixels . in the example illustrated in fig3 b , the total percentage of core pixels would be 17 % ( 100 ×( 17 / 100 )). another metric may be computed for the percentage of pixels which exceed the threshold which are also core pixels . in the example illustrated in fig3 b , the percentage of pixels which exceed the threshold which are also core pixels would be 36 % ( 100 ×( 17 / 47 )). a second set of metrics is then computed for a different threshold as illustrated by the example in fig4 a and 4b . in fig4 a a threshold of 17 is applied to the same array of pixels . as before , the portion of data which exceed the threshold value of 17 is identified by grey shaded region 46 . the portion of data which does not exceed the threshold value of 17 is identified by non - shaded region 44 . fig4 b illustrates the core pixels of the array when a threshold of 17 is applied . core pixels are identified in fig4 b as non - shaded region 48 . the same metrics that were computed for the threshold of 20 are also computed for the threshold of 17 . in the preferred embodiment , a set of metrics is computed for all reasonable thresholds . in the current examples , sets of metrics may be computed for all threshold values between 7 ( the lowest value in the array of pixels ) and 40 ( the highest value in the array of pixels ). the set of metrics may include any number of metrics , including a single metric . each set of metrics is then correlated to the forest attributes measured from the ground , as indicated by step 24 . mathematical expressions are developed for each set of metrics , as indicated by step 26 . a score is then computed for each mathematical expression which describes how accurately the mathematical expression relates the set of metrics to the ground measured data , as indicated by step 28 . the scores are compared and the optimal mathematical expression is determined . there are many known techniques for correlating sets of data to develop mathematical equations . although any modeling technique may be used , the preferred embodiment of the present invention utilizes the following approach . remotely sensed data is obtained for multiple plots . in the current example , canopy height models are produced from lidar data like the example illustrated in fig2 . thresholds are applied to the canopy height models to determine metric values for each threshold and each plot of data as illustrated in the following tables . table 2 shows values for metric 2 for each plot and thresholds of 7 - 10 . in the current example , metric 2 is the standard deviation of values of pixels exceeding the corresponding threshold . for purposes of illustration , the thresholds for metric 2 will hereinafter be referred to as t 2 , wherein t 2 ( n ) represents the set of metric 2 values , m 2 , for a threshold value of n . table 3 shows ground measurements for a forest attribute of interest for each plot . in the current example , the forest attribute of interest is the basal area of each plot determined by a person taking measurements on the ground . mathematical equations are then computed for every combination of t 1 and t 2 , relating the corresponding values of m 1 and m 2 to the forest attribute of interest . the ground measured forest attribute of interest is modeled as a dependent variable which is a function of m 1 and m 2 . a score is computed for each equation . in the current example , the score is the r - squared value , or coefficient of determination , for each equation . the “ best fit ” equation for the combination of t 1 ( 7 ) and t 2 ( 7 ) is ba =− 3 . 126 + 6 . 015 ( m 1 )− 1 . 269 ( m 2 ), where ba is the basal area for the plot for which values of m 1 and m 2 are taken . the r - squared value for this equation is 0 . 996 . for the combination of t 1 ( 7 ) and t 2 ( 8 ), the best fit equation is ba = 0 . 843 + 5 . 927 ( m 1 )− 1 . 723 ( m 2 ), having a r - squared value of 0 . 997 . for the combination of t 1 ( 7 ) and t 2 ( 9 ), the best fit equation is ba =− 1 . 811 + 6 . 023 ( m 1 )− 1 . 617 ( m 2 ), having a r - squared value of 0 . 998 . the reader will note that if best - fit equations were used for all combinations of t 1 ( n ) and t 2 ( n ) from n = 7 to n = 40 , 1156 different equations would be evaluated . although fig1 illustrates the application of threshold to the remotely sensed data as an iterative method , in which different thresholds are successively applied to remotely sensed data after determination 30 is made as to whether to apply a new threshold ( as indicated by step 32 ), the different thresholds may also be applied to the data virtually simultaneously . for example , an upper extreme value and lower extreme value may be first determined for all domain values of remotely sensed data 18 . all thresholds between the lower extreme value and the upper extreme value may then be applied to the data as separate operations to produce corresponding sets of metrics for each threshold . simultaneous determination of best - fit equations and scores may then be conducted . the best - fit equation having the best score may then be selected as the optimal mathematical expression . the optimal mathematical expressions and corresponding optimal thresholds are then used to estimate forest attributes of interest for the remainder of the forest stand , as indicated by step 34 . in order to estimate forest attributes for other portions of a forest stand , remotely sensed data for other portions of a forest stand is first obtained . the remotely sensed data is again preprocessed to produce a grid of values corresponding to the remotely sensed data . the optimal threshold values are applied to the grid of values to compute sets of metrics . the sets of metrics may then be inserted into the optimal equations to compute an estimate of a particular forest parameter of interest . as described above , the optimal equation may be used to predict attributes of interest for other portions of the forest stand for which remotely sensed data is available , as indicated by step 36 . post processing 38 may also be used to convert the data into a form that is more useful to the end user , including mean volume per acre and standard error for each forest stand . as illustrated in fig5 , post processing 38 accomplishes this by matching forest attribute estimates from the image processing component to ground measurements obtained from field samples . as indicated by step 50 , the user first measures forest attributes . measured data 52 is collected for each field plot for the attributes of trees per acre ( as indicated by measured data 54 ), basal area per acre ( as indicated by measured data 56 ), and volume per acre ( as indicated by measured data 58 ) along with gps references for the plot . in the preferred embodiment , measured data 52 is input to a computer program so that it may be later used to construct regression models for each forest stand . the units for volume may be provided in cubic volume or weight with imperial or metric scale . table 4a shows an example of measured data 52 . as indicated by step 60 , the computer program is then used to correlate remotely sensed data 68 with the measured data 52 , and regression analyses are performed for each forest stand . ground plot data , or measured data 52 , is treated as a dependent variable that is a function of remotely sensed data 68 for the purposes of these analyses . regression models are constructed to predict trees per acre , basal area per acre , and volume per acre using the previously described threshold optimization method . for each stand , the user obtains estimated slope coefficients ( as indicated by model data 62 ), the coefficient of determination ( as indicated by model data 64 ), and the sums of squares of error computed with the jackknife deviance residuals ( as indicated by model data 66 ). jackknife deviance residuals may be computed using the r statistical package r ( created by r development core team ). the jackknife deviance residual (“ jdr ”) equals the quotient of the raw residual of the i th observation and the square root of 1 minus the ith diagonal term of the hat ( h ) matrix : where h ii is the i th diagonal element of the hat matrix . for simple linear regression , jdr is described by the following equation : the hat matrix transforms the dependent variable y into predicted values of the dependent variable ŷ , where ŷ = hy . the residual e i = y i − ŷ i . y i is the generalized expression used to represent volume per acre , basal area per acre , or trees per acre measured on the ground , while x i is generalized as the metric values obtained from remotely sensed data that are matched in location to the ground plots . using the regression models , sampling survey estimators are employed ( as indicated by step 70 ) that use data collected from the remotely sensed image for each forest stand . for stands with a sample size exceeding 9 plots , the attribute of interest [ volume per acre ( v ), basal area per acre ( b ), or trees per acre ( n )] is estimated with ŷ v . lr = y v + b 1v ( m 1 − m 1 )+ b 2v ( m 2 − m 2 ) ŷ b . lr = y b + b 1b ( m 1 − m 1 )+ b 2b ( m 2 − m 2 ) ŷ n . lr = y n + b 1n ( m 1 − m 1 )+ b 2n ( m 2 − m 2 ) where m 1 and m 2 are metrics obtained from remotely sensed data superimposed on ground plots , m 1 and m 2 are metrics obtained from the remotely sensed data for the entire stand , and b i are slope coefficients . s y is population standard deviation ; and f , the finite population correction is assumed to equal zero . small forest stands ( or stands with 9 or fewer plots ) are grouped with other stands of similar age , species , site quality , and silvicultural history for stratified sampling however with the use of combined slope coefficients . the general form of the combined regression estimator for stratified sampling is the following equations are used to y lrhc = y h + b c ( x h − x h ) where y h = mean value of volume per acre , basal area per acre , or trees per acre for stratum h measured from the ground plots . x h = mean value of metric m i obtained from remotely sensed data for the entire stratum h x h = mean value of metric m i obtained from remotely sensed data superimposed on the ground plots in stratum h . where once again the jackknife deviance residuals are used to estimate the ρ statistic . the reader will note that while a combined b c slope estimate and ρ c estimate are used for all stands grouped together , the estimates of volume per acre , basal area per acre , and tree per acre for each stand requires individual stand records for y h , x h , and x h . a more thorough discussion of sampling survey estimators is available in chapter 7 of cochran . w . g . 1977 . sampling techniques . 3 rd ed . john wiley & amp ; sons . new york . as indicated by step 72 , an adjusted stand and stock table is then computed using the estimated values of volume per acre , basal area per acre , and trees per acre using regression estimators determined in step 70 . in the preferred embodiment , the adjusted stand and stock table contain trees per acre and volume per acre by 1 - inch diameter classes . the preferred adjusted stand and stock table also includes species group and product . the adjusted stand and stock table is based on an extension of the constrained minimization approach with lagrangian multipliers as explained in matney , t . g . and r . c . parker . 1991 . for . sci . 37 ( 6 ): 1605 - 1613 . using lagrangian multipliers , the adjusted numbers of trees ( t ia ) for the ith diameter class that minimizes ∑ i = 1 m   w i  { [ ( b ic - t ia  b i ) / y _ b ] 2 + [ ( v ic - t ia  v i ) / y _ v ] 2 + [ ( t ic - t ia ) / y _ n ] 2 } t ia = t io + λb i /( w i x i )+ δv i /( w i x i )+ γ /( w i x i ) where t ia is the adjusted number of trees per acre in ith diameter class , b i is the mean basal area of trees in the ith diameter class , v i is the mean tree volume for trees in the ith diameter class , t ia b i is the adjusted basal area per acre in the ith diameter class , t ia v i is the adjusted volume per acre in the ith diameter class , b ic is the observed basal area per acre in the ith diameter class , v ic is the observed volume per acre in the ith diameter class , t ic is the observed number of trees per acre in the ith diameter class , y b is the average basal area per acre from the ground plots , y v is the average volume per acre from the ground plots , y n is the average trees per acre from the ground plots , m is the number of diameter classes , w i is the weight assigned to the ith diameter class , and x i is defined as : the unknowns λ , δ , and γ , may be determined by solving the following simultaneous system of equations in addition to the constraints imposed by matney and parker ( matney , t . g . and r . c . parker . 1991 . for . sci . 37 ( 6 ): 1605 - 1613 ), the preferred process also constrains the sum of trees per acre by diameter class to equal the stand level of trees per acre obtained in step 60 and step 70 . the proposed “ adjustment procedure ” used in the preferred process requires the user to furnish an initial observed stand and stock table ( described in matney and parker with the variables t io and v ic ). these variables are also collected in step 50 . an adjusted stand and stock table produced using the present invention is illustrated in table 4b . the values for ŷ v . lr , ŷ b . lr , an dŷ n . lr are computed in steps 60 and 70 as estimated volume per acre for the entire stand , estimated basal area per acre for the entire stand , and estimated trees per acre for the entire stand , respectively . from step 70 , the estimated volume per acre for the forest stand was computed to be 4300 ft 3 / acre . the estimated basal area per acre was computed to be 95 ft 2 / acre , and the estimated number of tree per acre was computed to be 175 . the original stand and stock table , depicted in table 4a , is adjusted as described previously to produce table 4b , and is consistent with the predicted stand level attributes computed in step 70 . the reader will note that the constrained minimization procedure may result in the illogical assignment of negative adjusted trees per acre to a given diameter class . if this occurs , a simpler constrained minimization procedure is invoked that constrains only the sum of volume per acre by diameter class to equal the stand level of volume per acre determined in step 70 . as shown in table 4b , output 74 is a stand and stock table showing volume per acre , basal area per acre , trees per acre by 1 - inch classes for each species and product . output 74 may be in the form of electronic and / or hard - copy files . in the preferred embodiment , standard errors are reported for volume per acre , basal area per acre , and trees per acre . the preceding description contains significant detail regarding the novel aspects of the present invention . it should not be construed , however , as limiting the scope of the invention but rather as providing illustrations of the preferred embodiments of the invention . as an example , the mathematical expressions derived in step 26 may assume many different forms or have any number of independent variables . thus , the scope of the invention should be fixed by the following claims , rather than by the examples given .	6
the present invention is based on the finding that , under suitable and very definite conditions , hypochlorous acid ( hclo ) is able to extract and recover , from a number of different materials substantial amounts of metals and sulfur . the method can readily be applied to a broad number of materials preferentially flexi - coke ( a final carbonaceous residue obtained after oil refining ), boiler residue scraps from thermo - electrical plants , heavy oil , fuel oil , coal , coke and minerals . the preferred form of the present invention is a choice of conditions which will maximize the ability of hclo to extract metals and sulfur , but where the economics favor oil cleaning or porphyrin cleavage , it is a great advantage of the present invention that it is equally useful under these conditions . where the materials treated are solid coal or inorganics containing valuable metals the concentration of the active hclo can be made the highest to obtain a high metal removing yield . on the other hand where the material treated is of an oil - type nature , caution has to be observed on the hclo concentration and the kind of mineral acid since they can produce undesirable side - reactions such as addition and or polymerization reactions ; also in these cases the preferred mineral acid is nitric acid , because other acids produce thickening of the oil . in accordance with the preferred embodiments of the present invention , the material to be treated is mixed with an hypochlorite salt solution , preferably sodium hypochlorite ( naocl ), and with a mineral acid , preferably nitric acid for oil materials and sulfuric acid for coal or inorganic solids . upon mixing the acid with the hypochlorite , hclo is released gradually &# 34 ; in situ &# 34 ; according to the equation : hclo aqueous acid solution contain small equilibrium amounts of chloride monoxide ( cl 2 o ): hypochlorous acid is a weak acid with a dissociation constant of 2 . 0 × 10 - 8 at 25 ° c ., but is highly reactive . it is the most stable and strongest of the hypohalous acids and is one of the most powerful oxidants among the chlorine oxiacids . this explains why hclo is able to extract almost quantitatively the metals and sulfur from such stable organic structures as porphyrins in crude oil , or from such chemically inert compounds as boiler residue scraps . in order to assure metal and sulfur recovery not significantly below 20 % and preferably grater than 60 %, the concentration of hclo released &# 34 ; in situ &# 34 ; and the time of extraction reaction must be maintained within certain limits . no accurate figures for hclo concentration can be given , because it is dependent on the acid concentration reacting with the hypochlorite , on the hypochlorite concentration itself , on the temperature , on the particle size of the solid , on the agitation and also on the nature of the material with respect to its reactivity . where it is desired to extract substantially all the metals and sulfur contained in the material without special care on the structure of the resulting residue , there is no critical upper limit on time and on hclo concentration and they become merely a practical operating condition . thus for extracting valuable v and ni from residue scraps high concentration of hclo , which corresponds to high concentration of mineral acid and hypochlorite , should be used . on the contrary , where it is desired to eliminate as much as possible metals and sulfur from heavy oils , but without modifying noticeably the chemical structure to facilitate oil subsequent refining , mild hypochlorite and mineral acid concentration must be employed . in general for coal , coke , residue scrap or minerals , high concentration such as 15 % active cl 2 - containing naclo and concentrated acid both in a ratio of 2 : 1 can be conveniently used . for oil , low naocl concentrate such as 5 % active cl 2 - containing naclo is desirable combined in a ratio of 9 : 1 with nitric acid . off gases from the reactor are composed essentially by chlorine as the main by - product in the oxidation reaction promoted by hclo . metals and sulfur reach their highest oxidation states forming soluble compounds . chlorine can be easily recovered by bubbling it into a base solution and also by reacting with solid basic materials as calcium chloride ; sodium hydroxide is the preferred strong base employed and when cl 2 bubbles the reaction occurs stepwise : ## str1 ## the resulting clo - and hclo solution can be easily recycled into the system . metals in the soluble forms after separating from the residual material can be recovered readily by increasing the ph . by adding a strong base like naoh , ni , co and fe are removed together as insoluble hydroxides ; however , if ammonium hydroxide is used only fe ( iii ) is precipitated while co and ni remain in solution as the corresponding ammoniacal complexes . once the iron ( iii ) hydroxide is separated nickel and cobalt complexes can be destroyed by acidifying and heating and then precipitated as the corresponding hydroxides by adding a strong base . vanadium is kept soluble throughout all the chemical treatment after the extraction with hclo , and it ends up in the final solution ( after fe , ni , co separation ) as vanadate . from this final solution v can be readily reclaimed by acidifying with a strong acid , preferentially nitric acid . an orange red vanadium pentoxide , essentially free of other metal contaminants , precipitates and is recovered by filtration . sulfur is oxidized to + 6 oxidation state and removed as soluble sulfate into the final solution obtained after filtering the vanadium pentoxide . its recovery can be achieved by simple precipitation with a calcium salt or crystallized as sodium or potassium salt after neutralization with an appropriate base . the process of the present invention is further illustrated by the following non - limiting examples . 100 g . of flexi - coke from a venezuelan oil refinery is loaded in a sealed one liter flask provided with two glass pipe line . the flexi - coke has the average composition as set forth in table 1 below . 100 ml of a 10 % sodium hypochlorite solution and 10 ml of concentrated nitric acid solution are fed through one line . the reagents mix together producing in situ hypochlorous acid in an excess of hno 3 . the mixture is stirred 5 minutes by means of a magnetic stirring bar . during this step chlorine gas evolves and is collected through the other , shorter glass line in an open erlenmeyer flask containing 3 % naoh solution . after collecting the gas , sodium hypochlorite is regenerated according to the known reaction : the resulting suspension in the flask is filtered through an ordinary filter paper and the yellow filtrate is collected . the residual flexi - coke is washed twice with 30 ml portion of tap water . the chemical composition of the resulting residue after treatment is also shown in table 1 . the first filtrate and the washing solution are mixed together to form solution 1 . solution 1 having a ph of about 3 . 0 is neutralized and alkalinized with a 10 % naoh solution to obtain a mixed solid precipitate containing essentially all the ni , co , and fe extracted from the flexi - coke . this precipitate is filtered , washed and preserved for further ni or co recovery . the second filtrate , solution 2 , contains essentially all the vanadium extracted from the flexi - coke , in the form of sodium vanadate . solution 2 is heated to boiling and then acidified by adding carefully nitric acid up to ph 1 - 2 . red vanadium pentoxide ( v 2 o 5 ) precipitates . this precipitate is washed and collected for further purification process or for metallic vanadium obtainment following known technology . within the methods available it can be mentioned iodide refining , electrolytic refining in a fused salt , and electrotransport . table 1______________________________________composition of flexi - coke v (%) ni (%) co (%) fe (%) ______________________________________before treatment 8 . 82 2 . 45 0 . 45 3 . 75after treatment 0 . 10 0 . 01 0 . 001 0 . 01______________________________________ example 1 was repeated , but using 100 g . of boiler residue scrap from a thermo - electrical plant , instead of flexi - coke . the result obtained is shown in table 2 below . table 2______________________________________composition of boiler residue scrap v (%) ni (%) co (%) fe (%) ______________________________________before treatment 15 . 0 5 . 3 0 . 95 3 . 2after treatment 0 . 1 0 . 01 0 . 001 0 . 02______________________________________ 100 ml of a venezuelan crude oil is placed in a flask similar to that of example 1 , then 50 ml of kerosene or any other economically convenient solvent which does not fracture the oil is added to diminish viscosity and improve stirring . 20 ml of hclo solution freshly prepared by mixing 65 ml of a 5 % naocl solution and 5 ml of concentrated nitric acid is added . after 5 minutes stirring , both liquid phases , aqueous and organic ones , are separated each other by means of a decantation funnel . the process continues subjecting the aqueous phase to the procedure as described in example 1 . the results obtained are shown in table 3 below . table 3______________________________________crude oil composition v ( ppm ) ni ( ppm ) fe ( ppm ) s (%) ______________________________________before treatment 1900 455 355 1 . 70after treatment 19 4 . 5 5 . 5 0 . 05______________________________________ example 3 was repeated , but utilizing 100 ml of residual fuel oil instead of crude oil . the results obtained are the following : table 4______________________________________residual oil composition v ( ppm ) s (%) ______________________________________before treatment 457 2 . 29after treatment 5 0 . 17______________________________________ oil samples of examples 3 and 4 before and after treatment were subjected to spectrophotometric analysis . the absorption spectra depicted in fig2 , 4 , and 5 show that the normal porphyrin band absorption at 410 nm , characteristic of heavy crude oil , disappears after subjecting the oil samples to the method of the present invention . 100 g . of coal are subjected to the same process as explained in examples 1 and 2 . the results obtained are : table 5______________________________________composition of coal ni (%) s (%) ______________________________________before treatment 3 . 73 2 . 75after treatment 0 . 15 0 . 25______________________________________ these results show that ni recovery from the coal can support economically the cleaning process or desulfuration of that coke . several samples co - ores ( cobaltite ), v - ores ( vanadite ) and ni - containing ores were processed according to the method of the present invention and detailed in examples 1 and 2 . chemical analysis by atomic absorption spectrometry show that nearly 90 % of the corresponding metal present in the ore is recovered . 100 g . of cobaltite containing 0 . 7 % w / w of co was placed in a 4 cm width - 30 height glass column and made moist with a 3 % naocl solution . then a 10 % h 2 so 4 solution was forced to move the column by using the principle of communicating vessels . as the sulfuric acid move upward through the column and contacts the hypochlorite solution absorbed onto the cobaltite ore , hclo is gradually formed , attacking the mineral and dissolving the metals , preferentially those present as sulfide such as cobalt . also , chlorine gas evolves gradually and is collected as it flows out the open top of the column . five 200 ml portions of 10 % h 2 so 4 solution were upward percolated through the column and cobalt recovery was determined by atomic absorption spectrometry . results obtained showed that 90 . 6 % of the total co , present in the 100 g . portion of the cobaltite , was recovered in the sulfuric solutions . example 8 was repeated but using 100 g . of flexi - coke ( the same as in example 1 ) instead of cobaltite . results demonstrated that 95 % of vanadium , 85 % of ni and 92 % of the co contained in the material were reclaimed in the sulfuric acid . example 8 was repeated but using 100 g . of boiler residue scrap ( the same as in example 3 ) instead of cobaltite . analysis of upward percolated h 2 so 4 showed that 91 % v , 80 % ni , 87 % co and 72 % fe originally contained in the scrap were recovered . in view of the foregoing teachings of the present invention , it is possible remove sulfur and metals from materials which contain them , especially from petroleum , oil and coal and their derivatives without causing appreciable air pollution . this is made possible by using inexpensive and common reagents which behave as excellent demetallizing and desulfurization agents , when combined according to the process here described , without altering appreciably the chemical structure of the organic matrix in the case of petroleum , crude oil , or their derivatives . variations in the parameters disclosed , however , are well within the skill of those in the art in view of the simple but very operative teachings of the present invention . thus , the invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof . the present embodiments are therefore to be considered in all respects as illustrative and non - restrictive , the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing descriptions , and all changes which come within the meaning of the claims are therefore intended to be embraced therein .	2
the pixel structure of a thin film transistor liquid crystal display ( tft lcd ) is disposed on a substrate , where the substrate includes a plurality of data lines and crossing scan lines to define a plurality of pixel regions . each of those pixel regions includes a first tft , a second tft , a pixel electrode and a repair pattern . the first and the second tfts include a gate electrode , a source electrode and a drain electrode respectively . those data lines and scan lines are configured to drive the first thin film transistor and the second thin film transistor . in the first tft , the drain electrode is electrically connected to the pixel electrode and the gate electrode to the scan line and the source electrode to the data line . in the second tft , the drain electrode or the gate electrode is floating , but the source electrode is electrically connected to the data line . once a pixel damages , the repair method is to cut off the pixel electrode and the drain electrode of the first tft and then to electrically connect the gate electrodes or the drain electrodes of the first and the second tfts . therefore , the second tft will drive the pixel electrode instead of the first tft to repair the defective pixel . the laser cutting method is generally employed in cutting off the connection between the drain electrode of the first tft and pixel electrode , and the laser welding method is employed in connecting the connection between the gate electrodes or the drain electrodes of the first and the second tfts . for improving the space efficiency due to the area occupied by the second tft and keeping the driving power of the pixel electrode , a top gate electrode is designed , where the top gate is designed opposite to the gate electrode of the second tft at the layer of the pixel electrode . the top gate electrode is electrically connected to the gate electrode of the second tft such that the current channel may be enlarged to preserve the driving power , wherein the top gate electrode may be a transparent electrode , which is configured at the same layer of and formed at the same time to the pixel electrode . for understanding this invention , the following utilizes different embodiments accompanying drawings to illustrate the spirit of this invention . fig4 shows the equivalent circuit of a pixel structure according to the first embodiment of this invention . the gate electrode 410 of a first tft is electrically connected to a scan line 200 , and the source electrode 420 to a data line 100 , and the drain electrode 430 to a pixel electrode 300 . for a second tft , its gate electrode 810 is a float electrode , and its source electrode 820 is electrically connected to the data line 100 , and its drain electrode 830 to the pixel electrode 300 . a repair pattern 530 is designed at the layer of the source electrode 820 and the drain electrode 830 of the second tft , and its two ends , defined repair points 531 , 532 , overlap the gate electrodes 410 , 810 of the first and the second tfts . for repairing , the connection between the drain electrode 430 of the first tft and the pixel electrode 300 is to cut off at a cutting point 600 . next , the repair pattern 530 is electrically connected to the gate electrode 410 of the first tft via the repair point 531 and to the gate electrode 810 of the second tft via the repair point 532 . fig5 is a schematic diagram showing the top view of the pixel structure of the first embodiment . as shown in the figure , for the second tft , its gate electrode 810 is a float electrode , and its source electrode 820 is electrically connected to the data line 100 , and its drain electrode 830 to the pixel electrode 300 via a first contact hole 861 . for the first tft , its gate electrode 410 is electrically connected to the scan line 200 , and its source electrode 420 to the data line 100 , and its drain electrode 430 to the pixel electrode 300 via a first contact hole ( ch ) 861 , and the drain electrode extends to form the drain electrode 830 of the second tft . the cutting point 600 is defined on the drain electrode 430 that is positioned above the gap between the gate electrode 410 and the pixel electrode 300 . the repair pattern 530 is designed at the layer of the source electrodes 420 , 820 and the drain electrodes 430 , 830 , and its two ends , which are defined as the repair point 531 and the repair point 532 , overlap the gate electrodes 410 , 810 of the first and the second tfts respectively . once a pixel damages , a laser cutting method is employed to cut the connection between the drain electrode 430 of the first tft and the pixel electrode 300 at the cutting point 600 , and then a laser welding method is employed to connect the repair points 531 , 532 of the repair pattern 530 with the gate electrodes 410 , 810 of the first and the second tfts respectively , such that the second tft will replace the first tft to drive the pixel electrode 300 . fig6 is the top view of a schematic diagram showing the pixel structure of a second embodiment according to this invention . it differs from the first embodiment that the second tft is a double - gate - electrode tft . a top gate electrode 840 is designed opposite to the gate electrode 810 at the layer of the pixel electrode 300 . furthermore , the top gate electrode 840 is electrically connected to the gate electrode 810 via a second contact hole 841 . fig7 is a sectional diagram showing the structure of the second tft in the second embodiment . as shown in figure , the second tft includes the top gate electrode 840 and the gate electrode 810 , and these two gate electrodes are electrically connected to induce a larger current channel to keep the driving power of the pixel electrode 300 . fig8 shows the equivalent circuit of the pixel structure according the third embodiment of this invention . for the first tft , its gate electrode 410 is electrically connected to a scan line 200 , and its source electrode 420 to a data line 100 , and its drain electrode 430 to a pixel electrode 300 . for the second tft , its gate electrode 810 is electrically connected to the scan line 200 , and its source electrode 820 to the data line 100 , and its drain electrode 830 is a float electrode , and a repair pattern 540 is designed . the repair method is to cut off the drain electrode 430 of the first tft and the pixel electrode 300 at the cutting point 600 , and then to electrically connect the drain electrodes 430 , 830 of the first and the second tfts to the repair points 541 , 542 , such that the second tft will replace the first tft to drive the pixel electrode 300 . fig9 is a schematic diagram showing the top view of a pixel structure of the third embodiment . as shown in the figure , for the second tft , its gate electrode 810 is electrically connected to the scan line 200 , and its source electrode 820 to the data line 100 , and its drain electrode 830 is a float electrode . for the first tft , its gate electrode 410 is electrically connected to the scan line 200 , and its source electrode 420 to the data line 100 , and its drain electrode 430 to the pixel electrode 300 via a first contact hole 861 . the cutting point 600 is defined on the drain electrode 430 that is positioned above the gap between the gate electrode 410 and the pixel electrode 300 . the repair pattern 540 is designed at the layer of the gate electrodes 410 , 810 , and its two ends , defined as the repair points 541 , 542 , overlap the drain electrodes 430 , 830 of the first and the second tfts in space respectively . fig1 is the top view of a schematic diagram showing the pixel structure of a fourth embodiment according to this invention . it differs from the third embodiment that the second tft is a double - gate - electrode tft . a top gate electrode 850 is designed opposite to the gate electrode 810 at the layer of the pixel electrode 300 . furthermore , the top gate electrode 850 is electrically connected to the gate electrode 810 via a second contact hole 851 . as mentioned above , the repair method of the third and the fourth embodiments is similar with that of the first and the second embodiments . the laser cutting method is employed to cut off the drain electrode 430 of the first tft and the pixel electrode 300 at cutting point 600 , and then the laser welding method to connect the drain electrode 430 of the first tft and the drain electrode 830 of the second tft to the repair pattern 540 at repair points 541 , 542 respectively , such that the second tft will replace the first tft to drive the pixel electrode 300 . although the present invention has been explained in relation to its preferred embodiment , it is to be understood that other modifications and variation can be made without departing the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed .	7
the present product is created by subjecting a fabric comprised of splittable continuous conjugate filaments to successive treatments with acid and base . the resultant treated fabric has enhanced ability to absorb water , as compared with the untreated fabric and other drying cloths made of similar synthetic materials . the present process includes the steps of : ( a ) treating the fabric with acid and rinsing ; and ( b ) treating the fabric with base and rinsing . in one preferred embodiment , before treatment with acid or base , the fabric is subjected to high pressure hydroentanglement , as described in u . s . patent application ser . no . 09 / 344 , 596 , filed jun . 25 , 1999 , which is commonly owned and is hereby incorporated by reference . the term “ polyamide ” is intended to describe any long - chain polymer having recurring amide groups (— nh — co —) as an integral part of the polymer chain . examples of polyamides include nylon 6 , nylon 66 , nylon 11 , and nylon 610 . the term “ polyester ” is intended to describe any long - chain polymer having recurring ester groups (— c ( o )— o —). examples of polyesters include aromatic polyesters such as polyethylene terephthalate ( pet ), polybutylene terephthalate ( pbt ), and polytrimethylene terephthalate ( ptt ) and aliphatic polyesters such as polylactic acid ( pla ). in one embodiment , the conjugate filaments present , in cross - section , a configuration of zones representing the cross - sections of the different elementary filaments in the form of wedges or triangular sections . such a shape is clearly identifiable in the central area of fig1 , which shows a circular cross - section having narrow , dark wedges between wider wedges . the dark wedges represent the polyamide component of the conjugate filament , while the wider , lightly colored wedges represent the polyester component of the conjugate filament . as may be realized , the percentage of polyester in the conjugate filament is larger than the percentage of polyamide . distributions of polyester to polyamide range from 95 - 5 to 5 - 95 , with 65 - 35 being a typical distribution by weight . a review of fig1 shows a plurality of polyester wedges that have been dislodged from their multi - component “ packages .” slightly above and to the left of the central circular package is a cross - section in which some polyester wedges have been dislodged , but the polyamide skeleton remains largely intact . a similar structure , but with more polyester wedges removed , is visible in the lower left corner of the photograph . several items should be noted , upon review of a representative photograph of the nonwoven &# 39 ; s composition . first , while the core portions of the conjugate filaments are shown as polyamides , no core portion is required . in fact , hollow core conjugate filaments are also suitable for use in the present process , particularly since such hollow filaments are more likely to fully split . furthermore , cores made of polyester or fibers without a recognizable “ core ” would be suitable as well . second , it should be noted that fig1 is a photograph of a piece of untreated nonwoven fabric . the fabric shown in fig1 was processed as described above , by extruding a web and then consolidating the filaments of the web . the fabric was then subjected to the conditions of the present process , but without the addition of the acid or the basic treatment . that is , the fabric was tumbled in a jet dye machine for 90 minutes at 130 ° c ., cooled , rinsed , tumbled in a jet dye machine for 30 minutes at 130 ° c ., cooled , rinsed , and then dyed . from the photograph , it is clear that merely tumbling the fabric during processing does not affect the desired filament splitting . the object of the consolidation process is to fully split the different elementary filaments from one another . it is clear from the photograph that some multiple - component filaments remain . the fact that hydroentanglement alone is insufficient to separate the elementary filaments points to a need for additional processing , as is described herein . finally , the photograph shows a symmetrical cross - section of the conjugate filament , having a central median axis . in fact , the median axis of the conjugate filament can be positioned at a point other than the central line of the filament . the conjugate filament can be unsymmetrical , having elementary filaments with non - uniform cross - sections . the cross - section of the conjugate filaments can be substantially circular in shape or can be comprised of multiple lobes that are joined at a central region . another variation of the construction of splittable conjugate filaments are those having a cross - section in which ribbons , or fingers , of one component are positioned between ribbons , or fingers , of a second different component . yet another variation includes either one or a plurality of elementary filaments of one material that are integrated in a surrounding matrix of a second different material . it is understood in the art that polyamides , such as nylon , can be etched — that is , partially eroded — by subjecting such fibers to acidic solutions . one example of an etching treatment is found in u . s . pat . no . 4 , 353 , 706 to burns , jr . et al ., which is commonly owned and is hereby incorporated by reference . the objective of the present process , unlike that of burns , jr . et al ., is not to produce a sculptured pile fabric , but to produce a fabric more capable of absorbing water . both strong and weak acids are useful in the present process . examples of common strong acids include sulfuric , phosphoric , nitric , and hydrochloric acids . weak acids may also be employed in the present process including organic acids , such as formic acid , and sulfonic acids , such as benzene sulfonic acid ; naphthalene sulfonic acid ; ortho -, meta -, and para - toluene sulfonic acids ; and alkylated aromatic sulfonic acids wherein the alkyl group may be straight chain or branched chain and may contain from one to about 20 carbon atoms . preferably , the weak acids useful in the present process have a pk a value of from about 0 . 1 to about 2 . 0 , preferably from about 0 . 4 to about 1 . 0 . more preferably , paratoluene sulfonic acid ( ptsa ) is often used for the present process , because of the relative ease with which its corrosive properties may be controlled . to determine the necessary reaction conditions , one must consider the kinetics and diffusion processes involved in the reaction . in general , the mass transport rate of the acid or base reactant to the polymer , the reaction rate of the reactant with the polymer , and the mass transport rate of the degraded polymer out of the fiber matrix are factors which affect the rate of reaction . the mass transport rate of the reactants is largely affected by the concentration of the reactant , the temperature , and the rate of liquid movement during the reaction process . the introduction of phase transfer catalysts , which transfer reactants from the liquid interface into the polymer , can also affect the reaction rate . the reaction rate is generally proportional to the concentration of acid or base reactant , the concentration of the polymer reactant , the temperature during the reaction , and the presence of any catalyst . the rate of mass transport of degraded polymer is affected by the concentration of degraded polymer , temperature , rate of liquid movement during the reaction process . it has been found that subjecting the fabric to either an acidic solution or a basic solution increase the treated fabric &# 39 ; s ability to absorb water . however , subjecting the fabric to both an acidic solution and a basic solution results in a fabric having greatly enhanced absorption capacity . a particularly effective range of concentrations , when using ptsa , are concentrations greater than about 1 % of the weight of the bath ( owb ), though improvements in water absorbency have been realized with concentrations as low as about 0 . 25 % owb . more preferably , when using ptsa , the range is from about 1 % to about 3 %, based on the weight of the bath . most preferably , when using ptsa , the acid concentration is about 2 %, based on the weight of the bath . obviously , different concentrations may be desirable for different acid types , such as organic or strong . exposure times , again using ptsa , can range upwards from about 30 minutes to about 120 minutes . the preferred exposure time is about 90 minutes , when a 2 % concentration of ptsa is used . strong acids or higher acid concentrations would likely require a shorter exposure time , while organic acids might need longer periods over which to effect the desired fiber modifications . the acid selectively targets the polyamide components of the nonwoven fabric . where the conjugate filaments have been at least partially split during hydroentanglement , the acid tends to further split the filaments into their elementary components and to erode the polyamide components . this result is due to the acid &# 39 ; s preferential affinity for polyamides . where conjugate filaments are not split , there is a tendency for the polyamide components to be dissolved or eroded by the acid , while the relative grouping of the components may remain largely unchanged ( see fig2 ). fig2 is a photograph of a nonwoven fabric that has been subjected only to an acidic solution ( where the acid concentration was about 2 % owb ). in the central area of the photograph , a composite structure is visible in which most of the polyamide components of the conjugate filament have been removed . only three dark - colored polyamide components remain between the polyester components . below and to the left of the central circular structure are individual polyester wedges that have been separated from neighboring polyamide wedges . because of the concentration level used , there appear to be no individual polyamide wedges . the polyamide portions appear to have been completely eroded . due to the dissolution of at least some of the polyamide components of the fabric , the resulting fabric has a decreased weight , typically on the order of about 2 to about 25 %. the resulting fabric also has improved water absorption characteristics , although those characteristics are further enhanced by a subsequent basic treatment as described below . following acid treatment , the fabric is then subjected to a basic treatment . the basic solution reacts with the polyester component of the conjugate filament , making it more hydrophilic . the term “ basic ” is intended to describe the hydroxides of any alkali or alkaline earth metal and amines . the preferred basic solutions are sodium hydroxide ( naoh ) and potassium hydroxide ( koh ), with sodium hydroxide being more preferred because of cost . amines are less preferred because of their tendency to react with the entire fiber rather than the surface of the fiber . additionally , a phase transfer catalyst may be used to affect the reaction rate . commonly , alkyl quaternary salts are used . such salts often have a carbon chain length of about 16 . the preferred concentration for the basic solution is significantly less than that of the acidic solution . in fact , a concentration range from about 0 . 025 % to about 0 . 10 % ( based on the weight of the bath ) is sufficient to create the desired modifications in the polyester components . preferably , the concentration of the basic solution is about 0 . 050 % based on the weight of the bath . it has been found that higher concentration levels of the basic solution may be used . such concentrations may result in a weakened fabric , loss of textile quality , and resemblance to a paper - type product . exposure times , using sodium hydroxide , can range from about 15 minutes to about 90 minutes . the preferred exposure time is about 30 minutes , when a 0 . 050 % owb concentration of sodium hydroxide is used . the base selectively targets the polyester components of the fabric and , specifically , the ester groups . the base hydrolizes the ester bonds in the polyester , creating hydrophilic cites . these cites make the polyester more hydrophilic and the surface of the polyester becomes more water - loving . again , the fabric that has been treated only with base has improved water absorption characteristics as compared with the untreated fabric , although the improvements are not as significant as those realized with a combination of acid and basic treatments . fig3 is a photograph of a nonwoven fabric , as described herein , in which the fabric has been subjected only to a basic solution . in this photograph , a number of joined polyamide clusters are visible . individual polyester wedges seen in earlier photographs are also present and separate from the polyamide skeletons . as compared with fig2 , there appears to be little , if any , degradation in the polyamide component . this is expected because the basic solution targets only the polyester component . it has been found that the combination of successive acid and basic treatments imparts the most desired characteristics to the treated fabric . functionally , the nonwoven fabric , having been treated with both acid and base , is significantly better at absorbing water than ( a ) the untreated fabric , ( b ) the fabric treated only with acid , and ( c ) the fabric treated only with base . structurally , the treated fabric contains a plurality of fully split conjugate yarns , having individualized polyester components and degraded individualized polyamide components , and a plurality of polyamide “ skeletons .” the term “ polyamide skeletons ” is intended to describe a structure comprised of polyamide components that are joined to one another . in some yarn configurations , when treated , these polyamide skeletons tend to fold over onto themselves . fig4 is a photograph of a cross - section of nonwoven fabric that has been subjected to a 0 . 25 % owb acid solution and a 0 . 050 % owb basic solution . the photograph shows a plurality of individual polyester wedges , some of which are slightly squared off on the sides that were arc - shaped . slightly to the left of the center of the photograph , a polyamide cluster is visible . some parts of the polyamide skeleton appear to be degraded , not having the full width and shape of their original form . the polyamide skeletons experience reconfiguration due to the present process . reconfiguration may be interpreted to mean ( a ) separation of the skeleton into at least two parts ; ( b ) separation of the skeleton into at least two parts , in which at least one part has been dissolved ; and ( c ) removal of at least a portion of the skeleton , particularly in which removal is at least partially due to dissolution . fig5 is a photograph of a cross - section of nonwoven fabric that has been subjected to a 2 . 0 % owb acid solution and a 0 . 050 % owb basic solution . the photograph shows a plurality of polyester wedges and only a small polyamide cluster in the central area of the photograph . as compared with that of fig4 , the fabric of fig5 has much less polyamide remaining . the polyamide components have been removed by the higher concentration of acid . for example , in a fabric having a 65 - 35 % polyester - polyamide composition , removal levels of polyamide vary upwards from 50 %. for best results , in terms of water absorption , at least 75 % of the polyamide should be removed . after treating with acid and base , the nonwoven fabric may be dyed using conventional dyeing techniques . other finishing chemicals may be added , for example , to improve the hand or soil release characteristics of the fabric . the process steps will now be discussed in more detail . in a preferred embodiment , the acid treatment step is conducted in a jet - dyeing machine , into which the fabric is fed , along with an acid solution containing about 2 . 0 % ptsa ( based on the weight of the bath ). the temperature of the bath is raised to approximately 130 ° c . and held for an exposure time of about 90 minutes . it is believed that temperatures as high as 150 ° c . would also be acceptable . after the necessary time , the fabric is cooled , preferably to at least 60 ° c . it is then rinsed , preferably twice , with water to prevent reaction between the acid and the base , which will be used in the next step . the fabric , having been treated with acid , may then be treated with base . the fabric is fed into a jet - dyeing machine along with a basic solution containing about 0 . 050 % sodium hydroxide ( based on the weight on the bath ). the temperature of the bath is raised to approximately 130 ° c . after an exposure time of about 30 minutes , the fabric is then cooled to about 50 ° c . and rinsed , preferably twice , with water . other finishing chemicals can be applied to the treated fabric , including soil release agents , wetting agents , and hand - building agents . one particularly preferred additive is a high molecular weight ethoxylated polyester , sold under the trade name lubril qcx , by rhone poulenc , which improves both the hand and the soil release characteristics of the fabric . such chemicals are effectively applied in a padding operation , although other application techniques may be employed . by way of example only , a 3 % concentration of lubril qcx was found to improve the hand and soil release characteristics of the fabric , without negatively impacting the fabric &# 39 ; s ability to absorb water . the phrase “ absorption capacity ” is intended to describe the capacity of the fabric to absorb water . the capacity is measured as milliliters of water per gram of fabric . the untreated nonwoven fabric described herein has an absorption capacity of about 3 . 5 ml / g . the nonwoven fabric of the present product , having been subjected to acidic and basic treatments , has an absorption capacity of about 7 . 0 ml / g , an improvement of about 200 %. the nonwoven fabric of the present product , having been subjected to high pressure hydroentanglement , acidic treatment , and basic treatment , has an absorption capacity of about 6 . 2 ml / g . the absorbent fabric described herein can be utilized for a variety of purposes . by way of example only , the absorbent fabric may be used as a drying cloth , as a wiping cloth , as part of a filtration system , or as any other product in which the fabric &# 39 ; s absorbent characteristics may be beneficial .	3
the following description of the embodiment ( s ) is merely exemplary ( illustrative ) in nature and is in no way intended to limit the invention , its application , or uses . referring now to fig1 , one exemplary embodiment includes an article 10 having a low chromium - containing steel core 12 coated along at least one surface 13 with a carbide coating 14 . for purposes herein , a low chromium - containing steel core 12 contains less than about 1 . 6 % chromium . the term “ steel core ” may be used interchangeably herein with the term “ steel substrate ” and merely represents wherein the article includes a low chromium - containing steel surface that is to be coated with the carbide coating 14 . all percentages herein are by weight . one exemplary embodiment of a low - chromium content steel that may be utilized in the steel core 12 is aisi 52100 ( uns - g - 52986 ) steel with the following nominal composition : 0 . 98 - 1 . 1 weight percent carbon ; 0 . 25 - 0 . 45 weight percent manganese ; 1 . 3 - 1 . 6 weight percent chromium ; 0 . 025 weight percent or less phosphorus ; 0 . 025 weight percent or less sulfur ; 0 . 15 - 0 . 35 weight percent silicon ; and the balance iron . in this exemplary illustration , the particulate mix 16 used for forming the carbide coating 14 may include a group 5 metal source , a halide catalyst , and either ferrotitanium ( feti ) powder or ferromolybdenum ( femo ) powder ( or a mixture thereof ). other substantially inert particulates , such as aluminum oxide , may also be included in the particulate mix 16 , and in one embodiment may be present in amounts not greater than about 50 percent of the particulate mix 16 . a group 5 metal source includes a group 5 metal listed on the periodic table of elements in the 18 - group classification designated and recommended by the international union of pure and applied chemistry . preferably , the group 5 metal in the particulate mix 16 , to which vanadium and niobium are the only members , has an atomic number no greater than 41 . a non - exclusive list of available halide catalysts that may be introduced to the particulate mix 16 includes iron chloride , ammonium chloride , niobium chloride , vanadium chloride , or mixtures thereof . the halide catalyst may be used in any effective amount , wherein one embodiment may be in an amount of about 0 . 6 % to 3 % by weight of the group 5 metal source . in one embodiment , the amount of feti or femo powder included in the particulate mix 16 may be between about 0 . 5 and about 4 weight percent of the group 5 metal source . in other words , the weight ratio of feti , or femo , or a combination of feti and femo , to the group 5 metal source may be in the range of about 0 . 02 to 0 . 04 . one exemplary particulate mix 16 may include ferrovanadium ( fev ) powder having a particle size of 0 . 8 to 3 mm and about 1 % of a selected halide catalyst ; here iron chloride ( fecl 3 ). in addition , the particulate mix 16 may also include ferromolybdenum ( femo ) powder . the femo powder may be between about 0 . 5 and about 4 weight percent of the fev powder . other substantially inert particulates , such as aluminum oxide , may be included in the particulate mix 16 , and in one embodiment in amounts not greater than about 50 percent of the particulate mix 16 . referring now to fig2 , the method of the exemplary embodiments may be preferably implemented in a rotary container 20 , or retort 20 , having a shaft 22 held rotatably in walls 24 and 26 of furnace 28 by bushings 30 and sealed . a motor ( not shown ) may rotate the container 20 at a desired speed while the furnace 28 may be maintained at a temperature , in one embodiment , of about 870 to 1093 degrees celsius ( about 1600 to 2000 degrees fahrenheit ), or in another embodiment between about 927 to 1038 degrees celsius ( about 1700 to 1900 degrees fahrenheit ). inside the container 20 may be the particulate mix 16 and at least one steel article 10 , in this case steel chain pins 10 , to be coated with the particulate mix 16 to form the carbide coating 14 of a desired thickness . the desired thickness may achieve a surface hardness of at least hv 2000 , which may be associated with a thickness of about 10 to 20 microns . for the exemplary particulate mix 16 of the previous paragraph , the carbide coating 14 is a vanadium / carbide coating . in one embodiment , air is withdrawn from the rotary container 20 and the process is conducted in the sealed rotary container 20 in the substantial absence of air . in another embodiment , an inert gas , preferably argon or nitrogen , is introduced to the container 20 . during the heating and rotation of the rotary container 20 , the source of group 5 metal in the particulate mix 16 , may be caused to dissociate , providing group 5 metal which may be deposited at the surface of steel core 12 in the form of a halide . carbon is drawn from the steel core 12 surface of the article 10 to displace the halide , which then reverts to the particulate mix 16 to combine with additional group 5 metal from the source . only a small percentage of the group 5 metal source , estimated at 0 . 5 to 2 % of the metal in the metal source , may consumed in the process to provide a commonly desired coating thickness of 10 to 20 microns . the molybdenum or the titanium in the femo or feti powder added to the particulate mix 16 are carbide formers that have a high solubility in the group 5 metal and iron and therefore may increase interface bonding of the coating formed to the core steel substrate 12 . after the article or articles 10 are treated to form a hard coating 14 as described above , the particulate mix 16 and the articles 10 may be separated , and the particulate mix 16 may be returned for re - use in the rotary container 20 to be heated again in the presence of another article or articles t 10 o be coated . the particulate mix 16 need not be replenished through several iterations , but may includes the possibility of replenishing the group 5 metal source and / or the catalyst while the bulk ( at least 50 %) of the particulate mix 16 in successive uses may comprise material having been used before for the purpose . since generally less than 2 % of the group 5 metal source may be consumed in a single use , and since the halide displaced from the group 5 metal at the surface returns to the particulate mix 16 to combine with additional group 5 metal , the exemplary method may include the use of the same batch of particulates for at least two batches of articles 10 , and additional batches as the economics of the facility may suggest . generally at least five uses will be quite practical . preferably , for any given use , the ratio of group 5 metal in the group 5 metal source to the articles will not be below 1 : 2 by weight , and may be preferably 1 : 1 to 2 : 1 by weight . the article 10 including the carbide coating 14 may then be cooled and separated from the particulate mix 16 . the article 10 may then be heat - treated , in a post - production step , by subjecting the coated article 10 to at least austenitizing temperature and quenched in a conventional manner to harden the core , preferably achieving a final core hardness of rc44 - 56 . the article 10 may then be polished in a conventional manner . fig3 is an end section of the container 20 , illustrating how the contents may be mixed , preferably with the aid of baffles 32 , during rotation of the container 20 . the particulate mix 16 and the article ( s ) 10 to be coated may be substantially constantly contacted during the rotation of the container 20 , therein causing the carbide coating 14 to be formed on the surface of the steel chain pins 10 at a desired thickness , wherein the desired thickness may be dictated primarily by the amount of time in which the article 10 is rotated within the rotary container 20 . the vessel , retort , or container 20 may be rocked or otherwise agitated rather than rotated . in fig4 , a portion of a typical silent chain is shown , comprising sets of plates a and b , each having two holes for pins 10 . in this configuration , parallel sets a of four plates and parallel sets b of three plates may be shaped to accommodate sprockets or otherwise to engage a force - delivering device not shown . some of the plates a or b may articulate on the pins 10 and others may be secured to them so as not to rotate on the pins , depending on the design of the chain . in either event , whether there is articulation or not at the plate / pin interface , significant stress and wear may be engendered at the interface of the pins and the plates . a comparison of chain pins 10 made according to the exemplary process to more conventional pins showed that the hard coating on the pins 10 did not flake off the pin 10 when it was bent in a vise , whereas pins made by a conventional process flaked off . this is generally taken to mean that when the coating 14 of the pin 10 may be abraded , but will nevertheless adhere more tenaciously than the coating of the conventional pin . as indicated above , flaking or spalling of hard coatings can be very destructive to worn contact surfaces of chain parts . the above description of embodiments of the invention is merely exemplary in nature and , thus , variations thereof are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention .	2
the following description is merely exemplary in nature and is in no way intended to limit the disclosure , its application , or uses . for purposes of clarity , the same reference numbers will be used in the drawings to identify similar elements . as used herein , the phrase at least one of a , b , and c should be construed to mean a logical ( a or b or c ), using a non - exclusive logical or . it should be understood that steps within a method may be executed in different order without altering the principles of the present disclosure . as used herein , the term module refers to an application specific integrated circuit ( asic ), an electronic circuit , a processor ( shared , dedicated , or group ) and memory that execute one or more software or firmware programs , a combinational logic circuit , and / or other suitable components that provide the described functionality . referring now to fig2 , a functional block diagram of an exemplary engine system is presented . the fuel tank 102 provides fuel , such as gasoline or diesel fuel , to a fuel / water separator 120 . the fuel / water separator 120 separates fuel from water , provides fuel to the engine 106 , and directs water into a bowl 122 . the bowl 122 may include a valve 124 , which allows water to be emptied from the bowl 122 . for example only , a water line 126 is shown , indicating that water is present below the water line 126 while fuel is present above the water line 126 ( assuming that water is denser than the fuel ). a sensor 128 may be installed in the bowl 122 to detect the presence of water . an engine control module 130 controls operation of the engine 106 . for example , the engine control module 130 may control actuators ( not shown ) within the engine 106 to produce a torque as requested by a driver . the engine control module 130 may include a sensor control module 140 that controls and receives signals from the sensor 128 . at various times , a diagnostic module 142 commands the sensor control module 140 to take a reading from the sensor 128 . for example only , the diagnostic module 142 may issue this command on a periodic schedule . for example only , the schedule may be altered based on sensed driving habits , such as average engine run time . the sensor control module 140 may interpret readings from the sensor 128 to determine whether water is present in the bowl 122 . the level of water that the sensor 128 detects is determined by where in the bowl 122 the sensor 128 is placed . the diagnostic module 142 may generate a visual / audio indicator 144 when water is detected . for example only , the visual / audio indicator 144 may include a check engine light or a digital instrument panel display . the diagnostic module 142 may also set a diagnostic trouble code , which may be stored in a diagnostic interface 146 . the diagnostic interface 146 may be queried by diagnostic tools , such as at a dealership or repair facility . the diagnostic interface 146 may record the times during which water is detected , and provide these to the diagnostic tools . user input 148 may instruct the diagnostic module 142 to command a new reading from the sensor 128 . the user input 148 , for example only , may include a button . a user may actuate the user input 148 after water has been drained from the bowl 122 . in various implementations , the valve 124 may be controlled by the diagnostic module 142 , such as with electrical or vacuum signals . control of the valve 124 may also be performed via the diagnostic interface 146 . referring now to fig3 , a partial cross sectional view is presented of the bowl 122 and an exemplary implementation of the sensor 128 . the sensor 128 may be coupled to the bowl 122 via a gasket 160 . a piston 162 rides within a sleeve 164 to pull liquid through an orifice 166 into a chamber 168 . the liquid may be pulled into the chamber 168 through a channel 170 from the bowl 122 . in various implementations , the length of the channel 170 may be reduced , and / or the channel 170 may be removed entirely . for example only , the orifice 166 may be defined at the wall of the bowl 122 . the piston 162 is connected to an armature 172 . the armature 172 is biased to a first position by a coil return spring 174 . when a current is applied to windings 176 , the resulting electromagnetic field actuates the armature 172 to a second position in opposition to the return spring 174 . as the armature 172 moves from the first position to the second position , the piston 162 presses the fluid from the chamber 168 through the orifice 166 . for fluids with higher viscosities , the fluid is more difficult to push from the chamber 168 through the orifice 166 . this change in viscosity may be evidenced by a change in the electrical characteristics of the sensor 128 , as described in more detail with respect to fig4 . referring now to fig4 , three exemplary traces 202 , 204 , and 206 of the current of a solenoid are shown . trace 202 corresponds to a low viscosity , trace 204 corresponds to a higher viscosity , and trace 206 corresponds to an infinite viscosity . an infinite , or extremely high , viscosity has the same effect as if the armature of the solenoid were mechanically stuck . traces 202 and 204 each include a notch in the current . by contrast , trace 206 lacks the notch . for traces similar to trace 206 , the notch time may be considered to be infinite , or set to a maximum amount of time . the location of the notch is an indication of the viscosity of the fluid with which the solenoid is interfacing . because the solenoid piston displaces fluid in front of the piston , hydraulic resistance is caused by the viscous fluid moving through a restrictive flow passage ( such as an orifice ). this hydraulic resistance exerts a pressure on the face of the piston , which resists armature movement and changes the current response characteristics of the solenoid . at a start point 210 , the solenoid is instructed to actuate . this may be initiated by a trigger signal that arrives at the start point 210 . for purposes of illustration , trace 202 will be analyzed . after the start point 210 , the current of trace 202 begins increasing . at a first point 212 , trace 202 transitions from increasing to decreasing . the first point 212 is therefore a local maximum . trace 202 then decreases until a second point 214 , when trace 202 transitions from decreasing back to increasing . the second point 214 is therefore a local minimum . the armature of the solenoid begins moving at the first point 212 and stops moving at the second point 214 . the measured current decreases between the first and second points 212 and 214 because the moving armature creates a back electromotive force ( emf ) that opposes the electrical potential . the amount of time elapsed between the start point 210 and the second point 214 is referred to as the notch time . the notch time of trace 204 is greater than the notch time of trace 202 , indicating that the solenoid is interfacing with a higher viscosity fluid in trace 204 . the notch time of trace 206 may be reported as a predetermined maximum value . for example , the notch time for trace 206 may be reported as 45 ms . referring now to fig5 , a functional block diagram of a sensor system including an exemplary implementation of the sensor control module 140 is presented . the sensor 128 includes an electrically - operated element that interfaces with fluid . for example only , the sensor 128 may include a solenoid 302 that interfaces with the fluid . alternatively , the sensor 128 may include a plate that is moved through the fluid by an electric motor . in various implementations , a rotating or translating plate may be less expensive to implement than a solenoid . the solenoid 302 may be connected to a power supply 304 . in various implementations , the power supply 304 may be a vehicle battery , which may also provide power to the sensor control module 140 . current flow from the power supply 304 through the solenoid 302 is regulated by a switch 306 , such as a transistor . in various implementations , the transistor may include an n - channel metal - oxide semiconductor field - effect transistor ( mosfet ) having a source ( s ) terminal , a drain ( d ) terminal , and a gate ( g ) terminal . the current flowing through the switch 306 may be routed through a shunt resistor 308 before reaching a reference potential , such as ground . the shunt resistor 308 develops a voltage potential proportional to current flow . an amplifier 310 amplifies the voltage potential across the shunt resistor 308 . alternatively , other current sensing devices , such as a hall effect sensor , may be used to determine the current flowing through the solenoid 302 . an output of the amplifier 310 may be converted to a digital value by an analog - to - digital ( a / d ) converter 312 . the digital value is a representation of the current flowing through the solenoid 302 . a notch detection module 314 may evaluate the digital signal from the a / d converter 312 to determine the time at which the notch of the solenoid current occurs with respect to a trigger signal . the trigger signal may be generated when the solenoid is instructed to actuate . the trigger signal may be generated by a solenoid drive module 318 . for example only , the notch detection module 314 may initialize a timer in a timer module 316 when the trigger signal is received . the time elapsed in the timer module 316 between the trigger signal arriving and the current notch being detected is the notch time . the solenoid drive module 318 may provide the trigger signal to the gate of the switch 306 , thereby allowing current to flow through the solenoid 302 . a notch analysis module 320 may receive an activation signal , such as from the diagnostic module 142 of fig2 . based on this activation signal , the notch analysis module 320 may instruct the solenoid drive module 318 to produce the trigger signal . the notch analysis module 320 may instruct the solenoid drive module 318 to actuate the solenoid 302 multiple times to circulate fluid and ensure a representative sample is analyzed . in various implementations , the final notch time may be selected , or an average of selected ones of the notch times may be used . a voltage measurement module 322 may measure a voltage of the power supply 304 . the notch analysis module 320 may adjust the notch time based on the measured voltage . for example only , a higher voltage from the power supply 304 may be expected to decrease the notch time . the notch analysis module 320 may therefore increase the indicated notch time when the measured voltage is higher . further , viscosity may vary with temperature . therefore , a temperature measurement module 324 may be implemented . for example only , fluid temperature may be modeled , measured directly , and / or inferred from other temperature measurements , such as engine coolant temperature . the temperature measurement module 324 may receive data from a temperature sensor ( not shown ), such as a thermocouple , associated with the solenoid 302 . in various implementations , the temperature sensor may be implemented in the sensor 128 . alternatively , temperature readings from other systems may be used . for example only , the temperature measurement module 324 may receive a temperature used by a fuel injection system for fuel injection control . in various implementations , temperature may be estimated based on resistance of the windings in the solenoid 302 . the notch analysis module 320 may normalize the notch time based on temperature . for example only , if viscosity decreases as temperature increases , the notch analysis module 320 may increase the indicated notch time when the measured temperature is higher . the notch analysis module 320 may use the normalized notch time to make determinations about the fluid interfacing with the sensor 128 . for example only , a predetermined value may be stored in a storage module 326 . if the normalized notch time is greater than the predetermined value , indicating that viscosity is relatively high , the notch analysis module 320 may report that fuel , instead of water , is present . conversely , when the normalized notch time is less than or equal to the predetermined value , the notch analysis module 320 may report that water is present at the sensor 128 . in various implementations , the storage module 326 may store multiple values to differentiate between water , air , and / or multiple types of fuel . for example only , different types of diesel fuel , including biodiesel , may have different characteristic notch times . the notch analysis module 320 may report the type of fuel detected as well as the presence of water . the values in the storage module 326 may be stored in a lookup table . these values may be determined empirically and / or estimated based on sensor characteristics , such as solenoid geometries , orifice size , and fluid properties . referring now to fig6 , a flowchart depicts exemplary steps performed in analyzing the signal from the a / d converter 312 of fig5 . control begins in step 402 , where control determines whether the trigger signal has been activated . if so , control continues in step 404 ; otherwise , control remains in step 402 . in step 404 , a timer is started and control continues in step 406 . in step 406 , control begins measuring current flowing through the solenoid . control continues in step 408 , where control begins calculating a moving average of the current . the moving current average may be calculated in order to decrease the false detection of a local maximum or local minimum . in this way , small disturbances in the current signal , such as those due to noise , will not be incorrectly detected as a change in direction of the current . for example only , the moving average may be a two - point moving average . the moving average may be calculated as a prior moving average or as a central moving average , which uses data taken after the point being calculated . in addition , the moving average may be a simple moving average or a weighted moving average , and the weighting may be linear or exponential . control continues in step 410 , where control begins calculating a derivative of the moving average . for example only , control may calculate the derivative as the difference between the current moving average value and the previous moving average value divided by the time between the moving average values . control continues in step 412 , where control determines whether the derivative has decreased below zero . if so , control transfers to step 414 ; otherwise , control transfers to step 416 . for example only , control may transfer to step 414 only when multiple sequential derivatives remain below zero . in step 416 , control determines whether the timer is greater than a predetermined maximum time . if so , control transfers to step 418 ; otherwise , control returns to step 412 . in step 414 , control determines whether the derivative has returned above zero after being below zero in step 412 . if so , control transfers to step 420 ; otherwise , control transfers to step 422 . as in step 412 , control may evaluate multiple derivatives in step 414 to ensure that the derivative has reliably increased above zero . in step 422 , control determines whether the timer has exceeded the predetermined maximum time . if so , control transfers to step 418 ; otherwise , control returns to step 414 . in step 420 , control reports the timer value as the notch time and control stops . in step 418 , control reports the predetermined maximum time as the notch time and control stops . referring now to fig7 a - 7c , the principles of the present disclosure can be implemented in various vehicle systems . for example only , whenever viscosity can be used to differentiate between different fluids , a sensor system as described in the present application can be implemented to measure viscosity . viscosity may indicate which variety of a desired fluid is present . additionally , viscosity may indicate presence of an undesired fluid or the absence of the desired fluid . further , viscosity may indicate when properties of the desired fluid have been compromised . for example only , fig7 a depicts a system for detecting water in a fuel tank 502 . a sensor 504 is located in the fuel tank 502 , and a sensor control module 506 analyzes readings from the sensor 504 to determine viscosity of the fluid in the fuel tank 502 . if a viscosity indicative of water is measured , a diagnostic module 508 may alert an operator or a mechanic . in addition , remedial action may be performed , such as operating an engine in a reduced power mode or limiting the speed of the engine . for example only , fig7 b depicts a system for detecting water or glycol in an oil supply , such as an oil sump 522 . a sensor 524 is located in the oil sump 522 , and a sensor control module 526 analyzes readings from the sensor 524 to determine viscosity of the fluid in the oil sump 522 . if a viscosity indicative of water or glycol is measured , a diagnostic module 528 may alert an operator or a mechanic . in addition , remedial action may be performed , such as operating an engine in a reduced power mode or limiting the speed of the engine . for example only , fig7 c depicts a system for detecting oil in a cooling system component , such as a radiator 542 . a sensor 544 is located in the radiator 542 , and a sensor control module 546 analyzes readings from the sensor 544 to determine viscosity of the fluid in the radiator 542 . if a viscosity indicative of oil is measured , a diagnostic module 548 may alert an operator or a mechanic . in addition , remedial action may be performed , such as operating an engine in a reduced power mode or limiting the speed of the engine . the broad teachings of the disclosure can be implemented in a variety of forms . therefore , while this disclosure includes particular examples , the true scope of the disclosure should not be so limited since other modifications will become apparent to the skilled practitioner upon a study of the drawings , the specification , and the following claims .	6
with reference now to fig1 there is provided a cross - sectional illustration of several subsurface formations including an oil bearing sand 10 sandwiched between an upper shale zone 12 and a lower shale zone 14 . a vertical wellbore 16 has been drilled from the surface of the earth to and through the oil bearing zone 10 . a lateral borehole 18 has been started from vertical bore 16 within the oil sand 10 . the methods of starting such a lateral borehole are well - known in the art as illustrated by the above referenced zublin and holbert patents . a drill string 20 extends from the surface of the earth through wellbore 16 and into the lateral bore 18 . in this embodiment , the string 20 includes segmented drillpipe sections 22 made according to the above referenced holbert patent . these segmented sections 22 allow rotation of drill string 20 through curved portions of lateral bore 18 . near the lower end of drill string 20 , there is provided a mwd ( measurement while drilling ) device 24 for measuring at least one formation property during the drilling operation . connected to the mwd device 24 is a mud driven hydraulic drill motor 26 which in turn supports and drives a drill bit 28 . the conventional mwd system which was used in the preferred embodiment imposes certain restrictions on the curved portion of the lateral bore 18 . in particular , curvature should not exceed 6 ° per hundred feet of bore or it will not be possible to run the conventional tool assemblies into the lateral bore . as a result , the methods of zublin and holbert which allow much greater curvature rates cannot be used to full advantage . more conventional slant drilling techniques which can provide curvature rates of 2 ° to 6 ° per hundred feet of bore without the complex highly flexible sections of zublin and holbert can therefore be used and will normally be preferred so long as conventional mwd systems are used . however , development of improved logging devices which can be run in drainholes with high curvature rates is anticipated . such development will allow the benefits of the present invention to be realized in formations where the high curvature rates are required or at least preferred . lateral borehole 18 is often called a horizontal borehole to distinguish it from the conventional vertical wellbore 16 . the term &# 34 ; lateral &# 34 ; is also often used for the same purpose . both of these terms suggest that the non - vertical borehole is essentially horizontal . in the present invention the lateral section 18 will be referred to primarily as a &# 34 ; drainhole &# 34 ; to distinguish it from the vertical bore 16 without suggesting that it must be truly horizontal . as illustrated in fig1 the oil sand 10 is not horizontal . both the upper boundary 30 and the lower boundary 32 slope downward to the right in fig1 . the primary purpose of the drainhole 18 is to provide improved communication between vertical bore 16 and the bulk of the oil sand 10 . this can be achieved by drilling drainhole 18 as far as possible into the oil sand 10 and away from bore 16 . since there is no desire to achieve communication with the shale zones 12 and 14 , it is preferred that drainhole 18 never cross either of the boundaries 30 or 32 . thus , drainhole 18 should travel out into zone 10 essentially parallel to the upper and lower boundaries 30 and 32 and about half way between them . the vertical depths to boundaries 30 and 32 at borehole 16 can be measured by conventional logging techniques . however since these boundaries slope or dip , a perfectly horizontal borehole extending from bore 16 would eventually intersect either the upper or lower boundaries . the method of the present invention primarily involves detection of proximity to the boundaries 30 or 32 and correction of the trajectory or path of drainhole 18 preferrably before the boundary is intersected . in this way , prior knowledge of the shape and location of boundaries 30 and 32 is not necessary . in the preferred embodiment , mwd device 24 is a gamma ray device commonly used for detecting changes in lithology during drilling operations . such devices generally &# 34 ; look &# 34 ; in all directions about the borehole . however in the present invention , device 24 has been modified by providing a lead shield covering at least one half , and preferably three - fourths , of its circumference so that it sees primarily one side of the borehole . the lead shield is not totally effective in stopping gamma rays but provides sufficient blocking to give the tool a directional response . in this way , the gamma ray device can distinguish between different rock types existing on opposite sides of drainhole 18 . in addition , the tool 24 contains a conventional sensor , part of the mwd package , which indicates its orientation relative to vertical , that is the upper side of borehole . fig2 provides a cross - sectional illustration of device 24 taken through the gamma ray detection tube 40 . the detection tube 40 is positioned at the center of the device and is protected by a beryllium copper sleeve 42 . a half inch thick lead shield 44 , with a 90 ° window , is carried on sleeve 42 . this directional detector assembly is carried in a one inch thick stainless steel collar 46 which forms the outer housing of the mwd device 24 and has an outer diameter of 6 . 25 inch . with the exception of the lead shield , device 24 is a commercially available mwd device manufactured by gearhart industries , inc . of fort worth , tex . this device includes a magnetometer and , as indicated above , an inclinometer which indicates tool orientation relative to vertical . the tool further includes a mud pulse telemetry system which allows all measured data to be transmitted through the drilling mud column to receiving equipment at the surface . as is well - known in the well logging and drilling arts , shale such as zones 12 and 14 generally emits higher levels of gamma rays than sand such as found in the oil bearing sand 10 . therefore the gamma ray indication provided by device 24 will increase significantly as it approaches either of the shale zones 12 or 14 . since the lead shield allows some gamma radiation to pass , the increase in detected level should occur even if the shield is positioned between tube 40 and the shale zone being approached . as illustrated in fig1 the drainhole 18 was started from vertical bore 16 at about the mid - point of oil sand 10 . as it curved downward and away from bore 16 , it approached the lower boundary 32 at point 34 . at this point , the device 24 came close enough to boundary 32 to detect gamma rays emitted from the shale zone 14 . as a result , a noticeable increase in gamma ray reading would be detected and transmitted to the surface . this increased signal level would indicate that drainhole 18 is approaching an interface . however since gamma ray detectors generally require a signal integration period of about one minute it would not necessarily indicate whether boundary 30 or 32 is closest . in the preferred embodiment , drilling would cease for a sufficient time to allow determination of whether it is the upper boundary 30 or the lower boundary 32 which is being approached . this determination is made by slowly turning drill string 20 to orient the device 24 in several different directions relative to vertical and holding it in those positions for a sufficient time to obtain an accurate gamma ray reading . for a generally horizontal oil sand 10 , two readings should be sufficient . that is , the device 24 would be oriented to obtain gamma ray readings from vertically above and then vertically below drainhole 18 . at location 34 in fig1 the gamma ray reading from below should be significantly higher than that obtained from above . this will clearly indicate that drainhole 18 is approaching the lower boundary 32 and that it should therefore be directed upwards to avoid intersection of boundary 32 . as discussed above , drill bit 28 is driven by hydraulicly powered drill motor 26 to provide the primary drilling force . means must be provided for re - directing the drill string to avoid the undesired intersections with the boundaries . in the preferred embodiment , motor 26 and bit 28 are oriented so that they tend to drill a curved borehole . when the drainhole 18 has been turned to substantially horizontal position and it is desired to drill straight ahead through formation 10 , the entire drill string 20 is slowly rotated so that there is no net curvature to the drainhole being drilled . when proximity to the lower boundary 32 is detected , the drill string 20 may then be stopped in an appropriate position so that continued drilling will cause drainhole 18 to climb vertically away from lower boundary 32 as indicated by the dashed line extension 36 of drainhole 18 . rotation of drill string 20 may be recommenced to determine when the drainhole 18 has been moved sufficient far from lower boundary 32 so that it is no longer detectable . continued rotation of drill string 20 would then cause the extension 36 of drainhole 18 to be substantially straight . the process would be repeated at point 38 when drainhole 18 begins to approach the upper boundary 30 of the oil sand 10 . by repeating the process the drainhole 18 may be repetitively redirected to avoid intersection with the upper and lower boundaries of the oil producing zone . it is anticipated that this process will allow drilling of drainholes to distances approaching 2000 feet from a vertical bore 16 without having to withdraw the drill string 20 for the purpose of running well surveys . as indicated above , gamma ray detecting tools generally require a significant period of time , for example a matter of several minutes , to obtain an accurate reading . it is for this reason that in the preferred embodiment , drilling must be stopped momentarily while a determination of direction of the nearest boundary is made . the gamma ray reading obtained while drill string 20 is rotating will simply be an average of readings taken in all directions about the borehole and will not indicate direction . it is anticipated that the detector 24 will detect gamma rays from shale zones 12 and 14 only when it has approached within about two to three feet of the respective shale zone . the normal configuration of bit , drill motor and logging tool normally places the detector 24 thirty to forty feet behind the bit itself . all of these factors make it difficult to actually avoid crossing the boundaries 30 and 32 . however the present method will provide the means to properly redirect the drainhole back into the producing zone 10 after a boundary is crossed . other directional sensing devices may be substituted for device 24 and it is anticipated that certain devices may provide better control or improved results . for example it is know that radar type devices can be used to transmit directional microwave energy into rock formation and that the reflection and absorption characteristics of the formation can be measured and can indicate lithology and / or fluid content of the various zones . in addition , it is believed that these devices may provide useful information at distances of ten to fifty feet or more . with such devices , proximity to an upper or lower boundary may be detected from a greater distance so that trajectory in drainhole 18 can be more easily controlled . in addition , it may be possible to make an actual determination of distance to a boundary and with this information to cause the drainhole 18 to travel essentially parallel to and at a fixed distance from one of the boundaries . while the present invention has been illustrated and described with respect to particular apparatus and methods of operation , it is apparent that various modifications and changes can be made therein within the scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims .	4
fig3 a to 4b illustrate an embodiment of the present technology . part ( 1 ) in fig3 b illustrates an arrangement of optical signals which are fragmented in a wavelength direction due to path change . arrows having different thicknesses represent optical signals of different modulation methods . a guard band ( dotted line ) is provided between optical signals of different modulation methods . at this state , according to an instruction from a network controller 10 illustrated in fig3 a , wavelengths of optical transmitting / receiving devices 11 - 1 to 11 - 4 and paths of roadm devices 12 - 1 to 12 - 4 are changed so as to gather wavelength positions of the optical signals so that optical signals of the same modulation method are arranged on adjacent wavelength positions , for each modulation method . accordingly , the number of guard bands can be reduced as illustrated in part ( 3 ) in fig3 b , being able to improve wavelength usage efficiency . an operation that fragmented optical signals are rearranged so that optical signals of same modulation method are arranged on adjacent wavelength positions for every modulation method is called wavelength defragmentation ( sometimes abbreviated to defrag ). if the number of vacant wavelengths of an optical network system is low when the wavelength defragmentation is performed , the number of wavelength arrangement changing times is increased and performing time of the wavelength defragmentation is increased . accordingly , as illustrated in part ( 2 ) in fig3 b , wavelength bands of optical amplifiers 13 - 1 to 13 - 4 are temporarily expanded in the performance of the wavelength defragmentation so as to rearrange wavelengths by using the expanded wavelength bands . after the completion of the wavelength rearrangement , the wavelength bands of the optical amplifiers 13 - 1 to 13 - 4 are returned to the original . fig4 a and 4b illustrate an example of an operation of the embodiment . in fig4 a and 4b , upturned arrows represent optical signals of each wavelength and optical signals which are represented by arrows having different thicknesses represent optical signals of different modulation methods . a rectangle depicted by a dotted line represents a guard band . fig4 a illustrates an example that wavelength defragmentation is performed without performing expanding band , and fig4 b illustrates an example that wavelength defragmentation is performed with the performance of expanding band . by performing the wavelength defragmentation , spectral efficiency can be enhanced . further , by performing the expanding band , the number of performing times of wavelength arrangement change can be reduced and as a result , performance time of the wavelength defragmentation can be reduced . in fig4 a , the wavelength defragmentation is performed without performing the expanding band . part ( 1 ) in fig4 a illustrates a state that wavelength positions of optical signals of each modulation method are fragmented and wavelength positions are aligned in a random manner . in this case , guard bands are provided between respective optical signals so as to avoid degradation of transmission performance due to mutual effect of the optical signals . the wavelength defragmentation is performed in this state . first , one of optical signals depicted by the thickest arrows is moved to an outermost wavelength position as depicted by an upside arrow of part ( 1 ). then , as illustrated in part ( 2 ), two optical signals depicted by arrows having an intermediate thickness are moved to wavelength positions that have become vacant due to the movement of part ( 1 ) and are adjacent to another optical signal beam which is depicted by an arrow having an intermediate thickness . at this time , one of the guard bands may not be used . subsequently , as illustrated in part ( 3 ), optical signals depicted by thin arrows are moved to the wavelength position which is vacant due to the movement of part ( 2 ) so that thin arrows are gathered . all optical signals depicted by thick arrows are moved to wavelength positions adjacent to each other in part ( 4 ), and last optical signal depicted by a thin arrow is moved to a wavelength position adjacent to other optical signals depicted by thin arrows in part ( 5 ). accordingly , arrows of respective thicknesses are moved to the wavelength positions to be gathered for respective thicknesses as illustrated in part ( 6 ). thus , the wavelength defragmentation is completed . fig4 b illustrates a case where the wavelength defragmentation is performed with the performance of the expanding band . part ( 1 ) illustrates a state that wavelength positions of optical signals of each thickness are fragmented and many guard bands are provided . first , as depicted by upside arrows of part ( 1 ), all optical signals depicted by thick arrows are moved to a wavelength band which is expanded by the expanding band . next , as illustrated in part ( 2 ), optical signal depicted by thin arrows and optical signal depicted by intermediate thick arrows are moved to adjacent wavelength positions respectively by using bands which are generated by the movement of the optical signal depicted by thick arrows . then , as illustrated in part ( 3 ), all optical signals which are depicted by thick arrows and moved in part ( 1 ) are moved to a band which has become vacant by respectively gathering the optical signals which are depicted by thin arrows and intermediate thick arrows . accordingly , the expanding band is ended in part ( 4 ), and the wavelength band is turned to the original . thus , the wavelength defragmentation is completed . when fig4 a and fig4 b are compared to each other , the wavelength defragmentation of a case where the expanding band is not performed as illustrated in fig4 a includes six operations , while the wavelength defragmentation of a case where the expanding band is performed as illustrated in fig4 b includes only four operations . thus , it is understood that the wavelength defragmentation with the performance of the expanding band can be completed by fewer operations . fig5 to 11 illustrate a flow of operations of the wavelength defragmentation . as illustrated in fig5 , estimation values of respective wavelengths including vacant wavelengths of the optical network are calculated after determination of a moving target signal . the calculating method of estimation values will be described later with reference to fig7 . when the maximum value of evaluation values of the vacant wavelengths is larger than an evaluation value of a current wavelength of the moving target signal , the moving target signal is moved to a wavelength of the maximum evaluation value . when the maximum value of the evaluation value of vacant wavelengths is equal to or smaller than the evaluation value of the current wavelength of the moving target signal , the current moving target signal is not moved and the moving target signal is changed . determination of a moving target signal and calculation and comparison of an evaluation value are performed by the network controller 10 . further , the network controller 10 performs moving instruction and the like with respect to the optical transmitting / receiving devices , the roadm devices , the optical amplifiers , and the like . it is assumed that the network controller 10 holds information of usage situation of a current wavelength , information representing where a guard band exists , and the like . fig6 is a flowchart of algorithm of the wavelength defragmentation . when the wavelength defragmentation is started , a parameter i which manages a moving target signal is set to a default value ( i = 1 ) ( operation s 10 ). in operation s 11 , a signal of a wavelength λi is set to the moving target signal . in operation s 12 , evaluation values of respective vacant wavelengths are calculated . in operation s 13 , whether the maximum value of the evaluation values of the vacant wavelengths is larger than an evaluation value of the current wavelength of the moving target signal is determined . when the maximum value of the evaluation values of the vacant wavelengths is larger than the evaluation value of the current wavelength of the moving target signal , the moving target signal is moved to a wavelength on which the evaluation value is maximum ( operation s 14 ). after the movement , i is returned to the default value ( operation s 10 ). when the evaluation value of the vacant wavelengths is equal to or smaller than the evaluation value of the current wavelength , whether i is the maximum value is determined in operation s 15 . when i does not reach the maximum value , the moving target signal is changed under the condition of i = i + 1 in operation s 16 . when i is already the maximum value , the processing is ended . here , each wavelength is given a number as λ 1 , λ 2 , . . . from a shorter wavelength every time in operation s 9 . fig7 illustrates an example of calculation of an evaluation value . an evaluation value is calculated from a signal adjacent to a vacant wavelength which is a candidate of a movement destination . when the adjacent signal has the same modulation method as that of the moving target signal , the evaluation value is set to 1 . at this time , in a case where there is a plurality of adjacent signals of the same modulation method , the number of the signals is set to the evaluation value . when two signals of the same modulation method are adjacent , the evaluation value is set to 2 , and when four signals of the same modulation method are adjacent , the evaluation value is set to 4 ( as illustrated in fig7 ). when the adjacent signal is a modulation signal of a different modulation method or there are no adjacent signals , the evaluation value is set to 0 . in terms of the moving target signal , when signals of the same modulation method as that of the moving target signal are adjacent , the number of the wavelengths is set to the evaluation value . when there are no adjacent signals of the same modulation method , the evaluation value is set to 0 . referring to fig8 , an operation of the wavelength defragmentation in a case the algorithm of fig6 is employed is described . an optical signal a of part ( 1 ) is moved to a next position of an optical signal depicted by a thick arrow as illustrated in part ( 2 ). an optical signal b of part ( 2 ) is moved to a next position of an optical signal depicted by a thin arrow as illustrated in part ( 3 ). an optical signal c of part ( 3 ) is moved to a next position of an optical signal depicted by an intermediate thick arrow as illustrated in part ( 4 ). an optical signal d of part ( 4 ) is moved to a next position of a left - side optical signal beam depicted by a thick arrow as illustrated in part ( 5 ). an optical signal e of part ( 5 ) is moved to a next position of a left - side group of optical signals depicted by intermediate thick arrows as illustrated in part ( 6 ). an optical signal f of part ( 6 ) is moved to a next position of a middle optical signal beam depicted by a thin arrow as illustrated in part ( 7 ). an optical signal g of part ( 7 ) is moved to a next position of a middle group of optical signals depicted by thin arrows as illustrated in part ( 8 ). an optical signal h of part ( 8 ) is moved to a next position of a middle group of optical signals depicted by thin arrows as illustrated in part ( 9 ). an optical signal i of part ( 9 ) is moved to a next position of a right - side group of optical signals depicted by thick arrows as illustrated in part ( 10 ). an optical signal j of part ( 10 ) is moved to a next position of a right - side group of optical signals depicted by thick arrows as illustrated in part ( 11 ). fig9 to 11 illustrate the wavelength defragmentation in a case where the expanding band is performed . fig9 is a schematic flowchart for performing the wavelength defragmentation with the performance of the expanding band . when the processing is started , whether there is a vacant wavelength in the expanded band is determined in operation s 20 . when the determination of operation s 20 is no , the process goes to operation s 23 . when the determination of operation s 20 is yes , a wavelength of a signal is changed to a wavelength of the expanded band in operation s 21 and whether the number of vacant wavelengths in a signal band ( normal band ) before the expanding band is equal to or more than a given number is determined in operation s 22 . the given number here is arbitrarily set by a system designer . when the determination in operation s 22 is no , the process returns to operation s 20 . when the determination in operation s 22 is yes , wavelengths are changed so that optical signals of the same modulation method in the normal band are gathered for each modulation method in operation s 23 and the wavelengths of signals in the wavelength range are changed to wavelengths of the normal band in operation s 24 after the completion of the gathering . then , the expanded band is returned to the original in operation s 25 , and the processing is ended . fig1 is a flowchart illustrating algorithm of the wavelength defragmentation in a case where the expanding band is performed . in a case where the expanding band is performed , a signal of a predetermined modulation method ( for example , a signal depicted by the thickest arrow in fig1 ) is moved to the expanded band immediately after the wavelength defragmentation is started . subsequently , movement of a wavelength is performed through operations similar to fig6 and 7 , and a signal in the expanded band is moved to a normal band after the completion of the processing . when the wavelength defragmentation is started , optical signals of a predetermined modulation method are moved to the expanded band in operation s 30 . in operation s 31 , i is initialized to 1 . in operation s 32 , a signal of wavelength λi is set to a moving target . in operation s 33 , evaluation values of vacant wavelengths are calculated . in operation s 34 , whether the maximum value of the evaluation values of the vacant wavelengths is larger than an evaluation value of the signal of wavelength λi is determined . when the determination of operation s 34 is yes , the moving target signal is moved to a wavelength of the maximum evaluation value in operation s 35 and the process returns to operation s 31 . when the determination of operation s 34 is no , whether i is the maximum value is determined in operation s 36 . this maximum value is the number of wavelengths which are kept without being moved and are given the numbers in operation s 29 . when the determination of operation s 36 is no , i = i + 1 is set and the process returns to operation s 32 . when the determination of operation s 36 is yes , the signals in the expanded band are moved to the normal band in operation s 38 , and the processing is ended . here , each wavelength is given a number as λ 1 , λ 2 , . . . from a shorter wavelength every time in operation s 29 . further , before the start and after the end of the processing of fig1 , bands of the optical amplifiers are expanded and are returned to the normal band respectively . referring to fig1 , the operation of the wavelength defragmentation in a case where the algorithm of fig1 is employed is described . in part ( 1 ), optical signals of each wavelength are fragmented . in part ( 2 ), all optical signals depicted by thick arrows are moved to the expanded band . then , an optical signal a of part ( 2 ) is moved to a next position of a left - side optical signal beam depicted by a thin arrow in part ( 3 ). an optical signal b of part ( 3 ) is moved to a next position of middle optical signal beam depicted by an intermediate thick arrow in part ( 4 ). an optical signal c of part ( 4 ) is moved to a next position of a left - side group of optical signals depicted by thin arrows in part ( 5 ). an optical signal d of part ( 5 ) is moved to a next position of a group of optical signals depicted by intermediate thick arrows in part ( 6 ). an optical signal e of part ( 6 ) is moved to a next position of a group of optical signals depicted by thin arrows in part ( 7 ). then , the optical signals which are depicted by thick arrows and have been put in the expanded band are moved into the normal band in part ( 8 ). fig1 to 14 illustrate the first configuration of the optical network according to the embodiment . fig1 illustrates the configuration of the optical network . the optical network system includes the optical transmitting / receiving devices 11 - 1 to 11 - 4 for wavelength multiplexing communication , the optical amplifiers 13 - 1 to 13 - 4 for wavelength multiplexing communication , the roadm devices 12 - 1 to 12 - 4 , and the network controller 10 . the network controller 10 manages a wavelength used in the optical network system , the way of setting a path , a vacant wavelength , a modulation method and a modulation rate of each path , and the like . when a path is re - built and a wavelength is switched , for example , the network controller 10 gives operation instruction to control the optical transmitting / receiving devices 11 - 1 to 11 - 4 for wavelength multiplexing communication , the optical amplifiers 13 - 1 to 13 - 4 for wavelength multiplexing communication and the roadm devices 12 - 1 to 12 - 4 . fig1 illustrates the configuration of the roadm device . the roadm device 12 is composed of a coupler 20 and wavelength selective switches ( wss ) 21 - 1 and 21 - 2 . a wavelength division multiplexing ( wdm ) signal inputted into the roadm device 12 is split as a drop signal by the coupler 20 . the drop signal is inputted into the wss 21 - 1 and split for every wavelength so as to be inputted into a corresponding optical receiver ( rx ) 22 - 1 , 22 - 2 , . . . , or 22 - i of the optical transmitting / receiving device . on the other hand , each add signal outputted from the optical transmitter ( tx ) 23 - 1 , 23 - 2 , . . . , or 23 - i is inputted into the wss 21 - 2 and combined with the wdm signal which passes through the coupler 20 so as to be outputted from the roadm device 12 . optical amplifiers 24 and 25 for wavelength multiplexing communication are respectively provided on a former stage and a subsequent stage of the roadm device 12 and amplify the wdm signal . the optical amplifier 24 on the former stage operates as a post - amplifier and the optical amplifier 25 on the subsequent stage operates as a pre - amplifier . a controller 26 ( 1 ) expands wavelength bands of the optical amplifiers 24 and 25 , ( 2 ) changes wavelengths of the optical transmitters 22 - 1 to 22 - i and the optical receivers 23 - 1 to 23 - i , and ( 3 ) changes selection wavelengths of the wss 21 - 1 and 21 - 2 . fig1 illustrates an example of a flowchart of an operation of the optical network system . when the wavelength defragmentation is started , the number of vacant wavelengths of the optical network system is confirmed ( operation s 40 ). in operation s 41 , whether the number of vacant wavelengths is equal to or lower than a given number is determined . at this time , in a case where the number of vacant wavelengths is more than the given number , the wavelengths are rearranged in the normal band without performing the expanding band of the optical amplifiers . on the other hand , in a case where the number of vacant wavelengths is equal to or lower than the given number , the bands of the optical amplifiers are expanded ( operation s 42 ) and the process goes to operation s 43 so as to perform rearrangement of wavelengths . here , it is assumed that the network controller 10 holds information of vacant wavelengths . in the rearrangement of wavelengths , after the wavelength of the optical transmitting / receiving device is changed ( operation s 43 ), the wavelength of the roadm device is changed ( operation s 44 ). the rearrangement of wavelengths ( wavelength defragmentation ) is repeated until optical signals of the same modulation method become adjacent to each other for every modulation method ( in a case where the determination of operation s 45 becomes no ). when the rearrangement of wavelengths is completed ( in a case where the determination of operation s 45 is yes ), whether the expanding band has been performed is determined in operation s 46 . when it is determined that the expanding band is not performed in operation s 46 , the processing is ended , and when it is determined that the expanding band is performed , the bands of the optical amplifiers are returned to the normal state in operation s 47 and the operation of the wavelength defragmentation is completed . the wavelength defragmentation may be performed when the number of guard bands exceeds a given number or may be performed regularly such as once a day or once a month , for example . fig1 to 19 illustrate configuration examples of an optical amplifier for wavelength multiplexing communication which is used in the optical network system of the embodiment . fig1 and 16 illustrate a first configuration example of the optical amplifier . as depicted in fig1 , an erbium doped fiber amplifier ( edfa ) is commonly used as the optical amplifier for wavelength multiplexing communication . the edfa includes optical isolators 30 - 1 and 30 - 2 , pumping optical couplers 31 - 1 , 31 - 2 , and 31 - 3 , pumping light sources 32 - 1 , 32 - 2 , and 32 - 3 , erbium doped fibers ( edf ) 33 - 1 and 33 - 2 , a gain equalizer ( geq ) 34 , and a variable optical attenuator ( voa ) 35 . pumping light of the pumping light source 32 - 1 is inputted into the edf 33 - 1 and is used for amplification of optical signal . the optical signal amplified in the edf 33 - 1 is inputted into the gain equalizer 34 . the gain equalizer 34 adjusts intensity of optical signal of each wavelength so as to flat gain deviation of the edf 33 - 1 . the voa 35 adjusts attenuation quantity when the intensity of the inputted signal is changed and thus keeps the gain of whole of the optical amplifier steady so as to keep the gain deviation of the optical amplifier flat . pumping light from the pumping light sources 32 - 2 and 32 - 3 is inputted into the edf 33 - 2 and the optical signal from the voa 35 is amplified . the optical signal amplified in the edf 33 - 2 is outputted as an output signal . a wavelength property of a gain of the edfs 33 - 1 and 33 - 2 is determined by an operation point ( population inversion ratio ) which is determined by pumping power outputted from the pumping power source . this wavelength property of the gain is illustrated in fig1 . in fig1 , a horizontal axis represents a wavelength and a vertical axis represents a relative gain coefficient . as illustrated in fig1 , when pumping power is increased , an operation point increases and a gain wavelength band expands . in fig1 , it is assumed that the population inversion ratio is 0 . 7 before the expanding band and the population inversion ratio becomes 0 . 8 after the expanding band . at this time , though the gain wavelength property is flat in the normal operation , deviation of the gain wavelength property is generated by changing the operation point . the deviation of the gain wavelength property is flatted by controlling voas 36 for respective optical signal which are included in the wss 21 - 2 of the roadm device 12 . though power consumption of the whole system temporarily increases by increasing pumping power of the pumping light sources 32 - 1 to 32 - 3 , the operation of the optical amplifier is returned to the original after the end of the wavelength defragmentation and thereby the power consumption is also returned to the normal state . further , deviation of the gain property is flatted by controlling the voa 35 of the optical amplifier as well . deviation of the gain property is flatted by controlling the attenuation quantity of the voa 35 and adjusting the gain of the whole of the optical amplifier . the voa 35 is controlled by an optical amplifier controller 37 which controls the optical amplifier . the optical amplifier controller 37 controls output power of the pumping light sources 32 - 1 to 32 - 3 as well . that is , the optical amplifier controller 37 increases output power of the pumping light sources 32 - 1 to 32 - 3 in a case where expanding band is performed and the optical amplifier controller 37 returns the output power to the original output power in a case where the band is returned to the normal band . the attenuation quantity of the voa 36 in the wss 21 - 2 of the roadm device 12 is controlled by a roadm controller 38 . the roadm controller 38 and the controller 26 of fig1 function in the same fashion . the roadm controller 38 and the optical amplifier controller 37 perform control operations in response to instructions of the network controller 10 which manages the whole network . fig1 and 18 illustrate a second configuration example of an optical amplifier . in fig1 , elements same as those in fig1 are given the same reference numerals and the description thereof is omitted . in fig1 and 18 , an operation point of an edfa is increased so as to expand a gain wavelength band as is the same with fig1 and 16 . deviation of the gain wavelength property generated at this time is compensated by an active gain equalizer ( ageq ) 40 so as to flat the gain wavelength property . in the expanding band , output power of the pumping light sources 32 - 1 to 32 - 3 is increased so as to increase the population inversion ratio of the edfs 33 - 1 and 33 - 2 larger than the normal state . fig1 illustrates a gain property of the edfs 33 - 1 and 33 - 2 . fig1 illustrates a gain property for each population inversion ratio as is the case with fig1 . a horizontal axis of fig1 represents a wavelength and a vertical axis represents a relative gain coefficient . it is assumed that the population inversion ratio is approximately 0 . 7 before the expanding band and the population inversion ratio is approximately 0 . 8 after the expanding band . when the population inversion ratio is 0 . 8 , the gain is higher than that in a case of the population inversion ratio of 0 . 7 and a band available for signal amplification is expanded , but gain deviation is increased . accordingly , the gain deviation is flatted by the ageq 40 so as to maintain a transmission property of optical signal . of course , attenuation quantity of the voa 35 may be simultaneously controlled . though operation efficiency is degraded due to the increase of the output power of the pumping light source in the expanding band , the band is returned to the normal band after the end of the wavelength defragmentation and the optical network system is operated in a state of excellent operation efficiency in the normal operation . fig1 illustrates a third configuration example of an optical amplifier . in fig1 , elements same as those in fig1 are given the same reference numerals and the description thereof is omitted . fig1 illustrates an example that a post amplifier which is on a former stage of the optical amplifier is composed of a combination of an edfa and a distributed raman amplifier ( dra ). the dra inputs pumping light from raman pumping light sources 45 - 1 and 45 - 2 into a transmission path and uses a generated raman gain for amplification . the pumping light from the raman pumping light sources 45 - 1 and 45 - 2 are multiplexed in a coupler 46 and introduced to the transmission path via a coupler 47 . generally , a band of one pumping light beam is not sufficient in the raman amplification , so that a plurality of pumping light beams of different wavelengths is commonly used in the raman amplification . in this example , it is set that two pumping light beams of different wavelengths are used . for example , it is set that the pumping light source 45 - 1 is used to amplify a short wavelength side and the pumping light source 45 - 2 is used to amplify a long wavelength side . at this time , a gain wavelength property of a raman gain is determined by a combination of wavelengths and power of the raman pumping light sources 45 - 1 and 45 - 2 . in the configuration of fig1 , deviation of the gain wavelength property which is generated by increasing the operation point of the edfa is compensated by adjusting a power ratio of the raman pumping light sources 45 - 1 and 45 - 2 . for example , it is assumed that the population inversion ratio of the edfs 33 - 1 and 33 - 2 is increased due to an expanding band operation . apparent from fig1 and 18 , when the population inversion ratio is increased , a gain is increased in the edfas , but increase of the gain at the short wavelength side is large and increase of the gain at the long wavelength side is small . accordingly , it is desirable that the gain at the long wavelength side is made larger so as to attain a flat gain property in the whole amplification band . in this case , when raman amplification is performed , output power of pumping light of the pumping light source 45 - 2 which is used for amplification of the long wavelength side is made larger than output power of pumping light of the pumping light source 45 - 1 which is used for amplification of the short wavelength side . accordingly , optical signal at the long wavelength side is further amplified by the raman amplification and a total gain property of the raman amplifiers and the edfas becomes flatter . fig2 to 23 illustrate the configuration of a second embodiment . wavelengths have to be switched in wavelength rearrangement in the configuration of the above - described first embodiment , so that signal disconnection occurs . fig2 illustrates the configuration of a roadm device which can rearrange wavelengths without generating signal disconnection in an operation . in fig2 , elements same as those of fig1 are given the same reference characters and the description thereof is omitted . in the configuration of the second embodiment , in addition to the configuration of the first embodiment , optical receivers 50 - i + 1 to 50 - j , optical transmitters 51 - i + 1 to 51 - j , data switches 52 and 53 , or circuits 54 - 1 to 54 - i , and branch circuits 55 - 1 to 55 - i are provided , for the expanding band . fig2 and 22 illustrate an operation example . here , it is assumed that there are three optical signals of λ 1 to λ 3 in the normal band and optical signals of two wavelengths can be stored in the expanded band . first , it is considered that a signal of λ 2 is arranged on λ 4 . in part ( 1 ), the switch 53 of the optical transmitter is switched so as to copy a transmission data signal , which is inputted into λ 2 , to λ 4 . at this point , the same data signal flows in λ 2 and λ 4 . subsequently , in part ( 2 ), the switch 52 of the optical receiver is switched so as to obtain theoretical sum of outputs of λ 4 and λ 2 as a reception signal . at this point , the signal of 22 is copied to 24 . subsequently , in part ( 3 ), the optical transmitter of λ 2 and the optical receiver are respectively blocked and the rearrangement from λ 2 to λ 4 is completed . next , in part ( 4 ), rearrangement from λ 3 to λ 5 is performed in a similar manner to the operation from parts ( 1 ) to ( 3 ). rearrangement from λ 4 to λ 3 is performed in part ( 5 ) and rearrangement from λ 5 to λ 2 is performed in part ( 6 ). accordingly , rearrangement of wavelengths is enabled without data disconnection . fig2 illustrates a processing flow for wavelength change . when the wavelength change processing is started , the switch 53 of the optical transmitter is switched in operation s 50 and data of optical signal of a wavelength of a movement source is put on optical signal of a wavelength of a movement destination as well . in operation s 51 , the switch 52 of the optical receiver is switched so as to receive data which is put on the optical signal of the wavelength of the movement destination as well as data which is put on the optical signal of the wavelength of the movement source . the optical transmitter of the wavelength of the movement source is stopped in operation s 52 , and the optical receiver of the wavelength of the movement source is stopped in operation s 53 . accordingly , the wavelength of the optical signal is changed from the movement source to the movement destination . in operation s 54 , whether the wavelength defragmentation is ended is determined . when the wavelength defragmentation is not ended , the process is returned to operation s 50 and the processing is repeated . when the wavelength defragmentation is ended , the processing is ended . fig2 and 25 illustrate another example of a wavelength moving method . the network controller 10 monitors the number of guard bands , and when the number of guard bands is equal to or more than a given number , the network controller 10 performs the wavelength defragmentation , or the network controller 10 regularly performs the wavelength defragmentation . then , as illustrated in fig2 , the network controller 10 preferentially rearranges optical signal of a modulation method of which an osnr tolerance property in the expanding band ( for example , 10 gbit / s nrz modulation method ) is superior , in a band which is expanded . that is , the expanded band is not normally used in the expanding band and the expanded band is a band in which the population inversion ratio of the edf of the optical amplifier is not optimum . accordingly , much noise is put on optical signal in such expanded band . optical signal of a high speed modulation method such as optical signal of 100 gbit / s dp - qpsk modulation method has a low osnr tolerance property . therefore , if such optical signal is moved to the expanded band in the wavelength defragmentation , the osnr is degraded and a transmittable distance becomes short . accordingly , a signal of a modulation method of which an osnr tolerance property is high is preferentially moved to the expanded band in the wavelength defragmentation . signals of a modulation method of which the osnr tolerance property is low are rearranged in the normal band . as illustrated in fig2 , optical signals of a modulation method of which the osnr tolerance property is low are gathered in a wavelength band of which the osnr tolerance property is superior and optical signals of a modulation method of which the osnr tolerance property is high are gathered to a band of which the osnr tolerance property is relatively inferior , in the rearrangement by the wavelength defragmentation . the network controller 10 preliminarily holds information that which optical signal &# 39 ; s modulation method &# 39 ; s osnr tolerance property is high or low and information of a wavelength band of which the osnr tolerance property is superior , and the network controller 10 performs rearrangement of wavelengths by using the information in performing the wavelength defragmentation . the network controller 10 , the controller 26 , the optical amplifier controller 37 and roadm controller 38 may include a memory which stores a program and data and a processor which executes the program , and part of the function of the optical network system described above may be realized by software . 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 setting tool 10 according to the present invention , which is shown in fig1 - 2 in its initial position , has a housing 11 , a bolt guide 12 projecting beyond the housing 11 tin a setting direction 40 , and a handle 31 extending downward from the housing . on the handle 31 , there is provided an actuation switch 32 or trigger for initiating a setting process . the setting tool 10 can be driven , e . g ., with propellant charges arranged on a displaceable carrier strip , not shown in the drawings . e . g ., with the setting tool being arranged on a mount , the housing 11 can also have two , movable relative to each other parts . a magazine 15 for fastening elements 18 and displaceable in an axial direction is arranged on the bolt guide 12 . the fastening elements 18 are carried by a belt - shaped magazine strip 16 , with the fastening elements 18 being arranged in respective separate guide elements 17 . the displacement of the fastening elements 18 in a direction toward the bolt guide 12 takes place in the magazine 15 automatically by a spring - biased transportation carriage , not shown , displaceable along a guide in the magazine 15 . the fastening elements 18 are advanced from the magazine 15 into the bolt guide 12 through a side opening 14 . in the housing 11 , there is further provided a displaceable piston guide 13 that is supported in the housing 11 by a spring 27 . a percussion piston , not shown , is displaceably arranged in the piston guide 13 . the percussion piston drives a fastening element 18 in a constructional component after actuation of the switch 32 and ignition of a propellant charge . the magazine 15 is so formed that it circumferentially surrounds the bolt guide 12 at least regionwise . at the end of the magazine 15 adjacent to the housing 11 , there is provided an engagement surface 19 that is formed as annular surface , at least regionwise , and that surrounds the setting direction end of the piston guide 13 . the engagement surface 19 can be completely circular or be regionwise interrupted . the function of the engagement surface 19 will be explained in detail further below . in a recess of the magazine 15 adjacent to the bolt guide 12 , there is arranged a spring 22 supported at its opposite ends against the magazine 15 and a projection 25 provided on the bolt guide 12 . the bolt guide 12 has another projection 26 which is supported , in the initial position of the setting tool 10 , against a stop surface 30 of the magazine 15 , as shown in fig1 . the spring 22 biases the projections 25 , 26 against the respective stop surfaces 30 ′ 30 of the magazine 15 . the front , in the setting direction 40 , end surface of the bolt guide 12 , defines a press - on surface 28 that is pressed against a constructional component u . the bolt guide 12 is further provided with a locking edge 29 located at the end of the opening 14 through which a fastening element 18 is advanced into the bolt guide 12 . the locking edge 29 can prevent the displacement of the fastening element 18 and of the magazine strip 16 even in a completely press - on condition of the setting tool 10 , as it will be explained in detail further below . the magazine 15 can be connected with the bolt guide 12 without a possibility of rotation relative thereto , and the unit formed of bolt guide 12 and the magazine 15 can be rotated with respect to the piston guide 13 . in this case , it becomes possible to displace the magazine 15 with respect to the handle 31 of the setting tool 10 , e . g ., by 180 °. at the setting direction end of the housing 11 , there is provided a cylindrical receiving space 20 defining , at its end adjacent to the housing 11 , a support surface 24 against which a second spring 21 is supported . the second spring 21 that surrounds the piston guide 13 and a spring 27 which circumferentially surrounds the piston guide 13 . the front end of the second spring 21 is closed with an annular element 23 displaceably arranged in the receiving space 20 . the annular element 23 can be pressed into the receiving space 20 against a biasing force of the spring 21 . to make the actuation of the setting tool 10 possible , the bolt guide 12 and the piston guide 13 , which adjoins the bolt guide 12 , should be displaced relative to the housing 11 over a press - on path a 1 through a 3 in order to cock the ignition device , not shown , which is arranged in the rear of the housing 11 and to be able to actuate the switch 32 . to this end , as shown in fig3 the press - on surface 28 of the bolt guide 12 is set against the constructional component u , and the housing 11 is pressed against the constructional component u in the setting direction 40 . in fig3 the setting tool 10 has already been displaced over a press - on path a 1 against the construction component u ( see fig1 and 2 ). the press - on path a 1 is defined by a distance between an engagement surface 19 and a stop surface 33 . with the setting tool 10 being displaced over the press - on path a 1 , the piston guide 13 is displaced against the biasing force of the spring 27 into the housing 11 , with the spring 27 being compressed by a respective length . in this position of the setting tool 10 , the position of the bolt guide 12 with respect to the magazine 15 remains unchanged . the annular element 23 only engages , with its setting direction stop surface 33 , the engagement surface 19 of the magazine 15 under action of the biasing force of the spring 21 . in fig4 - 5 , the setting tool 10 is displaced further over a press - on path a 2 in the setting direction 40 and remains pressed against the constructional component u . in this position of the setting tool 10 , the bolt guide 12 is displaced relative to the magazine 15 by the biasing force of the spring 22 . as a result , the locking edge 29 is so displaced ( see fig5 ) that it prevents displacement of the magazine strip 16 or the guide elements 17 as it overlaps the end 34 of the uppermost guide element 17 . at that , the initial condition of the spring 21 remains unchanged as the biasing force of the spring 21 is greater than that of spring 22 . in fig6 the setting tool 10 is displaced further over a distance a 3 in the setting direction 40 against the constructional component u . upon displacement of the setting tool 10 over the path a 3 , the annular element 23 is displaced against the biasing force of the 21 into the receiving space 20 in the housing 11 . only in the position of the setting tool 10 shown in fig6 the setting process can be initiated by the actuation of the switch 32 . when the setting tool 10 is lifted off the constructional component u , the springs 21 , 22 , 27 act in a reverse , in comparison with the press - on step , order , displacing the corresponding components of the setting tool 10 in the setting direction 40 . upon lifting off the setting tool 10 over the path a 3 , the magazine 15 is pressed away from the housing 11 by the annular element 23 and the spring 21 that applies a biasing force to the annular element 23 into the position shown in fig4 - 5 . the displacement of the magazine strip 15 in this position of the setting tool 10 is prevented as the locking edge 29 of the bolt guide 12 is located between two guide elements 17 , so that the displacement of the magazine strip 17 is blocked . thus , the forward movement of the magazine strip 16 , during the lifting of the setting tool 10 , is prevented . if the magazine 15 and the bolt guide 12 are pivoted with respect to the piston guide 13 by 180 °, when the unit of the magazine 15 and the bolt guide 12 is pivotally arranged relative to the piston guide , this effect is still available . this is because a contact between the annular element 23 and the engagement surface 19 of the magazine 15 is insured due to the annular shape , at least regionwise , of the engagement surface 19 and the annular element 23 . only after the setting tool 10 has been lifted over the path a 2 to the position showing fig3 the locking edge 29 is displaced out of the displacement path of the magazine strip 19 . the bolt guide 12 is displaced relative to the magazine 15 by the spring 22 , so that the projections 25 , 26 again abut the stop surfaces 30 ′, 30 of the magazine 15 , respectively . upon a complete lifting of the setting tool 10 over the path a 1 , the setting tool 10 returns into its initial position shown in fig1 - 2 . though the present invention was shown and described with references to the preferred embodiment , such is merely illustrative of the present invention and is not to be construed as a limitation thereof and various modifications of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art . it is therefore not intended that the present invention be limited to the disclosed embodiment or details thereof , and the present invention includes all variations and / or alternative embodiments within the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims .	1
as required , detailed embodiments of the present invention are disclosed herein ; however , it is to be understood that the disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary of the invention , which may be embodied in various forms . therefore , specific structural and functional details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting , but merely as a basis for the claims and as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to variously employ the present invention in virtually any appropriately detailed structure . with reference to the figures , fig1 through 9 illustrate embodiments of a gift card holder 100 comprising a backer board 105 supporting a bellowed frame 110 . the frame 110 comprises a front panel 115 surrounding an aperture or window 120 and pleated sides 125 extending from the front panel 115 to attach to the front surface of the backer board 105 . the frame 110 may therefore extend from or retract closer to the backer board 105 as the pleated sides 125 unfold or fold , respectively . the space 130 between the frame 110 and the backer board 105 mimics a stage in which one or more images 135 are displayed upon the front surface of the backer board 105 and / or upon cardstock cutout character or decorative elements 140 that may be mounted within the space and which are viewable through the window 120 . when the frame 110 is in a retracted disposition , the window 120 is closed by two pleated flaps 150 that may be designed to mimic stage curtains . fig1 and 3 are front views of embodiments of a gift card holder 100 showing the flaps 125 in a closed position . pull tabs 155 extend from the outer margins of the flaps 150 and through apertures 160 in the sides 125 so that they may be grasped by a user . each flap 150 typically comprises three panels serially connected to one another by two folds or hinges , namely an outer panel 151 , middle panel 152 and rear panel 153 . the flaps 150 may share a common rear panel 153 , which is typically adhered to the backer board 105 and may form a partial front covering of the backer board 105 that displays the backer board images 135 referenced above . the pull tabs 155 extend outwardly from each outer panel 151 . one or more character or decorative elements 170 , typically shapes cut from cardstock , project from or are mounted upon an elongated base 175 that extends outwardly in the plane of the backer board 105 and frame 110 toward the sides 125 . base ends 180 pass through apertures 185 in the middle panels 152 and are terminated in lateral extensions 190 that exceed the aperture dimensions and , therefore , form stops 190 to prevent the base ends 180 from sliding out of the apertures 185 . when the pull tabs 155 are pulled outward in the direction of arrows a the middle 152 and outer 151 panels move about the hinge or fold lines therebetween and the front edge of middle panel 152 moves forward to exert pressure on the outer panel 151 , which transmits such pressure to the frame 110 causing the front panel 115 to extend forward , and the outer panels 151 move outward opening a space 195 therebetween and revealing the images 135 and elements 170 behind the window 120 . fig2 and 4 each provide a front view of a gift card holder 100 showing the flaps 150 in an open position to reveal images including characters , decorative elements and text behind the frame 110 . the backer board 105 includes a pocket 200 therein that opens at the top margin of the backer board 105 . a thumb notch 205 may be provided to assist with removal of a gift card ( not shown ) from the pocket 200 . note that drawings are not to scale or to relative scale but are representative of aspects of one or more embodiments of the present invention .	6
the quinazoline compounds of this invention can be synthesized from commercially available starting materials by methods well known in the art . for example , as shown in scheme 1 below , one can couple a suitable 4 - chloro - quinazoline derivative with a benzofuran compound to obtain a compound of this invention . the compound thus obtained can be further modified at their peripheral positions to provide other compounds of this invention . synthetic chemistry transformations useful in synthesizing desirable quinazoline compounds are described , for example , in r . larock , comprehensive organic transformations , vch publishers ( 1989 ); t . w . greene and p . g . m . wuts , protective groups in organic synthesis , 3 rd ed ., john wiley and sons ( 1999 ); l . fieser and m . fieser , fieser and fieser &# 39 ; s reagents for organic synthesis , john wiley and sons ( 1994 ); and l . paquette , ed ., encyclopedia of reagents for organic synthesis , john wiley and sons ( 1995 ) and subsequent editions thereof . before use , the compounds can be purified by column chromatography , high performance liquid chromatography , crystallization , or other suitable methods . the quinazoline compounds of this invention , when contacting with kdr , inhibit this receptor &# 39 ; s activity . an effective amount of one or more of these compounds can be therefore used to inhibit angiogenesis and treat a subject having an angiogenesis - related disorder . the term “ an effective amount ” refers to the amount of a quinazoline compound that is required to confer the intended effect in the subject . effective amounts may vary , as recognized by those skilled in the art , depending on route of administration , excipient usage , and the possibility of co - usage with other agents . the term “ treating ” refers to administering one or more of the above - described quinazoline compounds to a subject that has an angiogenesis - related disorder , or has a symptom of the disorder , or has a predisposition toward the disorder , with the purpose to cure , heal , alleviate , relieve , alter , remedy , ameliorate , improve , or affect the disorder , the symptoms of the disorder , or the predisposition toward the disorder . to practice this method , a composition having one or more of the quinazoline compounds of this invention can be administered orally , parenterally , by inhalation spray , or via an implanted reservoir . the term “ parenteral ” as used herein includes subcutaneous , intracutaneous , intravenous , intramuscular , intraarticular , intraarterial , intrasynovial , intrasternal , intrathecal , intralesional and intracranial injection or infusion techniques . an oral composition can be any orally acceptable dosage form including , but not limited to , tablets , capsules , emulsions and aqueous suspensions , dispersions and solutions . commonly used carriers for tablets include lactose and corn starch . lubricating agents , such as magnesium stearate , are also typically added to tablets . for oral administration in a capsule form , useful diluents include lactose and dried corn starch . when aqueous suspensions or emulsions are administered orally , the active ingredient can be suspended or dissolved in an oily phase combined with emulsifying or suspending agents . if desired , certain sweetening , flavoring , or coloring agents can be added . a sterile injectable composition ( e . g ., aqueous or oleaginous suspension ) can be formulated according to techniques known in the art using suitable dispersing or wetting agents ( such as , for example , tween 80 ) and suspending agents . the sterile injectable preparation can also be a sterile injectable solution or suspension in a non - toxic parenterally acceptable diluent or solvent , for example , as a solution in 1 , 3 - butanediol . among the acceptable vehicles and solvents that can be employed are mannitol , water , ringer &# 39 ; s solution and isotonic sodium chloride solution . in addition , sterile , fixed oils are conventionally employed as a solvent or suspending medium ( e . g ., synthetic mono - or di - glycerides ). fatty acids , such as oleic acid and its glyceride derivatives are useful in the preparation of injectables , as are natural pharmaceutically - acceptable oils , such as olive oil or castor oil , especially in their polyoxyethylated versions . these oil solutions or suspensions can also contain a long - chain alcohol diluent or dispersant , or carboxymethyl cellulose or similar dispersing agents . an inhalation composition can be prepared according to techniques well known in the art of pharmaceutical formulation and can be prepared as solutions in saline , employing benzyl alcohol or other suitable preservatives , absorption promoters to enhance bioavailability , fluorocarbons , and / or other solubilizing or dispersing agents known in the art . a topical composition can be formulated in form of oil , cream , lotion , ointment and the like . suitable carriers for the composition include vegetable or mineral oils , white petrolatum ( white soft paraffin ), branched chain fats or oils , animal fats and high molecular weight alcohols ( greater than c12 ). the preferred carriers are those in which the active ingredient is soluble . emulsifiers , stabilizers , humectants and antioxidants may also be included as well as agents imparting color or fragrance , if desired . additionally , transdermal penetration enhancers may be employed in these topical formulations . examples of such enhancers can be found in u . s . pat . nos . 3 , 989 , 816 and 4 , 444 , 762 . creams are preferably formulated from a mixture of mineral oil , self - emulsifying beeswax and water in which mixture the active ingredient , dissolved in a small amount of an oil , such as almond oil , is admixed . an example of such a cream is one which includes about 40 parts water , about 20 parts beeswax , about 40 parts mineral oil and about 1 part almond oil . ointments may be formulated by mixing a solution of the active ingredient in a vegetable oil , such as almond oil , with warm soft paraffin and allowing the mixture to cool . an example of such an ointment is one which includes about 30 % by weight almond and about 70 % by weight white soft paraffin . a carrier in a pharmaceutical composition must be “ acceptable ” in the sense that it is compatible with active ingredients of the formulation ( and preferably , capable of stabilizing it ) and not deleterious to the subject to be treated . for example , solubilizing agents , such as cyclodextrins ( which form specific , more soluble complexes with one or more of active quinazoline compounds of the extract ), can be utilized as pharmaceutical excipients for delivery of the active ingredients . examples of other carriers include colloidal silicon dioxide , magnesium stearate , cellulose , sodium lauryl sulfate , and d & amp ; c yellow # 10 . suitable in vitro assays can be used to preliminarily evaluate the efficacy of the above - described quinazoline compounds in inhibiting the activity of kdr or inhibiting the activity of vegf . the compounds can further be examined for its efficacy in treating an angiogenesis - related disorder by in vivo assays . for example , the compounds can be administered to an animal ( e . g ., a mouse model ) having cancer and its therapeutic effects are then accessed . based on the results , an appropriate dosage range and administration route can also be determined . without further elaboration , it is believed that the above description has adequately enabled the present invention . the following specific examples are , therefore , to be construed as merely illustrative , and not limitative of the remainder of the disclosure in any way whatsoever . to a solution of 4 - chloro - 6 , 7 - dimethoxyquinazoline ( 1 equiv .) in 2 ml ch 3 cn were added 6 - hydroxy - n , 2 - dimethylbenzofuran - 3 - carboxamide ( 1 equiv .) and k 2 co 3 ( 1 . 5 equiv .). the mixture was refluxed under stirring for 10 hr . after the solvent was evaporated , the residue was washed with water , dried over mgso 4 , filtered , concentrated , and purified by column chromatography to give the title compound in a yield of 85 %. 1 h nmr ( dmso - d 6 , 400 mhz ) δ : 2 . 49 ( s , 3h ), 2 . 81 ( d , j = 8 . 4 hz , 3h , 10 ), 3 . 97 ( s , 3h ), 3 . 98 ( s , 3h ), 7 . 24 ( dd , j = 2 . 0 , 8 . 4 hz , 1h ), 7 . 38 ( s , 1h ), 7 . 58 ( s , 1h ), 7 . 61 ( d , j = 2 . 0 hz , 1h ), 7 . 79 ( d , j = 8 . 4 hz , 1h ), 7 . 96 ( m , 1h ), 8 . 52 ( s , 1h ). this compound was prepared in a manner similar to that described in example 1 . 1 h nmr ( dmso - d 6 , 400 mhz ) δppm : 2 . 74 ( s , 3h ), 2 . 83 ( d , j = 8 . 4 hz , 3h ), 3 . 95 ( s , 3h ), 3 . 98 ( s , 3h ), 7 . 20 ( s , 1h ), 7 . 60 ( dd , j = 8 . 4 , 2 . 0 hz , 1h ), 7 . 75 ( d , j = 8 . 4 hz , 1h ), 7 . 89 ( s , 2h ), 8 . 22 ( d , j = 2 hz , 1h ), 8 . 50 ( s , 1h ), 9 . 65 ( s , 1h ). this compound was prepared in a manner similar to that described in example 1 . 1 h nmr ( dmso - d 6 , 400 mhz ): 8 . 54 ( s , 1h ), 7 . 85 ( bs , 1h ), 7 . 84 - 7 . 83 ( d , j = 2 . 8 hz , 1h ), 7 . 66 ( s , 1h ), 7 . 60 ( s , 1h ), 7 . 41 ( s , 1h ), 7 . 29 - 7 . 27 ( d , j = 8 . 0 hz , 1h ), 4 . 00 ( d , j = 2 . 8 hz , 6h ), 2 . 67 ( s , 3h ), 2 . 64 - 2 . 51 ( m , 8h ), 1 . 02 ( bs , 6h ). this compound was prepared in a manner similar to that described in example 1 . 1 h nmr ( dmso - d 6 , 400 mhz ): 8 . 53 ( s , 1h ), 8 . 22 ( s , 1h ), 7 . 72 - 7 . 70 ( d , j = 8 . 8 hz , 2h ), 7 . 63 - 7 . 61 ( d , j = 8 . 0 hz , 1h ), 7 . 41 ( s , 1h ), 7 . 26 - 7 . 24 ( d , j = 8 . 0 hz , 1h ), 4 . 00 (( d , j = 2 . 8 hz , 6h ), 2 . 88 ( bs , 1h ), 2 . 61 ( s , 3h ), 0 . 74 - 0 . 73 ( d , j = 5 . 6 hz , 2h ), 0 . 63 ( bs , 2h ). this compound was prepared following the procedure described in example 1 . inhibition of kdr kinase activity by test compounds was assessed using a z ′- lyte ™ tyr1 peptide assay kit ( invitrogen , carlsbad , calif ., u . s . a ., cat . pv3190 ). the assay was performed according to the procedures recommended by the manufacturer . briefly , each test compound in dmso ( 10 mm ) was diluted to 1 : 4 with distilled water containing 8 % dmso . the solution was placed in a test well and three control wells ( c1 , c2 , and c3 ) at 2 . 5 μl / well in a black 384 - well plate ( thermo labsystems , cambridge , u . k ., cat . 7805 ). the z ′- lyte ™ tyr1 peptide , a coumarin - fluorescein double - labeled peptide substrate , was mixed with a kdr catalytic domain ( invitrogen , cat . pv3660 ). 5 μl of the kinase / peptide mixture was added to each of the test , c1 , and c2 wells , but not c3 ( final concentration : 0 . 3 μg / ml of kinase , 2 μm of peptide ). 5 μl of phosphor - tyr1 peptide was added to the c3 well . 2 . 5 μl of 40 μm atp was added to the test and c2 wells and 2 . 5 μl of 1 . 33 × kinase buffer ( 1 × buffer : 50 mm hepes , ph7 . 5 , 0 . 01 % brij - 35 , 5 mm mgcl 2 , 5 mm mncl 2 , and 1 mm egta ) was added to the c1 and c3 wells . the plate was briefly spun at 1000 rpm to allow the solutions to be well mixed at the bottom of the wells and then sealed and shaken at 250 rpm and 25 ° c . for 1 hour . a development reagent was diluted to 1 : 128 following the instructions provided by the manufacturer . 5 μl of the diluted development reagent was added to each well . the plate was spun at 1000 rpm to allow the solutions to be well mixed at the bottom of the wells , and then sealed and shaken at 250 rpm and 25 ° c . for 1 hour . 5 μl of a stop reagent was added to each well . the plate was spun at 1000 rpm and then sealed at 250 rpm and 25 ° c . for 2 minutes . the fluorescein emission of the solution at each well was measured by a victor ™ 3 micro - plate reader at excitation 400 nm / emission 445 nm and 520 nm . the emission ratio and phosphorylation (“ phos .”) percentage were calculated by the following equations : c 100 % = average coumarin emission signal of the 100 % phos . control c 0 % = average coumarin emission signal of the 0 % phos . control f 100 % = average fluorescein emission signal of the 100 % phos . control f 0 % = average fluorescein emission signal of the 0 % phos . control inhibition %=( phos . in c2 well − phos . in test well )/( phos . in c2 well )× 100 % ic 50 ( concentration required to inhibit kdr kinase activity by 50 %) values were calculated based inhibition ratios thus obtained . the result showed that compounds 1 - 5 inhibited the activity of kdr . the tested compounds had ic 50 values ranging from 0 . 001 to 10 μm . all of the features disclosed in this specification may be combined in any combination . each feature disclosed in this specification may be replaced by an alternative feature serving the same , equivalent , or similar purpose . thus , unless expressly stated otherwise , each feature disclosed is only an example of a generic series of equivalent or similar features . from the above description , one skilled in the art can easily ascertain the essential characteristics of the present invention , and without departing from the spirit and scope thereof , can make various changes and modifications of the invention to adapt it to various usages and conditions . for example , compounds structurally analogous to the compounds of this invention can be made and used to practice this invention . thus , other embodiments are also within the claims .	2
referring now to fig1 a cutting tool 2 constructed in accordance with the present invention is shown in the drawing . the tool 2 includes a support body 4 , a booster fuse 6 , a booster explosive 8 and a shaped charge 10 . the support body 4 includes a cylindrical sleeve 12 , a cylindrical end piece 14 and a cylindrical end piece 16 . the cylindrical sleeve 12 has a centrally located internal groove 18 which is aligned with the shaped charge 10 after the tool 2 has been assembled . the groove 18 allows effective use of focusing or directing radially outwardly the explosive force generated when the shaped charge 10 is detonated . the cylindrical end piece 14 has a circumferential groove 20 for receiving a sealing member 22 , such as an 0 - ring , which seals against the inner surface of the cylindrical sleeve 12 . the cylindrical end piece 14 also has an axial cavity 24 for receiving one end of the booster fuse 6 . the end piece 14 is attached to one end of the sleeve 12 by four bolts 26 ( two shown ). attached to and extending from the end piece 14 is a centralizer comprising in the illustrated embodiment three ( two shown ) flat metal springs 28 , each of which is attached by a respective two bolts or screws 30 . the cylindrical end piece 16 has a circumferential groove 32 for receiving a sealing member 34 which seals against the interior surface of the sleeve 12 at the other end of the sleeve 12 . the end piece 16 has an axial threaded opening 36 through which a conventional mechanism for igniting the booster fuse 6 extends ( see u . s . pat . no . 3 , 057 , 295 to christopher , for example ). such mechanism is carried on a connecting member threadedly connected in the opening 36 in a conventional manner . the end piece 16 is connected to the respective end of the sleeve 12 by four bolts 38 ( two shown ). the booster fuse 6 is a conventional device ( see u . s . pat . no . 3 , 057 , 295 to christopher , for example ). it is supported at one end in the cavity 24 , and it is centrally supported by the concentric booster explosive 8 . the booster explosive 8 is an annular pellet of sensitive explosive , such as rdx explosive , which has been transported to the field location , where the tool 2 is to be assembled and used , detached from within the support body 4 . at the field location , which can be the well site or the district office or somewhere else relatively close to the well site , the booster explosive 8 is disposed concentrically about the booster fuse 6 and within the body 4 as illustrated in the drawing . the annular pellet defining the preferred embodiment of the booster explosive 8 preferably weighs less than 22 . 7 grams so that it can be individually packaged and transported as class c material . once transported to the field location , the annular pellet is then assembled into the tool 2 as described above and shown in the drawing , which assembly also includes concentrically disposing the pellet 8 within the shaped charge 10 . the shaped charge 10 is disposed at the field location concentrically about the booster explosive 8 and within the body 4 . the shaped charge 10 of the preferred embodiment weighs more than 22 . 7 grams and includes a plurality of pellets of charge explosive transported to the field location in individual packages detached from within the body 4 and containing less than 22 . 7 grams of the charge explosive each so that the individual packages can be transported as class c material . in the illustrated embodiment , the shaped charge 10 includes two frusto - conical halves 40 having a center hole 42 . flat apexes 44 abut to define an annular shaped charge with a circumferential groove 46 having a v - shaped appearance in cross section as shown in the drawing . the groove 46 adjoins the groove 18 . each of the halves 40 contains explosive weighing more than 22 . 7 grams . the completed charge 10 includes two outer support plates 48 , each having an annular base 50 from which an annular neck 52 extends . the completed charge 10 also includes two inner support plates 54 . when the plates are assembled as shown in the drawing , they define central cavities 56 for receiving the pellets of explosive which were packaged in individual packages wherein the explosive material weighed less than 22 . 7 grams . these packages are unpacked at the field location and the explosive pellets are consolidated within the volumes defined by the plates 48 , 54 . the pellets are identified in the drawing by the reference numeral 58 . these are preferably pellets of c 4 material ( a plasticized rdx explosive ). the aforementioned components of the tool 2 are used in implementing the preferred embodiment of the method of the present invention . this method of cutting an object in a well comprises transporting a first explosive to a field location in individual quantities which are less than a predetermined limit quantity . specifically , this includes transporting pellets 58 of c 4 explosive in individual packages wherein the quantity of c 4 is less than 22 . 7 grams so that the packages can be shipped as class c materials . the method also comprises transporting a second explosive to the field location in a quantity less than the predetermined limit quantity , which second explosive is a more sensitive explosive than the first explosive . specifically , this includes transporting the rdx booster pellet 8 to the field location as a separate package wherein the rdx weighs less than 22 . 7 grams , again allowing this package to be transported as class c material . the rdx explosive of the booster 8 is more sensitive than the c 4 explosive of the shaped charge 10 so that upon detonation , the more sensitive explosive 8 better ignites the less sensitive c 4 explosive 58 to provide an improved cutting force . the method of the preferred embodiment further comprises consolidating , at the field location , the individual quantities of first explosive into a shaped charge having a total quantity of the first explosive greater than the predetermined limit . this includes constructing the shaped charge 10 in a manner readily apparent from the drawing and as described hereinabove . the method still further comprises assembling the cutting tool 2 at the field location , including supporting the second explosive , namely the booster explosive 8 , adjacent the shaped charge 10 . once assembled , the cutting tool 10 is lowered into the well to the object therein to be cut . lowering is accomplished by conventional means which would typically include a wire line or other means for igniting the booster fuse 6 to initiate the cutting explosion for which the tool 2 is intended . once the cutting tool 2 has been lowered into the well to the appropriate location , the shaped charge is detonated in response to detonating the booster explosive 8 so that the detonated shaped charge 10 generates a force which cuts the object . using the above - described cutting tool 2 and methodology , a more effective and reliable cutting force is obtained while also obtaining the transportation advantages brought about by utilizing packages which qualify for class c status . this status typically allows less expensive , more expedient , safer transportation . thus , the present invention is well adapted to carry out the objects and attain the ends and advantages mentioned hereinabove as well as those inherent therein . while a preferred embodiment of the invention has been described for the purpose of this disclosure , changes in the arrangement and construction of parts and the performance of steps can be made by those skilled in the art , which changes are encompassed within the spirit of this invention as defined by the appended claims .	5
as shown in fig1 a known row detection circuit 40 includes a fuse bank 41 formed from several fuse lines 42 connected to a common node 44 . each of the fuse lines 42 includes a corresponding fuse 46 serially connected with a line select transistor 48 . the gate of each line select transistor 48 is controlled by a respective address line 50 with the address lines grouped in complementary pairs . that is , the first two address lines 50 are the a1 and a1 * lines corresponding to the first bit of an address and the logical complement of the first bit , respectively . address bits on the address lines 50 are typically provided by a conventional memory address decoder ( not shown ) in response to a row address select signal ras . also connected to the node 44 is a precharge circuit 52 including a p - channel precharge transistor 54 coupled between the node 44 and a supply voltage v cc . the gate of the p - channel precharge transistor 54 is controlled through an externally supplied precharge signal pre on a precharge line 56 through an inverter 58 . when the precharge signal pre is high , the gate of the precharge transistor 54 is driven low and the precharge transistor 54 allows the voltage v n of the node 44 to rise to the supply voltage v cc . in addition to the precharge circuit 52 and the fuse bank 41 , a buffer circuit 60 is also coupled to the node 44 . the buffer circuit 60 includes a pair of opposed inverters 62 , 64 in a common feedback configuration , with the first inverter 62 providing a high voltage if the voltage v n of the node 44 is below a threshold voltage v t or a low voltage if the voltage v n is above the threshold voltage v t . an output inverter 68 inverts the signal from the first inverter 62 to produce an output signal v red that is high if the node voltage v n is above the threshold voltage v t or low if the node voltage v n is below the threshold voltage v t . the feedback inverter 64 feeds an inverse of the output voltage of the first inverter 62 back to the node 44 to maintain the node 44 at its high or low state . the feedback inverter 64 is selected with a low output current capability to allow the supply voltage v cc from the transistor 54 to overcome the output of the feedback inverter 64 and providing switching as needed . the operation of the prior art circuit is best explained in conjunction with the timing diagrams of fig2 a - d . as shown in fig2 a , prior to detection of a row address , the precharge signal pre is high such that the transistor 54 is &# 34 ; on &# 34 ; and the node 44 is substantially at the supply voltage v cc . the precharge period ends at a time t 1 , when the precharge signal pre goes low . after the end of the precharge period at time t 1 , the precharge circuit 52 no longer provides the supply voltage v cc to the node 44 . initially ( before the time t 1 ), all of the line select transistors 48 are off and substantially no current flows through the fuse lines 42 . the voltage v n at the node 44 is thus maintained at the supply voltage v cc ( fig2 c ). the node voltage v n is then inverted by the first inverter 62 and re - inverted by the output inverter 68 to an output voltage v red substantially equal to the supply voltage v cc output ( fig2 d ). after the end of the precharge period ( i . e ., after time t 1 ), the feedback inverter 64 maintains the node 44 at substantially the supply voltage v cc because neither the precharge circuit 52 nor the fuse lines 42 provide a path for current to exit the node 44 and because the inverter 62 does not substantially load the feedback inverter 64 . at a later time t 2 , after the precharge signal pre goes low , one bit of a row address signal is applied to each of the address select lines 50 , as represented in fig2 b . it will understood that only one of the address select lines 50 in each complementary pair will go high . for example , for the first pair a1 , a1 * of address select lines 50 , the first line ( the a1 line ) of the address select lines 50 will go high if the first bit of the row address elect signal is a &# 34 ; 1 ,&# 34 ; turning the corresponding line select transistor 48 on . in this case , the second line ( the a1 * line ) of the address select lines 50 will be a &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ; turning the second line select transistor 48 off . alternatively , the complementary address select line 50 ( corresponding to the a1 * line ) will go high if the first bit of the row address signal is a &# 34 ; 0 ,&# 34 ; turning the corresponding line select transistor 48 on while the first line select transistor 48 ( corresponding to the a1 line ) will be off . as is conventional , the fuses 46 corresponding to the bits of the row address of the defective row of the memory array are blown by laser cutting the fuse conductor to remove the conductive path through the fuse . the remaining fuses 46 are unblown such that only the fuse lines 42 corresponding to the bits of the address of the defective row contain fuses that are blown . because each complementary pair of fuse lines 42 corresponds to one bit of the row address . and each fuse 46 in the complementary pair corresponds to one state of the bit , one fuse 46 in each pair of fuse lines 42 will be blown and one fuse 46 will be unblown . thus , if the bits of the row address signal do not correspond exactly to the blown fuses , one of the fuse lines 42 will include an unblown fuse 46 and a line select transistor 48 that is on , forming a conductive path between the node 44 and the reference potential . because the feedback inverter 64 has low drive power , it cannot maintain the voltage v n at the node 44 and the node 44 will therefore be brought to the reference potential , in this case ground . consequently , the output of the first inverter 62 will be high , and the output signal v red of the address detection circuit 40 from the output inverter 68 will be low . the low state of the output signal v red indicates that the decoded address corresponds to the address of an operational row . if the bits of the row address signal correspond exactly to the blown fuses 46 , every address line 42 will contain either a blown fuse 46 or a line select transistor 48 that is off . in each case , the sense line 42 forms an open circuit , isolating the node 44 from the reference potential . the feedback inverter 64 maintains the voltage v n at the node 44 at the supply voltage v cc . in this event , the address is for a defective row and a redundant row is then selected . the above discussion assumes that a blown fuse 46 forms an open circuit on the sense line 42 . quite often , blown fuses 42 do not provide a true open circuit . instead , some fuses 46 are only partially blown such that they provide a high resistance path for current to bleed from the node 44 to ground . thus , in the second case above ( i . e ., where the bits of the row address signal correspond exactly to the blown fuses 46 ), some current from the node 44 may find a path to bleed current to ground through a partially blown fuse 46 and a line select transistor 48 that is on . if the current bleeding through the partially blown fuses 46 is sufficient , the feedback inverter 64 cannot maintain the node voltage v n at the supply voltage v cc and , as shown in fig2 c , the node voltage v n drops gradually . when the node voltage v n reaches the threshold voltage v t of the first inverter 62 , as shown in fig2 c , the output voltage of the first inverter 62 goes high , causing the output signal v red to go low , as shown in fig2 d . thus , though the bits of the row address signal correspond exactly to the blown fuses 46 , indicating a defective address , the decay of the node voltage v n causes the address detection circuit 40 to incorrectly indicate that the address signal corresponds to a valid row . a redundant row detection circuit 40 according to the invention is shown in fig3 . as shown in fig3 a row address detection circuit 40 according to the invention isolates the inverters 62 , 64 from the node 44 to overcome the effects of current bleeding through partially blown fuses 46 . the row address detection circuit 40 includes the fuse bank 41 , the precharge circuit 52 , and the buffer circuit 60 as described above , where corresponding components are numbered as in fig1 . as with the previously described circuit 40 of fig1 the precharge circuit 52 and fuse bank 41 are coupled to the node 44 and the fuses 46 are blown according to the address of the defective row as described previously . unlike the previously described circuit , the node 44 is not connected directly to the buffer circuit 60 . instead , the node 44 is connected to an input of an isolation circuit 70 . the isolation circuit 70 is a selectable circuit that , in one state couples the node 44 to the buffer circuit 60 , and in another state electrically isolates the node 44 from the buffer circuit 60 . selection of the state of the isolation circuit 70 is controlled by an isolation enable signal isoe from the decoder . as shown in more detail in fig5 the isolation circuit 70 includes parallel transistors 72 and 74 of p - channel and n - channel type , respectively , with the sources of the transistors 72 and 74 electrically connected to form a single signal input 73 to the isolation circuit 70 . the drains of the transistors 72 and 74 are electrically connected to each other to form a single signal output 75 . the signal input 73 is connected to the node 44 and the signal output 75 is connected to the input of buffer circuit 60 ( fig3 ) such that the isolation circuit couples the node 44 to the buffer circuit 60 . the transistors 72 and 74 are switched by the isolation enable signal isoe through a control input 76 that is directly connected to the gate of the n - channel transistor 72 and is connected to the gate of the p - channel transistor 74 through an inverter 78 . the isolation enable signal isoe can thus switch the transistors 72 and 74 synchronously with a single signal at the control input 76 . because the transistors are of opposite channel type , the full voltage of the node 44 is coupled to the input of the first inverter 62 . alternatively , a single transistor of the n or p channel type or various other isolation logic , such as and gates , nand gates or nor gates , could be used . returning to fig3 the operation of the row address detection circuit 40 is best explained in connection with fig4 a - f . during the precharge period ( prior to the time t 1 ), the precharge signal pre to the precharge circuit 52 is high such that the precharge transistor 54 couples the supply voltage v cc to the node 44 , maintaining the node 44 at substantially the supply voltage v cc . when the precharge signal pre goes low ( after the time t 1 ), the precharge transistor 54 is off and the supply voltage v cc is removed from the node 44 . as can be seen in fig4 b , at a time t 2 , after the time t 1 , the row address select signal ras goes high , indicating that the address is to be read for possible redundant row addressing . the following discussion assumes that the address is for a defective row and thus the bits of the row address signal correspond identically to the blown fuses 46 . as can be seen in fig4 c , the isolation enable signal isoe which is derived from the address decoder and applied to the control input 76 of the isolation circuit 70 is low at the time t 2 so that the transistors 72 , 74 are on . the isolation circuit 70 thus provides a voltage v iso at its signal output 75 substantially equal to the node voltage v n and the output signal v red is high . as can be seen in fig4 d , after the precharge signal pre goes low and the node 44 is isolated from the supply voltage v cc , the voltage v n at the node 44 begins to drop due to the current flow from partially blown fuses 46 as described above with respect to fig1 and 2a - c . the voltage v iso output from the isolation circuit 70 also begins to drift downwardly , as shown in fig4 e . at a time t 3 , shortly after the row address select signal ras goes high at the time t 2 , the isolation enable signal isoe goes high , as shown in fig4 c . the signal isoe is generated directly from the row address select signal ras after some selected time delay . the interval from t 2 to t 3 is a selected time delay generated by any suitable delay circuit , such as a row of inverters or the like . when the isolation enable signal isoe goes high , the transistors 72 , 74 are turned off and the node 44 is disconnected from the buffer circuit 60 and can draw no current from the feedback inverter 64 . freed from the current draw of the partially blown fuses 46 , the feedback inverter 64 brings the voltage v iso at the signal output 75 of the isolation circuit 70 back up to the supply voltage v cc , as shown in fig4 e . consequently , the input to the first inverter 62 never falls below the threshold voltage v t and the output signal v red from the output inverter 68 remains high as shown in fig4 f , despite the voltage v n at the node 44 gradually decaying toward the reference voltage . the output signal v red then correctly indicates that the redundant row is selected , despite current drawn by the partially blown fuses and the decay of the node voltage v n . it will be appreciated that , although the invention has been illustrated here via an exemplary embodiment , modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention . for example , the isolation circuit 70 may be realized with a single transistor or a nand - gate latch . also , the output buffer circuit 60 may be realized in any of a variety of acceptable circuit configurations and any acceptable line selector switch may be used in place of the line select transistors 48 . accordingly , the invention is not limited accept as by the appended claims .	6
the α - amino - α &# 39 ;, α &# 39 ;- dihaloketone derivative , which is used in the practice of the present invention is a compound of the general formula ( 1 ) given above . the above - mentioned r 1 represents a substituted or unsubstituted alkyl group containing 1 to 20 carbon atoms , a substituted or unsubstituted aralkyl group containing 7 to 30 carbon atoms , or a substituted or unsubstituted aryl group containing 6 to 30 carbon atoms . said substituted or unsubstituted alkyl group containing 1 to 20 carbon atoms is not limited to any particular species but there may be mentioned , for example , methyl , ethyl , isopropyl , isobutyl , t - butyl , hydroxymethyl , 1 - hydroxyethyl , mercaptomethyl , methylthiomethyl and the like . the above - mentioned substituted or unsubstituted aralkyl group containing 7 to 30 carbon atoms is not limited to any particular species but includes , for example , benzyl , p - hydroxybenzyl , p - methoxybenzyl , phenylthiomethyl , α - phenethyl and the like . the above - mentioned substituted or unsubstituted aryl group containing 6 to 30 carbon atoms is not limited to any particular species but includes , for example , phenyl , p - hydroxyphenyl , p - methoxyphenyl and the like . the above - mentioned r 1 is the side chain of a common α - amino acid or the side chain of an α - amino acid derivative obtained by processing a common α - amino acid and may be any of substituted or unsubstituted alkyl groups containing 1 to 20 carbon atoms , substituted or unsubstituted aralkyl groups containing 7 to 30 carbon atoms and substituted or unsubstituted aryl groups containing 6 to 30 carbon atoms , without any particular limitation . the above - mentioned p 1 and p 2 each independently represents a hydrogen atom or an amino - protecting group or p 1 and p 2 combinedly represent a phthaloyl group . the case in which each of p 1 and p 2 is a hydrogen atom is also included . the amino - protecting group mentioned above is not limited to any particular species but there may be mentioned , for example , ethoxycarbonyl , methoxy - carbonyl , t - butoxycarbonyl , benzyloxycarbonyl , acetyl , trifluoroacetyl , benzyl , dibenzyl , tosyl , benzoyl , phthaloyl and the like , as described in theodora w . green : protective group in organic synthesis , 2nd edition , john wiley & amp ; sons , 1990 , pages 309 to 384 . while the protective group mentioned above is selected taking into consideration of the reactivity and stereoselectivity in each step and other factors , there may be mentioned , as most preferred protective groups to be used in the synthesis of each compound represented by the general formula ( 4 ), ( 3 ), ( 1 ) or ( 2 ) mentioned above , ethoxycarbonyl , methoxycarbonyl , t - butoxycarbonyl , benzyloxycarbonyl and the like carbamate - forming groups , in particular ethoxycarbonyl . carbamate - forming groups such as ethoxycarbonyl generally tend to preferentially give erythro stereoisomers , which are useful as an intermediate for hiv protease inhibitors , in the stage of the formation of compounds of general formula ( 2 ) from compounds of general formula ( 1 ). the above - mentioned x 1 and x 2 each represents a halogen atom , such as fluorine , chlorine , bromine or iodine . it is preferred that each of x 1 and x 2 be chlorine . as the above - mentioned α - amino - α &# 39 ;, α &# 39 ;- dihalo - ketone derivative of general formula ( 1 ), there may be mentioned , for example , optically active ethyl ( s )-( 1 - benzyl - 3 , 3 - dichloro - 2 - oxopropyl ) carbamate , ethyl ( r )-( 1 - benzyl - 3 , 3 - dichloro - 2 - oxopropyl ) carbamate , methyl ( s )-( 1 - benzyl - 3 , 3 - dichloro - 2 - oxopropyl )- carbamate , methyl ( r )-( 1 - benzyl - 3 , 3 - dichloro - 2 - oxopropyl ) carbamate , benzyl ( s )-( 1 - benzyl - 3 , 3 - dichloro - 2 - oxopropyl ) carbamate , benzyl ( r )-( 1 - benzyl - 3 , 3 - dichloro - 2 - oxopropyl ) carbamate , t - butyl ( s )-( 1 - benzyl - 3 , 3 - dichloro - 2 - oxopropyl ) carbamate , t - butyl ( r )-( 1 - benzyl - 3 , 3 - dichloro - 2 - oxopropyl )- carbamate , ethyl ( s )-( 1 - phenyl - 3 , 3 - dichloro - 2 - oxopropyl ) carbamate , ethyl ( r )-( 1 - phenyl - 3 , 3 - dichloro - 2 - oxopropyl ) carbamate , ethyl ( s )-( 1 - benzyl - 3 , 3 - dibromo - 2 - oxopropyl ) carbamate , ethyl ( r )-( 1 - benzyl - 3 , 3 - dibromo - 2 - oxopropyl ) carbamate , ethyl ( s )-( 1 - benzyl - 3 , 3 - dibromo - 2 - oxopropyl ) carbamate , ethyl ( s )-( 1 - phenyl - 3 , 3 - dichloro - 2 - oxopropyl ) carbamate , n -( 3 , 3 - dichloro - 1 - methylacetonyl ) phthalimide , 3 -( n , n - dibenzylamino )- 1 , 1 - dichloro - 2 - oxo - 4 - phenylbutane and the like . among these , some compounds , such as n -( 3 , 3 - dichloro - 1 - methylacetonyl )- phthalimide , are already known ( spisy prirodoved . fak . univ . j . e . purkyne brne , ( 1968 ), no . 489 , 1 to 7 ). however , an α - amino - α &# 39 ;, α &# 39 ;- dichloroketone derivative of the general formula ( 5 ): ## str7 ## ( wherein r 1 represents a substituted or unsubstituted alkyl group containing 1 to 20 carbon atoms , a substituted or unsubstituted aralkyl group containing 7 to 30 carbon atoms or a substituted or unsubstituted aryl group containing 6 to 30 carbon atoms and r 3 represents a substituted or unsubstituted alkyl group containing 1 to 10 carbon atoms , a substituted or unsubstituted aralkyl group containing 7 to 20 carbon atoms or a substituted or unsubstituted aryl group containing 6 to 20 carbon atoms ), in particular an α - amino - α &# 39 ;, α &# 39 ;- dichloroketone derivative of the general formula ( 6 ): ## str8 ## ( wherein r 3 represents a substituted or unsubstituted alkyl group containing 1 to 10 carbon atoms , a substituted or unsubstituted aralkyl group containing 7 to 20 carbon atoms or a substituted or unsubstituted aryl group containing 6 to 20 carbon atoms ) are novel compounds for which the method of production as well as the compounds themselves has not yet been described in the literature . referring to r 3 in the above general formula ( 5 ), the substituted or unsubstituted alkyl group containing 1 to 10 carbon atoms is , for example , methyl , ethyl , isopropyl , isobutyl , t - butyl or allyl , the substituted or unsubstituted aralkyl group containing 7 to 20 carbon atoms is benzyl , p - methoxybenzyl , p - nitrobenzyl or the like , and the substituted or unsubstituted aryl group containing 6 to 20 carbon atoms is phenyl , m - nitrophenyl or the like . as the above - mentioned compound of general formula ( 5 ), there may be mentioned , for example , ethyl ( s )-( 1 - benzyl - 3 , 3 - dichloro - 2 - oxopropyl ) carbamate , ethyl ( r )-( 1 - benzyl - 3 , 3 - dichloro - 2 - oxopropyl ) carbamate , methyl ( s )-( 1 - benzyl - 3 , 3 - dichloro - 2 - oxopropyl ) carbamate , methyl ( r )-( 1 - benzyl - 3 , 3 - dichloro - 2 - oxopropyl ) carbamate , benzyl ( s )-( 1 - benzyl - 3 , 3 - dichloro - 2 - oxopropyl ) carbamate , benzyl ( r )-( 1 - benzyl - 3 , 3 - dichloro - 2 - oxopropyl ) carbamate , t - butyl ( s )-( 1 - benzyl - 3 , 3 - dichloro - 2 - oxopropyl ) carbamate , t - butyl ( r )-( 1 - benzyl - 3 , 3 - dichloro - 2 - oxopropyl ) carbamate , ethyl ( s )-( 1 - phenyl - 3 , 3 - dichloro - 2 - oxopropyl ) carbamate , ethyl ( r )-( 1 - phenyl - 3 , 3 - dichloro - 2 - oxopropyl ) carbamate , ethyl ( s )-( 1 - benzyl - 3 , 3 - dibromo - 2 - oxopropyl ) carbamate , ethyl ( r )-( 1 - benzyl - 3 , 3 - dibromo - 2 - oxopropyl ) carbamate , ethyl ( s )-( 1 - methyl - 3 , 3 - dichloro - 2 - oxopropyl ) carbamate , ethyl ( s )-( a - isobutyl - 3 , 3 - dichloro - 2 - oxopropyl ) carbamate , ethyl ( s )-( 1 - isopropyl - 3 , 3 - dichloro - 2 - oxopropyl )- carbamate , etc . as the above - mentioned compound of general formula ( 6 ), there may be mentioned , for example , ethyl ( s )-( 1 - benzyl - 3 , 3 - dichloro - 2 - oxopropyl ) carbamate , ethyl ( r )-( 1 - benzyl - 3 , 3 - dichloro - 2 - oxopropyl ) carbamate , methyl ( s )-( 1 - benzyl - 3 , 3 - dichloro - 2 - oxopropyl ) carbamate , methyl ( r )-( 1 - benzyl - 3 , 3 - dichloro - 2 - oxopropyl ) carbamate , benzyl ( s )-( 1 - benzyl - 3 , 3 - dichloro - 2 - oxopropyl ) carbamate , benzyl ( r )-( 1 - benzyl - 3 , 3 - dichloro - 2 - oxopropyl ) carbamate , t - butyl ( s )-( 1 - benzyl - 3 , 3 - dichloro - 2 - oxopropyl ) carbamate , t - butyl ( r )-( 1 - benzyl - 3 , 3 - dichloro - 2 - oxopropyl ) carbamate , etc . the hydrolysis reaction of the above - mentioned α - amino - α &# 39 ;, α &# 39 ;- dihaloketone derivative in the presence of a base is preferably carried out in water or a mixed solvent composed of water and an organic solvent in the presence of a base . said organic solvent is not limited to any particular species but there may be mentioned , for example , of toluene , chlorobenzene , benzene , methylene chloride , methanol , ethanol , n - butanol , tetrahydrofuran , n , n - dimethylformamide and the like . toluene , chlorobenzene and benzene are preferred , and toluene is more preferred . said base is not limited to any particular species but there may be mentioned , for example , of sodium hydroxide , potassium hydroxide , lithium hydroxide , barium hydroxide , magnesium hydroxide , calcium hydroxide , sodium carbonate , potassium carbonate , tetra - n - butylammonium hydroxide , tetramethylammonium hydroxide , trimethylbenzylammonium hydroxide , tetra - n - butylammonium hydroxide and the like . sodium hydroxide is preferred , however . while the reaction temperature in the above reaction may vary depending on the combination of substrate , solvent and base and other factors , the range of - 30 to 100 ° c . is preferred and the range of - 10 to 60 ° c . is more preferred . the reaction temperature influences the stereoselectivity and rate of reaction in the hydrolysis reaction . in the case of ethyl ( s )-( 1 - benzyl - 3 , 3 - dichloro - 2 - oxopropyl ) carbamate , for instance , lower temperatures tend to cause a decrease in the rate of reaction but an increase in erythro selectivity . the reaction time may vary depending on the combination of substrate and base , the reaction temperature and other factors . generally , however , 1 to 80 hours is preferred , and 3 to 20 hours is more preferred . in the above - mentioned compound of general formula ( 2 ), q 1 and q 2 each independently represents a hydrogen atom or an amino - protecting group or q 1 and q 2 combinedly represent a phthaloyl group . when the compound of general formula ( 1 ) is hydrolyzed in the presence of a base , the amino group , if protected , may be deprotected or not be deprotected according to the combination of reaction conditions and protective group species . in the case of the hydrolysis of ethyl ( s )-( 1 - benzyl - 3 , 3 - dichloro - 2 - oxopropyl ) carbamate in an aqueous solution of sodium hydroxide , for instance , the amino deprotection tends to occur with ease . in this case , an oxazolidone derivative of the formula ( 7 ). ## str9 ## may be formed as a reaction intermediate . the resultant derivative , however , can be converted to a β - amino - α - hydroxy derivative of the general formula ( 2 ) given above in which r 1 is benzyl and q 1 and q 2 each is a hydrogen atom by further hydrolyzing under the reaction conditions . in cases where deprotection occurs in the reaction system , the product may be isolated in a protective group - free state or a new protective group may be introduced . therefore , q 1 and q 2 each represents a hydrogen atom , or the same protective group as p 1 and p 2 , or aprotective group newly introduced . like p 1 and / or p 2 , the group to be newly introduced is not limited to any particular species provided that it is a protective group generally used as an amino - protecting group . a t - butoxycarbonyl group is preferred , however . in cases that a protective group is newly introduced , it is also possible , for example , to isolate the product of hydrolysis of the above - mentioned compound of general formula ( 1 ) by using a purification technique commonly used in isolating α - amino acids , such as crystallization or purification with an ion exchange resin , and then subject it to an amino group protection reaction , or subject the α - amino hydroxy acid in the aqueous layer , without isolation , to an amino group protection reaction . when the above - mentioned compound of general formula ( 1 ) is subjected to said hydrolysis reaction , it is possible for the product to have any of four configurations . however , in cases where an optically active α - amino - α &# 39 ;, α &# 39 ;- dihaloketone derivative such as ethyl ( s )-( 1 - benzyl - 3 , 3 - dichloro - 2 - oxopropyl )- carbamate is used , it is surprising that racemization hardly proceeds and there is a tendency toward preferential formation of the erythro form of the two diastereomers that can possibly be formed . as a so - far known method of producing an α - hydroxy acid by alkali hydrolysis of an a - dihaloketone , there may be mentioned the method of producing mandelic acid using α - dichloroacetophenone ( organic syntheses , collective volume 3 , page 538 ), for instance . however , no technology has been known for producing an α - hydroxy acid derivative from an α &# 39 ;, α &# 39 ;- dihaloketone having an optically active site in the a position of a carbonyl group with retaining the optical activity and stereoselectively . the above - mentioned compound of general formula ( 1 ) can be produced by various methods . for instance , it can be produced by halogenating an α - amino - α &# 39 ;- monohaloketone derivative of the general formula ( 3 ): ## str10 ## ( wherein r 1 , x 1 , p 1 and p 2 are as defined above ). the halogenating agent is not limited to any particular species but sulfuryl chloride or chlorine / carbon tetrachloride , for instance , may be used ( synthetic communication , vol . 21 , no . 1 , page 111 , 1991 ). from the viewpoint of economy and operability , among others , sulfuryl chloride is preferred . the above - mentioned compound of general formula ( 3 ) can be produced by various methods . for instance , it can be produced by converting an α - amino acid derivative of the general formula ( 4 ): ## str11 ## ( wherein r 2 , p 1 and p 2 are as defined above ). as for the method of conversion , it can be produced , for instance , by reacting an ester derivative with the magnesium enolate of α - chloroacetic acid or the like ( japanese patent application hei - 07 - 273547 ). ( 2s , 3s )- 3 -[( t - butoxycarbonyl ) amino ]- 2 - hydroxy - 4 - phenylbutyric acid produced by the process of the present invention is a compound useful as an intermediate for the production of an hiv protease inhibitor ( japanese kokai publication hei - 05 - 170722 ). the following examples illustrate the present invention in further detail . they are , however , by no means limitative of the scope of the present invention . in a nitrogen gas atmosphere , a solution composed of ( s )- n -( ethoxycarbonyl ) phenylalanine methyl ester ( 35 . 0 g , 139 mmol ), sodium monochloroacetate ( 24 . 2 g , 208 mmol ), magnesium chloride ( 19 . 9 g , 208 mmol ) and tetrahydrofuran ( 125 ml ) was stirred at 40 ° c . for 3 hours ( solution a ). separately , in a nitrogen atmosphere , diisopropylamine ( 65 . 0 g , 642 mmol ) was added dropwise at 40 ° c . over 30 minutes to n - butylmagnesium chloride ( 2 m thf solution , 278 ml , 556 mmol ) and the resulting mixture was further stirred at 40 ° c . for 2 hours ( solution b ). solution b was added at about 10 ° c . ( inside temperature ) over about 30 minutes to solution a . after completion of the addition , the inside temperature was raised to 40 ° c . and stirring was continued for further 2 hours . then , the reaction mixture was mixed with 900 ml of an ice - cooled mixed solution composed of 10 % ( w / v ) aqueous solution of sulfuric acid and 550 ml of ethyl acetate with stirring . after thorough mixing , the mixture was allowed to separate into layers . the organic layer was washed in sequence with a saturated aqueous solution of sodium hydrogen carbonate ( 300 ml ) and a saturated solution of sodium chloride ( 300 ml ) and then dried over anhydrous sodium sulfate . the solvent was distilled off under reduced pressure , 30 ml of isopropanol was added to the residue , the mixture was heated to 60 ° c . to effect dissolution , 600 ml of hexane was then added , and the mixture was gradually cooled to 5 ° c . for allowing crystallization . the precipitate crystals were collected by filtration , washed with hexane and dried under reduced pressure to give 28 . 5 g of white needle crystals . 1 h nmr ( 400 mhz , cdcl 3 ): δ7 . 35 to 7 . 16 ( m , 5h ), 5 . 17 ( d , 1h ), 4 . 75 ( q , 1h ), 4 . 17 to 4 . 08 ( m , 2h ), 4 . 00 to 3 . 96 ( ds , 2h ), 3 . 09 to 3 . 07 ( m , 2h ), 1 . 23 ( t , 3h ). the compound ( i ) obtained in example 1 ( 25 . 0 g , 92 . 7 mmol ) was dissolved in ethyl acetate ( 250 ml ), and sulfuryl chloride ( 38 . 8 g , 287 mmol ) and p - toluenesulfonyl chloride monohydrate ( 1 . 8 g , 9 . 5 mmol ) were added , and the mixture was stirred at 45 ° c . for 40 hours . the reaction mixture was cooled to room temperature and added to a solution composed of water ( 150 ml ) and toluene ( 200 ml ) while the ph was adjusted to about 3 with a 2 m aqueous solution of sodiumhydroxide . after thorough stirring , the organic layer was separated and concentrated to a volume of about 50 ml . that toluene solution was warmed to 60 ° c ., hexane ( 300 ml ) was added , and the mixture was gradually cooled to 5 ° c . for allowing crystallization . the crystals were collected by filtration , washed with hexane and dried under reduced pressure to give compound ( ii ) ( 22 . 8 g , 75 . 0 mmol ). 1 h nmr ( 400 mhz , cdcl 3 ): δ7 . 36 to 7 . 18 ( m , 5h ), 6 . 05 ( s , 1h ), 5 . 09 ( d , 1h ), 4 . 95 ( q , 1h ), 4 . 12 to 4 . 07 ( q , 2h ), 3 . 24 to 3 . 19 ( dd , 1h ), 3 . 07 to 3 . 02 ( dd , 1h ), 1 . 22 ( t , 3h ). ir ( kbr ): 3450 , 1746 , 1690 , 1551 , 1266 , 1048 cm - 1 . toluene ( 120 ml ) and a 2 m aqueous solution of sodium hydroxide ( 120 ml ) were added to the compound ( ii ) obtained in example 2 ( 15 g , 49 . 3 mmol ), and the mixture was stirred at 40 ° c . for 48 hours . the reaction mixture was allowed to cool to room temperature , and the aqueous layer was separated . this aqueous layer was adjusted to ph 7 and then passed through a column packed with 600 cm 3 of a synthetic adsorbent ( diaion sp207 , product of mitsubishi chemical corp . ), the column was washed with water and elution was effected with 50 % methanol . the eluate was concentrated to give the compound ( iii ) ( 8 . 3 g , 86 %). analysis of the compound ( iii ) obtained by hplc revealed that the proportion of the ( 2s , 3s ) isomer to the ( 2r , 3s ) isomer was 84 : 16 . for ( 2s , 3s ) isomer ; 1 h nmr ( 400 mhz , d 2 o ): δ7 . 25 to 7 . 13 ( m , 5h ), 4 . 10 ( d , 1h ), 3 . 66 ( m , 1h ), 2 . 79 to 2 . 76 ( ddd , 1h ), 2 . 70 to 2 . 64 ( ddd , 1h ). for ( 2r , 3s ) isomer ; 1 h nmr ( 400 mhz , d 2 o ): δ7 . 25 to 7 . 13 ( m , 5h ), 3 . 87 ( d , 1h ), 3 . 61 ( m , 1h ), 3 . 00 to 2 . 95 ( dd , 1h ), 2 . 79 to 2 . 76 ( ddd , 1h ). the compound ( ii ) ( 5 . 0 g , 16 . 4 mmol ) was added to a 2 m aqueous solution of sodium hydroxide ( 50 ml ) under ice cooling , and the mixture was stirred at 0 ° c . for 3 hours . thereafter , the temperature was raised to 40 ° c . and stirring was continued for further 6 hours . the reaction mixture was allowed to cool to room temperature and then adjusted to ph 7 with 2 m aqueous hydrochloric acid . the thus - treated reaction mixture was passed through a 200 cm 3 column of a synthetic adsorbent ( diaion sp207 , product of mitsubishi chemical corp . ), the column was washed with water and elution was effected with 50 % aqueous methanol . the eluate was concentrated to give the compound ( iii ) ( 2 . 6 g , 82 %). analysis of the compound ( iii ) obtained by hplc revealed that the proportion of the ( 2s , 3s ) isomer to the ( 2r , 3s ) isomer was 90 : 10 . the reaction was carried out in the same manner as in example 3 . the aqueous solution of ( 2rs , 3s )- 3 - amino - 2 - hydroxy - 4 - phenylbutyric acid ( iii ) ( 4 . 69 g , 24 . 0 mmol , erythro / threo = 84 / 16 ) as obtained without synthetic adsorbent treatment was adjusted to ph 9 by adding 1 n aqueous naoh and , after addition of 17 . 6 ml of thf , the mixed solution was cooled to an inside temperature not higher than 10 ° c . after addition of sodium carbonate ( 3 . 35 g , 31 . 6 mmol ) to the mixed solution , di - t - butyl dicarbonate ( 6 . 94 g , 31 . 8 mmol ) was added dropwise . after completion of the dropping , the reaction mixture was stirred at room temperature for 8 hours . the reaction mixture was diluted with 120 ml of ethyl acetate and adjusted to ph 2 with 6 n hydrochloric acid , followed by phase separation . the organic layer was washed with 50 ml of 10 % citric acid and concentrated under reduced pressure to give a pale yellow solid . acetonitrile ( 50 ml ) was added and the mixture was heated to effect dissolution and then cooled to give 3 . 15 g ( 10 . 7 mmol , yield 44 %) of the title compound as white crystals . 1 h nmr ( 400 mhz , dmso - d 6 ): δ7 . 24 to 7 . 16 ( m , 5h ), 6 . 71 ( d , 1h ), 3 . 99 ( d , 1h ), 3 . 91 ( m , 1h ), 2 . 67 ( d , 2h ), 1 . 26 ( s , 7h ), 1 . 14 ( s , 2h ). the result that the title compound obtained was in a ( 2s , 3s ) form was confirmed by converting to the corresponding methyl ester , followed by hplc analysis on an optical dissolution column . analysis : retention time in hplc : ( 2s , 3s ) form 20 . 1 minutes , ( 2r , 3r ) form 21 . 9 minutes . 3 -[( p - toluenesulfonyl )- amino ]- 1 , 1 - dichloro - 2 - oxo - 4 - phenylbutane ( 55 . 6 mg , 0 . 1444 mmol ) was dissolved in 3 ml of toluene , and an aqueous solution of sodium hydroxide ( 89 mg ) in water ( 3 ml ) was added while cooling the aqueous solution to 10 ° c . or below ( inside temperature ). after completion of the addition , the temperature of the reaction mixture was gradually raised to room temperature and the mixture was stirred for 19 hours . water ( 5 ml ) and toluene ( 5 ml ) were added to the reaction mixture , followed by phase separation . the aqueous layer was diluted with 10 ml of ethyl acetate and the ph was adjusted to 2 with 6 n hydrochloric acid , followed by phase separation . the organic layer was washed with 3 ml of 10 % citric acid and concentrated under reduced pressure to give the title compound ( v ) as a roughly purified pale yellow oil ( 69 mg ). analysis of the thus - obtained product ( v ) by hplc revealed that the proportion of the ( 2s , 3s ) isomer to the ( 2r , 3s ) isomer was 70 : 30 . for ( 2s , 3s ) isomer ; 1 h nmr ( 400 mhz , cdcl 3 ): δ7 . 40 to 6 . 86 ( m , 9h ), 5 . 90 ( d , 1h ), 4 . 58 ( d , 1h ), 3 . 79 ( m , 1h ) 2 . 86 to 2 . 52 ( m , 2h ), 2 . 34 ( s , 3h ). for ( 2r , 3s ) isomer ; 1 h nmr ( 400 mhz , cdcl 3 ): δ7 . 40 to 6 . 86 ( m , 9h ), 5 . 95 ( d , 1h ), 4 . 12 ( d , 1h ), 3 . 90 ( m , 1h ), 2 . 86 to 2 . 52 ( m , 2h ), 2 . 38 ( s , 3h ). a ( 2s , 3s )- 3 - amino - 2 - hydroxy - 4 - phenylbutyric acid derivative obtained by the production process of the present invention is a compound which is important as an intermediate for the production of medicinals such as antivirus agents and therefore , the present invention is very useful as a process for producing intermediates for the production of medicinals .	2
turning now to fig1 a through 2 and 13 through 15 , various embodiments of the modular needle apparatus are illustrated . in each of these embodiments , the modular needle apparatus includes a hollow delivery needle 10 having a proximal port 15 opening into a lumen 20 which extends through the delivery needle 10 to its distal end . the lumen 20 is sized to accommodate alternately a biopsy needle 30 and an ablation needle 35 . both the biopsy needle 30 and the ablation needle 35 are longer than the delivery needle 10 such that when either is inserted into the proximal port 15 , a distal projection may extend from the distal end of the delivery needle 10 . in this fashion , the biopsy needle 30 may obtain a tissue sample . in addition , the distal projection of the ablation needle 35 forms a microwave antenna 40 for performing tissue ablation . in certain embodiments , illustrated in fig1 a through 1 g , inserting the ablation needle 35 into the lumen 20 of the delivery needle 10 forms a coaxial transmission line 50 which supplies power to the microwave antenna 40 . in such embodiments , the delivery needle 10 comprises a conductive material that functions as the outer conductor 16 of the coaxial transmission line 50 , while a center conductor 55 of the ablation needle 35 circumferentially surrounded by dielectric material 60 acts as the center conductor and dielectric of the coaxial transmission line 50 . delivery needle 10 preferably further comprises a jacket 17 of electrically and / or thermally insulating material such as parylene or teflon ® which at least partially surrounds outer conductor 16 ( shown in fig1 a ). delivery needle 10 may have a flat or a sharpened distal end . as used herein , a “ flat ” distal end indicates a bevel of 90 ° as described in andriole et al ., biopsy needle characteristics assessed in the laboratory , radiology 148 : 659 - 662 , september 1983 , the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference . in an alternate embodiment , illustrated in fig1 through 15 , the microwave antenna 40 couples to a transmission line 61 contained entirely within the ablation needle 35 such that the delivery needle 10 has no electrical transmission function , although it may provide additional shielding and / or act as an insulator . thus , in these embodiments , the delivery needle 10 and the ablation needle 35 do not couple together to create the coaxial transmission line 50 of fig1 d . it is to be noted that by coupling the delivery needle 10 with the ablation needle 35 to create the coaxial transmission line 50 feeding the microwave antenna 40 , the largest diameter that must enter the tissue may be kept very small , preferably of 17 gauge or higher , and more preferably 18 gauge or higher . as used herein , “ gauge ” shall refer to the outer diameter of a needle unless otherwise indicated . for such embodiments , the ablation needle 35 comprises a center conductor 55 circumferentially surrounded by a dielectric material 60 . the dielectric material 60 may comprise a ceramic material , a fluoropolymer such as polytetrafluoroethylene ( ptfe ) or expanded ptfe , polyethylene ( pe ), silicone or other suitable materials . the dielectric material 60 is sized to fill the lumen 20 of the delivery needle 35 . the diameter of the center conductor 55 and the inner diameter of the outer conductor 16 are chosen according to the equation : where z is the characteristic impedance , ε is the dielectric constant of the dielectric material 60 , d is the inner diameter of outer conductor 16 , and d is the diameter of center conductor 55 . typically , z is chosen to be 50 ω . the value of ε is typically between 1 and 10 , for example , the ε of ptfe is 2 . 1 . in addition , to promote efficient conduction along the coaxial transmission line 50 , the inner surface of outer conductor 16 of the delivery needle 10 may be coated with a layer of very conductive metal such as ag , au , cu or al preferably to a thickness of at least the skin depth , or depth of penetration , δ . the skin depth in meters is given by the following equation : where ω = 2π frequency ( in hz ), μ is the permeability ( or rate of absorption ) of the very conductive metal in henrys / meter , and σ is the conductance in mhos / meter . similarly , the base metal forming the center conductor 55 in the ablation needle 35 may be coated with a layer of a very conductive metal preferably to a thickness of at least the skin depth . to complete the coaxial transmission line 50 , the ablation needle 35 and the delivery needle 10 are coupled together using a first connector 70 on the delivery needle 10 and a second connector 65 on the ablation needle 35 . the first and second connectors 70 and 65 may be implemented in many different ways . for example , in a preferred embodiment , illustrated in fig1 a through 1 c , the first connector 70 on the delivery needle 10 comprises an outer contact 72 for a coaxial connector 75 at the proximal end of the delivery needle 10 . similarly , the second connector 65 on the ablation needle 35 comprises an inner contact 69 for coaxial connector 75 at the proximal end of the ablation needle 35 . the second connector 65 on the ablation needle 35 further comprises a connector dielectric material 36 surrounding a portion of inner contact 69 . additional connector dielectric material 39 may optionally line a portion of the lumen of outer contact 72 . first and second connectors 70 and 65 are adapted to connect together to form a coaxial connector 75 after the ablation needle 35 is inserted in the proximal port 15 of the delivery needle and distally displaced to bring the connectors 65 and 70 into contact . the adaptations on the connectors 65 and 70 may comprise a number of embodiments . for example , as shown , external threads 37 may be provided in the connector dielectric material 36 and internal threads 38 may be provided in the connector 70 to allow second connector 65 to threadably engage first connector 70 . in such an embodiment , a suitable assembly tool 56 for use in threadably engaging connectors 65 and 70 is illustrated in fig2 . the assembly tool 56 includes tabs 57 for engaging slots ( not illustrated ) in the dielectric material 36 of the second connector 65 . to complete assembly , a clinician would distally displace the ablation needle 35 within the lumen 20 of the delivery needle 10 until the threads 37 and 38 contact each other . the clinician would then insert the tabs 57 of the assembly tool 56 into the slots of the dielectric material 36 and rotate the assembly tool 56 to threadably engage threads 37 and 38 , completing the formation of the coaxial connector 75 . those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate the numerous ways in which connectors 65 and 70 may engage one another to form coaxial connector 75 . for example , rather than using threads 37 and 38 , a latching mechanism using biased tabs engaging matching grooves may be employed . regardless of the manner in which connectors 65 and 70 connect together , the result is that the inner contact 69 of the coaxial connector 75 electrically couples to the center conductor 55 of the ablation needle 35 . similarly , the outer contact 72 electrically couples to the outer conductor 16 of delivery needle 10 . as used herein , “ electrically coupled ” shall indicate a coupling capable of conducting current at microwave frequencies . in this fashion , a microwave power source ( not illustrated ) coupled to the coaxial connector 75 will transmit energy through the coaxial transmission line 50 to the microwave antenna 40 . first connector 70 , and therefore coaxial connector 75 , further comprises a nut 68 having internal threads 73 or other mechanical means for insuring firm connection between the coaxial connector 75 and a flexible coaxial cable coupled to the microwave power source . nut 68 freely rotates about delivery needle 10 . in an alternative embodiment , first and second connectors 70 and 65 , illustrated in fig1 f and 1 g , the ablation needle 35 further comprises a proximal coaxial extension 80 . a center conductor 81 of the coaxial extension 80 is electrically coupled to the center conductor 55 in the ablation needle 35 . the coaxial extension 80 includes an outer conductor 82 that ends distally in the second connector 65 . the coaxial extension 80 ends proximally in coaxial connector 76 . the delivery needle 10 ends proximally in the first connector 70 such that when the first and second connectors 70 and 65 and connected , the outer conductor 82 of the coaxial extension 80 is electrically coupled to the outer conductor 16 of the delivery needle 10 . in this fashion , microwave energy coupled to the coaxial connector 76 electrically couples to the coaxial transmission line 50 through the coaxial extension 80 . the first connector 70 may comprise threads 71 on the outer surface of the outer conductor 16 . similarly , the second connector may comprise threads 67 on the inner surface of the outer conductor 82 wherein threads 71 and 67 are adapted to threadably engage one another . those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that alternate means such as the biased tabs and matching grooves previously described may be used instead of threads 71 and 67 . regardless of whether the ablation needle 35 and the delivery needle couple together to create the coaxial transmission line 50 , to minimize trauma and bleeding , particularly in organs like the liver that tend to bleed , the delivery needle 10 is preferably 17 gauge or higher . however , as illustrated in fig1 e , although the delivery needle 10 may have a distal portion 14 that is 17 gauge or higher , a proximal portion 13 of the delivery needle 10 may be thicker in diameter , for example , 12 gauge or less . only the distal portion 14 would penetrate sensitive tissue such as the liver ; the proximal portion 13 may either not penetrate the body at all ( as in an open surgical procedure ) or may penetrate only skin and muscle such as during a percutaneous procedure . the added diameter in the proximal portion 13 allows the proximal portion of the coaxial transmission line 50 to have a larger diameter and therefore be less lossy . the larger diameter also helps to improve rigidity in the proximal portion 13 . furthermore , in some embodiments such as those of fig1 - 15 , it allows greater maneuverability of the biopsy and ablation needles through delivery needle 10 . it is to be noted that as the outer diameter of delivery needle 10 changes from that in proximal portion 13 to the diameter of distal portion 14 , the diameter of lumen 20 also may change accordingly . in addition , the outer diameter of the dielectric material 60 of ablation needle 35 would change accordingly to create the coaxial transmission line 50 . turning now to fig2 the hollow delivery needle 10 may include an obturator 11 adapted to be slidably disposed within the lumen 20 . the obturator 11 includes a proximal handle 12 . with the obturator 11 inserted in the lumen 20 through the proximal port 15 , the handle 12 acts as a stop , engaging the proximal port 15 on the delivery needle 35 and preventing further distal displacement of the obturator 11 . thus , the obturator may provide additional support for the delivery needle and assist in piercing tissue , particularly for hard tumors . to reach liver tumors , the delivery needle 10 may extend distally 15 to 20 centimeters from the proximal port 15 . the delivery needle 10 may have a jacket 17 of an insulating material such as parylene or teflon ® on its outer surface . the biopsy needle 30 may be of either an aspirating or coring type as is well known in the art . note that the biopsy needle 30 may have a proximal handle 45 . when the biopsy needle is inserted into the proximal port 15 of the delivery needle 10 , the proximal handle 45 abuts against the proximal port 15 , preventing further distal displacement within the lumen 20 . the biopsy needle 30 may have a blunt distal end 31 or a sharpened distal end 32 . in addition , the biopsy needle 30 may further comprise a stylet 29 having a matched point 34 to aid in strengthening or stiffening the biopsy needle 30 and assist piercing tissue with the needle 30 . the biopsy needle 30 is preferably 20 to 23 gauge and most preferably 20 to 21 gauge . the lumen of the biopsy needle 30 is preferably greater than 0 . 017 ″ and most preferably at least 0 . 022 ″. the biopsy needle 30 may be inserted into the lumen 20 of delivery needle 10 and both inserted into tissue as a unit such that the biopsy needle 30 acts as an obturator 11 . use of either a biopsy needle 30 or the obturator 11 in this way allows the delivery needle 10 to have a flat distal end , lessening trauma to internal organs from movements of the delivery needle 10 during exchange of the biopsy needle 30 and the ablation needle 35 . turning now to fig3 a through 3 e , the microwave antenna 40 , formed by the distal projection of the ablation needle 35 , may take any of several well - known forms in the art . for example , fig3 a and 3 b illustrate embodiments in which the microwave antenna comprises a monopole antenna 41 as described by labonte et al ., “ monopole antennas for microwave catheter ablation ,” ieee trans . microwave theory tech ., vol . 44 , no . 10 , pp . 1832 - 1840 , october 1996 , the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference . in such embodiments , the distal projection of the ablation needle comprises the previously described center conductor 55 surrounded by the dielectric material 60 . if , as illustrated in fig3 a , the center conductor 55 extends to the distal end of the distal projection , thereby contacting tissue when in use , the monopole antenna 41 is referred to as an open - tip monopole antenna . in other embodiments , a tip 42 prevents the center conductor 55 from directly contacting tissue as illustrated in fig3 b . if the tip 42 comprises a dielectric material , the monopole antenna 41 is referred to as a dielectric - tip monopole . if the tip 42 comprises a metallic material , the monopole antenna 41 is referred to as a metal - tip monopole . alternatively , the distal projection of the ablation needle 35 may form a dipole antenna 43 as illustrated in fig3 c and 3 d . in such embodiments , the distal projection of the ablation needle 35 comprises the center conductor 55 and surrounding dielectric material 60 as previously described . in addition , the distal projection of the ablation needle includes an outer conductor 44 forming one or more sections of coaxial transmission line in combination with the center conductor 55 . this outer conductor 44 is electrically isolated from the delivery needle 10 . it may be electrically coupled to the center conductor 55 as shown in fig3 c or may be electrically isolated from it as shown in fig3 d . in yet another embodiment , the distal projection of the ablation needle 35 may form a helical coiled antenna 51 . the helical coiled antenna 51 comprises the center conductor 55 and surrounding dielectric material 60 as previously described . in addition , the center conductor 55 has an extension that forms coils 52 about the dielectric material 60 . the coils 52 are electrically isolated from the delivery needle 10 . stauffer et al ., ( 1995 ) interstitial heating tech . in : seegenschmiedt et al . ( eds . ), thermoradiotherapy and thermochemotherapy , vol . 1 , springer , pp . 279 - 320 provide additional discussion of suitable dipole 43 and helical coil antennas 51 , the contents of which is hereby incorporated by reference . turning now to fig1 through 15 , an alternate embodiment of the present invention in which the ablation needle 35 and the delivery needle 10 do not couple together to create the coaxial transmission line is illustrated . the hollow delivery needle 10 possesses a proximal port 15 opening into a lumen 20 which extends through the delivery needle 10 to an open distal end as described previously . in addition , the delivery needle 10 preferably has a jacket of an insulating material such as parylene or teflon ® at least partially surrounding its outer surface ( illustrated in fig1 a ) or may be formed completely of a nonconductive material such as plastic . the delivery needle 10 is preferably 17 gauge , more preferably 18 gauge or higher . the ablation needle 35 is longer than the delivery needle 10 such that when the ablation needle 35 is inserted into the proximal port 15 and displaced until a stop 83 located on the ablation needle 35 engages the proximal port 15 , a distal projection of the ablation needle 35 will extend from the distal end of the delivery needle 10 . the distal projection of the ablation needle is adapted to form a microwave antenna 40 . the ablation needle 35 includes a transmission line to couple to the microwave antenna 40 . in the embodiment illustrated in fig1 , the transmission line in the ablation needle 35 comprises a coaxial transmission line 61 . however , other types of transmission lines as known in the art may be used in ablation needle 35 . to form the coaxial transmission line 61 , the ablation needle 35 includes the center conductor 55 and surrounding dielectric material 60 as previously described . in addition , the ablation needle 35 includes an outer conductor 62 that circumferentially surrounds the dielectric material 60 to complete the coaxial transmission line 61 . this outer conductor 62 extends distally from a coaxial connector 78 to the microwave antenna 40 and preferably comprises a highly conductive metal of a thickness of 1 to 10 times the skin depth ( δ ) as described herein . outer conductor 62 preferably is protected by an outer coating of a material such as a fluoropolymer or parylene . because ablation needle 35 includes the complete coaxial transmission line 61 and coaxial connector 78 , the delivery needle 10 requires no electrical connector , and need merely end in the proximal port 15 through which the ablation needle 35 is inserted . the ablation needle 35 is distally displaced within the lumen 20 of the delivery needle 10 until the stop 83 , here provided by the coaxial connector 78 , prevents further distal displacement by contacting the proximal end of the delivery needle 10 . in addition to acting as a stop 83 , the coaxial connector 78 may be modified to connect to the proximal end of the delivery needle 10 through appropriate connectors ( not illustrated ). when the ablation needle 35 is displaced to contact the stop 83 with the proximal end of the delivery needle 10 , the distal projection of the ablation needle 35 extends beyond the distal end of the delivery needle 10 . this distal projection forms a microwave antenna 40 . the microwave antenna 40 may be a monopole 41 , dipole 43 or helical coil 51 as previously described and illustrated in fig3 a through 3 c . if center conductor 55 and outer conductor 62 are not comprised of a highly conductive metal , the center conductor 55 and the inner surface of the outer conductor 62 may be coated with a highly conductive metal to a thickness as previously described . to minimize trauma during insertion and ablation , the delivery needle 10 is preferably 17 gauge or higher , more preferably 18 gauge or higher . as an alternative embodiment , instead of the coaxial connector 78 , the delivery needle 10 may include a connector ( not illustrated ) comprising an outer portion of a coaxial connector and the ablation needle 35 may include a connector ( not illustrated ) comprising an inner portion of a coaxial connector . when the connectors are connected , the resulting coaxial connector is electrically coupled to the coaxial transmission line 61 . in such an embodiment , the outer portion of the coaxial connector would have to electrically couple to the outer conductor 62 of the ablation needle 35 . it is to be noted that , regardless of the particular type of microwave antenna 40 implemented , the present invention provides advantages over prior art microwave antennas . in the present invention , the biopsy needle 30 and the delivery needle 10 may have already formed an insertion track before the microwave antenna 40 is inserted into an ablation site . because the microwave antenna 40 may follow the existing insertion track , the microwave antenna 40 may possess a flat distal end . prior art mct microwave antennas typically had a sharpened distal end so that these antennas could be inserted into an ablation site . the sar pattern of a microwave antenna 40 may be altered depending upon whether a flat or sharpened distal end is utilized . thus , the present invention allows a clinician more control of the sar patterns needed for a particular therapy . whether the ablation needle 35 and the delivery needle 10 are coupled to create the coaxial transmission line 50 or the ablation needle 35 includes the coaxial transmission line 61 , the present invention will provide a variety of microwave antennas 40 which are inserted into a tumor through the lumen 20 of the delivery needle 10 . the delivery needle 10 and the microwave antenna 40 together follow an insertion track in the body . the microwave antenna 40 may take a number of forms as previously described . each of the forms , such as the monopole 41 , has an effective antenna length which represents the longitudinal extent of tissue ablated by the microwave antenna 40 in the insertion track . the effective antenna length may depend upon the antenna design , the expected insertion depth , the expected amount of tissue perfusion , the expected duration and power of energy deliver , the frequency of the microwave power source , and additional factors . tumors , such as liver tumors , can “ seed ” an insertion track as the microwave antenna 40 is withdrawn from the tumor . therefore , it is beneficial to ablate the insertion track during withdrawal to kill any tumor cells displaced along the insertion track which would otherwise ( potentially ) act as “ seeds ” for future tumors . moreover , track ablation helps to stem hemorrhage from the insertion track . after performing ablation of a tumor , the microwave antenna 40 may be withdrawn approximately an effective antenna length . ablation would then be performed again , thus performing ablation in the insertion track without gaps and without excess overlap between successive ablations so as to kill displaced tumor cells while minimizing excess damage to the insertion track . because only a small area surrounding the insertion track need be ablated , and to minimize damage to healthy tissue during track ablation , the clinician may decrease the diameter of the field of the antenna and / or lengthen the field to speed track ablation time . these alterations to microwave field diameter and length may be made by decreasing the power or frequency of the microwave power source . in addition or alternatively , the antenna field may be altered by changing the physical dimensions of the microwave antenna 40 by , for example , proximally or distally displacing the ablation needle 35 within the lumen 20 of the delivery needle 10 . to assist coupling a microwave power source to the microwave antenna 40 , the coaxial connector 75 , 76 and 78 as used in the various embodiments described herein may comprise a standard coaxial connector such as an sma connector . alternatively , the coaxial connector may be a coaxial connector of a custom design for ease of assembly . the present invention also includes a system for biopsy and ablation of tumors . the system comprises a modular needle apparatus in one of the various embodiments as described herein . an example system is illustrated in fig2 . this system includes the delivery needle 10 and ablation needle 35 of fig1 a and 1 c . also included is an obturator 11 , a biopsy needle 30 and a stylet 29 with a matched point 34 for the biopsy needle 30 . a syringe 58 is shown for coupling to the biopsy needle 30 during aspiration of a tissue sample . as discussed herein , an assembly tool 56 aids the connection of the ablation needle 35 and the delivery needle 10 . the system would further comprise a microwave power source 59 for coupling to the modular needle apparatus by connecting to the coaxial connector 75 . the microwave power source will preferably generate microwave energy in the frequency range of 0 . 3 to 3 . 0 ghz . more preferably , the microwave antenna 40 and the microwave power source are adapted to operate at 0 . 915 or 2 . 45 ghz . the particular frequency or frequency range generated by the microwave power source will affect the sar pattern of the microwave antenna 40 . the clinician may thus adjust the microwave power source to generate a desired sar pattern as required by a particular tumor . the present invention includes methods of biopsy and ablation using the disclosed modular needle apparatus . turning now to fig4 - 12 , a method of biopsy and ablation is illustrated using the modular needle apparatus as shown in fig1 a - 1 c . as discussed herein , this embodiment creates the coaxial transmission line 50 after connecting together connector 65 on the ablation needle 35 to connector 70 on the delivery needle 10 . as illustrated in fig3 the delivery needle has an obturator 11 in the lumen 20 to stiffen the delivery needle 35 and assist piercing of tissue . preferably , a percutaneous procedure is performed . if , however , a laparoscopic procedure is performed , the delivery needle 10 may be introduced through a trocar ( not illustrated ). moreover , in an open surgical procedure , the delivery needle would enter tissue through an incision rather than entering percutaneously . the clinician may monitor the procedure with an imaging device such as mri or ultrasound to guide the insertion of the delivery needle 10 into a patient until the delivery needle 10 is suitably positioned with respect to a tumor 95 located within the liver 90 . such a suitable position will depend upon the shape and position of the tumor 95 and the sar pattern of the particular microwave antenna 40 used . having inserted the delivery needle 10 properly with respect to the tumor 95 , the clinician may withdraw the obturator 11 as illustrated in fig4 and 5 . the clinician is now ready to perform a biopsy of the tumor 95 using a biopsy needle 30 inserted through the lumen 20 of the delivery needle 10 . the clinician may perform this biopsy in a number of ways . for example , the biopsy needle 30 may be distally displaced within the lumen 20 until the distal end of the biopsy needle protrudes from the delivery needle 10 into the tumor 95 . alternatively , as illustrated in fig6 the clinician may distally displace the biopsy needle within the lumen 20 until the distal end of the biopsy needle is proximally adjacent the distal end of the delivery needle 10 . the clinician then exposes the distal end of the biopsy needle to the tumor 95 so that a tissue sample may be taken by proximally withdrawing the delivery needle 10 with respect to the biopsy needle 30 as illustrated in fig7 . as an alternative to the steps shown in fig4 - 7 as described thus far , biopsy needle 30 may be introduced with delivery needle 10 as a unit , and would appear as in fig7 . in that case , biopsy needle 30 preferably has a stiffening stylet 29 with a matched point 34 to aid in piercing tissue , particularly hardened tumors . to further aid in stiffening the biopsy needle 30 , the biopsy needle 30 would preferably have a diameter very close to the inner diameter of delivery needle 10 . the biopsy stylet 29 is then removed so that a biopsy can be taken . in either case , the biopsy needle 30 preferably comprises a luer - type fitting 33 on its proximal end . a syringe ( illustrated in fig2 ) is attached to fitting 33 and suction is applied to draw tissue into biopsy needle 30 . after drawing a tissue sample into biopsy needle 30 , the biopsy needle 30 is withdrawn from the lumen 20 of the delivery needle 10 as illustrated in fig8 . the clinician may optionally perform an additional biopsy , either at this point or following an ablation using the same or a different biopsy needle 30 . should the biopsy result indicate that the tumor 95 requires ablation , the clinician proceeds to insert the ablation needle 35 into the lumen 20 of the delivery needle 10 . ( alternatively the clinician need not wait for the result ). as described previously , the clinician distally displaces the ablation needle 35 within the lumen 20 until the second connector 65 on the ablation needle 35 is coupled to the first connector 70 on the delivery needle 10 . in this fashion , a coaxial connector 75 is formed as illustrated in fig9 so that microwave power source may be coupled through the coaxial transmission line 50 to the microwave antenna 40 . note that the insertion of the microwave antenna 40 into the tumor 95 does not require removal of the delivery needle 10 . thus , the clinician need not have to reinsert the delivery needle after a biopsy , avoiding the uncertainties of trying to align the delivery needle 10 with the previously formed insertion track . furthermore , because the microwave antenna 40 follows the insertion track left by the biopsy needle 30 , the microwave antenna 40 need not have a sharpened distal end . however , the present invention also contemplates methods wherein the clinician performs ablation before or in lieu of performing a biopsy or in a slightly different location than the biopsy site . in such an embodiment of the invention , the microwave antenna 40 would preferably have a sharpened distal end because the microwave antenna 40 will not be following a biopsy needle track . turning now to fig1 , the clinician couples a microwave power source to the coaxial connector 75 through , e . g ., a flexible coaxial cable 100 . at this point the clinician may begin ablating the tumor 95 . as illustrated in fig1 , the ablation continues until the area of ablated tissue 110 is larger than the tumor , thus insuring that the entire tumor 95 is destroyed . finally , as illustrated in fig1 , the clinician may perform track ablation as previously described . the clinician partially withdraws the delivery needle 10 before performing another ablation . repeated partial withdrawal and ablation steps are performed to completely ablate the insertion track . many widely differing embodiments of the present invention may be constructed without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention . therefore , it should be understood that the present invention is not to be limited to the particular forms or methods disclosed , but to the contrary , the present invention is to cover all modifications , equivalents and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the appended claims .	0
a press according to the present invention is shown in fig1 and 2 . a bolster 3 is secured to the base of a frame 1 , and a slide 2 faces the bolster 3 . a crank mechanism comprises a crank shaft ( not shown ) and a connecting rod 4 . the connecting rod 4 is connected to the slide 2 , and the crank mechanism raises and lowers the slide 2 . a stay 19 extends between the left and right columns of the frame 1 . the stay 19 restricts the displacement of the left and right columns and is located approximately at the midpoint of the vertical motion of the slide 2 . the stay 19 prevents deformation and torsion of the frame 1 . however , the stay 19 may be removed . gibs 5 , 6 are disposed on the frame 1 , and spherical surface bodies 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 are disposed on the slide 2 . the slide 2 is guided by the spherical surface bodies 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 while the slide 2 is raised and lowered along the gibs 5 , 6 . a cross - sectional view of the press through gibs 5 , 6 is shown in fig2 . the drawing is rotated 90 ° counter - clockwise to facilitate the presentation . gib holders 13 , 14 are secured to the frame 1 using bolts or the like . engagement units 13 a , 14 a formed on gib holders 13 , 14 fit into grooves on the frame 1 . a hollow screw 15 with threads on the outer perimeter screws into a screw hole of gib holder 14 . a bolt 16 secures the hollow screw 15 to gib holder 14 . the end of bolt 16 is inserted into the hollow screw 15 and screws into the end of a wedge 12 . the end of the hollow screw 15 pushes the wedge 12 and fixes the position of the wedge 12 . the hollow screw 15 and bolt 16 align the wedge 12 relative to gib holder 14 . gib 5 is aligned likewise relative to gib holder 13 . furthermore , the wedge 12 is tapered so that gib 5 can be moved forward and backward relative to the slide 2 . gib 5 and the wedge 12 are secured to the frame 1 with bolt 17 after gib 5 and the wedge 12 are aligned . a sheet - like liner 11 is secured to gib 5 with a screw and is adhesed lengthwise along gib 5 . however , the liner 11 can be removed so that spherical surface bodies 7 , 9 slide directly against gibs 5 , 6 . spherical surface body 7 forms a section of a sphere and is disposed on the slide 2 . the height of spherical surface body 7 is approximately 30 % of the corresponding sphere . spherical surface body 7 includes a convex spherical surface section and a flat section that can slide against the liner 11 . a holder 27 is inserted between the slide 2 and spherical surface body 7 . a bolt 26 secures the holder 27 to the slide 2 , and the holder 27 can fit into a depression on the slide 2 . the holder 27 includes a concave spherical surface section that engages with the convex spherical surface section of spherical surface body 7 . spherical surface body 7 can pivot while engaged with the holder 27 . the position of gib 5 can be adjusted , but the position of gib 6 is fixed . gib 6 does not need to be adjustable since gib 5 can be adjusted . an engagement section 6 b of gib 6 fits into a groove formed in the frame 1 , and bolt 17 secures gib 6 to the frame 1 . a spherical surface body 9 is disposed on the slide 2 in a similar manner to spherical surface body 7 . spherical surface body 9 and the structure to which it is attached is formed similarly to spherical surface body 7 and its corresponding structure . spherical surface body 7 is engaged with the holder 27 . the holder 27 fits into the depression in the slide 2 and is secured to the slide 2 with bolt 26 . then , gib 6 is secured to the frame 1 . next , the wedge 12 and gib 5 are assembled . the hollow screw 15 and bolt 16 align the wedge 12 and gib 5 while preserving the contact between the liner 11 and a cap 18 . bolt 17 secures the wedge 12 and gib 5 to the frame 1 . a shoe 23 is adhesed to the slide 2 . the shoe 23 contacts and slides against gib holders 13 , 14 and the guide surface of gib 6 . spherical surface bodies 7 , 9 can restrict the left and right movement of the slide 2 , and the shoe 23 can restrict the front and back movement , as shown in fig2 . fig3 and 4 show an alternate embodiment of the present invention . fig3 is a lateral cross - sectional view of fig1 along gibs 5 , 6 . the drawing is rotated 90 ° counter - clockwise to facilitate the presentation . fig4 is a detailed view of the upper gib section of fig3 . gib holders 13 , 14 are secured to the frame 1 using bolts ( not shown ). engagement units 13 a , 14 a formed on gib holders 13 , 14 fit into grooves on the frame 1 . the hollow screw 15 with threads on the outer perimeter screws into a screw hole of gib holder 13 . bolt 16 secures the hollow screw 15 to gib holder 13 . the end of bolt 16 is inserted into the hollow screw 15 and screws into the end of the wedge 12 . the end of the hollow screw 15 pushes the wedge 12 , thereby fixing the position of the wedge 12 . the hollow screw 15 and bolt 16 align the wedge 12 relative to gib holder 13 . gib 5 is aligned relative to gib holder 14 in a similar manner . furthermore , the wedge 12 is tapered so that gib 5 can be moved forward and backward relative to the slide 2 . gib 5 and the wedge 12 are secured to the frame 1 with bolt 17 after gib 5 and the wedge 12 are aligned . the sheet - like liner 11 is secured to gib 5 with a screw and is adhesed lengthwise along gib 5 . however , the liner 11 can be removed so that spherical surface bodies 7 , 9 slide directly against gibs 5 , 6 . spherical surface body 7 forms a section of a sphere and is disposed on the slide 2 . the height of spherical surface body 7 is approximately 30 % of the corresponding sphere . spherical surface body 7 includes a convex spherical surface section and a flat section that can slide against the liner 11 . the holder 27 is inserted between the slide 2 and spherical surface body 7 . bolt 26 secures the holder 27 to the slide 2 , and the holder 27 can fit into a depression on the slide 2 . the holder 27 includes a concave spherical surface section that engages with the convex spherical surface section of spherical surface body 7 . spherical surface body 7 can pivot while engaged with the holder 27 . the position of gib 5 can be adjusted , but the position of gib 6 is fixed . gib 6 does not need to be adjustable since gib 5 can be adjusted . gib 6 abuts an abutting section 6 a formed on the frame 1 and is secured to the frame 1 by bolt 17 . spherical surface bodies 7 , 9 are engaged with the holder 27 . the holder 27 fits into the depression in the slide 2 and is secured to the slide 2 with bolt 26 . then , gib 6 is secured to the frame 1 . next , the wedge 12 and gib 5 are assembled . the hollow screw 15 and bolt 16 align the wedge 12 and gib 5 while preserving the contact between the liners 11 and the spherical surface bodies 7 , 9 . bolt 17 secures the wedge 12 and gib 5 to the frame 1 . the liners 11 are adhesed to gibs 5 , 6 . the surfaces of the liners 11 are positioned to form an angle α , as shown in fig4 . the holder 27 transfers pressure from the slide 2 to the contact surfaces of the liners 11 where the liners 11 contact the flat sections of the spherical surface bodies 7 , 9 . the force applied to the contact surfaces can be considered as separate lateral and longitudinal forces that restrict the slide 2 since the contact surfaces are inclined . therefore , the slide 2 is restricted both laterally and longitudinally by the gibs 5 , 6 . the angle α is approximately 120 ° and is determined from the status of the eccentric load of the press . the lateral projected area is larger than the longitudinal projected area when the lateral eccentric load is greater than the longitudinal eccentric load . when α is 120 °, the projected area ratio between the lateral projected area and the longitudinal projected area is √ 3 : 1 , i . e ., approximately 1 . 7 : 1 . fig5 and 6 show an alternate embodiment of the present invention . spherical surface bodies 7 , 9 are disposed on the slide 2 as described above . gibs 24 , 25 and gib holder 14 are disposed on the frame 1 . a projection 24 a is formed on the frame 1 and abuts gib 24 . a bolt 31 secures gib 24 to the frame 1 . the structure of gib holder 14 is the same as that of the above - described embodiments . gib holder 14 can be used to adjust the position of gib 25 which can be secured to the frame 1 with bolt 32 . fig5 shows the liners 11 , which serve as a pair of guide surfaces , positioned on the sliding surfaces so that they face toward the center of the slide 2 . however , the sliding surfaces of the embodiment of the present invention shown in fig3 face away from the slide , thereby allowing the structure to adjust to the effects of increasing temperature or the like in the slide 2 . the slide 2 expands relative to gibs 24 , 25 when the temperature of the slide 2 increases . however , the deformation of the slide 2 can be accommodated more easily when the sliding surfaces face away from the center of the slide 2 as in fig3 . therefore , the liners 11 can be eliminated in the embodiment of the present invention shown in fig3 so that spherical surface bodies 7 , 9 and gibs 24 , 25 slide directly against each other . fig7 shows an alternate embodiment of the present invention that is similar to the embodiment shown in fig2 . however , spherical surface bodies 7 , 9 are installed differently in these two embodiments . fig7 is a lateral cross - sectional view of fig1 along gibs 5 , 6 . the drawing is rotated 90 ° counter - clockwise to facilitate the presentation . gib holders 13 , 14 are secured to the frame 1 with bolts ( not shown ). the engagement units 13 a , 14 a formed on gib holders 13 , 14 are fitted to grooves on the frame 1 . the hollow screw 15 is screwed into gib holder 14 and is secured by bolt 16 . the end of bolt 16 is inserted into the hollow screw 15 and screws into the end of the wedge 12 . the end of the hollow screw 15 pushes the wedge 12 , thereby fixing the position of the wedge 12 . the hollow screw 15 and bolt 16 align the wedge 12 relative to gib holder 14 . gib 5 is aligned relative to gib holder 13 in a similar manner . furthermore , the wedge 12 is tapered so that gib 5 can be moved forward and backward relative to the slide 2 . the wedge 12 and gib 5 are aligned and then secured to the frame 1 with bolt 17 . a screw secures the liner 11 to gib 5 . the sheet - like liner 11 is adhesed lengthwise along gib 5 . however , the liner 11 can be eliminated , and then , the cap 18 can slide directly against gibs 5 , 6 . bolt 26 secures spherical surface body 7 to the slide 2 . spherical surface body 7 fits into a depression formed on the slide 2 . the cap 18 includes a concave spherical surface section and is inserted between spherical surface body 7 and the liner 11 . the concave spherical surface section of the cap 18 engages with the convex spherical surface section of spherical surface body 7 so that the cap 18 can pivot within the spherical surface of spherical surface body 7 . additionally , the cap 18 includes a flat section , and this flat section and the liner 11 can slide against each other . the position of gib 5 can be adjusted , but the position of gib 6 is fixed . gib 6 does not need to be adjustable since gib 5 can be adjusted . the engagement section 6 b of gib 6 fits into a groove formed in the frame 1 , and bolt 17 secures gib 6 to the frame 1 . the caps 18 engage with the spherical surface bodies 7 , 9 . spherical surface bodies 7 , 9 fit into depressions in the slide 2 and are secured to the slide 2 with bolt 26 . then , gib 6 is secured to the frame 1 . next , the wedge 12 and gib 5 are installed . the positioning of gib 5 is adjusted with the hollow screw 15 , bolt 16 , and the wedge 12 while preserving the contact between the liner 11 and the cap 18 . bolt 17 secures the wedge 12 and gib 5 to the frame 1 . the shoe 23 is adhesed to the slide 2 . the shoe 23 contacts and slides against gib holders 13 , 14 and the guide surface of gib 6 . the caps 18 restrict the left and right movement of the slide 2 , and the shoe 23 restricts the forward and backward movement of the slide 2 . fig8 and 9 show an embodiment of the present invention that is similar to the embodiment shown in fig3 and 4 . however , the spherical surface bodies 7 , 9 are installed differently in the two embodiments . fig8 is a lateral cross - sectional view of fig1 along gibs 5 , 6 . the drawing is rotated 90 ° counter - clockwise to facilitate the presentation . fig9 is a detailed view of the upper gib section of fig8 . gib holders 13 , 14 are secured to the frame 1 with bolts ( not shown ). the engagement units 13 a , 14 a formed on gib holders 13 , 14 are fitted into grooves on the frame 1 . the hollow screw 15 screws into gib holder 13 and is secured by bolt 16 . the end of bolt 16 is inserted into the hollow screw 15 and screws into the end of the wedge 12 . the end of the hollow screw 15 pushes the wedge 12 , thereby fixing the position of the wedge 12 . the hollow screw 15 and bolt 16 align the wedge 12 relative to gib holder 13 . gib 5 is aligned relative to gib holder 14 in a similar manner . furthermore , the wedge 12 is tapered so that gib 5 can be moved forward and backward relative to the slide 2 . gib 5 and the wedge 12 are secured to the frame 1 with the bolt 17 after gib 5 and the wedge 12 are aligned . the sheet - like liner 11 is secured to gib 5 with a screw and is adhesed lengthwise along gib 5 . however , the liner 11 can be removed so that spherical surface bodies 7 , 9 slide directly against gibs 5 , 6 . bolt 26 secures spherical surface body 7 to the slide 2 . spherical surface body 7 can fit into the depression on the slide 2 . the cap 18 has a concave spherical surface section and is inserted between spherical surface body 7 and the liner 11 . the concave spherical surface section of the cap 18 engages with the convex spherical surface section of spherical surface body 7 so that the cap 18 can pivot along the spherical surface of spherical surface body 7 . the cap 18 also includes a flat section , and this flat section and the liner 11 can slide against each other . the position of gib 5 can be adjusted , but the position of gib 6 is fixed . gib 6 does not need to be adjustable since gib 5 can be adjusted . gib 6 abuts an abutting section 6 a formed on the frame 1 and is secured to the frame 1 by bolt 17 . the caps 18 engage with spherical surface bodies 7 , 9 . spherical surface bodies 7 , 9 can fit into the depressions in the slide 2 and are secured to the slide 2 with bolt 26 . then , gib 6 is secured to the frame 1 . next , the wedge 12 and gib 5 are installed . the positioning of gib 5 and the wedge 12 is adjusted with the hollow screws 15 and bolt 16 while preserving the contact between the liner 11 and the cap 18 . bolt 17 secures the wedge 12 and gib 5 to the frame 1 . the surfaces of the liners 11 are adhesed to gibs 5 , 6 and are positioned to form an angle α as shown in fig9 . spherical surface body 7 and the cap 18 transfer pressure from the slide 2 to the section of the surface of the liner 11 that contacts the flat section of the cap 18 . the force applied to the contact surfaces can be considered as separate lateral and longitudinal forces that restrict the slide 2 since the contact surfaces are inclined . therefore , the slide 2 is restricted both laterally and longitudinally by the gibs 5 , 6 . the angle α is approximately 120 ° and is determined from the status of the eccentric load of the press . the lateral projected area is larger than the longitudinal projected area when the lateral eccentric load is greater than the longitudinal eccentric load . when α is 120 °, the projected area ratio between the lateral projected area and the longitudinal projected area is √ 3 : 1 , i . e ., approximately 1 . 7 : 1 . fig1 and 11 show an alternate embodiment of the present invention that is similar to the embodiment shown in fig5 and 6 . however , the structure of the gibs and the method of installing the spherical surface bodies 7 , 9 are different between the two embodiments . the slide 2 is concave and gibs 5 , 6 are convex in the embodiment of the present invention shown in fig8 and 9 . however , the slide 2 is convex and gibs 24 , 25 , 33 are concave in the embodiment shown in fig1 and 11 . the concave and convex shapes of the slide 2 and the gibs are reversed between these two embodiments . the angle α is 120 ° between the pair of liners 11 in the embodiment shown in fig1 and 11 , which is similar to the embodiment shown in fig5 and 6 . fig1 is a lateral cross - sectional view of fig1 along the gibs . the drawing is rotated 90 ° counter - clockwise to facilitate the presentation . fig1 is a detailed view of the upper gib section of fig1 . gib holders 13 , 14 are secured to the frame 1 using bolts ( not shown ). the engagement units 13 a , 14 a formed on gib holders 13 , 14 are fitted into grooves on the frame 1 . the hollow screw 15 with threads on the outer perimeter screws into a screw hole of gib holder 13 . bolt 16 secures the hollow screw 15 to gib holder 13 . the end of bolt 16 is inserted into the hollow screw 15 and is screwed into the end of the wedge 12 . the end of the hollow screw 15 pushes the wedge 12 , thereby fixing the position of the wedge 12 . the hollow screw 15 and bolt 16 align the wedge 12 relative to gib holder 13 . gib 33 is aligned likewise relative to gib holder 14 . furthermore , the wedge 12 is tapered so that gib 33 can be moved forward and backward relative to the slide 2 . gib 33 and the wedge 12 are secured to the frame 1 with bolt 17 after gib 33 and the wedge 12 are aligned . the sheet - like liner 11 is secured to gib 33 with a screw and is adhesed lengthwise along gib 33 . however , the liner 11 can be removed so that spherical surface bodies 7 , 9 slide directly against gibs 24 , 25 , 33 . bolt 26 secures spherical surface body 7 to the slide 2 . spherical surface body 7 fits into a depression on the slide 2 . the cap 18 is formed with a concave spherical surface section and is inserted between spherical surface body 7 and the liner 11 . the concave spherical surface section of the cap 18 engages with the convex spherical surface section of spherical surface body 7 . the cap 18 can pivot while engaged with the spherical surface of spherical surface body 7 . additionally , the cap 18 is formed with a flat section , and the flat section and the liner 11 can slide against each other . the position of gib 33 can be adjusted , but the position of gibs 24 , 25 are fixed . gibs 24 , 25 do not need to be adjustable since gib 33 can be adjusted . gib 24 abuts against the projection 24 a formed on the frame 1 and is secured to the frame 1 with the bolt 31 . the configuration of gib holder 14 , the hollow screw 15 , bolt 16 are the same as those described above . these components are used to adjust the position of gib 25 , and then , bolt 32 secures gib 25 to the frame 1 . the cap 18 engages with spherical surface bodies 7 , 9 . spherical surface bodies 7 , 9 fit into the depression in the slide 2 and are secured to the slide 2 with bolt 26 . then , gib 24 is secured to the frame 1 . next , the wedge 12 , gib 33 , and gib 25 are assembled . the positioning of gib 33 , gib 25 , and the wedge 12 are adjusted with the hollow screws 15 and bolt 16 while preserving the contact between the liner 11 and the cap 18 . bolt 17 secures the wedge 12 and gib 33 to the frame 1 , and bolt 32 secures gib 25 to the frame 1 . the surfaces of the liners 11 are adhesed to gib 33 and are positioned to form an angle α as shown in fig1 . spherical surface body 7 and the cap 18 transfer pressure from the slide 2 to the section of the surface of the liner 11 that contacts the flat section of the cap 18 . the force applied to the contact surfaces can be considered as separate lateral and longitudinal forces that restrict the slide 2 since the contact surfaces are inclined . therefore , the slide 2 is restricted both laterally and longitudinally by the gib 33 . the angle α is approximately 120 ° and is determined from the status of the eccentric load of the press . the lateral projected area is larger than the longitudinal projected area when the lateral eccentric load is greater than the longitudinal eccentric load . if α is 120 °, the projected area ratio between the lateral projected area and the longitudinal projected area is √ 3 : 1 , i . e ., approximately 1 . 7 : 1 . fig8 and 9 show the liners 11 , which serve as a pair of guide surfaces , positioned facing the center of the slide 2 so that the slide 2 forms a concave angle . however , the slide 2 forms a convex angle in the alternate embodiment shown in fig1 and 11 . however , the structure shown in fig8 and 9 can adjust to the effects of increasing temperature or the like in the slide 2 . the slide 2 expands when the temperature of the slide 2 increases relative to the gibs . the deformation of the slide 2 can be accommodated more easily when the slide 2 is formed with a concave angle as in fig8 and 9 . the surface contacts are formed between the spherical surface bodies and the gibs or between the caps and the gibs . forming spherical contact surfaces prevents scorching and galling . the pressing operation is precise since the clearance for the gib is negligible , and the die guideposts do not have to be especially sturdy . furthermore , the operation of the slide is simpler when using a component that engages with the spherical surface body . the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above with reference to the accompanying drawings . various changes and modifications may be effected therein by one skilled in the art without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention as defined in the appended claims .	1
the no - shock pressure plug of the present invention is illustrated generally at 10 in fig1 and 2 , positioned below a well packer 12 within a well . both the packer 12 and the plugging apparatus at 10 are suspended from a tubing string 14 , and form successive extensions thereof . a continuation of the tubing string 14 &# 39 ; extends below the plugging apparatus 10 . a floating seal plug is shown at 16 in fig1 and 3 , and is discussed in more detail hereinafter . as is shown schematically in fig1 and 2 , the pressure plug apparatus at 10 may be considered as including at least two major components : a generally tubular housing , or mandrel assembly , 18 ; and a plug or sealing device 20 . with the sealing device 20 appropriately anchored within the housing 18 , the pressure plug apparatus at 10 seals the tubular member 14 below the packer 12 . hydraulic pressure may be increased within the tubing string 14 and well packer 12 by pumping at the well surface ( not shown ). the appropriately designed well packer 12 is then set in response to the increased hydraulic pressure , that is , the packer 12 is sealed to the interior surface of the well w , and may also be anchored thereto . thus , by appropriate attachment of the tubing string 14 to the set packer 12 , the tubing string is also sealed to the wall of the well w . to facilitate such a sealing to the well wall , the well w may be lined with casing in a well known manner . with the packer 12 thus set , hydraulic pressure within the tubing string 14 and packer may be reduced by bleeding the tubing string 14 at the surface , or by any other appropriate method . once the pressure within the tubing string 14 is sufficiently lowered , the sealing device 20 is released from anchoring engagement with the housing 18 , and may be dropped , or pumped , down the tubing string extension 14 &# 39 ;, thereby clearing the tubing string as shown in fig2 for production of well fluid to the surface . the well w is shown extending to the vicinity of an underground formation f , from whence well fluids 21 flow for conduction up the tubing string 14 as indicated in fig2 . it will be appreciated that the tubing string 14 on which the packer 12 and pressure plug apparatus at 10 are positioned within the well w , and by which the hydraulic pressure to set the packer 12 is communicated , may be replaced with a more appropriate tubing string for production purposes . in such case , the tubing string 14 may be withdrawn from the well with the packer 12 in place after the sealing device 20 has been released . then , an appropriate production string may be positioned in the well in place of the tubing string 14 in fig2 and lead to appropriate surface equipment , including blowout preventors and necessary connections for production . a plugging apparatus of the present invention is shown in detail in fig4 and 5 at 110 . in this and succeeding embodiments discussed hereinafter , like elements are similarly numbered , with number values for such elements differing by one hundred or two hundred among the different embodiments . the pressure plug apparatus 110 is shown suspended from a tubular element 114 . it will be appreciated that the tubular element 114 may be a tubing string , or the extension of a tubing string below a well tool positioned above the pressure plug apparatus at 110 , or may even be the lower portion of the well tool itself . a housing and sealing device are shown in detail at 118 and 120 , respectively . the housing 118 includes an annular pressure chamber 122 formed by the cooperation of an upper mandrel 124 , a base mandrel 126 , and a sleeve 128 . the sleeve 128 is threadedly joined to both the upper and base mandrels , 124 and 126 , respectively , which extend longitudinally within the sleeve and are radially spaced therefrom to establish the pressure chamber 122 . the upper mandrel 124 further extends upwardly to threadedly join the tubular member 114 . it will be appreciated that the base mandrel 126 may also be constructed to provide for threaded attachment to a tubular member ( not shown ) for extension below the plugging apparatus 110 . an annular sleeve piston 130 is positioned within the pressure chamber 122 , and fluid - sealed to the upper mandrel 124 and the sleeve 128 by sliding - seal o - rings 132 and 134 , respectively . a frangible shear pin 136 locks the piston 130 against movement relative to the sleeve 128 . an o - ring seal 138 fluid - seals the base mandrel defining , with the o - rings 132 and 134 , the longitudinal limits of the fluid - pressure receiving region of the pressure chamber 122 . to the opposite longitudinal side of the piston 130 from the pressure - receiving area of the pressure chamber 122 is located a coil spring 140 , confined and compressed by a shoulder 124a of the upper mandrel 124 , and the top of the piston 130a . a plurality of ports 142 extends through the sleeve 128 to the exterior of the housing 118 , thereby permitting fluid communication between said exterior and the spring - holding region between the sleeve and the upper mandrel 124 , and , therefore , the top of the piston 130a . the bottom edge of the upper mandrel 124 is equipped with a plurality of upwardly extending recesses 144 which communicate fluid pressure from within the upper mandrel and , therefore , the tubular member 114 to the pressure chamber 122 when the sealing device at 120 is anchored in place as indicated in fig4 . a collet assembly at 146 features a plurality of upwardly extending collet fingers 148 depending from a base ring 150 , which is held in place between the base mandrel 126 and the sleeve 128 . an inwardly - extending shoulder 128a secures the base ring 150 in position . each collet finger 148 is equipped with a laterally - directed lug 152 . the collet fingers 148 are generally resilient , and constructed to urge the lugs 152 radially inwardly to extend through the spacing defined by the top of the base mandrel 126 and the bottom of the upper mandrel 124 , and , therefore , to the interior of the housing at 118 . the bottom of the piston 130 features a downwardly and inwardly slanting beveled surface 130b . each collet finger 148 extends upwardly beyond its respective lug 152 so that , when the piston 130 is lowered sufficiently relative to the collet assembly at 146 , the beveled surface 130b passes to the radially inward side of the top of each collet finger , wedging the latter radially outwardly , as discussed in more detail hereinafter . the sealing device at 120 includes an annular seat member 154 , illustrated in fig4 as fluid - sealed to the interior surface of the base mandrel 126 by an o - ring 156 . a ball valve 158 is shown in sealing configuration in place on an annular seating surface 154a . the seat member 154 is equipped with an annular groove 154b circumscribing the radially outer surface of the seat member . the groove 154b receives the lugs 152 when the collet fingers 148 are free to urge the lugs radially inwardly , as indicated in fig4 . thus , the lugs 152 cooperate with the groove 154b to anchor the seat member 154 to the housing 118 , and the collet fingers act to restrain the lugs from moving out of the groove 154b . with the ball valve 158 in place as indicated in fig4 the entire sealing device 120 is thus anchored to the housing at 118 in sealing configuration . the plugging apparatus 110 , suspended from the tubular member 114 , is lowered into the well w until the associated packer 12 , or other tool , is in position as indicated in fig1 . this running - in process may be effected with the ball valve 158 deleted from the plugging apparatus 110 . then , with the associated packer in place for setting , or other operation , the ball valve 158 may be dropped , or pumped , down the tubing string to be caught on the seat 154a of the seat member 154 . with the ball valve 158 thus in sealing position as indicated in fig4 hydraulic pressure may be applied to the interior of the plugging apparatus 110 as well as the tubing string and associated tools to be operated positioned thereabove . this hydraulic pressure may be effected by pumping at the surface . as the pressure above the ball valve 158 increases , such increased pressure is communicated to the pressure chamber 122 through the recesses 144 . resulting force acting on the lower surface of the piston 130b causes the latter to be urged upwardly , shearing the pin 136 . continued increase in pressure within the chamber 122 drives the piston 130 upwardly , further compressing the spring 140 . fluid movement through the ports 142 prevents a pressure lock which might interfere with such movement by the piston 130 . the longitudinal displacement of the piston will be determined , in part , by the increased hydraulic pressure received within the chamber 122 as opposed by the down - hole fluid pressure communicated through the ports 142 in combination with the restorative forces generated by the compressed spring 140 . an inwardly - extending shoulder 128a on the sleeve 128 limits the upward movement of the piston 130 . with the packer set , or other tool appropriately operated , in response to the increased hydraulic pressure above the seated ball valve 158 , the hydraulic pressure within the tubing string supporting the plugging apparatus 110 may be reduced by bleeding at the surface , or other appropriate method . as the hydraulic pressure within the chamber 122 is thus descreased , the aforementioned forces acting on the piston 130 will move the latter element downwardly , always striving to maintain the forces acting on the piston in balance . again , the fluid communication afforded by the ports 142 prevents a pressure , or vacuum , lock which might interfere with the downward movement of the piston 130 . as the hydraulic pressure within the chamber 122 continually reduces , the piston 130 is driven sufficiently downwardly that the beveled annular surface 130b moves between the collet fingers 148 and the lower extension of the upper mandrel 124 . thus , the beveled surface 130b wedges the collet fingers 148 radially outwardly , causing the lugs 152 to be withdrawn from the annular groove 154b . with the annular seat member 154 thus freed from anchoring engagement by the lugs 152 , the sealing device 120 , including the annular seat member and the ball valve 158 , may drop downwardly through the mandrel assembly 118 , and any lower extension of the tubing string . thus , by reducing the hydraulic pressure within the tubing string after the frangible pin 136 has been sheared , the tubing string and any associated tool operated on by the increased hydraulic pressure are unplugged by the freeing of the sealing device 120 . it will be appreicated that the size and force constant of the spring 140 determines , in part , the value of the hydraulic pressure within the tubing string at which the sealing device 120 is released . thus , for example , the spring 140 may be appropriately selected to release the sealing device 120 when the hydraulic pressure within the tubing string at the level of the pressure chamber 122 has been reduced to within any specific number of pounds per square inch relative to the down - hole pressure communicated through the ports 142 . therefore , the tubing string is able to be unplugged with the release of the sealing device 120 when the hydraulic pressure within the tubing string has been reduced to such a value that no appreciable pressure differential exists across the sealing device to generate a disturbing shock wave by the unplugging operation . another embodiment of the no - shock pressure plug of the present invention is shown at 210 in fig6 - 10 . the plugging apparatus 210 , shown suspended from a tubular member 214 by threaded connection , includes a housing , or mandrel assembly , shown generally at 218 and a sealing , or plug , device at 220 . the bottom end of the housing 218 is threaded for supporting a continuation of the tubing string , or an additional well tool . a pressure chamber 222 is limited by an upper mandrel 224 and a base mandrel 226 . a sleeve 228 is threadedly joined to each of the mandrels 224 and 226 to mutually anchor the latter two elements . a generally annular piston is fluid - sealed to the upper and base mandrels 224 and 226 by sliding - seal o - rings 232 and 234 , respectively . the piston 230 thus cooperates with the extensions of the mandrels 224 and 226 within the sleeve 228 to complete the definition of the pressure chamber 222 . a frangible shear pin 236 locks the piston 230 against movement relative to the base mandrel 226 . above the piston 230 is located a coil spring of rectangular wire 240 , confined and compressed by a shoulder 224a of the upper mandrel 224 , and by the top of the piston 230 . thus , as the piston 230 is urged upwardly against the spring 240 , the latter element is further compressed . while the piston 230 is fluid - sealed to the upper and base mandrels , 224 and 226 , respectively , as noted hereinbefore , the interior surface of the sleeve 228 is displaced radially outwardly from the piston . thus , fluid is generally free to communicate along the region between the piston 230 and the sleeve 228 . a plurality of upper ports 242 and lower ports 243 permit fluid communication between the region exterior to the housing 218 and the regions between the sleeve 228 and the extensions of the mandrels 224 and 226 , as well as the piston 230 . thus , as the piston 230 is moved longitudinally relative to the sleeve 228 , as described hereinafter , down - hole well fluid is generally free to move through the ports 242 and 243 to the end that fluid pressure blocks , which might inhibit the movement of the piston , are avoided . furthermore , it will be appreciated from fig6 , and 9 that the area of the upper piston surface 230a , exposed to such down - hole fluid pressure , is greater than the corresponding area of the lower piston surface 230b . thus , down - hole fluid pressure applied to the piston 230 generally urges that element downwardly relative to the mandrel assembly 218 . fluid pressure from within the tubular member 214 may be communicated to the pressure chamber 222 through the annular opening existing between the lower and upper ends of the upper mandrel 224 and the base mandrel 226 , respectively . the piston 230 features an inwardly - extending annular lip 230c which fits over a restraining ring 245 , and , as the piston is moved downwardly , forces the ring 245 to move downwardly also . a beveled shoulder 226a on the base mandrel 226 receives the beveled lower surface 245a of the restraining ring to constitute a lower limit for motion of the restraining ring 245 , as indicated in fig9 . also , a radially outwardly - extending shoulder 226b of the base mandrel 226 forms the lower limit for motion of the piston 230 . a collet assembly at 247 includes a plurality of longitudinally extending collet fingers 249 depending from upper and lower base rings 251a and 251b , respectively . the collet assembly 247 is held within the mandrel assembly 218 by the base rings 251a and 251b being stopped by inwardly - directed annular shoulders 224b and 226c of the upper and base mandrels 224 and 226 , respectively . at generally the same longitudinal position along each of the collet fingers 249 is located a dog 253 . the collet fingers 249 exhibit sufficient resiliency that the dogs 253 are relatively free to be moved radially inwardly and outwardly when otherwise not confined . the sealing device at 220 includes a generally cylindrical plug element 259 which carries , in an appropriate annular groove , an o - ring seal 260 which fluid - seals the plug element to the interior surface of the base mandrel 226 , acting as an annular seat , when the plug element is in sealing configuration as indicated in fig6 . the transverse dimension of the solid plug element 259 , at the location of the o - ring and its related annular groove , is sufficiently large to just negotiate the interior dimension of the base mandrel 226 to insure a proper fluid - sealing by way of the o - ring 260 . the remainder of the plug element 259 is of generally slightly reduced transverse dimension to enable the plug element to move past the lower base ring 251b of the collet assembly 247 , as discussed in more detail hereinafter . the plug element 259 also features , on its radially outer surface , an extended annular groove 259a with beveled side walls . the groove 259a receives the dogs 253 when the plug element 259 is in the sealing configuration indicated in fig6 . then , with the restraining ring 245 positioned between the piston 230 and the dogs 253 as shown in fig6 the dogs are held by the restraining ring from moving radially out of the groove 259a . thus , the dogs 253 anchor the plug element 259 from longitudinal movement relative to the mandrel member 218 , and maintain the plug element in sealing configuration . the plug element 259 may be inserted within the housing 218 to achieve the sealing configuration shown in fig6 as the housing is being assembled . with the restraining ring 245 lowered on the base mandrel 226 , the plug element 259 is positioned , with the dogs 253 fitted in the groove 259a , within the base mandrel . the ring 245 is then raised to confine the dogs 253 . the piston 230 is positioned and locked in place by the sheaar pin 236 , as shown . the sleeve 228 , the spring 240 and the upper mandrel 224 are then added . the no - shock plug embodiment illustrated in fig6 - 10 may be inserted in a well in combination with a packer or other tool to be operated by hydraulic pressure as generally indicated in fig1 . in this instance , the plug element 259 is in sealing configuration as shown in fig6 . to accommodate the passage of the tubing string , tool to be operated , and the plugging apparatus 210 through well fluids as the combination is lowered into the well , a sleeve valve ( not shown ) may be employed along the tubing string at some position above that of the plugging apparatus . such sleeve valves , for example like that disclosed in u . s . pat . no . 3 , 151 , 681 , are well known in the field , and will not be described in detail herein . the sleeve valve is in open configuration as the tubing string and attached elements are lowered into the well to permit well fluids to enter the tubing string above the plugging apparatus 210 to diminish , or eliminate , any buoyancy or pressure locks which might result otherwise . once the tubing string with attached apparatus is positioned as intended in the well , the sleeve valve is closed to cooperate with the plugging apparatus 210 to fluid - seal the interior of the tubing string and related apparatus from the exterior down - hole fluids . an alternative method for lowering a tubing string assembly employing the plugging apparatus 210 involves pumping fluid from the surface into the tubing string above the plugging apparatus as the tubing string is lowered into the well . with the plugging apparatus 210 in the configuration shown in fig6 the plug element 259 seals the interior of the tubing string at the o - ring seal 260 , and the plug element is anchored relative to the mandrel assembly 218 by the dogs 253 . to operate the well packer or other tool to be operated by hydraulic pressure , the pressure within the tubing string is increased by pumping at the surface , or other appropriate means . the increased hydraulic pressure within the mandrel assembly 218 is communicated through the opening between the upper and base mandrels 224 and 226 , respectively , to the pressure chamber 222 , as discussed hereinbefore . the diameter of the outer surface of the extension of the upper mandrel 224 engaging the o - ring 232 carried by the piston 230 is smaller than the diameter of the outer surface of the upward extension of the base mandrel 226 engaging the o - ring 234 also carried by the piston 230 . these two o - ring seals define the longitudinal limits of the pressure chamber 222 exposed to the increased hydraulic pressure from within the tubing string . thus , the hydraulic pressure acting within the chamber 222 generates a net force on the piston 230 urging that element upwardly relative to the mandrel assembly 218 . such upward movement by the piston 230 causes the coil spring 240 to be further compressed , and also moves the shoulder 230c away from alignment with the dogs 253 and toward the bottom edge of the upper mandrel 224 . contact of the shoulder 230c with that bottom edge of the upper mandrel 224 limits the upward movement of the piston 230 . as the piston 230 moves upwardly , frictional forces acting between the dogs 253 and the restraining ring 245 maintain the ring aligned with the plurality of dogs 253 to keep the latter elements locked in anchoring engagement with the plug element 259 by their insertion within the groove 259a . as the hydraulic pressure within the tubing string and , therefore , within the pressure chamber 222 is reduced after the setting , or other operation , of the well tool on the tubing string above the plugging apparatus 210 , the force exerted on the piston 230 by the compressed spring 240 is able to move the piston downwardly relative to the dogs 253 . also , as noted hereinbefore , the down - hole fluid pressure communicated through the ports 242 and 243 acts on the unequal end surfaces 230a and 230b of the piston 230 to cause a net downward force added to that of the compressed spring 240 to drive the piston downwardly . as the piston 230 thus is driven downwardly , the shoulder 230c engages the restraining ring 245 to pull the latter element down and out of transverse alignment with the dogs 253 . as the restraining ring 245 and the shoulder 230c are moved beyond the dogs 253 , the resiliency of the collet fingers 249 permit the dogs to move sufficiently radially outwardly to free the plug element 259 from anchoring engagement therewith . such action by the dogs 253 may occur under the influence of the weight of the plug element 259 forcing the dogs up the beveled side wall of the groove 259a , or by pumping fluid down the well to force the plug element clear of the dogs . as in the previously - described embodiment shown in fig4 and 5 , the size and force constant of the spring 240 may be adjusted to insure that the plug element 259 is not released until the hydraulic pressure within the tubing string has been reduced to any desired value relative to the down - hole fluid pressure exterior of the housing 218 . thus , the no - shock pressure plug shown in fig6 - 10 may be adjusted and used to unseal the tubing string , after the setting of a well packer , or other tool operation , by increased hydraulic pressure , when the pressure within the tubing string has been reduced to such a value that no pressure differential across the plug remains of value sufficient to generate a damaging pressure wave upon such unsealing . fig1 and 12 illustrate still another embodiment of the no - shock pressure plug of the present invention at 310 . as in the previously described embodiments , the plugging apparatus 310 may be suspended , by threaded connection , from a tubular element 314 which may be a continuation of a tubing string , or may be the lower end of a well tool to be operated within the well . the plugging apparatus 310 generally includes a plug , or sealing , device shown at 320 which may be anchored and sealingly engaged to a mandrel assembly , or housing , shown at 318 . the bottom end of the mandrel assembly is threaded for supporting a continuation of the tubing string by which the plugging apparatus 310 is suspended within the well , or for supporting an additional well tool . the housing 318 includes a generally annular pressure chamber 322 enclosed within the generally annular region defined within the lower extension of an upper mandrel 324 and external to the upward extension of a base mandrel 326 . between the two aforementioned mandrel extensions , a generally annular piston 330 cooperates with the upward extension of the base mandrel 326 to define the limits of the pressure chamber 322 . the piston 330 includes an upper , radially inwardly extending annular projection 330a carrying , in an appropriate annular groove , an o - ring seal 332 , and thereby sealingly engaging the upward extension of the base mandrel 326 . an intermediate section of the base mandrel 326a exhibits a larger transverse dimension than the region engaged by the o - ring 332 . the segment 326a includes , in an appropriate groove , an o - ring seal 334 which fluid - seals the segment 326a to the piston 330 . an annular shoulder 326b marks the point of variation in transverse dimension of the upward extension of the base mandrel 326 , and serves as a stop in a manner described hereinafter . a second annular shoulder 326a similarly defines a change in transverse dimension of the base mandrel 326 at the position where the base mandrel is threadedly joined to upper mandrel 324 . an inwardly extending annular shoulder 330b similarly marks the variation of internal transverse dimension of the piston 330 adjacent the projection 330a . a frangible shear pin 336 holds the piston 330 locked against movement relative to the base mandrel 326 . it will be appreciated that , due to the differences in lateral dimensions of the piston 330 and the base mandrel 326 in the regions of sealing by the o - rings 332 and 334 , hydraulic pressure received within the pressure chamber 322 will produce a net force of the piston urging that element upwardly relative to the housing 318 . an o - ring 339 seals the inner surface of the upper mandrel 324 to the upward extension of the base mandrel 326 . a coil spring 340 is confined and compressed between an inwardly extending annular shoulder 324a of the upper mandrel 324 and the top surface 330c of the piston 330 . a plurality of upper and lower ports 342 and 343 , respectively , permit circulation of down - hole well fluid within the annular region between the downward extension of the upper mandrel 324 and the combination of the piston 330 and the upward extension of the base mandrel 326 . the pressure of the down - hole fluid thus communicated acts on the upper annular surface 330c of the piston 330 as well as the relatively smaller , lower annular surface 330d of the piston to generate a net downward force on the piston relative to the housing 318 . also , the free circulation of the down - hole fluid about the exterior of the piston 330 permits longitudinal movement of that element relative to the housing 318 while avoiding pressure locks that might otherwise result without such free fluid circulation . the upward extension of the base mandrel 326 is equipped with a plurality of rectangular through - bores 326d permitting fluid pressure communication between the interior of the tubing string and the pressure chamber 322 within the mandrel assembly 318 . a like number of dogs 353 are distributed throughout the plurality of through - bores 326d . the dogs 353 are designed to be stopped by the base mandrel 326 to prevent the dogs from falling through the through - bores 326d to the interior of the housing 318 . as an example of such design , each dog 353 may be in the form of a truncated wedge . the construction and design of such dogs are well known in the field , and will not be described in further detail herein . a restraining ring 345 generally rides within a radially outwardly extending annular recess 330e in the piston 330 . when positioned laterally in line with the dogs 353 , the restraining ring 345 confines the dogs to radially inward locations relative to the base mandrel 326 . when the piston 330 is lowered , a radially inwardly extending annular shoulder 330f , marking the upward extension of the recess 330e , engages the top of the restraining ring 345 and moves the latter element downwardly . with the restraining ring 345 moved out of lateral alignment with the dogs 353 as indicated in fig1 , the dogs are free to be moved radially outwardly until they engage the piston 330 . the sealing device at 320 includes a generally annular seat member 354 equipped with a beveled , annular seating surface 354a . also , the seat member 354 includes , about its radially outward surface , a radially - inwardly extending annular recess 354b featuring beveled walls . the annular recess 354b receives the plurality of dogs 353 when the latter are confined to the radially inward locations by the restraining ring 345 . thus , the dogs 353 cooperate with the annular recess 354b to maintain the seat member 354 anchored relative to the housing 318 . further , the restraining ring 345 acts on the dogs 353 to lock the latter elements in such anchoring configuration . an o - ring 356 , carried within an appropriate annular groove in the outer surface of the seat member 354 , fluid - seals the seat member to the interior surface of the base mandrel 326 . a ball valve 358 may be received by the seating surface 354a as indicated in fig1 to thereby cooperate with the o - ring seal 356 to fluid - seal the interior of the tubing string and the plugging apparatus 310 from fluid communication below the sealing device 320 . with the plugging apparatus 310 in position within a well , supported by a tubing string and well tool to be set or otherwise operated by hydraulic pressure , the ball valve 358 may be dropped down the well to be received by the annular seat member 354 to fluid - seal the interior of the tubing string and related tools as indicated in fig1 . then , as the hydraulic pressure within the tubing string increases , this hydraulic pressure increase is communicated to the pressure chamber 322 through the through - bores 326d . the dogs 353 are fitted sufficiently loosely within their respective through - bores 326d to permit such fluid communication , as well as to permit limited radial movement of the dogs relative to the upward extension of the base mandrel 326 . as the fluid pressure within the pressure chamber 322 increases , the piston 330 is urged upwardly , causing the shear pin 336 to break . as the piston 330 is then driven upwardly by the net force thereon , the spring 340 is further compressed . an inwardly - extending shoulder 324b on the upper mandrel 324 receives the upper piston surface 330c to limit the upward movement of the piston . the restraining ring 345 fits sufficiently loosely within the annular recess 330e to permit relative movement between the driven piston 330 and the restraining ring . however , frictional forces acting between the dogs 353 and the ring 345 maintain the ring in lateral alignment with the dogs 353 to confine the latter elements locked in the radial positions indicated in fig1 to maintain anchoring engagement with the plug device 320 . once the hydraulic pressure within the tubing string has been sufficiently increased to set , or otherwise operate , the tool suspended thereby , the fluid pressure within the tubing string may be decreased , allowing the spring 340 and the net external fluid pressure acting on the surfaces 330c and 330d of the piston 330 to move the piston downwardly relative to the housing 318 . with the shear pin 336 no longer intact , the piston is free to be moved beyond its original position indicated in fig1 , thereby forcing the restraining ring 345 downwardly relative to the dogs 353 . a beveled snap ring 361 is carried in an appropriate annular groove in the upward extension of the base mandrel 326 to facilitate the downward movement of the restraining ring 345 . the snap ring 361 prevents the inadvertent downward movement of the restraining ring 345 until the latter is so propelled downwardly by the action of the piston 330 . once the annular shoulder 330f of the piston 330 propels the restraining ring 345 out of engagement with the dogs 353 , the dogs are relatively free to be urged radially outwardly by the beveled wall of the annular recess 354b in the seat member 354 . thus , under the weight of the ball valve 358 and the seat member 354 , or under the influence of fluid pumping from the surface acting on the sealing device 320 , the sealing device is able to be moved downwardly free of the dogs 353 , and clear of the housing 318 as indicated in fig1 . the snap ring 361 then prevents the restraining ring 345 from inadvertently relocating in transverse alignment with the dogs 353 , since such alignment would project the dogs into the interior of the housing 318 to restrict passage therethrough . thus , as in the previously described embodiments , the no - shock pressure plug indicated at 310 in fig1 and 12 provides a plugging apparatus which features a spring 340 whose characteristics may be altered to provide for the unplugging of the tubing string when the pressure therein has been sufficiently reduced to avoid substantial pressure differentials being relieved upon such unplugging to cause damaging pressure waves . the floating seal plug shown at 16 in fig1 and 3 may be employed with any of the previously described embodiments of the no - shock pressure plug , particularly in situations where the down - hole pressure in the well is substantially large . in such circumstances , the valve member , such as the ball valves 158 and 358 , or the plug element 259 , might otherwise be forced upwardly out of their respective sealing configurations by the large down - hole pressure . in such case , the floating seal plug provides what may be described as a temporary , secondary seal against such pressure , thus isolating the valve members of the no - shock pressure plug until such time as the latter elements are to be intentionally freed from their sealing configurations . the floating seal plug 16 includes a housing 400 , which may be an extension of the tubing string element 14 &# 39 ; joining the floating seal plug to the plugging apparatus 10 . the housing 400 includes an enlarged chamber 400a whose upper limit is marked by an inwardly extending , annular shoulder 400b , and which is generally open to the bottom of the well , but which is partially obstructed by a retainer ring 401 locked against longitudinal movement relative to the housing by frangible shear pins 402 . a seal element 403 is also locked in position within the chamber 400a by frangible shear pins 404 . an o - ring 405 is carried , in an appropriate annular groove , by the seal element 403 to fluid - seat the latter to the interior surface of the housing 400 within the chamber 400a . the well packer 12 , or other appropriate well tools , is lowered with the floating seal plug 16 and no - shock pressure plug 10 on the tubing string 14 with fluid contained within the tubing string segment 14 &# 39 ;. one method of effecting such a process is to place the fluid within the tubing string segment 14 &# 39 ; followed by the seating of a ball valve , 158 or 358 as appropriate , or the positioning of the plug element 259 in sealing engagement with its corresponding housing , depending on the embodiment of the plugging apparatus used , after positioning of the floating seal plug 16 at the end of the segment 14 &# 39 ;. thus a column of fluid may be confined within the tubing string segment 14 &# 39 ; between the plugging apparatus at 10 and the floating seal plug at 16 . then , as the tubing string with its related equipment is lowered into the well , the fluid already within the tubing string 14 &# 39 ; and the seal element 403 operate to diminish the pressure differential experienced by the seal device of the plugging apparatus . the shear pins 404 are sufficiently weak to shear upon any substantial pressure differential across the seal element 403 , allowing the seal element to be raised under the influence of the large down - hole fluid pressure until the seal element engages the inwardly extending shoulder 400b . then , the net force acting upwardly on the seal element 403 due to the pressure differential across that body is communicated to the tubing string segment 14 &# 39 ;, and sustained , in part , by the weight of the tubing string 14 and its attached equipment . after the well packer 12 , or other tool , is appropriately set or operated on by increased hydraulic pressure within the tubing string 14 , and the pressure therein is reduced to permit the freeing of the sealing device within the plugging apparatus at 10 , hydraulic pressure within the tubing string 14 may again be increased by pumping at the surface . such increase in hydraulic pressure is communicated to the floating seal plug at 16 , causing the seal element 403 to bear downwardly against the retainer ring 401 , with the result that the shear pins 402 are broken . then , the seal element 403 , the ring 401 , and the sealing device from the plugging apparatus at 10 may be pumped out of the tubing string segment 14 &# 39 ; through the housing 400 , leaving the entire tubing string clear for production of the well , or other operation . before the last increase in hydraulic pressure within the tubing string 14 is applied to shear the pins 402 , the tubing string 14 may be replaced with another type string , such as one specifically for use as a production string . it will be appreciated that the no - shock pressure plug of the present invention provides apparatus whereby a tubing string may be selectively fluid - sealed to permit increased hydraulic pressure therein for any purpose , such as setting a well packer or operating some other tool . prior to , and during such increase in hydraulic pressure , the sealing of the tubing string is effected by way of a sealing device of the plugging apparatus , wherein the sealing device is anchored in place by the positive locking of dogs or lugs , with no reliance for such anchoring on either friction or hydraulic pressure itself . locking means , such as frangible shear pins , are used to permit the anchoring means to be restrained in anchoring configuration to maintain the sealing device in sealing configuration . once such locking means are released , that is , for example , the pins are broken by the increase in hydraulic pressure , the hydraulic pressure itself then drives a piston to compress and hold a restorative device , such as a coil spring , which later supplies energy to release the anchoring of the sealing device . while several embodiments of the no - shock pressure plug of the present invention have been described in detail herein , it will be appreciated that variations may be effected in the construction and design of the plugging apparatus without departing from the scope of the invention . thus , for example , other types of restorative devices may be employed in place of the coil springs to store energy to release the sealing device . such restorative devices may include fluid pressure piston - and - cylinder assemblies located within the housing of the plugging apparatus where the coils are indicated in the figures . the foregoing disclosure and description of the invention is illustrative and explanatory thereof , and various changes in the size , shape and materials as well as in the details of the illustrated construction may be made within the scope of the appended claims without departing from the spirit of the invention .	4
referring now to the figures of the drawings in detail and first , particularly to fig1 thereof , there is seen a sensor configuration which is a preferred exemplary embodiment of the invention , having a plurality of conductor tracks 1 , 2 disposed in matrix form . the conductor tracks 1 and the conductor tracks 2 are disposed at right angles to one another in an essentially planar fashion in a common plane . for the sake of simplification , only three vertically extending conductor tracks 1 and three horizontally extending conductor tracks 2 are illustrated . however , the sensor configuration has a multiplicity of horizontal and vertical conductor tracks and thereby permits a relatively good local resolution in the determination of the mechanical pressure acting on the sensor configuration . the terms horizontal and vertical refer in this case to the spatial alignment of fig1 and not to the actual alignment of the sensor configuration . thus , in the mounted state of the sensor seat mat , the horizontal conductor tracks 2 extend , for example , at right angles to the vehicle longitudinal axis , while the vertical conductor tracks 1 are disposed in this state parallel to the longitudinal axis of the vehicle . the vertically extending conductor tracks 1 are connected in each case by a sensor element to the various horizontal conduct tracks 2 . each of the sensor elements has a pressure - dependent resistor r ij and a pressure - independent series resistor r v = 5 kω . the series resistor r v has the task in this case of limiting the lower value of the total resistance of the individual sensor elements such that the sensor configuration can be operated in a low - resistance range without undershooting the minimum resistance which is required to suppress the parasitic currents . a constant current i 1 at a terminal z 1 , for example , can be fed for the purpose of measuring the pressure acting on the seating surface in the region of the pressure - dependent resistor r 11 , while the voltage drop between the terminal z 1 , and the terminal s 1 , is measured . it must be ensured in this case that the electric potential at the terminals z 1 , z 2 , z 3 , s 2 and s 3 is identical , in order to avoid parasitic secondary currents which could falsify the measurement result . the total resistance of the sensor element , containing the pressure - dependent resistor r 11 , and the pressure - independent r v , can be determined from the constant current i 1 fed at the terminal z 1 and the electrical potential dropping across the terminals z 1 and s 1 . the pressure acting on the seating surface can then be calculated with the aid of the prescribed characteristic line illustrated in fig3 which reproduces the functional relationship between the pressure p acting on the seating surface and the total resistance r of the sensor element . as an alternative to this , the measurement can also be performed with the aid of a constant - voltage source , while the variable current is measured . the structure of one of the sensor elements may be seen from fig2 . thus , the sensor seat mat has two films 3 , 4 which are disposed parallel to one another and are made from an electrically insulating material . conductor tracks 1 , 2 which are mutually perpendicular in each case are disposed on the mutually facing lateral surfaces of the films 3 , 4 . otherwise , the interspace between the films 3 , 4 is filled by an electrically insulating material 5 . the electrically insulating material 5 has in the region of the point of intersection between the conductor tracks 1 , 2 cutouts which are filled by a high - resistance material 6 in order to increase the total resistance of the individual sensor elements . fig4 to 6 show alternative embodiments of a sensor element for use within the scope of the sensor configuration according to the invention . each of the sensor elements illustrated in fig4 to 6 corresponds in this case to one of the series circuits , shown in fig1 composed of a series resistor r v and a sensor element r ij . the sensor element illustrated in fig4 has a supply lead 7 for the underside and a separate supply lead 8 for the top side of the sensor element . it is noticeable that the sensor elements illustrated in fig4 to 6 are constructed similarly in cross section to the sensor element shown in fig2 . furthermore , the sensor element has a force - dependent resistor 9 which is disposed between two film layers ( not illustrated ). it is important in this case that the supply lead 7 does not make direct contact with the underside . however , disposed between the supply lead 7 and the underside of the sensor element is a resistor 10 which can be applied as a graphite structure to the respective substrate material of the silver lines using the screen printing method . the resistor 10 therefore corresponds to the series resistor r v illustrated in fig1 . the exemplary embodiment illustrated in fig5 corresponds largely to the exemplary embodiment illustrated in fig4 and therefore the same reference numerals are used below . reference is made in this regard to the previous description relating to fig4 in order to avoid repetitions . the special feature of the exemplary embodiment in accordance with fig5 resides in two series resistors 11 , 12 being connected in series to the connecting contacts of the supply leads 7 , 8 . the exemplary embodiment illustrated in fig6 also corresponds largely to the exemplary embodiment illustrated in fig4 and therefore the same reference numerals are used below . reference is made in this regard to the previous description relating to fig4 in order to avoid repetitions . the difference between this exemplary embodiment and the exemplary embodiments previously described resides essentially in that the sensor element is surrounded by an annular resistor 13 . however , the resistor 13 need not enclose the entire sensor element . rather , it is also possible for the resistor 13 to be in the shape of a circular segment . the invention is not limited to the preferred exemplary embodiment described above . rather , a multiplicity of modifications and variants are possible , which make use of the underlying inventive concept of the invention and , therefore , likewise fall within the extent of protection .	1
with reference to the figures listed above , at 1 is shown the clip according to the invention which , as shown in fig1 and 6 , can be seen to have been mounted on a portrait frame 2 of a fully commonplace type , made up of a back part 3 , a transparent sheet of glass 4 , virtually of the same size as the back part 3 , and possibly of a support element 5 that can be formed in any way but in the description given herein is constituted by a flap that rests the portrait frame on a table . the back part 3 is provided , in a way in itself known , with slots 6 parallel to the edges 7 of the portrait frame 2 . the slots 6 can naturally be functionally replaced by a depression made centrally in the back part 3 . the clips 1 are formed by a metal strip that deforms elastically , 8 , bent in such a way as to wrap around an edge 7 of the portrait frame 2 . the strip 8 is provided with a first terminal part 9 placed in contact with the transparent sheet of glass 4 , and with a second terminal part 10 that is inserted in the slot 6 in the region of the back part 3 . the transparent sheet of glass 4 and the back part 3 are pressed together by the strip 8 with a thin element 11 to be displayed , for example a photograph , trapped in between them . the strip 8 is originally defined , in the non operative position , as shown in particular in fig2 and 3 , by two virtually flat sections to which belong the terminal parts 9 and 10 , one oblique with respect to the other in such a way as to form an angle close to but less than 90 °. the strip 8 is substantially in the form of a &# 34 ; 7 &# 34 ; and the aforementioned sections , one oblique with respect to the other , define a covering section 12 that is placed adjacent to an edge 7 on the portrait frame 2 , and a rear section 13 that is placed adjacent to the back part 3 of the portrait frame 2 . furthermore , it is advantageously envisaged that the rear section 13 of the strip 8 be integral with one extremity of a pressure tongue 14 placed obliquely with respect to and overhanging the rear section 13 . the pressure tongue 14 is preferably formed by cutting it out of the rear section 13 and advantageously bending the tongue in such a way that it points towards the covering section 12 of the strip 8 . in this way , jointly with a part 13a of the rear section 13 adjacent to the second terminal part 10 , the pressure tongue 14 defines a compensating or fork element ( fig3 ) that tends to maintain the outline of the tongue virtually constant and , in particular , the degree of divarication between this and the part 13a , as will be clarified better in relation to fig6 . fig4 and 5 show that the rear section 13 can have any profile . this also applies as regards the pressure tongue 14 which can , for example , be rectilinear or trapezoidal . in the latter case ( fig5 ), the second terminal part 10 is particularly long and thus the clip is suitable for use on portrait frames of large size or in cases where one single clip is used for each edge 7 of the portrait frame 2 . this enables the clip to serve , furthermore , as the sole means for hooking the frame onto the wall , utilizing the aperture created by bending the pressure tongue 14 ( see fig3 ). it is also important that bilaterally to the tongue 14 , two ribs 20 are provided along the rear section 13 in order to increase the elastic resistance of the section . the operation of the improved clip according to the invention is given particular emphasis in fig6 from which it can clearly be seen that when the clip 1 engages a portrait frame 2 , the inclination varies between the covering section 12 and the rear section 13 of the strip 8 : the sections diverge , one with respect to the other , until an angle very close to 90 ° is reached . the pressure and the coupling effect continue to be particularly energetic in every situation since two pressure areas are provided on the back part 3 , that is to say , one in the region of the second terminal part 10 and the other in the region of the pressure tongue 14 . original above all is that the coupling effect remains unvaried as the sections 12 and 13 of the strip 8 fork , this being due to the presence of the compensating or fork element formed by the pressure tongue 14 and the part 13a of the rear section 13 . this element tends , in fact , to maintain constant the inclination , one with respect to the other , of the pressure tongue 14 and the part 13a and when the former is rotated towards the rear section 13 , as an effect of the pressure of the back part 3 ( as shown with a continuous arrow in fig6 ), the part 13a of the rear section 13 tends to bend with respect to the remainder of the rear section 13 , following in an angular direction the pressure tongue 14 ( as shown with a broken line arrow in fig6 ). in practice , the rear section 13 is never placed flattened fully on top of the back part 3 since the compensating or fork element creates a discontinuity that tends to cause a greater curve on the end part of the strip , in the region of the back part 3 . it is emphasized that one of the most technically obvious causes for a clip to work loose from a portrait frame can be attributed to the clip flattening on the back of the portrait frame and thereby removing force from the terminal fastening point in the region of the slots 6 . with the clip according to the invention the objects intended to be achieved are indeed realized . the simplicity of the clip , the functional aspects of the clip and the fact that the clip can be produced in a wide variety of shapes , all of which fully in compliance with the technical characteristics outlined herein , are factors the importance of which is stressed . among other things , it is possible to produce the strips provided , as shown for example in fig2 and 5 , with strengthening ribs . all the component parts can be replaced with others that are technically equivalent . in practice the materials used , the shapes and sizes can be any depending on the requirements .	0
a syringe 1 comprises in the first place a body 2 comprising a generally cylindrical side wall 3 of axis 4 . the side wall 3 has an upstream end which is open and a downstream end which is closed by a transverse wall 5 containing an orifice 6 and extended by a conical nozzle 7 of the “ luer ” or “ luer - lock ” type . at its upstream end , the body has both a collar 8 for a nurse to press against with the fingers , and an inward annular bead 9 . the syringe 1 also comprises a rod 10 forming a plunger , at the downstream end of which is a piston 11 . the piston 11 possesses three annular sealing lips , namely an upstream lip 12 , an intermediate lip 13 and a downstream lip 14 , designed to be in contact with the inside face 15 of the side wall 3 of the body 2 . an annular chamber is defined between each two successive lips . in the embodiment illustrated , the piston 11 therefore has two annular chambers 16 , 17 . the syringe 1 ( body and rod ) is here made of plastic , but it could be of glass . the rod 10 is designed to be inserted into the body 2 and slide along inside it leak - tightly when pushed by a user . the piston 11 and the inside of the body 2 are generally coated with silicone so that the piston slides easily . in this way an inner chamber is defined inside the body 2 , between the transverse wall 5 and the piston 11 . the inner chamber is filled with contents 18 which may be a medicinal solution , a solvent , etc . there is also usually a gas bubble 19 ( air or nitrogen , for example , depending on the case ) left inside this inner chamber . lastly , the syringe 1 comprises a removable cap 20 for closing the orifice 6 formed in the transverse wall 5 of the body 2 . the syringe 1 , prefilled and equipped with the rod 10 and cap 20 is put in a package of the type described earlier . the whole is then placed in an autoclave for steam sterilization of the syringe 1 . according to the invention , means of communication are formed in the body 2 of the syringe 1 to allow the steam to sterilize the annular chambers 16 , 17 of the piston 11 . in a first embodiment , shown in fig2 and 3 , the means of communication consist of at least one groove 21 formed essentially axially in the side wall 3 of the body 2 , from the inside face 15 . the groove 21 preferably leads out of the body 2 at the upstream end of the body , interrupting the bead 9 , locally . in a variant , the groove or grooves 21 need not lead out of the body but could have an upstream end situated close to the downstream face 22 of the bead 9 . the groove 21 , or each groove 21 has the following features : the axial distance d between the downstream face 22 of the bead 9 and the downstream end of the groove 21 is such that : h is the total axial length of piston 11 , h 12 , h 13 and h 14 are the axial lengths of the upstream 12 , intermediate 13 and downstream 14 sealing lips , respectively , of the piston 11 , h 16 is the axial length of the upstream annular chamber 16 of the piston 11 ; the radial depth p of the groove 21 is great enough to locally break the seal between the outer face of the upstream 12 and intermediate 13 sealing lips and the inside face 15 of the side wall 3 of the body 2 . fig2 shows the syringe 1 in the storage position ( syringe 1 at room temperature , for example in its package ). the capacity of the body 2 is adapted to suit the desired volume of the contents 18 so that , in this position , the piston 11 is situated downstream of the groove 21 . in this way the contents 18 ( in the liquid phase ) of the syringe 1 are isolated by the three lips 12 , 13 , 14 of the piston 11 . the chambers 16 and 17 are sealed off and the groove 21 has no function . at the start of the sterilization cycle , the syringe 1 in its package is placed in the autoclave chamber , at room temperature , and autoclave pressure is established . the contents 18 of the syringe are in the liquid phase , so there is no pressure on the piston 11 to push it out of body 2 of the syringe 1 . in any case , the pressure in the autoclave chamber acts on the rod 10 and tends to push the piston 11 into the body 2 of the syringe 1 . the piston 11 is therefore always in a position such as to isolate the contents 18 . the temperature in the autoclave chamber rises gradually to 121 ° c ., with an absolute pressure of around 2 bar . the contents 18 of the syringe 1 now vaporize , thus generating pressure inside the body 2 . this pressure is proportional to the temperature of the steam , and also varies as a function of the amount of gas ( the bubble 19 ) in the body 2 of the syringe 1 . when the pressure in the body 2 of the syringe 1 is generating a force greater than that exerted by the autoclave pressure on the rod 10 , added to the force required to make the piston 11 slide , the piston retreats until it contacts the bead 9 ( fig3 ). the steam 23 present in the autoclave chamber will now enter the groove 21 . given the dimensional relationships mentioned above , the steam 23 also passes into the annular chambers 16 , 17 , thereby sterilizing these chambers with so - called wet heat . in this position , the contents 18 of the syringe 1 are sealed off by the upstream lip 14 of the piston 11 , because the groove 21 has sufficient length to enable the two chambers 16 , 17 to communicate with the outside of the body 2 , and is sufficiently short for there to be no risk of contamination of the inner chamber . clearly , the dimensions of the body 2 of the syringe 1 and the volume of the contents 18 are chosen so that , during sterilization , the piston 11 makes firm contact with the bead 9 , and is therefore positioned correctly relative to the groove 21 . furthermore , the near incompressibility of the piston 11 ensures that the contents 18 remain sealed off because the upstream lip 14 stays at a distance from the groove 21 . at the end of the sterilization cycle ( in the cooling phase ), the pressure in the body 2 of the syringe 1 will gradually drop and the contents 18 of the syringe 1 will return to the liquid state . when the pressure in the autoclave chamber generates a force greater than that generated by the contents of the syringe 1 added to that necessary to make the piston 11 slide , the latter will move back along the body 2 of the syringe 1 to its initial position ( fig2 ). in a second embodiment , shown in fig4 and 5 , the means of communication consist of at least one orifice 24 formed in the side wall 3 of the body 2 . the orifice 24 , which is preferably circular and radial , has an upstream edge 25 and a downstream edge 26 : these are situated at distances d 25 and d 26 , respectively , from the downstream face 22 of the bead 9 , such that : d 26 & gt ; h 12 + h 16 + h 13 and d 26 & lt ; h − h 14 . once again the dimensions of the body 2 are adapted to the volume of the contents 18 so that , in the storage position ( fig4 ), the piston 11 is at a distance from the orifice 24 , so that the seal of the inner chamber is not affected by the orifice 24 . however , the orifice 24 is designed to place the two annular chambers 16 , 17 in communication with the outside of the body 2 , in order to allow steam 23 to enter during sterilization ( fig5 ), when the piston 11 is in contact with the bead 9 . finally , in a third embodiment , the means of communication are an annular slot 27 formed in the side wall 3 of the body 2 from the inside face 15 . this slot 27 has an upstream end 28 and a downstream end 29 , and has the following features : the axial distance d 28 between the downstream face 22 of the bead 9 and the upstream end 28 of the slot 27 is such that : d 28 & gt ; h 12 and d 28 & lt ; h 12 + h 16 ; the axial distance d 29 between the downstream face 22 of the bead 9 and the downstream end 29 of the slot 27 is such that : d 29 & gt ; h ; the radial depth p ′ of the slot 27 is great enough to locally break the seal between the outer face of the intermediate 13 and downstream 14 sealing lips and the inside face 15 of the side wall 3 of the body 2 ; and the axial length of the slot ( d 29 − d 28 ) is less than the total axial length h of the piston 11 . this last feature ensures that the inner chamber is sealed off from the outside of the body 2 of the syringe 1 whatever the position of the piston 11 in the body 2 , between the storage position and the position of contact with the bead 9 . in a variant the slot 27 may occupy only a fraction of the perimeter of the body 2 . as in the embodiments described above , the body 2 is designed on the basis of the volume of the contents 18 so that the piston 11 is situated at a distance from the slot 27 when in the storage position ( fig6 ): the integrity of the inner chamber is therefore not affected by the slot 27 . during sterilization ( fig7 ), the piston 11 is pushed against the bead 9 , and the slot 27 therefore places the inside of the body 2 in communication with the annular chambers 16 , 17 . in this embodiment , the steam with which the annular chambers 16 , 17 of the piston 11 are sterilized is formed by the contents 18 , in the gas phase , of the body 2 of the syringe 1 , rather than by steam from the autoclave chamber . one of the advantages of this embodiment is that it enables the downstream lip 14 of the piston 11 to be sterilized . thus , by adding means of steam communication situated upstream of the piston when the syringe is in the storage position and surrounding the annular chambers of the piston during sterilization , the invention enables steam to enter between the lips of the piston while maintaining the isolation of the syringe contents from the steam present in the autoclave chamber . it goes without saying that the invention is not limited to the embodiments described above by way of examples but that on the contrary it encompasses all variants . in particular , the means of communication could take the form of a suitable combination of the three individual embodiments that have been described .	0
as shown in fig1 , the system for detecting errors in indicated air speed , generally designated 10 , may be mounted in an aircraft , generally designated 12 . the system 10 may include a computer 14 that interfaces with a computer - readable storage medium 16 that may be separate from the computer or integral therewith . in an embodiment , the computer 14 and / or storage medium may be located remotely from the aircraft 12 , in which case the element 14 may represent a transponder or other communication device . the computer 14 may run a software module that executes the method shown in fig2 and 3 . the computer may be connected to an air data computer ( adc ) 18 . the air data computer 18 may receive inputs from sensors mounted on the aircraft indicative of one or more flight conditions , which may include a pressure altitude sensor 20 , gps altitude sensor 22 , and vertical speed sensor 24 . it is within the scope of the disclosure to provide a system 10 in which the computer 14 is integral with the adc 18 . the computer 14 also may receive data indicative of the configuration of the flaps and landing gear of the aircraft 12 from sensors 26 on the aircraft . similarly , the computer may receive data indicative of the pitch attitude from an existing inertial reference unit 28 on the aircraft 12 . the computer 14 also may receive data indicative of engine power from an engine controller 30 on the aircraft 12 . in an embodiment , the data may be indicative of fan rotation speed or engine pressure ratio , depending on the engine type . measured indicated air speed ( ias ) is inputted from a sensor 32 , which in some embodiments may incorporate a pitot tube . the sensor 32 may transmit a signal to the adc 18 indicative of a measured air speed of the aircraft 12 , and from the adc to the computer 14 . the computer may be connected to generate an alarm signal to a crew alerting system 34 . the crew alerting system 34 may be a display in the cockpit , a messaging system or an audio alarm or message , or a combination of the foregoing . the computer 14 may include a software module configured to receive an input stream of current measured data values from the adc 18 , engine controller 30 , flaps and landing gear configuration sensor 26 , and inertial reference unit 28 . the software module of the computer 14 also may receive measured ias from sensor 32 , either directly , or as shown in fig2 , from adc 18 . the computer software module processes this data in an algorithm depicted in fig2 and 3 . as shown in fig2 , the software module may receive an input of pressure altitude from the output of the adc 18 ( fig1 ), as shown in block 36 . as shown in block 38 , the software module may apply a reasonableness filter that is used to remove spurious altitude readings from the input stream . this is necessary because some air data sensor failures may result in erroneous readings not only in air speed , but also pressure altitude . in addition , there may be short - duration spikes or transients that should be removed from this input . the filter will use at least time history of pressure altitude readings to remove spurious data . in some embodiments , a more complex filter may be employed . for example , it may be desirable to use other input sources , such as a global positioning satellite ( gps ) altitude sensor , indicated in block 40 to provide a reasonableness check . it should be noted that the filtering process indicated at block 38 may result in a delay in input data . accordingly , a filter must be selected and designed based upon observed performance of the aircraft 12 ( fig1 ) and achieve a balance between a sufficiently high error rejection rate and the resultant delay in transmitting input data from the pressure altitude sensor 20 ( fig1 ). as shown in block 42 , the software module may receive an input of vertical speed from the existing adc output . this value may be fed into a filter , indicated at block 44 , that smoothes out transients to determine steady - state climb or descent rate of the aircraft 12 ( fig1 ). climb or descent rate may be an output from tables stored in the storage medium 16 ( fig1 ). the filtering step indicated at block 44 ( fig2 ) may need to be adjusted as it may introduce an undesirable delay that should be balanced against the desired error rejection . as indicated in block 46 , the software module may receive measured input from the sensor 26 indicative of the configuration of the flaps and landing gear . as indicated in block 48 , the software module may access the data table stored in storage medium 16 ( fig1 ), which may be in the form of a table . such tables may be adapted from the quick reference handbook ( qrh ) developed for that particular aircraft 12 ( fig1 ). for example , there may be six different tables in the qrh that may be accessed by the software module : cruise , holding , climb , descent , terminal area , and final approach . the tables for cruise mode may be selected on the data indicating that the climb / descent rate is very small , below a pre - set value , which may indicate level flight , and data indicative of pressure altitude above a pre - set value . the table for the holding mode may be selected during level flight when altitude is below a pre - set limit for value . tables for climb and descent may be selected based upon the climb / descent rate data input indicated at block 44 . the table for the terminal area mode may be selected based upon level flight ( climb / descent rate below a pre - set value ) and landing gear and flap configuration information received from block 46 indicating that the landing gear and flap configuration are configured for landing . the table for final approach mode may be selected based upon landing gear and flap configuration indicating deployed landing gear and flaps configured for landing . the output of the software module at block 48 thus may depend upon the table selected . as shown in fig3 , the software module may receive an input of data indicative of pitch attitude from inertial reference unit 28 ( fig1 ) indicated at block 50 . as indicated at block 52 , the software module also may receive input from an existing engine controller output . such output may be a measure of engine power and may be proportional to fan rotation speed ( n1 ), or engine pressure ratio ( epr ), depending on the type of engine . as indicated at block 54 , the software module may then access the look - up tables selected in the process step indicated at block 48 ( fig2 ), and in an embodiment , may employ an interpolation algorithm that may compute expected ias given the input conditions and the selected table . again , the accessed tables represented in block 54 may be constructed from existing qrh tables for the particular model aircraft 12 ( fig1 ). in an embodiment , increased precision may be obtained by deriving higher precision tables from known aircraft performance data . the output of the software module at block 54 is an instantaneous expected ias condition . this output may be smoothed , as indicated in block 56 , by applying a smoothing filter , in order to avoid transient jumps that may otherwise trigger spurious alerts . after applying the smoothing filter indicated at block 56 , the software module arrives at a value for the expected ias , which is input to block 58 . at this stage , the software module compares the instantaneous expected ias to the measured ias inputted from a sensor 32 ( fig1 ), such as a pitot tube , indicated at block 60 . as shown in fig1 , this data may be received from an output of an existing adc 18 . the step indicated at block 58 may include a tolerance region that may be both magnitude and time based . that is , when the difference between expected and measured ias is greater than a specific magnitude for a specific time period , the software module , as indicated in block 58 , may determine that the two values disagree . in the event that the values disagree , the module may send a signal to the crew alert system , as indicated in block 62 . this alert method may include sending an alert message to a display 34 ( fig1 ), generate an audio alert such as an alarm , employ a messaging system , or a combination of the foregoing . as indicated at block 64 , the flight crew must follow a procedure in the event that an alarm or alert is generated in block 62 . this procedure may include a checklist of steps to be performed by the flight crew , the alert may include a statement of the condition that caused the alert to be generated . as indicated in block 66 , the flight crew may have discretion to determine whether the measured ias is unreliable , and if so , the checklist may direct them to an existing air speed unreliable procedure , as indicated in block 68 . in an embodiment , the computer 14 may employ this procedure constantly during flight , and may employ it as frequently as once per second . in one aspect , this procedure stands in sharp contrast to pre - existing solutions in which flight crews may be required to check specifically for conditions that may indicate an unreliable measured ias throughout a flight . the automated detection algorithm described herein may run continuously to perform checks more quickly , more often and with higher precision than currently possible with manual consultation of a qrh by flight crew members . implementation of this method and system may increase the likelihood that an unreliable measured ias event is recognized , and consequently , reduce the time to recognize it . another advantage of the method and system described herein is that it may be easily retrofitted onto existing aircraft . the software module described herein may be less complex than in other automated solutions , requiring less computational throughput and memory . further , there are fewer measured parameter inputs required to arrive at a decision on whether or not an unreliable measured ias condition exists . further , the disclosed method and system utilize existing avionics components of an aircraft ; no specialized equipment or sensors may be required . while the forms of apparatus and methods herein described constitute preferred embodiments of this invention , it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to these precise forms of apparatus and methods , and that changes may be made therein without departing from the scope of the invention .	6
referring now to the drawings , and , more particularly , to fig1 , and 3 , an embodiment to be preferred of an anti - corrosive battery terminal 10 , made according to the present invention is disclosed . battery terminal 10 is in the form of a terminal block 20 defining a battery receiving socket 30 ; a grease fitting 40 ; and clamp means 50 . terminal block 20 may be constructed of any suitable material , either electricity conducting or insulative . it is preferred however , that the block be made of conductive material for conduction of electricity to terminal contact posts 55 , as will hereinafter be explained . copper and bronze are preferred metals for construction of the block and doped plastics , also called conducting polymers , such as polyacetylene doped iodine , may also be highly desirable because of its high electrical conductivity as well as its ability to be molded . the block is preferably in the form of a cube , having outer surfaces including the top 21 and the four sides , designated generally by the numeral 22 , and having an undersurface 23 on the opposing side from the top . formed , by machining or otherwise , on the bottom surface 23 is a battery post receiving socket 30 which is slightly larger in all dimensions than the battery post 5 of battery 3 . also formed within block 20 is a threaded conduit 27 , extending between socket 30 and the outer surface of the block . in the preferred embodiment conduit 27 extends between the socket and top surface 21 for the placement of grease fitting 40 . grease fitting 40 , one type of which is shown in fig4 is provided with threads mateable with the threads of conduit 27 so that the fitting may be simply screwed into the conduit . fitting 40 , also known as a grease &# 34 ; zerk &# 34 ;, includes a check valve , designated generally be the numeral 45 , forming an effective seal , and also includes a post 44 , rising vertically from block 20 , for convenient engagement by a grease gun , not shown . while fitting 40 may be located anywhere on the block , for ready access it is mounted through top 21 of the block . also mounted on block 20 are a selected number of terminal contact posts 55 for the attachment of electrical wires leading to the starter , other batteries , auxiliary units , etc . contact posts 55 are constructed of any suitable material and are preferably in the form of steel machine bolts which are screwed into threaded apertures 57 in the block . where block 20 is constructed of electricity conducting material , electrical contact between posts 55 and block 20 may be sufficient , although it is always preferred that posts 55 make contact with the battery post 5 . where block 20 is constructed of electricity insulative material , contact between posts 55 and battery posts 5 must be made . it is obvious that one or more contact posts 55 may also serve as clamp means 50 for attachment of block 20 to the battery post . for installation of terminal block 20 onto battery post 5 , the battery post should be clean and free of oxides and other forms of corrosion and the interior surface of socket 30 of block 20 should also be free of grease or other contaminants . the block is simply placed over post 5 with socket 30 surrounding the post about the sides and top . if desired , though unnecessary , a porous fabric washer 9 , well known in the art , may be placed around the base of battery post 5 . clamping means 50 , in the form of contact post bolts 55 , are then screwed into threaded apertures 57 until the flattened , blunt end of the bolt securely engages the battery post to obtain maximum electrical contact surface . while a single bolt may serve to clamp the block in place to the battery post , it is recommended that at least one other bolt 55 make contact with the post , and , as before stated , contact is necessary where block 20 is constructed of insulative material . once bolts 55 are in place , corrosion preventive grease , or the like , is injected through grease fitting 40 into socket 30 to completely fill the socket . excess grease exiting the base of the socket at the undersurface 23 of block 20 may simply be wiped away . if porous washer 9 is in place , air readily flows through the washer to prevent any air bubbles within the socket , and the washer soon becomes saturated with grease to form an air tight seal . it is to be particularly noted and is an important part of the invention that all contacts between terminal contact posts 55 or clamping means 50 and battery post 5 are made before the addition of any grease so that the grease , which is electrically insulative , can in no way impair the contacts . it is also to be noted that electrical contact can be made over a large surface area between the blunt end of bolts 55 and the battery post . having thus described in detail a preferred embodiment of the present invention , it is to be appreciated and will be apparent to those skilled in the art that many physical changes could be made in the apparatus without altering the inventive concepts and principles embodied therein . 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 to be embraced therein .	7
certain terminology is used in the following description for convenience only and is not limiting . the words “ right ,” “ left ,” “ top ,” and “ bottom ” designate directions in the drawings to which reference is made . the words “ a ” and “ one ” are defined as including one or more of the referenced item unless specifically stated otherwise . this terminology includes the words above specifically mentioned , derivatives thereof , and words of similar import . the phrase “ at least one ” followed by a list of two or more items , such as a , b , or c , means any individual one of a , b or c as well as any combination thereof . the preferred embodiments of the present invention are described below with reference to the drawing figures where like numerals represent like elements throughout . while the preferred embodiments of the invention have been described in detail above , the invention is not limited to the specific embodiments described above , which should be considered as merely exemplary . further modifications and extensions of the present invention may be developed , and all such modifications are deemed to be within the scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims . in accordance with the basic layout which can be seen from the fig1 , 2 , 3 and 4 . example 1 , as show in fig1 , an ultrasonic distance measure device comprises , ultrasonic transceiver , the ultrasonic transmitting and receiving circuits , 2 laser emitters , laser - aiming location circuit , a temperature compensation circuit , a buzzer , buzzer signal processing circuit , a display device , displaying circuit , a function key , a power , and a microprocessor ; the 2 ultrasonic transceiver are set on the opposite positions and is connected with the microprocessor through the ultrasonic transmitting and receiving circuits , said 2 laser emitters is connected with the microprocessor their own laser - aiming location circuit , in order to indicate the location of every measure ultrasonic wave , said temperature compensation circuit is connected with the microprocessor , the microprocessor could perceive the environment temperature by said temperature compensation circuit , and then compensating the calculated distance according to the different rate of sound waves ; said buzzer is connected with the microprocessor through the buzzer signal processing circuit , which could make the sound of the indication when the microprocessor send the indication signal during the period of the measure distance process . said display is connected with the microprocessor through the displaying circuit , said function key is connected with the microprocessor ; said power is connected with the microprocessor through the power supply stable circuit and switch . said device has two measuring patterns : one is to measure the distance using only one transmitter / receiver through one direction ; the other is to measure the distance using 2 transceiver through the opposite directions . the two measuring patterns are controlled by the microprocessor , and could be changed by switching the function key . example 2 , as show in fig2 , an ultrasonic distance measure device comprises , 3 ultrasonic transceiver , 3 laser emitters . said 3 ultrasonic transceiver are connected with the microprocessor through the ultrasonic transmitting and receiving circuits ; 2 ultrasonic transceiver of the 3 ultrasonic transceiver are set on the opposite positions . said 3 laser emitters are connected with the microprocessor their own laser - aiming location circuit , in order to indicate the location of every measure ultrasonic wave . the others are the same with the description of example 1 . said device has 3 measuring patterns compared to example 1 , it could measure the distance not only through one direction or two directions , but also could measure the distance through 3 directions at the same time . the 3 measuring patterns are controlled by the microprocessor , and could be changed by switching the function key . the signal processor of the invention uses microprocessor as its control body . the microprocessor sends out diversified control signals and does recognizing process to every injection signal , as show in fig3 . the control part of microprocessor comprise , main program , subprogram for measuring function and other subprograms for other functions . the main program has a circular work pattern controlled by the function key , and it decides to use the measuring function or other functions according to the input of the function key . the result of every subprogram will clearly be displayed on the display screen . the subprogram for measuring function can finish the work of emitting and receiving of every ultrasonic wave , reading of time value , calculating and displaying of the distance value , processing integrated data , exporting and displaying the integrated data and so on . as show in fig4 , when the program enters into the subprogram , the microprocessor firstly controls the emitting of the number 1 ultrasonic . then the time recorder in microprocessor begins to record the time . after receiving the echo signal in desirable time , the time recorder just stops . then the microprocessor calculates the distance value and displays it on the screen . if the microprocessor does not receiving the echo in desirable time , it will do overtime process and display the result . after finishing the measuring of number 1 ultrasonic , the ultrasonic wave of number 2 ultrasonic will send out , the rest may be deduced by analogy . after measuring of all ultrasonic waves in turn , the microprocessor will do integrate process to measuring data , for example , show the sum value of the distance in opposite directions , confirm the midpoint , calculate the area and volume , and so on .	6
fig1 shows the elements of a magnetic mixing apparatus 10 comprising a source of a magnetic field 12 disposed proximate a liquid container 14 and having sufficient magnetic strength so that non - uniform magnetic forces acting on a mixing member 16 produced by revolving the magnetic field source 12 generate an effective mixing motion within a liquid solution 18 within the liquid container 14 . when the magnetic field source 12 is revolved beneath or around the container 14 , the mixing member 16 is caused to move so as to minimize the distance separating the mixing member 16 from the magnetic field source 12 . a rotational movement of the magnetic field source 12 causes the mixing member 16 to similarly rotate within liquid 18 thereby generating a vortex - like mixing motion of liquid 18 . additionally , the present invention may be practiced by reversing or alternating the direction of rotational motion of the magnetic field source 12 during mixing to induce a shear - agitation mixing motion of liquid 18 . mixing member 16 is preferably small and of a spherical or similar shape and may be formed , for example , like a ball 16 of ferromagnetic or semi - ferromagnetic material ( see fig5 ). hereinafter the term ferromagnetic is intended to mean a substance having a sufficiently high magnetic permeability to be positionally affected by an orbiting or rotating magnetic field . the term magnetic is likewise intended to mean a substance that is independently capable of generating a magnetic field . liquid container 14 is of a nonmagnetic material and is supported in an upper portion 20 of a mixing stand 22 ( illustrated in dashed lines for clarity purposes only ), the mixing stand 22 also having with lower portion 24 designed to encase a motor 26 adapted to rotate a disk 28 encasing the magnetic field source 12 as shown . fig2 is a top plan view of such a disk 28 encasing the magnetic field source 12 . the rotating shaft 30 of motor 26 , best seen in fig1 is shown in dashed lines in fig2 . it has been unexpectedly found that a highly effective mixing or agitation action occurs using the above described combination of the revolving magnetic field source 12 and a small , spherical mixing member 16 regardless of the relative sizes and locations of the magnetic field source 12 , liquid container 14 and mixing member 16 . in prior art mixers , it has generally been required that a mixing member be magnetic and of generally oblong or rectangular shape in order to be rotated by a magnetic field in order to impart a “ paddle - like ” motion to generate a vortex mixing action ; however , such magnetic mixing members are expensive and complex to produce . furthermore , it has generally been assumed that the centerline of rotation of a magnetic mixing member is required to be aligned with the centerline of rotation of the source of a rotating magnetic field in order to impart a vortex mixing action . what has been discovered is that use of a spherical ferromagnetic mixing member 16 in a liquid container in conjunction with an rotating magnet field allows much greater flexibility in positioning and operating the source of the magnetic field and the location of the liquid being mixed . fig1 illustrates an embodiment wherein the diameter of rotation of the mixing member is similar in size to the diameter of the liquid container 14 . in an alternate embodiment of the present invention , fig3 illustrates an mixing apparatus 10 wherein the diameter of rotation of the mixing member is significantly smaller in size to the diameter of the liquid container 14 and wherein the centerline axis 29 of the disk 28 and the centerline axis 13 of the magnetic field source 12 respectively , are aligned . depending upon the strength of the magnetic field source 12 , the arrangement of fig3 has also been found to be effective in producing a uniformly mixed liquid solution 18 possibly however requiring a longer time than for an embodiment like that shown in fig1 . fig4 illustrates an embodiment wherein the circumference of rotation of the mixing member 16 actually located above the bottom of the liquid container 14 . in this embodiment illustrative of the present invention , the magnetic field source 12 is located in an upper arm 34 of a u - shaped ( fig4 ), l - shaped ( fig4 a ) or cup - shaped ( fig4 b ) bracket 35 around the liquid container and the bottom section 38 of bracket 35 is attached to the rotating shaft 30 of motor 26 . in such an embodiment , the magnetic field source 12 is rotated at a distance above the bottom 15 of the tube 14 as distinct to the embodiment of fig1 in which the magnetic field source 12 is rotated at a distance below the bottom 15 of the tube 14 . all of these alternate embodiments have been found to be effective , with the only requirement that the magnetic field generated by the magnetic field source be effective in generating motion of the mixing member 16 in response to spatial changes in the magnetic field generated by the revolving magnetic field source 12 . in all embodiments , mixing member 16 is formed from a ferromagnetic or semi - ferromagnetic material and simple rotation of magnet 12 by motor 26 produces corresponding revolving magnetic field forces upon mixing member 16 in container 14 . magnet 12 may for example be a permanent magnet formed of neodymium - iron - boron ( ndfeb ) or other similar materials . successful mixing of a low viscosity , water based liquid solution has been accomplished in about ½ second using a 5000 rpm motor 26 , from maxon motor co ., fall river , mass ., with a ¼ inch diameter × ⅜ inch long permanent magnet 12 having field strength 4000 gauss at a distance of about ⅙ inch . fig5 is an exemplary illustration of a ball - like mixing member 16 comprising an inner core 40 of ferromagnetic or semi - ferromagnetic material like an iron alloy and may be optionally coated with a thin layer 42 of protective , waterproof material like plastic , paint , epoxy , and the like . such a ball - like mixing member 12 is very low in cost , typically less than 1 cent , and may be obtained from sources like the epworth mill , south hoover , mich ., as a sae - 52100 chrome alloy spherical grinding ball . various plastic layers 42 like surlyn ™, polyethylene , or parylene may be coated over the surface of mixing member 16 at a thickness of about 25 microns for the purpose of avoiding contamination ( rust , iron oxide , etc .) and thereby maintaining the integrity of a liquid solution . such coating services are available from , for example , pcs , katy , tex . in use , a number of these mixing members 16 may be supplied in a straw - like magazine and automatically dispensed into the liquid container 14 using any one of a number of conventional dispensers . alternately , the mixing members 16 may be pre - disposed within the liquid container 14 before presentation to the magnetic mixing apparatus 10 and a number of liquid containers 14 may be supported in a conventional tube rack so that the liquid solution in the liquid container 14 may be uniformly mixed without removing the liquid containers 14 from the rack . in an operative example of the present method for mixing a liquid solution using magnetic mixing apparatus 10 by placing a small , spherically shaped magnetic mixing member 16 within the liquid solution and revolving a magnetic field at high speed in a circular pattern at close proximity to the liquid container 14 , a liquid solution 18 of water and red food dye was placed in a glass test tube having diameter about 0 . 6 inches . a magnetic mixing member 16 formed of 52100 chrome alloy having a diameter within the range 2 - 6 mm was added to the solution and the liquid container 14 placed in a mixer block 22 like that shown in fig1 and shaped out of delrin ™ polymeric material . a cylindrical permanent magnet of size about ¼ - inch by ⅜ - inch was attached to a motor shaft and the motor supported within the mixer block so that the magnet was about { fraction ( 1 / 16 )}- inch below the bottom of the test tube . the motor was rotated for about ½ - second at 5000 rpm and the distribution of dye within the solution was observed to be thoroughly and uniformly distributed . in another exemplary embodiment of magnetic mixing apparatus 10 , a number of liquid containers 14 may be placed in a multiple - tube mixer rack 44 , as seen in fig6 adapted to accommodate a number of tube - like liquid solution containers 14 in a linear array . rack 44 is transported in the direction shown by arrow 36 past and above the revolving magnetic field source 12 so that the bottom of the solution containers 14 each having mixing members 16 therein is positioned a distance of about ¼ - inch away from the revolving magnetic field source 12 . the mixing stand 22 ( fig1 ) may advantageously be formed of an injectable plastic material like nylon or delrin ™ polymers or machined from a nylon - like material . in this instance , the mixer rack 44 may be transported above the magnetic mixing member 16 and the liquid solution within liquid containers 14 mixed in series as the individual liquid containers 14 are positioned proximate thereto . in such an embodiment , the necessity for removing individual liquid containers 14 from rack 44 as is conventional within analytical laboratories to a separate location is eliminated , thereby saving operating space and the expense of additional automated mechanisms . in an equivalent embodiment of magnetic mixing apparatus 10 , as seen in the front elevation view of fig7 in the instance that more than one row of liquid containers 14 are contained in rack 44 , an equal number of disks 28 encasing magnetic field sources 12 may be positioned proximate thereto and the block 44 transported thereover to effect multiple mixing processes , again without removing the liquid containers 14 from rack 44 . alternately , as seen in fig8 a single rotating disk 28 encasing the magnetic field source 12 may be positioned beneath and approximately equidistance from each of two rows in a dual - row mixing rack 44 and rack 44 transported above the disk 28 in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the printed paper to effect a multiple mixing scheme with only a single rotating disk 28 . in an even more efficient mixing scheme , an array of disks 28 may be coupled together using a gear train so that a multiple array of liquid containers 14 to affect the simultaneous uniform mixing of a number of liquid containers 14 . it is to be understood that the embodiments of the invention disclosed herein are illustrative of the principles of the invention and that other modifications may be employed which are still within the scope of the invention . for example , obvious variants of the invention include replacing the permanent magnetic field with an circular electromagnetic field source and varying the time - intensity pattern of power supplied thereto , employing a non - spherical mixing member , eliminating the mixer block and presenting the revolving magnetic field to a tube in a rack , replacing the bracket with a cup , etc . accordingly , the present invention is not limited to those embodiments precisely shown and described in the specification but only by the following claims .	1
firstly , the effect of the relationship between the switching frequency and the resonant frequency on the converter operation is illustrated with the analyses of fig2 a through 2 c . six exemplary circuit topologies according to the present invention are shown in fig3 a , fig4 a , fig4 b , fig5 a , fig6 a and fig6 b . under the condition of f s & lt ; f r , during the interval of t r ≦ t ≦ t s , the first switch transistor m 1 is turned on and the second switch transistor m 2 is turned off , so the first synchronous rectifier sr 1 is turned on and the second synchronous rectifier sr 2 is turned off . a reverse voltage resulting from the voltage difference between the output voltage v o and the secondary voltage v s ( t ) is imposed on sr 1 . the reverse voltage imposed on the conducting sr 1 will cause a huge shoot - through current to burn down sr 1 , where r on is the very small on - resistance of m 1 . under the condition of f s & gt ; f r , during the interval of t s ≦ t ≦ t r , both m 1 and m 2 are turned off , so sr 1 and sr 2 are turned off . even if the channel of sr 1 is cut off , i s ( t )& gt ; 0 still can flow through the body diode of sr 1 , the converter still can operate safely . therefore , all the embodiments according to the present invention are merely applicable to the condition of f s & gt ; f r . the voltage waveforms shown in fig3 b , fig4 c , fig5 b and fig6 c correspond to the six embodiments shown in fig3 a , 4 a , 4 b , 5 a , 6 a and 6 b . it is emphatically noted that m 1 , m 2 , sr 1 and sr 2 according to the present invention can be implemented with a p - channel metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor ( pmos ), an n - channel metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor ( nmos ), a p - type junction field effect transistor ( p - jfet ) or an n - type junction field effect transistor ( n - jfet ). for the convenience of illustration , it is assumed in this text that m 1 , m 2 , sr 1 and sr 2 are all implemented with nmos . three exemplary embodiments are shown in fig3 a , fig4 a and fig4 b when the primary ic controller u 1 outputs two ground - referenced drive voltages v b ( t ) and v a ( t ). the circuit diagram and drive voltage waveforms of the first embodiment according to the present invention are shown in fig3 a and 3 b , respectively . the ideal transformer t 0 comprises a primary winding n p and two secondary windings n s . a primary circuit is connected to the n p and a secondary circuit to the two n s . the primary circuit includes a first switch transistor m 1 , a second switch transistor m 2 and an llc resonant tank , which includes a magnetizing inductor l m , a resonant inductor l r and a resonant capacitor c r . m 1 and m 2 are connected between an input voltage source v in and a primary ground terminal in a half - bridge configuration , where the point at which m 1 , m 2 and llc resonant tank intersect is called a first node p with a voltage v p , and the llc resonant tank is connected between the first node p and the primary ground terminal . it is emphatically noted that a practical transformer t 1 is equivalent to the integration of the ideal transformer t 0 including the n p and the two n s , l m and a leakage inductor , where l m is in parallel with the n p , and the leakage inductor is in series with the parallel circuit of l m and n p . l m can be measured from the primary side with the two n s open - circuited , and the leakage inductance can be measured from the primary side with the two n s short - circuited . if the n p and the two n s of t 1 are wound with a sandwich structure , then an external l r is necessary , but if the n p and the two n s of t 1 are wound on a slotted bobbin , then the l r can be provided by the leakage inductance of t 1 . a transformer with a slotted bobbin is used in this example hereafter but it can be replaced by an ordinary transformer having a sandwich winding structure in series with an external l r . when m 1 is turned on but m 2 is turned off , v p is equal to v in , but when m 1 is turned off but m 2 is turned on , v p is equal to 0 . this means that the potential v p is fluctuating . the output voltages v b ( t ) and v a ( t ) of u 1 are referred to the primary ground , so they cannot be directly used as the gate - source voltages v gs m 1 ( t ) and v gs m 2 ( t ) for m 1 and m 2 , especially for m 1 . in this case , an ic - based or a transformer - based driver module u 2 is needed to convert v b ( t ) and v a ( t ) referred to the primary ground into v gs m 1 ( t ) and v gs m 2 ( t ) referred to the sources to m 1 and m 2 . the secondary circuit includes a first synchronous rectifier sr 1 , a second synchronous rectifier sr 2 and an output capacitor c o . sr 1 and sr 2 are connected in a center - tapped common - source rectifier configuration between the two n s and the secondary ground terminal , where the two n s are connected at the output voltage terminal and the common source of sr 1 and sr 2 is connected at the secondary ground terminal g . sr 1 and sr 2 are driven by a differential transformer t 3 , which has a primary winding and two secondary windings as well as a 1 : 1 : 1 primary - to - secondary turns ratio , so a primary bipolar differential voltage v t 3 ( t )= v b ( t )− v a ( t ) of t 3 generates two secondary bipolar gate - source voltages v gs sr 1 ( t ) and v gs sr 2 ( t ) of sr 1 and sr 2 . v t 3 ( t ), v gs sr 1 ( t ) and v gs sr 2 ( t ) are listed in table 1 : the corresponding voltage waveforms of v a ( t ), v b ( t ), v gs m 1 ( t ), v gs m 2 ( t ), v gs sr 1 ( t ) and v gs sr 2 ( t ) are shown in fig3 b . a circuit diagram of the second embodiment according to the present invention is shown in fig4 a , where two half - wave rectifiers and two fast turn - off circuits are connected between the secondary windings of t 3 and the gates of sr 1 and sr 2 , respectively . one of the two half - wave rectifiers comprises a diode d 52 and a resistor r 5 for sr 1 , and the other a diode d 62 and a resistor r 6 for sr 2 . one of the two fast turn - off circuits comprises a diode d 51 and a pnp bipolar transistor q 5 for sr 1 , and the other a diode d 61 and a pnp bipolar transistor q 6 for sr 2 . v gs sr 1 ( t ) and v gs sr 2 ( t ) are provided by two voltages , which are first induced by the two secondary windings of t 3 and then processed by the half - wave rectifiers as well as the fast turn - off circuits . when v t 3 ( t )= v cc , d 52 , d 51 and q 6 are turned on but q 5 , d 62 and d 61 , are turned off , so sr 1 is turned on but sr 2 is turned off . when v t 3 ( t )= 0 , d 52 , d 51 , d 62 and d 61 are turned off but q 5 and q 6 are turned on , so both sr 1 and sr 2 are turned off . when v t 3 ( t )=− v cc , d 62 , d 61 and q 5 are turned on but q 6 , d 52 and d 5 , are turned off , so sr 2 is turned on but sr 1 is turned off . v t 3 ( t ), v gs sr 1 ( t ) and v gs sr 2 ( t ) are listed in table 2 : a circuit diagram of the third embodiment according to the present invention is shown in fig4 b . v gs sr 1 ( t ) and v gs sr 2 ( t ) are provided by a differential transformer t 5 and a signal distributor , which comprises a diode d 7 and a diode d 8 . t 5 has a primary winding and a secondary winding as well as a 1 : 1 primary - to - secondary turns ratio , so a primary bipolar differential voltage v t s ( t )= v b ( t )− v a ( t ) or t 5 generates an identical secondary bipolar differential voltage . d 7 and d 8 are connected in a common - anode configuration between the secondary winding of t 5 and the gates of sr 1 and sr 2 . the signal distributor is used for converting the secondary bipolar differential voltage into two unipolar drive voltages as well as distributing these two voltages to sr 1 and sr 2 respectively . when v t 5 ( t )= v cc , d 8 is turned on but d 7 is turned off , so sr 1 is turned on but sr 2 is turned off . when v t 5 ( t )= 0 , both d 7 and d 8 are turned off , so both sr 1 and sr 2 are turned off . when v t 5 ( t )=− v cc , d 7 is turned on but d 8 is turned off , so sr 2 is turned on but sr 1 is turned off . v t 5 ( t ), v gs sr 1 ( t ) and v gs sr 2 ( t ) are listed in table 3 , and the corresponding voltage waveforms of v a ( t ), v b ( t ), v gs m 1 ( t ), v gs m 2 ( t ), v gs sr 1 ( t ) and v gs sr 2 ( t ) of the second and the third embodiments are shown in fig4 c . three exemplary embodiments are shown in fig5 a , fig6 a and fig6 b , when the primary ic controller u 1 outputs two drive voltages referred to the sources of m 1 and m 2 for directly driving m 1 and m 2 . however , the output drive voltage of u 1 for m 1 is referred to the source of m 1 but not the primary ground instead , so it cannot be directly used as v b ( t ) on t 3 , but the output drive voltage of u 1 for m 2 is referred to the primary ground , so it can be used as v a ( t ) on t 3 . in view of this , the combined circuit of a dc shifter and a dc restorer is used to convert the output drive voltage of u 1 for m 1 referred to the source of m 1 into v b ( t ) referred to the primary ground . the dc shifter comprises a capacitor c 4 and a pulse transformer t 4 that has a primary winding and a secondary winding as well as a 1 : 1 primary - to - secondary turns ratio . the dc restorer comprises a capacitor c 3 and a diode d 3 . t 3 is connected between the dc restorer and the gates of sr 1 and sr 2 to convert a primary bipolar voltage v t 3 ( t )= v b ( t )− v a ( t ) into two secondary bipolar voltages v gs sr 1 ( t ) and v gs sr 2 ( t ). the dc shifter converts the output drive voltage of u 1 for m 1 to an ac voltage , and then the dc restorer converts the ac voltage back to a dc voltage referred to the primary ground . the voltage across c 4 can be derived from the volt - seconds product equilibrium equation : ( v cc − v c4 ) d = v c4 ( 1 − d ) v c4 = dv cc where d is the duty ratio of m 1 and d ≈ 0 . 5 v c4 = dv cc ≈ 0 . 5v cc , so v c 4 can be viewed as a constant voltage source during a switching period . the voltage across the secondary winding of t 4 can be expressed as : when d 3 is turned on , c 3 is recharged to v c 4 . therefore , the voltage across c 3 , v c 3 = v c 4 ≈ 0 . 5v cc , can be also viewed as a constant voltage source during a switching period . the voltage difference between the node b and the primary ground terminal can be expressed as : the voltage of the node b is denoted as v b ( t ) referred to the primary ground , so the differential voltage v t 3 ( t )= v b ( t )− v a ( t ) can be imposed on t 3 to generate v gs sr 1 ( t ) and v gs sr 2 ( t ). the secondary circuit of the fourth embodiment shown in fig5 a is the same as that of the first embodiment shown in fig3 a , so they have similar voltage waveforms shown in fig3 b and 5 b . the fifth and sixth embodiments shown in fig6 a and fig6 b respectively have the same primary circuit as the fourth embodiment shown in fig5 a as well as the same secondary circuit as the second and third embodiments shown in fig4 a and fig4 b , so they have similar voltage waveforms shown in fig4 c and 6 c . the operational principles of the fifth and the sixth embodiments can be inferred from the aforementioned embodiments , and will not be restated here . while the invention has been described in terms of what are 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 .	8
looking at fig1 of the drawings , reference numeral 10 indicates in general the throw - away type oil filter cartridge with which the relief valve assembly of this invention may be used . a cylindrical canister 12 having a closed end 13 with filter element aligning end supporting structure 15 together with end cap 17 supports one end of the filter element 14 . the filter element 14 has a central tubular portion 16 provided with fluid flow apertures 18 . the open end of the cylindrical canister 12 is provided with an enclosure disc 20 having fluid inlet holes 21 provided circumferentially around a central fluid outlet aperture 22 . this aperture 22 is normally internally threaded for screwing the overall filter cartridge upon a complementary projecting threaded stud on an engine . another separate plate 24 having corresponding apertures therein to those of disc 20 is normally assembled to the canister 12 by rolling the outer edges of the combined materials together as indicated at 25 . also , an engine seating gasket 26 is normally provided with this plate . also , an alignment and retention recess 27 is provided in disc 20 for reception of the raised portion 28 on the closure plate 24 . the fluid flow lines indicated by a show the normal flow of the fluid into the inlet holes 21 and through the inside of the canister housing through the filter element 14 , into the center of tube 16 , and out through opening 22 , back to the engine or other device with which the filter is being used . generally , the flow lines indicated by b indicate the bypass function of this relief valve sub - assembly whenever the filter element 14 becomes sufficiently clogged to prevent pass of fluid therethrough , and / or if the fluid itself should be of such thickness and consistency as not to readily flow through the filter element . that is the relief valve will allow fluid to bypass the filter and return through opening 22 back to the engine in the same manner as already described . looking at fig2 and 3 of the drawings , the relief valve assembly will now be described in detail . a first tubular support member 30 is provided having a radially extending flange member 34 at one end thereof , and a reduced axially extending portion 31 extending from the other end thereof . the reduced annular portion 31 is in turn provided with an inwardly radially extending flange 32 . while the outwardly extending flange 34 is at right angles or perpendicular to the center axis of tubular support member 30 , the inwardly extending flange 32 is at an angle relative to the center line . this angle indicated by θ in fig2 is normally between 50 ° to 85 ° and preferably is between the range of 65 ° to 70 °. the second tubular support portion of the assembly is indicated by reference numeral 45 and is in the form of a tubular member 40 having a rolled end for forming a valve seat 42 . the opening 44 permits maximum fluid flow through this tubular member 40 . the other end of tubular member 40 is contiguous with an outwardly extending radial flange portion 46 . a recessed shoulder portion is formed by connecting portions 47 and 48 and connect to the outer tubular member 50 . this outer tubular portion 50 is provided with a plurality of apertures 51 for the passage of fluid therethrough . while one or two of such fluid passageways would function , the inventors have discovered that a plurality of same , preferably at least eight , function in an advantageous manner , and also without decreasing the necessary strength of the support member 40 - 50 . the outer tubular member 50 also is provided with a rolled end 52 similar to the rolled end 42 of tubular member 40 . however , the rolled end 42 which functions as a gasket valve seat , has the roll in the inward direction to form the opening 44 , while the rolled end 52 on tubular member 50 is rolled outwardly to form a somewhat bendable outer edge 54 . this is quite important with this device in that this outer edge 54 securely and basically permanently engages within tubular member 30 at the point where deformation and reduction of member 30 indicated by reference numeral 33 in fig2 occurs . it is the complementary engagement of portions 33 and 54 which securely holds the support members 30 and 40 - 50 together . only one additional element is needed for completion of the relief valve assembly . this is the element 60 which is the gasket member for the structure . this gasket member 60 is of necessity formed of a resilient flexible material which is normally impervious to oil , gas , and other fluids of deleterious nature . the inner opening 64 is of slightly smaller diameter than the diameter of opening 44 . thus , when the outer periphery 62 of the gasket member 60 is securely retained between the radial flange member 32 and the rolled portion 52 , as best seen in fig2 the gasket will be securely held in proper operating position . another feature is in the shape of gasket 60 prior to assembly . normally as contemplated in this invention , the gasket member 60 will have a cone shape with an angle x of approximately 30 ° from the face plane of the member . that is , normally the angle of the side portions on the inner and outer sides of the gasket member , shown as c and d in the figures , will be at an angle comparable to the angle θ of the inwardly directed radial flange 32 . thus , with this conical shape and angular relationship , when the outer periphery 62 is mounted , as best seen in fig2 the inner portion of the side d near the opening 64 must of necessity be forced against the valve seat 42 . the amount of this resilient biasing is predetermined by proper selection of the gasket material . also , the degree of cone angle may be varied in order to vary this resilient biasing function . that is , with higher density , less flexible and resilient material , the bias force will be increased , and thereby the fluid pressure required to open the valve gasket also will be substantially increased . furthermore , by increasing the cone angle in the direction towards making a sharper cone , likewise will increase the degree of pressure bias , and thus increase the predetermined pressure at which the valve member will open . similarly , a change in angle θ of the flange 32 will effect a change in pressure value . another important feature of this invention is in the shoulder portions 47 and 48 , as best seen in fig2 which connect the radial flange 46 and the outer tubular member 50 . this recessed shoulder , labeled e , provides support for associated check valve structure , if desired , when the unit is mounted as in fig1 with a filter cartridge structure . as thus seen in fig1 a metal spring member 70 is centered and aligned by means of the recessed shoulder e and in turn engages with a flexible gasket member 72 which in turn engages with the base portion 74 on the disc 20 . thus , the check valve gasket 72 will prevent unwanted return of fluid to the engine or the like through the inlet openings 21 . while the outer peripheral portion of gasket 72 engages with the projection raised rib 76 of member 20 , the inner annular opening of the gasket 72 is mounted on the projection 78 defining opening 22 of disc 20 . another embodiment of this invention may be seen in fig4 and 5 wherein the outwardly radial flange 34 is substantially extended 34 &# 39 ; for elimination of the conventional paper end disc 19 as seen in fig1 . the radial flange 34 &# 39 ; is of sufficient size to completely cover the associated end portion of the filter element 14 and also provided with an axially aligned flange 84 to complete encase and support the associated end of filter element 14 . much in the manner of the full metal and cap 17 for the other end of the filter element as seen in fig1 . by using this modification , the paper end disc 19 may be completely eliminated , thus reducing the number of necessary elements in the disposable oil filter cartridge , and thus also decreasing the assembly and overall cost . normally the outer circumference of the gasket member 60 will be just slightly smaller than the internal circumference of the tubular member reduced portion 31 , so that during assembly , the cone shaped gasket may be easily inserted and mounted within member 30 . then the support element 40 - 50 will be pressure fitted or forced into the inner circumference of tubular portion 30 to securely lock and retail the gasket member in place . with the proper amount of valve bias resulting due to ; the angle of the gasket member 60 , the radial flange 32 , and the material from which the gasket member 60 is formed . if a desired predetermined fluid pressure is to be changed to either a lower or higher value , the production run may easily call for a substitute of gasket member 60 of different material , or different cone angle and shape , and / or the flange member 32 angle φ may be changed . normally , the distance between the flange 46 and the rolled valve seat 42 is the same as that between flange 46 and the rolled shoulder engaging portion 52 . however , by changing the relative distances and dimensions thereof , another way of changing the predetermined fluid pressure is provided . that is , by decreasing the distance f the predetermined pressure valve may be reduced . 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 , and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalents may be restored to , falling within the scope of the invention .	1
referring to fig1 - 3 , a first embodiment of a device 10 for preventing disconnection of a coupling 12 in an odometer cable assembly is shown . it will be understood that similar couplings other than those located on odometer cables can be protected by the device 10 described herein . a conventional odometer cable coupling is described herein simply for exemplary purposes . preferably , the device 10 is comprised of a glass reinforced resin or other plastic . alternatively , the device 10 can be cast , stamped or machined from aluminum steel or other rigid metal or other material that is strong enough to prevent unauthorized persons from damaging , cutting through or breaking the device 10 . device 10 includes first and second halves 14 and 16 which are mateable to form a generally central opening 18 and surround the coupling 12 . in operation , the coupling 12 is at least partially disposed in the opening 18 . the device 10 has a longitudinal axis a that extends axially through opening 18 , and transverse axis b which is generally perpendicular to axis a the first and second halves 14 and 16 are preferably identical to one another according to the first embodiment of the invention and , therefore , for ease of description , like numerals will be used to describe similar elements of the first and second halves 14 and 16 . however , it will be understood that variations of either or both halves are within the scope of the invention depending on the coupling that the device is provided to surround . each half 14 and 16 has a generally semi - circular middle portion 19 with opposing ends 20 and 22 that extend laterally therefrom along axis b , as best shown in fig3 . formed in one end 20 of each half 14 and 16 is a threaded hole 24 adapted to threadedly receive a threaded fastener 28 , and formed at the opposite end 22 is a socket hole 26 . preferably , threaded hole 24 and socket hole 26 extend substantially perpendicularly with axis b . the middle portion 19 of each half has an inner surface 30 with a pair of opposing , preferably semi - circular flanges 32 projecting therefrom . preferably , the flanges 32 extend from the inner surface 30 at a substantially right angle , as shown in fig1 . when the two halves 14 and 16 are mated , the exposed ends 32 a of each opposing flange 32 engage one another , thereby forming a continuous surface that partially defines opening 18 . opposite ends 20 and 22 have inner surfaces 34 and 36 respectively , which are mateable with the inner surface 36 and 34 , respectively , of an opposite half . referring to fig4 and 5 , in a conventional odometer cable assembly , a cable 80 is threadedly coupled to the transmission 82 by a coupling 12 . to install the device 10 , the first and second halves 14 and 16 are fitted over coupling 12 and mated such that threaded hole 24 and socket hole 26 at opposite ends of the device 10 are aligned . in a preferred embodiment , a pair of threaded fasteners 28 are provided , one with each half 14 and 16 , as shown in fig1 . for each half 14 and 16 , the threaded fastener 28 is slipped into the socket hole 26 and threaded into the threaded hole 24 . a washer , lock washer or the like can be provided for use with the threaded fastener 28 . in the first embodiment , the threaded fastener 28 is engaged and disengaged into and from the socket hole 26 and threaded into the threaded hole 24 of the opposite half by using a thin - wall deep socket , thereby pulling the opposing inner surfaces 34 and 36 into contact and enclosing coupling 12 within opening 18 . thin - walled deep sockets are not readily available , thus making removal of the threaded fastener 28 from the device 10 difficult for the typical operator . a thin - walled deep socket is employed because , in a preferred embodiment , the socket hole 26 is sufficiently deep so as to prevent a standard thin - wall short socket from reaching the threaded fastener 28 , and of sufficiently small diameter so as to prevent thick - walled sockets from fitting in socket hole 26 . standard sized socket sets are well known in the art , and a skilled artisan will understand what standard sized thin - walled and thick - walled sockets are . threaded fastener 28 can be any threaded fastener known to those skilled in the art . for example , a bolt or screw , etc . can be employed . however , the threaded fastener 28 is preferably not a conventional hex - head fastener . in a preferred embodiment , the threaded fastener 28 has a 5 - sided head . however , it is within the scope of the invention for the head of the threaded fastener 28 to have any conventional shape or number of sides . for example , the head of the threaded fastener 28 can be triangular , star - shaped , square , etc . a non - conventionally shaped threaded fastener 28 makes the removal of the device 10 even more difficult because the socket must conform to the shape of the threaded fastener head 28 . sockets that are non - hex - headed are not readily available . it should be understood that the shape of the head of the threaded fastener 28 and the size of socket hole 26 are not limitations on the present invention . the shape of the first and second halves 14 and 16 is in no way a limitation on the present invention . any configuration that includes a plurality of mateable pieces , which are threadedly connected , thereby forming an opening wherein a coupling can be enclosed is within the scope of the present invention . referring to fig6 a second embodiment of a device 100 for surrounding and preventing disconnection of a coupling 12 in an odometer cable assembly is shown . this embodiment is a modification of the first embodiment , wherein the opposite ends 20 and 22 are omitted . in the second embodiment , the device 100 includes two generally semi - circular , opposing , mateable halves 114 and 116 . a socket hole 26 and a threaded hole 24 are formed in the semi - circular portion of each half , as shown in fig6 such that , when mated , the socket hole 26 of one half 114 aligns with the threaded hole 24 of the opposite half 116 , and vice versa . referring to fig7 a third embodiment of a device 200 for surrounding and preventing disconnection of a coupling 12 in an odometer cable assembly is shown . this embodiment is a modification of the first embodiment , wherein both socket holes 26 are formed in one half , and both threaded holes 24 are formed in the opposite half . it will be understood that the size of the device depends on the coupling 12 that the device is provided to surround . the dimensions of the device are in no way a limitation on the present invention . in the exemplary embodiments shown in the drawings , the middle portion 19 and the device 100 are generally circular in shape and the inner surface 30 and flanges 32 are generally semi - cylindrical and semi - circular . however , it is to be understood that the outside shape of the middle portion 19 and device 100 can be square , oval or any other geometric shape , depending on the configuration of the coupling to be surrounded . the embodiments of the present invention recited herein are intended to be merely exemplary and those skilled in the art will be able to make numerous modifications to them without departing from the spirit of the present invention . for example , the inner surfaces 34 and 36 can include pegs or the like and opposite holes for aiding in the alignment of the two halves 14 and 16 or for preventing rotation of the two halves 14 and 16 relative to one another . fig8 shows an alternative embodiment wherein a device 300 includes one socket hole 26 defined in end 22 of the first half 14 , and one threaded hole 24 defined in end 20 of the second half 16 . at the opposite end 22 of the second half 16 is a peg 230 extending from the inner surface 34 thereof . the first half 14 has a hole 232 defined in end 20 that is adapted to receive peg 230 when the first and second halves 14 and 16 are mated . in operation , when a threaded fastener 28 is received by socket hole 26 and threaded into threaded hole 24 , hole 232 receives peg 230 , thereby preventing the first half 14 from rotating relative to the second half 16 . other means for preventing rotation of one half relative to the other are within the scope of the invention . for example , any of the following can be used : a plurality of pegs and corresponding holes , clasp ( s ), hook ( s ), flange ( s ), stop ( s ) and the like . alternatively , the device 300 can be hinged , ribbed or splined .	8
with reference to the drawings the present invention will be described hereinafter . fig1 shows an example of the control circuit , wherein the power source e and power source switch s 1 resistance r 1 and resistance r 2 are connected in series , and connected point d thereof is connected to the base of constant - current transistor tr 1 . to the collector of said transistor tr 1 the series connection body of composite photoconductive element r o and relative resistance r 5 , and the series connection body of resistances r 4 and r &# 39 ; 4 in parallel therewith are connected , which are connected also to the collector of temperature compensation transistor tr 2 , and said resistance r 4 is connected between the base and the collector of said temperature compensation transistor tr 2 and the emitter thereof is connected to the negative side of power source e through variable resistance r 6 for converting the film sensitivity and the set up diaphragm value , and the parallel connection body of fixed resistance r 13 and thermistor r 14 . said composite photoconductive element r o is composed of photoconductive element r o1 and fixed resistance r x connected in series to each other , and photoconductive element r o2 connected in parallel therewith as shown in fig2 . to change over switch s 2 switchable to one contact a which is a connection point between said composite photoconductive element r o and relative resistance r 5 and the other contact b , memory condenser c 1 is connected , and to the other end of said condenser there are connected resistances r 7 , r 8 for power source voltage drop bias which are respectively connected to the positive and negative sides of the power source . said photoconductive elements r o1 , r o2 forming composite photoconductive element r o have characteristics shown in fig3 for the logarithmic value of the illuminance on the light receiving surface , and the logarithmic of its resistance value is inversely proportionate to the logarithm of the illuminance on the light receiving surface as shown by straight lines r o1 and r o2 . on the other hand , fixed resistance r x is constant relative to the logarithm of illuminance on the light receiving surface as shown by straight line r x , so that the logarithm of the combined resistance value of composite photoconductive element r o has the characteristic shown by r o to the logarithm of the illuminance on the light receiving surface . and , in the case of that to composite photoconductive element r o having the resistance characteristic of the illuminance on the light receiving surface as shown in fig3 relative resistance r 5 is connected in series as shown in fig4 and the collector current of constant - current transistor tr 1 is a constant - current , the relation between the potential ( volt ) at contact a of the connection point thereof and the illuminance on the light receiving surface is as shown by straight line f in fig5 and the potential at contact a is applied with a logarithmic compression to the illuminance on the light receiving surface , and for a change of one step ( 1 ev ) of the illuminance on the light receiving surface , v o ( volt ) and vo ( volt ) undergoes a change . therefore , by connecting variable resistance r 6 for converting the setting diaphragm and the film sensitivity in series to relative resistance r 5 and changing said variable resistance r 6 , it is possible to move the potential at contact a in parallel like straight lines shown by f 1 , f . sub . 2 . therefore , when change over switch s 2 is connected to contact a to put a photometry into practice and the illuminance on the light receiving surface is applied with a logarithmic compression by composite photoconductive element r o and relative resistance r 5 to be memorized in condenser c 1 , before the shutter is operated and before the illuminance on the light receiving surface of composite photoconductive element r o is not yet changed said change over switch s 2 is changed over from contact a to contact b . transistor tr 3 the base of which is connected to contact b is a transistor for applying an inverse logarithmic conversion to the memorized voltage memorized in condenser c 1 by the logarithmic compression , and to condenser c 2 connected to the collector of said transistor tr 3 the constant current proportional to the illuminance on the light receiving surface of composite photoconductive element r o can be charged by opening trigger switch s 4 provided in parallel with said condenser c 2 . main switch s 3 is closed after change over switch s 2 is disconnected from contact a , and excites electromagnet coil m . trigger switch 4 is shut off simultaneously with the opening operation of the shutter . transistors tr 4 , tr 5 , tr 6 forms a switching circuit composed of a schmidt circuit , and when main switch s 3 is closed transistors tr 5 , tr 6 are electrified to excite electromagnet coil m and lock the shutter from closing . just as trigger switch s 4 is shut off simultaneously with opening of the shutter , the voltage in memory condenser c 1 , which is the result of , as described above , the voltage applied by the logarithmic compression to the illuminance on the light receiving surface of composite photoconductive element r o and the voltage for converting the set up diaphragm value and the film sensitivity photographically operated , is applied with an inverse logarithmic conversion , and the constant current corresponding to the setting diaphragm value and the illuminance on the light receiving surface , and proportional to the illuminance on the light receiving surface at the time just before the shutter is operated is charged to condenser c 2 , so that it is possible to control the proper exposure time in accordance with the brightness of an object , the setting diaphragm value , and the film sensitivity . a denotes an ammeter which indicates the proper exposure time answered in accordance with the setting diaphragm value , the film sensitivity and the brightness of an object by amplifying the potential at contact a at the photometric moment by means of transistors tr 7 , tr 8 . diode d 1 connected between the collector of said transistor tr 7 and the base of said transistor tr 8 is a diode for compensating the temperature . in the present invention formed as described above , in order to effect the temperature compensation to transistor tr 3 for the inverse logarithmic conversion , resistance r &# 39 ; 4 is connected between the collector and the base of temperature compensation transistor tr 2 having the same characteristic as that of transistor tr 3 for the inverse logarithmic conversion , and the other end of fixed resistance r 5 connected in series to photoconductive element r o is connected to the collector of temperature compensation transistor tr 2 , and by using the voltage at the connection point on the collector side of said transistor tr 2 as a bias of output terminal a and making use of the fact that the difference between the voltage of output terminal a corresponding to the resistance value of photoconductive element r o and the base voltage of temperature compensation transistor tr 2 is proportional to collector current ic2 of said transistor tr 2 , the temperature coefficient of the bias voltage of output terminal a and the temperature coefficient of the collector current of said transistor tr 2 are adapted to correspond to the temperature coefficient of transistor tr 3 for the inverse logarithmic conversion so as to effect the temperature compensation to transistor tr 3 for the inverse logarithmic conversion covering a wide extent of collector current i c3 , and thereby an error which is not negligible in the inverse logarithmic conversion process is removed and the high precision automatic control for the exposure time can be effected covering all sphere of the illuminance on an object in a wide range . the aforementioned fact will be described in the concrete hereinafter using formulas . the relation between the base voltage v be3 of transistor tr 3 for the inverse logarithmic conversion and the collector current i c3 is expressed in general as follows : this formula shows that when the base voltage v be3 undergoes a change by v o , the collector current i c3 doubles and for a change of one step ( namely , 1ev ) of the exposure time , when the memorized voltage of memory condenser c 1 is changed v o by v o to the line form an inverse logarithmic conversion can be applied , and as described above composite photoconductive element r o and fixed resistance r 5 are connected in series to each other so that the output voltage of terminal a of the connection point may be changed v o by v o for one step change of the illuminance on the light receiving surface . v o , v 1 in formula ( 1 ) are a coefficient of transistor tr 3 and change in accordance with the temperature respectively , and for the temperature rise v o changes positively and v 1 changes negatively . by this reason , with the process of the temperature rise the relation between the base voltage v be3 and the collector current i c3 undergoes a change from the solid line to the dotted line in the diagram of fig6 . on the contrary , in order to compensate the temperature change of the transistor hitherto a diode has been proposed to put to use , however , the temperature compensation effected by the diode is able to be moved in parallel like the chain line shown in the diagram of fig6 but it is impossible to compensate its grade , that is , as to formula ( 1 ) it is possible to compensate the temperature change of v 1 but it is impossible to compensate the temperature change of v o . therefore , to carry out the temperature compensation for transistor tr 3 for the inverse logarithmic conversion by means of a diode can not compensate covering a wide change extent of the collector current , and a considerable error comes out , and accordingly it is impossible to put to practical use in the respect of precision . in formula ( 1 ), provided changes of v o , v 1 to temperature change δt are respectively δv o , δv 1 , change δv be3 of the base voltage with a view in order not to change the collector current i c3 is as follows : δv be3 = δv o log 2 i c3 + δ v 1 ( 2 ) therefore , when the output voltage of terminal a undergoes a change by δv be3 to satisfy formula ( 2 ) to temperature change δt , even if the temperature undergoes a change by δt the collector current i c3 of transistor tr 3 does not undergo a change , so that an error which is not negligible in the inverse logarithmic conversion process for the temperature change is compensated . as described above , transistor tr 2 for the temperature compensation is given the same characteristic as that of transistor tr 3 for the inverse logarithmic conversion , so that provided the collector current of transistor tr 2 for the temperature compensation is i c2 , the base current v be2 of transistor tr 2 is as follows : and , provided the difference between the base voltage of transistor tr 2 for the temperature compensation and the output voltage of contact a is v a &# 39 ;, and bias resistance r 4 &# 39 ; connected between the collector and the base of transistor tr 2 for the temperature compensation in fig1 is not so large and the collector voltage is within the limit not saturated , v a &# 39 ; = αi c2 is attained and v a &# 39 ; is proportional to the collector current i c2 , and in the aforementioned formula α is a proportional constant including r 4 &# 39 ; , r 4 , r o , r 5 and expressed as follows : that is , in i c2 , provided the current running to the r 4 side is i 1 and the current running to the r o side is i 2 , ( r . sub . 4 + r . sub . 4 &# 39 ;) i . sub . 1 = ( r . sub . o + r . sub . 5 ) i . sub . 2 , i . sub . c2 = i . sub . 1 + i . sub . 2 ( r . sub . 4 + r . sub . 4 &# 39 ;)( i . sub . c2 - i . sub . 2 ) = ( r . sub . o + r . sub . 5 ) i . sub . 2 v . sub . a &# 39 ; = - r . sub . 4 &# 39 ; i . sub . 1 + r . sub . 5 i . sub . 2 = r . sub . 4 &# 39 ; i . sub . 2 + r . sub . 5 i . sub . 2 - r . sub . 4 &# 39 ; i . sub . c2 as the results , ## equ2 ## therefore , ## equ3 ## therefore , the output voltage v a of contact a is as follows : v . sub . a = r . sub . 6 i . sub . c2 + v . sub . be2 + v . sub . a &# 39 ; = r . sub . 6 i . sub . c2 + v . sub . o log . sub . 2 + v . sub . 1 + α i . sub . c2 change δv a of the output voltage of contact a to the temperature change δt is as follows : ## equ4 ## whereas , ## equ5 ## is small as compared with other coefficients and negligible , and it is possible to effect this temperature compensation by means of thermister r 14 connected to variable resistance v 6 and fixed resistance r 13 , so that δ v . sub . a = r . sub . 6 δi . sub . c2 + δv . sub . o log . sub . 2 i . sub . c2 + δv . sub . 1 + αδ i . sub . c2 as described above , when in δv . sub . a = δv . sub . be3 , even if the temperature undergoes a change by δt the collecter current i . sub . c3 of transistor tr . sub . 3 for the inverse logarithmic conversion does not undergo a change , so that the temperature compensation for the inverse logarithmic conversion process is enough effected and the exact automatic exposure time can be obtained . change δ i c2 of the collector current of transistor tr 2 for the temperature compensation in order to be δv a = δv be3 is given the following relation : r . sub . 6 δi . sub . c2 + 66 v . sub . o log . sub . 2 i . sub . c2 + δv . sub . 1 + αδi . sub . c2 = δv . sub . o log . sub . 2 i + δv . sub . 1 ## equ6 ## as shown in the aforementioned formula , the temperature change δ v . sub . 1 of coefficient v . sub . 1 of transistor tr . sub . 3 for the inverse logarithmic conversion is compensated by the temperature change ( δ v . sub . o logi . sub . c2 + δv . sub . 1 ) of the bias of the output terminal . v . sub . o log . sub . 2 i . sub . c3 + v . sub . 1 = r . sub . 6 i . sub . c2 + v . sub . o log . sub . 2 i . sub . c2 + v . sub . 1 + αi . sub . c2 ## equ7 ## from formula ( 3 ) ## equ8 ## therefore , when the temperature change of the collector current i c2 of transistor tr 2 for the temperature compensation satisfies formula ( 4 ), not only the temperature change of coefficient v 1 of transistor tr 3 for the inverse logarithmic conversion but also the temperature change of v o is compensated . the temperature change of the collector current i c2 of transistor tr 2 for the temperature compensation is carried out making use of the temperature change of the base voltage v be1 of constant - current transistor tr 1 . provided the voltage of point d divided by resistances r 1 , r 2 is v d , the current for running to resistance r 3 runs almost all to the collector of transistor tr 1 and this current becomes the collector current i c2 of transistor tr 2 , therefore , r 3 i c2 + v be1 = v d . whereas , v d does not undergo a temperature change , so that when the temperature undergoes a change by δt change δi c2 of the collector current i c2 is as follows : r . sub . 3 δ i . sub . c2 + δv . sub . be1 = 0 ## equ9 ## therefore , from fomula ( 4 ) ## equ10 ## when the temperature undergoes a change by δt , by fixing resistances r 1 , r 2 so that the temperature δv o of coefficient v o of transistor tr 3 for the inverse logarithmic conversion may get to be v d for satisfying formula ( 5 ), the temperature compensation of coefficients v o , v 1 of transistor tr 3 for the inverse logarithmic conversion can be effected , and the high precision automatic exposure time control can be carried out . variable resistance r 6 is a resistance for converting the setting diaphragm value and the film sensitivity as described above , and by increasing or decreasing both ends voltage r 6 i c2 of said variable resistance r 6 v o by v o into the line form the setting diaphragm value or the film sensitivity can be changed by one step , and at the same time , when the collector current of temperature compensating transistor tr 2 undergoes a temperature change for satisfying formula ( 4 ), formula ( 4 ) does not include r o , r 6 so that the temperature change of transistor tr 3 for the inverse logarithmic conversion can be compensated continuously to an optional value of r 6 , r o , therefore , the both ends bias voltage of variable resistance r 6 for converting the setting diaphragm value and the film sensitivity effects the temperature compensation of transistor tr 3 for the inverse logarithmic conversion to the brightness of an object , and the conversion of the setting diaphragm value and the film sensitivity can be carried out . as described hereinbefore , in the present invention the portion for producing the output voltage proportional to the logarithmic value of the illuminance on the light receiving surface of the photoconductive element and the portion for converting the setting diaphragm value and the film sensitivity are connected in series to each other and connected to one and the same power source , and at the same time the photographical operation is effected to them and through the collector current i c2 of temperature compensation transistor tr 2 the temperature compensation is effected to the optional brightness , the setting diaphragm , and the film sensitivity so that it is possible to effect the temperature compensation at the same time and the high precision automatic control for the exposure time can be effected covering all sphere of the brightness of an object in a wide range . next , when electromagnet coil m is excited a large current runs thereto , so that the voltage undergoes broadly a change as well known , therefore , when electromagnet coil m operates before the shutter is operated the power source voltage undergoes a change and accordingly an error of the exposure time comes out on account of variation of the trigger level of the schmidt circuit . however , in the present invention , in order to compensate said error resistances r 7 , r 8 for giving the bias voltage to memory condenser c 1 are provided . provided the amplification rate of transistor tr 5 is β , trigger voltage v t of the schmidt trigger circuit is as follows : ## equ11 ## ( v is the power source voltage ) after switch s 2 shuts off terminal a and memorizes , just as main switch s 3 is electrified electromagnet coil m is exited and a large current runs , so that power source voltage v undergoes broadly a change to drop and trigger voltage v t drops in proportion to power source voltage v , and thereby an error is made . in order to compensate this error resistances r 7 , r 8 are provided to give the bias to memory condenser c 1 . provided the memory voltage of condenser c 1 is v c , the power source voltage is v , and the voltage of bias resistance r 8 proportional to v is xv , and , provided the capacity of condenser c 2 is c 2 and the time required for condenser c 2 to gets to the trigger voltage is t , and thus , change of v t to change of power source voltage v is as follows from formula ( 6 ): ## equ12 ## electromagnet coil m operates and the power source voltage undergoes a change by δv , and accordingly when trigger voltage v t undergoes a change by δv t , change of i c3 for fixing the exposure time t is as follows from formula ( 8 ): ## equ13 ## and from formula ( 7 ) ## equ14 ## therefore , bias voltage xv of memory condenser c 1 for which change of the collector current of transistor tr 3 at the time when the power source voltage undergoes a change by δv satisfies formula ( 9 ) is as follows : ## equ15 ## therefore , after applying the bias for satisfying formula ( 11 ) to memory condenser c 1 and switch s 2 shuts off terminal a to memorize , just as main switch s 3 is electrified the variation of the trigger level in the schmidt circuit caused by a broad variation of power source voltage v due to the exitation of electromagnet coil m is compensated by change of collector current i c3 caused by change of the base voltage v be3 of transistor tr 3 due to the bias for satisfying formula ( 11 ), and the exact exposure time can be obtained . fig7 is a perspective view showing the shutter mechanism in a &# 34 ; through the lens &# 34 ; photometric type focal plane single reflex camera in the case of that the exposure time control circuit shown in fig1 is applied to said camera , and the essential portions of an embodiment in the mechanical interlocking relation with the electromagnet , resistors , switches , etc . in the circuit in accordance with the present invention . interlocking wire 4 fixed on its one end to pulley 3 connected by axle 2 to film sensitivity setting dial 1 provided on the camera body so as to rotate in a body with said dial 1 is fixed on its other end to diaphragm setting ring 7 of the lens barrel via pulley 6 pivoted on arm portion 5a projecting in the radial direction from gear 5 fitting loosely on said axle 2 . and , slide brush 9 provided on insulating axle 8a for gear 8 meshed with said gear 5 is adapted to slide on variable resistance r 6 . therefore , just as the film sensitivity is set up by means of film sensitivity setting dial 1 and the diaphragm value is set up by means of diaphragm setting ring 7 , said slide brush 9 slides on variable resistance r 6 so as to get the value corresponding to the setting film sensitivity and the setting diaphragm value . said brush 10 is a stationary brush . when the camera is put to use electric power source switch s 1 not shown in fig7 is put in the conductive state . therefore , the circuit shown in fig1 is in the photometric state and ammeter a not shown in the drawing is in indicating the exposure time . photoconductive element r o is provided on pentagonal prism 11 and its composite photoconductive element r o effects the photometry actually . now , just as shutter button 12 is pushed interlocking lever 13 is pushed down and lever 15 is turned counterclockwise by interlocking rod 14 to disengage from switch lever 16 having the turning tendency to the direction shown by arrow cw 3 . thereupon , pin 17a for insulating member 17 for changing over the switch fixed to said switch lever 16 changes over switch s 2 from contact a to contact b and after switch s 2 shuts off contact a pin 17b for insulating member 17 closes main switch s 3 to exite electromagnet coil m . after main switch s 3 is electrified , switch lever 16 turns mirror lever 19 to the direction shown by arrow cw 4 through intermediate lever 18 and also turns reflector 21 to the same direction through axle 20 . therefore , through the turning of said reflector 21 the photometric state is changed to the photographing state and the quantity of light incoming to photoconductive element r o is decreased gradually , however , switch s 2 is already changed over from contact a to contact b so that the resistance value of composite photoconductive element r o under the photometric state is memorized . in the final process , mirror lever 19 engages with release lever 22 to turn it and the pawl of opening screen restraining lever 23 disengage from restraining plate 24 , and restraining plate 24 turns together with the opening screen axle having the turning tendency to the direction shown by arrow cw 2 via axle 25 , and gears 26 , 27 and opening screen 32 starts to open the shutter . and at the same time , protrusion 28 fixed to axle 25 turns counterclockwise to open trigger switch s 4 for condenser c 2 so that said condenser c 2 is charged . however , the closing screen is in being checked against travelling by closing screen restraining lever 29 attracted by electromagnet coil m . just as the voltage of condenser c 2 gets to the trigger voltage v t , electromagnet coil m is demagnetized and closing screen restraining lever 29 turns clockwise through spring 30 so as not to engage lever 29 with pin 31a and gear 31 becomes turnable so that shutter closing screen 34 starts to travel via gear 33 to close the shutter . just as winding lever 35 is turned counterclockwise the film not shown in the drawing is wound and at the same time gear 26 is turned clockwise via gears 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 formed in a body with said winding lever 35 , and when restraining plate 24 formed in a body with gear 26 engages with the pawl of opening screen restraining lever 23 the shutter charge is finished . since the present invention is formed as described hereinbefore , the memory condenser is in memorizing the voltage proportional to the logarithmic value of the exposure time so that it is possible to memorize the voltage covering all sphere of the brightness of an object in a wide range , and in addition as described above it is easy to operate the output voltage proportional to the logarithmic value of the illuminance on the light receiving surface of the composite photoconductive element and the voltage for converting the setting diaphragm value and the film sensitivity , and it is possible to effect the temperature compensation at the same time to these lightness , setting diaphragm value , and film sensitivity and that by carring out the temperatre compensation of transistor tr 3 for the inverse logarithmic conversion covering a wide extent of the collector current ic 3 of said transistor tr 3 it is possible to remove an error which is not negligible in the inverse logarithmic conversion process , and besides an error of the exposure time control caused by a broad variation of the power source voltage due to the exitation of electromagnet coil m can be compensated as well . fig8 is a partial circuit diagram of another embodiment in accordance with the present invention , wherein the respect differing from the embodiment shown in fig1 is that composite photoconductive elements r o , r 0 &# 39 ; are directly connected . said composite photoconductive elements r o , r o &# 39 ; are respectively provided in the separate position on pentagonal prism 11 as shown in fig9 . the light rays past through the objective lens are reflected by reflector 21 and comes to focusing screen 40 , and are diffused hereby and through condenser lens 41 , pentagonal prism 11 , and eye piece 42 the focussing image can be observed . and at the same time , a portion of the diffusion light rays come to composite photoconductive elements r o , r o &# 39 ; and the light rays past through the objective lens are measured , however , composite photoconductive elements r o , r o &# 39 ; disposed as shown in fig9 are in measuring different portions of an object in dividing respectively . provided that the resistance - illuminance characteristics of two simple substance photoconductive elements are both identical and r = kl - . sup . γ , in the case of the divisional photometry described above when the light rays in the illuminances of l 1 and ml 1 come into two photoconductive elements respectively the whole resistance value r ( l 1 , ml 1 ) of said two photoconductive elements connected in series is as follows : r ( l . sub . 1 , ml . sub . 1 ) = k { l . sub . 1 . sup .. sup .-. sup . γ + ( ml . sub . 1 ). sup .-. sup . γ } = kl . sub . 1 . sup .-. sup . γ ( 1 + m . sup .-. sup . γ ) and , when light rays of m &# 39 ; l 1 come into in the illuminance equivalent to two photoconductive elements the resistance value r ( m &# 39 ; l 1 , m &# 39 ; l 1 ) of the series connected body is as follows : in this manner , it is well known that by connecting photoconductive elements for doing divisional photometry in series and averaging objects different in the brightness ratio so as to satisfy formula ( 12 ), the photometry of good probability can be effected which turns to the proper exposure . in this case , especially when in γ = 0 . 62 it has been reported that the probability to turn to the proper exposure is the largest . then , as to the series connected body of composite photoconductive elements r o , r o &# 39 ; as shown in fig8 the illuminance - resistance characteristics of elements r o1 , r o2 for constituting composite photoconductive element r o and elements r o3 , r o4 for constituting composite photoconductive element r o &# 39 ;, as seen in fig3 satisfy the following formulas : when light rays in the illuminance of l 1 , ml 1 come into said composite photoconductive elements r o , r o &# 39 ; respectively the resistance value r &# 39 ;( l 1 , ml 1 ) of the series connected body is as follows : ## equ18 ## and , when light rays of m &# 39 ; l 1 come into in the illuminance equivalent to two composite photoconductive elements r o , r o &# 39 ; the resistance value r &# 39 ;( m &# 39 ; l , m &# 39 ; l 1 ) of said series connected body is as follows : ## equ19 ## therefore , ## equ20 ## when this is satisfied it turns to r &# 39 ;( l 1 , ml 1 ) = r &# 39 ;( m &# 39 ; l 1 , m &# 39 ; l 1 ). and accordingly , the resistance value of the series connected body in the case of that light rays in the illuminances of l 1 , ml 1 come into two composite photoconductive elements for doing divisional photometry as shown in fig8 respectively turns to the resistance value in the case of that light rays in the equal illuminances of m &# 39 ; k , l 1 come into composite photoconductive elements r o , r 1 &# 39 ;. this fact shows that in the same way as the series connected body of two simple substance photoconductive elements for doing divisional photometry , the series connected body of two composite photoconductive elements for doing divisional photometry as shown in fig8 is in averaging objects different in the brightness ratio so as to satisfy the same formula ( 12 ). therefore , the series connected body of composite photoconductive elements shown in fig8 becomes possible to do photometry of the good probability which turns to the proper exposure to objects different in the brightness ratio , in the same manner as in the series connected body of simple substance photoconductive elements for doing divisional photometry . especially in case of that γ of elements r o1 , r o2 , r o3 , r 04 constituting composite photoconductive elements r o , r &# 39 ; o is γ = 0 . 6 , the photometry which probability to turn to the proper exposure is the best becomes possible .	6
suitable dihydric and polyhydric phenols which can be employed in the present invention as either components ( a - 2 ) or ( b ) include , for example , those represented by the formulas ## str1 ## wherein a is a divalent hydrocarbyl group having from 1 to about 10 carbon atoms , -- o --, -- s --, -- s -- s --, ## equ1 ## a &# 39 ; is a divalent hydrocarbyl group having from 1 to about 10 carbon atoms ; r is hydrogen or a hydrocarbyl group having from 1 to about 10 carbon atoms ; each x is independently a monovalent hydrocarbyl group having from 1 to about 10 carbon atoms , or a halogen ; n has a value of zero or 1 ; n &# 39 ; has a value of from about 1 . 01 to about 7 ; x has a value of from zero to about 4 and x &# 39 ; has a value of from zero to about 3 . suitable such phenolic hydroxyl - containing compounds include , for example , resorcinol , catechol , hydroquinone , phloroglucinol , bisphenol a , tetramethyl bisphenol a , tetra - tetrarybutylbisphenol a , tetrabromo bisphenol a , mixtures thereof and the like . suitable cyanuric halides which can be employed herein include , for example , cyanuric chloride , cyanuric bromide , mixtures thereof and the like . the reaction between the cyanuric halide and dihydric or polyhydric phenol is usually conducted in the presence of a base such as , for example , alkali metal hydroxides , alkali metal carbonates , alkali metal alcoholates , tertiary amines and the like . these and other catalysts as well as suitable reaction conditions are more fully described by sundermann et al in u . s . pat . no . 3 , 978 , 028 which is incorporated herein by reference . suitable epoxy resins which can be employed herein include those represented by the formulas ## str2 ## wherein a , a &# 39 ;, r , x , n , n &# 39 ;, x and x &# 39 ; are as defined in formulas i , ii , iii and iv , r &# 39 ; is hydrogen or a hydrocarbyl group having from 1 to about 4 carbon atoms and m has an average value of from zero to about 10 . suitable curing agents and / or catalysts which can be employed include , for example , amines , acids and anhydrides thereof , biguanides , imidazoles , urea - aldehyde resins , melamine aldehyde resins and the like . these and other curing agents and / or catalysts are disclosed in lee and neville &# 39 ; s handbook of epoxy resins , mcgraw - hill , 1967 which is incorporated herein by reference . the following examples are illustrative of the invention but are not to be construed as to limiting the scope thereof in any manner . aqueous caustic solution , 12 . 6 g dissolved in 113 . 4 grams of water ( 10 wt . %) was continuously added to 18 . 4 grams of cyanuric chloride and 163 . 2 grams of tetrabromo disphenol a dissolved in 50 ml . of acetone and 150 ml of isopropanol during approximately one hour at a temperature of 20 °- 25 ° c . a precipitate formed . this slurry was stirred overnight at ambient temperature , then with good stirring poured into 1 . 5 liters of water . the solid product was washed with excess water , then collected via filtration . after drying in a vacuum oven at 80 °- 100 ° c ., 170 g of white product was obtained , percent yield , 99 . 9 %. the product had a bromine content of 56 . 2 %, a melting point of 140 °- 145 ° c ., and a hydroxyl content of 4 . 18 %. the condensate prepared in example 1 was employed to prepare epoxy resins with different quantities of epoxy resin and dihydric or polyhydric phenol compounds . the quantities and reaction conditions are given in table i . the resultant epoxy resins were cured with 3 parts per hundred parts of epoxy resin of dicyandiamide and 0 . 3 % by weight of epoxy resin of benzyl dimethyl amine at 175 ° c . for one hour ( 3600 s ). the results are given in table i . table i__________________________________________________________________________components example example example example example exampleand results 1 2 3 4 5 6__________________________________________________________________________adduct from ex . 1 , 129 / 0 . 31 12 . 6 / 0 . 03 117 . 4 / 0 . 28 31 / 0 . 074 176 / 0 . 42 15 . 2 / 00 . 036g / equiv . tetrabromobisphenol a , 129 / 0 . 47 12 . 6 / 0 . 046 117 . 4 / 0 . 43 0 58 . 7 / 0 . 22 22 . 8 / 0 . 084g / equiv . dgeba . sup . 1 , g / equiv . 492 / 2 . 62 74 . 8 / 0 . 40 515 . 3 / 2 . 74 69 / 0 . 37 515 . 3 / 2 . 74 62 / 0 . 33reaction temp ., ° c . 160 160reaction time , hours 1 3 . 5 4 5 6 1 . 5seconds 3600 12600 14400 18000 21600 5400average epoxidecontent , % 9 . 9 12 . 6 10 . 1 10 . 05 10 8eew . sup . 2 434 . 3 341 . 3 425 . 7 427 . 86 430 537 . 5bromine content , % 20 . 35 14 . 5 18 17 . 4 17 . 8 22 . 2tg . sup . 3 , ° c . 133 . 6 n . d .. sup . 4 131 . 1 n . d . 137 . 4 n . d . __________________________________________________________________________ . sup . 1 dgeba was the diglycidyl ether of bisphenol a having an average ee of 187 . 8 . . sup . 2 eew = epoxide equivalent weight . sup . 3 tg = glass transition temperature as determined via diferential scanning caloremetry , ( dsc ) using dupont dsc , model 1090 . . sup . 4 n . d . = not determined a commercially available epoxy resin made from the reaction of the diglycidylether of bisphenol a with tetrabromo bisphenol a having an average epoxy content of 9 . 0 percent and an average bromine content of 19 - 22 weight percent and containing 20 % acetone by weight was formulated with dicyanamide and cured exactly as described in examples 1 - 6 . the cured resin had a tg of 111 ° c .	2
referring to fig1 and internal electrode 1 , an external electrode 2 , an electric insulator 3 , and a piezoelectric element 4 are shown . since the displacement per single piezoelectric element is minimal , the elements are formed in a laminated construction and when electric voltage is applied to external electrode 2 , the upper free end is displaced . such a phenomena is widely known to those skilled in the art . fig2 a shows a top view and fig2 b shows a side view of the preferred embodiment of the invention . holding plate 5 is fixedly attached to bearing body 6 by a fastener such as screw 7 . bearing body 6 has a pair of bearing holes 6a . the center lower portion of a guide plate 8 is fixedly fastened to holding plate 5 by fastener 7 . shaft holding means 9 is shown and throttles shaft 14 . referring to fig3 a and 3b , shaft holding means 9 provides a recessed portion 9a surrounded by a channel shaped wall 9b . into the recess portion 9a , the piezoelectric element 10 is fixedly attached with bonding by suitable bonding means , such as araldite ( tradename ). at the upper side of the piezoelectric element 10 , a bearing hole 9c is provided . the piezoelectric element side of the bearing hole 9c is surrounded by a thin , arc - shaped wall 9e which provides a groove 9d , thus elastically surrounding the piezoelectric element 10 with thin wall 9e . referring again to fig2 a and 2b , the shaft holding member 9 is fixedly attached to the bearing body 6 or to holding plate 5 . as preferably embodied , the bearing hole 9c ( fig3 b ) and the bearing hole 6a of bearing body 6 ( fig2 a ) are coincided and fixedly attached by fastener 7 . displacement transmitting members 11 , 12 as shown in fig2 a and 2b are placed in parallel between shaft holding member 9 ( fig2 a ) and bearing body 6 . shaft 14 is slidably mounted in bearing holes 6a and 9c , respectively . the major difference between the members of fig4 b and fig3 b is that in the displacement transmitting member of fig4 b , stopper pin 13 is projected at a right angle against the direction of the piezoelectric element 10 . the other configurations and item numbers represent similar members between fig3 b and 4b . the bearing bodies 6 , shaft holding member 9 and the first displacement transmitting members 11 , 12 are preferably made of high strength steel . further , the shaft holding member 9 and the inside of bearing hole 9c of displacement transmitting members 11 , 12 may be treated to increase their frictional coefficient so as not to slip off when the shaft 14 is throttled and clamped . base plate 15 may also be made of high strength steel . referring to fig5 a and 5b , a pair of thick projection bodies 15b are connected by a thin connecting wall 15c at its middle portion and each thick projection body 15b has an open groove 15a at its top portion . under thin connecting wall 15c , rectangular - shaped tunnel 15d is provided . along tunnel 15d , a u - shaped wall 15c is placed in a &# 34 ; u &# 34 ; and is connected to said projection body 15b . at both sides of the thin connecting wall 15c , which is located at the middle portion , a rectangular shaped hole 15f is provided at its bottom corner portion 15g . thus , rectangular shaped tunnel 15f is connected to the rectangular shaped tunnel 15d . under such construction , thin walls 15h and 15i are elastically formed at the bottom of the thick projection body 15b . in the rectangular shaped hole 15d , piezoelectric element 16 is inserted and bonded with a bonding material such as araldite ( tradename ). the piezoelectric element is shown surrounded by the inside of this connecting wall 15c and by the inside bottom u - shaped wall 15e and thus a driving device 17 , including a base plate 15 , are constructed . groove 15a is provided at the top portion of projection body 15b and is engaged with stopper pin 13 of displacement transmitting member 11 , 12 . thus , the driving device 17 contacts with the flat surface of the displacement transmitting member and is fixed to guide plate 8 by screw 18 and is connected to holding plate 5 . item 19 denotes a fixing hole to fix the driving section 17 . referring to fig2 a , when shaft 14 is to be moved in the direction of the upper solid line arrow , electric voltage is applied via switching means to the piezoelectric element 10 at the displacement transmitting member 11 . since the piezoelectric element 10 is solidly fixed by the wall 9b ( fig3 b , 4b ), the piezoelectric element 10 pushes the arc - shaped wall 9e in the direction of the solid line arrows in fig3 b and 4b responding to the applied voltage . since the arc - shaped wall 9c is elastically formed , the arc - shaped wall 9e moves to the notched groove 9d side and throttles and fixes shaft 14 . in this case , if piezoelectric element 10 has a volume of 6 × 16 × 26mm 3 , the generating power of 29 kgf × 20um is gained ( 20 um displacement ). when electric voltage is applied via switching means to the piezoelectric 16 ( fig5 a ) of driving section 17 , since the piezoelectric element 16 is fixed on lower inside surface of wall 15c of base plate 15 , the piezoelectric element 16 pushes the inside wall of the thin connecting wall 15c of the base plate 15 responding to the applied voltage in the direction of the arrow . in addition , by providing rectangular shaped hole 15f , a pair of projection bodies 15b , located on base plate 15 , move in the direction of the pair of arrows ( fig2 a ) keeping upper edge 15j of the rectangular shaped hole 15f as the base line or zero point . thin walls 15h and 15i are elastically formed to cause the above described movement of the projection body 15b . as groove 15a provided in projection body 15b is engaging with stopper pin 13 ( fig4 b ) provided at the displacement transmitting member 12 , shaft 14 moves in the direction of the upper solid line arrow by displacement transmitting member 11 . since the displacement transmitting member 12 and the shaft 14 are in a released condition , the displacement of the shaft 14 is not related to the displacement transmitting member 12 . in this case , if the piezoelectric element 16 of driving section 17 has a volume of 20 × 15 × 26 mm 3 , a generated power of 66 kgf × 20 um ( um = 10 - 6 m ) is gained . ( 20 um displacement .) accordingly , the displacement d near stopper pin 13 of displacement transmitting member 11 is expressed as d = k × a / b , where k denotes the displacement by the piezoelectric element 16 of driving section 17 , and a and b denote distances as shown in fig2 . for example , if the distance a is 35 mm and the distance b is 7 mm , the displacement d is expressed as d = 20 um × 35 / 7 = 100 um . as this calculation shows , the displacement d at piezoelectric element 16 of driving section 17 is expressed by multiplying the ratio of arm length a / b as shown in fig2 a . accordingly , the driving section 17 comprising piezoelectric element 16 and base plate 15 are constituted as a mechanical amplifying section on base plate 15 . as the next step , after applying voltage to driving section 17 , if the displacement transmitting member 11 is turned off and simultaneously the piezoelectric element 10 at shaft holding member 9 is turned on , the generating power of driving section 17 and the throttling between displacement transmitting member 11 and shaft 14 are released and resume their ordinary position . thus , shaft holding member 9 and shaft 14 are throttled . this is because displacement transmitting member 11 actuates shaft holding member 9 just after the displacement transmitting member 11 is displaced . the shaft holding member 9 absorbs the vibrating energy of the shaft 14 and keeps the displacement in the direction of the upper solid line arrow . fig6 a and 6b illustrate the cycle time for the above - described functional motion . when the shaft 14 is to be moved in the direction of the dotted arrow ( fig2 a ), first the throttling action between the shaft holding member 9 and shaft 14 is released and the piezoelectric element 10 of the displacement transmitting member 12 is energized to throttle the displacement transmitting member and shaft 14 . next , the piezoelectric element 16 of the driving section 17 is simultaneously energized moving the shaft 14 in the direction of the dotted line as described above . the inside surfaces of the shaft holding member 9 , the bearing hole 9c of shaft holding member 9 , and displacement transmitting member 11 , 12 are important considerations so far as their friction coefficient in relation to the throttling action with shaft 14 are concerned . the inside of bearing hole 9c is treated to increase its friction coefficient so as not to slip off . thereby the displacement action is secured and its durability improved . thus , according to the instant invention , vibrating movement is converted into linear movement . displacement member 11 is throttled by piezoelectric expansion and grasps shaft 14 . the displacement transmitting member 11 is then moved rightward by piezoelectric expansion at driving section 17 . accordingly , the vibratory ( on - off ) piezoelectric action action at piezoelectric element 16 and piezoelectric element 10 will cause the shaft 14 to move rightward . additionally , to make the above - described motion more stable , shaft holding member 9 is provided . the on - off action of shaft holding member 9 is arranged to be the reverse of the on - off action of the displacement transmitting member 11 . shaft holding member 9 is effective to absorb the vibration of shaft 14 and to protect against shaft 14 retracting when displacement transmitting member 11 resumes its original position ( voltage to piezoelectric element 16 being released ). fig7 illustrates a second embodiment of the invention differing from the first embodiment of fig2 a and fig2 b in that the second embodiment comprises a single driving section 17 consisting of base plate 15 which comprises a displacement transmitting member 11 , a bearing body 6 and project body 15b . the driving section of the second embodiment is designed to drive shaft section 14 constantly in the direction of the arrow in fig7 ( i . e ., to the right in fig7 ). at the upper flat portion of the holding plate 5 , bearing body 6 has bearing hole 6a provided . at the center portion of the lower part of the holding plate 5 , a guide plate 8 is provided and both bearing body 6 and guide plate 8 are secured by fasteners such as screws . item 11 denotes a displacement transmitting member and corresponds to item 11 of fig4 . shaft 14 is slidably inserted into bearing holes 6a and 9c in the direction of the shaft axis . driving section 17 includes a piezoelectric element 16 and base plate 15 . base plate 15 provides groove 15a , projection body 15b , and a thin wall 15c which is arranged at the center portion . in driving section 17 , a groove 15a located at the top of the projection body 15b engages with a stopper pin 13 located at the displacement transmitting member 11 . driving section 17 is placed on a plain surface of the displacement transmitting member 11 and is fixedly attached to guide plate 8 with fasteners connecting it with holding plate 5 . holes 20 are used for installation . other functions of the second embodiment are substantially the same as in the first embodiment . referring to the operation of the second embodiment , when the shaft 14 is to be move , voltage is applied to the piezoelectric element 10 which pushes the thin arc - shaped wall 15c responding to the applied voltage and thereby throttles shaft 14 ( see fig4 ). next , voltage is applied to piezoelectric element 16 of the driving section 17 . piezoelectric element 16 then pushes the inside surface of the thin wall 15c of base plate 15 , responding to the applied voltage , thus moving projection body 15b in the direction of the arrow of fig7 thus setting the upper edge 15 ; as the base plane . accordingly , as groove 15a of the base plate 15 engages with the stopper pin 13 of the displacement transmitting member 11 , shaft 14 moves in the direction of the arrow in fig7 . when the displacement transmitting member 11 and the driving section 17 are deenergized , the throttling action between the shaft 14 , the displacement transmitting member 11 and the driving power at driving section 17 are released . the method of driving the shaft 14 to the left is derived by rearranging the functional parts in opposite positions referring to the above - described method and apparatus of the second embodiment and as such its details are omitted . fig8 a and 8b illustrate a third embodiment which is a variation of the first and second embodiments . both drawings are top views . referring to fig8 a , the arc or circular shaped shaft 14 is inserted into the displacement transmitting members 11 , 12 and into the bearing hole 9c of the shaft holding member 9 . shaft 14 moves reciprocally through displacement transmitting members 11 , 12 and shaft holding member 9 . driving section 17 may be fastened to guide plate 8 . at the bottom of the guide plate 8 , projection 8a is provided and is rotably inserted into the center hole of receiving body 21 . in this case , projection 8a coincides with center point x which is the center of driving section 17 . at the receiving body 21 , a holding device 22 is provided which protects against the receiving body 8 slipping off . the shaft holding member 9 and the receiving body 21 may be fixed to the base plate 23 which is identified by dotted lines . by so doing , the combined action between displacement transmitting members 11 , 12 , the shaft holding member 9 and driving section 17 causes the shaft 14 to move in the axial direction intermittently , keeping projection 8a as a center point . as fig8 a shows , shaft 14 moves in two directions as both the solid and dotted line arrows indicate . referring to fig8 b in this embodiment , the combined action between the displacement transmitting member 11 , the shaft holding member 9 and the driving section 17 causes the shaft 14 to move intermittently in a clockwise direction , as shown by the arrow , keeping the projection 8a as the center . otherwise , the construction and action of the embodiment of fig8 b is the same as the embodiment of fig8 a , so further explanation thereof is unnecessary . thus , according to the instant invention vibratory movement may be converted directly to rotational movement . depending upon the functional relation or intended use with the driven section , not shown , elimination of one or a pair of the bearing bodies 6 , or utilization of shaft holding member 9 , a wide variety of curved motions combining linear motion and circumferential motion are within the spirit and scope of the present invention . in the aforementioned embodiments , the mechanism of moving the shaft 14 in a straight or curved motion employing a displacement transmitting member 11 , 12 while keeping the driving section 17 fixed is explained . conversely , it is possible to move the driving section 17 in a straight or curved motion through displacement transmitting member 11 , 12 by keeping the shaft 14 fixed . the terms and expressions which have been employed are used as terms of description and not of limitation and there is no intention in the use of such terms and expressions of excluding any equivalents of the features shown and described , or portions thereof , and it is recognized that various modifications are possible within the scope of the invention claimed .	7
many alterations and modifications may be made by those having ordinary skill in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention . therefore , it must be understood that the illustrated embodiment has been set forth only for the purposes of example and that it should not be taken as limiting the invention as defined by the following claims . for example , notwithstanding the fact that the elements of a claim are set forth below in a certain combination , it must be expressly understood that the invention includes other combinations of fewer , more or different elements , which are disclosed herein even when not initially claimed in such combinations . the words used in this specification to describe the invention and its various embodiments are to be understood not only in the sense of their commonly defined meanings , but to include by special definition in this specification structure , material or acts beyond the scope of the commonly defined meanings . thus if an element can be understood in the context of this specification as including more than one meaning , then its use in a claim must be understood as being generic to all possible meanings supported by the specification and by the word itself . the definitions of the words or elements of the following claims therefore include not only the combination of elements which are literally set forth , but all equivalent structure , material or acts for performing substantially the same function in substantially the same way to obtain substantially the same result . in this sense it is therefore contemplated that an equivalent substitution of two or more elements may be made for any one of the elements in the claims below or that a single element may be substituted for two or more elements in a claim . although elements may be described above as acting in certain combinations and even initially claimed as such , it is to be expressly understood that one or more elements from a claimed combination can in some cases be excised from the combination and that the claimed combination may be directed to a subcombination or variation of a subcombination . insubstantial changes from the claimed subject matter as viewed by a person with ordinary skill in the art , now known or later devised , are expressly contemplated as being equivalently within the scope of the claims . therefore , obvious substitutions now or later known to one with ordinary skill in the art are defined to be within the scope of the defined elements . the claims are thus to be understood to include what is specifically illustrated and described above , what is conceptionally equivalent , what can be obviously substituted and also what essentially incorporates the essential idea of the invention . thus , the detailed description set forth below in connection with the appended drawings is intended as a description of the presently preferred embodiments of the invention and is not intended to represent the only forms in which the present invention may be constructed or utilized . the description sets forth the functions and the sequence of steps for constructing and operating the invention in connection with the illustrated embodiments . it is to be understood , however , that the same or equivalent functions may be accomplished by different embodiments that are also intended to be encompassed within the spirit of the invention . the digital entertainment network of the present invention is preferably a fully integrated plug and play technology platform that delivers secure anytime , anywhere , on - demand multimedia content for digital home systems . the digital entertainment network provides efficient and ubiquitous wireless and web - enabled control over digital home systems by enabling users to access and manage music content using a variety of control devices and by delivering such content to a wide variety of different rendering devices . on - demand delivery of content , such as streaming music , is provided utilizing such user - friendly features such as customized playlists , collaboration , music management tools , and search capability . the present invention preferably provides a plug and play control point that has the software intelligence that forms the basis for a truly integrated entertainment network system . this control point architecture delivers the ability to unify content , such as music or other types of multimedia content , with control applications that enable system users to access content from a variety of different remote control devices and deliver such content to a variety of rendering devices . for example , the control point enables a digital entertainment network user to utilize a pda or other device to browse for music on the internet , then select and play a song on an mp3 player or the like , or even on stand - alone audio speakers . in another embodiment , the control point allows a user to choose a song via a set - top device , then play that music on a television , stereo system , or the like . preferably , the present invention comprises a web services based component that provides users with on - demand music streamed to a variety of devices , such as mp3 players , set - top boxes and home stereo systems . thus , according to one aspect , the present invention is a web - based content and music management system that offers users a number of desirable features via a web browser . these features preferably include web - based music catalog browsing via jukebox interface , search capability ( to find artists and specific selections ), the use of standard playlists , the use of custom playlists ( created by each user ), the ability to select different devices on which to play songs , the ability to view a user &# 39 ; s activity over a given time period or in real - time with the activity streamer , collaboration , the ability to find buddies with the same music preferences you have in your playlists , the ability to share playlists with buddies , the ability to view buddies &# 39 ; activity based on various time periods , instant messaging for chatting among users , and the use of a set top box to facilitate the use of playlists and the streaming of content . according to one aspect , the digital entertainment network of the present invention comprises a set - top box that provides users with on - demand music streamed to a variety of devices . the set - top box is a web - based content and music management system that offers users a list of features including the need for little or no setup ( plug into ethernet and video out , audio out ), content catalog browsing , search capability ( to find artists and specific selections ), the use of standard playlists , the use of custom playlists ( created by each user ), the ability to select different devices on which to play songs , the ability to view your activity over a given time period or in real - time with the activity streamer , collaboration , the ability to find buddies with the same music preferences you have in your playlists , the ability to share playlists with buddies , the ability to view buddies &# 39 ; activity based on various time periods , and instant messaging for chatting among users . the digital entertainment network of the present invention comprises control devices that allow users to communicate with the control point and give commands to render music / multimedia content on various different rendering devices . examples of control devices include the personal digital assistant ( pdas ) and set - top boxes . according to one aspect of the present invention , a pda based control application allows users to roam the house and play music content that is accessed via the pda and is available via an internet based service . according to one aspect , the content is played via set - top boxes , i . e ., rendering devices , which may be located throughout the home . the digital entertainment network also includes rendering devices that receive instructions from the control point and thereby render music / multimedia content . rendering device examples include the set - top devices , home stereo systems and televisions . a variety of different types of rendering devices are possible . audio content , such as music , may be rendered on audio rendering devices such as speakers , a stereo , and a television . similarly , audio / video content , such as movies and television shows , may be rendered on televisions , stand alone monitors , and computer monitors . indeed , either audio or audio / video content may be rendered on a variety of other types of devices , such as cellular telephones , pdas , and laptop computers . according to one aspect of the present invention , a set - top device is a key rendering device that plays music content on other rendering devices , such as televisions and stereo systems , throughout the home . the digital entertainment network of the present invention optionally comprises a billing application for handling the financial transaction activities associated with streaming content payment and usage . the billing application preferably performs functions such as transaction and usage logging for billing processing , automated billing of customers , automated notification of the inability to charge a credit card on file ( exception handling ), and automated calculation and wire transfer of funds to content providers . the present invention is illustrated in fig1 - 8 , which depict presently preferred embodiments thereof . referring now to fig1 , a preferred embodiment of the present invention comprises a playlist server / content server 10 that is in communication with a network , preferably a wide area network such as the internet 11 . also in communication with the network are a first device 13 and a second device 14 , which are both typically located within a common structure , such as a home or office 12 . the first device 13 generally assumes the function of the control point , although the second device 14 may have this functionality , as well . the playlist server / content server 10 may be a single server . alternatively , the playlist server and the content server may be two separate servers . indeed , the playlist server may comprise a plurality of separate servers and / or the content server may similarly comprise a plurality of different servers . the playlist server / content server is in bi - directional communication with the internet 11 , as indicated by arrow 19 . the first device 13 is in bi - directional communication with the internet 11 , as indicated by arrow 16 . the second device 14 is in bi - directional communication with the internet 11 , as indicated by arrow 17 . the first device is in communication with the second device , as indicated by arrow 18 . the first device may be in either unidirectional or bi - directional communication with the second device 14 . the first device 13 may comprise any of a plurality of different types of devices . for example , the first device 13 may comprise a handheld portable device such as a personal digital assistant ( pda ), a palmtop computer , an mp3 player , a telephone , or a remote control for a music rendering device . the first device may alternatively comprise a non - portable device , such as a desktop computer , a television , or a stereo . the second device 14 may comprise the same type of device as the first device 14 or may alternatively comprise a different type of device with respect thereto . thus , the first and second devices may comprise portable devices , non - portable devices , or any combination thereof . the second device may also comprise one or more smart speakers . as defined herein , standalone smart speakers are speakers that are not connected to a device such as a stereo , television , or computer . smart speakers are typically in communication with a network and can thus receive content therefrom . typically , smart speakers comprise dedicated signal conditioning circuitry such as audio amplifiers . according to one embodiment of the present invention , the first device 13 comprises a remote control for the second device 14 . thus , the second device may comprise a music rendering device such as a stereo , a television , or a home computer and the first device may comprise a handheld remote control therefor . any desired number of first and second devices may be provided according to the present invention . for example , the first device may comprise a remote control that controls a plurality of second devices , such as a television , a dvd player , and a stereo system . referring now to fig2 , the first device 13 may comprise a handheld portable device that comprises a display 22 , a keypad 23 , and a network transceiver 24 . the display 22 facilitates viewing and selection of playlist names , as well as viewing and selection of songs within a playlist , as discussed in detail below . the keypad 23 facilitates selection of playlist names and selection of songs , as also discussed in detail below . the display 22 may optionally comprise a touchscreen display and the keypad may optionally be omitted . in this instance , all selection may be performed via the touchscreen display . the network transceiver 24 preferably comprises a wireless network transceiver , such network transceiver conforming to the bluetooth ( a trademark of bluetooth sig , inc .) standard and / or conforming to the wifi ( a trademark of the wifi alliance ) standard . the device shown in fig2 may also be the second device 14 according to one aspect of the present invention . however , for explanatory purposes it may sometimes be beneficial to think of the first device as a small handheld portable device such as a pda or dedicated remote control that can function to control the second device and it may similarly sometimes be beneficial to think of the second device as a larger music rendering device such as a stereo , television , or personal computer . of course , such embodiments of the present invention are by way of example only , and not by way of limitation . having described the general structures of the present invention , the general operation thereof will next be described with reference to fig3 and 4 . in operation , the digital entertainment network of the present invention provides convenient access to a very large database of music without requiring that the music be stored and kept by the listener on media such as cds this convenient access is provided by maintaining the database of music at a remote location , i . e ., in an internet based content server 10 . that is , the present invention generally does not attempt to store songs within the music rendering devices themselves , but rather generally downloads songs via a network , as needed . such operation simplifies the construction and operation of the music rendering devices by eliminating the need for large storage capacities . the elimination of the need for large storage capacities results in a cost savings for manufacturing and purchasing the music rendering devices . downloading the music on an as - needed basis provides access to a very large database of songs that contains many more selections than can be stored on contemporary music rendering devices . downloading the music on an as - needed basis also facilitates the payment of royalties to the music owners in a manner that is fair to both listeners and music owners . one exception to downloading of music on an as - needed basis according to the present invention is optionally the use of caching . songs that are played repeatedly may be cached , so as to mitigate the need for a network connection and thus mitigate the need for the bandwidth associated therewith . the playing of cached songs can be reported via the network and royalties paid as though the song had been downloaded strictly on an as - needed basis . preferably , the present invention comprises a first device that may operate in two different ways . according to a first way of operation , as shown in fig3 and discussed in detail below , a listener selects a song to be played from a playlist on the first device and the song is then played on the first device . according to a second way of operation , as shown in fig4 and discussed in detail below , a listener selects a song to be played from a playlist on the first device and the song is then played on another device , e . g ., a second device . referring now to fig3 , the first way of operation of the first device is illustrated . a list of playlists is displayed on the first device as shown in block 31 . the list of playlist is a list of playlist names , numbers , or other indicia indicative of individual playlists . for example , the list of playlists may include graphic symbols or icons in addition to or in place of other indicia . as used herein , the term playlist name includes any indicia that are uniquely representative of a playlist . each item on the list of playlists is representative of a particular playlist . each playlist may come from any one of a variety of sources . for example , a playlist may be compiled by a user , a playlist may be obtained from someone else , or a playlist may be formed by a computer using an algorithm that attempts to identify songs that will suit the tastes of the listener . the playlists are stored on a playlist server and are downloaded to the first device and the second device as requested by the listener . as mentioned above , the playlist server may be the same server as the content server . optionally , playlists as well as songs may be cached on the first device and / or the second device . the list of playlists may be displayed upon the display 22 of the first device or may be displayed in any other desired manner . for example , the list of playlists may be displayed on the monitor of another device . one of the displayed playlists is selected by the listener as shown in block 32 . the selected playlist is a playlist that is expected to contain one or more songs that the listener would like to listen to . for example , the displayed list of playlists may contain a playlist named rock favorites , a playlist named country favorites , and a playlist named classical favorites . if the listener wants to listen to classical music that is on the playlist named classical favorites , the playlist named classical favorites is selected . the desired playlist may be selected by using a touchscreen display of the first device 13 , may be selected using the keypad 23 , or may be selected by any other desired means . at least one attribute of the selected playlist is sent from the first device to a playlist server as shown in block 33 . the attribute ( s ) may comprise , for example , the name of a playlist , the number of a playlist , and / or any other unique identifier of a playlist . alternatively , the attribute ( s ) may comprise one or more parameters that are indicative of the type of music that the listener would like to hear . for example , the attribute ( s ) may comprise a code that indicates that a list of the top ten country hits for the week that is to be returned . the user may preferably compile sets of such parameters so as to facilitate the retrieval of custom , up to date playlists from the playlist server . such parameters may be compiled directly on the first device or on any other device , such as a personal computer . a playlist that corresponds to the attribute ( s ) is sent from the playlist server and is received by the first device as shown in block 34 . this playlist is a list of songs containing at least one song that the listener would like to hear . the listener selects at least one song from the received playlist , as shown in block 35 . either a single song may be selected , or a plurality of songs may be selected . the song ( s ) may be selected by using a touchscreen display of the first device 13 , may be selected using the keypad , or may be selected by any other desired means . information representative of the selected song ( s ) is sent to a content server 10 . the information may comprise the name ( s ) of the songs , the number ( s ) of the songs , or any other unique identifier thereof . the selected song ( s ) are communicated from the content server 10 to the first device 13 via the internet 11 as shown in block 37 . the format of the selected songs may be mp3 , wav , or any other desired format . the selected songs are played by the first device 13 as shown in block 38 . the selected songs may be played in the order selected , in random order , or in any other desired order . the order can preferably be changed at any time . the songs may be played via one or more speakers that are part of the first device 13 , by one or more speakers that are in communication with the first device 13 ( such as via a wired or wireless connection ), by headphones , by earphones , or by any other desired means . the volume , tone , and balance of the songs is preferably adjustable via the first device 13 , such as via the display 22 and / or keypad 23 thereof . referring now to fig4 , the second way of operation of the first device is illustrated . according to this second way of operation , a list of playlists is displayed as shown in block 41 , one of the playlists is selected as shown in block 42 , at least one attribute is sent to the playlist server as shown in block 43 , and a playlist is received as shown in block 44 , all in the same fashion as in the first way of operation discussed above . according to the second way of operation , the song is played on a device other than the first device 13 . thus , a second device 14 typically must be selected as shown in block 45 . a particular second device may be selected from a list of second devices that is displayed on the first device 13 . for example , a listener &# 39 ; s desktop computer may be selected from a list having the desktop computer , a television , and a stereo listed thereon . preferably the list of second devices is dynamic and is automatically updated , such as via the use of a device discovery process that is described in detail below . alternatively , the list of second devices may be pre - configured by the listener and then manually updated , as desired . at least one song is selected from the playlist as shown in block 46 and as discussed above . information representative of the selected song ( s ) is sent from the first device 13 to the second device 14 . this information tells the second device 14 what song ( s ) are to be played . however , the second device does not typically have the selected songs stored therein . in some instances the selected songs may be cached within a memory of the second device 14 , as discussed above . the second device 14 sends information representative of the selected song ( s ) to a content server . optionally , the second device also sends at least one attribute of the playlist from which the song ( s ) were selected on the first device 13 to the playlist server , as well . the selected song ( s ) are received from the content server by the second device as shown in block 44 and are ready for playing . optionally , the same playlist that is presently available for display on the first device is received from the playlist server , such that it is also available for display on the second device . generally , songs may be selected and played from the second device 14 , as well as from the first device 13 , such that it is beneficial to display the playlist on the second device 14 . even if songs cannot be selected and displayed from the second device 14 , it may still be beneficial to view the playlist thereon . the selected song is played on the second device 14 as shown in block 50 and discussed above . parameters of the song such as volume , tone , and balance are optionally controllable from the first device 13 . optionally , playlist and / or songs are cached in the first device 13 and / or the second device 14 . caching is particularly beneficial when the same songs and / or playlist are used repeatedly . although playlists and / or songs may be cached so as to mitigate the need for repeated downloading thereof from the playlist / content server 10 , the memory requirements of the first device 13 and second device 14 are substantially reduced . this is true because the first device 13 and the second device 14 of the present invention do not store a substantial quantity of playlists or songs thereon . that is , the first device 13 and the second device 14 of the present invention do not have to store all of the songs that a listener wishes to hear thereon . rather , any such storage is generally incidental . typically , a large number of the songs played by the first device 13 and the second device 14 are stored on the content server 10 and are communicated via the internet 11 to the first device 13 and / or the second device 14 as needed . of course , such remote storage reduces the need for memory for the first device 13 and the second device 14 , thereby desirably reducing the cost and size thereof and also enhancing the reliability thereof . referring now to fig5 , according to one aspect of the present invention all of the devices within an area , such as the area within which the devices can receive each other &# 39 ; s wireless broadcast signals , are aware of one another and communicate with one another . when a new device enters the area , the existing devices become aware of the new device and the new device becomes aware of the existing devices via a discovery process . according to this discovery process , all devices may periodically broadcast an identification code and a password . the identification code uniquely identifies the device . the password authorizes the device to communicate with other devices within the area . when a new device enters the area , the new device and the existing devices communicate with one another . this may be done either directly or via a server , as discussed in detail below . the new device recognizes any of the other devices that have an acceptable password and displays a list of the other devices on its list of available devices , so that the other devices may be selected as second devices for playing of songs , as discussed above . similarly , the devices already in the area recognize the new device if the new device has an acceptable password , and the devices already in the area display the new device in their list of available devices so that the new device may be selected as a second device for the playing of songs , if desired . alternatively , when a user enters a place with a new device , he can search for other devices by broadcasting on the network ( whether wired or wireless ), as shown in block 51 . the other devices will return a location id for the location or realm of which they are a part , as shown in block 52 . the user can then select a desired one of the locations and enter the correct password for that location , as shown in block 53 . once this is done , then all of the devices in that realm will show up regardless of whether they are local or remote , as shown in block 54 . the user is then free to do whatever the user wants to do with the other devices , if the security is set up to allow other users to control the other devices . for example , the user may play a song through another device or download a song therefrom . referring now to fig8 , the discovery process is described in further detail . preferably , a device can obtain a list of other devices in one of two different ways . according to a first way of obtaining lists of other devices , the lists are obtained through a server whether the device obtaining the lists is a local device or a remote device . according to a second way of obtaining lists of other devices , the lists are obtained directly from the other devices themselves , as long as the device obtaining the lists and the other devices are all local devices . a local device is a device that is on the same local area network ( lan ) as the other devices . that is , devices are considered to be local with respect to one another if they are all on the same local area network . a remote device is a device that is not on the same local area network as the other devices . according to the first way of obtaining device lists , server 81 , preferably on a wide area network such as the internet , facilitates communication of a list of devices to a new device . the server may be the same server as the playlist server / content server 10 of fig1 , 6 , and 7 or may be a different server . for example , if pda 82 is a new device entering the area of a wireless local area network , a user may enter a user name or id , a location identifier , and a password into the pda 82 . the user name or id identifies the user to the rest of the local area network . an example of a user name or id would be joes pda . the location entry identifies the network that the user wants to become part of . for example , a network at joe &# 39 ; s house may be conveniently named joes house . the password is typically necessary to be part of the local area network . that is , the local area network will typically not allow a new device to log thereon without the correct password . the use of passwords may optionally be omitted , if desired . once the appropriate id , location , and password have been entered , then the pda 82 communicates with the server 81 , such as via a wireless access point . the server 81 maintains a list of the devices on the local area network and communicates this list to the new device , i . e ., the pda 82 . the pda 82 may then be used to select and control another device on the local area network , such as stereo 83 . that is , the user may select the stereo 83 from the list of devices on the local are network and then may command the stereo to play a song or playlist of songs on the playlist of the pda 82 . the pda 82 may also be used to control parameters of the song being played on the stereo 83 , such as volume , tone , and balance . the pda 82 may also be used to control the order in which the songs are played . the pda 82 may directly control the stereo 83 , as indicated by the arrows therebetween . alternatively , the pda 82 may control the stereo through the server 81 , particularly in those instance wherein communication directly between the pda 82 and the stereo 83 are not adequately facilitated , such as when the distance therebetween is too great or when an obstruction ( such as a wall or a larger piece of furniture ) blocks the signal between the pca 82 and the stereo 83 . when a new device can become part of the local area network , as described above , then the new device is a local device . however , in some instances a remote device may similarly be used to control a device on the network , such as the stereo 83 , even though the remote device is not part of the local area network . for example , the cell phone 84 is a remote device because it is not part of the local area network that the stereo 83 is on . however , the cell phone 84 , may still communicate with the server 81 , so as to obtain the list of devices on the local area network therefrom . it is still necessary for the cell phone user to enter an id , location , and password into the cell phone , as was done with the pda . the remote device , i . e ., cell phone 84 , may similarly be used to control the stereo . however , the control signal will be communicated from the cell phone 84 to the server 81 through the server , since direct communication between the cell phone 84 and the stereo is typically not facilitated . thus , the server 81 functions as a gateway for the remote device to communicate with devices on the local area network . preferably , the list of devices communicated from the server 81 to a new device , e . g ., pda , contains an indication as to whether devices on the list are local or remote with respect to the local area network . thus , the new device knows whether commands to other devices must go through the server 81 or not . according to the second way of obtaining a list of devices , instead of obtaining the list from the server 81 , each device continuously broadcasts its presence , so as to facilitate auto - detection thereof . thus , each device individually compiles its own list of other devices by monitoring the broadcasts therefrom . preferably , a user must enter an id , location , and password , as discussed above . according to either method for obtaining a list of devices , a particular physical location , such as a coffee shop for example , may contain a plurality of logical locations or realms . thus , a user may select a particular logical location to log onto . for example , one group of people at the coffee shop may be logged onto a location or local area network named joes coffee group , while another group of people is logged onto a different location or local area network named bills coffee group . a person newly entering the physical location , i . e ., the coffee shop , may choose which group to join . however , the new person must have the correct password for the logical location that he wishes to join . the password may be obtained by requesting it form someone in the logical location . logging on to the logical location causes a list of devices ( or users ) to be communicated to the new user &# 39 ; s device and also causes the new user &# 39 ; s device to be added to the device lists of the other users , as discussed above . according to one embodiment of the present invention , the first device comprises a remote control for a set - top box and the second device comprises a rendering device that receives signals from the set - top , such as a television or stereo . this embodiment of the present invention is illustrated in fig6 and 7 and is described in detail below . referring now to fig6 , one embodiment of the present invention comprises a set - top box 63 that provides a signal to a rendering device , such as a television or stereo 61 . the set - top box is in communication with the internet 11 . a playlist server / content server 10 is also in communication with the internet , as described above . optionally , the set - top box functions as a cable television box in addition to functioning as a portion of the digital entertainment network of the present invention . a remote control 62 for the set - top box 63 preferably fits into a cradle defined by at least a portion of the set - top box . the remote control 62 communicates wirelessly with the set - top box to control operation of the rendering device 61 . the remote control 62 is in wireless communication with the internet 11 , such as via a wireless access point or wireless router 64 . the remote control 62 defines a first device , as described in detail above . the set - top box , in combination with the rendering device 61 , defines a second device as also described in detail above . thus , playlists can be requested by the remote control 62 and downloaded from the playlist server 10 via the internet 11 thereto . similarly , songs may be downloaded to the remote control 62 . the songs may be played on the remote control 62 or may be played on the rendering device 61 in its role as a second device as described above . for example , a song may be previewed on the remote control 62 , even while another song is being played on the rendering device 61 . a song may be listened to solely on the remote control 62 as the remote control is carried about at home . such listening may be via one or more speakers built into the remote control 62 or may be via earphones . optionally , the set - top box comprises a display , so that playlists and songs can be selected therefrom . playlists and songs are downloaded to the set - top box in its role as a second device , as discussed above . the remote control 62 may be used while cradled by the set - top box 63 , as shown in fig6 . alternatively , the remote control 62 may be used while removed from the set - top box 63 , as shown in fig7 . chat is preferably provided by the first 13 and / or second 14 devices of the present invention . chat may be used for collaboration among listeners , such as for the compilation and / or exchange of playlists . such chat may be implemented as voice chat or as text chat in a fashion similar to internet relay chat ( irc ), microsoft instant messenger ( im ), or aol instant messenger ( im ). according to one aspect of the present invention , playlist recommendations may be provided to a listener . these playlist recommendations may be provided by the playlist server and may be based upon the listening habits of the listener or upon previous playlist requests . the listening habits of the listener may be determined from playlist and / or song downloads from the playlist server and / or the content server . that is , a playlist recommendation of a playlist of the top ten contemporary songs may be made by the playlist server to a listener who continually listens to several of the songs on this playlist . similarly , a playlist recommendation of a playlist of the top ten country songs may be made to a listener who has requested playlists containing country songs . the playlist server may also provide playlist recommendations based upon the playlists of others . that is , the playlist server may be configured to recognize when two or more people appear to have similar listening habits and may then recommend the playlists of one of these people to others of the same group . the wireless communications discussed herein may be effected via a network , such as a network conforming to the bluetooth ( a trademark of bluetooth sig , inc .) standard and / or conforming to the wifi ( a trademark of the wifi alliance ) standard . communications between the first and second devices may be either via a network or via dedicated non - network communications devices such as those utilizing any desired form of wireless data transfer , including those using infrared ( ir ) and radio frequency ( rf ). although the content described herein is music , those skilled in the art will appreciate that other types of content , including both audio and non - audio content , are likewise subject to use by the present invention . for example , the content may comprise talks , speeches , comedy sketches , stories or books that are read aloud , pictures , video , software , or data . it is understood that the exemplary digital entertainment network described herein and shown in the drawings represents only presently preferred embodiments of the invention . indeed , various modifications and additions may be made to such embodiments without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention . thus , various modifications and additions may be obvious to those skilled in the art and may be implemented to adapt the present invention for use in a variety of different applications .	7
below is provided a description of the most favorable embodiment for realizing the engine starting control device for a hybrid vehicle pertaining to the present invention , based on embodiments 1 and 2 shown in the drawings . first is provided an explanation of the constitution of the drive system for a hybrid vehicle . fig1 is an overall system diagram of a rear - wheel drive hybrid vehicle in which the engine starting control device pertaining to embodiment 1 has been applied . as shown in fig1 , the drive system for the hybrid vehicle pertaining to embodiment 1 comprises engine e , flywheel fw , first clutch cl 1 , motor / generator mg , second clutch cl 2 , automatic transmission at , propeller shaft ps , differential df , left drive shaft dsl , right drive shaft dsr , left rear wheel rl ( drive wheel ) and right rear wheel rr ( drive wheel ). fl refers to the left front wheel and fr refers to the right front wheel . engine e is either a gasoline or a diesel engine , where the valve opening of the throttle valve is controlled based on a control command from engine controller 1 , which is described below . on the engine output shaft is provided flywheel fw . the first clutch cl 1 is the clutch disposed between the engine e and the motor / generator mg , and the engagement / release , including the slip engagement and slip release , are controlled by means of a control oil pressure generated by first clutch oil pressure unit 6 in accordance with the control command from the first clutch controller 5 described below . the motor / generator mg is a synchronous type motor / generator that has a permanent magnet embedded in its rotor and a stator coil wrapped around its stator and is controlled by applying a three - phase alternating current generated by inverter 3 in accordance with the control command from the motor controller 2 described below . motor / generator mg receives the supply of electric power from the battery 4 and operates as an electric motor that performs rotary drive ( hereafter this state is referred to as “ power running ”), but can also function as a generator that generates electromotive force at both ends of the stator coil when the rotor rotates by means of an external force in order to charge battery 4 ( hereafter this operating state is referred to as “ regenerative power ”). the rotor for motor / generator mg is linked to the input shaft of automatic transmission at via a damper not shown in the drawing . the second clutch cl 2 is the clutch disposed between the motor / generator mg and the right and left rear wheels rl and rr . the engagement / release of second clutch , including the slip engagement and slip release , are controlled by means of a control oil pressure generated by second clutch oil pressure unit 8 in accordance with the control command from the at controller 7 described below . the automatic transmission at is a transmission that automatically switches the gearshift ratio in steps , such as 5 forward speeds and 1 reverse speed or 6 forward speeds and 1 reverse speed , in accordance with the vehicle speed and the accelerator pedal opening , and the second clutch cl 2 is not an exclusive clutch that has been newly added , but utilizes a number of friction engagement elements from a plurality of friction engagement elements that are engaged at each gear shift in the automatic transmission at . furthermore , the output shaft of the automatic transmission at is linked to the left and right rear wheels rl and rr via propeller shaft ps , differential df , left drive shaft dsl and right drive shaft dsr . a multi - plate wet clutch that uses a proportional solenoid to continuously control the oil flow rate and oil pressure may be used for the first and second clutches cl 1 and cl 2 . in the present hybrid drive system , there are two operating modes that operate in accordance with the engagement / release of the first clutch cl 1 . an electric operation mode ( hereafter referred to as “ ev mode ”) is used when the first clutch cl 1 is in a released state and when operating using only the power from motor / generator mg , and a hybrid operation mode ( hereafter referred to as hev mode ) is used when the first clutch cl 1 is an engaged state and when operating using power from the engine e and the motor / generator mg . next is provided an explanation of the control system for a hybrid vehicle . as shown in fig1 , the control system for the hybrid vehicle pertaining to embodiment 1 comprises engine controller 1 , motor controller 2 , inverter 3 , battery 4 , first clutch controller 5 , first clutch oil pressure unit 6 , at controller 7 , second clutch oil pressure unit 8 , brake controller 9 , and integrated controller 10 . engine controller 1 , motor controller 2 , first clutch controller 5 , at controller 7 , brake controller 9 , and integrated controller 10 are connected via a can communication line that allows for their mutual exchange of information . engine controller 1 inputs the engine rotation speed information from engine rotation speed sensor 12 and outputs the command that controls the engine operating points ( ne , te ) to a throttle valve actuator , not shown in the drawing , in accordance with the target engine torque command from integrated controller 10 . the information pertaining to the engine rotation speed ne is supplied to the integrated controller 10 via the can communication line . motor controller 2 inputs the information from resolver 13 , which detects the rotation position of the rotor of motor / generator mg and outputs the command that controls the motor operating points ( nm , tm ) of motor / generator mg to inverter 3 in accordance with the target motor / generator torque command from integrated controller 10 . motor controller 2 monitors the battery soc , which indicates the charged state of the battery 4 , and the battery soc information is not only used for the control information for motor / generator mg , but is also supplied to integrated controller 10 via the can communication line . first clutch controller 5 inputs the sensor information from first clutch oil pressure sensor 14 and first clutch stroke sensor 15 and outputs the command that controls the engagement / release of first clutch cl 1 to first clutch oil pressure unit 6 in accordance with the first clutch control command from integrated controller 10 . the first clutch stroke information c 1 s is supplied to integrated controller 10 via the can communication line . the at controller 7 inputs the sensor information from accelerator pedal opening sensor 16 , vehicle speed sensor 17 , and second clutch oil pressure sensor 18 and outputs the command that controls the engagement / release of the second clutch cl 2 to the second clutch oil pressure unit 8 inside of the at oil pressure control valve in accordance with the second clutch control command from integrated controller 10 . the accelerator pedal opening ap and vehicle speed vsp information are supplied to integrated controller 10 via the can communication line . brake controller 9 inputs the sensor information from wheel speed sensor 19 , which detects the wheel speed of each of the 4 wheels , and brake stroke sensor 20 and performs regeneration collaborative brake control in accordance with the regeneration collaborative command from integrated controller 10 so as to compensate for the insufficient mechanical braking force ( fluid pressure braking force or motor braking force ) when regenerative braking force alone is not sufficient in relation to the required braking force requested from the brake stroke bs when braking is performed by pressing on the brake pedal . integrated controller 10 manages the energy consumed by the entire vehicle and assumes the functions necessary to run the vehicle at the maximum efficiency , and therefore inputs the information obtained from motor rotation speed sensor 21 that detects the motor rotation speed nm , second clutch output rotation speed sensor 22 that detects the second clutch output rotation speed n 2 out , second clutch torque sensor 23 that detects the second clutch torque tcl 2 , and the information obtained via the can communication line . further , integrated controller 10 performs operation control of engine e by means of a control command sent to engine controller 1 , operation control of motor / generator mb by means of a control command sent to motor controller 2 , engagement / release control of first clutch cl 1 by means of a control command sent to first clutch controller 5 , and engagement / release control of second clutch cl 2 by means of a control command sent to at controller 7 . below is provided an explanation of the control calculated by integrated controller 10 of embodiment 1 using the block diagram shown in fig2 . this calculation is performed at integrated controller 10 in a control cycle consisting of 10 msec intervals , for example . integrated controller 10 comprises target drive force calculation unit 100 , mode selection unit 200 , target battery charge / discharge calculation unit 300 , operating point command unit 400 , and transmission control unit 500 . target drive force tfo 0 is calculated at the target drive force calculation unit 100 from the accelerator pedal opening apo and vehicle speed vsp using the target drive force map shown in fig3 . the target mode is calculated at aforementioned mode selection unit 200 from the accelerator pedal opening apo and the vehicle speed vsp using the ev - hev selection map shown in fig4 . however , if the battery soc is less than a prescribed value , the hev mode is mandatorily set as a target mode . the target battery charge / discharge power tp is calculated at aforementioned target battery charge / discharge calculation unit 300 from the battery soc using the target battery charge / discharge capacity map shown in fig5 . the transitional target engine torque , target motor / generator torque , target second clutch torque capacity , target automatic transmission shift , and first clutch solenoid current command are calculated at aforementioned operating point command unit 400 from the accelerator pedal opening apo , the target drive force tfo 0 , the target mode , the vehicle speed and the target battery charge / discharge as the attainable targets for the operating points of these values . the solenoid valve inside of the automatic transmission at is drive controlled at aforementioned transmission control unit 500 from the target second clutch torque capacity and the target automatic transmission shift so as to achieve these values . fig6 is a flowchart showing the flow of the arithmetic process for calculating the operating point command executed at the operating point command unit of integrated controller 10 , and provided below is an explanation for each step of this process . at step s 401 , the transitional target drive force tfo obtained by performing a prescribed tuning on the target drive force tfo 0 is calculated , and the process proceeds to step s 402 . the transitional target drive force tfo can be set from the output of a low - pass filter that has a prescribed time constant with the target drive force tfo 0 as its input , for example . after the transitional target drive force calculation has been performed at step s 401 , equation ( 1 ) is used at step s 402 to calculate the target input torque ttin of the automatic transmission at . where ‘ rt ’ is the radius of the tire , ‘ if ’ is the final gear ratio , and ‘ ig ’ is the gear ratio of the actual automatic transmission shift in current time . after the target input torque has been calculated at step s 402 , at step s 403 , the shift map shown in fig7 is used to calculate the target automatic transmission shift from the accelerator pedal opening apo and the vehicle speed vsp , and the process proceeds to step s 404 . in fig7 , the solid line represents the upshift line and the broken line represents the downshift line . fig8 shows an example of an upshift line from the 4 th speed to the 5 th speed and a downshift line from the 5 th speed to the 4 th speed . when changing the accelerator pedal opening from point a to point a ′, which cross over the downshift line , the engine is started in conjunction with a downshift . on the other hand , when a request is made to start the engine with a low battery soc while operating steadily in the ev mode at point c , or when a request is made to start the engine due to an increase in the vehicle speed , such as the case for point b to point b ′, the engine is started without making a shift change . however , the target automatic transmission gear ratio is set so that the automatic transmission input rotation speed is higher than the rotation speed in which the engine can operate for the current time vehicle speed . after the target automatic transmission shift is calculated at step s 403 , at step s 404 , the mode selection is performed in accordance with the target mode and the process proceeds to step s 405 . normally , the vehicle operates in either the ev mode or the hev mode . if the target mode becomes the hev mode while operating in the ev mode , the mode is selected in accordance with the mode transition map shown in fig1 , and the switching operation from the ev mode to the hev mode that accompanies the starting of the engine is performed . after the mode is set in step s 404 , at step s 405 , if operating in the hev mode , the following equation is used to calculate the ideal engine torque tte 0 from the target input torque ttin , the automatic transmission input rotation speed nin , and the engine rotation speed ne : then , the maximum engine torque that is limited by the ideal engine torque tteo is set as the target engine torque tte in accordance with the engine rotation speed ne using the maximum engine torque map shown in fig9 . in addition , when operating in the ev mode , the target engine torque tte is set to zero . after the target engine torque is calculated at step s 405 , at step s 406 , if operating in either the ev mode or the hev mode , the target motor / generator torque ttm is calculated using the following equation : if this takes place while switching modes , the target motor / generator torque is determined according to the operation performed while switching modes described below . after the target motor / generator torque is calculated at step s 406 , at step s 407 , if operating in the ev mode , the target first clutch torque capacity is set to zero , and if operating in the hev mode , the target first clutch torque capacity is set to the maximum value . if this takes place while switching modes , the target first clutch torque capacity is determined according to the operation performed while switching modes described below . after the target first clutch torque capacity is calculated at step s 407 , at step s 408 , if operating in the ev mode , the target second clutch torque capacity tctc 12 is set as the maximum drive force equivalent evtmax for the ev mode , and if operating in the hev mode , the target second clutch torque capacity tctc 12 is set at the maximum value . if this takes place while switching modes , the target second clutch torque capacity tctc 12 is determined according to the operation performed while switching modes described below and the process ends . next is provided an explanation of the operation . an explanation is provided of the switching control operation from the ev mode to the hev mode that accompanies the starting of the engine using the mode transition map shown in fig1 and the time charts shown in fig1 through fig1 . fig1 is the time chart for the starting of the engine that accompanies an upshift , fig1 is the time chart for the starting of the engine that does not accompany a shift change , and fig1 is the time chart for the starting of the engine that accompanies a downshift . all three of these drawings are time charts that show , in order from the top , the accelerator pedal opening apo , the rotation speed ( solid line : motor / generator , broken line : automatic transmission input , dot - dashed line : engine ), the torque ( solid line : motor / generator , dot - dashed line : engine ), the clutch torque capacity ( broken line : the first clutch , solid line : the second clutch ), and the drive force . when a request to transition to the hev mode that accompanies an upshift is made . an explanation is now provided for the starting of the engine that accompanies an upshift using the mode transition map shown in fig1 and the time chart shown in fig1 . as shown in fig1 and fig1 , when a request is made to transition to the hev mode that accompanies an upshift while operating in the ev mode , the process transitions to mode 2301 a , and an upshift is performed first . when this takes place , in order to prevent a decrease in the drive force due to a switch in the engagement elements during the torque phase of the upshift , the motor / generator torque is raised so as to synchronize with the switch in the engagement elements . in addition , the change in the gearshift ratio that takes place during the inertia phase of the upshift can be assisted by the motor / generator torque . then , after the upshift is completed , the process transitions to mode 2302 a and the lift - start of engine e by first clutch cl 1 is performed . when this takes place , the drag torque of first clutch cl 1 is compensated for by motor / generator mg and the decrease in the drive force is suppressed . however , it is not necessary to make the point at which the upshift is completed and the point at which the engagement of first clutch cl 1 begins coincide with one another , and the lift - start of engine e by first clutch cl 1 can be performed before the upshift is completed . when a request to transition to the hev mode that does not accompany a shift change is made an explanation is provided for the starting of the engine that does not accompany a shift change using the mode transition map shown in fig1 and the time chart shown in fig1 . as shown in fig1 and fig1 , when a request is made to transition to the hev mode that does not accompany a shift change while operating in the ev mode , the process transitions to mode 2301 b , and the lift - start of engine e by first clutch cl 1 is performed . when this takes place , the drag torque of first clutch cl 1 is compensated for by motor / generator mg and the decrease in the drive force is suppressed . when a request to transition to the hev mode that accompanies a downshift is made an explanation is provided for the starting of the engine that accompanies a downshift using the mode transition map shown in fig1 and the time chart shown in fig1 . as shown in fig1 and fig1 , when a request is made to transition to the hev mode that accompanies a downshift while operating in the ev mode , the process transitions to mode 2301 c , and the lift - start of engine e by first clutch cl 1 is performed first . when this takes place , the drag torque of first clutch cl 1 is compensated for by motor / generator mg and the decrease in the drive force is suppressed . then , after the starting of engine e is has been completed and first clutch cl 1 has been engaged , the process transitions to mode 2302 c and a downshift is performed . at this point , the change in the gearshift ratio that takes place during the inertia phase of the downshift can be assisted by the motor / generator torque . in addition , the increase in the drive force that takes place during the torque phase of the downshift , as shown in fig1 , is permitted when a request to raise the drive force is made by pressing on the accelerator pedal . conventionally , when lift - starting an engine in the stopped state using the drag torque of the first clutch disposed between the engine and motor / generator , in order to prevent the torque fluctuation that takes place when the engine is lift - started and at the instant in which the first clutch engages from being transferred to the output shaft , the engine is lift - started with the second clutch disposed between the motor / generator and the drive wheels in a temporarily released state . however , when lift - starting the engine in such a manner , one possible scenario is that the engine is lift - started in the stopped state while the motor / generator (= transmission input axis ) is rotating at a high rpm , and in such a case , the rotational difference in the first clutch disposed between the engine and the motor / generator increases and heat is generated in the first clutch due to the slip engagement accompanied by a large amount of slip , resulting in possible deterioration of the durability of the first clutch . on the other hand , for the engine starting control device pertaining to embodiment 1 , by controlling the gearshift ratio of automatic transmission at so that the transmission input rotation speed becomes close to the engine rotation speed that is possible for engine operation ( that is , in a range in which the transmission input rotation speed is the same or more than the rotation speed that is possible for engine operations when transitioning to the hev mode while operating in the ev mode , the deterioration of the durability of first clutch cl 1 can be suppressed , while at the same time ensuring a rotational state in which engine e can be started , and the fuel consumption can also be improved . in other words , for the engine starting control device pertaining to embodiment 1 , the operating point command unit 400 of integrated controller 10 ( the engine starting control means ) controls the gearshift ratio of the automatic transmission at so that the transmission input rotation speed becomes close to the engine rotation speed that is possible for engine operation when transitioning modes to the hev mode in accordance with the decrease in the battery soc , the increase in the vehicle speed , or the drive force request made by the driver when pressing down on the accelerator pedal , for example , when driving in the ev mode . in other words , for the engine starting control device pertaining to embodiment 1 , the operating point command unit 400 of integrated controller 10 ( the engine starting control means ) controls the gearshift ratio of the automatic transmission at so that the transmission input rotation speed becomes close to the engine rotation speed that is possible for engine operation in a range in which the transmission input rotation speed is the same or more than the rotation speed that is possible for engine operation when transitioning modes to the hev mode in accordance with the decrease in the battery soc , the increase in the vehicle speed , or the drive force request made by the driver when pressing down on the accelerator pedal , for example , when driving in the ev mode . at this point , by restricting the transmission input rotation speed (= motor / generator rotation speed ) to be within a range that is equal to or greater than the rotation speed that is possible for engine operation , a rotational state in which engine e can be started from a stopped state using the drag torque of first clutch cl 1 can be ensured . in addition , when the transmission input rotation speed is higher than the rotation speed that is possible for engine operation , the gear position can be changed to the low rotation speed side by means of an upshift so that compared to when the gearshift ratio of the transmission is not controlled at all when starting the engine , the rotational difference ( the difference between the motor / generator rotation speed and the engine rotation speed ) in the first clutch cl 1 that takes place when lift - starting engine e can be reduced and the deterioration of the durability of first clutch cl 1 due to the generation of heat in the clutch can be suppressed . furthermore , since the motor / generator mg is more efficient at the high rotation - low torque side , and the engine e is more efficient at the low rotation - high torque side , when transitioning from the ev mode to the hev mode , fuel consumption can be improved by controlling the gearshift ratio to be close to the rotation speed that is possible for engine operation and by suppressing the engine rotation speed to low rotation . the engine starting control means for the engine starting control device pertaining to embodiment 1 transitions from the ev mode to upshift mode 2301 a to the engine starting mode 2302 a to the hev mode in conjunction with an upshift request , as shown in fig1 , when transitioning modes to the hev mode due to a decrease in the battery soc or an increase in the vehicle speed while operating in the ev mode , after which it upshifts automatic transmission at and then completes the engagement of first clutch cl 1 . therefore , the rotational difference of first clutch cl 1 can be minimized during the time period until the lift - start of engine e is completed and the deterioration of the durability of the clutch due to heat generation in first clutch cl 1 can be further suppressed . the engine starting control means for the engine starting control device pertaining to embodiment 1 transitions from the ev mode to upshift mode 2301 a to engine starting mode 2302 a to the hev mode in conjunction with an upshift request , as shown in fig1 , when transitioning modes to the hev mode due to a decrease in the battery soc or an increase in the vehicle speed while operating in the ev mode , after which it completes the upshift at automatic transmission at , starts the engagement of first clutch cl 1 , and lift - starts engine e while it is in the stopped state by means of the drag torque of said first clutch cl 1 . therefore , the rotational difference of first clutch cl 1 can be minimized from the starting point of the lift - start of engine e and the deterioration of the durability of the clutch due to heat generation in first clutch cl 1 can be even further suppressed . the engine starting control means for the engine starting control device pertaining to embodiment 1 raises the torque of motor / generator mg in accordance with the decrease in the torque transfer ratio in automatic transmission at that accompanies the upshift of the gearshift ratio of automatic transmission at , as shown in the motor / generator torque characteristics at upshift mode 2301 a in fig1 . therefore , the decrease in the drive force due to the upshift is suppressed and the continuity of the drive force can be ensured , as shown by the drive force characteristics in fig1 . the engine starting control means for the engine starting control device pertaining to embodiment 1 transitions from the ev mode to engine starting mode 2301 b to the hev mode , as shown in fig1 , when not accompanied by a gear change request and when transitioning modes to the hev mode due to a decrease in the battery soc or an increase in the vehicle speed while operating in the ev mode , after which it immediately begins the engagement of first clutch cl 1 , and lift - starts engine e while it is in the stopped state by means of the drag torque of said first clutch cl 1 . therefore , when transitioning modes from the ev mode to the hev mode , said mode transitioning from the ev mode to the hev mode can be completed with favorable responsiveness while suppressing the generation of heat in first clutch cl 1 with a minimal rotational difference in first clutch cl 1 . the engine starting control means for the engine starting control device pertaining to embodiment 1 transitions from the ev mode to engine starting mode 2301 c to downshift mode 2302 c to the hev mode in conjunction with an downshift request , as shown in fig1 , when transitioning modes to the hev mode due to an increase in the accelerator pedal opening while operating in the ev mode , after which it completes the lift - start of engine e while it is in the stopped state by means of the drag torque of the first clutch cl 1 , and begins the downshift of automatic transmission at . therefore , the rotational difference in first clutch cl 1 can be minimized at the time of the lift - start of engine e and the drive force can be raised by means of the downshift , as shown in the drive force characteristics at downshift mode 2302 c in fig1 , while at the same time suppressing the deterioration of the durability of the clutch due to heat generation in the first clutch cl 1 . in addition , the higher the gear ratio is , the smaller the sensitivity is to the drive force fluctuation from the torque fluctuation due to the starting of the engine , so the shock experienced when starting the engine can be suppressed by starting the engine while this sensitivity is small . when the engine starting control means for the engine starting control device pertaining to embodiment 1 lift - starts engine e in the stopped state using the drag torque of the first clutch cl 1 , the drag torque of the first clutch cl 1 is compensated for by motor / generator mg . therefore , the decrease in the drive force due to the drag torque of first clutch cl 1 is suppressed , and the continuity of the drive force is ensured as shown according to the drive force characteristics for engine starting mode 2302 a in fig1 , the drive force characteristics for engine starting mode 2301 b in fig1 and the drive force characteristics for engine starting mode 2301 c in fig1 . next is provided an explanation of the effects . the effects listed below can be achieved for the engine starting control device for a hybrid vehicle pertaining to embodiment 1 . ( 1 ) the aforementioned engine starting control means can suppress the deterioration of the durability of first clutch cl 1 , while at the same time ensuring a rotational state in which engine e can be started and thus improve fuel consumption when transitioning modes to the hev mode while operating in the ev mode by controlling the gearshift ratio of automatic transmission at so that the transmission input rotation speed becomes close to the engine rotation speed that is possible for engine operation in a range in which the transmission input rotation speed is the same or more than the rotation speed that is possible for engine operation when transitioning to the hev mode while operating in the ev mode . ( 2 ) the aforementioned engine starting control means can minimize the rotational difference of first clutch cl 1 during the time period until the lift - start of engine e is completed and suppress the deterioration of the durability of the clutch due to the generation of heat in first clutch cl 1 by completing the engagement of first clutch cl 1 after upshifting automatic transmission at in conjunction with an upshift request when transitioning modes to the hev mode while operating in the ev mode . ( 3 ) the aforementioned engine starting control means can minimize the rotational difference of first clutch cl 1 from the time at which the lift - start of engine e is started and even further suppress the deterioration of the durability of the clutch due to the generation of heat in first clutch cl 1 by starting the engagement of first clutch cl 1 and lift - starting engine e in the stopped state using the drag torque of first clutch cl 1 after completing an upshift at automatic transmission at in conjunction with an upshift request when transitioning modes to the hev mode while operating in the ev mode . ( 4 ) the aforementioned engine starting control means can suppress the decrease in the drive force due to an upshift and ensure the continuity of the drive force by raising the torque of the motor / generator mg in accordance with the decrease in the torque transfer ratio in automatic transmission at that accompanies the upshift in the gearshift ratio of automatic transmission at . ( 5 ) the aforementioned engine starting control means can complete the mode transition from the ev mode to the hev mode with a favorable responsiveness while at the same time suppressing the generation of heat in first clutch cl 1 with minimal rotational difference in first clutch cl 1 by immediately starting the engagement of first clutch cl 1 and lift - starting engine e in the stopped state using the drag torque of first clutch cl 1 when not accompanied by a gear change request when transitioning modes to the hev mode while operating in the ev mode . ( 6 ) the aforementioned engine starting control means can minimize the rotational difference in first clutch cl 1 when lift - starting engine e and raise the drive force by means of a downshift while at the same time suppressing the deterioration in the durability of the clutch due to the heat generated in first clutch cl 1 by starting the downshift of automatic transmission at after completing the lift - start of engine e in a stopped state using the drag torque of first clutch cl 1 in conjunction with a downshift request when transitioning modes to the hev mode while operating in the ev mode . in addition , the higher the gear ratio is , the smaller the sensitivity is to the drive force fluctuation from the torque fluctuation due to the starting of the engine , so the shock experienced when starting the engine can be suppressed by starting the engine while this sensitivity is small . ( 7 ) the aforementioned engine starting control means can suppress the decrease in the drive force due to the drag torque of first clutch cl 1 and ensure the continuity of the drive force by compensating for the drag torque of first clutch cl 1 by means of motor / generator mg when lift - starting engine e in the stopped state using the drag torque of first clutch cl 1 . embodiment 2 is an example of when two different maps are used for the ev mode and the hev mode as the shift maps for automatic transmission at as compared to embodiment 1 in which the same maps were used for the ev mode and the hev mode as the shift maps for automatic transmission at . with the exception of the target automatic transmission shift calculation for step s 403 performed by operating point command unit 400 shown in fig6 , the steps for embodiment 2 are the same as those for embodiment 1 , so an explanation and illustration has been omitted . at step s 403 , when the target mode is the hev mode , the target automatic transmission shift is calculated from the accelerator pedal opening apo and the vehicle speed vsp using the shift map shown in fig7 . in addition , as shown in fig1 , from the standpoint of the efficiency in the ev mode and the efficiency in the hev mode , the upshift and downshift lines for when the target mode is in the ev mode are set more towards the high vehicle speed side than the upshift and downshift lines for the hev mode . however , the target automatic transmission gear ratio is set so that the automatic transmission input rotation speed at the current vehicle speed is higher than the rotation speed that is possible for engine operation . fig1 shows an example of the upshift line from the 4 th speed to the 5 th speed and the downshift line from the 5 th speed to the 4 th speed . when operating at the 5 th speed in the ev mode and changing the accelerator pedal opening from point a to point a ′, which cross over the downshift line , the engine is started in conjunction with the downshift . on the other hand , when operating at a lower vehicle speed than the downshift line in the ev mode , or at a higher vehicle speed than the upshift line in the hev mode , such as point c , and the target mode becomes the hev mode due to a decrease in the battery soc when operating at the 4 th speed in the ev mode , the engine is started in conjunction with an upshift from the 4 th speed to the 5 th speed . next , is provided an explanation of the operation . for the engine starting control means for the engine starting control device pertaining to embodiment 2 , the upshift line and downshift line for when the target mode is the ev mode are set more toward the high vehicle speed side than the upshift line and downshift line for when the target mode is the hev mode in relation to the shift map for the automatic transmission at . therefore , the vehicle operating point does not change while operating in the ev mode , so when a mode transition request to transition to the hev mode due to a decrease in the battery soc is made , the engine can be started in conjunction with the upshift request , so the engine can be started in conjunction with an upshift request more frequently and more aggressively than was the case for embodiment 1 , the rotational difference in first clutch cl 1 that takes place when lift - starting engine e can be reduced , and the deterioration of the durability of the clutch can be effectively suppressed . the rest of the operation is the same as those described for embodiment 1 , so further explanation has been omitted . next is provided an explanation of the effects . in addition to the effects described in numbers ( 1 ) through ( 7 ) for embodiment 1 , the effect described below can also be achieved for the engine starting control device for a hybrid vehicle pertaining to embodiment 2 . ( 8 ) for the aforementioned engine starting control means , since the upshift line and downshift line for when the target mode is the ev mode are set more toward the high vehicle speed side than the upshift line and downshift line for when the target mode is the hev mode in relation to the shift map for the automatic transmission at , the vehicle operating point does not change while operating in the ev mode , so when a mode transition request to transition to the hev mode due to a decrease in the battery soc is made , the engine can be started in conjunction with an upshift request more frequently and more aggressively than was the case for embodiment 1 , the rotational difference in first clutch cl 1 that takes place when lift - starting engine e can be reduced , and the deterioration of the durability of the clutch can be effectively suppressed . explanation has been provided for the engine starting control device for a hybrid vehicle based on embodiments 1 and 2 , but the specific constitution is not limited to these embodiments , and modifications and additions may be made to the design as long as they do not deviate from the gist of the invention pertaining the scope of claims for the present patent . for embodiment 1 , an automatic transmission that changes the gearshift ratio in steps was used as an example for the transmission , but a continuously variable transmission in which the gearshift ratio is continuously changed may also be used . in such a case , the engine starting control means performs control to change the gearshift ratio to the upshift side or the downshift side , including making no change in the gearshift ratio , so that the transmission input rotation speed coincides with a target rotation speed that is the same or more than the rotation speed possible for engine operation when transitioning modes to the hev mode while operating in the ev mode . so , in essence , if the engine starting control means controls the gearshift ratio of the transmission so that the transmission input rotation speed becomes closer to the rotation speed that is possible for engine operation within a range in which the transmission input rotation speed becomes the same or more than the rotation speed that is possible for engine operation in accordance with a system request that is made while operating in the ev mode and switching modes to the hev mode , the means is not limited to embodiment 1 or 2 . embodiments 1 and 2 are examples of the application of the present invention to a rear - wheel drive hybrid vehicle , but it is also applicable to a front - wheel drive hybrid vehicle or a four - wheel drive hybrid vehicle . embodiments 1 and 2 are also examples in which a clutch that was housed inside of the automatic transmission was used as the second clutch , but a second clutch may be added and disposed between the motor / generator and the transmission or added and disposed between the transmission and drive wheels ( for example , japanese unexamined patent application publication no . 2002 - 144921 ). so , in essence , the present invention can be applied to a hybrid vehicle that comprises a hybrid drive system in which a first clutch has an adjustable torque capacity is disposed between the engine and the motor / generator and a transmission that changes the gearshift ratio continuously or in steps is disposed between the motor / generator and the drive wheels .	1
fig1 is a frontal view of the musical bench 100 . the bench has a seating area as is customary in conventional benches , the front view of the seating area shown at 102 . the bench 100 also has an enclosed radio component attached to one backing 110 . two speakers are present . the first backing 110 includes a radio player 112 and one speaker occupies the same enclosure as the radio player in backing 110 while . the other speaker occupies a separate enclosure and is housed within opposite backing 120 . the speakers may face forward , or may face inward . each enclosure is attached to the bench , either by a highly non - degradable adhesive , or by metal screws . an amplifier is also present , and may be located in either enclosure , but is typically located in the same enclosure as the radio . three wire leads extend from the amplifier ; one lead is the input signal from the radio , while the other two leads each extend to a speaker . the amplifier lead that extends from the enclosure where the amplifier is located , to the other enclosure , passes one of the backing panels 130 , of the bench to the other speaker . in another embodiment , one enclosure contains an amplifier and speaker , while the other enclosure contains a speaker . the amplifier receives a signal input through an adapter from an external source , such as , a cd player or cell phone . in another embodiment , the enclosures 210 , 220 are mounted top to bottom as shown in fig2 . the radio consists of a single chip fm , am or both , tuner chip such as the om5 6 1 0 from phillips . the tuner is mounted on a printed wire circuit board ( pcb ) with controls interfaced to the case of an electronics module , for example the 1000 model produced by dca of cushing , okla . this is accomplished by building a wiring harness with switches that mate directly to the molded housing . an alternate method is to connect the harness to the membrane control panel that integrates the basic functions . the typical operating environment for the musical bench is outdoors , for example , as patio or lawn furniture . the musical bench is designed to operate in all seasons . one design goal is to ensure that the radio can operate in a temperature range from 0 to 70 ′ c . the radio , amplifier and speaker unit ( unit ) can fail in several ways , two of which are , electrical circuitry failure or speaker failure . the power source consists of a battery source providing an input voltage from 2 . 7 - 9 . 0 volts . a voltage from 2 . 7 - 9 volts is ideal to prevent overheating of the circuitry at extremely high temperatures ( discussed infra ). the batteries can be three lithium batteries . in another embodiment , nicad batteries are used . the nicad batteries are continually recharged by solar panels attached to the top of the backrest of the bench 140 . the solar panels are attached to the nicad batteries through copper wires . the copper wires pass from the solar panels , through holes within the backrest , through holes in the back of the enclosure , to the location of the batteries within the enclosure . typically , the batteries are located in the upper portion of the enclosure . an automatic switch prevents charging of the batteries when they have reached a full charge . a zener diode is present to prevent a reverse current from damaging the solar panels . electrical failure occurs when the circuitry overheats causing melting ; or if the circuitry drops to too low a temperature , then the circuitry can become brittle and crack . there are two main forms of heat transfer , conduction and convection . the enclosure is formed out of plastic , typically abs plastic or fiberglass . plastic has a low conductance , thus heat or cold from the metal portions of the bench will have a low conductance to the radio circuitry inside the enclosure . the enclosure is also designed to be air and watertight . keeping moving air out ; reduces hot or cold convective elements from affecting the radio circuitry . the air tightness also prevents moisture from entering the enclosure . moisture causes shorts , in addition to front damage . the circuitry can also be vacuum - sealed in an impermeable plastic wrap . the speaker is constructed to resist cracking , and for superior sound quality . polypropylene is a type of plastic that provides good acoustical performance while also having good weather resistance . also , a weather resistant epoxy resin such as epoxy systems product # 401 urethane coating can be used to adhere the polypropylene to the frame . the speaker is mounted within the enclosure by screws or is adhesively attached by a weather resistant epoxy . the speaker 310 is typically located on the lower portion of the enclosure as shown in fig3 . in another embodiment , the speaker has an attachable front grill 320 . the front grill is designed to fit shapely with the frontal area of the enclosure . the front grill also contains a contoured portion on the backside of the grill where the front portion of the speaker 310 may rest upon . the contoured portion prevents movement of the speaker in the vertical and horizontal direction . the perimeter 330 of the front grill is lined with rubber so that a watertight seal is formed . the contoured portion of the grill that holds the speaker also has a rubber watertight seal . fig4 illustrates another embodiment , where flat panel speakers 420 are used . unlike conventional speakers which use a magnet to vibrate a membrane as a whole , flat panel speakers use an electronic “ exciter ” 410 on the back of a speaker material . the exciter sends electronic “ taps ” along the surface of the speaker material . by changing and regulating each electronic tap , the exciter creates different volumes and frequencies that vibrate through the panel . the resulting vibrations are heard as sound . the flat panel speakers are integrated with the front cover 400 of the enclosure . the outer perimeter 440 of the front cover is composed of plastic , while the inner area 450 is a weather resistant material such as plastic or polypropylene . a side 460 of the cover is hingedly affixed to a side of the enclosure . an exciter 410 is attached to the center of the cover . in operation , the exciter receives a signal and reproduces the signal by tapping the inner area of the cover . fig5 illustrates another embodiment , where the exciter 510 is attached to the backrest portion 520 of the bench 500 . the backrest 520 is typically constructed of iron , steel , aluminum , or wood . the exciter 510 taps along the surface of the backrest 520 to produce sound . multiple exciters may be used to improve sound quality . when multiple exciters are used with wood , the differences in material density should be mapped to ensure proper placement . since different densities produce different sounds or tonal qualities , each exciter should be placed to account for the changes . with proper placement of the exciters , an accurate reproduction of the input signal will be achieved . for example , in fig6 the bench backrest is constructed of wood . the right portion of the upper bar has a higher density , lower resonance than the left portion . to compensate , two exciters 611 , 612 are place on the right side while only one exciter 613 , is placed on the left . the result is balanced stereo sound . alternatively , the multiple exciters 711 , 712 , 713 , 714 can be placed in uniform positions , such as the shape of a square as shown in fig7 a . to achieve an accurate signal reproduction , each exciter is calibrated to compensate for the variations in density . for example , in fig7 b , a wooden knot 740 , lies close to an emitter 724 . the wooden knot is higher in density than the rest of the backrest , and the higher density causes a lower resonance response for low frequency is vibrations . the wooden knot does not effect higher frequency vibrations . thus , lower frequency sounds , such as bass , will be difficult to produce at the knot &# 39 ; s location . the high frequency signals of the four exciters are calibrated to interact with each other based upon the shape of the square that they form . this produces a uniform sound for high frequencies . however , the low frequency signals are calibrated to be produced mainly by three exciters 721 , 722 , 723 , which are not in close proximity to the high - density wood knot 740 . this produces a uniform sound for lower frequencies . fig7 c , illustrates another embodiment , where the exciters are calibrated to produce concentrated volume nodes around the wooden knot 740 . concentrated volume nodes can be produced where peak values of intersecting sound waves 771 , 772 , 773 , 774 meet . the emitters 761 , 762 , 763 , 764 are designed to produce signals such that their sound waves will have intersecting peak values at predetermined locations . the distribution of several volume nodes around the wooden knot 740 will compensate for the low resonance area , and produce an even sound reproduction . in another embodiment , the musical bench contains an integrated sensor chip that is integrated with the unit . the sensor chip is used to detect when someone is sitting on the bench . attached to the sensor chip is a sensor device . one type of sensor device is an infrared sensor . the infrared sensor has an infrared emitter and receiver . fig8 illustrates how the emitter 810 and receiver 815 are placed on the side of each enclosure 820 , 830 , facing each other . the emitter 810 emits an infrared beam so the receiver 815 can receive the beam . when a user sits on the bench 100 , he causes the beam stream to break . when the receiver no longer receives the beam , it causes a trigger in the sensor ship . this trigger turns on the radio . in another embodiment , the unit has a receiver for receiving a microchip containing prerecorded sounds . the prerecorded sounds can consist of music , but a typical application would be a recorded nursery rhyme . when integrated with the sensor embodiment , a child can merely sit on the bench and hear a prerecorded nursery rhyme . the unit also contains a memory that can bookmark a position on the nursery rhyme . if the play of a nursery rhyme ends before it is finished , the memory will save the position and will start from that saved position when activated again . in another embodiment , the unit has microphone and rca inputs so that an external signal can be input from an external source such as a tape recorder or cd player . an auxiliary switch on the unit is used to switch to an auxiliary mode . in auxiliary mode , the external input signal is amplified and played through the unit &# 39 ; s amplifier and speakers . there is also an adapter so that a signal from a cell phone can be played on the unit &# 39 ; s speakers . in another embodiment , a radio transmitter / receiver ( tr ) is integrated with the unit . the unit can receive external data flow from a personal digital assistant ( pda ) or from a computer through a connector means such as a serial , parallel , or t - based connector . the tr is compliant with mobile phone protocols , thus a user can connect a computer to the tr and connect to the internet through a dial - up process . in another embodiment the unit acts as a wireless intercom . the tr can be configured to communicate with a local intercom system . the intercom system is enabled to receive radio signals produced by the tr , and the intercom system also sends radio signals that are received by the tr . both the unit and intercom system , are set to receive when they are not transmitting . the unit is set to transmit either by the depression of an on button , or may have a voice activated on switch . although the invention is described herein with reference to the preferred embodiment , one skilled in the art will readily appreciate that other applications may be substituted for those set forth herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention . accordingly , the invention should only be limited by the claims included below .	7
fig1 shows one preferred embodiment of the invention comprising a garment 10 having a front surface 12 and a back surface 14 and having pickets 16 a , 16 b on the front surface 12 . in the embodiment illustrated in fig1 , pockets 16 a , 16 b are shown to have a shape in form of a giraffe . the invention is not intended to be limited in this regard and pockets 16 a , 16 b may be in the form of a variety of different animals , characters and the like . in general , the shape or character of the pockets 16 a , 16 b will correlate with the overall coloring and motif of the garment 10 . for example , in fig1 , pockets 16 a , 16 b are in the shape and color of giraffes , while garment 10 has the appearance of a jungle . in fig2 and 3 , pockets 16 the shape of frogs , and garment 10 has a frog - like motif as shown . fig4 illustrates garment 10 with pockets 16 a , 16 b having the appearance of mice . fig5 illustrates garment 10 with pockets 16 a , 16 b having the appearance of lady bugs . the pockets 16 a , 16 b are detachable from garment 10 . advantageously , pockets 16 a , 16 b are connected with garment 10 via hook - and - loop type fasteners , commonly known as velcro ®. fig2 illustrates an embodiment of the present invention in which pockets 16 a , 16 b are removed from the garment and worn on the hands of the garment wearer ( indicated by x ). in this embodiment it is seen that pockets 16 a , 16 b , although detached from garment , 10 , are nevertheless connected to garment 10 by an attachment element , such as via cords 20 a , 20 b which are connected to garment 10 at points 22 a , 22 b . cords 20 a , 20 b prevent the loss of pockets 16 a , 16 b by the wearer . in alternative embodiments , points 22 a , 22 b may be detachable via hook - and - loop type fasteners , snaps , buttons , zippers and the like , so that garment 10 can be worn without pockets 16 a , 16 b . when the wearer &# 39 ; s hands are inserted in pockets 16 a , 16 b and pockets 16 a , 16 b are removed from garment 10 by the wearer , pockets 16 a , 16 b can be used as hand puppets , which allow a child to entertain him or herself , or to play with other children wearing a similar garment and who have their own hand puppets . when the wearer no longer desires to play with the hand puppets ( pockets 16 a , 16 b ), they are reattached to garment 10 . the hook - and - loop type fasteners are illustrated in fig2 as 24 a , 24 b . as previously stated , the invention is not , however , limited to the use of hook - and - loop type fasteners to connect pockets 116 b to garment 10 , and other connection means are contemplated , such as but not limited to , buttons , snaps and zippers . the present invention is not intended to be limited to the embodiment illustrated in fig1 and other embodiments are contemplated . garment 10 ma be a unitary garment that is pulled over the wearer &# 39 ; s head , or it may have snaps , buttons , hook - and - loop type fasteners or tie strings in the shoulder areas ( indicated as 18 ), or a zipper or tie strings on back surface 14 . additionally , garment 10 may be a halter - type garment having a front surface that may be tied around the wearer &# 39 ; s back and / or neck . furthermore , although it is believed that garment 10 will be predominantly worn by children , the invention is not limited in this respect and adults may have occasion to where this type of garment as well .	0
this invention is described with respect to an ink jet printing mechanism having a printhead that ejects droplets of wet ink . however , it is applicable to any printing mechanism that utilizes wet ink deposition . further , the methods of determining density described herein are applicable to analyzing an array of any type of data . fig1 shows a printing apparatus 10 having a printing head 12 , a power source 14 , a head driver 16 , a motor driver 18 , a spacing motor 20 and a cpu 22 . printing apparatus 10 is powered by powered source 14 to drive printing head 12 via head driver 16 to eject ink droplets onto a printing medium . cpu 22 , which is a data processing apparatus such as a microprocessor , controls the printing process through head driver 16 and controls the printed sheet ejection through motor driver 18 and spacing motor 20 . cpu 22 includes a printing dot density determining section 24 , a print frequency determining section 26 , and a sheet ejection control section 28 . cpu 22 also includes standard rom and ram memories for storing print control programs and input print data . printing dot density determining section 24 determines the density of the image using stored print data as discussed in detail below . print frequency determining section 26 determines the maximum frequency at which an ink jet device may print a solid fill region . conventionally , most text less than 24 pt and most graphics and halftones may be printed at frequencies 30 % or more greater than frequencies at which solid filled regions may print . solid fill regions suffer from reduced optical density and intermittent jetting at these higher frequencies . using the density as determined by the method described below , a maximum print frequency for a swatch containing for example text and solid fill regions may be determined . according to this invention , the frequency is determined on a swath by swath basis to optimize overall throughput and maintain excellent print quality . the frequency is controlled using conventional methods of varying the electrical pulse that causes the individual ink jets to eject a droplet of ink onto the substrate . cpu 22 also includes a sheet ejection control section 28 that determines a dry time required per swath and controls sheet ejection based on that dry time . after a sheet is printed , sheet ejection control section 28 prevents a subsequent printed sheet to fall against any swaths whose dry time requirements have not been fulfilled . therefore , smear and blotting are prevented between adjacent sheets in the output stack . sheet ejection can be controlled by varying the maximum permissible scanning speed of the image to be printed or managing the page ejection by implementing page eject delays . in this embodiment , spacing motor 20 controls the sheet feed to delay ejection of a sheet until the required drying time has elapsed . spacing motor 20 include a counter or timer such that a swath is printed and drying time is measured by decrementing the counter until drying time is satisfied . then , the next printed sheet is ejected . the timer can be set for each swath based on the contact zone of stacked sheets in the output tray . preferably , the timer is set for each swath from the printing of a first page to the time at which a second page touches an area of the first page upon ejection . any conventional sheet ejection control can be used with this invention . fig2 is a flow chart that illustrates the steps of controlling the printing operation . first , print data is input in step s1 . next , a dot pattern of the input print data is created in step s2 . preferably , the print data is arranged in an array of on and off pixels . in step s3 , the dot density is determined using an image density filter according to this invention . once the dot density is determined , the printing operation is controlled in step s4 by controlling the print frequency and / or the printed sheet ejection as described above . the image density is determined by printing dot density determining section 24 , which analyzes the print data stored in cpu 22 . basically , image density is dependent on the maximum number of pixels that fill a given two dimensional area within a swath . a swath represents one pass of printhead . each ink jet within a printhead across a swath produces a raster , which is a line of printed data within a swath . in the first embodiment for determining the image density , a filter analyzes the print data on a raster by raster basis as shown in fig3 a . using the raster by raster filtering method to determine density , first , a window is formed at the upper left edge of an array of print data , which represents the top raster in a swath , as shown in fig3 a . according to this embodiment , the window has a size of n × 1 . n may be any integer , but , for illustrative purposes in this embodiment , n is preferably 48 . for purposes of simplicity however , n is shown in fig3 a as 5 . first , the n × 1 window begins at the left edge of the top raster . the number of on pixels is counted . the window then moves to the right , as shown by the dashed box in fig3 a . the window can be moved one pixel as shown or at greater pixel intervals , such as eight pixel intervals . the number of on pixels in this window is then counted . the process continues across the array as shown in fig3 a until the window reaches the end of the raster . the maximum number of on pixels found in a window is recorded . the same procedure is used for each of the remaining rasters . for example , in a printhead having 128 vertically aligned ink jets that produces 128 rasters per swath , 128 values representing the maximum fill of any n × 1 window within each raster is recorded . these values are stored as a data array as shown in fig3 b . for example , in an ink jet having an 128 vertically aligned jets , the data array of maximum numbers would be 1 × 128 . next , a second window is formed at the top of the array of maximum numbers . this window has a size of 1 × m . preferably , in this embodiment , m is 48 . however , for illustrative purposes , in fig3 b , m is shown as 5 . the average for all the data within the second window is computed . then , the 1 × m window is moved down the array calculating averages within each window as shown in fig3 b . the maximum average value is determined from the set of calculated average values . the maximum average value is a representation of the maximum image density for that swath . according to a second embodiment of this invention to determine density , the print data is analyzed in a column format , as shown in fig4 . in this embodiment , a window is also formed at the top left edge of an array of print data representing a swath . as shown in fig4 this window has the size of p × 128 , with 128 representing the number of vertically aligned ink jets . the preferred value of p in this embodiment is 48 . however , for purposes of illustration , p is shown in fig4 as 4 . in operation , if p is too small , the dry time required for areas larger than p × 128 cannot be determined , which would require the assumption of the worst case dry time when in fact the dry time requirement is substantially less . also , if p is too small , it is difficult to discern between double rows of small text versus one row of large text . it is unnecessary to make p substantially larger than 48 because the dry time requirement does not grow significantly for filled regions greater than 48 × 128 . using the second embodiment to determine density , the total number of on pixels within the window p × 128 is counted . the window is then incremented to the right and the total number of on pixels is counted . preferably , the window is incremented at eight pixel intervals to decrease the time required to determine density and to correspond to the recorded bits of information . however , to increase resolution , the window can be incremented one pixel at a time . the process continues across the swath until the p × 128 window reaches the right edge of the array . the maximum number of on pixels found in any of the windows is determined . this value is a representation of the maximum density for that swath . although the above examples of determining density were described with respect to a conventional data array read from left to right , the method of determining the density can be employed in a data array that is read right to left or from top to bottom and bottom to top . the maximum image density determined for each swath is then used to control the print frequency and sheet ejection as described above . while advantageous embodiments have been chosen to illustrate the invention , it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications can be made therein without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims .	1
fig1 shows a basic building block , a combined positive / negative clock gate . this circuit 9 enables a low skew , highly flexible clock division scheme . the circuit 9 contains a clock gate 1 which contains an and gate 10 and a transparent low latch 11 . a clk_in signal 6 is buffered 3 and couples to one input of the and gate 10 . an en_pos signal couples to block 11 to enable the positive clk_in clock 6 . similarly , circuit 9 contains a clock gate 2 which contains an and gate 12 and a transparent low latch 13 . a clk_in signal 6 is inverted 4 and couples to one input of the and gate 12 . an en_neg signal couples to block 13 to enable the inverse of the clk_in clock 6 which is the output of inverter 4 . the outputs of and gate 10 and and gate 12 feed or gate block 5 which is the “ combine clocks or gate .” the or gate output , clk_out is the desired divided down low - skew clock . in practice , the circuit works on the principle of combining edge selected clocks from a higher order frequency clock or its inverted version . selected edges are then “ combined ” using an or gate to generate the desired frequency at the output . the single clock gate scheme of block 9 in fig1 can provide integer clock division factors . i . e . divide by 2 , 3 , 4 , . . . , but also can provide clock division by 1 . 5 , 2 . 5 , 3 . 5 . . . etc . until now , common practice was to use only transparent low latch and and gate structures , which allow only integer division . the combined structure shown in block 9 of fig1 enables both integer and non - integer clock division . this building block 9 is compatible with mainstream electronic design automation ( eda ) tools in synchronous digital design flows . fig2 illustrates a general - purpose circuit for clock division . fig2 shows how the en_pos and en_neg signals shown in fig1 are generated and implemented in circuitry . fig2 circuit shows the overall general circuit of the present disclosure where integer factors are possible as well as division factors exactly in between two integers . i . e . 2 . 5 , 3 . 5 , 4 . 5 , . . . . the basic circuit building block 9 from fig1 is used . a main input clock 20 with frequency , f , couples to a counter 21 . this main clock 20 also couples to the clk_in input of the basic building block circuit 9 . the output of the counter 21 couples to two digital comparator circuits 22 , 23 . the output of comparator 22 couples to the en _pos signal and the output of comparator 23 couples to the en_neg signal . the values ( ie . val 1 in 22 and val 2 in 23 ) are either predetermined for generation of fixed ratio - clocks or calculated “ on the fly ” for generation of more complicated clock signals . the predetermined values are fixed during operation and result in a fixed division 1 . 5 , 2 , 2 . 5 , 3 , 3 . 5 , . . . etc . the ‘ on the fly ’ values allow the division factor to change . this means that some circuitry like a state machine or even a simple adder calculates the new values to compare to and thus allow much more complex clock waveforms to be generated . an example for this is seen in fig6 where an adder is combined with a counter and a predetermined value in order to generate a complex clock . these values are decided depending on the division factor needed . typically , one of the comparators will compare to the last or largest value of the counter . for integer counter division , only either the en_pos signal or the en_neg signal is active , while the other is held to zero to produce a zero at the input of the or gate 5 in fig1 . fig3 shows a typical “ divide by non - integer ” scheme , that is only possible with the new structure of fig2 and not with the single clock gate structure of the prior art . fig3 shows the generation of the two signals clk_div_n_pos and clk_div_n_neg which are the output of the ‘ positive clock gate ’ and the ‘ negative clock gate ’ respectively . each in turn has a period of a ‘ divide by n ’- where n is an odd integer . the positive clock gate ‘ selects ’ each n - th clock edge which coincides with the counter value ‘ n − 1 ’. the negative clock gate ‘ selects ’ each n - th inverted clock edge coinciding with the value ‘( n − 1 )/ 2 ’. the two edges are non - overlapping in time and are then ‘ combined ’ with the or gate at the output . the resulting frequency is a ‘ divide by n / 2 ’ from the original clk . fig4 shows an exact waveform diagram for a divide by 4 . 5 circuit as an example . it is important to note that the above generation can be shifted in time ( or phase ) by modifying the values ( 22 , 23 in fig2 ) enabling the positive and negative clock gates . the proposed method can also be used to create repeated pulses by modifying the compare values for the en_pos and en_neg inputs of the ‘ combined clock gate ’. fig5 shows a generation of a ‘ double pulse ’ repeated each n cycles . the proposed circuits enable simple control over the distance between the two ( or more ) pulses , referred to in the diagram as ‘ short period ’ and the overall cycle time , referred to as ‘ divide by n ’ period as depicted . by generating different patterns that enable the ‘ positive clock gate ’ or the negative clock gate &# 39 ;, a complex pattern of ‘ selected edges ’ can be created by the proposed circuit . again , this is accomplished by modifying the values ( 22 , 23 in fig2 ) enabling the positive and negative clock gates . the proposed method also enables the generation of divided down clocks shifted in time . to achieve a phase shift in time , the modified circuit from fig2 is used , as shown in fig6 . a phase shifted ‘ divide by . . . ’ circuit is principally identical to a normal ‘ divide by . . . ’ circuit . the slight difference is that the comparison values depicted in fig2 ( val 1 and val 2 - 22 , 23 respectively ) are modified . an example would be the circuit for exact division by 4 . 5 depicted in fig4 . if we make val 1 = 0 and val 2 = 5 ( from fig2 ) the result would be the exact division factor of 4 . 5 but the generated clock waveform would be ‘ pushed ’ forward in time and will not be aligned to the original divide by 4 . 5 clock depicted in fig4 . fig7 shows some possibilities . the basic concept is to keep the same counter for a non - phase - shifted divider , just change the comparison values ( val 1 and val2 ). effectively keeping their “ distance in time ” from one another fixed , will generate the same divide - by - factor but will shift them in phase / time . the phase shift limits depend on the divide - by - factor . and the number of possibilities are twice the divide - by - factor . e . g . fig7 depicts a divide by 2 factor , hence there are 4 possibilities ( 2 * 2 ) to generate a divide - by - 2 clock from the base clock . fig8 has a divide - by - 3 circuit and hence the circuitry described can generate 6 possible ( 2 * 3 ) phase offset clocks . by adding an offset to the compared value of fig2 , the generated effect is of ‘ pushing ’ the clock generated in time and aligning it to the consecutive phases of the main clock . in general , the phase shifts can be calculated as follows . ( 180 / division factor )* n − where n goes from 0 to ( 2 * division factor ) 1 . e . g for a divide by 2 , the possible phases are therefore 180 / 2 = 90 times 0 , 1 , 2 , 3 - or in other words , 0 , 90 , 180 , 270 . e . g ., for a divide by 6 the possible phases are 180 / 3 = 60 times 0 , 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 etc . the examples are shown in fig7 and 8 . the key advantage of this clock generation disclosure are as follows . the key mechanism is digital frequency division through clock edge selection . other attributes are clock subdivision for both integer and non - integer factors . also provided is a mechanism for the generation of a single or a series of clock pulses in a periodic fashion . also provided are phase shifted versions of all of the integer and non - integer subdivided clocks provided . the clock generation methodology is simple , scalable , and glitch - free providing constant delay and low skew . also , the clock generation requirements can be modified “ on the fly ” by dynamically changing the values in the positive and negative comparators . also , this circuitry and methodology is compatible with mainstream electronic design automation ( eda ) tools for synchronous digital design flows . while the present disclosure has been particularly shown and described with reference to the preferred embodiments thereof , it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure .	6
while this invention is satisfied by embodiments in many different forms , there will herein be described in detail preferred embodiments of the invention , with the understanding that the present disclosure is to be considered as exemplary of the principles of the invention and is not intended to limit the invention to the embodiments illustrated and described . numerous variations may be made by persons skilled in the art without departure from the spirit of the invention . the scope of the invention will be measured by the appended claims and their equivalents . in describing the present invention , various terms and phrases will be used herein . generally , the meaning of these terms are known to those having skill in the art and are further described below . the definitions should not be understood to limit the scope of the invention . rather , they should be used to interpret language of the description and , where appropriate , the language of the claims . these terms may also be understood more fully in the context of the description of the invention . if a term is included in the description or the claims that is not defined below , or that cannot be interpreted based on its context , then it should be construed to have the same meaning as it is understood by those of skill in the art . the term “ amplification ” refers to the increase in the number of copies of a particular nucleic acid target of interest . the term “ amplicon ” refers to the product of an amplification reaction , i . e ., the copy of a particular nucleic acid target of interest . the term “ amplification components ” refers to the reaction materials such as enzymes , buffers and nucleic acids necessary to perform an amplification reaction to form amplicons of a target nucleic acid of interest . the term “ sample ” refers to a substance that is being assayed for the presence of one or more nucleic acids of interest . the nucleic acid , or acids , of interest may be present in a mixture of other nucleic acids . a sample containing the nucleic acids of interest may be obtained in numerous ways . it is envisioned that the following could represent samples : cell lysates , purified genomic dna , body fluids such as from a human or animal , clinical samples , food samples , etc . the present invention comprises a sealed , integrated cartridge with fluidic metering , fluid transfer , reagent addition and heating functionalities for sample manipulation . the cartridge of the present invention will first be described by reference to the figures . as seen in fig1 the cartridge 10 of the present invention is a two - part assembly having internal fluidic cavities . cartridge assembly 10 generally comprises a cartridge bottom 12 and a cartridge top 14 . cartridge bottom 12 generally comprises a flat plate , while cartridge top 14 generally comprises a molded plate . the plates are preferably transparent . the plates may be made of any suitable material , but preferably are acrylic and , more preferably , are made of polymethylmethacrylate ( pmma ) resin . cartridge top 14 has fluidic features , which will be described in more detail later , including capillary channels , reaction chambers and the like , molded therein . each reaction chamber is preferably shaped like a half cylinder with fall - round ends and has a radius of about 0 . 060 inches . each capillary channel , which connect the various fluid chambers , is preferably shaped like a half cylinder and has a radius of about 0 . 015 inches . cartridge 10 also comprises a filter membrane 16 located in a cavity ( not shown ) inside of cartridge bottom 12 and a waste trap absorbent pad 18 located in a recess 20 in the bottom of cartridge bottom 12 . absorbent pad 18 is covered by a vacuum chamber cover 22 . fig8 is an enlarged view showing filter membrane 16 , absorbent pad 18 and vacuum chamber cover 22 . [ 0036 ] fig2 is a unassembled view of cartridge 10 from the top of the cartridge . fig3 is a perspective view of assembled cartridge 10 as seen from the top thereof . cartridge top 14 includes sample inlet well 24 into which the user inputs a liquid sample . while the shape of liquid inlet well 24 is preferably cylindrical , the shape is not critical and other shapes are possible . cartridge top 14 also includes three tapered luer ports that are used to connect fittings ( not shown ) for tubing from various pumping means of a cartridge processing device , which will be described in more detail later , to cartridge 10 . air drive entry port 26 is the cartridge interface point for a means of pumping air , such as an air pump 100 ( fig1 ) into the cartridge to move the liquid sample throughout the various chambers and channels . a vacuum pump 102 ( fig1 ) is connected to vacuum port 28 and is used to pull the liquid sample through filter membrane 16 into absorbent pad 18 . input port 30 is used to introduce wash buffers and other amplification components into the fluidic features of cartridge 10 . cartridge top 14 further includes a prime and amplification heating surface 32 , a denature heating surface 34 and a take - out well 36 . [ 0037 ] fig4 is a cross - sectional , side view of the integrated cartridge of the present invention showing a portion of the fluid path . the fluid path of cartridge 10 starts with liquid inlet well 24 and flows sequentially through the various capillary channels and reaction chambers , into a desalt filter 38 ( fig6 and 7 ) and into take - out well 36 ( fig3 ). liquid inlet well 24 connects to a chamber entry 40 . chamber entry 40 connects to a liquid input chamber 42 . on either side of liquid input chamber 42 are capillary channels 44 , 46 . capillary channel 46 connects liquid input chamber 42 to a sensing chamber 48 . in sensing chamber 48 , the liquid sample is observed by optical through - beam sensors ( not shown ) to identify the meniscus and locate the leading edge of the liquid sample , or the “ fluid bolus .” the curvature of the meniscus momentarily deflects the beam and causes a detectable drop in the transmission , allowing detection . sensing chamber 48 , which is of the same dimensions as the reaction chambers , contains no reagents that would disrupt the optical quality of the liquid or hinder the flow of the liquid sample . the next chambers connected in sequence by capillary channels are a prime chamber 50 and an amplification chamber 52 . fig5 is a detailed view of prime chamber 50 and its associated capillary channels 54 , 56 . prime chamber 50 and amp chamber 52 contain reagents required for the reactions that occur therein . preferably , the reagents are dried down in their respective chambers . the fact that the reagents are dried down in the cartridge itself can drastically change the surface wetting properties of the liquid sample , which can in turn change the flow characteristics . typically , reagents can reduce the surface tension to the point of defeating the capillary locks . drying down the reagents tends to eliminate this problem ; however , dried coatings too close to the edges of the capillaries can still wick the fluid into the next chamber . this undesirable effect is overcome by interspersing small , uncoated , chambers 59 ( fig4 ) between the coated chambers . [ 0039 ] fig7 is a cross - sectional , side view of the cartridge assembly of the present invention showing the remaining portion of the fluid path . the remainder of the fluid path comprises desalt filter 38 , which includes filter membrane 16 . located below filter membrane 16 is absorbent pad 18 to trap the liquid that comes through . the final chamber of cartridge 10 is a denature chamber 58 , which preferably is used to strip apart the dna strands into single strands with heat . denature chamber 58 also functions as a second meniscus sensing chamber because the movement of the fluid off of filter membrane 16 is not consistent , and the leading edge of the fluid bolus must be located again . to do so , capillary channel 60 preceding denature chamber 58 is placed between the ends of a second optical sensor of the cartridge processing device to relocate the meniscus . like sensing chamber 48 ( fig4 ), therefore , denature chamber 58 contains no reagents . capillary channels 60 , 62 are located on either side of denature chamber 58 . again , the small cross section of the capillary channels reduces evaporation , and the capillary lock feature keeps the fluid centered . after denaturing is complete and the meniscus has been relocated , the completed sample is pushed to take - out well 36 where it is manually transferred to another instrument , such as a nanochip ™ cartridge by nanogen , inc . of san diego , calif ., for analysis . instruments such as the nanochip ™ cartridge are for hybridizing and reading the amplification products but do not themselves perform the amplification process . in an alternative embodiment of the present invention , the product design would integrate the amplification cartridge with the reader so that the transfer step could be eliminated . [ 0040 ] fig9 shows integrated cartridge 10 of the present invention closed within a cartridge processing device 80 , while fig1 shows cartridge 10 in open cartridge processing device 80 . fig1 shows the various active components of cartridge processing device 80 . referring first to fig1 and 11 , cartridge processing device 80 includes denature heat blocks 82 , 84 and prime and amp heat blocks 86 , 88 . cartridge 10 is placed in a cartridge nest 90 of cartridge processing device 80 such that assembly alignment pin 35 ( fig6 ) lines up with cartridge alignment pin 91 of cartridge processing device 80 . cartridge processing device 80 also includes through - beam optical sensors (“ meniscus sensors ”) 92 , 94 that examine the non - reagent chambers to find the meniscus . these are preferably fiber optic tips . the curvature of the meniscus causes a shadow that is detectable by the sensor . cartridge processing device 80 further includes a sonicator 96 and its associated sonicator probe 98 . referring now to fig9 when cartridge processing device 80 is closed and locked , it places the heat blocks against cartridge 10 under light spring pressure such that heat blocks 86 , 88 sandwich the prime and amp chambers , while heat chambers 82 , 84 sandwich the denature chamber . the heat blocks preferably are copper blocks with resistance heaters and rtd sensors that allow precise temperature control . the heat blocks are spring loaded over cartridge 10 directly over and under the reaction chambers and extending out approximately 0 . 250 inches on all sides of the chambers . [ 0042 ] fig1 , which is a schematic drawing of the cartridge and drivers , shows the logical sequence of all the active chambers and the external driving and sensing devices . in operation , a user places the patient sample into liquid inlet well 24 . chamber entry 40 connecting liquid inlet well 24 to liquid input chamber 42 allows the liquid sample to flow down into the chamber and fill it . when the sample reaches capillary channels 44 , 46 at each end of chamber 42 , it is pulled through to the opposite ends of the channels and stops . surface tension prevents the liquid from flowing past the sharp transition from the capillary channel to the next cavity . this feature is referred to as a “ capillary lock ” and is described in more detail in co - pending u . s . patent application ser . no . ______ ( attorney docket no . 20187 - 112 ). in general , the capillary locks allow the fluid bolus to be roughly positioned in the cavities and then self - center and lock in place . after input chamber 42 has measured and locked the required volume for processing , the remainder of the input volume accumulates and remains in inlet well 24 above it . the user places a sealing means ( not shown ), preferably tape or a self - adhesive label , over the entrance 25 of inlet well 24 to form a vacuum and retain the excess liquid there when the sample in chamber 42 is moved forward . application of a positive pressure through air drive entry port 26 moves the sample out of input chamber 42 and leaves the excess liquid trapped in inlet well 24 . this self - metering input allows crude filling on the user &# 39 ; s part , while accurate metering is performed by the self - metering volume input device . input metering through the capillary locks and the sealing of the inlet well , therefore , eliminates the requirement for accurate pipetting . the volume of the sample processed can be varied by changing the size of the input metering chamber . this self - metering volume input device is described in more detail in co - pending u . s . patent application ser . no . ______ ( attorney docket no . 20187 - 113 ). the reaction sequence moves the single bolus of liquid through the sequence of chambers along the capillary channels . the fluid bolus is moved into the chambers one by one where the reagents are dissolved , and the external heat blocks of the cartridge processing device maintain reaction temperatures in the reaction chambers of the cartridge . external pumps , preferably syringe pumps , are used to move the fluid bolus through the cartridge and add reagents to it . pump 100 connects to air drive entry port 26 adjacent liquid inlet well 24 . this pump pushes only air , which moves the fluid bolus from input chamber 42 through the sensing , prime and amp chambers and onto the desalt filter . the capillary locks allow the drive fluid to be air . the compliance of air prevents accuracy in other systems and causes other systems to use deionized water as a system fluid for stiffness . the fluid movement pump moves only the volume in the liquid input chamber forward into the cartridge for processing . any excess fluid in inlet well 24 remains trapped there by the sealing means placed over its opening 25 . when the fluid movement sequence starts , pump 100 moves the fluid forward slowly into sensing chamber 48 , where an optical sensor detects the meniscus . the instrument then knows the exact location of the leading edge of the liquid and proceeds with the predetermined number of steps to move the liquid into prime chamber 50 . when the liquid bolus is roughly centered in prime chamber 50 , the controller stops and opens a solenoid valve ( not shown ) to vent the tubing from the pump . this allows the capillary locks to center the bolus in prime chamber 50 . the preferred method of moving the liquid is to not use the optical sensors at all . if the input chamber capillary locks function properly , then the starting position will be known , and the air volume needed to reach the prime chamber will be consistent . one or both of the meniscus sensing optics may , therefore , be eliminated by knowing the starting position of the fluid . prime chamber 50 contains dried - down reagents . when the fluid bolus is moved into prime chamber 50 , it is held there for a specified time to allow for dissolution and reaction of the reagents . the bolus is then moved to amp chamber 52 , which also contains dried - down reagents , and held there for dissolution and reaction . both prime chamber 50 and amp chamber 52 require an elevated temperature . heat blocks 86 , 88 span the area covering these two chambers and maintain them at a constant temperature . when the fluid bolus is in the heated chambers , the capillary channels on both sides are vented to prevent pressure buildup that would move the fluid bolus out of position . the small exposed surface inside of the capillary channels also essentially eliminates evaporation . after the amplification is complete , pump 100 moves the fluid bolus onto the face of desalt filter 38 where it passes through filter membrane 16 of desalt filter 38 . filter membrane 16 is preferably polysulfone . the capillary channels are vented , and vacuum pump 102 is started . it takes less than about 10 minutes to pull the liquid through the filter and into waste trap 18 . the pore size of filter membrane 16 allows all liquids and salt ions to pass through , but traps the dna amplicons on its surface . the amplicons tend to embed themselves into the pores because of the high fluid pressure . the amplicons are freed from the filter by agitation achieved with sonicator probe 98 pressed against the face of cartridge 10 above filter membrane 16 . input port 30 is used to add various buffers , rinse fluids and the like to the cartridge . a pump 104 uses a selector valve to draw wash buffer , preferably about 100 microliters , followed by air . by closing the valve of pump 100 , the fluid introduced into input port 30 flows toward the filter and not backwards . pump 104 pushes the wash buffer slowly onto the filter so that it can be pulled through by vacuum pump 102 . pump 104 then uses a selector valve to push a small volume of buffer , plus the mechanical release of the sonication , to resuspend the dna , followed by driving air onto the filter . by resuspending in a smaller volume of buffer , the dna can also be concentrated during desalting , which increases sensitivity . if this volume is half the original sample volume , then the dna concentration is nearly doubled ( some of the dna is lost to binding ) when it is resuspended . the dna recovery from the filter is enhanced by mechanical agitation in the form of sonication . sonicator probe 98 is held in contact with the upper wall of the filter chamber . this is energized briefly before the resuspension buffer is moved onto the next step . the sonication improves the dna recovery from about 50 % to greater than about 80 %. the wash and resuspension solutions can be varied in both composition and volume . in the manufacture of the cartridge assembly , the prime and amp reagents are dried down in their respective reaction chambers in a vacuum oven . the filter membrane is inserted into its cavity , and a retaining ring is heat - formed down over the edge of the membrane . the two plates of the cartridge are then bonded together . preferably , the bonding is done by silk screening an adhesive pattern onto the cartridge bottom . silk screening is preferred because it is less abusive to the reagent dry downs than other bonding techniques , particularly ultrasonic welding . the adhesive pattern is about 0 . 005 inches thick and matches the outline of the walls of the molded plate . the pattern is preferably set back from the inside edges of the channels by about 0 . 020 inches so that it does not squeeze into them during assembly . the two plates are then clamped together and exposed to ultraviolet light to cure the adhesive . after the bonding is complete , the waste trap absorbent pad is placed into its recess in the bottom of the assembled cartridge , and the vacuum chamber cover glued on over it , preferably with the same ultraviolet adhesive . porous , sintered plastic plugs may then be pressed into the luer ports in the cartridge top to prevent liquid contamination of the driving instrument . the assembled cartridge is packaged , preferably with a desiccant sachet , in a foil laminate pouch as a light and moisture barrier . having now fully described the invention with reference to certain representative embodiments and details , it will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that changes and modifications can be made thereto without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as set forth herein .	2
referring now to the drawings , and more in particular to fig1 therein it is illustrated in simplified form an electronic lock in accordance with the invention . the lock as illustrated in fig1 includes a conventional bolt mechanism 1 having a bolt 2 . a shaft 3 extends through the bolt mechanism 1 in a conventional manner , and an inside knob 4 is directly affixed to the shaft 3 of the inside of door 5 in which the assembly is installed . the other end of the shaft 3 is coupled by way of a clutch 6 to a further shaft 7 , and a knob 8 is affixed to the shaft 7 at the outside of a door 5 . the clutch 6 is preferably an electrically operated clutch , as will be disclosed in greater detail in the following paragraphs . the bolt mechanism 1 , clutch 6 and the associated shafts may be enclosed in a housing 9 for installation in the door 5 by conventional techniques . the lock in accordance with the invention further includes a reader assembly 12 mounted in the door and having therein a code detector 13 at a slot 14 for receiving a key 15 . the key 15 is provided with coded data , as will be explained in greater detail , and the code detector 13 includes means for sensing the form of the data on the key 15 . a switch 29 is provided at the rear of the slot 14 , and adapted to be closed upon full insertion of the key 15 in the slot 14 . in addition , the lock includes a control circuit assembly 16 connected to the code detector 13 and the switch 29 . leads 11 connect the control circuit 16 to the clutch 6 . while the mechanical and electromechanical elements of the lock assembly have been illustrated in fig1 as forming a separate element from the reader assembly and the control circuitry , it is apparent that the invention has been illustrated in fig1 with such configuration in order to simplify its understanding and these elements may be combined to form a compact unit for ready assembly in the door 5 . the key 15 is provided with a code 26 . the code 26 may be an optical code or a magnetic code or alternatively it may employ any other electrical variable or property such as resistance , capacitance , inductance , resonant frequency , or the like . as illustrated more clearly in fig2 the key 15 may be comprised of a card having thereon a plurality of rows and columns of marked code areas 15a . if the marked areas 15 form an optical code , then the code sensor may comprise a plurality of light sources and aligned light detectors for separately detecting the codes in each row . alternatively , of course , other code sensing devices of conventional nature may be employed for sensing codes in the form of other electrical variables . the code sensors 13a are arranged to simultaneously read the markings of each column of the key , so that , as illustrated in fig2 the codes of each column are applied in parallel to a code register 30 and the codes sensed in the different columns are sequentially applied to the code register 30 . the columns of the codes 26 on the key are separated into three regions . thus , the first column 27a forms a control code . a group of columns 27b adjacent to the control column 27a form one key code and a second group of columns 27c form another key code . in the embodiment of the invention illustrated in fig2 each of the columns is shown as having four areas 15a for storing a four bit code and a fifth area 61 for storing a sync bit . in order to simplify the explanation of the invention , a brief explanation of the operation thereof will now be given . keys of the type of key 15 may be employed by a number of different types of personnel . for example , if the lock of the invention is to be employed as a guestroom lock in a hotel , keys may be required for guests , as well as various service personnel , such as maids . the codes 27a in the first column of the key identified such personnel by &# 34 ; access level &# 34 ;. the lock on the invention is arranged so that different personnel will be afforded different opportunities with respect to opening of the lock . for example , with respect to a guest , the code columns 27b may determine a code for initial opening of the lock and once the lock has been opened by this code , the code stored in the lock is changed to the code corresponding to the code columns 27c . this arrangement thereby permits the guest to enter the room for the first time by means of a code stored in the lock that was available to a previous guest , while further enabling changing of the code to a new code which will not permit entry by the previous occupant . no problem will thereby arise if the previous occupant has retained his key . the key 15 for a guest may be of first coded to permit entry to only one guestroom . keys at other access levels also have changeable codes and permit , for example , certain personnel access to a number of guestrooms . while the key 15 may be passively coded as discussed above employing an energy source in the lock for the sensing of the code , it is of course apparent that the key may be designed so that no energy source is required in the lock for searching the code . for example , a key may be magnetically coded with a sensor 13 comprising means for sensing the velocity dependent electromotive force of the keys as the key is moved through the sensor . alternatively , the key may be provided with its own energy source such as an rf transmitter , etc . it will be apparent that the invention is thereby not limited to the form of the key employed and is adaptable to different forms of coding . the codes which correspond to different access levels such as master keys , guest keys , or any other designated keys , are , upon detection , initially stored in the memory 21 , fig2 . the number of access levels can be expanded to any level in simple fashion as will be explained further . in a practical form , the lock embodies eight levels of access which may be designated as guest key , floor master , section master , security master , guard master , service master , backup key , spare , as shown in sectors of memory 21 ( fig2 ). the access levels are selected by the control code 27a on the key . the combination of a selected number of bits on the control code 27a gives the desired number access levels . in case of eight access levels , three bits are utilized which gives 2 3 = 8 access levels . the control code 27a is also used for other auxiliary functions which shall be described further . the key code 26b is composed of an appropriate number of bits whose binary combination value approaches a desirable high number . for practical purposes the original form of the lock presented in the invention utilizes 32 bits for the combination 27b . this number can be changed as desired depending on the application of the lock . the 32 bit combination 27b fig2 originally selected for the lock for descriptive purposes generates 2 32 combinations , which is a relatively high number . the initial storage of the internal codes in the memory 21 fig2 is done in external fashion by manually setting the memory 21 to write mode by means of a switch 30b on the control logic circuit 20 , and forcing the memory to store the codes received through the reader assembly 12 . the memory is set into write mode for initial code storage by the switch 30b which can be accessed only by disassembly of the lock . also some selected codes in memory 21 can be forced to change by setting the memory into write mode using an external switch which is enabled by another selected master key . once the initial codes for each access level have been stored manually in memory 21 and switch 30b has been opened , the writing of the new codes in the memory 21 fig2 is internally controlled . the lock then operates in automatic internally controlled mode as follows : when a key 15 is inserted into the reader assembly 12 no action takes place until the key is fully inserted and activates the microswitch 29 . the activation of the microswitch 29 is sensed by the control logic 20 ( fig2 ) which then resets all pertinent logic circuits to a key read mode and simultaneously starts the timer circuit 28 ( fig2 ). the timer 28 ( fig2 ) is essentially a mono - stable circuit , which when activated by the control logic enables a power switch 24 . the power switch 24 then applies power to the electrical sections of the lock that require heavy current , such as a light source back in the code sensor if optical sensing is employed ( fig1 ), clutch drive 22 ( fig2 ) and flasher 23 ( fig2 ) these elements are powered until the timer 28 disables the power switch 24 . it must be emphasized here that during quiescent state of the lock , the logic circuits that remain active such as the memory 21 and other necessary circuits , utilize very low power which is imperative for long battery life . special low power logic families , such as cmos or i 2 l are used in these continuously active logic sections . the utilization of the timer circuit 28 and power switch 24 is essential to the operation of the lock with batteries in an economically feasible manner otherwise heavy battery drain would require frequent battery changes with prohibitive expense and inconvenience for the user . the timer circuit 28 stays active for an appropriate length of time during which the lock can be opened and the code changed if the key code 27b is the same as the stored code in the memory 21 ( fig2 ). code comparison in comparator 19 follows activation of the timer 28 . the key 15 is withdrawn from the reader assembly 12 during which time the code detector assembly 13 scans the key 15 in serial fashion . the code on the key is temporarily stored in the code register 30 . the first field of the code is the control code 27a which is stored in the control code register 29 . the primary function of the control code 27a is to select different access levels of the lock , such as guest keys , master keys , etc . a combination of any desired number of bits can be used to select different sections of the memory 21 . other auxiliary functions of the control code 27a will be discussed later . for a practical application of the lock , such as a hotel lock , the number of access levels can be eight levels . this is the number of access levels , which has been selected for explanation purposes of the present invention . the number of access levels can , of course , be very easily expanded to any desired number . the eight levels may be arbitrarily designated as guest key , floor master , section master , guard master , security master , service master , backup and spare , as shown on the memory 21 in fig2 . eight levels are derived from the binary combination of three bits of the control code . following storage of the control code 27a in the register 29 , each field of the key code 26 is temporarily stored in the code register 30 . fig2 . a compare cycle is initiated by the control logic 20 following the storage of a field of code in the code register 30 . during the compare cycle the memory is read and each bit of the stored field of the key code is compared with its corresponding field in the memory 21 fig2 . if any bit of the key code 26 , fig2 does not compare with its corresponding bit in the memory 21 , fig2 the uncompare condition is stored in a compare result register 41 ( fig3 ) which is a part of the control logic 20 . the number of code bits on a key code field and the number of fields or columns in a code 26 are selected for an appropriate compromise between the combination and memory size which are both directly related to the number of bits present on the code 26 . the preferred embodiment of the lock has one column for the control and four columns for each of the key codes 27 b and 27c . each column has four bits . a counter in the control logic 20 counts the number of fields on the code 26 , fig2 for control purposes by counting the synchronizing bits 61 . at the end of code entry from the key 15 the counter in the control logic 20 activates decision logic which performs the functions of lock operation and code change when all conditions are met to perform these functions . lock operation function is achieved by enabling the clutch drive circuit 22 which in turn activates the clutch 6 ( fig1 ) and permits opening of the lock through the knob 8 . the code change function is performed by switching the memory 21 to a write mode through the control logic 20 . if a new code is then received by the reader assembly 12 it replaces the existing code in the memory 21 in the appropriate access level section as determined by the control code 27a , fig2 . the new code can be on the key 15 which has operated the lock , or on a separate key . it must be emphasized here that in this invention the recognition of a code 26 to be equal to a stored internal code in the memory 21 performs two major functions which are ( 1 ) enabling of the clutch 6 , fig1 to permit entry through usage of the lock , and ( 2 ) to permit changing of the stored code in the memory 21 . the invention eliminates the need for multiple codes for performing these functions and consequently reduces storage of the codes to a minimum level . another feature of the present invention is the novel means of operating the bolt 2 , fig1 of the lock by utilization of an electromechanical clutch 6 , fig1 . the clutch operated bolt 2 offers several advantages over existing methods of interfacing electronic locks with mechanical bolts . the clutch 6 is activated by the control logic 20 through the clutch drive circuit 22 when the code on the key 15 is the same as the corresponding code in the memory 21 , and other control conditions do not inhibit opening of the lock . the clutch 6 can be of any commercial electromechanical type utilizing solenoids or other forms of magnetic or electrostatic power conversion elements , which transmit power from one shaft 7 , fig1 to the other 3 . the activation of the clutch 6 permits transmission of torque from the knob 8 to the shaft 3 , fig1 . when this torque transmission is enabled by the clutch , the operator of the lock can then turn the knob 8 to activate the bolt mechanism 1 through the coupling of the shaft 7 , fig1 clutch 6 , and shaft 3 . the bolt mechanism 1 can be of any commercial type which translates torque from a shaft 3 to linear motion , which in turn drives the bolt 2 , fig1 . the electromechanical clutch 6 provides several advantages over existing electronic or electrical locks which can be summarized as : ( 1 ) operation of the lock with mechanical power amplification utilizing operator muscle power as a power source ; ( 2 ) high reliability of operation due to the power amplification ; and ( 3 ) elimination of forceful operation of the bolt due to separation of the knob 8 from the internal elements of the lock when the clutch 6 is not activated . the inside knob 4 is directly connected to the bolt mechanism 1 and permits manual operation of the lock from inside of the door 5 or any other fixture on which the lock is mounted . the clutch mechanism 6 can be located at different sections of the lock including the interior of the knob 8 , fig1 . as stated above the lock of the invention performs several auxiliary functions in addition to major functions of operating a bolt mechanism for entry and changing of internally stored codes when commanded . the auxiliary functions are covered in detail in the following paragraphs . one bit of the control code 27a is utilized to perform the function of inhibiting the lock operation of entry while permitting the change of code . this feature permits changing of any stored code in the memory 21 without gaining access through the lock . keys which have the inhibit bit present can be used to change codes rapidly throughout a building without access through the locks . this function is highly desirable when unproven personnel is utilized to change codes in locks located at institutions such as hotels , motels , schools , military installations , etc . another feature of the control code 27a is to enable a special type of key which can be used to open the lock only once . the single usage key is highly desirable when thefts or other criminal activities take place due to distribution of keys from authorized personnel to criminals . the single usage key function is achieved by decoding the type of key from the control code 27a and permitting opening of the lock only when the code is changed to a new one . the condition that the key code is the same as the internally stored code is not sufficient to open the door for this mode . an additional feature of the lock is the double lock function where a manual switch 30 limits access through the door to a selected number of types of keys when activated . this function is realized by decoding the appropriate types of key through the control code and limiting access through the door by inhibiting the clutch drive circuit when the switch 30 is activated . the electronic double lock feature enhances the security level of the invention by providing additional control over types of keys to be used for entry . the previous description of the functions of the lock and the means of achieving them covered all major parts of the lock . the electronic section of the lock as shown in fig2 is composed of the code detector 13 , code register 30 , control code register 29 , comparator 19 , control logic 20 , memory 21 , clutch drive 22 , flasher 23 , power switch 24 , timer 28 , microswitch 29 , manual switch 30 , power source 25 . the electronic circuits which constitute the elements given above can be realized in practice by a number of logic design approaches using random logic or micro - processor oriented control circuits . it should be emphasized here that the novel aspects of the lock are covered by utilization of the major elements given in fig1 and fig2 . the details of these elements can be slightly varied using different design approaches but detail differences in logic design does not alter the basic relationships that exist between these elements which render it superior and economically feasible over previous types of electronic locks . the following paragraphs cover two alternate logic designs which constitute the same major elements and performs their related functions . the first arrangement uses random logic design and is presented in fig3 . the second arrangement uses a more recent development in electronics , i . e . a micro - processor , and its peripheral elements to perform the same functions . the random will be discussed first in the following paragraphs . the code detectors 13 is comprised of photo detectors 32 - 35 . the output of the photo detectors is applied directly to the registers 36 - 39 respectively which form the code register 30 of fig2 . the electronic circuits operate in the following detailed sequence during operation of the lock : when the key 15 is inserted fully into the reader assembly 12 it activates the microswitch 29 . the microswitch 29 in turn activates the monostable circuit 49 which generates a reset pulse 59 . the reset pulse resets all pertinent circuits of the electronic control sections of the lock shown in fig3 . when the timer counter 53 is reset its output becomes logic zero and is inverted by the inverter 55 . the inverter &# 39 ; s output becomes logic 1 and turns on the power switch 24 . the power switch in turn activates the clock 54 and the counter 53 starts a countdown for the active time interval during which the lock operates and changes the code when the key 15 has the correct code . the key verification and related operations of the lock follow the activation of the lock logic by the reset pulse in the following manner : after the timer and power switch 24 are energized due to operation of the microswitch 29 the light sources of the code sensor , which may be light emitting diodes , are turned on by the power switch 24 . the reader assembly 12 then scans the key 15 as it is being removed from the reader . the code sensor assembly 13 receives light through code holes on the key 15 . the code is received in serial fashion with a field of parallel bits aligned with the light source 14 and code detector assembly 13 . each field is temporarily stored in the code register 30 ( fig2 ) which is composed of registers 36 - 39 of fig3 . the first field of the code is the control code 27a and it is stored in the control code register 29 of fig2 which corresponds to registers 43 , 46 of fig3 . the control code &# 39 ; s first three bits are used to select eight access levels stored in the memory 21 . the memory 21 is a standard solid state register which includes its own binary address decoding logic . it must be emphasized here that there are several types of commercial electronic memories which can be utilized in this invention . the basic criteria for their usage is low power consumption and low cost , and simple addressing logic . one bit of the control code 27a stored in register 46 of fig3 is used to perform the function of inhibiting the opening of the lock while permitting changing of the code . on a guest key this bit is a logic 1 and permits the and gate 42 to enable the clutch driver circuit 22 if the code on the key 15 is correct . on a code change only the inhibit bit on the key is a logic zero and is stored in register 46 which in turn disables the clutch driver circuit 22 through the and gate 42 at the same time permitting code change operation . the key code 27b is compared to the stored code in the memory 21 in the following manner : following the storage of the control code 27a in the control registers 43 - 46 , each column of the key code 27b is initially stored in the code registers 36 - 39 . the synchronizing bit 61 is utilized to store the bits of a column of the key code 27b and clear the registers 36 - 37 following a comparison cycle for a column of the codes . the registers 36 - 39 are initially cleared by the reset pulse while progresses through the or gate 61a . the logic 1 bits of the fields of the key code 27b set their corresponding registers through photo detectors 32 - 35 . the trailing edge of the sync pulse 61 detected by the sync detector 50 clocks the flip flop 48 which enables application of the clock signal 68 in the address counter 47 by way of or gate 61a . the address counter addresses the stored bit in the memory 21 which corresponds to the code bit stored in the code registers 36 - 39 . the corresponding code bits on the key 15 and the memory 21 are compared by the exclusive or gate 40 . when the two bits are not equal the output of the exclusive or gate 40 resets the compare flip flop 41 which has been initially preset by reset pulse 59 . each clock pulse gated by the and gate 61a advances the address counter and shifts the stored code field bits in registers 36 - 39 . each bit of the code , key code and the stored code are compared serially in this fashion . the shifting and address incrementing operations for each field of code take place as many times as the number of bits present in a column of the code 26 . the number of bits shifted and increments of the address are monitored by the flip flop 48 which is reset by the appropriate output of the address counter 47 which corresponds to the number of bits in a field of the key code 26 . when the flip flop 48 is reset it triggers the mono - stable circuit 62 , which in turn generates a reset pulse that passes through or gate 60 and clears the code registers 36 - 39 . at this time the code registers 36 - 39 are ready to receive another field or column of the code on the key . the number of fields on the key 15 which are scanned by the reader assembly 12 are counted by incrementing the field counter 51 by the sync pulse detected from the sync detector 50 . when the number of fields from the key 15 is equal to the number of stored fields in the memory 21 the field counter 51 clocks end of cycle flip flop 52 which has been reset initially by the reset pulse 59 . when flip flop 59 is set to logic 1 the control logic is ready to perform the major lock functions , namely , to operate the lock and change the code if a new code is present on the same key or another key . when the compare flip flop 41 stays in logic 1 condition throughout the comparison of all the bits of an access level stored in the memory 21 and key code 26 , fig2 it is logically determined that the code on the key is a valid code . at the end of a valid compare cycle , the flip flops 41 , 52 are both at logic level 1 . at this time , the and gate 42 is enabled , provided all the other inputs which correspond to other auxiliary functions are also logic 1 . the output of the and gate 42 then activates clutch driver circuit 22 which has been powered initially by the power switch 24 . the clutch driver 22 in turn activates the clutch mechanism 6 which then enables operation of the lock by turning a knob 8 . the validation of the code which corresponds to flip flops 41 and 52 as concurrently logical 1 enables the second major function , i . e ., change of code , in the following manner : the and gate 65 is enabled by the outputs of flip flops 41 and 52 resets the write flip flop 43 which has been initially reset by the reset pulse 59 . when the write flip flop 43 is set to logic 1 the memory 21 is set to receive a new code through the reader until the timer shuts off the active cycle . a new code can be on a separate key or the same key which operated the lock depending on the size of key to be used and convenience of the user . when a new code is entered through the reader assembly 12 following validation of the original code , it repeats the compare cycle in the same manner as the original code with the difference only that the memory 21 is set into write mode by the write flip flop 43 . each bit present at the input of the exclusive or gate 40 is also the input bit to the memory 21 and is written in the appropriate memory cell during a write cycle for a new code . the compare function is still performed during a write operation , but is redundant . two other auxiliary functions are performed by the electronic logic circuits which permit the lock to be operated under restricted conditions . these functions are the single key operation and electronic double lock feature . the single key operation function is performed by enabling operation of the lock only during a code change which happens when a key has a new code to replace the existing one in the memory 21 . the access types which are to function in this mode are decoded by the decoder 69 which has as its inputs the outputs of registers 43 , 44 , 45 . the output of the decoder 69 becomes a logic 1 for any selected access level which is to operate in the single operation key mode . the output of the decoder 69 is one of the two inputs of the nand gate 57 . the second input is from flip flop 63 which is set to logical 0 only when a write operation takes place through the and gate 64 . the and gate 64 is enabled only when the write flip flop 43 , fig3 is set and a sync pulse is detected by the sync detector 50 . therefore , when a write operation takes place for an access level used in the single operation mode , the output of the flip flop 63 is logical 0 and the output of the decoder 69 , fig3 is logical 1 , which makes the output of the nand gate 57 a logical 1 and permits the lock to operate . when no write action takes place for the same access level , the output of the flip flop 63 stays as logical 1 and the decoder 69 is also logical 1 which , in turn , makes the output of the nand gate 57 logical 0 . this inhibits the gate 42 and in turn disables operation of the lock . therefore , the lock operates only once during the write operation of a new code from a key which makes it a single operation key for the particular access level selected by the decoder 69 . the double lock function is mainly performed by a decoder 86 which selects particular access levels which are inhibited from operating the lock when the manual switch 30 is activated . when a particular access level has been selected to be inhibited by the manual switch 30 it is decoded by the decoder 86 and the decoder &# 39 ; s output becomes a logic 1 during operation of the lock . when a guest adtivates the switch 30 to restrict access to his room to only a selected number of access levels , the output of the switch circuit also becomes a logic 1 . therefore , the two inputs to the nand gate 56 become logical 1 and the output of this gate becomes a logical 0 to inhibit the operation of the lock through the and gate 42 . the function of restricted entry is thereby realized . in the arrangement of fig4 employing a micro - processor , almost all of the control functions performed by the control logic 20 of fig2 are performed by the micro - processor 67 . the micro - processor 67 communicates with the other elements of the control section through the data bus 73 &# 39 ;, address bus 74 &# 39 ;, and the control bus 75 &# 39 ;. the control program is stored in a read - only memory 70 . the micro - processor 67 performs all the decision logic functions via the programs stored in the read - only memory 70 . in some cases it may be desirable to have a changeable control program . this may be done by replacing the read - only memory 70 by a random access memory whose contacts can be changed if desired . the sequence of operations to be performed by the micro - processor electronic control is shown by the flow diagram 74 - 84 in fig5 . initially the lock is in quiescent state with all power consuming sections turned off by the power switch 24 . when the key 15 is inserted into the reader 12 it activates microswitch 29 . this is the first step 74 of the flow diagram . the next step in the flow diagram is timer enable 75 . when this step takes place the micro - processor 67 , clutch drivers 22 , and other power consuming sections of the lock are energized by the power switch 24 . the next step in the flow diagram is step 76 , where the code on the key 15 is received under program control of the micro - processor 67 and rom 70 . in the next step 77 , control code 27 is processed by the micro - processor 67 and the type of access level is decoded . following the access level section , the key code 26 is compared with the stored code in the memory 21 as shown in step 78 . at this point a decision is made by the software which is based upon the key code being equal to its corresponding stored code in the memory 21 . if the key code is not equal to stored code in the memory 21 , the software enters into a &# 34 ; no operation &# 34 ; mode and no action takes place until timer 53 cuts off the power to appropriate sections of the logic in step 84 . at this point , the lock enters into the quiescent state . if the key code is equal to its corresponding code in the memory 21 , the software proceeds to perform the required functions from decision step 78 . in the next step 79 , the existence of a new code is checked to replace the existing code in the memory . if a new code is present , the stored code in the memory 21 is replaced by it in step 80 . in either case , the software proceeds to step 81 which performs the special functions required by the control code 27a or switches such as 30a , b etc . following this step the control functions are checked for lock inhibit function in step 82 and if there is no inhibit condition then the lock is operated in step 83 . if there is an inhibit condition , the software enters into the &# 34 ; no operation &# 34 ; mode , and the lock returns to quiescent state at end of timer count in step 84 . fig6 shows an example of clutch mechanism which can be used for the basic clutch shown in fig2 . the mechanism is supported by a suitable base 89 which supports an electromagnetic coil 92 and bearings 100 , 101 for shaft 95 and 96 . when the clutch coil 92 is not energized through the wires 98 and 99 , the spring bias 91 keeps the shaft 90 and its connected gear teeth clutch 93 at a distance from the geared teeth clutch 94 . since there is a gap between the two gear faced clutch elements 93 , 94 during non - energized state no torque can be transmitted from the shaft 96 to the shaft 95 . when the coil 92 is energized through wires 98 and 99 for opening of the lock , the two gear faced clutch elements 93 , 94 are engaged due to the electromagnetic force which pulls the electromagnetic shaft 90 into the coil 92 overcoming the spring bias 91 . when the clutch elements 93 and 94 , fig5 are coupled , torque can be transmitted from shaft 96 to the shaft 95 , which permits entry through lock by opening the bolt mechanism , fig1 through the knob 8 . within the arrangement of fig6 the outside knob on the door is thereby affixed to the shaft 96 , and the shaft 95 is connected to the bolt mechanism as illustrated in fig1 . while the invention has been disclosed and described with reference to a limited number of embodiments , it will be apparent that variations and modifications may be made therein , and it is intended in the following claims to cover each such variation and modification as falls within the true scope and spirit of the invention .	4
hemolymph from the lobster , particularly but not exclusively homarus americanus is utilized ( neat or with active fragments extracted or in compounds ) for the treatment in mammals of viral ( such as molluscum contagiosum , verruca vulgaris — commonly known as warts , among others ) and tissue neoplastic or pre - neoplastic lesions ( such as ephelides , solar lentigos — commonly known as sun spots , and actinic keratosis , among others ). by “ neat ” it is meant the hemolymph is in the form collected from the lobster , and by “ active fragments ” it is meant a fragment or fragments of the hemolymph that stimulate an immune response . typically , the mammal treated will be human . the treatment can also be applied to other mammals such as those in the bovine , porcine , ovine , equine , canine , or feline families , among others . preparation may involve partial drying of whole hemolymph or plasma to produce a slurry . the hemolymph can be incorporated into a cosmetic or pharmaceutical compound together with a suitable carrier or carriers i . e . carageenans , starches , gelatins , vitamins , aloe , proteins , glycerins , parabens , crustacean shell powder , mineral oils , and plant oils . in non - clinical testing , various skin lesions were exposed to lobster hemolymph neat or absorbed into fibrous absorptive material attached to adhesive tape . it was found that the topical hemolymph treatment had an atrophic and / or fading effect on said lesions . it is not known how the hemolymph interacts with tissue to produce his effect . however , it is known that the immune system of arthropods resides in the hemolymph and the hemocytes within the hemolymph play a role , which may be part of the explanation . hemolymph is extracted using a variety of methods , including but not limited to : 1 . 1 . needle and syringe to pierce the pericardial membrane to draw directly from circulatory system ; 1 . 2 . using a knife or scalpel to lance the soft tissue allowing blood flow to a catch basin or bottle ; 1 . 3 . by separating the thorax ( body ) from the abdomen ( tail ) thus opening the circulatory system at the pericardium and draining the hemolymph into a catch basin or bottle . treatment of molluscum contagiosum with homarus americanus hemolymph — neat anecdotal study a juvenile female human suffering from molluscum contagiosum lesions treated with neat hemolymph (“ neat ” is defined as that form of hemolymph extracted directly from the lobster ) in a dose 0 . 5 ml for 5 days . the treated lesion atrophied over the course of the treatment period , whereas , adjacent lesions remained unchanged during that same time period . treatment of an actinic lesion with homarus americanus hemolymph — neat anecdotal study an adult male human with a facial actinic lesion was treated with neat hemolymph in a dose of 0 . 5 ml for approximately 10 days . before the hemolymph was administered the lesion was prepared by lightly abrading the affected epidermis . the lesion initially blanched and then and appeared to atrophy over the course of the treatment . treatment of verruca vulgaris with homarus americanus hemolymph — neat anecdotal study an adult male human with a manifestation of the virus verruca vulgaris ( a common wart ) topically treated the lesion with neat hemolymph in a dose of 0 . 5 ml sporadically over two weeks . over the course of treatment the wart softened and atrophied . treatment of herpes zoster with homarus americanus hemolymph — neat anecdotal study an adult female exhibiting a rash from the virus herpes zoster ( shingles ) topically treated the rash with neat hemolymph in a dose of approximately 0 . 5 ml and noticed considerable reduction is redness , itchiness and swelling in a 12 hour period . cuthbertson , adrian — inventor . 2011 . original assignee : marine biotechnology australia pty ltd . current u . s . classification : 424 / 208 . 1 ; 424 / 204 . 1 ; 424 / 209 . 1 ; 424 / 229 . 1 ; 424 / 230 . 1 ; 424 / 231 . 1 ; 514 / 3 . 7 ; 514 / 3 . 8 ; 514 / 4 . 2 dolashka p , velkova l , iliev i , beck a , dolashki a , yossifova l , toshkova r , voelter w , zacharieva s . 2003 . antitumor activity of glycosylated molluscan hemocyanins via guerin ascites tumor . eur urol . ; 37 suppl 3 : 34 - 40 . ( institute of organic chemistry , bulgarian academy of sciences , g . bonchev 9 , sofia 1113 , bulgaria . pda54 @ abv . bg ) greco k n , mendonça r m , moraes r h , mancini d a , mendonça r z . 2004 . antiviral activity of the hemolymph of lonomia obliqua ( lepidoptera : saturniidae ). antiviral res . feb ; 61 ( 2 ): 93 - 9 . linn j f , black p , derksen k , rübben h , thüroff j w . 2009 . keyhole limpet haemocyanin in experimental bladder cancer : literature review and own results . antiviral res . oct ; 84 ( 1 ): 84 - 90 . epub 2009 aug . 7 . ( department of urology , johannes gutenberg university of mainz , germany . jflinn @ compuserve . com ) olicard c , didier y , marty c , bourgougnon n , renault t . 2005 . in vitro research of anti - hsv - 1 activity in different extracts from pacific oysters crassostrea gigas . dis aquat organ . 2005 nov 9 ; 67 ( 1 - 2 ): 141 - 7 . pmid : 16385820 olicard c , renault t , torhy c , benmansour a , bourgougnon n . 2005 . putative antiviral activity in hemolymph from adult pacific oysters , crassostrea gigas . antiviral res . jun ; 66 ( 2 - 3 ): 147 - 52 . epub apr 26 . pan . 2008 . pan , l ., & amp ; jin , c . 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( key laboratory of marine biogenetic resources , the third institute of oceanography , state oceanic administration , 361005 , xiamen , pr china .)	0

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