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in fig1 , a piece of wheeled luggage 1 of a generally rectangular box shape is shown equipped with the combination juvenile seat and safety serape &# 39 ; of the present invention shown in its unfolded , seat - oriented position . a singular , rectangular , cushioned , folding panel serves as both seat 3 and backrest 4 . as shown in fig1 , the device is disposed in an unfolded position so that it may function as a juvenile seat . the transition from storage condition to safety seat begins by pivotally opening the juvenile seat from the folded storage condition and attaching the backrest 4 portion to the luggage 1 telescoping handle 2 via the wide nylon fabric split sleeve 6 with it &# 39 ; s velcro end portions that are to be joined together . thereby , the backrest 4 panel is releasably attached to the telescoping handle 2 , which is in turn attached to the wheeled luggage 1 . the seat 3 and backrest 4 panels may be fabricated of a reinforced fabric material such as canvas , flannel or nylon . it is noted that alternative materials , or for provision of the panels 3 , 4 to be fitted with removable covers may be utilized according to the requirements of the specific unit . comfort for the juvenile is attained by the addition of cushioning in the seat 3 and backrest 4 panels . the cushioned backrest 4 panel comprises the upper half , and is connected along a fold line to the cushioned seat 3 panel , or lower half . the cushioning material may typically be foam , although other cushioning materials may be utilized . a pair of torso restraining , shoulder engaging belts 7 comprised of an elongated , flexible strap of material , such as nylon webbing , are bonded at both ends to receive a conventional snap buckle 11 , and are bonded to the split sleeve 6 telescoping luggage handle 2 attachment means . the torso restraint shoulder belts 7 pass through the backrest panel 4 . a center restraint 8 is a common safety device that prevents the juvenile from sliding beneath a seat belt , and in the present invention , the center restraint 8 projects from the upper center of the seat panel 3 , near the leading edge , and interconnects with the torso restraint belt 7 ends at the snap buckle 11 . side bolster web straps 5 are bonded to the outer edges of both panel 3 , 4 portions , and engage adjustable buckles 14 to allow for length adjustability . the bolster straps 5 serve as seat side bolsters to reduce sideways movement of the juvenile within the unfolded seat and assist in orientation and extension of the seat . the bolster straps 5 are bonded to the split sleeve 6 . for added security , the lower seat panel 3 is secured to the wheeled luggage 1 by a second attachment means , removable from the wheeled luggage , which may use mating velcro surfaces 10 on the lower face of the seat panel 3 , and the top wall of the wheeled luggage 1 ( the wall nearest the telescoping handle 2 ). after placing the juvenile seat upon the luggage 1 , the child is seated upon the seat panel 3 , then the juvenile &# 39 ; s legs are guided around the center restraint 8 , and the torso restraining shoulder belts 7 are passed over the child &# 39 ; s shoulders and individually latched , using the buckles 11 connecting onto the center restraint 8 above the child &# 39 ; s lap . the juvenile is now able to sit in an elevated position while being held securely by the torso restraining shoulder belts 7 , interconnected center restraint 8 , and the side bolster straps 5 . pressure from the weight of the juvenile upon the seat panel 3 secures the velcro attachment means 10 onto the luggage 1 . attentive parental hand control of the luggage 1 handle at all times while the juvenile seat is occupied provides for sure stability and safety and will prevent tipping . the rectangular seat 3 and backrest panel 4 is provided with a round opening 9 passing completely through the panels 3 , 4 , upon the fold line to enable conversion to the serape &# 39 ; mode of operation . the opening 9 is centered and evenly portioned along the fold line . the opening 9 provides an aperture through which the unit may be placed over the head and shoulders of the juvenile , to be worn as the serape &# 39 ; article of clothing as illustrated in fig4 of the drawings . in the present invention serape &# 39 ; mode , the adjustable side bolster 5 straps perform as drawstrings or cinches for the sleeve openings , through which the arms of the juvenile may project . during this use , the fold line is placed atop the juvenile shoulders , the seat 3 portion is facing the juveniles back and the backrest 4 portion is facing the juvenile chest . the side bolster 5 straps are tightened or cinched snugly about the juvenile once placed within the serape &# 39 ;. the serape &# 39 ; is then connected to the parents aircraft seat belt 13 during takeoff and landings . the center restraint 8 is folded under the seat 3 portion to connect with the velcro 10 upon the underside of the seat 3 portion , and the torso shoulder restraint belts 7 are coupled to the center restraint , and tightened , allowing for a secure serape &# 39 ; attachment to the adult aircraft flight seatbelt 13 with the juvenile placed upon the seated adult lap . an alternative flight seatbelt 13 attachment method utilizes the carrying handles 12 and lightweight carabiner clips engaging the carrying handle 12 to enable removable attachment onto the adult seat belt 13 . when no longer needed , the juvenile seat is uncoupled from and disengaged from the luggage 1 and telescoping handle 2 , and folded into a compact unit that can easily be carried onto an airliner , a train , or bus . the backrest 4 panel and the seat 3 panel are folded to face together along the fold line and compressed ( after safely removing the juvenile from the seat unit ). the storage condition is characterized by being pivoted closed to a nested flat condition , and compactly folded into a planar assembly . in its storage condition , the device is sized to snugly fit within the article of luggage 1 . a set of carrying handles 12 are attached to both the seat 3 panel and backrest 4 panel leading edges , thusly providing twin carrying handles 12 . the handles 12 function together to enable two - handed ease of carrying the juvenile for a short duration while placed within the seat unit , after removal from the luggage 1 . the handles 12 also serve as a releasable closure for retaining and carrying the unit in a closed position , through use of mating velcro portions upon the handle 12 straps . although the present invention is shown in conjunction with a suitcase type article of luggage , it could be used with other articles of luggage . further , the luggage may be factory modified to selectively interface with the present invention . in example , for additional safety against luggage tip - over , an optional set of folding leg extensions can be employed . the leg extensions are removed or attached to the luggage as desired . an adjustable web strap with velcro end portions provides attachment means to the luggage , and the strap and legs may be attached to the luggage 1 at the base of the luggage 1 , nearest the wheels . for use the legs are folded outwardly when the juvenile is present in the seat , and folded to the luggage 1 for travel , disconnected for storage . additionally , for added safety and comfort , a hinged headrest portion can be provided , attached along the upper leading edge of the backrest 4 portion . an alternative lightweight embodiment of the seat 3 and backrest 4 panel portions can be constructed of coated , inflatable material and is in construction similar to a domestic flocked air mattress . thus , while preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail , various modifications , alterations , and changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined in the claims . | 0 |
as will be noted from review of the drawing figures , the typical archery bow ( denoted generally by arrow 1 ) has a central riser 2 with a handle portion ( denoted generally by arrow 3 ) adapted to be gripped by an archer . the string ( not shown ) of bow 1 is strung either directly between , or from cams and pulleys connected to , upper limb 4 and lower limb 5 . the elongate handle portion 3 typically has a width from front to rear greater than the thickness of said handle portion from side to side and a height greater than its width . in prior art designs currently in production , a contoured hand grip is sometimes rigidly connected to the bow 1 on the handle portion 3 . however , in the preferred embodiment of the instant invention , as illustrated in fig1 through 9 , the rigid hand grip connection typical of current designs is replaced by the multi - purpose bow grip assembly taught herein . as will be noted from the drawing figures , the handle portion 3 of the instant invention is provided with two generally transverse front - to - back cylindrical bores . first bore 6 has its aperture on the rear of said handle portion 3 . likewise , second bore 7 is also provided with an aperture on the rear of said handle portion 3 . ideally , these bores to not extend through to the front of the handle portion 3 , are substantially parallel to each other , and are substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal and side - to - side axes of the handle portion 3 . each of the aforesaid bores is provided with a matching connective member by which it is connected to the handgrip ( denoted generally by arrow 8 ). thus , a first connective member ( denoted generally by arrow 9 ) is provided having ( i ) a linear portion 9a adapted for insertion to varying depths into said first bore 6 via its aperture in bow handle 3 and ( ii ) a spherical head portion 9b . likewise , a second connective member ( denoted generally by arrow 10 ) is provided having ( i ) a linear portion 10a adapted for insertion to varying depths into said second bore 7 via its aperture in bow handle 3 and ( ii ) a spherical head portion 10b . the preferred embodiments illustrated utilize ball bearing studs with a head diameter of 3 / 8 &# 34 ;, a length of 1 &# 34 ; and a shaft width of 1 / 4 &# 34 ; for first connective member 9 and second connective member 10 . to insure that connective member 9 and connective member 10 may be nonpermanently affixed at any of a variety of depths within the previously described bores , some type of locking means must also be provided . in the preferred embodiment illustrated , this means includes both ( i ) the provision of engaging screw threading on the linear portion 9a of first connective member 9 and first bore 6 as well as on the linear portion 10a of second connective member 10 and second bore 7 , and ( ii ) the provision of set screws 11 intersecting first bore 6 and second bore 7 . ( set screws 11 are preferably nylon tipped so as to avoid damaging the threading of the connective members 9 and 10 and may be tightened in a variety or ways , such as by standard screw driver or by allen wrench ). either of these means could provide some ability to lock connective members 9 and 10 at desired and varying depths within handle 3 . however , it is deemed most advantageous to include both . hand grip 8 has side walls 8a defining an inward channel 8b extending the length of handgrip 8 and a contoured back ( to be held by the user ) opposite inward channel 8b . as it must interface with , and snugly engage , the spherical head 9b of first connective member 9 and the spherical head 10b of second connective member 10 in order to be connected to the handle 3 by said connective members it is provided with matching sockets in inward channel 8b . the hand grip 8 is preferably formed from semi - rigid plastic materials ; thus , the spherical heads 9b and 10b described can snap into ( and out of ) these sockets with only moderate effort by the archer . the first socket 12 has a round aperture in inward channel 8b intermediate side walls 8a . first socket 12 is adapted to snugly engage the spherical head 10b of first connective member 10 ( and is , therefore , provided with a diameter approximately equal to the diameter of spherical head 10b ). handgrip 8 is also provided with an elongated second socket 13 having an elongated aperture in said inward channel 8b intermediate side walls 8a . second socket 13 is , therefore , adapted to snugly engage the spherical head 10b of said second connective member 10 while allowing said spherical head 10b to slide within the second socket 13 intermediate side walls 8a . in the embodiment illustrated , utilizing the ball bearing studs previously described , second socket 13 may advantageously be provided with a length of approximately 1 &# 34 ; and an aperture of approximately 3 / 4 &# 34 ;. the provision of an elongated socket makes several of the unique features of this invention possible . without such a socket , the hand grip 8 could not be moved towards or away from the handle 3 , varying brace height and draw length . moreover , without such a socket , as sidewalls 8a are farther apart than the side - to - side width of handle 3 , hand grip 8 can pivot ( within a limited range ) around an axis running through spherical heads 9b and 10b of connective members 9 and 10 , assisting in the elimination of bow torque . however , as the positioning of spherical heads 9b and 10b at different distances from handle 3 increases the distance between them , hand grip 8 could not simultaneously be adjusted for either high wrist or low wrist positioning without such a socket . this ability is one of the truly unique features of the instant invention and sets it apart from all of the prior art known to the inventor and described herein . the versatility of the instant design is more fully appreciated in reviewing the various bow grip positions illustrated in fig4 through 9 . in these figures it will be seen that the instant design allows something unavailable in prior art designs , the ability to set the bow grip at a full range of wrist positions from high to low , with the simultaneous ability to make the bow grip pivoting or non - pivoting and to adjust draw length . fig4 illustrates the bow grip 8 of the instant invention in an intermediate pivoting position . it is neither high wrist nor low wrist , nor is it at full extension from the bow , allowing further shortening or increase of draw length by moving bow grip 8 towards or away from the bow handle 3 . fig5 illustrates the bow grip 8 of the instant invention snugly adjacent to bow handle 3 . in this position it is neither high wrist nor low wrist and is non - pivoting . fig6 illustrates the bow grip 8 with its lower portion out ( creating a high wrist position for the archer ) and its upper portion snugly abutting the bow handle 3 ( making it non - pivoting ). fig7 illustrates the bow grip 8 with its upper portion out ( creating a low wrist position for the archer ) and its upper portion snugly abutting the bow handle 3 ( making it non - pivoting ). fig8 illustrates the bow grip 8 with its lower portion out farther than its upper portion , but with neither abutting the bow handle 3 , creating a high wrist position for the archer with pivoting of bow grip 8 . fig9 illustrates the bow grip 8 with its upper portion out farther than its lower portion , but with neither abutting the bow handle 3 , creating a low wrist position for the archer with pivoting of bow grip 8 . any of these positions may be created simply and easily by unsnapping the bow grip 8 , adjusting connective members 9 and 10 for the position desired by screwing same in / out of bow handle 3 , tightening set screws 11 , and snapping the bow grip 8 back onto spherical heads 9b and 10b of connective members 9 and 10 . the aforesaid positionings do not , however , exhaust the possibilities of the instant design . numerous other combinations are possible . moreover , as will be noted , side walls 8a , which limit the amount bow grip 8 is free to pivot , also allow bow grip 8 to be fixed and rigid at any degree of extension from bow handle 3 ( allowing maximum adjustability of brace height and draw length without pivoting ) by the simple expedient of adding shims between side walls 8a and bow handle 3 . these shims may be separate members or may , preferably , be united to each other so as to create a single shim member 14 with a &# 34 ; u &# 34 ; shaped cross section that snaps into place either across the front of the bow ( on the side facing away from the archer ) or under the bow grip 8 ( on the side facing the archer ). once inserted , single shim member 14 prevents pivoting by filling the gap between side walls 8a and bow handle 3 . further , although not as versatile as the preferred embodiment illustrated , it is possible to reverse the design so as place the ball and socket joints of the instant configuration within the bow handle 3 rather than the bow grip 8 . these and numerous other variations are possible without exceeding the ambit of the instant invention , which is best determined by the claims that follow . | 5 |
the low - capacity smoothing iron comprises a housing 1 , which is closed by a soleplate 2 at the bottom . the soleplate has a low heat capacity and is of very thin cross - section , which has become possible by the use of reinforcement ribs 3 . the thickness of the soleplate 2 is , for example , 1 mm . above the reinforcement ribs 3 the soleplate 2 is covered by a partition 3a of a glass - ceramic or borosilicate , so that a cavity 3b is formed which serves as steam or evaporation chamber , particularly if the water is evaporated in the iron itself . the water supply for the present construction is shown as numeral 112 in fig1 . the soleplate 2 has steam ports 4 situated at the location of a steam compartment 5 , which is supplied , in a manner not shown , from the steam or evaporation chamber 3b . the steam ports may also be situated in the soleplate in the direct radiation field of the lamps and reflector . the present embodiment has a steam pipe 8 leading to the steam compartment 5 and to a steam nozzle 9 . the steam pipe 8 can be shut off by means of a valve 10 . in the present embodiment the steam is supplied to the iron from a separate steam generator via a duct 11 . two halogen lamps 6 extend parallel to the plane of the soleplate 2 and reflectors 7 arranged above them serve to project all the light emitted by the halogen lamps onto the soleplate 2 . the reflectors 7 consist of aluminum . on the soleplate , which is absorbent at its inner side , a temperature sensor 12 is arranged to detect the temperature of the soleplate . the sensor 12 is connected to a microprocessor 13 , which is associated with a temperature control device 14 . the microprocessor compares the actual temperature measured by the sensor 12 with the nominal temperature , which is preset by means of the manually controlled temperature control device 14 . a power control device 15 acts as a half - wave control and receives control commands from the microprocessor 13 to turn on and turn off the lamps 6 . for example , as illustrated in fig9 a switch or triac in series with the lamp 6 is conductive for half - waves of the mains voltage . the average power of the lamp is controlled by changing the ratio of the number of half - waves during which the lamp is switched on and the number of half - waves during which the lamp is switched off . the triac receives trigger pulses from a triac driver . the trigger pulses are synchronized with the zero crossings of the mains voltage so that triggering occurs at the beginning of a half - wave of the mains voltage . the triac driver also receives a drive signal from the microprocessor 13 , which drive signal determines whether the next half - wave of the mains voltage is to be used or not . triac drivers and triacs and the use thereof for control of half - waves are well known in the art . the user sets the temperature control device to the temperature required for the relevant ironing process , i . e . required for the fabric to be ironed . this is the temperature δ0 in fig4 . in the temperature - time diagram shown in fig4 the relevant soleplate temperatures are plotted versus the operating times . the time interval t0 to t1 represents the beginning of the heating process of the smoothing iron . at this instant , after a soft start with half - wave control , the power supply is switched to the full power p0 in the diagram shown in fig5 . in this diagram the power used for heating is plotted versus the time axis corresponding to fig4 . the lamps 6 are operated separately , in series or in parallel . the power control initially ensures that the soleplate is heated to the temperature δ0 . at this instant the soleplate is , for example , not loaded and does not deliver any heat . therefore , the power is reduced to the no - load power p1 which allows for the no - load losses . the ironing process starts at the instant t1 , for which again the power p0 is applied , which is reduced to p1 as the dryness of the fabric increases . from the instant t2 the iron stands on the dry fabric without being moved and subsequently the temperature δ1 is exceeded towards δ0 . if after a time t3 minus t2 the microprocessor 13 detects that the temperature has not fallen below the temperature δ1 , it will interpret this as resting and will reduce the nominal temperature from δ0 to the standby temperature δ2 . this means that the power control unit sets the power to p = 0 until δ2 is reached . the temperature δ2 is maintained with a reduced power p2 until ironing begins again . in fig4 ironing begins at t5 . if during the time that the iron falls from δ0 to δ2 ( p = 0 ; no power supply ) it is moved for ironing ( at the instant t8 ) this will be detected by the microprocessor as a result of a sudden power requirement . for this purpose the gradient is always computed from the last four temperature values and is compared at least with that of the preceding measurement cycle . after the power has been turned off ( rest condition ) the curve representing the fall of the iron temperature will become increasingly flatter as a result of the thermal conditions . the soleplate temperature , which is measured at fixed time intervals , is written into a memory , which always stores the last four values in time sequence . from this the actual gradient ( temperature fall as function of time ) is calculated and is also written into a memory . after the next measurement cycle the old measurement values are shifted in the memory , i . e . the oldest value is replaced by the oldest but one ( etc .) and the actual gradient is computed using the most recent actual value and is compared with the gradient in the memory . taking into account the accuracy of the temperature measurement a gradient change of , for example , 20 % will be a reliable indication that ironing has been re - started , so that in this case the microprocessor switches from the stand - by temperature to the old nominal temperature . owing to the low heat capacity of the soleplate the temperature rise per 1000 w rated power is approximately 7 k / s . this means that a cycle time of approximately 0 . 4 to 0 . 5 s is required . this cycle time can be determined with the following control parameters . with a loop gain of rv = 60 w / k and a rate time tv = 1 . 2 s it is possible to realize an effective control between the temperature values δ0 and δ0 - 0 . 36 ×( δ0 - 20 ). this rate time is valid only in the limited range below the nominal temperature up to a temperature corresponding to 64 % of the nominal temperature minus 7 . 2 k ( ambient temperature correction ). outside this range the controller operates purely proportionally to the deviation . the heat capacity of the soleplate should be only approximately 0 . 5 to 1 . 5 × 10 - 4 wh / kcm 2 as compared with approximately 6 × 10 - 4 wh / kcm 2 for a conventional soleplate . | 3 |
fig1 shows a skier 5 wearing snow skis and using the propulsion apparatus of the present invention . the self - propelled unit , generally referred to as numeral 10 , is worn in the manner of a back pack . the unit 10 is secured to the user or skier 5 by securing means which for this embodiement is shown as having the form of a pendulum shoulder harness 15 . the pendulum shoulder harness 15 has two shoulder strap members 15a and 15b ; these shoulder strap members are connected at the ends thereof to the attachment hook 15c . the attachement hook 15c releasably engages an eyelet member 15d . the pendulum shoulder harness 15 may as shown have chest and / or back cross members . the pendulum shoulder harness 15 can also as shown accommodate a front sack 16 . the user 5 is shown as wearing snow skis 12 ; however the skis may be replaced by skates , a skate board or the like ( not shown ). the unit 10 comprises generally a power - operated means such as an internal combustion motor 30 , an energy storage means such as a fuel tank 35 , a muffler - support structure 40 , a propelling means such as a propeller 45 ( see fig2 ) and cowling cage means 50 ; the cage or shroud 50 protects , for example , the propellor , motor , etc .. in the example embodiment shown , the fuel tank 35 is incorporated into the structure of the protective cage 50 which also has a collar 50a ; the fuel tank 35 forming part of a propellor protection means . at least part of the motor functions may be controlled by the user via the handle means referred to generally by the reference number 20 . referring to fig2 the handle means 20 includes hand grip members 20a and 20b as well as stem members 25a and 25b . the stem members 25a and 25b are pivotably connected to the rod 56 &# 39 ; so that they may be displaced up and down but not side to side ; the rod 56 &# 39 ; is fixed to the muffler - support means 40 . in fig1 the handle means 20 is shown in an up position at the sides of the person with the hand grip members being in front of the abdominal area of the user ; in fig2 it is shown in a down position . in the embodiment shown the stem members are fixed together ( see fig4 ) at their ends ( i . e . by being welded , by being integral , etc . . . .) and the area of connection passes through a hole in the rod 56 &# 39 ;; this hole rotatably embraces said area of connection such that there is only said up and down movment of the handle means 20 . the pivot joint may alternatively be accomplished by use of a u - shaped bracket , the stems being interconnected and the u - shape enbracing them ; by the use of a &# 34 ; t &# 34 ;- shape rod member fixed to or integral with the rod 56 &# 39 ; whereby the ends of the stems are rotatably joined to the arms of the &# 34 ; t &# 34 ;; etc . . . . the handle means 20 may alternatively be directly joined to the muffler - support structure 40 in such pivotal manner . it is possible to adjust the motor rotational speed by incorporating into a grip member ( e . g . grip member 20b ) suitable controlling means 21 which are operatively connected to the power - operated means ; the grip member may also comprise a shut - off ignition switch ( not shown ). the speed controlling means 21 may comprise a flexible cable 22 ( fig2 ) connected to the motor fuel supply line , if the motor used is an internal combustion engine . an internal combustion engine is ( as mentioned above ) shown in fig1 and in more detail in fig4 and 5 . since motor controlling means for such engines are well known in the art , same will not be described in further detail . a two stroke combustion engine may be used for the apparatus , the motor developing about 8 hp at 8000 rpm and weighing about 8 pounds . the motor may have one or more cylinders . as an example , the homelite 100 cc motor for mechanical saws may be used , the support structure being configured to anchor the motor thereto . referring to fig2 and 5 , the motor 30 is secured to the muffler - support structure 40 ; in this embodiment the muffler has a dual role , namely , that of a support means and as muffler means . still referring to fig2 and 5 , the propulsion unit is provided with cowling cage means 50 . the cage structure 50 comprises a plurality of rods ( designated by the general base reference numeral 56 ), the annular fuel tank 35 and the collar 50a ; rods 56 ( including rods 56 &# 39 ; and 56a ), fuel tank 35 and the collar 50a can be respectively secured to each other by appropriate means such as welding or the like . the cage structure 50 is fixed to the muffler - support structure 40 via the rods 56 by some appropriate fixation means such as welding etc . . . . as may be seen , the fuel tank 35 , the muffler and the engine 30 are confined or disposed within said cowling cage means 50 so as to provide a safer unit ; i . e . the fuel tank 35 forms part of the structure of the cowling cage means 50 whereas the muffler forms part of the support means around which the cage is disposed . a propeller screen or netting 57 may be disposed over the cage structure in the manner of a sock ( fig5 a ) using opening 57a . the propeller screen 57 is supported by the rods 56 and is used to cover the larger spaces therebetween and also covers the rear end of the unit as shown in fig3 . the lower rod 56a ( see fig1 ) may be hollow so as to be used as part of the fuel supply line for the engine 30 . an eyelet 15d is provided on the upper rod 56 &# 39 ; ( as mentioned above ) for transportation and mounting purposes . it should be noted that , in the foregoing embodiment , although a gasoline engine is employed for the unit 10 , an electric motor may be employed by substituting a battery for the fuel tank 35 . fig4 shows an exploded view of the assembly of the unit 10 . as shown , the fuel tank 35 is secured to the muffler - support structure 40 by means of the plurality of rods 56 . the engine 30 is secured to the muffler - support structure 40 by means of securing means such as bolts 81 which pass through the openings 80 provided into said structure 40 and then on to corresponding attachement openings in the motor . in the assembled configuration , the modular components cooperatively define a sturdy propulsion means construction adapted for substantially trouble free use . however , in the disassembled state , the individual modular components have a generally lightweight construction adapted for relatively easy lifting and handling and for transport within a compact volumetric space . still referrring to fig4 reference numeral 75 represents the starting cable which is operatively connected to a recoil starter mechanism 75a such as is used on outboard motors for pleasure boats . the recoil starter 75a is connected to the propelling shaft 31 of the engine 30 in a conventional manner ; the propellor 45 is mounted in a conventional manner to the opposite end of the shaft 31 . in the illustrated embodiment , the starting cable 75 is foot operated rather than hand operated ( see fig1 ). in this manner , the user can keep both hands free for other uses ( e . g . on the handle means 20 so as to control the unit 10 ). a soft padding 85 is connected to and positioned on the front side of the muffler - support structure 40 for engaging the pelvic area of the user . additionally , a heat barrier 90 is placed between the soft padding 85 and the muffler - support structure 40 . the propeller shaft has an axis of rotation which extends through the padding 85 and the pelvic area of the user as shown in fig1 . all the elements shown in fig4 are connected together by any appropriate manner such as bolting , welding or the like . fig6 and 7 , illustrate the muffler - support structure 40 . the muffler - support structure 40 comprises an exhaust manifold 41 communicating with two exhaust pipes 42 ; the interior of the muffler comprising usual muffler baffle structures . the exhaust manifold 41 may be secured to the motor 30 in a conventional manner , i . e . by the opening 80 and bolts 81 or by any other appropriate means . the muffler structure 40 is provided with an opening 44 for the engine shaft 31 ( see fig4 ). in order to reduce the vibration which may be caused by the motor 30 , the motor may be mounted to the muffler - support structure 50 through any type of suitable vibration absorbing means so as to limit , to a minimum , direct transmission of the vibration to the user 5 . as described earlier , the reference number 75 indicates the engine starting cable , thus , when the user wishes to start the engine , a simple movement of the foot is necessary for that purpose . direction changes may be made simply by the usual method in skiing , namely by shifting the weight of the skier from one ski to the other or by changing the direction or orientation of the skis . therefore , no complex steering mechanism is necessary ; this enhances the freedom of movement of the user . however , in order to facilitate turns and / or regain equilibrium recourse may be made to any handle means ( such as described above ) which if desired , may be present , so as to pivot the unit about the pelvic area and thus direct the direction of thrust . fig8 and 10 illustrate a further embodiment of the present invention ; in these figures the same reference numerals , as used in the previous figures , are used to identify the same elements of the illustrated apparatus . for the embodiment shown , the motor 30a is disposed upside down relative to the motor configuration of the other embodiment . this is done in order to allow the use of the separate fuel tank 95 which is of conventional tank design . the fuel tank 95 is mounted to a platform 100 which is connected to the muffler - support structure 40a ; the fuel tank 95 and the platform 100 may be fixed to the adjoining elements in any suitable fashion ( e . g . nuts / bolts , straps , welds , etc . . . . ). the muffler - support structure 40a has exhaust outlets 42a and a corresponding exhaust manifold ( not seen ) but still retains the basic structure of muffler - support structure 40 . however , since a separate fuel tank is used for this embodiment the muffler - support structure 40a may be replaced by a simple support plate structure and a separate muffler . in this case the motor may be attached to the support plate by a bracket so as to leave sufficient space between the motor and the plate for the insertion of the separate muffler therebetween , the muffler being operatively connected to the motor ; the muffler may also be configured such that exhaust discharge may , as mention above , be directed into the path of the rotating propellor . the fuel tank 95 is disposed within the cage structure 50 . since a separate fuel tank 95 is provided , the cage structure 50 is provided with an annular ring 50b . the stems 25a and 25b of handle means are joined at their ends and the area of the joint passes through a hole in a rod element 105 ; one end of the rod element is fixed to or forms part of a rod 56 and the other end is fixed to the muffler - support structure 40a . the hole of the rod element 105 is configured to embrace the stem ends such that the handle means can pivot up and down but not side to side relative to the muffler - support structure 40a . since various modifications can be made to the invention as hereinabove described and many apparently widely different embodiments of same made within the spirit and scope of the claims without departing from such spirit and scope , it is intended that all matter contained in the accompanying specification shall be interpreted as illustrative only and not in a limiting sense . for example , an electric light can be added to the user for nocturnal uses . | 0 |
referring to fig1 and 2 , the invention mainly includes a conversion device 1 linking to a fixed telephone line t 1 , a fixed line telephone t and a mobile phone p . a microprocessor 10 which coordinates operations of various units of the conversion device 1 to control interactions between the mobile phone p the fixed telephone line t 1 and the fixed line telephone t ; a fixed line / mobile phone switch unit 11 linking to the microprocessor 10 to receive control signals of the microprocessor 10 and select the fixed telephone line t 1 or mobile phone lines ; a dtmf decoding unit 12 linking to the microprocessor 10 to transmit decoded signals to the microprocessor 10 for processing ; a caller identification voice unit 13 linking to the microprocessor 10 to transform incoming telephone numbers to voice for broadcasting in an audio fashion ; a fixed line detection unit 14 controlled by the microprocessor 10 to test the incoming phone calls and phone communication on the fixed telephone line t 1 , and through the microprocessor 10 to control the fixed line / mobile phone switch unit 11 ; a mobile phone communication interface 15 linking to the microprocessor 10 to transmit and receive signals of the mobile phone p ; and a voice switch 20 for determining whether to hear the telephone voice of the incoming call before taking the incoming call . by means of the construction set forth above , the conversion device 1 connects to the fixed telephone line t 1 and connects to the mobile phone p through the mobile phone communication interface 15 to complete the installation of the invention . users may use the voice switch 19 on the fixed line / mobile phone switch unit 11 to determine whether to hear the telephone voice of the incoming call before taking the incoming call . when the voice switch is in an on condition and there is an incoming call from the mobile phone p , an user may take the handset of the fixed line telephone t , and the caller identification voice unit 13 generates the voice of the telephone number of the incoming call that is output on the handset of the fixed line telephone t through the fixed line / mobile phone switch unit 11 ( while the telephone is still not yet hooked up ). if the user decides to take the incoming call , he / she depresses a preset key ( such as flash key or receive key ) on the fixed line telephone t . if the user does not want to take the incoming call , he / she may hang up the fixed line telephone t . on the contrary , when the voice switch is in an off condition and there is an incoming call from the mobile phone p , the user may directly take the handset of the fixed line telephone t to take the incoming call . in the event that there is an incoming call from the mobile phone p and the user uses the mobile phone to take the incoming call , in the mean time another incoming call is coming through the fixed line telephone t , an interruption tone may be heard on the mobile phone p . then the user may decide whether to take the incoming call from the fixed line telephone t . if the user decides to take the call , he / she depresses the “#” key and uses the “#” key to switch between the mobile phone and the fixed telephone line t 1 . refer to fig3 for the structural block diagram of a second embodiment of the invention . in this embodiment a fsk signal generation unit 12 ′ that is able to transform the incoming phone number to a signal recognizable by the fixed line telephone replaces the caller identification voice unit 13 to enable the fixed line telephone to display the incoming phone number . refer to fig4 for the structural block diagram of a third embodiment of the invention . in this embodiment a vibration ring generation unit 17 and a vibration ring and mobile phone switch unit 16 are added to the original conversion device 1 , wherein : the vibration ring generation unit 17 generates vibration ring signals to the vibration ring and mobile phone switch unit 16 ; and the vibration ring and mobile phone switch unit 16 receives the vibration ring signals from the vibration ring generation unit 17 and is linked to the microprocessor 10 to determine whether to send the vibration ring signals to the fixed line / mobile phone switch unit 11 and to connect the mobile phone communication interface 15 . through operations of the vibration ring generation unit 17 and the vibration ring and mobile phone switch unit 16 , when there is an incoming call from the mobile phone p , the vibration ring and mobile phone switch unit 16 will output vibration signals to trigger the vibration ring generation unit 17 to generate vibration ring signals to the fixed line / mobile phone switch unit 11 to make the fixed line telephone t to generate vibration ring to avoid missing phone call due to too little ringing on the mobile phone p . refer to fig5 for the structural block diagram of a fourth embodiment of the invention . in this embodiment a music generation unit 18 is added to the original conversion device 1 . the music generation unit 18 enables the waiting telephone line to hear the resided music during the fixed line / mobile phone switch unit 11 is making switch . in other words , while the fixed telephone t is busy in use and there is an incoming call from the mobile phone p , an interruption tone will be produced . if the user wants to take the incoming call , he / she depresses the “#” key on the mobile phone p while another line will be held and hear the music output by the music generation unit 18 . if the user wants to resume the conversation on another line , he / she needs only to depress again the transfer “#” key . if the user wants to hang up the fixed line telephone t after having finished the call and take the incoming call from the mobile phone p , he / she may depress the preset key ( such as flash key ) to make switch . similarly , if the user wants to hang up the mobile phone p after having finished the call and take the incoming call from the fixed line telephone t , he / she may depress the preset key ( such as flash key ) to make switch . the user may also hang up both the fixed line telephone t and the mobile phone p by returning the handset to its home position . referring to fig6 a , 6b and 7 for the structural and schematic block diagrams of a fifth embodiment of the invention . in this embodiment a mobile phone dock 2 containing a charge unit 21 , a detection unit 22 and a conversion device 1 is provided to hold the mobile phone p , wherein : the charge unit 21 provides electric power for charging the battery of the mobile phone p and operation of the mobile phone p ; the detection unit 22 detects whether the mobile phone dock 2 has held the mobile phone p ; and the conversion device 1 which consists of the units set forth above . details are omitted here . the aforesaid construction provides electric power required for the mobile phone when in use and to charge the mobile phone battery as desired . refer to fig8 for a schematic diagram of a sixth embodiment of the invention . the conversion device 1 is directly located in a fixed line telephone t to save installation troubles for users . refer to fig9 for the structural block diagram of a seventh embodiment of the invention . in this embodiment a status indicating unit 19 is added to the conversion device 1 . the status indicating unit 19 may include a plurality of led lights ( or a lcd device ) to indicate operation status of the conversion device 1 . by means of the construction of the invention set forth above , a fixed line telephone may be used to take the incoming call from mobile phones to eliminate the threat of electromagnetic wave , and also can filter out unwanted phone calls . while the preferred embodiments of the invention have been set forth for the purpose of disclosure , modifications of the disclosed embodiments of the invention as well as other embodiments thereof may occur to those skilled in the art . accordingly , the appended claims are intended to cover all embodiments which do not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention . | 7 |
the present invention , as shown in the following reaction formula 1 , provides a new method for preparing an intermediate of dipeptidyl peptidase - iv inhibitor represented by chemical formula 2 , the method comprising : ( step a ) preparing a compound represented by chemical formula 6 by ring - opening of epoxide ring using grinard reagent in a compound represented by chemical formula 5 ; ( step b ) preparing a compound represented by chemical formula 7 by reacting the compound represented by chemical formula 6 with sodium azide ; ( step c ) preparing a compound represented by chemical formula 8 by reacting the compound represented by chemical formula 7 with triphenylphosphine ; ( step d ) preparing a compound represented by chemical formula 9 by ring - opening of aziridine ring using a cyanogen - based reagent in the compound represented by chemical formula 8 ; and ( step e ) preparing a compound represented by chemical formula 2 by hydrolyzing the compound represented by chemical formula 9 using a base . ( in the above reaction formula 1 , x is a halogen and pg is a protecting group .) specifically , a compound of chemical formula 6 , which has been subjected to ring - opening of epoxide ring , is prepared by reacting the compound represented by chemical formula 5 in step a with a 2 , 4 , 5 - trifluorophenyl magnesium bromide reagent in the presence of a copper ( i ) iodide catalyst . next , an azido compound represented by chemical formula 7 is prepared by reacting the compound represented by chemical formula 6 in step b with sodium azide in the presence of a copper ( i ) iodide catalyst . next , triphenylphosphine is used in the compound represented by chemical formula 7 in step c to prepare an aziridine ring compound , and then an amine - protecting group is introduced to prepare a compound represented by chemical formula 8 . then , butoxycarbonyl ( boc ), benzyloxycarbonyl ( cbz ), 9 - fluorenylmethoxycarbonyl ( fmoc ), acetyl , benzoyl , or tosyl may be used as the amine - protecting group . subsequently , a compound represented by chemical formula 9 is prepared by reacting the compound represented by chemical formula 8 with a cyanogen - based reagent such as sodium cyanide , potassium cyanide , etc . under 18 - crown - 6 and ammonium chloride in step d . finally , a compound represented by chemical formula 2 is prepared by hydrolyzing the compound represented by chemical formula 9 with a base , and sodium hydroxide , potassium hydroxide , lithium hydroxide , etc . may be used as a preferable base . the present invention also provides a compound represented by the following chemical formula 8 or 9 , wherein the compound is produced as an intermediate when producing the compound represented by chemical formula 2 . ( in the above chemical formulas 8 and 9 , pg is a protecting group .) furthermore , the present invention , as shown in the following reaction formula 2 , provides a new method for preparing an intermediate of dipeptidyl peptidase - iv inhibitor represented by chemical formula 3 , the method comprising : ( step a ′) preparing a compound represented by chemical formula 11 by introducing t - butoxy group to hydroxyl group of a compound represented by chemical formula 10 ; and ( step b ′) preparing a compound represented by chemical formula 3 by inducing a cyclization by reacting the compound represented by chemical formula 11 with ethylene diamine . specifically , a compound represented by chemical formula 11 , in which a hydroxyl group is substituted with a t - butyl group , is prepared by reacting a compound represented by chemical formula 10 with isobutyrene gas under an acid catalyst in step a ′. then , the compound represented by chemical formula 10 is commercially available or may be prepared by methods known in the art , and may be obtained by using sodium nitrite and potassium bromide from l - serine to replace an amine group with a bromine group , for example , by a method described in tetrahedron letter asymmetry 1994 ; 2517 , and then reacting the resulting product with methanol under an acid catalyst such as thionyl chloride . next , a compound represented by chemical formula 3 is prepared by inducing a cyclization by reacting the compound represented by chemical formula 11 with ethylene diamine in the presence of a base in step b ′, and then sodium hydrogen carbonate , sodium carbonate , potassium carbonate , potassium carbonate , pyridine , triethylamine , etc . may be used as a preferable base . in addition , the present invention , as shown in the following reaction formula 3 , provides an improved method for preparing dipeptidyl peptidase - iv inhibitor represented by chemical formula 1 , the method comprising : ( step 1 ) preparing a compound represented by chemical formula 4 by bonding a compound represented by chemical formula 2 and a compound represented by chemical formula 3 with peptide bond by reacting them using triphenylphosphine , bis ( 2 , 2 ′- benzothiazolyl ) disulfide , and a base in the presence of a reaction solvent ; and ( step 2 ) preparing a compound represented by chemical formula 1 by removing an amine - protecting group of the compound represented by chemical formula 4 produced in the above step 1 . ( in the above reaction formula 3 , pg is a protecting group .) first , step 1 is a step of preparing a compound represented by chemical formula 4 by bonding a compound represented by chemical formula 2 and a compound represented by chemical formula 3 with peptide bond by reacting them using triphenylphosphine , bis ( 2 , 2 ′- benzothiazolyl ) disulfide , and a base in the presence of a reaction solvent . in the present invention , toluene , tetrahydrofuran , methylene chloride , acetonitrile , n , n - dimethylformamide , etc . may be used as the reaction solvent . in the present invention , more than one selected from a tertiary amine , such as n - methyl morpholine , isopropylethylamine , triethylamine , pyridine , etc . may be used as the base . in the present invention , the compound represented by chemical formula 2 or 3 is commercially available or may be prepared by using a known method or the method described in reaction formula 1 or 2 . in the present invention , it is preferred that the reaction of the above step 1 is performed at − 20 ° c . to 80 ° c ., and there is a problem that the yield is reduced due to difficulties in performing the reaction when the temperature is out of the range . next , step 2 is a step of preparing a compound represented by chemical formula 1 by removing an amine - protecting group of the compound represented by chemical formula 4 produced in the above step 1 . the removal of the protecting group in the step 2 may be conducted under the acidic condition or through a hydrogen reaction . specifically , when the amine - protecting group is butoxy carbonyl ( boc ), the protecting group may be removed under the acidic condition , such as trifluoroacetic acid / dichloromethane , ethyl acetate / hydrogen chloride , diethyl ether / hydrogen chloride , hydrogen chloride / dichloromethane , or methanol / hydrogen chloride , and when the amine - protecting group is benzyloxycarbonyl ( cbz ), the protecting group may be removed through a hydrogen reaction in the presence of palladium / carbon . the dipeptidyl peptidase - iv inhibitor of the present invention , represented by chemical formula 1 , may be used in the form of a pharmaceutically acceptable salt , and an acid addition salt formed by a pharmaceutically acceptable free acid is useful as a salt . inorganic and organic acids may be used as the free acid , hydrochloric acid , bromic acid , sulfuric acid , phosphoric acid , etc . may be used as the inorganic acid , and citric acid , acetic acid , lactic acid , maleic acid , fumaric acid , gluconic acid , methanesulfonic acid , acetic acid , glycolic acid , succinic acid , tartaric acid , 4 - toluenesulfonic acid , galacturonic acid , embonic acid , glutamic acid , or aspartic acid may be used as the organic acid . preferably , hydrochloric acid may be used as the inorganic acid , and tartric acid may be used as the organic acid . the acid addition salt according to the present invention may be prepared by a typical method , and may be prepared , for example , by dissolving a compound represented by chemical formula 1 in a water - miscible organic solvent , for example , acetone , methanol , ethanol , or acetonitrile and adding an excess of an organic acid thereto , or by adding an acid aqueous solution of an inorganic acid thereto and then precipitating or crystallizing it . subsequently , a preparation may be performed by evaporating the solvent or an excess of the acid from this mixture and then drying it to obtain an addition salt or suction - filtrate a precipitated salt . after compounds represented by chemical formula 1 to 3 prepared according to the present invention or intermediates thereof are prepared , their structures may be identified by infrared spectrometry , nuclear magnetic spectrum , mass spectrometry , liquid chromatography , x - ray structural crystallography , polarimetry , and comparison of calculated values and actually measured values in the element analysis of representative compounds . accordingly , a preparation method according to the present invention may reduce costs in preparing a compound of chemical formula 1 by using low - priced bis ( 2 , 2 ′- benzothiazolyl ) disulfide , and may be useful for mass production due to an increase in its yield . hereinafter , the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to examples . however , the following examples are only for illustrating , but the present invention is not limited thereto . 84 . 4 g of 1 - bromo - 2 , 4 , 5 - trifluorobenzene and 42 . 1 ml of tetrahydrofuran were added to 250 ml flask , and the resulting reaction solution was cooled to − 15 - 20 ° c . under nitrogen atmosphere , 20 ml of isopropylmagnesium chloride [ 2 . 0 m tetrahydrofuran solution ] was dropped to the reaction solution , and stirred at 0 - 5 ° c . for 2 hours to produce grinard reagent . 31 . 6 ml of ( s )- epichlorohydrin and 42 . 1 ml of tetrahydrofuran were added to another 250 ml flask ; the resulting reaction solution was cooled to − 15 -− 20 ° c . ; and then 7 . 6 g of copper iodide was added thereto . 42 . 1 ml of the grinard reagent produced under nitrogen atmosphere was dropped , and stirred for 3 hours while the reaction temperature was maintained at − 15 -− 20 ° c . 297 ml of 2 n hydrochloric acid aqueous solution that was cooled at 0 - 5 ° c . was dropped to the reaction solution , and then extracted with 297 ml of isopropylether . an organic layer was dehydrated with sodium sulfate , and then concentrated under reduced pressure to obtain 89 . 8 g of a title compound . 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 , 400 mhz ) δ 7 . 14 ( m , 1h ), 6 . 92 ( m , 1h ), 4 . 17 ( m , 1h ), 3 . 72 - 3 . 43 ( m , 2h ), 2 . 95 - 2 . 74 ( m , 2h ), 2 . 66 ( m , 1h ) 89 . 9 g of ( s )- 1 - chloro - 3 -( 2 , 4 , 5 - trifluorophenyl ) propane - 2 - ol produced in the above step a was added to 2 l flask ; dissolved in 898 ml of dimethylformaldehyde ; 6 . 0 g of sodium iodide and 52 . 0 g of sodium azide were added ; the temperature of the resulting reaction solution was increased to 70 ° c . ; and then stirred for 16 hours . after completing the reaction , the reaction solution was cooled to room temperature ; 898 ml of isopropylether and 898 ml of water were added ; and then stirred for 10 minutes . an organic layer was isolated ; washed with 1 n hydrochloric acid aqueous solution and saturated sodium hydrogen carbonate aqueous solution in order ; dehydrated with sodium sulfate ; and then concentrated under reduced pressure to obtain 75 . 4 g of a title compound . 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 , 400 mhz ) δ 7 . 13 ( m , 1h ), 6 . 92 ( m , 1h ), 4 . 00 ( m , 1h ), 3 . 42 - 3 . 23 ( m , 2h ), 2 . 86 - 2 . 72 ( m , 2h ), 2 . 70 ( m , 1h ) 18 . 9 g of ( s )- 1 - azido - 3 -( 2 , 4 , 5 - trifluorophenyl ) propane - 2 - ol produced in the above step b was dissolved in 188 ml of acetonitrile in 1 l flask , and then 21 . 4 g of triphenylphosphine was added thereto . after stirring the resulting reaction solution for 1 . 5 hours at room temperature , the temperature of the reaction solution was increased to 70 ° c . and then the reaction solution was stirred for 12 hours . the reaction solution was cooled to room temperature ; 1 . 0 g of 4 - dimethylaminopyridine and 17 . 8 g of di - t - butyl dicarbonate were added to the cooled reaction solution ; and then the resulting reaction solution was stirred for 2 hours . after completing the reaction , 0 . 91 g of hydrogen peroxide was added ; and the resulting reaction solution was stirred and then concentrated under reduced pressure . 180 ml of n - hexane was added to the concentrated residue ; and the resulting concentrated reside was stirred for 1 hour . the resulting solid was filtered out and the filtrate was concentrated under reduced pressure to obtain 20 . 0 g of a title compound . 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 , 400 mhz ) δ 7 . 38 ( m , 1h ), 6 . 89 ( m , 1h ), 2 . 94 ( dd , 1h ), 2 . 65 ( dd , 2h ), 2 . 60 ( m , 1h ), 2 . 37 ( d , 1h ), 2 . 01 ( d , 1h ), 1 . 42 ( s , 9h ) 12 . 83 g of ( s )- 1 - azido - 3 -( 2 , 4 , 5 - trifluorophenyl ) propane - 2 - ol produced in the above step b was dissolved in 130 ml of acetonitrile in 500 ml flask , and then 14 . 56 g of triphenylphosphine was added thereto . after stirring the resulting reaction solution for 1 . 5 hours at room temperature , the temperature of the reaction solution was increased to 70 ° c . and then the reaction solution was stirred for 21 hours . the reaction solution was cooled to 0 - 5 ° c . ; 6 . 74 g of triethylamine and 9 . 47 g of benzyloxychloroformate were added to the cooled reaction solution ; and then the resulting reaction solution was stirred for 1 hour . after completing the reaction , 0 . 63 g of hydrogen peroxide was added ; and the resulting reaction solution was stirred for 1 hour and then concentrated under reduced pressure . 130 ml of isopropylether was added to the concentrated residue ; and the resulting concentrated reside was stirred for 1 hour . the resulting solid was filtered out and the filtrate was concentrated under reduced pressure . the residue was purified with column chromatography to obtain 15 . 78 g of a title compound . 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 , 400 mhz ) δ 7 . 41 - 7 . 15 ( m , 6h ), 6 . 90 ( m , 1h ), 5 . 15 ( s , 2h ), 2 . 90 ( m , 1h ), 2 . 69 ( m , 2h ), 2 . 40 ( d , 1h ), 2 . 08 ( d , 1h ) 7 . 97 g of ( s )- 1 - azido - 3 -( 2 , 4 , 5 - trifluorophenyl ) propane - 2 - ol produced in the above step b was dissolved in 80 ml of acetonitrile in 500 ml flask , and then 9 . 05 g of triphenylphosphine was added thereto . after stirring the resulting reaction solution for 1 . 5 hours at room temperature , the temperature of the reaction solution was increased to 70 ° c . and then the reaction solution was stirred for 20 hours . the reaction solution was cooled to room temperature ; 5 . 35 g of n , n - diisopropylethylamine , 0 . 43 g of 4 - dimethylaminopyridine , and 3 . 0 g of acetylchloride were added to the cooled reaction solution ; and then the resulting reaction solution was stirred for 2 hours . after completing the reaction , 0 . 4 g of hydrogen peroxide was added ; and the resulting reaction solution was stirred for 1 hour and then concentrated under reduced pressure . 40 ml of n - hexane was added to the concentrated residue ; and the resulting concentrated reside was stirred for 1 hour . the resulting solid was filtered out and the filtrate was concentrated under reduced pressure . the residue was purified with column chromatography to obtain 4 . 74 g of a title compound . 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 , 400 mhz ) δ 7 . 16 ( m , 1h ), 6 . 95 ( m , 1h ), 2 . 92 ( dd , 1h ), 2 . 76 ( dd , 1h ), 2 . 66 ( m , 1h ), 2 . 39 ( d , 1h ), 2 . 05 ( d , 1h ), 2 . 04 ( s , 3h ) 7 . 97 g of ( s )- 1 - azido - 3 -( 2 , 4 , 5 - trifluorophenyl ) propane - 2 - ol produced in the above step b was dissolved in 80 ml of acetonitrile in 500 ml flask , and then 9 . 05 g of triphenylphosphine was added thereto . after stirring the resulting reaction solution for 1 . 5 hours at room temperature , the temperature of the reaction solution was increased to 70 ° c . and then the reaction solution was stirred for 21 hours . the reaction solution was cooled to room temperature ; 5 . 35 g of n , n - diisopropylethylamine , 0 . 43 g of 4 - dimethylaminopyridine , and 5 . 34 g of benzoylchloride were added to the cooled reaction solution ; and then the resulting reaction solution was stirred for 2 hours . after completing the reaction , 0 . 4 g of hydrogen peroxide was added ; and the resulting reaction solution was stirred for 1 hour and then concentrated under reduced pressure . 40 ml of n - hexane was added to the concentrated residue ; and the resulting concentrated reside was stirred for 1 hour . the resulting solid was filtered out and the filtrate was concentrated under reduced pressure . the residue was purified with column chromatography to obtain 7 . 03 g of a title compound . 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 , 400 mhz ) δ 8 . 0 ( m , 2h ), 7 . 55 ( m , 1h ), 7 . 45 ( m , 2h ), 7 . 21 ( m , 1h ), 6 . 95 ( m , 1h ), 3 . 05 ( dd , 1h ), 2 . 90 ( dd , 1h ), 2 . 82 ( m , 1h ), 2 . 53 ( d , 1h ), 2 . 28 ( d , 1h ) 7 . 97 g of ( s )- 1 - azido - 3 -( 2 , 4 , 5 - trifluorophenyl ) propane - 2 - ol produced in the above step b was dissolved in 80 ml of acetonitrile in 500 ml flask , and then 9 . 05 g of triphenylphosphine was added thereto . after stirring the resulting reaction solution for 1 . 5 hours at room temperature , the temperature of the reaction solution was increased to 70 ° c . and then the reaction solution was stirred for 20 hours . the reaction solution was cooled to room temperature ; 5 . 35 g of n , n - diisopropylethylamine , 0 . 43 g of 4 - dimethylaminopyridine , and 12 . 81 g of 9 - fluoreneylmethoxycarbonylchloride were added to the cooled reaction solution ; and then the resulting reaction solution was stirred for 2 hours . after completing the reaction , 0 . 4 g of hydrogen peroxide was added ; and the resulting reaction solution was stirred for 1 hour and then concentrated under reduced pressure . 40 ml of n - hexane was added to the concentrated residue ; and the resulting concentrated reside was stirred for 1 hour . the resulting solid was filtered out and the filtrate was concentrated under reduced pressure . the residue was purified with column chromatography to obtain 10 . 03 g of a title compound . 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 , 400 mhz ) δ 7 . 67 ( d , 2h ), 7 . 54 ( dd , 2h ), 7 . 43 ( t , 2h ), 7 . 32 ( t , 2h ), 7 . 21 ( m , 1h ), 6 . 93 ( m , 1h ), 4 . 46 ( d , 2h ), 4 . 20 ( t , 1h ), 2 . 85 ( dd , 1h ), 2 . 68 ( dd , 1h ), 2 . 54 ( m , 1h ), 2 . 30 ( d , 1h ), 2 . 06 ( d , 1h ) 7 . 97 g of ( s )- 1 - azido - 3 -( 2 , 4 , 5 - trifluorophenyl ) propane - 2 - ol produced in the above step b was dissolved in 80 ml of acetonitrile in 500 ml flask , and then 9 . 05 g of triphenylphosphine was added thereto . after stirring the resulting reaction solution for 1 . 5 hours at room temperature , the temperature of the reaction solution was increased to 70 ° c . and then the reaction solution was stirred for 20 hours . the reaction solution was cooled to 0 - 5 ° c . ; 5 . 35 g of n , n - diisopropylethylamine and 7 . 24 g of tosylchloride were added to the cooled reaction solution ; the resulting reaction solution was stirred for 2 hours ; and then concentrated under reduced pressure . 40 ml of isopropylether was added to the concentrated residue and then the resulting concentrated reside was stirred for 1 hour . the resulting solid was filtered out and the filtrate was concentrated under reduced pressure . the residue was purified with column chromatography to obtain 7 . 07 g of a title compound . 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 , 400 mhz ) δ 7 . 71 - 7 . 58 ( m , 2h ), 7 . 25 ˜ 7 . 18 ( m , 2h ), 6 . 80 ( m , 1h ), 6 . 05 ( m , 1h ), 3 . 07 ( m , 1h ), 2 . 80 ( m , 1h ), 2 . 43 ( m , 4h ), 2 . 11 ( d , 1h ), 1 . 42 ( s , 3h ) 6 . 7 g of ( r )- t - butyl 2 -( 2 , 4 , 5 - trifluorobenzyl ) aziridine - 1 - carboxylate was dissolved in 67 ml of dimethylsulfoxide in 250 ml flask ; then 3 . 0 g of potassiumcyanide , 1 . 4 g of ammonium chloride , and 6 . 8 g of 18 - crown - 6 were added thereto in order ; and then the resulting reaction solution was stirred for 2 hours at 80 ° c . after completing the reaction , 100 ml of toluene and 100 ml of water were added to the reaction solution and then the resulting reaction solution was stirred for 10 minutes . an organic layer was isolated ; washed with 1 n hydrochloric acid aqueous solution and saturated sodium hydrogen carbonate aqueous solution in order ; dehydrated with sodium sulfate ; and then concentrated under reduced pressure to obtain 75 . 4 g of a title compound . an aqueous layer was isolated ; dehydrated with sodium sulfate ; and then concentrated under reduced pressure . 100 ml of n - hexane was added to the concentrated residue and then the resulting concentrated residue was stirred for 1 hour at room temperature . the resulting solid was decompression - filtered and vacuum - dried to obtain 4 . 0 g of a title compound . 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 , 400 mhz ) δ 7 . 08 ( m , 1h ), 6 . 94 ( m , 1h ), 4 . 80 ( m , 1h ), 4 . 06 ( m , 1h ), 2 . 88 ( m , 2h ), 2 . 80 ˜ 2 . 50 ( m , 2h ), 1 . 39 ( s , 9h ) 15 . 78 g of ( r )- benzyl 2 -( 2 , 4 , 5 - trifluorobenzyl ) aziridine - 1 - carboxylate was dissolved in 63 . 2 ml of dimethylsulfoxide and 15 . 8 ml of water in 250 ml flask ; then 7 . 89 g of silicagel was added thereto . 6 . 40 g of potassiumcyanide was slowly added to the reaction solution , and the resulting reaction solution was stirred for 24 hours at 50 ° c . the reaction solution was cooled to room temperature , and then 160 ml of dichloromethane and 800 ml of water were added to the cooled reaction solution in order . an organic layer was isolated ; washed with 80 ml of water in twice ; dehydrated with sodium sulfate ; and then concentrated under reduced pressure . 80 ml of diisopropylether was added to the concentrated residue and then the resulting concentrated residue was stirred for 1 hour at room temperature . the resulting solid was decompression - filtered and vacuum - dried to obtain 14 . 66 g of a title compound . 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 , 400 mhz ) δ 7 . 40 - 7 . 10 ( m , 5h ), 7 . 91 ( m , 1h ), 6 . 77 ( m , 1h ), 5 . 00 ( s , 2h ), 4 . 95 ( m , 1h ), 4 . 08 ( m , 1h ), 2 . 89 ( m , 2h ), 2 . 72 ( dd , 1h ), 2 . 53 ( dd , 1h ) 2 . 0 g of ( r )- t - butyl 1 - cyano - 3 -( 2 , 4 , 5 - trifluorophenyl ) propane - 2 - ylcarbamate produced in the above step d - 1 was dissolved in 20 ml mixed solution of ethanol : water = 1 : 1 in 250 ml flask ; then 3 . 4 g of 85 % potassium hydroxide was added thereto ; and then the resulting reaction solution was stirred for 12 hours at 80 ° c . the reaction solution was cooled to room temperature ; 8 . 0 g of oxalic acid dihydrate was slowly added to the cooled reaction solution . after completing the reaction , 40 ml of ethyl acetate and 20 ml of water were added and then the resulting reaction solution stirred for 20 minutes . an organic layer was isolated ; dehydrated with magnesium sulfate ; and then concentrated under reduced pressure . the concentrated residue was isolated with column chromatography ( chloroform : methanol = 10 : 1 ) and then concentrated under reduced pressure to obtain 1 . 10 g of a title compound . 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 , 400 mhz ) δ 7 . 04 ( m , 1h ), 6 . 89 ( m , 1h ), 6 . 08 ( br , 1h ), 5 . 04 ( br , 1h ), 4 . 13 ( br , 1h ), 2 . 88 ( br , 2h ), 2 . 62 ( m , 2h ), 1 . 36 ( s , 18h ) 40 g of ( r )- benzyl 1 - cyano - 3 -( 2 , 4 , 5 - trifluorophenyl ) propane - 2 - ylcarbamate produced in the above step d - 2 was added to 1 l flask ; the temperature of the resulting reaction solution was increased to 110 ° c . ; and then the reaction solution was stirred for 4 hours . the reaction solution was cooled to room temperature ; and then 500 ml of saturated sodium hydrogen carbonate aqueous solution was slowly dropped to the cooled reaction solution . after completing the dropping , the reaction solution was concentrated under reduced pressure , and 400 ml of methanol , 10 . 7 g of sodium hydrogen carbonate , and 63 . 5 g of n -( benzyloxycarbonyloxy ) succinimide were added to the reaction solution in order . the reaction solution was stirred for 12 hours , and then concentrated under reduced pressure . the concentrated residue was diluted with 200 ml of ethyl acetate , and then 200 ml of 5 % sodium hydrogen carbonate aqueous solution was slowly added and then stirred for 10 minutes . after isolating a layer , citric acid was added to an aqueous layer to adjust to ph 4 - 5 . 200 ml of ethylacetate was added and stirred for 10 minutes to isolate an organic layer ; dehydrated with sodium sulfate , and then concentrated under reduced pressure . the concentrated residue was isolated with column chromatography ( chloroform : methanol = 10 : 1 ), and then concentrated under reduced pressure to obtain 30 . 4 g of a title compound . 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 , 400 mhz ) δ 7 . 45 - 7 . 18 ( m , 5h ), 7 . 05 ( m , 1h ), 6 . 83 ( m , 1h ), 5 . 37 ( d , 1h ), 5 . 10 ( s , 2h ), 4 . 52 - 4 . 16 ( m , 1h ), 3 . 01 - 2 . 85 ( m , 2h ), 2 . 78 - 2 . 42 ( m , 2h ) 686 . 0 l of methylene chloride was added ; 85 . 0 kg of ( s )- methyl 2 - bromo - 3 - hydroxypropanate was added to a reactor ; and then stirred for 30 minutes . 1 . 3 kg of sulfuric acid was slowly added , and then isobutylene gas was bubbled for 43 hours while the reaction temperature was maintained at 20 - 35 ° c . after completing the reaction , an aqueous solution prepared by dissolving 20 kg of sodium hydrogen carbonate to 400 l of water was slowly added , and then stirred for 30 minutes . an organic layer was isolated ; 50 kg of sodium sulfate was added ; stirred for further 30 minutes ; and then filtered . a filtrate was concentrated under reduced pressure to obtain 98 . 7 kg of a title compound . 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 , 400 mhz ) δ 4 . 21 ( m , 1h ), 3 . 83 ( m , 1h ), 3 . 77 ( s , 3h ), 3 . 64 ( m , 1h ), 1 . 17 ( h , 9h ) 691 . 0 l of 1 , 4 - dioxane was added ; 98 . 7 kg of ( s )- methyl 2 - bromo - 3 - t - butoxypropanate produced in the above step a ′ was added to a reactor and dissolved ; and then 121 . 4 kg of sodium hydrogen carbonate and 55 . 1 l of ethylenediamine were added in order . while an internal temperature was maintained at 45 - 50 ° c ., the resulting reaction solution was stirred for 24 hours . after completing the reaction , the reaction solution was cooled to room temperature , and then the resulting solid was filtered . after washing with 100 l of 1 , 4 - dioxane , 20 . 0 kg of acetic acid was added to a filtrate and then stirred for 1 hour . the reaction solution was filtered ( washed with 100 l of methanol ), and then concentrated under reduced pressure . 80 l of isopropylether and 80 l of water were added to the concentrated residue , and then an aqueous layer was isolated in twice . 126 l mixed solution of methylene chloride / isopropanol ( methylene chloride : isopropanol = 5 : 1 ) was added , stirred , and then an organic layer was isolated ( performing five times ). 50 kg of sodium sulfate was added to the organic layer , stirred for 30 minutes and then filtered . a filtrate was concentrated under reduced pressure to obtain 45 . 2 kg of a title compound . 1 h nmr ( 400 mhz , cdcl 3 ) δ 6 . 41 ( brs , 1h ), 3 . 76 ( m , 3h ), 3 . 63 ( m , 1h ), 3 . 52 ( m , 1h ), 3 . 42 ( m , 1h ), 3 . 28 ( m , 1h ), 3 . 16 ( m , 1h ), 2 . 95 ( m , 1h ), 2 . 45 ( brs , 1h ), 1 . 17 ( s , 9h ) 10 . 0 g of ( r )- 3 - t - butoxycarbonylamino - 4 -( 2 , 4 , 5 - trifluorophenyl ) butanoic acid ( chemical formula 2 ) produced in the above example 1 was dissolved in 450 ml of toluene in 2 l flask ; 13 . 0 g of bis ( 2 , 2 ′- benzothiazolyl ) disulfide and 10 . 2 g of triphenylphosphine were added ; and then the resulting reaction solution was cooled to 0 ° c . while stirring the reaction solution , a solution prepared by dissolving 0 . 8 ml of triethylamine to 20 ml of toluene was added , and then stirred for 5 hours at room temperature . the reaction solution was cooled to 0 ° c ., and then a solution prepared by dissolving 5 . 6 g of ( r )- 3 -( t - butoxymethyl ) piperazine - 2 - one ( chemical formula 3 ) produced in the above example 2 to 40 ml of toluene , and 2 . 4 ml of pyridine were slowly added . after 30 minutes , the temperature of the reaction solution was increased to room temperature , and then stirred for further 1 hour . ph of the reaction solution was adjusted to 2 . 5 using saturated citric acid aqueous solution , and then diluted with 400 ml of ethyl acetate . the reaction solution was washed with brine in twice , and an organic layer was dehydration - concentrated with magnesium sulfate . a residue was purified with column chromatography to obtain 838 mg of a title compound . 1 h nmr ( 400 mhz , cdcl 3 ) δ 7 . 03 ( m , 1h ), 6 . 88 ( m , 1h ), 5 . 97 ( m , 1h ), 5 . 48 ( m , 1h ), 4 . 16 - 4 . 07 ( m , 1h ), 4 . 02 - 3 . 91 ( m , 1h ), 3 . 74 ( m , 2h ) 3 . 37 ( m , 2h ), 3 . 24 ( m , 1h ), 2 . 92 ( m , 2h ), 2 . 80 ( m , 1h ), 2 . 59 ( m , 2h ), 1 . 34 ( d , 9h ), 1 . 13 ( s , 9h ) 97 mg of t - butyl ( r )- 4 -[( r )- 2 -( t - butoxymethyl )- 3 - oxopiperazine - 1 - yl ]- 4 - oxo - 1 -( 2 , 4 , 5 - trifluorophenyl ) butane - 2 - ylcarbamate produced in the above step 1 was dissolved in 3 ml of methanol ; 2 ml of 2 n - hydrochloric acid / diethyl ether was added ; and then stirred for 3 hours at room temperature . the reaction mixture was concentrated and decompression - dried to obtain 64 mg of a title compound as a foaming solid . 1 h nmr ( 400 mhz , cd 3 od ) δ 7 . 37 ( m , 1h ), 7 . 23 ( m , 1h ), 4 . 80 ( m , 1h ), 4 . 59 - 4 . 40 ( m , 1h ), 3 . 93 ( m , 1h ), 3 . 90 - 3 . 83 ( m , 2h ), 3 . 70 ( m , 1h ), 3 . 38 ( m , 2h ), 3 . 27 ( m , 1h ), 3 . 07 ( m , 2h ), 2 . 89 - 2 . 66 ( m , 2h ), 1 . 18 ( s , 3h ), 1 . 11 ( s , 6h ) 10 ml of 5 % sodium hydrogen carbonate aqueous solution was added to 60 mg of hydrochloride compound represented by chemical formula 1 obtained in the above example 3 ; the resulting reaction solution was extracted by using 10 ml of dichloromethane / 2 - propanol [ 4 / 1 ( v / v )] mixed solution in twice ; and then an organic layer was decompression - dried to obtain 55 mg of a title compound as a solid . 1 h nmr ( 400 mhz , cd 3 od ) δ 7 . 27 ( m , 1h ), 7 . 14 ( m , 1h ), 4 . 56 - 4 . 39 ( m , 1h ), 3 . 96 - 3 . 81 ( m , 3h ), 3 . 70 ( m , 1h ), 3 . 46 ( m , 1h ), 3 . 43 - 3 . 32 ( m , 1h ), 2 . 83 - 2 . 65 ( m , 3h ), 2 . 58 ˜ 2 . 40 ( m , 2h ), 1 . 16 ( s , 3h ), 1 . 11 ( s , 6h ) 55 mg of the compound produced in the above step 1 was dissolved in 0 . 56 ml of acetone ; a solution prepared by dissolving 26 mg of l - tartaric acid to 0 . 35 ml of ethanol / water [ 9 / 1 ( v / v )] was slowly added ; and then stirred for 30 minutes . 0 . 56 ml of 2 - propanol was again added thereto , and stirred for 10 minutes to obtain 77 mg of a title compound as a solid . 1 h nmr ( 400 mhz , cd 3 od ) δ 7 . 38 ( m , 1h ), 7 . 22 ( m , 1h ), 4 . 80 ( m , 1h ), 4 . 59 - 4 . 40 ( m , 1h ), 4 . 40 ( s , 2h ), 3 . 93 ( m , 1h ), 3 . 90 - 3 . 83 ( m , 2h ), 3 . 70 ( m , 1h ), 3 . 38 ( m , 2h ), 3 . 27 ( m , 1h ), 3 . 07 ( m , 2h ), 2 . 89 - 2 . 66 ( m , 2h ), 1 . 15 ( s , 3h ), 1 . 11 ( s , 6h ) | 2 |
fig1 shows a chiller system 20 . the system includes two heat exchangers : an evaporator ( cooler ) 21 ; and a condenser 22 . a first flow from a condenser pump 24 passes through the condenser 22 and a second flow from a cooler pump 26 passes through the cooler 21 . the exemplary system is a water - cooled system in which a refrigeration subsystem 30 has a refrigerant flow path that transfers heat to the first flow in the condenser and draws heat from the second flow in the evaporator . the condenser and cooler pump 24 and 26 respectively have outlet conduit assemblies 50 and 52 connecting such pumps to the heat exchanger and inlet conduit assemblies 54 and 56 receiving water from an outside condensing water loop and a chilled water loop ( building or industrial process return ). in a exemplary use , the evaporator produces chilled water that may be used , for example , for air conditioning a building or cooling an industrial process . the condenser 22 is coupled to an appropriate external heat rejection system ( not shown ). exemplary heat rejection systems may be an open loop cooling tower or a closed loop air - cooled liquid cooler . to protect the pumps from damage and the heat exchanger from clogging , strainers are advantageously provided in both the condenser and cooler flow path loops . in the exemplary embodiment , both inlet conduit assemblies 54 and 56 have an inventive strainer / coupler assembly 60 joining upstream and downstream conduit sections 62 and 64 . each assembly 60 includes a sleeve 66 and upstream and downstream clamps 68 and 70 coupling the sleeve to the upstream and downstream conduits 62 and 64 . in the exemplary embodiment , the conduits 62 and 64 and sleeve 66 are formed of steel pipestock with rolled clamp grooves ( described below ) near their ends . fig2 shows further details of the strainer / coupler 60 . the sleeve 66 extends from an upstream end 80 to a downstream end 82 and has a central longitudinal axis 500 . an exemplary sleeve length is 10 cm . the sleeve has inner ( interior ) and outer ( exterior ) surfaces 84 and 86 . the upstream and downstream rolled clamp grooves 88 and 90 each define an annular recess 92 having a substantially rectangular cross section in the exterior surface and a rib or annular projection 94 in the interior surface opposite the annular recess . each exemplary clamp 68 and 70 has a split body , the two halves 100 and 102 ( fig3 ) of which are secured to each other via a pair of diametrically opposite threaded bolt / nut assemblies 104 . an exemplary clamp body is formed of steel and has a pair of radially inwardly - projecting upstream and downstream lips 110 and 112 ( fig2 ). the upstream lip of the downstream clamp 70 is compressively engaged to the sleeve in the recess 92 of the downstream groove 90 . the downstream lip of the downstream clamp 70 is similarly compressively engaged to an upstream recess in the downstream conduit 64 of fig1 . similarly , the downstream lip of the upstream clamp 68 is compressively engaged to the sleeve in the recess of the upstream groove and the upstream lip of the upstream clamp is compressively engaged to a similar recess in the upstream conduit 62 of fig1 . each clamp body carries an elastomeric gasket 120 ( fig2 ) for providing a seal between the sleeve and adjacent the conduit . the strainer / coupler assembly 60 further includes a strainer 140 . the exemplary strainer 140 comprises a foraminate element 142 having an upstream interior and a downstream exterior . the exemplary foraminate member is formed as a wire mesh ( e . g ., of 0 . 5 mm stainless steel wire in a 15 mesh ). the exemplary mesh is rolled into a generally frustoconical configuration and welded along a seam 144 ( fig3 ) to extend from a rim at an upstream end 146 of the element to a downstream end 148 . other forming techniques and other foraminate materials ( e . g ., perforated members , molded foraminate members , etc .) may be used . an upstream end portion of the foraminate member 142 is secured to a ring 150 captured within the sleeve upstream of the groove 88 . in the exemplary embodiment , the ring 150 is formed of sheet metal ( e . g ., a stainless steel strip 14 mm wide and 1 mm thick ) having an interior surface 152 and an exterior surface 154 and upstream and downstream ends or rims 156 and 158 , respectively . the downstream rim 158 abuts an upstream - facing end of the rib 94 to prevent downstream movement of the ring and thus the strainer element . in the exemplary embodiment , the foraminate member 142 is secured to the ring such as by welding an exterior portion of the foraminate member adjacent the upstream end 146 to the interior surface 152 of the ring . for installation of the strainer , the strainer may be inserted into the sleeve through the upstream end thereof until the ring 150 seats upstream of the groove 88 . in this installed condition , the ring upstream end 156 and foraminate element downstream end 148 define respective upstream and downstream ends of the strainer 140 . the length of the foraminate element downstream of the portion secured to the ring is advantageously chosen to provide sufficient straining surface area . in the exemplary embodiment , the downstream end 148 of the foraminate element is located longitudinally between the downstream groove 90 and sleeve downstream end 82 . advantageously , the downstream end 148 is located downstream of the upstream groove 88 and , more advantageously , downstream of a midpoint of the sleeve so as to provide a desired amount of surface area . advantageously , the downstream end 148 remains upstream of the sleeve downstream end 82 so that the recessing of the strainer may protect the strainer from damage during assembly or disassembly of the inlet conduit assemblies . for installation of the strainer / coupler , the sleeve is then placed between the adjacent conduits and the clamps are put in place and their bolts / nuts tightened to secure and seal the sleeve ends to the respective conduits . disassembly for perodic cleaning of the strainer at a cleaning interval or replacement at a replacement interval or as may otherwise be required is by a reverse of this process . fig5 shows an alternate strainer / coupler assembly 200 having a sleeve 202 and a strainer 204 which , except as described below , may be similar to the sleeve 66 and strainer 140 of the strainer / coupler assembly 60 . in the strainer 204 , the downstream end 205 of the foraminate element 206 is open . in the exemplary embodiment , this open end is surrounded by a conduit 208 ( e . g ., a stainless steel tube with an upstream end 210 soldered to the exterior of the foraminate element and a downstream end 212 within a transverse conduit ( e . g ., a pipe ) 220 extending through the sidewall of the sleeve 202 . one end 222 of the pipe 220 within the sleeve is closed . the other end 224 is coupled to a valve 226 ( e . g ., a lever - actuated ball valve threaded into the pipe end ). in normal operation , the valve 226 is closed blocking communication through the pipe 220 and , thereby , the downstream end of the strainer 204 . the strainer operates as heretofore described . periodically , however , the strainer may be flushed of solid contaminants by opening the valve 226 and , thereby permitting a flow from the interior of the strainer through the downstream end 205 and tube 212 into the pipe 220 and out an outlet 228 of the valve . this flushing flow may be maintained for an appropriate interval . despite such flushing , periodically the strainer may still need to be replaced . strainer replacement is eased by having a nonpermanent engagement between the strainer and the pipe 220 . in the exemplary embodiment , the tube 208 is closely fit within an aperture in the pipe sidewall with a clearance similar to or smaller than the mesh opening size of the strainer . this clearance advantageously permits easy removal of an old strainer and insertion of a new strainer without compromising filtration . one or more embodiments of the present invention have been described . nevertheless , it will be understood that various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention . for example , details of any particular application may influence attributes of the strainer / coupler assemblies . accordingly , other embodiments are within the scope of the following claims . | 1 |
in the following figures the same reference numerals will be used to illustrate the same components . as shown in fig1 , vehicle 10 has door 14 into which a catcher pin assembly 36 is mounted . as shown in fig2 , door 14 has inner panel 18 and outer panel 22 . door beam 34 , which is shown more precisely in fig4 , is mounted within door 14 between inner panel 18 and outer panel 22 and extends generally along the length of the door . catcher pin housing 42 is mounted at least in part to door beam 34 , using conventional joining techniques such as mechanical fasteners , adhesives , welding , and other types of fastening known to those skilled in the art and suggested by this disclosure . fig2 shows catcher pin 38 as having a shank , and sprag 40 which is unitary with pin 38 . piston 48 is also unitary with catcher pin 38 and allows gas pressure to build up within housing 42 when pyrotechnic device 58 is fired , such that catcher pin 38 will be driven from the location shown in fig2 to its second telescopic position , shown in fig3 in which catcher pin 38 and sprag 40 extend within receiver 46 , which is carried by rocker beam 30 . the lowermost portion of housing 42 is normally closed by elastomeric plug 39 , which prevents contamination of catcher pin assembly 36 . receiver 46 is normally covered by either a plastic cover , 41 ( fig2 ) or by a trim panel ( not shown ), which is suitably prepared for the insertion of pin 38 . such preparation may include localized weakening of the panel to permit easy passage of pin 38 . the latched , or deployed , position of pin 38 is also shown in fig4 . once catcher pin 38 has been moved to its second telescopic position within receiver 46 , an impact load directed against door 14 , or more precisely , directed against outer door outer panel 22 , will be resisted by catcher pin 38 , which will be urged to remain locked with receiver 46 by sprag 40 . in this manner , translational movement of door 14 with respect to rocker beam 30 and the remaining portion of the vehicle body will be mitigated . in some applications , it may be desirable to add a second impact - responsive catcher pin , shown at 44 in fig4 . if a single impact - responsive catcher pin is used with the present system , it is desirable to mount the catcher pin in the vicinity of the intersection of seatback 50 and seat cushion 54 , with the intersection being shown at i in fig5 . fig6 and 7 show alternative stored energy devices for activating the present catcher pin . for example , in fig6 , a canister of compressed gas , releasable by firing explosive diaphragm 70 , is employed . in the embodiment of fig7 , compression spring 64 is releasable by solenoid 65 , which operates pin 67 . in both cases , deployment of the catcher pin will be controlled as described below . regardless of the type of stored energy device driving catcher pin 38 from its first telescopic position in door 14 into interlocking relationship with rocker beam 30 , deployment of the catcher pin will be controlled by a system according to fig8 . thus , controller 80 receives inputs from a variety of sensors 86 known to those skilled in the art of occupant restraint engineering and suggested by this disclosure , and including such sensors as accelerometers , seat occupant sensing , vehicle speed sensors , and other sensors . controller 80 , having received inputs from the variety of sensors 86 , may conclude that an impact is being directed against a door equipped with the present impact - sensitive catcher pin . controller 80 will then direct pyrotechnic charge 58 , or solenoid 65 , or explosive diaphragm 70 , to place catcher pin 38 into its deployed position . alternatively , controller 80 may be programmed to deploy pin 38 in the event of other types of impacts , such as vehicle inversions . in essence , once an impact against a vehicle , whether upon a door , or other vehicle structure , is sensed , the vehicle &# 39 ; s supplemental restraint system will generate an activation signal and use that activation signal to activate a stored energy device to drive the catcher pin into the receiver contained within the rocker beam . while particular embodiments of the invention have been shown and described , numerous variations and alternate embodiments will occur to those skilled in the art . accordingly , it is intended that the invention be limited only in terms of the appended claims . | 4 |
with reference to the attached figures , the reference number 10 denotes in its entirety a molding device to produce polyurethane articles according to the invention . the device 10 comprises a molding apparatus 30 consisting of a female part 13 , or matrix , associated with a fixed support 14 , and a male part 12 , or punch , associated with a press element 11 driven to open / close by means of movement actuators which are not shown here . both the male part 12 and the female part 13 have heating means , of a conventional type and not shown here ( for example internal conduits with heated water circulating ). the male part 12 , in this case in a substantially central position , has an injection channel 17 , associated with an injection head 117 , through which the foamy polyurethane 24 is injected , when the mold is closed , into the molding cavity 18 defined between the male part 12 and the female part 13 . it is obvious that , within the field of the invention , the injection channel 17 could be located in a non - central position , or there could be two or more injection channels , possibly usable in alternation . in this case , the molding device 10 comprises means 20 able to feed a thermoformable covering film 19 which is first inserted into the mold 30 and then made to adhere through thermoforming , as will be explained better hereafter , to the inner wall of the female part 13 . the film 19 is between 0 . 2 and 1 . 4 mm thick , preferably between 0 . 4 and 0 . 8 mm . in the embodiment shown here , and as can be seen in greater detail in fig1 in cooperation with the perimeter of the female part 13 of the mold there is an annular ring - nut 22 of the removable type with a front perimeter edge 23 facing towards the molding cavity 18 . the front edge 23 is suitable to perform a function of continuity , substantially in correspondence with the zone of separation which is formed , when the mold is closed , between the female part 13 and the male part 12 of the mold . the front edge 23 preferentially has at least part of its perimeter shaped and rounded so as to connect the parts of the mold and so as to allow to form an edge of the article , with its relative perimeter undercut , in correspondence with said position of discontinuity . in this way , the article can be discharged from the mold already substantially finished , and requires only the perimeter trimming of the possible excess film 19 . in the preferential embodiment , the annular ring - nut 22 has heating means 33 , for example hot water circulating inside . the heating means 33 are advantageously independent and autonomous with respect to the heating means associated with the matrix 13 and the punch 12 , so as to be able to determine a differentiated heating in the various zones of the film 19 and / or of the injected polyurethane . the annular ring - nut 22 according to the invention is able to be moved so that first the film 19 is inserted into the mold 30 and then the finished polyurethane article is discharged from the said mold 30 . the cycle to move the ring - nut 22 to perform the molding of a polyurethane article is shown in fig2 a - 2 h . in fig2 a , the ring - nut 22 is in a position 22 a outside the mold 30 and near the means 20 to feed the film 19 . gripper means 31 , able to translate on a substantially horizontal plane , are arranged to grip the end of the film 19 , unroll a segment of a defined length and lay said segment above the ring - nut 22 . when the film 19 has been arranged above the ring - nut 22 , cutting means 32 are activated to cut the segment from the reel 20 . in this step , first vacuum means 26 are activated , arranged inside and on the perimeter of the ring - nut 22 , which are able to be selectively activated to retain the film in co - operation , in this case , with the two short sides of the ring - nut 22 . the ring - nut 22 is then translated on a substantially horizontal plane ( fig2 b ) to be taken to a position 22 b substantially inside the mold 30 , in an intermediate position between the matrix 13 and the punch 12 . then , the ring - nut 22 is lowered substantially to rest on and couple with the perimeter of the matrix 13 , with the film 19 held taut above the molding cavity 18 ( fig2 c ). at this point , the punch 12 is lowered into contact with the film to heat it , and pressure means 21 are activated to mechanically clamp the film 19 in position on the upper edge of the ring - nut 22 ( fig2 d ). in the embodiment shown here , the action of the pressure means 21 is advantageously adjustable in intensity ; in cooperation with relative segments of the upper surface of the annular ring - nut 22 , the pressure means 21 define the housing for perimeter vacuum sealing means , such as o - rings 27 . in the case shown here , the pressure means 21 have a tooth 25 suitable to cooperate with a mating cavity 28 made on the perimeter of the annular ring - nut 22 , in order to prevent the formation of folds and wrinkles in the film 19 during thermoforming . the first vacuum means 26 are then de - activated , while the heating means 33 inside the ring - nut 22 are activated and also second vacuum means 126 , able to determine the thermoforming of the film 19 and its adhesion to the inner surface of the matrix 13 . during the thermoforming step , according to the variant shown in fig1 means to deliver compressed air 34 associated with the punch 12 are activated to cooperate with said heating means 33 and said second vacuum means 126 in order to complete the thermoforming operation of the film 19 . it should be noted that both the first vacuum means 26 and especially the second vacuum means 126 which are activated during the thermoforming of the film 19 have their relative suction holes arranged outside the figure of the polyurethane article ; as a result , when they are activated they do not cause signs , prints or other marks of any type on the visible face of the finished product after molding , which ensures a high surface quality of the visible face . in this step , it is also possible to activate auxiliary heating means 38 to determine differentiated and localized heating in specific zones of the film 19 . when the thermoforming is complete , the punch 12 is closed on the matrix 13 and the injection of the foam polyurethane 24 is begun through the injection head 117 and the injection channel 17 ( fig2 e ). the heat and pressure generated during polymerization of the polyurethane 24 cause the thermoforming of the film 19 to be completed , and the film 19 is definitively and stably attached to the outer surface of the article . when molding is complete , the mold is opened ( fig2 f ) and the annular ring - nut 22 is first raised and then translated laterally , to allow the article 37 to be removed . the article 37 thus achieved remains resting on the annular ring - nut 22 due to the presence of the perimeter edge of the excess film 19 . finally , the ring - nut 22 is returned to its initial position 22 a ( fig2 g ) to allow the expulsion means 35 to be activated , which allow to discharge the polyurethane article 37 which falls into an underlying collection tray 36 . from the tray 36 , the finished article is sent to a station for the perimeter trimming of the excess film 19 , in order to complete the process and to obtain the finished piece . in the event that the mold is used to simultaneously make two or more adjacent figures ( fig4 ), cutting means 29 are provided to separate the film 19 in correspondence with an intermediate position of said two figures , allowing to remove and discharge individually the two articles thus obtained . it comes within the field of the invention to provide systems able to apply two films 19 , one for each side of the article . it also comes within the field of the invention to provide that a single press comprises not only two or more figures , but also two or more molds driven simultaneously . additions and / or modifications can be made to the method and device as described heretofore without departing from the spirit and scope thereof . it is also obvious that , although the invention has been described with reference to specific examples , a person skilled in the art shall certainly be able to achieve many other equivalent solutions , all of which shall come within the field and scope of the invention . | 1 |
the method according to the invention allows to evaluate the biodegradation of hydrocarbons trapped in a geologic structure such as a petroleum reservoir , i . e . to evaluate the amount of molecules making up these hydrocarbons destroyed during filling of the structure ( referred to as trap ). the molecules are destroyed through the action of a bacterial population located in an aquifer that is below and in contact with the hydrocarbons . this evaluation allows for example to determine the development conditions of a petroleum reservoir . the basic idea consists in calculating the mass ratio of oil disappeared through biodegradation to the initial oil . this method is generally implemented in parallel with or after basin modelling . it mainly comprises three stages : 1 — estimating the amount of hydrocarbons present in a trap without taking account of the biodegradation , the amount of hydrocarbons trapped in a petroleum reservoir or in any other trap , without taking account of the biodegradation , can be estimated for example by means of the mass of trapped hydrocarbons denoted by m hp . this amount can be estimated from the following formula : s m : the mean hydrocarbon saturation of the reservoir ( in fraction ) v p : the volume of the trap ( in cm 3 ). the mass of trapped hydrocarbons m hp is then estimated in mg . the mass of trapped hydrocarbons m hp thus represents the mass of hydrocarbons trapped during filling of the trap , assuming that no biodegradation took place . according to an embodiment of the invention , the mean saturation s m , the mean porosity φ m , and the oil density ρ h , can be determined , automatically or manually , from the results calculated by a numerical basin model such as temis ( ifp , france ), well known to the man skilled in the art . a basin model is a discretized representation of a geologic basin in a multitude of cells forming a grid . the simulator of a basin model allows to calculate , in each cell , a large number of parameters such as : the mean saturation , the mean porosity , the oil density , the filling time , temperature and depth , etc . fig1 illustrates results obtained from a basin modelling and it shows the evolution of the oil saturation ( s m ), of the depth ( z m ), the temperature ( t ) and the mean porosity ( φ m ) of a given cell where the percentage of biodegraded oil as a function of time is sought . in this example , saturation ( s m ) at the end of the filling time is 80 %, the filling time ( t r ) was 4 million years , the depth of the trap ( z m ) during filling was 500 m , its temperature ( t ) was 40 ° c . and its porosity ( φ m ) was 37 %. according to other embodiments , mean saturation s m , mean porosity φ m and oil density ρ h can be determined from prior surveys , laboratory analyses of samples taken for example from other traps already drilled in the same basin , . . . . if no measurement relative to the oil density ρ h is available , this value is usually considered to be 0 . 8 g / cm 3 . the biodegradation occurs on contact ( owc ) between the water ( w ) and the oil ( o ), as illustrated by fig2 , which also shows filling of the geologic trap as the non - biodegraded oil ( eo ) flows in , the biodegradation occurs only if the temperature within the trap is lower than a fixed threshold set by a user , this threshold value being usually taken equal to 80 ° c . thus , according to the method , it is necessary to characterize the interface ( owc ) between the water and the oil , to determine on the one hand the trap filling period ( t r ) and , on the other hand , the maximum temperature ( t max ) within the trap . to take account of the fact that the biodegradation occurs only at the level of the interface between the oil and the water ( referred to as “ transition zone ”), and not over the entire column of oil , the method involves evaluating the volume ratio ( e ) between the trap and the transition zone . the ratio of the height of the transition zone to the height of the column of oil contained in the trap can be used for example . this ratio can be evaluated from the surveys carried out by s . larter et al . [ 7 ], which show that usually only 2 % of the reservoir height is used by the biodegradation . a constant value of the order of 0 . 02 can thus be proposed for ratio e . the filling time ( t r ) is determined from the determination of the ages of filling start t d and of filling end t f : we consider that the filling start within a cell is characterized by an oil saturation that is above 10 % and increasing . we consider that the filling end within the cell is characterized by an oil saturation that reaches 80 % and is more or less constant ( but always above 70 %). according to an embodiment of the invention , like the mean saturation s m and the mean porosity φ m , the ages of filling start t d and of filling end t f can be determined automatically or manually , from the graphic and / or numerical results calculated by means of a numerical basin model . for the limit temperature at which there is no more biological activity ( t max ), it is generally accepted that 70 ° c .- 80 ° c . is the maximum range of temperatures for a bacterial activity that is sufficient to generate biodegradation of the oils in a geologic medium [ 7 ]. once the biodegradation conditions determined , it is necessary to evaluate the number of bacteria ( n bact ) per unit of volume taking part in the biodegradation during filling , as well as the hydrocarbon consumption by a bacterium and per unit of time ( hc bact ). according to an embodiment , we can estimate that the number of bacteria ( n bact ) decreases exponentially with depth , and use for each cell of the basin model the following formula proposed by cragg et al . [ 4 ]: z m : mean depth of a given cell during time t r . according to an embodiment of the invention , like the mean saturation s m and the mean porosity φ m , the mean depth can be determined automatically or manually from graphic and / or numerical results calculated by means of a numerical basin model . however , to take account of the fact that biodegradation takes place only at the level of the interface between the oil and the water , and not over the entire column of oil , the method estimates more precisely the number of bacteria per unit of volume taking part in the biodegradation during filling , i . e . at the level of the water / oil transition zone . according to an embodiment , n bact is converted by means of a scale factor ( e ) characterizing the volume ratio between the trap and the transition zone . thus , the number of bacteria per unit of volume taking really part in the biodegradation can be written as follows : according to other embodiments , the number of bacteria per unit of volume at the level of the transition zone can be determined from the temperature at the time of filling , because the temperature is related , via the thermal gradient , to the depth of burial . the hydrocarbon consumption ( hc bact ) by a bacterium and per unit of time is constant on the geologic scale . according to an embodiment , it is possible to determine a mean value for hc bact from an estimation of the mean carbon consumption of a bacterium ( c bact ). according to larter et al . [ 7 ], the mean carbon consumption of a bacterium ( c bact ) usually ranges between 10 − 11 and 10 − 14 μg c per second . furthermore , the ratio of the mass of carbon ( c ) consumed to the mass of hydrocarbons ( hc ) consumed ( r ch ) is of the order of 0 . 8 gc / ghc . thus : hc bact can also be determined from prior surveys , from laboratory analyses of samples taken from traps already drilled , notably from the evaluation of mass balances performed on biodegraded reservoirs already discovered . the mass of hydrocarbon consumed by biodegradation ( m hb ) can then be written as follows : m hb = n bact × e × v p × c bact × t r r ch n bact : number of bacteria per unit of volume ( 1 / cm 3 ) e : scale factor ( without unit ) v p : volume of the trap ( cm 3 ) c bact : mean carbon consumption per unit of time ( mg / year ) t r : filling time ( year ) r ch : ratio of the mass of carbon consumed to the mass of hydrocarbon consumed ( mg c / mg hc ) m hb : mass of hydrocarbon consumed by biodegradation ( mg ) according to the method , an evaluation of the biodegradation of the trapped hydrocarbons is given by ratio r defined as follows : the evaluation method takes account of the biodegradation conditions . ratio r can thus be determined : according to an embodiment , calculation of this ratio r can be carried out only on cells with a high current hydrocarbon saturation . these cells can be selected automatically by basin modelling or manually , by means of criteria based on the high oil saturation of the cells of the basin model . cells whose mean oil saturation is above 80 % can for example be selected . according to an embodiment , calculation of this ratio r can be carried out only on cells whose temperature is lower than the limit temperature at which there is no more biological activity t max . finally , according to an embodiment , this ratio r can be converted to “ biodegradation degree ” such as the degrees proposed by moldowan &# 39 ; s scale [ 5 ] via relations based on heavy metal contents ( i . kowalewski et al ., 2001 , [ 8 ], and j . p . vandecasteele , 2005 , [ 9 ]) and / or the disappeared n - alkanes % [ 5 ]. calculation of the biodegradation degree is then carried out by means of the following correspondence table : for example , for a ratio r equal to 0 . 3 , the biodegradation degree is 2 . the invention thus relates to a method of quantifying the relative percentage of biodegraded oil in relation to the total trapped oil , i . e . the oil that would be present in the reservoir if there had been no biodegradation . this quantification can then allow evaluation , according to the conventional peter and moldowan scale [ 5 ], of the biodegradation degrees of the oil in place . the method according to the invention is based on biology work [ 4 - 7 ] and it implies that biodegradation occurs at the owc during the trap filling time and not during the residence time of the oil ( preservation time ) in the trap . an example of validation of the method according to the invention is shown in fig3 for a case studied in brazil . the comparison between the percentages of oil disappeared by biodegradation ( ob ) obtained from measurements performed on production oil samples ( obm ) and those evaluated from the invention ( obe ) shows the good prediction capacity of the invention . by taking account of the geologic reservoir filling time and of the depth at which this filling occurs , the method allows to carry out much more realistic estimations of the biodegradation degree of the oil in place than with prior methods . it thus allows to better select the reservoir development conditions and to better evaluate the operating costs . | 2 |
fig1 is a perspective view of a loudspeaker system according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention . a front face of loudspeaker box 1 having a rectangular shape has tweeter 2 , squawker 3 , woofer 4 , and bass - reflex port 5 provided from the upper direction to the lower direction . tweeter 2 has a sound reproduction frequency range , such as 5 khz to 100 khz . squawker 3 has a sound reproduction frequency range from 500 hz to 5 khz . woofer 4 has a sound reproduction frequency range from 20 hz to 500 hz . bass - reflex port 5 emphasizes a portion lower than 100 hz in the reproduction range of woofer 4 . fig2 is a perspective view of tweeter 2 according to the embodiment . fig3 shows a sound pressure frequency characteristic of tweeter 2 . tweeter 2 includes tweeter box 6 and a single diaphragm 7 exposed at the front face of the tweeter . as shown in fig2 , diaphragm 7 includes plural areas 8 , plural areas 9 smaller than areas 8 , and plural areas 10 smaller than areas 9 . as shown in fig3 , area 8 has characteristic 108 having a sound reproduction frequency range from 5 khz to 80 khz . area 9 has characteristic 109 having a sound reproduction frequency range from 10 khz to 100 khz . area 10 has characteristic 110 having a sound reproduction frequency range from 40 khz to 100 khz . areas 8 , 9 , and 10 compose tweeter 2 having characteristic 102 of a range from 5 khz to 100 khz as the combination of the sound frequency ranges . fig4 is a cross - sectional view of diaphragm 7 of tweeter 2 shown in fig2 taken at line 4 - 4 . areas 8 to 10 are provided on diaphragm 7 . diaphragm 7 is made of sio 2 and has a thickness of 30000 å . a back face of diaphragm 7 has base 11 that is made of si and has a thickness of 500 μm . base 11 , a frame body provided around openings 8 a to 10 a , has openings 8 a to 10 a corresponding to areas 8 to 10 , respectively ( opening 8 a is not shown ). openings 8 a to 10 a have respective areas corresponding to areas 8 to 10 so that opening 9 a is smaller than opening 8 a while opening 10 a is smaller than opening 9 a . the base as the frame body provides areas 8 to 10 with sound reproduction frequency ranges different from each other easily . diaphragm 7 has lower electrodes 12 made of platinum thereon . lower electrodes 12 corresponding to openings 8 a to 10 a has thereon piezoelectric thin film 14 via buffer layer 13 . piezoelectric thin film 14 is ceramic of mixture of lead titanate and lead zirconate consisting of pzt . lower electrodes 12 around piezoelectric thin films 14 have thereon insulating films 15 made of resin on which upper electrodes 16 are provided , respectively . piezoelectric thin films 14 may be provided on diaphragm 7 at once by a piezoelectric - thin - film - forming process . fig5 is a block diagram of an electronic device according to the embodiment . as shown in fig5 , piezoelectric thin films 14 corresponding to areas 8 to 10 , respectively , are fed with sound source signals via upper electrodes 16 . sound source 17 is connected with amplifier 18 and amplifier 18 is connected to piezoelectric thin films 14 of areas 8 to 10 in parallel to each other . piezoelectric thin films 14 of areas 8 to 10 and amplifier 18 have protection circuits 19 a to 19 c for preventing over - currents between thisn films and the amplifier . phase controllers 20 a to 20 c control phases of signals applied to areas 8 to 10 , respectively . gain adjustment circuits 21 a to 21 c adjust the amplitudes of signals applied to areas 8 to 10 , respectively . this structure provides tweeter 2 with a flat sound pressure frequency characteristic shown in characteristic 102 of fig3 in a wide and high frequency range from 5 khz to 100 khz . sounds in a nature include frequency components higher than 20 khz , which human beings cannot hear . for example , a musical instrument , such as a cymbal , emits a sound having a component higher than 20 khz . human beings hear a sound from 20 hz to 20 khz out of a combination and interference of such sounds having such high frequency components . therefore , tweeter 2 of the embodiment reproducing a sound from 5 khz to 100 khz can reproduce sounds more naturally . thus , it is recently said that sound source 17 , such as an audio device , needs to output a signal having a frequency up to 100 khz . fig6 shows another tweeter 602 according to the embodiment . tweeter 602 is of a so - called add - on - type for emphasizing a treble added to an existing electronic device . tweeter 602 includes therein protection circuits 19 a to 19 c , phase controllers 20 a to 20 c , and gain adjustment circuits 21 a to 21 c shown in fig5 and has at the back face side a connection terminal for the connection to amplifier 18 . tweeter 2 as a piezoelectric loudspeaker according to the embodiment has areas 8 to 10 having sizes different from each other . the number of the areas different from each other is not limited to three and thus may be two or more , hence providing the same effects as those of the loudspeaker according to the embodiment . as described above , the piezoelectric loudspeaker according to the present invention has a wide reproduction frequency range . | 7 |
this invention will most likely find use in a racing rowboat in which there is one coxswain , and one to eight rowers . the rowers face opposite to the direction of travel of the boat and the coxswain faces the direction of travel of the boat . the drawing is a partial longitudinal section of such a boat 1 ., floating upon water 2 ., traveling to the right as indicated by the arrow , and having a movable seat 3 ., for the coxswain , which seat rolls upon wheels 4 ., which roll in tracks 5 . handles 6 ., for the coxswain to grip with her hands , are non - movably attached to the sides of the boat so that she may use her arms to pull herself forward and back along the tracks . foot braces 7 ., in which to secure the feet are positioned in front of the tracks so that the coxswain may use her leg muscles to move herself along the tracks . the handles 6 ., the foot stretchers 7 ., and the tracks 5 ., although adjustable in position to suit the anatomy of a particular coxswain , are all non - movably attached to the boat 1 ., when in use . the seat 3 ., by virtue of the wheels 4 ., is free to move , but only forward and back ( longitudinally ), being so constrained by the tracks 5 . the usual arrangement for a typical rower facing opposite to the direction of travel is shown with seat 8 ., having wheels 9 ., which roll upon tracks 10 . the foot braces for the rower 11 ., are placed in the opposite position relative to the direction of travel of the boat than are the foot braces for the coxswain , because the rower is facing in the direction opposite to that of the coxswain . | 1 |
a more complete understanding of the invention may be realized by reference to the following examples , in which all parts are by weight , unless otherwise specified . components ( a ) and ( b ) are admixed to diene rubber with mastication , and the compounds thus formed are tested , in the uncured state , for tack and green strength . green strength measurements are performed using a standard tensile testing machine . samples of the stock to be tested are pressed into slabs approximately three millimeters in thickness , from which slab specimens are die - cut measuring about 20 . 3 × 2 . 4 cm . the specimens are bench marked ( to a test length of 2 . 54 cm .) in the center , and the exact width and thickness is measured . specimens are pulled at a crosshead speed of 50 . 8 cm . per minute , with the stress recorded at desired levels of elongation up to 1200 %, or break . stress values are calculated based on the original cross - section area of each specimen , and the maximum stress value is also recorded . tack measurements are made using the monsanto tel - tak instrument , as described in an article by j . r . beatty in rubber chemistry and technology , 42 , 1040 ( 1969 ). fabric - backed rubber specimens are cut to a width of 6 . 36 mm and placed at right angles to give a contact area of 0 . 403 cm 2 . a contact pressure of 227 grams is used for all tests , with a 30 - second dwell time . sample &# 34 ; stickiness &# 34 ; is measured by substituting a polished stainless steel surface for one specimen , and the result is subtracted from the tack value to give a &# 34 ; true tack &# 34 ; measurement . the units of these measurements are in grams per square centimeter , representing the maximum force per unit area required to separate the specimens , at a separation rate of 2 . 54 cm . per minute . stress - strain properties of the vulcanizates are measured in the conventional manner , using the procedures outlined in astm d - 412 . in all of the following examples , the masterbatch is mixed in a laboratory banbury mixer according to the following schedule : 1 . charge rubber and test compounds ; mix 1 minute , controlling temperature between 150 ° and 154 ° c . 3 . charge oil and remainder of carbon black ; mix 1 minute . 6 . dump . actual rubber temperature ( using a needle thermocouple ) should be 170 °- 200 ° c . if sulfur and accelerator are included , they are then admixed on a laboratory mill . to evaluate the effect of maleic acid and maleic anhydride on synthetic polyisoprene , with and without a thiyl radical source , a series of compounds is mixed . a control with natural rubber ( smr 5 cv ) is included as well as a compound containing a known treating agent , nitrol ®, which is n -( 2 - methyl - 2 - nitropropyl )- 4 - nitrosoaniline ( 33 % on a clay carrier ), used at its recommended level . masterbatch formulations and test results are set forth in table i . the antidegradant used is n -( 1 , 3 - dimethylbutyl )- n &# 39 ;- phenyl - p - phenylenediamine , sold by monsanto under the trademark santoflex ® 13 . comparison of the green strength and tack of masterbatches a and b shows the difference between natural rubber and synthetic polyisoprene in these important properties . the results for the remaining runs show varying degrees of improvement in the properties of the synthetic polyisoprene , some of which exceed those of natural rubber . highest values are obtained for the combination of mbts with maleic acid and maleic anhydride , with the latter being superior . each of the masterbatches a - g is then completely compounded by adding 2 . 0 parts of sulfur and 0 . 8 parts of accelerator ( n - t - butyl - 2 - benzothiazolylsulfenamide ) on a laboratory mill . green strength and tack measurements are then made on the completed stock . results are set forth in table ii . table i__________________________________________________________________________ masterbatch a b c d e f g__________________________________________________________________________polymersmr 5 cv 100 . 0 -- -- -- -- -- -- natsyn 2200 -- 100 . 0 → → → → → test compoundnitrol ® -- -- 1 . 0 -- -- -- -- maleic acid -- -- -- 1 . 0 1 . 0 -- -- maleic anhydride -- -- -- -- -- 1 . 0 1 . 0mbts -- -- -- -- 0 . 2 -- 0 . 2other ingredientsn - 330 carbon black 50 . 0 → → → → → → circosol 4240 oil 5 . 0 → → → → → → zinc oxide 5 . 0 → → → → → → stearic acid 2 . 0 → → → → → → antidegradant 2 . 0 → → → → → → banbury dump temp . ° c . 200 193 199 202 201 199 203green strength300 % modulus , mpa 0 . 41 0 . 24 0 . 44 0 . 32 0 . 51 0 . 50 1 . 59break , mpa 1 . 41 0 . 27 1 . 00 0 . 70 1 . 27 1 . 28 1 . 86 % elongation 620 & gt ; 1200 550 840 540 600 450tack , monsanto tel - taktack 86 . 4 44 . 5 71 . 6 57 . 3 91 . 7 86 . 8 110 . 0stickiness 10 . 5 10 . 9 12 . 5 13 . 0 14 . 1 11 . 5 13 . 4 &# 34 ; true tack &# 34 ; 75 . 9 33 . 6 59 . 1 44 . 3 77 . 6 75 . 3 96 . 6__________________________________________________________________________ table ii__________________________________________________________________________ stock 1 2 3 4 5 6 7__________________________________________________________________________masterbatch a 163 . 0 -- -- -- -- -- -- b -- 163 . 0 -- -- -- -- -- c -- -- 164 . 0 -- -- -- -- d -- -- -- 164 . 0 -- -- -- e -- -- -- -- 164 . 2 -- -- f -- -- -- -- -- 164 . 0 -- g -- -- -- -- -- -- 164 . 2sulfur 2 . 0 → → → → → → accelerator 0 . 8 → → → → → → green strength300 % modulus , mpa 0 . 34 0 . 15 0 . 30 0 . 21 0 . 31 0 . 27 0 . 50break , mpa 0 . 93 0 . 12 0 . 66 0 . 27 0 . 99 0 . 86 1 . 58 % elongation 670 & gt ; 1200 660 & gt ; 1200 730 920 570tack , monsanto tel - taktack 71 . 9 41 . 2 54 . 3 45 . 0 73 . 9 68 . 0 103 . 3stickiness 10 . 9 12 . 8 14 . 0 12 . 6 18 . 5 14 . 9 18 . 3 &# 34 ; true tack &# 34 ; 61 . 0 28 . 4 40 . 3 32 . 4 55 . 4 54 . 9 85 . 0__________________________________________________________________________ table iii__________________________________________________________________________ masterbatch h i j k l__________________________________________________________________________polymernatsyn 2200 polyisoprene 100 . 0 → → → → test compoundsfumaric acid 1 . 0 1 . 0 -- -- -- maleic acid -- -- 1 . 0 1 . 0 1 . 0mbts -- 0 . 2 -- 0 . 1 -- sulfur -- -- 0 . 2 0 . 1 -- mbt -- -- -- -- 0 . 2other ingredientsn - 330 carbon black 50 . 0 → → → → circosol 4240 oil 5 . 0 → → → → zinc oxide 5 . 0 → → → → stearic acid 1 . 0 → → → → antidegradant 2 . 0 → → → → banbury dump temp . ° c . 202 204 200 204 202green strength300 % modulus , mpa 0 . 19 0 . 19 0 . 52 0 . 38 0 . 38break , mpa 0 . 14 0 . 15 1 . 08 1 . 01 1 . 02 % elongation & gt ; 1200 & gt ; 1200 510 670 650tack , monsanto tel - taktack 39 . 3 33 . 5 46 . 8 72 . 2 90 . 7stickiness 15 . 5 12 . 8 10 . 8 15 . 8 12 . 0 &# 34 ; true tack &# 34 ; 23 . 8 20 . 7 36 . 0 56 . 4 78 . 7__________________________________________________________________________ both the green strength and the tack of the fully compounded stocks are lower than their corresponding masterbatches , but the same trends and ratios are generally present . using the same procedures as in example i , a series of masterbatches was prepared containing fumaric and maleic acids , and sulfur , mbts and mbt . green strength and tack results were obtained on the masterbatches , as set forth in table iii . analysis of the data in table iii shows that fumaric acid was essentially ineffective in improving the green strength or tack of the masterbatch , either with or withour mbts . maleic acid , however , improved the green strength and tack of the masterbatch when combined with mbts , sulfur , mbt or a combination of sulfur and mbts . although the invention has been illustrated by typical examples , it is not limited thereto . changes and modifications of the examples of the invention herein chosen for purposes of disclosure can be made which do not constitute departure from the spirit and scope of the invention . | 2 |
the following description is of the best mode presently contemplated for carrying out the invention . this description is not to be taken in a limiting sense , but is made merely for the purpose of describing one or more preferred embodiments of the invention . the scope of the invention should be determined with reference to the claims . a spa 10 is shown in fig1 . the spa 10 includes drains 12 a and 12 b . the drains 12 a , 12 b are in fluid communication with a pump 14 through first lines 16 a and 16 b carrying flows 17 a and 17 b respectively , through a filter 13 and to the pump 14 . a spa heater / controller 18 is in fluid communication with the pump 14 through a second line 20 carrying second flow 21 . a spa - side control 11 is electrically connected to the spa heater / control 18 by control wires 11 a for controlling the spa 10 , or may be wirelessly connected to the spa heater / controller 18 . the heater / controller 18 is in fluid communication with at least one jet 22 through line 24 carrying a third flow 25 . water 26 is thereby circulated , filtered , and heated . a side view of a spa heater 40 element of the heater / controller 18 is shown in fig2 and a cross - sectional view of the spa heater 40 taken along line 3 - 3 of fig2 is shown in fig3 . the heater 40 has a heater inlet 40 a for allowing a flow of water to enter the heater 40 , and heater outlet 40 b for allowing the flow of water to exit the heater 40 , and a heater interior 40 c for allowing the flow of water to pass through the heater 40 . one or two heater elements 50 ( also see fig4 ) reside in the spa heater 40 and are electrically connected to electrical power through a heater manifold cover 44 . the manifold cover 44 mounts to a side of the heater housing 42 , preferably on a cover ridge 46 which resides in a cover groove 47 in the manifold cover 44 . a cover o - ring 48 resides inside the cover groove 46 to seal the cover 44 to the heater housing 42 . the manifold cover 44 including the heater element ( s ) 50 is preferably secured to the heater manifold 42 by 10 machine screws to create a heater assembly . each heater element 50 is held to the manifold cover 44 by caps 60 ( also see fig5 , and 6 a - 6 c ). sensor wells 47 extend into the heater housing 42 for temperature probes to allow closed loop control of spa water temperature . the heater element 50 is shown in fig4 , a cross - sectional view of the heater element 50 taken along line 4 a - 4 a of fig4 is shown in fig4 a , and a cross - sectional view of the heater element 50 taken along line 4 b - 4 b of fig4 is shown in fig4 b . the heater element 50 includes a single outer wall 57 encasing an electrically conductive wire 59 surrounded by an insulating material 58 . the outer wall 57 is preferably between at least approximately 0 . 015 inches thick and is more preferably between approximately 0 . 020 and approximately 0 . 030 inches thick and most preferably between approximately 0 . 028 and approximately 0 . 030 inches thick . the insulating material 58 is , for example , a dielectric insulation such as magnesium oxide or other suitable dielectric medium disposed around the electrically conductive wire 59 to permit transfer of heat from the electrically conductive wire 59 to the outer wall 57 , while providing electrical insulation between the electrically conductive wire 59 and the outer wall 57 . the outer wall 57 is preferably a corrosion resistant metal such as titanium , a nickel - chromium alloy sold under the trademark incoloy ®, or stainless steel and may be a thin outer wall . preferred incoloy ® alloys are incoloy 880 alloy and incoloy 825 alloy and the like . the composition of incoloy 880 alloy and incoloy 825 alloy are contained in fig1 . the heater element 50 further includes indentations 54 having a depth d in the outer wall 57 proximal to the first end 52 a and the second end 52 b of the heater element 50 . the indentations 54 preferably circle the ends 52 a and 52 b and preferably have sharp corners 54 a to help retain the clip 66 ( see fig5 , 8 a , and 8 b ) in the indentation 54 . a spiral heating portion 51 of the heater element 50 resides inside the heater housing 42 and heats a flow of water through the heater 40 . the indentations 54 are preferably stamped indentations made by a stamping die and have an indentation depth d and an indentation width w . the indentation depth d is preferably between approximately 0 . 004 inches and approximately 0 . 008 inches , and the indentation depth d is more preferably approximately 0 . 008 inches and the indentation width w is preferably between 0 . 044 and 0 . 048 inches . the indentations may be made by any process which pushes the thin wall inward and does not remove metal from the outer wall 57 , thereby facilitating the use of a thin outer wall . the depth d of the indentations 54 is preferably selected to allow the clips 66 ( see fig8 a and 8 b ) to loosely reside in the indentations without putting radial pressure on the outer wall 57 also facilitating the use of a thin outer wall . a cross - sectional view of a heater element passage in the heater housing 42 wall showing an end 52 of the heater element 40 passing through the heater housing 42 wall , an o - ring 62 for sealing the heater element passage , a spacer 64 for positioning the o - ring 62 , a snap ring 66 for retaining the spacer 64 , and the cap 60 attached to the housing wall for retaining the heater element 40 , all according to the present invention , are shown taken along line 5 - 5 of fig3 in fig5 . the o - ring 62 and spacer 64 reside in a stepped seat 45 formed in the manifold cover 44 of the heater housing 42 . the stepped seat 45 preferably includes a smaller diameter first step 45 a and a larger diameter second step 45 b . the o - ring 62 ( or other sealing element ) rests against the first step 45 a and the spacer 64 rests against the second step 45 b and includes a smaller diameter portion 64 a extending past the second step 45 b and pushes the o - ring 62 inward . the snap ring 66 engages the indentation 54 ( see fig4 ) to position the snap ring 66 on the heater element end 52 . the cap 60 is preferably attached to the heater housing 42 by three screws 70 but may be attached by a different number of screws or other fastener . the o - ring 62 , spacer 64 , and snap ring 66 are thus sandwiched between the stepped seat 45 and the cap 60 . the cooperation of the snap ring 66 with the indentation 54 results in a low level of force on the outer wall 57 ( see fig4 a ) and allows a thin outer wall to be used without , for example , a second wall under the thin wall to provide strength , with resulting cost savings . a front view of the cap 60 is shown in fig6 a , a rear view of the cap 60 is shown in fig6 b , and a bottom view of the cap 60 is shown in fig6 c . the cap 60 includes three arms 76 a , 76 b , and 76 c extending radially from a center passage 78 . the center passage 78 is sized to slide over the heater element end 52 . each of the three arms includes a passage 74 of the screws 70 ( see fig5 ) which attached the cap 60 to the heater housing 42 . the cap 60 further includes a round contact surface 80 for pressing against the spacer 64 , and a recessed surface 81 inside the round contact surface 80 for capturing the snap ring 66 , and preferably a ring type wire end 72 . bosses 68 are formed on the interior of the heater housing 42 for the screws 70 . a side view of the spacer 64 is shown in fig7 a and a rear view of the spacer 64 is shown in fig . 7b . the spacer 64 is round and has a single step 84 which cooperates with the stepped seat 45 in the heater housing 42 . a side view of the snap ring 66 is shown in fig8 a and a front view of the snap ring 66 is shown in fig8 b . the snap ring 66 is a common snap ring sized to engage the indentation 54 in the heater element end 52 ( see fig4 ) without applying more than slight force to the outer wall 57 ( see fig4 a ), and may loosely reside in the indentations and apply no force to the outer wall 57 . a side view of a ring type wire end 72 usable to connect electrical wiring to the heater element 50 is shown in fig9 a , and a front view of the ring type wire end 72 is shown in fig9 b . the ring type wire end 72 is a common wire end sized to slip over the outer wall 57 and is available from most electrical supply stores . fig1 is a method for connecting the heater element to the heater housing according to the present invention . the method includes inserting two ends of the heater element through heater element passages in the heater housing from the inside to the outside at step 100 , sliding o - rings over the heater element ends and into stepped seats in the heater housing at step 102 , sliding spacers over the heater element ends and on top of the o - rings at step 104 , positioning snap rings on circular indentations on the heater element ends over the spacers and o - rings at step 106 , and tightening a cap over the snap rings to retain the heater element ends positioned through the heater housing at step 108 . while the invention herein disclosed has been described by means of specific embodiments and applications thereof , numerous modifications and variations could be made thereto by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention set forth in the claims . | 5 |
referring to fig1 , there is shown a radio reception apparatus to which the present invention is applied . the radio reception apparatus shown includes first and second antennae 1 a and 1 b for receiving data from the transmission side , first and second rf sections 2 a and 2 b for converting the frequency of reception data from the first and second antennae 1 a and 1 b , respectively , a comparison section 3 for comparing the magnitudes of the reception sensitivity α of an output signal of the first rf section 2 a and the reception sensitivity β of an output signal of the second rf section 2 b with each other to select that one of the output signals which has a higher reception sensitivity , first and second carrier detection sections 4 a and 4 b for detecting a start of reception data based on an output signal of the comparison section 3 and outputting an output signal of an active state and for receiving a demodulation data end signal and placing the output signal into an inactive state , a first or circuit 5 a for outputting a result of logical oring of output signals of the first carrier detection section 4 a and the second carrier detection section 4 b , a first and circuit 6 a for receiving an output signal of the first rf section 2 a and an output signal of the first carrier detection section 4 a and outputting the output signal of the first antenna 1 a within a period within which the output signal of the first carrier detection section 4 a is in an active state , a second and circuit 6 b for receiving the output signal of the second rf section 2 b and the output signal of the second carrier detection section 4 b and outputting the output signal of the second rf section 2 b within a period within which the output signal of the second carrier detection section 4 b is in an active state , a second or circuit 5 b for outputting a result of logical oring of output signals of the first and circuit 6 a and the second and circuit 6 b , and an equalization processing section 7 for receiving a reception data signal outputted from the second or circuit 5 b and equalizing the received reception data based on the output signal of the first or circuit 5 a . the equalization processing section 7 receives a reception data signal l from the second or circuit 5 b , performs detection of a frequency offset , estimation of a transmission line characteristic and setting of a tap coefficient based on a carrier sense signal h from the first or circuit 5 a , and outputs , after the setting of the equalizer , a demodulation data signal m to perform a reception process . transmission data from a base station are received by the two first and second antennae 1 a and 1 b . the first rf section 2 a performs frequency conversion processing of reception data from the first antenna 1 a and outputs an rssi signal a representative of a start of reception data to the comparison section 3 . the second rf section 2 b performs frequency conversion processing of reception data from the second antenna 1 b and outputs an rssi signal b representative a start of reception data to the comparison section 3 . the comparison section 3 compares the rssi signal a from the first rf section 2 a and the rssi signal b from the second rf section 2 b with each other to select that one of the two signals which has a higher reception level . more particularly , the comparison section 3 compares the reception sensitivity α of the rssi signal a and the reception sensitivity β of the rssi signal b with each other , and when the reception sensitivity α is equal to or higher than the reception sensitivity β , the comparison section 3 outputs an rssi signal c (= rssi signal a ) to the first carrier detection section 4 a and outputs an rssi signal d of a low level signal to the second carrier detection section 4 b . on the other hand , when the reception sensitivity α is lower than the reception sensitivity β , the comparison section 3 outputs the rssi signal d (= rssi signal b ) to the second carrier detection section 4 b and outputs the rssi signal c of a low level signal to the first carrier detection section 4 a . the first carrier detection section 4 a discriminates presence / absence of a carrier from the rssi signal c from the comparison section 3 . if the first carrier detection section 4 a detects a start of reception data , then it outputs a carrier sense signal f of an active state ( of the high level ). then , when a demodulation data end signal e of a one - pulse signal representative of an end of demodulation data is received , the first carrier detection section 4 a places the carrier sense signal f into an inactive state and supplies it to the first or circuit 5 a and the first and circuit 6 a . the second carrier detection section 4 b discriminates presence / absence of a carrier from the rssi signal d from the comparison section 3 . if the second carrier detection section 4 b detects a start of reception data , then it outputs a carrier sense signal g of an active state ( of the high level ). then , when the demodulation data end signal e of a one - pulse signal representative of an end of demodulation data is received , the second carrier detection section 4 b places the carrier sense signal g into an inactive state and supplies it to the first or circuit 5 a and the second and circuit 6 b . the first or circuit 5 a logically ors the carrier sense signal f from the first carrier detection section 4 a and the carrier sense signal g from the second carrier detection section 4 b and outputs a result of the logical oring as a carrier sense signal h to the equalization processing section 7 . in other words , the first or circuit 5 a selectively outputs one of the carrier sense signal g and the carrier sense signal h which has a higher reception sensitivity to the equalization processing section 7 . the first and circuit 6 a logically ands a reception data signal j from the first rf section 2 a and the carrier sense signal f from the first carrier detection section 4 a and outputs the reception data signal j to the second or circuit 5 b only within a period within which the carrier sense signal f is active . the second and circuit 6 b logically ands a reception data signal k from the second rf section 2 b and the carrier sense signal g from the second carrier detection section 4 b and outputs the reception data signal k only within a period within which the carrier sense signal g is active . the second or circuit 5 b logically ors the outputs of the first and circuit 6 a and the second and circuit 6 b and outputs a result of the logical oring as a reception data signal l to the equalization processing section 7 . in other words , that one of the reception data signals which has a higher reception sensitivity is selectively supplied as a reception data signal l to the equalization processing section 7 . the equalization processing section 7 performs detection of a frequency offset , estimation of a transmission line characteristic and setting of a tap coefficient based on the reception data signal l from the second or circuit 5 b and the carrier sense signal h from the first or circuit 5 a . after the initialization of the equalizer , the equalization processing section 7 outputs a demodulation data signal m to perform a reception process . in the radio reception apparatus of fig1 , the equalization processing section 7 may have , for example , a similar configuration to that described hereinabove with reference to fig4 and include a memory section 12 , a phase rotating section 13 , a phase difference detection section 14 , an average value detection section 15 , an integration circuit 16 , a vector conversion circuit 17 , a transmission line characteristic estimation section 18 , a tap coefficient setting section 19 and an equalizer 20 as seen in fig4 . operation of the components is similar to that described in the description of the related art hereinabove , and therefore , overlapping description of the operation is omitted here to avoid redundancy . fig2 illustrates operation timings of the radio reception apparatus of fig1 . referring to fig2 , in the radio reception apparatus of fig1 , the carrier sense signal f of the first antenna 1 a side and the carrier sense signal g of the second antenna 1 b side are normally outputted within a one - frame period . for each one frame , that one of the first antenna 1 a side and the second antenna 1 b side which exhibits a higher reception level is selected , and while the antenna to be used is fixed to the selected antenna , burst reception is performed . within the preamble signal period γ , presence / absence of a carrier is discriminated . after a start of reception data is detected , automatic gain control ( agc ) and automatic frequency control ( afc ) for dealing with amplitude and phase variations in a demodulation process are performed . further , detection of a frequency offset , estimation of a transmission line characteristic and setting of a tap coefficient ( filter coefficient for a transversal filter which forms the equalizer ) are performed . use of the two parallel rf sections allows further shortening of the preamble signal . in particular , when compared with a case wherein , within an antenna changeover selection period δ of the preamble signal period γ , integration is performed on the antenna 8 a side for a certain fixed period for each one frame and the antenna to be used is changed over to the antenna 8 b and then , after the changeover , the integration is performed on the antenna 8 b side for another certain fixed period , whereafter the integration output values are compared with each other to select the antenna which exhibits a higher reception level and then the antenna to be used is fixed to the selected antenna and burst reception is performed using the selected antenna , in the radio reception apparatus , that one of the first antenna 1 a and the second antenna 1 b which outputs a higher one of reception levels outputted in parallel from them is selected . consequently , the preamble period is reduced . fig3 illustrates reception timings of the radio reception apparatus of fig1 . referring to fig3 , the reception data signal l successively received from the second or circuit 5 b includes a preamble signal to be used for various kinds of training and information data . the preamble signal includes repetitions of a pn code for a fixed period of time . after the carrier sense signal h rises , detection of a frequency offset value , estimation of a transmission line characteristic and setting of a tap coefficient are performed with a signal of the pn code for one period . initialization of the equalizer suffers from a delay corresponding to 96 symbols in the maximum because the signal is processed after it is stored into the memory ( memory section 12 of fig4 ) provided in the equalization processing section 7 . in other words , when compared with the conventional radio reception apparatus described hereinabove with reference to fig4 , the delay is reduced approximately to one half , and consequently , the carrier sense signal can be detected . simultaneously with an end of demodulation data , the first and second carrier detection sections 4 a and 4 b place the carrier sense signal f and carrier sense signal g to the low level , respectively , and consequently , the carrier sense signal h is placed into an inactive state ( the low level ). the comparison section 3 selectively outputs that one of the rssi signals which exhibits a higher reception sensitivity , but does not select the other rssi signal having a lower reception sensitivity and changes it into a low level signal . due to the parallel circuit configuration of the first rf section 2 a and the second rf section 2 b , even if an equalization process is performed with a minimum preamble signal , a reception process can be performed normally . further , since that one of the first antenna 1 a and the second antenna 1 b which has a higher reception sensitivity is selectively used , even if a delay is caused by initialization of the equalizer , a normal reception process can be achieved . in the radio reception apparatus of fig1 , since output reception data of the rf section of one of the systems of the first rf section 2 a and the second rf section 2 b which has a higher reception sensitivity is selectively rendered operative ( activated ), the power consumption can be reduced . while a preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described using specific terms , such description is for illustrative purposes only , and it is to be understood that changes and variations may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the following claims . | 8 |
hereinafter , an exemplary embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings . fig1 is a side sectional view showing a printer 1 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention . fig2 is a side sectional view showing a state where a top cover 4 is opened in the printer 1 shown in fig1 . a printer 1 is a tandem color laser printer . the printer 1 includes a main body casing 2 as an example of a first body and a top cover 4 as an example of a second body . the main body casing 2 is formed in the shape of a box formed with an opening 16 on an upper surface . the top cover 4 is rotatably supported on a rotatable shaft 15 provided on the upper end of the main body casing 2 . the top cover 4 is rotatably supported to be displaceable between a closed posture in which the opening 16 is closed and an open posture in which the opening 16 is opened , according to the rotating operation thereof . in the main body casing 2 , four drum units 3 are disposed in parallel . the drum units 3 are provided corresponding to colors of black , yellow , magenta , and cyan and are arrayed in order of black , yellow , magenta , and cyan in the conveyance direction of a sheet p using a conveyance belt 9 , which will be described later . each drum unit 3 can be mounted in the main body casing 2 or removed from the main body casing 2 through the opening 16 , which is formed on the upper surface of the main body casing 2 , when the top cover 4 is in the open posture . it is noted that , for the drum units 3 , k ( black ), y ( yellow ), m ( magenta ), and c ( cyan ) indicating respective colors are added to ends of reference numerals in fig1 and 2 . each drum unit 3 includes a photosensitive drum 6 as an example of a photoconductor and a developing roller 7 . a surface of the photosensitive drum 6 is uniformly charged by a scorotron - type charger ( not shown ) as the photosensitive drum 6 rotates . on the other hand , led units 5 are rotatably supported on the top cover 4 . four led units 5 are disposed in parallel corresponding to the drum units 3 . the tip of each led unit 5 is disposed at a position facing a circumferential surface of the photosensitive drum 6 when the top cover 4 is in the closed posture . in addition , the led units 5 are retracted from the inside of the main body casing 2 when the top cover 4 is in the open posture . in this case , the tip of the led unit 5 faces toward the rotatable shaft 15 of the main body casing 2 as shown in fig2 . the photosensitive drum 6 uniformly charged by the scorotron - type charger is selectively exposed by the led units 5 . by this exposure , electric charges are selectively removed from the surface of the photosensitive drum 6 . as a result , an electrostatic latent image is formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 6 . a developing bias is applied to the developing roller 7 . when the electrostatic latent image faces the developing roller 7 , toner is supplied from the developing roller 7 to the electrostatic latent image due to the potential difference between the electrostatic latent image and the developing roller 7 . as a result , a toner image is formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 6 . in addition , a sheet feed cassette 8 in which the sheet p is set is disposed on a bottom portion of the main body casing 2 . the sheet p set in the sheet feed cassette 8 is conveyed on the conveyance belt 9 by various rollers . the conveyance belt 9 is wound around a pair of driving roller 10 and driven roller 11 and is disposed to face the four photosensitive drums 6 from the lower side . a transfer roller 12 is disposed at a position facing each photosensitive drum 6 with an upper part of the conveyance belt 9 interposed therebetween . the sheet p conveyed on the conveyance belt 9 passes between the conveyance belt 9 and the photosensitive drums 6 sequentially as the conveyance belt 9 travels . then , a toner image on the surface of the photosensitive drum 6 is transferred onto the sheet p by a transfer bias applied to the transfer roller 12 when the toner image faces the sheet p . a fixing unit 13 is provided at a downstream side of conveyance belt 9 in the conveyance direction of the sheet p . the sheet p on which the toner image is transferred is conveyed to the fixing unit 13 . in the fixing unit 13 , the toner image is fixed on the sheet p by heat and pressure . the sheet p on which the toner image is fixed is discharged to a sheet discharge tray 14 on the upper surface of the main body casing 2 by various rollers . it is noted that , in a state where the top cover 4 is closed , an upstream side in the conveyance direction of the sheet p using the conveyance belt 9 is taken as a front side of the printer 1 . left and right sides in the printer 1 is determined when the printer 1 is viewed from the front side . in each drawing , arrows indicating front and rear , upper and lower , and left and right directions are shown . fig3 is a perspective view showing a state where the top cover 4 is opened in the printer shown in fig1 . fig4 is a perspective view showing a right cover side plate . the top cover 4 is formed in an approximately rectangular plate shape in plan view . a pair of cover side plates 24 that support the four led units 5 rotatably and collectively is attached to the top cover 4 . on a bottom surface of the top cover 4 , the pair of cover side plates 24 are disposed spaced apart therebetween in the left and right direction ( hereinafter , also referred to as a width direction ). as shown in fig4 , each cover side plate 24 includes a mounting plate 27 , which extends in the front and rear direction and has an approximately rectangular plate shape in plan view , and a support plate 77 , which extends downward from an inner edge portion of the mounting plate 27 in the width direction and has a rectangular plate shape in side view . the mounting plate 27 is attached to the bottom surface of the top cover 4 by an attaching screw ( not shown ) in a state where an upper surface of the mounting plate 27 is in contact with the bottom surface of the top cover 4 . a connecting portion 20 is formed at the rear end of the mounting plate 27 . the connecting portion 20 is formed in a triangular plate shape in side view protruding from the mounting plate 27 downward from the rear side . an annular rotatable shaft housing portion 26 is formed at a rear - side lower end of the connecting portion 20 . the rotatable shaft housing portion 26 has a c shape in side view while a rear - side portion of the rotatable shaft housing portion 26 is cut . the rotatable shaft 15 ( refer to fig1 ) provided in the main body casing 2 is rotatably fitted in the rotatable shaft housing portion 26 . as a result , the cover side plate 24 ( top cover 4 ) is rotatably supported around the rotatable shaft 15 . at the lower end of the support plate 77 , four led support portions 28 are formed with equal distances therebetween in the front and rear direction . each led support portions 28 is formed in a semicircular shape in side view protruding downward from the lower end of the support plate 77 . an led support hole 29 is formed to pass through the led support portion 28 in the width direction . a movable boss hole 72 formed in the arc from the upper end of the cover side plate 24 downward to the front side is formed between the rearmost led support hole 29 of the support plate 77 of the right cover side plate 24 and the led support hole 29 in front of the rearmost led support hole 29 . a movable boss 71 , which will be described later , is inserted in the movable boss hole 72 . a slide rail 22 is formed in a middle portion of the mounting plate 27 of the right cover side plate 24 in the front and rear direction . the slide rail 22 is formed in a long and narrow hole shape that extends frontward from the approximately middle of the mounting plate 27 and passes through the mounting plate 27 in the up and down direction . as shown in fig3 , an operation member 23 that is slidable along the slide rail 22 and an arm regulating member 30 for regulating the slide range of an arm 21 , which will be described later , are attached to the right cover side plate 24 . fig5 is a perspective view showing the positional relationship of the arm regulating member 30 , an operation member 23 , and the arm 21 . as shown in fig4 and 5 , the operation member 23 includes a main body 31 , which extends in the front and rear direction and has an approximately rectangular plate shape in side view , and an inclined portion 32 , which extends from the rear end of the main body 31 downward to the rear side and has an approximately parallelogram shape in side view . a contact portion 33 which protrudes rearward and whose rear end surface is inclined is formed at the lower end of the inclined portion 32 . a slider 34 that extends in the front and rear direction and has a t shape in front view is formed on an upper surface of the main body 31 . since an upper portion of the slider 34 is disposed on the slide rail 22 of the cover side plate 24 and a lower portion ( portion connected with the main body 31 ) of the slider 34 is exposed downward from the slide rail 22 , the operation member 23 becomes slidable along the slide rail 22 . as shown in fig4 , an l rib 35 having an l shape is formed in front of the inclined portion 32 on a bottom surface of the main body 31 . the l rib 35 extends downward from the bottom surface of the main body 31 and is bent from the lower end inward in the width direction . the tip of the l rib 35 faces a locking lever 65 of a locking member 59 , which will be described later , in the front and rear direction . further , as shown in fig4 , a groove 36 in which an arm boss 43 , which will be described later , is inserted is formed on a right side surface of the front end of the main body 31 . the lower end of the groove 36 is open downward . the main body casing 2 includes a pair of main body side plates 39 facing each other and spaced apart in the left and right direction . a support portion 40 having a triangular shape in side view is formed at the upper end of each of the main body side plates 39 ( shown by an imaginary line in fig3 ). a support shaft hole ( not shown ) is formed to pass through the support portion 40 in the width direction . the arm 21 is formed in a long and narrow quadrangular prism shape and includes a pair of arm side plates 37 facing each other in the left and right direction and an arm connecting plate 38 that connects the arm side plates 37 to each other . an arm shaft 41 is provided between one ends of the arm side plates 37 . the arm shaft 41 is rotatably inserted in a support shaft hole of the support portion 40 . accordingly , the arm 21 is rotatably supported around the arm shaft 41 with respect to the main body casing 2 . as shown in fig5 , at the other end of the right arm 21 , an arm boss 43 protruding inward in the width direction is formed on the arm side plate 37 at the inner side in the width direction . the arm boss 43 of the right arm 21 is fitted in the groove 36 of the operation member 23 . thus , the other end of the right arm 21 is connected to the cover side plate 24 ( top cover 4 ) to be slidable integrally with the operation member 23 . as shown in fig3 , a hook - like spring locking portion 44 that protrudes rearward and is bent upward in a state where the arm 21 is erected with respect to the main body casing 2 is formed in a middle portion of the arm connecting plate 38 . one end of an arm spring 45 is locked to the spring locking portion 44 . the other end of the arm spring 45 is locked to a locking portion ( not shown ) provided at the rear end of the main body side plate 39 . accordingly , the arm 21 is urged rearward by the arm spring 45 . the arm regulating member 30 is attached to a bottom surface of the mounting plate 27 of the cover side plate 24 . the arm regulating member 30 is formed in an approximately rectangular long and narrow plate shape in plan view , as shown in fig5 . an arm regulating groove 46 which extends in the front and rear direction and has front and rear ends blocked is formed on a bottom surface of the arm regulating member 30 . the other end of the arm 21 is inserted in the arm regulating groove 46 in a state where the arm boss 43 provided at the other end of the arm 21 is fitted in the groove 36 of the operation member 23 . accordingly , since the arm 21 is movable within a range corresponding to the length of the arm regulating groove 46 in the front and rear direction , the movement beyond the range is regulated . fig6 is a perspective view showing a state where the top cover 4 is in the closed posture . fig7 is a perspective view showing a state where the top cover 4 is disposed at a second angle position rotated by a second angle from the closed posture . fig8 is a perspective view showing a state where the top cover 4 is disposed at a first angle position rotated by a first angle from the closed posture . fig9 is a perspective view showing a state where the top cover 4 is in the open posture . hereinafter , an operation of the top cover 4 will be described mainly referring to fig6 to 9 . in each drawing , the right arm 21 is shown by an imaginary line for the simplicity purpose . as shown in fig6 , when the top cover 4 is in the closed posture , each arm 21 has approximately horizontal posture and the other end of the right arm 21 is disposed at the front end of the arm regulating groove 46 . the operation member 23 is disposed at the front end within a slidable range . in this state , the tip of each led unit 5 is separated from the top cover 4 to be disposed at a distant position at which the led unit 5 can expose a surface of the photoconductor drum 6 ( refer to fig1 ). when the top cover 4 rotates from this state , the other end of each arm 21 slides rearward to cause each arm 21 to rotate in a direction erecting with respect to the main body casing 2 , as shown in fig7 . the operation member 23 moves rearward with the movement of the other end of the right arm 21 . when the top cover 4 is disposed at the first angle position rotated by the first angle ( for example , 40 °) from the closed posture , the inclined portion 32 comes in contact with a link boss 75 , which will be described later , from the front side as shown in fig8 . when the top cover 4 further rotates in this state , the other end of each arm 21 further slides rearward to cause each arm 21 to rotate in the direction erecting with respect to the main body casing 2 , as shown in fig9 . the operation member 23 further moves rearward with the movement of the other end of the arm 21 , and the link boss 75 is guided to the inclined surface of the contact portion 33 to ride on the contact portion 33 . in the state where the top cover 4 is in the open posture , the tip of each led unit 5 is adjacent to the top cover 4 and is disposed at the adjacent position facing toward a side of the rotatable shaft 15 ( refer to fig1 ). fig1 is a perspective view showing the led unit 5 . the led unit 5 includes an led head 49 , two holders 48 for holding the led head 49 , and a connecting member 47 for connecting the holders 48 . the led head 49 is formed in an approximately inverted triangle shape in side view extending in the width direction . in addition , the led head 49 is formed by unitizing an led array ( not shown ) arrayed linearly along the main - scanning direction ( width direction ) and a selfoc lens array ( not shown ). a bottom surface of the led head 49 is configured as an exposure surface from which light is emitted . each holder 48 is formed in an approximately rectangular shape in side view extending in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the led unit 49 . in addition , the led head 49 is held between one ends of the holders 48 . the connecting member 47 is formed in a rod shape extending in the width direction and is disposed between the other ends of the holders 48 . swinging bosses 50 protruding outward in the width direction are formed at both ends of the connecting member 47 in the width direction . as shown in fig3 , since the swinging boss 50 is inserted in the led support hole 29 of each cover side plate 24 , the led unit 5 is supported to be swingable with respect to the cover side plate 24 ( top cover 4 ). as shown in fig1 , an arm portion 51 protruding upward to the rear side is formed on a right end surface of the connecting member 47 . a displacement boss 52 protruding outward in the width direction is formed on a protruding end of the arm portion 51 . the displacement boss 52 is swingably supported on a movable member 53 , which will be described later . fig1 is a perspective view showing the cover side plate 24 and the movable member 53 when the top cover 4 is in the closed posture . fig1 is a perspective view showing the cover side plate 24 and the movable member 53 when the top cover 4 is in the open posture . fig1 is a side view showing the movable member 53 and the led unit 5 when the top cover 4 is in the closed posture . fig1 is a side view showing the movable member 53 and the led unit 5 when the top cover 4 is disposed at the second angle position rotated by the second angle from the closed posture . fig1 is a side view showing the movable member 53 and the led unit 5 when the top cover 4 is disposed at the first angle position rotated by the first angle from the closed posture . fig1 is a side view showing the movable member 53 and the led unit 5 when the top cover 4 is in the open posture . fig1 is a side view showing the movable member 53 and the led unit 5 when the top cover 4 is disposed at a third angle position rotated by a third angle from the closed posture , from the state of fig1 . fig1 is a back view showing the positional relationship between the locking member 59 and the operation member 23 . fig1 is a perspective view showing the locking member 59 . the movable member 53 is formed in an approximately rectangular plate shape in side view extending in the front and rear direction and is disposed on the left side of the right cover side plate 24 as shown in fig1 . in the movable member 53 , displacement boss holes 54 in which the displacement bosses 52 of the led unit 5 are inserted are formed at equal distances therebetween in the front and rear direction . a portion of the movable member 53 where each displacement boss hole 54 is formed is formed to have a larger width in the up and down direction than the other portions . in addition , the displacement boss hole 54 located at the rearmost side is formed in an elliptical shape extending in the up and down direction compared with the other three displacement boss holes 54 . a receiving portion 55 having a shape cut from the upper end is formed in a middle portion of the movable member 53 in the front and rear direction . a locking boss 69 ( refer to fig1 ) of the locking member 59 , which will be described later , is inserted in the receiving portion 55 , such that the movement of the movable member 53 is regulated . a hook - like spring locking portion 56 that protrudes leftward and is bent frontward is formed at the rear end of the movable member 53 . one end of a spring 57 for urging the movable member 53 rearward is locked to the spring locking portion 56 , as shown in fig1 . in addition , a hook - like spring locking portion 58 that protrudes leftward and is bent rearward is formed in the cover side plate 24 as shown in fig1 . the other end of the spring 57 is locked to the spring locking portion 58 . the movable boss 71 protruding rightward is formed between the rearmost displacement boss hole 54 of the movable member 53 and the displacement boss hole 54 positioned therebefore . the movable boss 71 passes through the movable boss hole 72 ( refer to fig4 ) formed in the cover side plate 24 to protrude rightward . the locking member 59 is swingably supported on the right side surface of the right cover side plate 24 . as shown in fig1 , the locking member 59 includes a main body portion 60 having an annular plate shape in side view , an urged portion 61 which extends frontward from the peripheral edge of the main body portion 60 and has a triangular shape in side view , and a locking boss support portion 62 which extends rearward from the peripheral edge of the main body portion 60 and has a rectangular shape in side view . in the main body portion 60 , a support shaft hole 63 is formed to pass therethrough in the width direction . a support shaft ( not shown ) for rotatably supporting the locking member 59 on the cover side plate 24 is inserted in the support shaft hole 63 . an annular edge portion 64 extending leftward is formed in the peripheral edge of the main body portion 60 . the edge portion 64 is formed in a c shape in side view including an open portion 81 by being cut frontward from the lower end . the main body portion 60 includes a locking lever 65 rotatable around the support shaft hole 63 and a spring 66 for urging the locking lever 65 . the locking lever 65 includes : a rotary portion 78 which has an inner diameter equal to the diameter of the support shaft hole 63 , and is provided to be rotatable around the support shaft hole 63 , and has an annular plate shape in side view ; a spring locking portion 79 extending from the peripheral surface of the rotary portion 78 in a direction perpendicular to the axial line of the support shaft hole 63 ; and a lever portion 80 extending from the peripheral surface of the rotary portion 78 in a direction opposite the spring locking portion 79 . the end of the spring 66 is locked to the spring locking portion 79 . the other end of the spring 66 is locked to the main body portion 60 in a state where a compressive force is applied . accordingly , an urging force in a clockwise direction as viewed from the left side is always applied to the locking lever 65 . the spring licking portion 79 is formed to protrude outward from the open portion 81 and to be bent to the right side . the urged portion 61 has an urged surface 67 formed to extend frontward from the outer peripheral surface of the edge portion 64 . one end of a coil spring 68 , which will be described later , is in contact with the urged surface 67 . the locking boss 69 which extends leftward and has a cylindrical shape in side view is formed at the rear end of the locking boss support portion 62 . as shown in fig1 , the locking boss 69 is inserted in an arc shaped locking boss insertion hole 70 formed in the cover side plate 24 and is fitted in the receiving portion 55 of the movable member 53 in a state where the top cover 4 is closed . the coil spring 68 is provided between the locking member 59 and the cover side plate 24 . as shown in fig1 , one end of the coil spring is in contact with the urged portion 61 of the locking member 59 from below . the other end of the coil spring 68 is fixed to the cover side plate 24 . accordingly , an urging force in a direction of rotating the locking member 59 counterclockwise as viewed from the left side is applied to the locking member 59 . as shown in fig6 , a link member 73 is swingably supported on a link shaft 74 provided in the cover side plate 24 . the link member 73 is formed to extend in a direction perpendicular to the axial direction of the link shaft 74 , and a link boss 75 protruding rightward is formed at one end of the link member 73 . in addition , a movable boss hole 76 in which the movable boss 71 is fitted is formed at the other end of the link member 73 . hereinafter , an operation of the movable member 53 will be described with reference to fig1 to 17 . in each drawing , the cover side plate 24 and the operation member 23 are shown by imaginary lines for the simplicity purpose . as shown in fig1 , when the top cover 4 is in the closed posture , the operation member 23 is disposed at the front end within a slidable range . in this state , the movable member 53 is urged rearward by the spring 57 . the locking member 59 is urged by the coil spring 68 , and the locking boss 69 is fitted in the receiving portion 55 of the movable member 53 . the tip of each led unit 5 is separated from the top cover 4 to be disposed at a distant position at which the led unit 5 can expose the surface of the photoconductor drum 6 ( refer to fig1 ). when the top cover 4 rotates toward the second angle position rotated by the second angle ( for example , 35 °) from the above state , the operation member 23 moves rearward and the l rib 35 comes in contact with the locking lever 65 of the locking member 59 from the front side as shown in fig1 . when the top cover 4 further rotates from this state , the locking boss 69 is separated from the receiving portion 55 . that is , the lower end of the locking lever 65 is pressed rearward against the l rib 35 , the lever portion 80 ( refer to fig1 ) comes in contact with the edge portion 64 ( refer to fig1 ), and the locking member 59 rotates counterclockwise as viewed from the right side . then , the locking boss 69 ( refer to fig1 ) moves in a direction of being lifted upward . as a result , regulation of movement of the movable member 53 is released . in addition , the urged portion 61 ( refer to fig1 ) moves in a direction of being pressed downward . accordingly , a compressive force is applied to the coil spring 68 . in addition , when the top cover 4 is disposed at the first angle position rotated by the first angle ( for example , 40 °) from the closed posture , the contact portion 33 of the operation member 23 comes in contact with the link boss 75 of the link member 73 from the front side thereof , as shown in fig1 . from this state , when the top cover 4 further rotates , the contact portion 33 of the operation member 23 presses the link boss 75 of the link member 73 pressed rearward . then , each led unit 5 starts to rotate around the led support hole 29 . that is , the link boss 75 rides on the contact portion 33 of the operation member 23 by further rearward movement of the operation member 23 . then , the link member 73 rotates around the link shaft 74 to move the movable member 53 downward to the front side through the movable boss 71 . as a result , each led unit 5 rotates around the led support hole 29 and the other end faces toward the rotatable shaft 15 ( refer to fig1 ). after the lower end of the locking lever 65 moves ahead of the l rib 35 in a state ( state of fig1 ) of being pressed rearward by the l rib 35 , the lower end of the locking lever 65 is separated from the l rib 35 as shown in fig1 . then , the coil spring 68 to which the compressive force has been applied is restored , and accordingly , the locking member 59 rotates clockwise as viewed from the right side . when the top cover 4 is rotated to a third angle position rotated by the third angle ( for example , 40 °) from the open posture , the operation member 23 moves frontward and the link boss 75 is separated from the contact portion 33 as shown to fig1 . then , the movable member 53 moves upward to the rear side by the urging force of the spring 57 . as a result , each led unit 5 rotates around the led support hole 29 and the other end is disposed at a distant position separated from the top cover 4 . the locking boss 69 of the locking member 59 is fitted into the receiving portion 55 of the movable member 53 simultaneously when the link boss 75 is separated from the contact portion 33 . as a result , movement of the movable member 53 is regulated . as described above , the opening 16 is formed in the main body casing 2 . the top cover 4 is attached to the main body casing 2 . the top cover 4 is rotatably supported around the rotatable shaft 15 . the opening 16 of the main body casing 2 is opened when the top cover 4 is in the open posture and is closed when the top cover 4 is in the closed posture . one end of each led unit 5 is swingably supported on the top cover 4 . when the top cover 4 is in the closed posture , the led unit 5 takes the distant posture in which the other end opposite the one end is distant from the top cover 4 . as the top cover 4 is rotated from the first angle position at which the top cover 4 is rotated by the first angle from the closed posture , toward the open posture , the led unit 5 swings from the distant posture toward an adjacent posture , in which the other end is more close to the top cover 4 than the distant posture . as the top cover 4 is rotated toward the first angle position from the open posture , the led unit 5 is rotated toward the distant posture with the rotation . as the top cover 4 is rotated toward the closed posture from the second angle position at which the top cover 4 is rotated by the second angle from the closed posture , the swingable range of the led unit 5 is regulated by the locking member 59 . thus , it is possible to prevent undesired swinging of the led unit 5 , which is large sufficient to cause interference with other components disposed in the main body casing 2 when the top cover 4 rotates from the open posture to the closed posture . accordingly , interference between the led unit 5 and components disposed in the main body casing 2 can be prevented . furthermore , the photoconductor drum 6 is housed in the main body casing 2 . the led unit 5 includes an exposure device for exposing a surface of the photoconductor drum 6 . since the led unit 5 faces the surface of the photoconductor drum 6 when the top cover 4 is in the closed posture , the surface of the photoconductor drum 6 can be exposed by the led unit 5 . in addition , when the top cover 4 rotates from the closed posture toward the open posture , the swingable range of the led unit 5 is regulated by the locking member 59 until passing the second angle position at which the top cover 4 is rotated by the second angle from the closed posture . in addition , when the top cover 4 is rotated to pass the third angle position toward the open posture side , the regulation performed by the locking member 59 is released so that the led unit 5 freely swings . accordingly , when the top cover 4 is rotated from the closed posture toward the open posture , undesired swinging of the led unit 5 can be prevented until passing the second angle position and rotation of the led unit 5 from the distant posture to the adjacent posture can be allowed after passing the second angle position . as a result , satisfactory rotation of the led unit 5 from the distant posture to the adjacent posture can be secured while preventing the interference between the led unit 5 and components disposed in the main body casing 2 when the top cover 4 rotates from the closed posture toward the open posture . in addition , the led unit 5 is supported by the movable member 53 . when the movable member 53 moves in a direction perpendicular to the rotatable shaft 15 , the led unit 5 swings . the locking member 59 regulates the amount of movement of the movable member 53 . accordingly , the swingable range of the led unit 5 can be regulated . moreover , if the top cover 4 is rotated from the open posture to the third angle position and is disposed at the third angle position , the led unit 5 takes the distant posture and the amount of movement of the movable member 53 is regulated by the locking member 59 . thus , the swingable range of the led unit 5 can be regulated simultaneously when the led unit 5 takes distant posture . the arm 21 is provided between the main body casing 2 and the top cover 4 . one end of the arm 21 is rotatably supported on the main body casing 2 . on the other hand , the other end of the arm 21 opposite the one end is slidably connected to the top cover 4 in a direction perpendicular to the rotatable shaft 15 . accordingly , since the top cover 4 is provided to be rotatable with respect to the main body casing 2 , the other end of the arm 21 slides in conjunction with the displacement between the open posture and the closed posture of the top cover 4 . the locking member 59 regulates the amount of movement of the movable member 53 and releases the regulation in conjunction with sliding of the other end of the arm 21 . accordingly , regulation of the amount of movement of the movable member 53 and release of the regulation can be reliably switched in conjunction with the displacement between the open posture and the closed posture of the top cover 4 . further , the locking member 59 has a projection . and , a receiving portion in which a projection is received is formed in the movable member 53 . the amount of movement of the movable member 53 is regulated by receiving of the locking boss 69 into the receiving portion 55 , and regulation of the amount of movement of the movable member 53 is released by separation of the locking boss 69 from the receiving portion 55 . accordingly , regulation of the amount of movement of the movable member 53 and release of the regulation can be realized with a simple configuration of the locking boss 69 and the receiving portion 55 . further , the receiving portion 55 is formed at a position facing the locking boss 69 simultaneously with disposition of the top cover 4 at the third angle position when the top cover 4 is rotated toward the third angle position from the open posture . accordingly , it is possible to regulate the amount of movement of the movable member 53 simultaneously when the top cover 4 is disposed at the third angle position . in addition , the locking member 59 has the locking lever 65 and the locking boss 69 that are integrally formed . the printer 1 includes the operation member 23 . the operation member 23 operates the locking lever 65 to separate the locking boss 69 from the receiving portion 55 in conjunction with the displacement of the top cover 4 between the closed posture and the open posture . accordingly , regulation of the amount of movement of the movable member 53 can be released in conjunction with the displacement of the top cover 4 . in addition , the movable member 53 is urged in a direction of becoming adjacent to the rotatable shaft 15 by the spring 57 . since such an urging force is applied to the movable member 53 , the amount of movement of the movable member 53 is regulated . accordingly , it can be prevented that the movable member 53 largely vibrates in a direction of becoming adjacent to the rotatable shaft 15 and a direction becoming distant from the rotatable shaft 15 . therefore , undesired swinging of the led unit 5 can be suppressed . in addition , the four led units 5 are provided . the movable member 53 holds the four led units 5 collectively . accordingly , the four led units 5 can be displaced to the distant posture and the adjacent posture collectively by moving the movable member 53 . in the above - described exemplary embodiment , the third angle is larger than the second angle . however , the present invention is not limited thereto . the third angle may be same as the second angle . while the present invention has been shown and described with reference to certain exemplary embodiments thereof , it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims . | 6 |
referring now to the drawings wherein like reference numerals represent the same components among the several drawings , fig1 and 2 depict an automotive vehicle 10 having a fuel tank 12 with a main compartment 14 and a reserve compartment 16 . data concerning the fuel and its environment in the fuel tank 12 is gathered by the present invention , the smart fuel tank module 18 , using four capacitors 20 , 22 , 24 , and 26 , a negative temperature coefficient resistor ( ntc ) 28 , and a pressure transducer 30 . a multiplex bus 32 connects the smart fuel tank module 18 with the central vehicle computer 34 . as shown in fig2 the composition capacitor 20 and the ntc 28 are located in the reserve compartment 16 of the fuel tank 12 . the temperature capacitor 24 and pressure capacitor 26 are located on a printed circuit board 36 in the main compartment 14 of the fuel tank 12 . also located on the printed circuit board 36 is the analog pressure transducer 30 . referring now to the schematic of fig3 the composition capacitor 20 , level capacitor 22 , temperature capacitor 24 , and pressure capacitor 26 are each connected to a special function micro - controller 38 through a logic gate 40 , 42 , 44 , and 46 , respectively , which behaves as a single pole , single throw ( spst ) switch . the logic gates 40 , 42 , 44 and 46 are each connected through a line 48 to a common discharge resistor 50 whose voltage is monitored by the micro - controller 38 through a line 52 . the special function micro - controller 38 , developed by chrysler corporation , is disclosed in u . s . patent application ser . no . 07 / 871 , 259 entitled &# 34 ; automatic multiplex data link system symbol encoder decoder therefor &# 34 ; filed on apr . 20 , 1992 by halter et al . and allowed on jun . 29 , 1993 . the input / output ( i / o ) driver 54 is connected through a line 56 to the micro - controller 38 and to the multiplex bus 32 through a line 58 . the i / o driver 54 is used by the micro - controller 38 to transmit fuel level , composition , temperature , and internal fuel tank pressure data gathered using the capacitors 20 , 22 , 24 and 26 to the central vehicle computer 34 ( not shown in fig3 ). all of the fuel tank data , or any part thereof , is transmitted by the i / o driver 54 to the central vehicle computer 34 , or to another appropriate computer processing unit , via the multiplex bus 32 . the i / o driver 54 , also developed by chrysler corporation , is disclosed in u . s . patent application ser . no . 07 / 951 , 989 entitled &# 34 ; vehicle communications network transceiver , ground translation circuit therefore &# 34 ; filed on sep . 28 , 1992 by hormel et al . ; u . s . patent application ser . no . 07 / 951 , 988 entitled &# 34 ; vehicle communications network transceiver , transmitter circuit therefore &# 34 ; filed on sep . 28 , 1992 by hormel ; and u . s . patent application ser . no . 07 / 988 , 321 entitled &# 34 ; vehicle communications network transceiver , bus driver therefore &# 34 ; filed on nov . 27 , 1992 by hormel , which disclosures are incorporated herein by reference . the composition capacitor 20 , level capacitor 22 , and a first voltage divider comprised of a temperature resistor 60 and the ntc 28 , are connected in parallel through a switching transistor 62 to a voltage regulator 64 , which preferably supplies a constant 5 volt dc voltage . in addition , the precision composition resistor 66 and the level resistor 68 are connected in series with the composition capacitor 20 and the level capacitor 22 to form first and second rc combinations 20 , 66 and 22 , 68 , respectively . the voltage regulator 64 charges the composition capacitor 20 and the level capacitor 22 when the switching transistor 62 is turned on . the output voltage of the voltage regulator 64 is divided by the first voltage divider 60 , 28 . the divided voltage is applied through a temperature diode 70 to charge the temperature capacitor 24 when the switching transistor 62 is turned on . the temperature diode 70 prevents the temperature capacitor 24 from discharging through the ntc 28 . the resistance of the ntc 28 is dependent on the fuel temperature . because the ntc 28 is directly connected to the temperature capacitor 24 through the temperature diode 70 , the charge on the temperature capacitor 24 is also made dependent on the fuel temperature . the voltage regulator 64 is connected to the vehicle battery 72 through a filter capacitor 74 , preferably 1 uf , which removes noise present in the current supplied to the voltage regulator 64 from the source vehicle battery 72 . a polarity protector diode 76 , preferably a 1n4004 , located between the vehicle battery 72 and the voltage regulator 64 protects the circuitry on the printed circuit board 36 from any back current generated in the event that the polarity of the vehicle battery 72 is reversed . the pressure transducer 30 is connected to the pressure capacitor 26 through a series connection of the pressure diode 78 and the pressure resistor 79 . the pressure capacitor 26 is also connected to the discharge resistor 50 through the pressure logic gate 46 via the line 48 which the micro - controller 38 monitors using the line 52 . a second voltage divider is formed by a first comparator resistor 80 and a second comparator resistor 82 , preferably 5 . 1k and 1k respectively . the second voltage divider 80 , 82 is physically located on the printed circuit board 36 . the composition capacitor 20 and the level capacitor 22 are preferably equal but variable capacitors with a range of approximately 12 pf in free air to 20 pf when fully immersed in a fuel mixture . alternatively , the capacitances of the composition capacitor 20 and the level capacitor 22 can be of unequal value if the software running within the micro - controller 38 compensates for this difference in capacitance as described in the preferred method of operation given below . the capacitance of the temperature capacitor 24 and the pressure capacitor 26 are specified such that the second voltage divider 80 , 82 can be used to obtain fuel temperature and fuel tank pressure data according to the method of operation given below . in the preferred embodiment , the value of the temperature capacitor 24 and the pressure capacitor 26 is preferably 12 pf . the voltage developed at the intermediate node of the second voltage divider 80 , 82 is used by the micro - controller 38 as a reference or threshold voltage against which the internal comparator of the micro - controller 38 compares the instant voltage generated across the discharge resistor 50 as the composition capacitor 20 , level capacitor 22 , temperature capacitor 24 , and pressure capacitor 26 discharge . also connected to the micro - controller 38 are first and second clock capacitors 84 and 86 , respectively , as well as the oscillator 88 . the capacitance of the first and second clock capacitors 84 and 86 is preferably 22 pf each . the frequency of the oscillator 88 is preferably 10 mhz . when combined with circuitry internal to the micro - controller 38 and first and second clock capacitors 84 , 86 , the oscillator 88 forms a functional clock 90 . the clock 90 is used by the micro - controller 38 to establish the discharge rate for each of the capacitors 20 , 22 , 24 , and 26 once the respective logic gate 40 , 42 , 44 or 46 has been enabled . the discharge cycle for each capacitor 20 , 22 , 24 , and 26 is determined as the number of clock cycles counted by the micro - controller 38 as the capacitor 20 , 22 , 24 or 26 discharges across the discharge resistor 50 . to determine a discharge cycle , the micro - controller 38 compares the threshold voltage at the node of the second voltage divider 80 , 82 with the instant voltage across the discharge resistor 50 . the amount of time that the instant voltage is greater than , or equal to , the threshold voltage is recorded by the micro - controller 38 as that capacitor &# 39 ; s 20 , 22 , 24 or 26 discharge cycle . in the preferred method , the smart fuel tank module 18 is self - calibrated to compensate for any variation in the manufacturing tolerances of the component parts and to acquire empty fuel tank data . preferably , self - calibration is performed once , before the smart fuel tank module 18 is submersed in fuel or at a time when the fuel tank 12 is empty such as while the vehicle 10 is still on the assembly line . the preferred calibration method for the first embodiment of the smart fuel tank module 18 depicted in fig3 is outlined in the flow diagram of fig5 . in step 92 , the switching transistor 62 is turned on by the micro - controller 38 holding the line 94 low thereby causing the output voltage of the voltage regulator 64 to be transmitted through a line 96 to the common node of the rc series combinations 20 , 66 ; 22 , 68 and 26 , 79 . a full charge corresponding to a potential difference of 5 v is thus developed across the composition capacitor 20 and the level capacitor 22 . in step 98 , the level logic gate 42 is selected by the micro - controller 38 using a line 100 thereby discharging the level capacitor 22 along the line 48 and across the discharge resistor 50 . at the same time , the micro - controller 38 begins a count using the clock 90 while continuing to monitor the voltage across the discharge resistor 50 using a line 52 . in step 102 , when the voltage across the discharge resistor 50 drops below the threshold voltage established by the second voltage divider 80 , 82 , the clock count is stored as the level capacitor clock count in the micro - controller 38 . this clock count corresponds to the discharge cycle of the level capacitor 22 in an &# 34 ; free - air ,&# 34 ; a value which correlates to the capacitance of level capacitor 22 for an empty fuel tank reading . the level capacitor &# 39 ; s free - air discharge cycle time is transmitted across the multiplex bus 32 and stored in an available non - volatile memory location in the central vehicle computer 34 . in step 104 , the composition logic gate 40 is selected by the micro - controller 38 using a line 106 thereby discharging the composition capacitor 20 along the line 48 and across the discharge resistor 50 . at the same time , the micro - controller 38 begins a count using the clock 90 while continuing to monitor the voltage across the discharge resistor 50 using a line 52 . in step 108 , when the voltage across the discharge resistor 50 drops below the threshold voltage established by the second voltage divider 80 , 82 , the clock count is stored as the composition capacitor clock count in the micro - controller 38 . the composition capacitor clock count corresponds to the discharge cycle of the composition capacitor in an empty fuel tank , a value which correlates to the actual capacitance value of the composition capacitor 20 in &# 34 ; free - air .&# 34 ; in step 110 , the capacitance values of the level capacitor 20 and the composition capacitor 22 are compared to determine a free - air ratio , f , according to the following expression : c 22f = capacitance of the level capacitor 22 in free air or at empty fuel tank c 20f = capacitance of the composition capacitor 20 in free air or at empty fuel tank the free - air ratio , f , is used as a factor by the micro - controller 38 , in step 122 below , to adjust the measured capacitance value of the composition capacitor 20 according to the differential between the capacitive values of the composition capacitor 20 and the level capacitor 22 . this capacitive differential is the result of the manufacturing variances of capacitors designated to have nominally the same capacitive value . the free - air ratio provides a means to adjust the value of the composition capacitor 20 in step 122 below to ensure that more accurate fuel level data is derived from measurements of the level capacitor 22 . in step 112 , the switching transistor 62 is turned on by the micro - controller 38 holding the line 94 low thereby causing the output voltage of the voltage regulator 64 to be transmitted through a line 96 to the common node of the rc series combinations 20 , 66 and 22 , 68 and to intermediate node of the first voltage divider 60 , 28 . a full charge corresponding to a potential difference of 5 v is thus developed across the composition capacitor 20 and the level capacitor 22 . at the same time , a divided voltage dependent on the selected value of the ntc 28 also is developed across the temperature capacitor 24 . a voltage dependent on the output voltage of the pressure transducer 30 is also developed across the pressure capacitor 26 . referring now to fig6 the composition logic gate 40 is selected in step 114 by the micro - controller 38 using a line 106 thereby discharging the composition capacitor 20 along the line 48 and across the discharge resistor 50 . at the same time , the micro - controller 38 begins a count using the clock 90 while continuing to monitor the voltage across the discharge resistor 50 using a line 52 . in step 116 , when the voltage across the discharge resistor 50 drops below the threshold voltage established by the second voltage divider 80 , 82 , the clock count is stored as the composition capacitor clock count in the micro - controller 38 . the composition capacitor clock count corresponds to a full fuel tank level . in addition , a software look - up table can be utilized by the micro - controller 38 to identify the composition of the fuel . the look - up table cross - references the dielectric properties of a fuel mixture versus the discharge cycle of the composition capacitor 20 thus enabling the smart fuel tank module 18 to advantageously provide fuel level data for any fuel composition . in step 118 , the level logic gate 42 is selected or activated by the micro - controller 38 using a line 100 thereby discharging the level capacitor 22 along the line 48 and across the discharge resistor 50 . at the same time , the micro - controller 38 begins a clock count using the clock 90 while continuing to monitor the voltage across the discharge resistor 50 using a line 52 . in step 120 , when the voltage across the discharge resistor 50 drops below the threshold voltage established by the second voltage divider 80 , 82 , the clock count is stored as the level capacitor clock count in the micro - controller 38 . in step 122 , the absolute fuel level is calculated according to the expression : ## equ2 ## where , for a particular fuel mixture : c 20 = the max capacitance of composition capacitor 20 , i . e ., when the fuel tank is full c 22f = the minimum capacitance of level capacitor 22 in free air , i . e ., when the fuel tank is empty c 22v = the variable capacitance of level capacitor 22 , i . e ., when level capacitor 22 is partially immersed in fuel as seen in the expression above which is independent of the dielectric constant of the fuel , the smart fuel tank module 18 can advantageously determine the absolute fuel level of any mixture of fuels without a look - up table listing particular dielectric constants corresponding to specific fuel mixtures . in step 124 , temperature data is collected by the micro - controller 38 using the temperature capacitor 24 . thermal sensitive resistive element 28 , whose resistance is dependent upon the temperature of the fuel in which it is immersed , is used to charge the temperature capacitor 24 to a voltage that indicates fuel temperature . the temperature logic gate 44 is selected by the micro - controller 38 using a line 126 enabling the temperature capacitor 24 to discharge through the temperature logic gate 44 and across the discharge resistor 50 . at the same time , the micro - controller 38 begins a clock count using the clock 90 while continuing to monitor the voltage across the discharge resistor 50 using the line 52 . in step 128 , when the voltage across the discharge resistor 50 drops below the threshold voltage established by the second voltage divider 80 , 82 , the clock count is stored as the temperature capacitor clock count in the micro - controller 38 and corresponds to the temperature of the fuel in the fuel tank 12 . in step 130 , the micro - controller 38 determines the absolute fuel tank temperature by consulting a look - up table that cross - references temperature capacitor clock counts versus fuel temperature values . in step 132 , pressure data is collected by the micro - controller 38 using the pressure capacitor 26 . the pressure logic gate 46 is selected by the micro - controller 38 using a line 134 discharging the pressure capacitor 26 back along the line 48 through the discharge resistor 50 . in step 136 , when the voltage across the discharge resistor 50 drops below the threshold voltage established at the intermediate node of the second voltage divider 80 , 82 , the clock count is stored as the pressure clock count in the micro - controller 38 . the pressure clock count corresponds to the pressure inside the fuel tank 12 . in step 138 , micro - controller 38 determines the absolute fuel tank pressure by consulting a look - up table cross - referencing pressure capacitor clock counts versus fuel tank pressure values . in step 140 , the fuel level , composition , temperature , and pressure data collected is converted by the micro - controller 38 into the message format required for transmission to the central vehicle computer 34 . finally , in step 142 , the converted or formatted data is transmitted by the micro - controller 38 to the central vehicle computer 34 under the control of the i / o driver 54 via the multiplex bus 32 . a second embodiment of the smart fuel tank module 18 is schematically depicted in fig4 . in this second or alternative embodiment , a reference capacitor 144 is added to the smart fuel tank module 18 configuration depicted in fig3 . the addition of the reference capacitor 144 eliminates the need to perform the factory free - air calibration steps outlined in fig5 . a reference resistor 146 is connected in series to reference capacitor 144 to form a third rc combination 144 , 146 . the third rc combination 144 , 146 is connected in parallel with the first and second rc combinations 20 , 66 and 22 , 68 through the switching transistor 62 to the voltage regulator 64 . the reference capacitor 144 is connected to the micro - controller 38 through a reference logic gate 148 which behaves as a spst . the reference capacitor 144 is physically located on the printed circuit board 36 in the main compartment 14 of the fuel tank 12 . the reference capacitor 144 is a discrete capacitor having a set capacitive value of preferably 12 pf , a value nominally corresponding to the free - air value of both the variable composition capacitor 20 and the variable level capacitor 22 . the value of the reference capacitor 144 provides a free - air capacitance reference value to which the value of the level capacitor 22 can be compared at any time to determine whether the fuel tank 12 is empty . the second or alternative method of operation utilizing the reference capacitor 144 is depicted in the flow diagram of fig7 . in step 150 , the micro - controller 38 turns on the switching transistor 62 by holding the line 106 low causing the output voltage of the voltage regulator 64 to be transmitted through the line 96 to the common node of the rc series combinations 20 , 66 ; 22 , 68 ; 26 , 79 and 144 , 146 . a full charge corresponding to a potential difference of 5 v is thus developed across the composition capacitor 20 , level capacitor 22 , and reference capacitor 144 . in step 152 , the reference logic gate 148 is selected by micro - controller 38 using a line 154 thereby discharging the reference capacitor 144 along the line 48 and across the discharge resistor 50 . at the same time , the micro - controller 38 begins a clock count using the clock 90 while continuing to monitor the voltage across the discharge resistor 50 using the line 52 . in step 156 , when the voltage across the discharge resistor 50 drops below the threshold voltage established by the second voltage divider 80 , 82 , the clock count is stored as the reference capacitor clock count in the micro - controller 38 . in step 122 of fig6 the absolute fuel level is calculated for the second or alternative embodiment of the smart fuel tank module 18 depicted fig4 and 7 according to the alternative expression : ## equ3 ## where , for any fuel mixture : c 20 = the max capacitance of composition capacitor 20 , i . e ., when the fuel tank is full c 144 = the capacitance of reference capacitor 144 in free air , i . e ., when the fuel tank is empty c 22v = the variable capacitance of level capacitor 22 , i . e , when level capacitor 22 is partially immersed in fuel in the second or alternative embodiment of the smart fuel tank module 18 , the capacitive ranges of the composition capacitor 20 and the level capacitor 22 are equal to each other and to the reference capacitor 144 . therefore , the reference capacitor 144 can be utilized conveniently by the micro - controller 38 to determine whether the absolute fuel level has fallen to the level of an empty fuel tank . as can be seen from equation ( 6 ), the second or alternative method advantageously provides fuel level data independent of fuel composition . as a result , no look - up table cross - referencing various fuel compositions to their dielectric constants need be provided . while the present invention has been disclosed in terms of the preferred embodiments thereof , one skilled in the art should understand that a variation made to any of the disclosed embodiments may still properly fall within the scope of the present invention as defined by the claims that follow . | 6 |
referring to fig1 and 2 , the thermal drop - on - demand ink jet print head , according to the present invention , comprises a suitable substrate member 10 , upon one surface 11 of which is formed an array of resistive heater elements 12 , only one of which is shown in fig1 and 2 of the drawings . the resistive heater elements 12 comprise a multilayer thin film structure comprising a heat insulation layer 13 and a resistive heater film 14 . layer 13 must also be electrically insulating . a common electrode 15 , and an array of control electrodes 16 make electrical contact to each of the resistive heater films 14 and electrically short all areas of the heater films 14 except the area between the electrodes 15 and 16 which forms resistive heater elements 12 . a passivation layer 17 is deposited over the array of the resistive heater elements 12 and the associated electrodes 15 and 16 to prevent both chemical and mechanical damage to the resistive heater elements 12 and the electrodes 15 and 16 . preferably passivation layer 17 comprises two layers of different materials in order to reduce the incidence of flaws or pinholes in the passivation layer . according to the present invention , a heat delay layer 18 is deposited over the resistive heater elements 12 in a position so that the heat delay layer 18 covers only part of the resistive heater element 12 . a second substrate member 19 is fixed in position relative to substrate 10 so that wall members 20 define a channel 21 associated with each of the resistive heater elements 12 . a nozzle 22 is provided at one end of the channel 21 . an ink supply ( not shown ) is provided to supply a marking fluid such as ink to each of the channels 21 . the heat delay layer 18 is formed of a thermally insulating material which is tough so that bubble formation and collapse forces do not erode the structure . in addition , the material must be chosen so that it is chemically stable and compatible with the other print head components in the presence of the ink , which may also be corrosive . suitable materials for the heat delay layer 18 include sio 2 , si 3 n 4 , sion , al 2 o 3 , ta 2 o 5 , tio 2 , zro 2 and sic . these materials can be deposited in a variety of ways that are known in the art . the preferred materials are the group comprising sic , sio 2 and si 3 n 4 . the heat delay layer must be relatively thin so that the heat delay is very brief . a range of 300 to 6000 angstroms has been found to be suitable depending on the thermal properties of the material used . in a specific embodiment a layer of sio 2 , 400 angstroms thick , was found to be suitable . in operation , a data pulse is supplied to control electrode 16 to energize the associated resistive heater element 12 to produce a bubble 24 in the ink adjacent heater element 12 . the heat delay layer 18 is patterned to allow initial heating at a specific uncovered area 25 of the resistive heater element 12 and to delay the heat flow to the ink briefly in the covered area 26 of the resistive heater element 12 . as shown in fig2 the bubble nucleates at the left side , then it grows toward the right side so that the inertial effects of a controlled bubble motion to the right as shown by arrow 27 forces a drop 28 of ink from the associated nozzle 22 . this mode of operation has the advantage that bubble formation can be started at a preselected location and proceed in a selected direction thereby achieving a greater velocity of bubble movement for both the growth and collapse phases . during bubble growth , this bubble motion induces a higher drop ejection velocity , and , during the collapse phase , the direction of bubble shrinkage aids the refilling process toward the nozzle . an alternative embodiment of a thermal drop - on - demand ink jet print head is shown in fig3 and 4 . the print head utilizes a substrate 10 , a heat insulation layer 13 , a resistive heating elements 12 , a common electrode 15 and an array of control electrodes 16 . a passivation layer 17 is provided to protect the resistive heating element 12 , common electrode 15 and control electrode 16 . in this case a heat delay layer 30 is provided which covers only part of the resistive heating elements 12 . as shown in fig4 heat delay layer 30 covers the central area 31 of resistive heating element 12 and leaves uncovered the edge areas 32 of the resistive heating element 12 . a second substrate 33 is fixed in position adjacent substrate 10 so that a nozzle 34 is opposite each of the resistive heating elements 12 . substrate 33 is shaped to provide an ink inflow channel 35 to distribute the marking fluid such as ink to the print cavity 36 which holds a predetermined volume of ink between the resistive heater elements 12 and nozzle 34 . in operation , a data pulse is supplied to control electrode 16 to energize the associated resistive heater element 12 to produce a bubble in the ink adjacent to resistive heater element 12 . since in this case the central area 31 of the resistive heater element 12 is covered by the heat delay layer 30 , nucleation starts on the edge areas 32 of the resistive heater element 12 and the bubble grows toward the center . this action causes a &# 34 ; squeeze &# 34 ; action on the ink in the middle thereby focusing the pressure wave generated by the bubble formation along the center line leading to the nozzle 34 . by proper choice of the size of the heat delay layer 30 , the growth of the ring bubble coalesces at the center thereby forming a hemispherical bubble 37 over the resistive heater element 12 . the bubble collapses symmetrically toward the center thereby aiding the refilling process from the side inflow channels 35 . thus it can be seen that a simple heat delay layer 30 added to the usual thermal drop - on - demand ink jet structure provides inertial enhancement of the bubble jet operation . a controlled bubble growth and collapse movement enhances drop ejection thereby reducing drive requirements and assists the refilling process thereby eliminating frequency limitations due to flow constraints . while the invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to a preferred embodiment thereof , it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various other changes in the form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention . | 1 |
with general reference to the figures and with special reference now to fig3 , in an embodiment the model management component 161 is extended to invoke a software component 181 provided according to an embodiment , denoted “ model modification history ”, when a modification of the portal model is processed . model modification history 181 offers an interface for invocation , wherein the invocation request contains an id of the modified page and a modification description . it contains for example the operation , either “ add ” or “ remove ” indicating that a portlet is added or is removed , and the id of the portlet , e . g ., portlet x . model modification history 181 stores this data as well as a timestamp and the user id in a model modification history database 180 , preferably in a tabular representation , of which an exemplary record is given as follows : this model modification record represents the following modification : user u has added portlet x to page y . thus , the model modification history database contains a set of records each describing a modification operation performed by a portal user . a software component provided according to an embodiment denoted as “ partitioning ” 186 creates a partitioning of portal users , where users that have performed similar model modifications are grouped together in one partition . in an embodiment the portal invokes partitioning 186 at pre - defined points in time , e . g ., every night at 1 : 00 a . m . or once a week , preferably during weekends or other periods of low workload . in another embodiment of the method a user may himself trigger the invocation of the partitioning function . with additional reference to fig4 illustrating the rough control flow of the component partitioning 186 , this component 186 accepts the invocation request , i . e ., partitioning request in a step 410 , and invokes a prior art clustering algorithm in a block of steps 420 . the input data for the prior art clustering method are provided according to the present invention as follows : 1 ) content model modifications effected by portal users ; here the datasets stored in the model modification history database 180 should be used . 2 ) user ids of all portal users . the clustering algorithm will return a cluster model that represents a clustering or the above mentioned “ partitioning ” of the portal users according to their personal model modification history . partitioning 186 creates and stores a relational representation of the clustering model in a dedicated partitioning database 185 . the relational representation associates each user with a cluster , e . g . user u is assigned to cluster 2 , user v is assigned to cluster 3 , etc . : for above mentioned block 420 , basic prior art data mining technology can be applied . this data mining function includes a prior art clustering algorithm which is applied to the present data , and that returns a set of clusters of related users . briefly , the clustering returns a set of clusters , i . e ., the set of all clusters is a function of all users . as a person skilled in the art knows , clustering is the process of grouping a set of objects into classes of similar objects . central to clustering is the objective to determine the degree of similarity ( or dissimilarity ) between individual objects and between clusters , which is expressed as a distance value . an algorithm of the invention uses prior art agglomerative hierarchical clustering techniques which iteratively join together similar clusters . this is depicted in fig9 . the application thereof in the context of the present invention will be described in more detail next below : step 901 : the algorithm starts by assigning each user to a cluster , so that if there is a number of n ( n can be any realistic number , 200 , 500 , 1000 , etc ., for example ) users , initially there are n clusters , each containing just one user . for each pair of clusters , the distance ( described later below in more detail ) between the cluster pair is the same as the distance between the users they contain . step 910 : in this step , the closest ( most similar ) pair of clusters is determined . then , they are merged into a single cluster , so that now it remains a reduced number ( n − 1 ) of clusters . step 920 : then the distances between the new cluster and each of the old clusters is computed . then a loop condition 930 “ do the distance values exceed a pre - defined distance threshold ?” is executed and steps 910 and 920 are repeated , until the distance values exceed this pre - defined distance threshold th , i . e ., the loop is continued and the cluster get merged in order to contain more and more users as group members , until there are no more similar clusters — according to the user - defined distance th — which could be merged in a further iteration of step 910 . the value th is configurable , for example it is chosen by an administrator , thereby allowing to specify since what degree of dissimilarity between any two clusters no merging between these two clusters should be done anymore . note that for didactical reasons , the check to terminate the loop is done at the end of the loop ( after at least one iteration ); preferably , in real applications , this test should be done in the beginning of the loop , allowing zero iterations as well , thus allowing the case , where no merging happens at all . the end result of the mining function is thus in general a reduced number of clusters , wherein each cluster comprises a certain plurality of users . other embodiments also provided by the present invention may use respective different cluster algorithms , e . g ., partitional clustering like k - means clustering , etc . in the following , the distance calculation which is basically applicable in any of above mentioned cluster algorithms , and which is also applied in the method of the present invention is described in more detail as follows : the distance value d ( a , b ) between two users a and b is computed as follows : retrieve two sets of model modification records from the model modification database created in the last t days , the one set being associated with user a , the other set being associated with b . here , the parameter t is a configurable parameter , which allows to ignore model modifications that are too old to be relevant . compare both sets of model modification records ; let x1 be the number of common model modifications ( i . e ., modification operations that both users performed ); let x2 be the number of different model modifications ( i . e ., that only one user has performed ); let distance value d = f ( x1 , x2 ), i . e ., compute a resulting distance value by use of a pre - defined function , which is for example in its most simple form f ( x1 , x2 )= x2 /( 1 + x1 ). of course other formulas or other variables can be used , e . g ., let z1 be the number of pages that were modified by at least one of the two users and have a common layout for both users ; let z2 be the number of pages that were modified by at least one of the two users and have a different layout for both users ; let distance value d = f ( z1 , z2 ), e . g . f ( z1 , z2 )= z2 /( 1 + z1 ). on basis of user distance , an inter - cluster distance is defined . the distance d ( x , y ) between two clusters x , y is computed by aggregating the distance values of pairs of users in x and y , for example in a complete linkage method , wherein the aggregation is performed by calculating the maximum of all distances between pairs of users in two clusters : d ( x , y )= max { d ( a , b ) where user a is in cluster x and user b is in cluster y } if a cluster contains more than one portlet , then a respective number of calculations are done . alternatively , an average distance can be calculated . then , the aggregation is performed by calculating the average of all distances between pairs of users in two clusters ): d ( x , y )= avg { d ( a , b ), where user a is in cluster x and user b is in cluster y . with reference now to fig5 the control flow of the method generating a proposal for a newly laid out web page is described in more detail . in an embodiment of the present invention component model modification history 181 ( fig3 ) invokes a component “ proposal generation ” 191 provided by the present invention , when it is invoked itself , i . e ., when a user performs a content model modification . in this embodiment model modification history 181 invokes proposal generation 191 for exactly one content model modification ; proposal generation 191 will then create adequate proposals for a specific user group defined by a specific cluster of the clusters generated before and described with reference to fig4 . proposal generation 191 passes the content model modification record , which contains user id , page id , operation , portlet id and timestamp . based on the partitioning result , thus , in particular for all users comprised of the user partition the user belongs to , who effected the modification , the component proposal generation 191 generates a set of user - specific model modification proposals — one proposal for each user . in a first step 510 proposal generation 191 accepts a proposal generation request . in a step 520 , it then selects the id of the cluster that contains the user id comprised of the model modification record . then in a next step 530 , proposal generation 191 selects all users that are contained in this cluster into a list of users ( besides the passed user ). it iterates in block 540 over this list of users , for each user performing the following steps : step 542 : create a proposal comprising the page id , the operation , the portlet id and the user id , step 544 : check if the proposal database already contains an identical proposal ; step 546 : if the proposal database does not contain an identical proposal , generate a proposal id , add this proposal id to the tabular representation and then store the proposal in a tabular representation in the proposal database 190 . next , it is referred to fig6 which illustrates the interactions for processing a render request according to an embodiment . after receiving the render request , during aggregation and prior to performing the prior art portlet container invocations , the portal ( aggregation ) invokes the “ visualizeproposals ” operation implemented in software component of the present invention denoted in fig3 as proposal handling 195 . the control flow for visualizeproposals that is executed by proposal handling 195 is illustrated in fig7 . in a first step 710 , proposal handling implemented in the portal server accepts the visualization request incoming from aggregation 170 . the request contains the id of the requested page and the user id . then , proposal handling 195 retrieves the proposals for this page id and user id from the proposal database 190 , which is implemented in this specific embodiment as a separate database , step 720 . it creates a markup fragment representing the proposals and includes this markup fragment on the portal page , step 730 . the markup fragment may include one proposal , or a list of proposals , for each proposal containing a text description as well as one or multiple links that represent a portal action . the link references an url that contains an action identifier as well as the proposal id and an acceptance indicator ( either true or false . in an embodiment a proposal for an “ add ” operation will read like “ do you want to make use of portlet x ?” and will contain two links , one link representing an action for accepting the proposal and a further link representing an action for rejecting the proposal . using his browser , the user may invoke one of said links and thus issue an action request to the portal . the portal then invokes proposal handling to process the request ( see fig8 ). with new reference to fig8 , the request contains the proposal id and an acceptance indicator that are taken from the action request . proposal handling 195 accepts the action request in step 810 and checks the acceptance indicator flag , step 820 . if the acceptance indicator is false — i . e ., the user chooses to reject the proposal — the proposal is removed from the database , step 860 . if the acceptance indicator is true — i . e . the user chooses to accept the proposal ), proposal handling reads the proposal from the proposal database 190 , retrieves the user id , page id , operation and portlet id from the proposal record , step 830 , and prepares a model management request according to these data , step 840 . it then invokes model management component 161 passing said request . model management 161 will then perform the requested operation — e . g ., it will add portlet x on page y for this user — by use of prior art techniques . finally , the proposal is removed from the proposal database 860 . further embodiments of the method of the present invention include some variations . for example a varied embodiment waits until more than one content model modification has been stored before it generates or visualizes respective layout proposals for the users of the relevant user cluster . this is done in order to concentrate user attention to a few instants of time rather than binding its attention nearly permanently . here , layout proposals do merge single modifications as long as they are mergeable in absence of contradictions . if they are contradictive , the proposals are sequenced for visualization according to any predetermined criterion , e . g ., age of modification , youngest modification having best priority . the invention can take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment , an entirely software embodiment or an embodiment containing both hardware and software elements . in a preferred embodiment , the invention is implemented in software , which includes but is not limited to firmware , resident software , microcode , etc . furthermore , the invention can take the form of a computer program product accessible from a computer - usable or computer - readable medium providing program code for use by or in connection with a computer or any instruction execution system . for the purposes of this description , a computer - usable or computer readable medium can be any apparatus that can contain , store , communicate , propagate , or transport the program for use by or in connection with the instruction execution system , apparatus , or device . the medium can be an electronic , magnetic , optical , electromagnetic , infrared , or semiconductor system ( or apparatus or device ) or a propagation medium . examples of a computer - readable medium include a semiconductor or solid state memory , magnetic tape , a removable computer diskette , a random access memory ( ram ), a read - only memory ( rom ), a rigid magnetic disk and an optical disk . current examples of optical disks include compact disk - read only memory ( cd - rom ), compact disk - read / write ( cd - r / w ) and dvd . a data processing system suitable for storing and / or executing program code will include at least one processor coupled directly or indirectly to memory elements through a system bus . the memory elements can include local memory employed during actual execution of the program code , bulk storage , and cache memories which provide temporary storage of at least some program code in order to reduce the number of times code must be retrieved from bulk storage during execution . input / output or i / o devices ( including but not limited to keyboards , displays , pointing devices , etc .) can be coupled to the system either directly or through intervening i / o controllers . network adapters may also be coupled to the system to enable the data processing system to become coupled to other data processing systems or remote printers or storage devices through intervening private or public networks . modems , cable modem and ethernet cards are just a few of the currently available types of network adapters . | 6 |
fig1 shows the basic procedure for performing the user authentication in accordance with the authentication system of the present invention . the prover a , the pretender b , and the verifier c transmit and receive information between them via telecommunication lines . the prover a , identified by 100 in fig1 a , includes an initial response generator 110 and a proving device 120 . the pretender b , identified by 200 in fig1 b , includes a random generator 210 , an initial response randomizer 215 , an inquiry randomizer 220 , and a derandomizer 230 . the verifier c , identified by 300 in fig1 c , includes an inquiry generator 320 , and a verifying device 330 . the user authentication takes place following such steps as mentioned below in conjunction with fig1 . step 1 : the prover a transmits to the pretender b an initial response x &# 39 ; produced by the initial response generator using a random number r . step 2 : the pretender b inputs the initial response x &# 39 ; received from the prover a and random components , produced by the random generator 210 , into the initial response randomizer 215 to create a randomized initial response x &# 34 ;, which is transmitted to the verifier c . step 3 : the verifier c creates an inquiry β by the inquiry generator 320 and transmits the inquiry β to the pretender b . step 4 : the pretender b inputs the inquiry β received from the verifier c and the above - mentioned random components into the inquiry randomizer 22 to create a randomized inquiry β &# 39 ;, which is transmitted to the prover a . step 5 : the prover a creates a proved response z corresponding to the randomized inquiry β &# 39 ; by the proving device 120 using a secret key s of its own and the random number r , and returns the proved response z to the pretender b . step 6 : the pretender b inputs the proved response z and the afore - mentioned random components into the derandomizer 230 , by which the influence of the random components applied by the pretender b to the inquiry β in step 4 is eliminated to obtain a proved response z &# 39 ;, which is transmitted to the verifier c . step 7 : the verifier c inputs the proved response z &# 39 ; into the verifying device 330 , thereby checking whether the proved response z &# 39 ; is a correct response to both of the randomized initial response x &# 34 ; previously received and the inquiry β previously transmitted . in the above authentication system , since the correspondence between the information ( x &# 39 ;, β &# 39 ;, z ) transmitted between the pretender b and the prover a and the information ( x &# 34 ;, β , z &# 39 ;) transmitted between the verifier c and the pretender b is maintained in secrecy by keeping the random components secret on the part of the pretender b , it is possible for the prover a to assure the verifier c of the identity of the pretender b without disclosing it . in addition , it has been proved by the inventors of this application that the pretender b cannot steal the secret key s from the prover a because the prover a creates the proved response z by randomizing the secret key s with the random number r (&# 34 ; an abuse of zero knowledge proofs , measures to protect it , and its applications ,&# 34 ; t . okamoto and k . ohta , the proceedings of the 1988 workshop on cryptography and information security , kobe , japan , july 28 - 29 , 1988 and &# 34 ; divertible zero knowledge interactive proofs and commutative random self - reducibility ,&# 34 ; t . okamoto and k . ohta , proceedings of eurocrypt &# 39 ; 89 , apr . 10 - 13 , 1989 ). accordingly , the authentication system of the present invention excels , in terms of safety , the blind signature system proposed by chaum et al . fig2 shows the basic procedure for the message authentication in accordance with the authentication system of the present invention . the prover a , the signature client b , and the verifier c transmit and receive information between them via telecommunication lines . the prover a , identified by 100 in fig2 a , includes an initial response generator 110 and a proving device 120 . this constitution is exactly the same as that for the user authentification shown in fig1 . the signature client b , identified by 200 in fig2 b , includes a random generator 210 , an initial response randomizer 215 , an inquiry randomizer 250 , and a derandomizer 260 . the verifier c , identified by 300 in fig2 c , includes a verifying device 340 . step 1 : the prover a transmits to the signature client b an initial response x &# 39 ; produced by the initial response generator 110 using random numbers r . step 2 : the signature client b inputs the initial response x &# 39 ; received from the prover a and secret random components produced by the random generator 210 into the initial response randomizer 215 to create a randomized initial response x &# 34 ;. the randomized initial response x &# 34 ; and a message m to be signed are input into the inquiry generator 250 to produce an inquiry β and a randomized inquiry β &# 39 ; created by randomizing the inquiry β with random numbers . the randomized inquiry β &# 39 ; is sent to the prover a . step 3 : the prover a produces , by proving device 120 , a proved response z corresponding to the received randomized inquiry β &# 39 ;, using a secret key s of the prover a and the random numbers r . the proved response z is sent to the signature client b . step 4 : the signature client b inputs the proved response z and the above - mentioned random components into the derandomizer 260 to eliminate the influence of the random components applied by the signature client b to the initial response x &# 39 ; in step 2 , thereby producing a proved response z &# 39 ; corresponding to the message m . the message m is sent to the verifier c , along with the inquiry β . step 5 : the verifier c input the proved response z &# 39 ;, the message m , the inquiry β into the verifying device 340 , checking whether the inquiry β and the proved response z &# 39 ; constitute a correct signature corresponding to the message m . in this authentication system the correspondence between the information ( x &# 39 ;, β &# 39 ;, z ) transmitted between the signature client b and the prover a and the information ( m , β , z &# 39 ;) transmitted between the verifier c and the signature client b can be maintained in secrecy by keeping the random components secret on the part of the signature client b . in addition , as is the case with the afore - mentioned user authentication system , the prover a creates the proved response z by randomizing with its secret key s , so that the signature client b cannot steal the secret key s of the prover a . accordingly , this system is highly safe . the blind signature system by chaum is not absolutely safe as referred to previously . moreover , the chaum system is based on the rsa crypotography of a large amount of computation , and hence poses a problem in that a large processing capability is needed to obtain a signed response z &# 39 ; from a response z by use of a secret key d ( in the afore - mentioned example of the blind signature system a large amount computation is imposed on the bank a ). in concrete terms , the rsa cryptographic scheme cells for an average of 768 multiplications ( including modulo n calculations ) of integers of 200 digits . by the way , a high - speed authentication system has been proposed by fiat and shamir ( u . s . pat . no . 4 , 748 , 688 issued to shamir and fiat , and a . fiat and a . shamir , &# 34 ; how to prove yourself : practical solutions to identification and signature problems ,&# 34 ; proceedings of crypto 86 , pp . 18 - 1 - 18 - 17 santa barbara , august 1986 ). with the fiat - shamir method , the amount of computation is t ( k + 2 )/ 2 multiplications ( including modulo n calculations ) on the average ( the meanings of k and t described later ), and in particular , it is recommended to select k = 5 and t = 4 . in such a case , the number of multiplications needed in the fiat - shamir method is 14 . thus , this method affords substantial reduction of the computation as compared with the signature method based on the rsa scheme . in concrete terms , since 14 / 768 = 0 . 02 , the authentication can be achieved with computation 2 % of that required by the rsa scheme . at first , a trusted center creates , by the following procedure , k secret keys s j ( where 1 ≦ j ≦ k , k being a parameter which determines the degree of a security and greater than 1 ) for a user who uses an id as a proof of his identity . here , n is information made public and can be expressed as n = p × q , where p and q are secret primes . further f is a one - way function and is made public . step 1 : x j = f ( id , j )( 1 ≦ j ≦ k ) is calculated using the one - way function f . step 2 : s j =√ x j ( mod n ) is calculated using the primes factors p and q of n for each x j . that is , s j 2 = s j ( mod n ). ( note ) in the fiat - shamir method , s j =√ 1 / x j ( mod n ) is employed , though the same result can be obtained even by defining s j as mentioned previously . step 3 : the center secretly issues k secret keys s j to the user and makes public the function f and the composite number n . the computation of the square root in ( mod n ) can be conducted only when the prime factors ( p and q ) of n are known . the method therefor is disclosed in rabin , m . o ., &# 34 ; digitalized signatures and public - key functions as intractable as factorization ,&# 34 ; tech . rep . mit / lcs / tr - 212 , mit , lab . comput . sci ., 1979 , for example . a prover a proves , in the following procedure , to a verifier c that he is a . step 2 : c computes information x j = f ( id , j ) ( 1 ≦ j ≦ k ). next , the following steps 3 - 6 are repeated for i = 1 , . . . , t ( t being a parameter which determines the security of the system and has a - value greater than 1 ). step 3 : a creates a random number r i , computes x &# 39 ; i = r 1 2 ( mod n ) and sends it to c . step 4 : c creates a of bits ( e il , . . . , e jk ) each of 0 or 1 and sends it to a . step 5 : a creates a signed message z i b computing ## equ1 ## according to the method of creating z i , ## equ3 ## so that the verifier c accepts a &# 39 ; s proof of identity only when all the t checks are successful . the probability of the verifier c mistaking a bongus prover for a is 1 / 2 kt , where k is the number of secret keys s j administered by the prover and t defines the number of communications of the message . the above is the user authentication system by the fiat - shamir method and the message authentication system can be implemented by modifying the above - mentioned procedure as follows . first k × t bits of f ( m , x &# 39 ; 1 , . . . , x &# 39 ; t ) obtained by applying the one - way function f to a message m and ( x &# 39 ; 1 , . . . , x &# 39 ; t ) are regarded as the bit string ( e ij ) in the above procedure and ( id , m , ( e ij ), z 1 , . . . , z t ) is sent as a signed message to the verifier . as mentioned above , the fiat - shamir method is a high - speed authentication system , but up to now , there has not been proposed an untraceable authentication system employing the fiat - shamir method . fig3 and 4 respectively show procedures for user authentication and message authentication in the case of applying the above fiat - shamir method to the authentication systems of the present invention depicted in fig1 and 2 . fig5 to 9 illustrate the constitutions of the prover a , the pretender or the signature client b , and the verifier c for performing the authentications . the user authentication in fig3 employs the user authentication system of the fiat - shamir method between the prover a and the pretender b and between the pretender b and the verifier c , and implements an untraceable user authentication system by keeping secret , on the part of the pretender b , information which associates the two fiat - shamir methods with each other . as in the case of the fiat - shamir method , a trusted center makes public a composite number n and a one - way function f , computes a secret key s which corresponds to identifying information id of the prover a and satisfies s 2 ( mod n )= x = f ( id ), and sends the secret key s to the prover a . referring now to fig5 to 7 which illustrate the constitutions 100 , 200 and 300 of the prover a , the pretender b and the verifier c , respectively , the user authentication procedure will be described in connection with the case where k = 1 . the prover a takes the following procedure to prove the validity of the pretender b to the verifier c . step s 1 : the prover a sends identifying information id to the pretender b and the verifier c . step s 2 : the prover a , the pretender b and the verifier c compute information x = f ( id ) using one - way functions 105 , 205 and 305 , respectively . next , the following steps s 3 to s 6 are repeated t times . step s 3 : the prover a generates an initial response x &# 39 ; by an initial response generator 110 and sends it to the pretender b . the initial response generator 110 can be formed by a random generator 111 and a modulo calculator 112 . a random number r is generated by the random generator 111 and x &# 39 ; is computed by the modulo calculator using x &# 39 ;= x · r 2 ( mod n ) step s 4 : upon receipt of the initial response x &# 39 ;, the pretender b generates a random bit e , which is 0 or 1 , and a random number u , both generated by a random generator 210 , inputs them into an initial response randomizer 215 , together with the initial response x &# 39 ; and x created by a function generator 205 in advance , thereby computes a randomized initial response x &# 34 ;, and sends it to the verifier c . the initial response randomizer 215 is formed as a modulo calculator , for example , and computes the randomized initial response x &# 34 ; by x &# 34 ;= u 2 · x - e · x &# 39 ;( mod n ) based on the received initial response x &# 39 ;, x generated by the function calculator 205 , and random components e and u generated by the random generator 210 . step s 5 : the verifier c stores the randomized initial response x &# 34 ; in an information storage 310 , creates a random bit β which is 0 or 1 by a random generator 320 , and then sends it as an inquiry to the pretender b . step s 6 : the pretender b inputs the inquiry β and the random bit e , created previously , into an inquiry randomizer 220 to compute a randomized inquiry β &# 39 ;, which is sent to the prover a . the inquiry randomizer 220 is formed by a modulo calculator , for example , which computes the randomized inquiry β &# 39 ; by the above modulo calculation is equivalent to the exclusive or of β and e . step s 7 : upon receipt of the randomized inquiry β &# 39 ;, the prover a inputs the random number r , previously created by the random generator 111 , and the randomized inquiry β &# 39 ; into the proving device 120 to compute a proved response z , which is sent to the pretender b . the proving device 120 is formed by , for example , a secret key storage 121 and a modulo calculator 122 . the secret key s , which is read out of the secret key storage 121 , the random number r created by the random generator 111 , and the received randomized inquiry β &# 39 ;, are provided to a modulo calculator 122 , wherein the proved response z is computed by step s 8 : upon receipt of the proved response z , the pretender b applies the proved response z , the previously created information x , the inquiry β and the random components e and u to the derandomizer 230 to compute a proved response z &# 39 ; having removed therefrom the random components . the proved response z &# 39 ; is sent to the verifier c . the derandomizer 230 comprises , for instance , a condition checker 231 and a modulo calculator 232 , and computes the proved response z &# 39 ; by ## equ4 ## step s 9 : upon receipt of the proved response z &# 39 ;, the verifier c verifies its validity by use of the verifying device 330 . the verifying device 330 comprises , for example , a modulo calculator 331 and a comparator 332 , and checks whether or not holds for x &# 34 ; read out of the information storage 310 , x produced by the function calculator 305 and β generated by the random generator 320 . in the above the inquiry - response interactions are performed sequentially t times , but they may also be performed at the same time . next , the message authentication procedure shown in fig4 will be described with reference to the constitutions 100 , 200 and 300 of the prover a , the signature client b and the verifier c depicted in fig5 and 9 , respectively . this procedure employs the use authentication system of the fiat - shamir method between the prover a and the signature client b and the message authentication system of the fiat - shamir method between the signature client b and the verifier c . an untraceable message authentication can be implemented by keeping secret , on the part of the signature client b , information which links the two authentication systems . as is the case with the fiat - shamir method , a trusted center makes public the composite number n and the one - way function f , computes the secret key s corresponding to the identifying information id of the prover a , and sends the secret key s to the prover a . the following description will be given of the case where k = 1 . the signature client b signs a message m through the aid of the prover a using the following procedure . step s 1 : the prover a sends the identifying information id to the signature client b and the verifier c . step s 2 : the prover a , the signature client b and the verifier c compute x = f ( id ) by use of the one - way function calculators 105 , 205 and 305 , respectively . step s 3 : the prover a computes an initial response x &# 39 ; composed of t responses x &# 39 ; i ( i = 1 , 2 , . . . , t ) by the initial response generator 110 and sends it to the signature client b . the initial response generator 110 comprises , for example , a random generator 111 and a modulo calculator 112 . the random generator 111 is used to generate t random numbers r i and the modulo calculator 112 is used to compute the t responses x &# 39 ; i by the responses x &# 39 ; i thus obtained are sent as the initial response x &# 39 ; to the signature client b . step s 4 : upon receipt of the initial response x &# 39 ;, the signature client b generates t sets of a random bit e i , which is 0 or 1 , and a random number u i by use of the random generator 210 , and inputs their values , the received t responses x &# 39 ; i and the previously created x into the initial response randomizer 215 to obtain t randomized initial responses x &# 34 ; i , and x &# 34 ;=( x &# 34 ; 1 ,. . . x &# 34 ; t ) is supplied to an inquiry generator 250 . the initial response randomizer 215 is formed by a modulo calculator , for example . the t sets of e i and u i created by the random generator 210 , the received t initial responses x &# 39 ; i and the above - mentioned x are applied to the initial response randomizer 215 , wherein the t randomized initial responses x &# 34 ; i are formed by step s 5 : the signature client b inputs the message m and the t randomized initial responses x &# 34 ; i i into an inquiry generator 250 to thereby create an inquiry β and a randomized inquiry β &# 39 ; obtained by randomizing the former with the random component e i . the randomized inquiry β &# 39 ; is transmitted to the prover a and the inquiry β is applied to a derandomizer 260 . the inquiry generator 250 comprises , for example , a one - way function calculator 251 and a modulo calculator 252 , by which the inquiry β =( β 1 , . . . , β t ) and the randomized inquiry β &# 39 ;=( β &# 39 ; 1 , . . . , β &# 39 ; t ) are composed by β =( β 1 ,. . . , β t )= f ( m , x &# 34 ; 1 ,. . . x &# 34 ; t ) and β &# 39 ; i = β i + e i ( mod 2 ) ( i = 1 , 2 ,. . . , t ). step s 6 : upon receipt of the randomized inquiry β &# 39 ;, the prover a computes a proved response z , by the proving device 120 , from the previously generated random numbers r i and the received randomized inquiry β &# 39 ;, and sends the proved response z to the signature client b . the proving device 120 comprises , for example , a secret key storage 121 and a modulo calculator 123 . a secret key s read out of the secret key storage 121 , the random number supplied from the random generator 111 , and the randomized inquiry β &# 39 ; are applied to the modulo calculator 122 , wherein the proved response is obtained using a proved response z i calculated by step s 7 : upon receipt of the proved response z , the signature client b provides the proved response z , the previously created information x and the t sets of random numbers e i and u i to a derandomizer 260 , wherein a proved response z &# 39 ; having removed therefrom the influence of random components is computed . the proved response z &# 39 ; thus obtained is sent to the verifier c , together with the inquiry β and the message m . the derandomizer 260 comprises , for example , a condition checker 261 and a modulo calculator 262 , by which is obtained using z &# 39 ; i computed by ## equ5 ## step s 8 : the verifier c checks the validity of ( m , β , z &# 39 ;) by use of a verifying device 340 . the verifying device 340 comprises , for example , a modulo calculator 341 , a one - way function calculator 342 , and a comparator 343 , by which x * i is obtained by in the authentication systems shown in fig3 and 4 , k = 1 , and consequently , the prover a uses only one secret key s . in order to ensure the security of the user authentication , in particular , it is necessary to increase the number of interations t of steps 3 to 6 , so that the communication efficiency is poor . fig1 and 11 illustrate other embodiments of the procedures for the user authentication and the message authentication of the authentication system of the present invention which utilize the fiat - shamir method as in the cases of fig3 and 4 . fig1 to 16 illustrate the constitutions of the prover a ( 100 ), the pretender signature or the client b ( 200 ) and the verifier c ( 300 ). they are identical in basic arrangement with but differ in operation from those shown in fig5 to 9 . in addition , the prover a is so designed as to use k secret keys s j ( j = 1 , 2 , . . . , k ). in the case of k ≧ 2 , the security of the authentication system obtainable with one authentication procedure is particularly high . a description will be given first , with reference to fig1 , 13 and 14 , of the user authentication procedure of fig1 by which the prover a proves to the verifier c that he has confirmed the identity of the pretender b . as is the case of the fiat - shamir method , a trusted center makes public a composite number n and a one - way function f , computes k secret keys s j corresponding to identifying information id of the prover a , and sends the secret keys s j to the prover a . it must be noted here that j = 1 , 2 , . . . , k and that s j satisfies s j 2 ( mod n )= x j = f ( id , j ). the prover a proves the validity of the pretender b to the verifier c following the following procedure . step s 1 : the prover a sends identifying information id to the pretender b and the verifier c . step s 2 : the pretender b and the verifier c compute information x j = f ( id , j ) by using the one - way function generators 205 and 305 , respectively . in this instance , j = 1 , 2 , . . . , k . next , the following steps s 3 to s 6 are repeated t times . step s 3 : the prover a generates an initial response x &# 39 ; by an initial response generator 110 and sends it to the pretender b . the initial response generator 110 comprises , for example , a random generator 111 and a modulo calculator 112 , and generates a random number r by the random generator 111 and computes x &# 39 ; by the modulo calculator 112 by step s 4 : upon receipt of the initial response x &# 39 ;, the pretender b applies k random bits { e j }, each 0 or 1 , and a random number u , both generated by a random generator 210 , the initial response x &# 39 ; and the afore - mentioned information { x j } to an initial response randomizer 215 to compute a randomized initial response x &# 34 ;, which is sent to the verifier c . the initial response randomizer 215 is formed as a modulo calculator , for example , which computes the randomized initial response x &# 34 ; from the received initial b response x &# 39 ;, the information x j , the random bits { e j }, and the random number u by ## equ6 ## step 5 : upon receipt of the randomized initial response x &# 34 ;, the verifier c stores it in an information storage 310 , then creates k random bits { βj }, each 0 or 1 , by a random generator 320 , and sends β =( β 1 ,. . . , β k ) as an inquiry to the pretender b . step s 6 : the pretender b inputs the inquiry β and the afore - mentioned random bits { e j } into an inquiry randomizer 220 to compute a randomized inquiry β &# 39 ;=( β &# 39 ; 1 , . . . , β &# 39 ; k ), which is sent to the prover a . the inquiry randomizer 220 is formed as a modulo calculator , for example , which computes step s 7 : the prover a inputs the randomized inquiry β &# 39 ; and the afore - mentioned random number r into a proving device 120 to compute a proved response z , which is sent to the pretender b . the proving device 120 comprises , for example , a secret key storage 121 and a modulo calculator 122 . k secret keys { s j }, which are read out of the secret key storage 121 , the random number r from the initial response generator 110 , and the received randomized inquiry β &# 39 ; are provided to the modulo calculator 122 to compute the proved response z by ## equ7 ## step s 8 : the pretender b inputs the proved response z , the afore - mentioned information { x j }, random bits { β j } and { e j } and random number u into a derandomizer 230 , by which a proved response z &# 39 ; free from the influence of random components is computed . the proved response z &# 39 ; is sent to the verifier c . the derandomizer 230 comprises , for example , a condition checker 231 and a modulo calculator 232 , by which the proved response z &# 39 ; is computed ## equ8 ## where c j = β j · e j . step s 9 : upon receipt of the proved response z &# 39 ;, the verifier c verifies its validity by a verifying device 330 . the verifying device 330 comprises , for example , a modulo calculator 331 and a comparator 332 , and checks whether or not ## equ9 ## holds for the initial response x &# 34 ; from the information storage 310 , the information x j from the one - way function calculator 305 and the inquiry β from the random generator 320 . while in the above the inquiry - response interactions are performed sequentially t times , they also be conducted at the same time . further , t may also be 1 . next , a description will be given , with reference to fig1 , 15 and 16 , of the message authentication procedure of fig1 in which the signature client b signs a message m through the aid of the prover a . as in the case of the fiat - shamir method , a trusted center makes public a composite number n and a one - way function f , computes k secret keys { s j } ( where j = 1 , 2 , . . . , k ) corresponding to the identifying information id of the prover a , and delivers { s j } to the prover a . here , s j satisfies s j 2 ( mod n )= x j = f ( id , j ). the signature client b signs the message m through the aid of the prover a as follows . step s 1 : the prover a sends the identifying information id to the signature client b and the verifier c . step s 2 : the signature client b and the verifier c compute information x j = f ( id , j ) by one - way function calculators 205 and 305 , respectively . step s 3 : the prover a computes , by an initial response generator 110 , x &# 39 ; composed of t initial response x &# 39 ; i ( i = 1 , 2 , . . . , t ) and sends it to the signature client b . the initial response generator 110 comprises , for example , a random generator 111 and a modulo calculator 112 . the random generator 111 generates t random numbers r i and the modulo calculator 112 computes the t initial response x &# 39 ; i by step s 4 : upon receipt of x &# 39 ;, the signature client b generates t sets of k bits { e ij } and random numbers u i by a random generator 210 and inputs their values , the received t initial responses x &# 39 ; i and the afore - mentioned { x j } into an initial response randomizer 215 , from which t randomized initial responses x &# 34 ; i are obtained . the signature client b provides a randomized initial response x &# 34 ;=( x &# 34 ; 1 ,. . . , x &# 34 ; t ) to an inquiry generator 250 . the initial response randomizer 215 is formed by a modulo calculator for example . the t sets of { e ij } and u i created by the random generator 210 , the received t initial responses x &# 39 ; i , and x j calculated by the function calculator 205 and input into the initial response randomizer 215 to compute the t randomized initial responses x &# 34 ; i by ## equ10 ## for i = 1 , 2 , . . . , t . step s 5 : the signature client b inputs the message m and the t randomized initial responses x &# 34 ; i into an inquiry generator 250 , by which an inquiry β and a randomized inquiry β &# 39 ; are produced . the randomized inquiry β is transmitted to the prover a and the inquiry β is provided to a derandomizer 260 . the inquiry generator 250 comprises , for example , a one - way function calculator 251 and a modulo calculator and computes { β . sub . ij }= f ( m , x &# 34 ;. sub . 1 ,. . . , x &# 34 ;. sub . t and β &# 39 ;. sub . ij = β . sub . ij + e . sub . ij mod 2 ( i = 1 , 2 , . . . , t and j = 1 , 2 , . . . , k ) step s 6 : upon receipt of the randomized inquiry β &# 39 ;, the prover a computes , by a proving device 120 , a proved response z from the afore - mentioned random number r i and the received randomized inquiry β &# 39 ;. the proved response z is sent to the signature client b . the proving device 120 comprises , for example , a secret key storage 121 and a modulo calculator 122 . the key secret keys { s j }, which are read out of the secret key storage 121 , { r i } from the initial response generator 110 , and the received randomized inquiry β &# 39 ; are input into the modulo calculator 122 , from which z =( z 1 ,. . . , z t ) is obtained using z i computed by ## equ11 ## step s 7 : the signature client b inputs the proved response z and the afore - mentioned { x j }, { β ij } and t sets of ({ e ij }, u i ) into a derandomizer 260 , by which a proved response z &# 39 ; free from the influence of random component is computed . the proved response z &# 39 ; is sent to the verifier c , together with the inquiry β and the message m . the derandomizer 260 comprises , for example , a condition checker 261 and a modulo calculator 262 , by which the proved response z &# 39 ; is obtained using z &# 39 ; i computed by ## equ12 ## step s 8 : upon receipt of the message m , the inquiry β and the proved response z &# 39 ;, the verifier c checks their validity by a verifying device 240 . the verifying device 340 comprises , for example , a modulo calculator 341 , a one - way function calculator 342 and a comparator 343 , and computes in the embodiment shown in fig1 and 11 the use of the k secret keys s j by the prover a provides increased security , and as a result of this , the number of interactions t among a , b and c can be decreased , but in the case where t = 1 , since the power a uses the plural secret keys s j , he calls for a large - capacity memory accordingly . as an authentication system which requires smaller memory capacity for storing the secret key and is excellent in communication efficiency and high speed , an extended fiat - shamir scheme has been proposed by the present inventors ( k . ohta : &# 34 ; efficient identification and signature schemes ,&# 34 ; electronics letters , vol . 24 , no . 2 , pp 115 - 116 , 21st jan . , 1988 and k . ohta , t . okamoto : &# 34 ; practical extension of fiat - shamir schemes ,&# 34 ; electronics letters , vol . 24 , no . 15 , pp . 955 - 956 , 21st jan . , 1988 ). with the extended fiat - shamir schemes , the amount of processing is ( 5 l + 2 )/ 2 multiplications ( including modulo n calculations ) on an average . the meaning of l will be described later . since it is recommended to select l = 20 , in particular , the number of multiplications needed in the extended fiat - shamir schemes is 51 ; namely , the amount of processing can be reduced about 7 %, as compared with the amount of processing needed in the signature scheme employing the rsa scheme . a trusted center creates , by the following steps , a secret key s for a user who wears id as his personal identifying information . here , n is information made public and can be expressed as n = p × q , where p and q are secret primes . l is an integer and f is a one - way function and is made public . step 2 : s which satisfies s l = x ( mod n ) is computed using the prime factors p and q of n ( that is , s is the l power root of x ). step 3 : the center secretly issues s to the user and makes public the one - way function f and the composite number n . by the following steps the prover a proves to the verifier c that he is a . step 1 : the prover a sends id to the verifier c . the following steps 3 to 6 are repeated t times ( t being a parameter which defines security and equal to or greater than 1 ). step 3 : the prover a creates a random number r , computes x &# 39 ;= r l ( mod n ) and sends it to the verifier c . step 4 : the verifier c creates an integer e equal to or greater than 0 but smaller than l and sends it to the prover a . step 5 : the prover a creates a signed message z by z = r · s e ( mod n ) and sends it to the verifier c . step 6 : the verifier c checks whether or not x &# 39 ;= z l · x - e ( mod n ) holds . ( x - 1 is an inverse element of x in mod n .) according to the method of creating z , z l · x - e = r l ·( s l · x - 1 ) e = r l = x &# 39 ;( mod n ), so that when the check in step 6 is successful , the verifier c accepts a &# 39 ; s proof of identity . here , the probability of the verifier c mistaking a false prover for the real prover a is 1 / l t . with the extended fiat - shamir scheme , even if only one secret key s is used and the steps 3 to 6 are repeated only once , the security can be provided by a suitable selection of the integer l . the above is the user authentication system , and the message authentication system can be implemented by modifying the above procedure as follows . the first l bits of f ( m , x &# 39 ;), obtained by applying the message m and x &# 39 ; to the one - way function f , are regraded as a binary representation of the integer e , and ( id , m , e , z ) is transmitted as a signed message to the verifier . as described above , the extended fiat - shamir scheme is a high - speed authentication system which affords reduction of the memory capacity for storing the secret key and is excellent in communication efficiency . nevertheless , there has been proposed no untraceable authentication system using the extended fiat - shamir scheme . fig1 and 18 are diagrams respectively illustrating the user authentication and the message authentication procedure in the case of applying the above - described extended fiat - shamir scheme to the authentication systems of the present invention shown in fig1 and 2 . fig1 to 23 illustrate the arrangements of the prover a ( 100 ), the pretender or signature client b ( 200 ) and the verifier c ( 300 ) for executing these authentications . the basic arrangements of the prover a , the pretender or signature client b , and the verifier c are identical with those depicted in fig5 to 9 and 12 to 16 . a description will be given first , with reference to fig1 , 20 and 21 , of the user authentication procedure of fig1 by which the prover a proves to the verifier c that he has established the identity of the pretender b . as in the case of the extended fiat - shamir scheme , a trusted center makes public the composite number n , the one - way function f , and the integer l , computes a secret key s corresponding to identifying information id of the prover a , and delivers the secret key s to the prover a . here , s satisfies s l ( mod n )= x = f ( id ). the prover a proves the validity of the pretender b to the verifier c by the following procedure . step s 1 : the prover a sends id to the pretender b and the verifier c . step s 2 : the pretender b and the verifier c compute information x = f ( id ) by one - way function calculators 205 and 305 , respectively . next , the following steps s 3 to s 6 are repeated t times . step s 3 : the prover a generates an initial response x &# 39 ; by an initial response generator 110 and sends it to the pretender b . the initial response generator 110 comprises , for example , a random generator 111 and a modulo calculator 112 . the random generator 111 generates a random number r , which is applied to the modulo calculator 112 , wherein x &# 39 ; is computed by step s . sub . : 4 upon receipt of the initial response x &# 39 ;, the pretender b generates , by a random generator 210 , a random integer e greater than 0 but smaller than l and a random number u equal to or greater than 1 but smaller than n , and inputs the random components e and u , the initial response x &# 39 ; and the afore - mentioned information x into an initial response randomizer 215 to obtain a randomized initial response x &# 34 ;, which is sent to the verifier c . the initial response randomizer 215 is formed as , for example , a modulo calculator , which computes x &# 34 ; from the received initial response x &# 39 ;, the information x , the random integer e and the random number u by step s 5 : the verifier c stores the received randomized initial response x &# 34 ; in an information storage 310 , and creates , by a random generator 320 , an integer β greater than 0 but smaller than l , then sends the integer β as an inquiry to the pretender b . step s 6 : the pretender b inputs the and the afore - mentioned integer e into an inquiry randomizer 220 to compute a randomized inquiry β &# 39 ;, which is sent to the prover a . the inquiry randomizer 220 is formed as , for example , a modulo calculator , by which is computed step s 7 : the prover a inputs the received randomized inquiry β &# 39 ; and the afore - mentioned random number r into a proving device 120 to compute a proved response z , which is sent to the pretender b . the proving device 120 comprises , for example , a secret key storage 121 and a modulo calculator 122 . the secret key s read out of the secret key storage 121 , the random number r from the initial response generator 110 and the received randomized inquiry β &# 39 ; into the modulo calculator 122 , wherein z is computed by step s 8 : the pretender b inputs the received proved response z , the aforementioned information x , the inquiry β and the random components e and u into a derandomizer 230 to compute a proved response z &# 39 ; free from the influence of random components . the proved response z &# 39 ; is sent to the verifier c . the derandomizer 230 comprises , for example , a condition checker 231 and a modulo calculator 232 and computes step s 9 : upon receipt of the proved response z &# 39 ;, the verifier c checks its validity by use of a verifying device 330 . the verifying device 330 comprises , for example , a modulo calculator 331 and a comparator 332 and checks whether or not holds for the randomized initial response x &# 34 ; supplied from the information storage 310 , the function supplied from the one - way function calculator 305 and the integer β supplied from the random generator 320 . in the above the inquiry - response interactions ( steps s 3 to s 6 ) are sequentially repeated t times , but they may also be performed at the same time , with their t components arranged in parallel . next , a description will be given , with reference to fig1 , 22 and 23 , of the message authentication procedure of fig1 by which the signature client b signs a message m through the aid of the prover a . this procedure utilizes the user authentication system of the extended fiat - shamir scheme between the prover a and the signature client b and the message authentication system of the extended fiat - shamir scheme between the signature client b and the verifier c . by keeping secret , on the part of the signature client b , information which links the two authentication systems with each other , it is possible to implement untraceable message authentication processing . as in the case of the extended fiat - shamir scheme , a trusted center makes public a composite number n , a one - way function f and an integer l , computes a secret key s corresponding to identifying information id of the prover a , and delivers it to the prover a . as in the above , s satisfies s l ( mod n )= x = f ( id ). by the following procedure the signature client b signs a message m through the aid of the prover a . step s 1 : the prover a sends id to the signature client b and the verifier c . step s 2 : the signature client b and the verifier c compute information x = f ( id ) by one - way function calculators 205 and 305 , respectively . step s 3 : the prover a computes , by an initial response generator 110 , an initial response x &# 39 ; composed of t initial responses x &# 39 ; i ( i = 1 , 2 , . . . , t ) and sends it to the signature client b . the initial response generator 110 comprises , for example , a random generator 111 and a modulo calculator 112 . the random generator 111 generates t random number r i , which are provided to the modulo calculator 112 , wherein t initial responses x &# 39 ; i by step s 4 : upon receipt of the initial response x &# 39 ;, the signature client b generates , by a random generator 210 t sets of e i greater than 0 but smaller than l and a random numbers u i greater than 1 but smaller than n , and inputs their values , the received t initial responses x &# 39 ; i and the afore - mentioned information x into an initial response randomizer 215 to compute t randomized initial responses x &# 34 ; i , which are provided to an inquiry generator 250 . the initial response randomizer 215 is formed by , for example , a modulo calculator . the t sets of e i and u i generated by the random generator 210 , the received t initial responses x &# 39 ; i and the information x are applied to the initial response randomizer 215 , wherein the t randomized initial responses x &# 34 ; i are computed by x &# 34 ;. sub . i = u . sub . i . sup . l · x . spsp . e . sup . i · x &# 39 ;. sub . i ( mod n ) for i = 1 , 2 , . . . , t . step s 5 : the signature client b inputs the message m and the t randomized initial responses x &# 34 ; i into an inquiry generator 250 , wherein an inquiry β and a randomized inquiry β &# 39 ; obtained by randomizing the former are created . the randomized inquiry β &# 39 ; is transmitted to the prover a and the inquiry β is supplied to a derandomizer 260 . the inquiry generator 250 comprises , for example , a one - way function calculator 251 and a modulo calculator 252 and obtains β =( β 1 , . . . , β t ) and β &# 39 ;=( β &# 39 ; 1 &# 39 ;, . . . , β &# 39 ; t ) by here , β &# 39 ; i and β i are integers greater than 0 but smaller than l . step s 6 : upon receipt of the randomized inquiry β &# 39 ;, the prover a computes , by a proving device 120 , a proved response z from the afore - mentioned random number r i and the received inquiry β &# 39 ;, and sends it to the signature client b . the proving device 120 comprises , for example , a secret key storage 121 and a modulo calculator 122 . the secret key s read out of the secret key storage 121 , the random number r i generated by the random generator 111 and the received randomized inquiry β &# 39 ;=( β &# 39 ; 1 , . . . , β &# 39 ; t ) are applied to the modulo calculator 122 , wherein z i is computed by z . sub . i = r . sub . i · s . sup . β &# 39 ; i ( mod n ) for i = 1 , 2 , . . . , t . step s 7 : upon receipt of the proved response z , the signature client b inputs the received proved response z , the afore - mentioned information x and t sets of ( e i , u i ), and the inquiry β i into a derandomizer 260 , wherein a proved response z &# 39 ; free from the influence of random components is computed . the proved response z &# 39 ; is sent to the verifier c , along with the inquiry β and the message m . the derandomizer 260 comprises , for example , a condition checker 261 and a modulo calculator 252 . the proved response z &# 39 ;=( z &# 39 ; 1 , . . . , z &# 39 ; t ) is obtained by step s 8 : upon receipt of the message m , the inquiry β and the proved response z &# 39 ;, the verifier c checks their validity by a verifying device 34 . the verifying device 340 comprises , for example , a modulo calculator 341 , a one - way function calculator 342 and a comparator 343 . x *=( x * 1 , . . . , x * t ) is obtained by the above is the untraceable authentication systems based on the extended fiat - shamir scheme . the fiat - shamir scheme and the extended fiat - shamir scheme are based on the fact that when the factorization of n into prime factors is difficult , the calculation of the square root in ( mod n ) and the calculation of the l power root in ( mod n ) are difficult . accordingly , if an efficient method for factorization into prime factors should be discovered , the security of the blind signature systems based on these schemes could be endangered . on the other hand , an authentication scheme which utilizes difficulty of a discrete logarithm problem would be still secure , even if an efficient method for factorization into prime factors should be discovered , and this scheme is applicable to the authentication system of the present invention as is the case with the above - described fiat - shamir scheme and extended fiat - shamir scheme . the authentication scheme based on the discrete logarithm problem is discussed in m . tompa and h . woll , &# 34 ; random self - reducibility and zero knowledge interactive proofs of possession of information ,&# 34 ; focs , pp . 472 - 482 ( 1987 ) and t . okamoto and k . ohta , &# 34 ; an abuse of zero knowledge proofs , measures to protect it , and its applications ,&# 34 ; the proceedings of the 1988 workshop cryptography and information security , kobe , japan , july 28 - 29 , 19888 , for example . fig2 and 25 are diagrams respectively illustrating the user authentication and the message authentication procedure in the case of applying the difficulty of the discrete logarithm problem to the authentication systems of the present invention shown in fig1 and 2 . fig2 to 30 illustrate the constitutions of the prover a ( 100 ), the pretender or signature client b ( 200 ) and the verifier c ( 300 ) for the authentications . their basic constitutions are identical with those in the embodiments described above . a description will be given first , with reference to fig2 , 27 and 28 , of the user authentication procedure of fig2 by which the prover a proves to the verifier c that he has established the identity of the pretender b . a trusted center makes public a prime p and an integer g . by the following procedure the prover a proves the validity of the pretender b to the verifier c . let it be assumed here that the prover a holds , for public information x , a secret key s which satisfies x = g s ( mod p ). step s 1 : the prover a sends the public information x to the pretender b and the verifier c . step s 2 : the prover a creates an initial response x &# 39 ; by an initial response generator 110 and sends it to the pretender b . the initial response generator 110 comprises , for example , a random generator 111 and a modulo calculator 112 . a random number r ( 0 ≦ r ≦ p - 2 ) generated by the random generator 111 and the public numbers g and p are provided to the modulo calculator 112 , wherein the following computation is conducted : step s 3 : upon receipt of the initial response x &# 39 ;, the pretender b inputs a random bit e which is 0 or 1 and a random number u ( 0 ≦ u ≦ p - 2 ), both generated by a random generator 210 , the received initial response x &# 39 ;, the public information x , and the public numbers g and p into an initial response randomizer 215 , wherein a randomized initial response x &# 34 ; is computed . the randomized initial response x &# 34 ; thus obtained is sent to the verifier c . the initial response randomizer 215 is formed as , for example , a modulo calculator , which computes the expression : step s 4 : upon receipt of the randomized initial response x &# 34 ;, the verifier c stores it in an information storage 310 , generates a random number β by a random generator 320 , and transmits it as an inquiry to the pretender b . step s 5 : upon receipt of the inquiry β , the pretender b inputs it and the afore - mentioned random bit e into an inquiry randomizer 220 , wherein a randomized inquiry β &# 39 ; is computed . the randomized inquiry thus obtained is sent to the prover a . the inquiry randomizer 220 is formed by , for example , a modulo calculator , which computes the following expression : step s 6 : upon receipt of the randomized inquiry β &# 39 ;, the prover a inputs the afore - mentioned random number r , the public number p , and the received randomized inquiry β &# 39 ; into a proving device 120 , wherein a proved response z is computed . the proved response z thus obtained is returned to the pretender b . the proving device 120 comprises , for example a secret key storage 121 and a modulo calculator 122 . a secret key s read out of the secret key storage 121 , the random number r from the random generator 111 , the public number p , and the randomized inquiry β &# 39 ; are input into the modulo calculator 122 , wherein the proved response z is computed by the following expression : step s 7 : upon receipt of the proved response z , the pretender b inputs it , the public number p , the random bit e , and the random number u into a derandomizer 230 , wherein a proved response z &# 39 ; free from the influence of random components is computed . the proved response z &# 39 ; thus obtained is sent to the verifier c . the derandomizer 230 is formed by , for example , a modulo calculator , which computes the proved response z &# 39 ; by the following expression : step s 8 : upon receipt of the proved response z &# 39 ;, the verifier c checks its validity by a verifying device 330 . the verifying device 330 comprises , for example , a modulo calculator 331 and a comparator 332 . the modulo calculator 331 computes x * from the public numbers g and p , the public information x and the random number β from the random generator 320 by the following expression : the comparator 332 compares the x * and the initial response x &# 34 ; read out of the information storage 310 , thus checking whether or not x &# 34 ;= x * holds . in this embodiment the random number r in the expression in step s 2 , for example , can be considered as a logarithm of x &# 39 ; with g as its base , but in general , even if x &# 39 ; is known , it is difficult to solve its logarithm . that is to say , this embodiment utilizes the difficulty in solving a discrete logarithm . next , a description will be given , with reference to fig2 , 29 and 30 , of the message authentication procedure of fig2 by which the signature client b signs a message m through the aid of the prover a . a trusted center makes public an integer g and a prime p . the signature client b signs the message m by the aid of the prover a in the following manner . step s 1 : the prover a sends public information x to the signature client b and the verifier c . step s 2 : the prover a computes , by an initial response generator 110 , an initial response x &# 39 ; composed of x 1 , x 2 , . . . , x t , and sends it to the signature client b . the prover a is identical in construction with that of the prover a in the user authentication shown in fig2 , but the random generator 111 generates t random numbers r i ( i = 1 , 2 , . . . , t ; 0 ≦ r i & lt ; p - 2 ) and the random calculator 112 computes the t initial responses x &# 39 ; i ( i = 1 , 2 , . . . , t ) by the following expression : step s 3 : upon receipt of the initial response x &# 39 ;, the signature client b generates t sets of random numbers e i and u i by a random generator 210 . each set of random numbers , the public number p , the public information x , and each of the received initial responses x &# 34 ; i are provided to an initial response randomizer 215 , wherein t randomized initial responses x &# 34 ; i are computed . the t randomized initial responses x &# 34 ; i thus obtained are provided to an inquiry generator 250 . the initial response randomizer 250 is formed by a modulo calculator , which computes t randomized initial responses x &# 34 ; i from the t sets of random numbers e i and u i , the received t initial responses x &# 39 ; i , the public information x , and the public number p by the following expression : step s 4 : the signature client b further provides the message m , the t randomized initial responses x &# 34 ; i and the t random numbers e i to the inquiry generator 250 to create an inquiry β and a randomized inquiry β &# 39 ; produced by randomizing the former . the randomized inquiry β &# 39 ; thus obtained is sent to the prover a . the inquiry generator 250 comprises a one - way function calculator 251 and a modulo calculator 252 , and computes β and β &# 39 ; by the following expressions : step s 5 : upon receipt of the randomized inquiry β &# 39 ;, the prover a computes , by a proving device 120 , a proved response z from the afore - mentioned random number r i and the received randomized inquiry β &# 39 ;. the proved response z thus obtained is sent to the signature client b . the proving device 120 comprises , for example , a secret key storage 121 and a modulo calculator 122 . the secret key s read out of the secret key storage 121 , the random number r i generated by the random generator 111 previously , the received randomized inquiry β &# 39 ;, and the public number p are provided to the modulo calculator 122 , wherein the proved response z is computed by the following expression : step s 6 : upon receipt of the proved response z , the signature client b provides it and the t sets of random numbers ( e i , u i ) to a derandomizer 260 , wherein a proved response z &# 39 ; free from the influence of random components is computed . the proved response z &# 39 ; thus obtained is sent to the verifier c , together with the initial inquiry β and the message m . the derandomizer 260 is formed by , for example , a modulo calculator 262 , which computes z &# 39 ; i by the following expression : step s 7 : upon receipt of the message m , the initial inquiry β and the proved response z &# 39 ;, the verifier c checks their validity by a verifying device 340 . the verifying device 340 comprises , for example , modulo calculator 341 , a one - way function calculator 342 , and a comparator 343 . the modulo calculator 341 computes x * from the received proved response z &# 39 ;, the initial inquiry β , the public information x , and the public numbers g and p by the following expression : the one - way function calculator 342 computes e * from the received message m and the above calculated x * by the following expression : the comparator 343 checks whether or not e * thus computed agrees with the received initial inquiry β . in all of the embodiments described above in conjunction with fig3 to 9 , 10 to 16 , and 17 to 23 , the information x is computed by applying the personal identifying information id of the prover a to the one - way function f . however , since the one - way function f is public and since the personal identifying information id is also essentially public , the information x can also be regarded as being substantially public . accordingly , it is also possible to employ a method in which the center or prover a makes public the information x and the pretender or signature client b and the verifier c directly use the public information x without computing it by use of the one - way function f in step s 2 in the embodiments of each authentication system . for example , in the embodiment shown in fig5 to 9 , the prover device 100 in fig5 can be used for both of the user authentication and the message authentication by the present invention . the pretender device 200 in the case of the user authentication shown in fig6 is also substantially common to the signature client device 200 for the message authentication shown in fig8 . the same is true of the verifier devices 300 depicted in fig7 and 9 . accordingly , in the practice of the authentication system of the present invention , even if the prover device 100 , the pretender or signature client device 200 and the verifier device 300 are designed so that they can be used for both of the user authentication and the message authentication , the scale of the apparatus will not become so large . the above is true of the embodiments of fig1 to 16 , 19 to 23 and 26 to 30 . as described above , according to the present invention , the prover a creates the proved response z by randomizing his secret key s with a random number , and this prevents the pretender or signature client b from stealing the secret key s from the prover a , providing increased security of the authentication system . the pretender or signature client b provides the relationship between the inquiries β and β &# 39 ; and the relationship between the proved responses z and z &# 39 ; in forms of secret random numbers , respectively . by keeping these relationships secret , the relationships between the data transmitted between the prover a and the pretender or signature client b and the data transmitted between the pretender or signature client b and the verifier c can be concealed . that is , in the user authentication the prover a can prove to the verifier c that he establishes the identity of the pretender b with out disclosing the b &# 39 ; s identity . in the message authentication the signature client b can have the prover a sign the message m without allowing its contents to become known . as a result of this , even if the prover a and the verifier c should conspire , they could not know the identity of the pretender or signature client b nor detect the transmission of the message m from the pretender or signature client b . thus untraceable authentication processing can be implemented . by satisfying the zero knowledge interactive proof system property and non - transferability which are the results of theoretical studies on the computational complexity theory , the system of the present invention ensures that even if the prover a and the verifier c conspire , they could not know who the pretender or signature client b is and who the originator of the message m is . as for the zero knowledge interactive proof system property and non - transferability , see , feige , u . and fiat , a . and shamir , a ., &# 34 ; zero knowledge proofs of identity ,&# 34 ; proceedings of the 19th annual acm symposium on theory of computing , pp . 210 - 217 , 1987 , for instance . it will be apparent that many modifications and variations may be effected without departing from the scope of the novel concepts of the present invention . | 7 |
a television picture can be viewed as consisting of individual pixels p , shown in fig1 a . each pixel requires two types of information from the television signal , namely , brightness ( or luminance ) information and color ( or chrominance ) information . these two types of information are transmitted on separate carrier signals , as indicated in fig1 b . the luminance carrier 3 , and its sidebands ( not shown ), carry the luminance information , and the chrominance carrier 6 , and its sidebands ( not shown ), carry the color information . these two signals together , plus their sidebands , form a &# 34 ; composite &# 34 ; video signal . a &# 34 ; composite &# 34 ; signal should be distinguished from another type , wherein the chrominance - and luminance carriers , and their sidebands , are carried by separate , individual transmission lines , as occurs in some types of video cameras . in fig1 b , an audio carrier 9 carries the sound which accompanies the television picture . fig2 is a more detailed view of the composite video signal , and illustrates a signal meeting the standards of the national television standards committee ( ntsc ). several significant features of this signal are the following . 1 . the bandwidth allocated to the composite signal is 6 . 0 megahertz ( mhz ). 2 . the luminance carrier 3 is located at 1 . 25 mhz above the lower limit ( namely , zero hz ) of the 6 . 0 mhz bandwidth . 3 . the chrominance subcarrier 6 is located at 4 . 83 mhz above the lower limit , and is separated by 3 . 58 mhz from the luminance carrier 3 , as indicated . 4 . the audio carrier is located at 5 . 75 mhz above the lower limit , as indicated , and is separated by 4 . 5 mhz from the luminance carrier 3 , as indicated . 5 . the upper 3 - db cut - off of the 6 . 0 mhz bandwidth occurs at 5 . 45 mhz , thus allocating 4 . 2 mhz of bandwidth to the upper sidebands of the luminance carrier , as indicated . one form of the invention transmits a television signal using a composite video signal shown in fig3 which is similar to that of fig2 but with certain modifications . under the invention , the luminance carrier 3 is located at 1 . 25 mhz , as in the prior - art signal of fig2 . however , the invention places the chrominance carrier 15 at 2 . 15 mhz above the luminance carrier , at 3 . 40 mhz , as indicated . the channel allocated to the entire composite signal begins to roll off at about 3 . 65 mhz , as indicated , and the channel terminates at about 4 . 2 mhz , as indicated . the total bandwidth occupied by the video signal is about 4 . 2 mhz , as compared to 6 . 0 mhz in fig2 . the audio carrier 18 in fig3 is located outside the bandwidth allocated to the video signal , as indicated . the bandwidth allocated to the audio carrier depends upon the particular application , but preferably lies within the range of 25 to 75 kilo - hertz ( khz ), and preferably less than 100 khz . since 100 khz corresponds to 0 . 100 mhz , the overall bandwidth occupied by both video and audio signals is 4 . 300 mhz . by using such a composite signal , a larger number of television signals can be transmitted along a cable television network , as compared to using the prior - art composite signal of fig2 . for example , in fig4 if each channel is allotted a bandwidth of 4 . 0 mhz ( that is , slightly smaller than the bandwidth of 4 . 2 mhz in fig3 ), then video information for seven channels can occupy the frequencies spanning from 4 to 32 mhz , as indicated . the corresponding seven audio carriers can occupy the range spanning from 32 mhz to 33 mhz , as indicated . the overall bandwidth ( video plus audio ) for the seven video channels is about 33 mhz , as compared with 42 mhz which would be required for seven ntsc channels . one feature of fig4 is that the audio carriers occupy a frequency range ( about 32 mhz to 33 mhz , absolute frequency ) which is not suitable for transmission of video information , primarily because the phase delay of the cable network in this range varies too greatly as a function of frequency . however , the human ear is not sufficiently sensitive to the variation in phase delay , thereby allowing use of this frequency range for transmission of audio information . restated , this frequency range does carry video signals in an optimal manner , but can be used for audio signals . in one form of the invention , a cable television network is used to carry video conferences . fig5 illustrates an overview of one architecture of the video conferencing system . to avoid redundancy , fig5 illustrates one - way transmission , from an encoder 30 to a decoder 40 . in practice , both conference participants are expected to be equipped with an encoder and a decoder , so that two - way transmission will occur . fig6 illustrates processing which occurs in the encoder 30 of fig5 . within the encoder 30 , block 35 receives an ntsc video signal , and extracts the luminance and chrominance information . block 38 shifts the chrominance carrier to 3 . 40 mhz , to the position shown in fig3 . block 39 in fig6 combines the luminance carrier with the shifted chrominance carrier , to produce a composite video signal . an audio processor performs two primary functions : ( 1 ) it extracts the audio signal from the ntsc signal , as indicated in block 42 , and ( 2 ) shifts the audio carrier to a suitable frequency , in block 44 , to position the audio carrier as shown in fig3 and 4 . fig6 also illustrates an alternate encoder 45 , which can be used when the video signal is generated by equipment which provides the luminance carrier and the chrominance carrier as separate signals , rather than contained in a single , composite signal . video cameras , used in video conferencing , provide examples of such equipment . with such separate signals , the signal extraction indicated by block 35 in encoder 30 is not necessary , and can be eliminated , as indicated by its absence in encoder 45 . in the alternate encoder 45 , the separated luminance and chrominance signals are received directly , and processed , by blocks 39a and 38a , in the manner described in connection with encoder 30 . the encoder output , produced by block 39 in encoder 30 or block 39a in encoder 45 , will be called a &# 34 ; pseudo - ntsc &# 34 ; signal , as indicated , and is of the type shown in fig3 . the pseudo - ntsc signal is transmitted along the cable network 35 of fig5 to a receiver , wherein a decoder 40 transforms it into an actual ntsc signal , for use by a standard television receiver . fig7 shows such a decoder 40 . block 50 extracts the chrominance and luminance carriers from the pseudo - ntsc signal . block 55 shifts the chrominance carrier to its normal position in an ntsc signal , namely , to 4 . 83 mhz , as in fig2 which is a frequency lying 3 . 58 mhz from the luminance carrier . the shifted chrominance carrier is summed with the luminance carrier , in block 58 in fig7 thereby producing an ntsc video signal . block 60 of the decoder 40 receives the audio signal , several of which are shown in fig4 . since the audio signal lies outside the pass - band of the pseudo - ntsc signal , block 60 shifts the audio carrier to a frequency within the ntsc passband , as indicated . the shifted audio signal and the ntsc video signal are summed by summer 65 , whose output is delivered to a standard television receiver . the output is a standard ntsc signal , as in fig2 which contains an audio carrier . if a scrambling system is used , the output is delivered to a de - scrambler , as indicated , prior to delivery to the television receiver . fig8 illustrates a more detailed architecture for an encoder . an ntsc composite video signal , of the type shown in fig2 is generated by commercially available equipment , indicated by block 74 . the invention separates the luminance information ( ie , luminance carrier , plus sidebands within a selected bandwidth ) from the chrominance information ( ie , chrominance carrier , plus sidebands within a selected bandwidth ) in block 75 . to perform the translation of the chrominance carrier , indicated in block 78 , the invention uses a heterodyning operation . at least one additional frequency , such as a or b in fig1 , later discussed , is required to perform the heterodyning . this frequency is generated in block 79 in fig8 . through the heterodyning , the invention translates the chrominance carrier , in block 78 , so that it lies 2 . 15 mhz from the luminance carrier 3 in fig3 . discussion of the filtering of block 82 will be postponed until a similar filtering function , in block 82a of fig1 , is discussed . meanwhile , the invention extracts the luminance signal , using luminance video filter 85 , and subjects the output , on line 86 , to a video delay 87 , to compensate for frequency - dependent delays imposed by the preceding filters . the invention combines output of the delay 87 with the output of a detail filter 90 , in block 93 . a brief digression will explain the general principles of the detail filter . it is known within the television art that the luminance information does not occupy the entire frequency spectrum allocated to it . that is , in fig2 luminance information is not distributed uniformly across the entire 6 - mhz bandwidth . instead , luminance information is clustered about specific frequencies , which are found to be multiples of 15 , 750 hz , as shown at the top of fig9 . the chrominance information is also clustered in a similar way , as shown at the bottom of that figure . for a static television picture , containing no motion , these clusters are static . they do not change position on the plots of fig9 . one significant feature of the plots of fig9 lies in the empty &# 34 ; space &# 34 ; between the clusters . prior - art television systems utilize this space , by &# 34 ; interleaving &# 34 ; these two sets of clusters , as illustrated in simplified form at the bottom of fig1 . ( the clusters of fig9 are depicted as arrows in fig1 ; dashed arrows represent luminance components and solid arrows represent chrominance components .) however , the interleaving produces two different signals contained within a single composite signal . the two different signals must be separated . comb filters , indicated in block 75 in fig8 are used to separate the signals . a comb filter , generally , provides a series of pass - bands 101 in fig1 , which resemble the teeth of a comb . the frequencies within the pass - bands 101 are passed ; those outside the pass - bands are blocked . however , the comb filter causes loss of some luminance information , as will be explained with reference to fig1 . fig1 is a simplified form of fig1 . in fig1 each arrow represents a cluster of information shown in fig1 . it was stated above that , when motion is absent in the video picture , the clusters shown in fig9 - 11 remain stationary . however , when motion does occur , the clusters move about within the frequency spectrum . this motion can cause a loss of luminance information , because the moving luminance and chrominance sidebands can enter , and leave , the pass - bands 101 of the comb filter . for example , clusters c1 and c2 in fig1 will be considered at two different times , time -- 1 and time -- 2 . as the figure indicates , at time -- 1 , cluster c1 lies outside pass - band 101 . however , at time -- 2 , cluster c1 now lies within pass - band 101 , and is passed along with cluster c2 . now , chrominance information ( represented by c1 ) has contaminated luminance information ( represented by c2 ). luminance information is thereby lost . the invention accommodates this loss by block 90 in fig8 . this block , which performs an operation known as detail filtering , restores the lost information to the luminance signal . detail filters are known in the art . in general terms , the detail filter is designed to predict information which will be lost , and to extract similar information from the original ntsc signal , in order to replace the lost information . in fig8 block 93 produces a luminance signal , based on the output of the detail filter 90 and the video delay 87 . a second delay 95 is imposed , and then the luminance signal and the shifted chrominance signal are summed in summer 99 . the output of summer 99 is a pseudo - ntsc signal , of the type shown in fig3 . this signal is amplified by amplifier 103 , and delivered to the cable network 35 of fig5 . processing of the audio signal is not shown in fig8 and is substantially the same as described in connection with fig6 . apparatus for decoding the pseudo ntsc signal is illustrated in fig1 . the discussion given with respect to fig8 applies to this figure , with two general exceptions . one is that the comb filter 75a is of the &# 34 ; 2h &# 34 ; type , as opposed to the &# 34 ; 1h &# 34 ; type in fig8 . a second is that bandpass filter 82 in fig8 is replaced by a bandpass filter 82a in fig1 . the passbands of these two filters are shown respectively in fig1 . these filters perform several functions . however , prior to discussing these functions , an issue which arises in the shifting of the chrominance carrier from the position shown in fig2 to that shown in fig3 will be discussed . fig1 illustrates some phenomena found in the process of frequency - shifting , or heterodyning . signals 150 represent the frequency spectrum of a chrominance signal . in heterodyning , indicated by block 155 , an individual signal , such as sin a , is multiplied by another signal , such as sin b , to produce two other signals , namely , sin ( a + b ) and sin ( a - b ). that is , two copies of the original signal are produced , one at frequency ( a + b ) and the other at frequency ( a - b ). since the heterodyning can be viewed as being applied to each individual signal within the group of signals 150 , two copies of the group 150 are generated . one copy lies at frequency ( a + b ) and the other copy lies at frequency ( a - b ), as indicated by envelopes 160 and 165 . ( individual signals are not shown within these envelopes , to avoid clutter .) one of these copies is used , and one is discarded . for example , in the frequency translation required to move the chrominance carrier downward , from the position shown in fig2 to that shown in fig3 the chrominance carrier must be reduced in frequency . the envelope 165 in fig1 is used , and envelope 160 is ignored . however , the heterodyning operation is not perfect . a small replica of the original group of signals 155 leaks through , as indicated by envelope 170 . this replica 170 is attenuated by about 60 db , which corresponds to a reduction by about a factor of one million . despite the seemingly small size of this leakage signal 170 ( about one - millionth the size of signal 150 ), the inventor has found that it creates undesirable interference . to reduce this interference , the invention filters out much of leakage signal 170 . this filtering is illustrated in fig1 . the top of the figure indicates the translation of the chrominance carrier from the position shown in fig2 to that shown in fig3 . the heterodyning indicated by block 155 produces two copies 160 and 165 , plus leakage signal 170 . copy 160 is ignored , as indicated . frequency a is 3 . 58 mhz , corresponding to the position of the chrominance signal in fig2 . the remaining two signals 165 and 170 are filtered by a filter having a filter function 190 , which is also shown in fig1 , which is drawn approximately to scale . this filter has a center frequency of 2 . 147727 mhz , indicated as 2 . 15 mhz , with respect to the luminance carrier . this filter is preferably a three , or four , pole type . the bandwidth of the filter , measured between 3 - db points , is 300 khz . restated , the filter acts as a bandpass filter , to pass 300 khz of bandwidth of the chrominance signal . after the translation of the chrominance signal just described , and extraction of the audio signal as described above , the video signal is transmitted as the pesudo - ntsc composite signal indicated in fig3 . the translated chrominance carrier is indicated as carrier 15 in fig3 . for an ordinary television receiver to view the signal , it must be converted to the ntsc composite signal of fig2 : the chrominance carrier must be shifted up in frequency , from the position shown in fig3 to that shown in fig2 . this up - shifting of the chrominance carrier of fig3 is accomplished by the heterodyning of block 200 in fig1 . two copies , 205 and 210 , of the chrominance signal are produced , plus a leakage signal 215 , which is , again , attenuated by about 60 db . frequency a is 2 . 15 mhz , corresponding to the frequency of the chrominance signal in fig3 . the lower signal 205 is ignored , and a filter having a filter function 220 is applied to signals 210 and 215 , in order to reduce the leakage signal 215 . the filter producing this function 220 is substantially the same as that producing function 190 , with the exception of the center frequency , which is 3 . 58 mhz for function 220 . after filtering , the signal 210 represents the chrominance information which is fed to the television receiver , in the ntsc composite signal . a significant feature lies in the location of the intersection point of the two filter functions 190 and 220 , which is indicated as f1 in fig1 , and as point p1 in fig1 . that intersection point is about mid - way between the center frequencies of 2 . 15 and 3 . 58 mhz , and results from the fact that both filter functions possess similar bandwidths . if one filter function had a larger bandwidth , as indicated by function 220a in fig1 , then the intersection point p would lie to the left of f1 . since a larger bandwidth would be passed by function 220a , more of the leakage signal 215 , indicated by band 225 at the bottom of the figure , would be passed as well . passing of this band 225 is undesirable . a similar passing of leakage signal 170 in fig1 would occur , if function 190 had a larger bandwidth than function 220 . therefore , it is preferable that functions 190 and 220 have similar bandwidths , which causes their intersection point , at fl in fig1 , to lie approximately mid - way between them . ( the intersection is approximately mid - way , and not exactly mid - way , because the filter functions are not symmetrical about their center points .) processing of the audio signal is not shown in fig1 , and is substantially the same as described in connection with fig7 . a significant feature is the use of 2 . 147727 mhz as the frequency by which the chrominance carrier in fig3 is displaced from the luminance carrier . oscillators having a frequency of 42 . 95454 mhz are commercially available , and are commonly used in televisions . dividing this frequency in the following four different processes produces four frequencies , some of which are used by the television , and some by the invention . 1 . dividing by 2 , and then by 6 , produces 3 . 579545 mhz , which is frequency a , at the top of fig1 , and the ntsc chrominance displacement frequency in fig2 . 2 . dividing by 2 , and then by 10 , produces 2 . 147727 mhz , which is frequency a , at the bottom of fig1 , and the pseudo - ntsc displacement frequency of fig3 . 3 . dividing by 2730 produces 0 . 015734 mhz , which is a horizontal scanning frequency . 4 . dividing by 5 , then by 3 , and then doubling , produces 5 . 72727 mhz , which is the sum of 2 . 147727 mhz and 3 . 579545 mhz . thus , the displacement frequency of 2 . 147727 mhz , between the chrominance carrier and the luminance carrier in fig3 can be derived directly from a frequency of 42 . 95454 , which is commercially available , and used to produce other frequencies used within televisions . numerous substitutions and modifications can be undertaken without departing from the true spirit and scope of the invention . what is desired to be secured by letters patent is the invention as defined in the following claims . | 7 |
the scale 10 shown in fig1 represents a preferred embodiment of my invention . as shown in fig1 and 6 , the balance beam scale 10 includes a support member 14 , which is preferably a one - piece , molded plastic construction . the support member 14 includes a base 16 . two columns 18 and 20 extend upwardly from the base 16 . the upper end of each of the columns 18 and 20 is formed so as to provide knife edge bearings 19 and 21 , respectively . a pivot bearing 25 is provided on the inner face of each of the columns 18 and 20 . in fig2 one of the pivot bearings 25 is shown in the phantom and in fig6 the pivot bearing 25 associated with the column 20 is visible . in fig5 the two pivot bearings 25 appear in section . as perhaps best seen in fig2 a check lever 30 is pivotally mounted in the pivot bearings 25 of the support member 14 . referring to fig6 it will be seen that the check lever 30 includes a pivot pin 32 . thus , when the check lever 30 is mounted on the support member 14 , the pivot pin 32 is received in the pivot bearings 25 . as seen in fig6 the check lever extends outwardly from the pivot pin 32 and each end of the check lever 30 terminates with a clevis 34 which includes pin 35 . thus , referring again to fig2 it will be seen that the check lever 30 is pivotally mounted on the support member 14 and extends outwardly in opposite directions from the pivot pin 32 . preferably , the check lever is made of a molded thermoplastic material . referring to fig1 and 2 , a balance beam 40 is pivotally mounted on the support member 14 . at the center of the balance beam 40 , there are provided two knife edge pivots 41 and 42 . the knife edge pivots 41 and 42 are received in the pivot bearings 19 and 21 of the support member 14 . as best seen in fig5 the center portion of the balance beam 40 includes downwardly extending members 43 , 44 . at the end of the downwardly extending members 43 , 44 , there are provided outwardly extending tabs 45 , 46 . preferably , the balance beam 40 is a one - piece , molded plastic construction . by the use of a one - piece , molded plastic construction , the downwardly extending members 43 , 44 may be moved inwardly , toward each other , as seen in fig5 . the members 43 , 44 extend downwardly through apertures 47 , 48 which are provided in the support member 14 . thus , it will be seen that when the balance beam 40 is mounted on the support member 14 , the tabs 45 , 46 of the downwardly extending members 43 , 44 are pushed through the apertures 47 , 48 . additionally , as may be noted from an inspection of fig5 the distance between the outer ends of the tabs 45 , 46 is normally greater than the distance between the apertures 47 , 48 . thus , when the balance beam 40 is pushed down onto the support member 14 , the downwardly extending members 43 , 44 move inwardly until the tabs 45 , 46 pass through the apertures 47 , 48 . thereafter , the downwardly extending members 43 , 44 snap outwardly into the position shown in fig5 . thereby , the balance beam 40 is snap - locked onto the support member 14 . in this manner , the balance beam 40 is pivotally mounted on the support member 14 . as shown in fig1 , 5 and 6 , a poise 50 is slidably mounted on the balance beam 40 . more specifically , the center portion of the balance beam 40 is provided with a slot 51 . a tap member 54 is provided on the bottom of the poise 50 . thus , the tab member may be pushed through the aperture 51 . thereby , the poise 50 is snap - locked onto the balance beam 40 and slidably mounted thereon . to assist in mounting the poise 50 on the balance beam 40 , the tab 54 may be provided with a camming surface 57 . similarly , the tabs 45 , 46 may be provided with camming surfaces 59 to facilitate the insertion of the members 43 , 44 into the apertures 47 , 48 . each end of the balance beam 40 includes walls , 91 , 92 93 and 94 , which together define an enclosure or aperture 95 . a knife edge 49 is formed in each of the walls 92 and 93 . the balance beam scale 10 also includes a pair of buckets 70 which preferably are identically constructed . since the buckets 70 are identically constructed and the outer portions of the balance beam 40 are identically constructed , the construction of only one bucket and the construction of only one end of the balance beam 40 will be described . referring to fig3 and 6 , the walls of each of the buckets 70 are preferably tapered downwardly and inwardly , e . g . the front and back walls 71 and 72 and the side walls 73 , 74 all taper downwardly and inwardly , i . e . the opposed walls are synclinally disposed . a knife edge bearing 77 is provided and is preferably integrally formed in the front wall 71 and the back wall 72 . each of the buckets 70 is provided with at least one rib and preferably three ribs 80 , 81 and 82 , which extend downwardly from the bottom wall 78 of the bucket and extend parallel to the check lever 30 . a slot 85 is provided in the center of the middle rib 81 . each of the buckets is removably received in a respective end of the balance beam 40 . thus , as suggested in fig6 each of the buckets 70 is inserted downwardly into the enclosure or aperture 95 formed in each end of the balance beam 40 . as an assistance to a child attempting to insert the bucket 70 into the apertures at the end of the balance beam , the inner walls 91 - 94 which define the apertures 95 are tapered generally to correspond to the tapered walls of the bucket . thus , the enclosures or apertures in the balance beam act as a guide to properly locate the bucket within the balance beam aperture . when each of the buckets is properly located , the knife edge bearings 77 will be positioned on top of the knife edge pivot points 49 . additionally , the pin 35 at each end of the check lever 30 is positioned within the slot 85 of the rib 81 . as shown in fig1 and 5 , the balance beam 40 includes a raised vertical portion 97 and the support 14 includes a reference pointer 98 . the raised vertical portion 97 and the reference pointer 98 together from indicia means for indicating a condition of balance . considering the scale 10 shown in fig1 and 2 , it will be appreciated that the previously described construction of the scale provides a number of significant benefits . for example , all of the parts are preferably made of molded plastic material . as a result , the construction material is low in cost . also , since these parts are molded , the production costs are low . still further , it should be noted that all of the component parts of the scale can be assembled without the use of any tools . as a result , the scale may be shipped in a disassembled condition and easily assembled by a teacher . additionally , since the poise is snap - locked onto the balance beam and the balance beam is snap - locked onto the support member , these component parts will remain together until disassembled by an adult . from the point of view of the child , the buckets are easily removable from the balance beam . thus , a child may remove one or both buckets from the balance beam and fill it , at another location . additionally , since the articles to be weighed are placed within buckets , rather than on a pan , granulated material or a liquid may easily be weighed . additionally , as those skilled in the art will apppreciate , a balance beam scale with a check lever is an inherently more reliable weighing device . in all prior art balance beam constructions of which i am aware and which include a check lever , the article or articles to be weighed are placed upon a pan , the upper surface of which is disposed above the upper surface of the balance beam . in these prior art constructions , a link is then provided to connect each end of the balance beam with each end of the check lever . in contrast to such prior art constructions , a scale constructed in accordance with my invention provides a weight receiving container which also functions as the link between the balance beam and the check lever . as a consequence of this construction , the article or articles to be weighed are disposed below the upper surface of the balance beam and the number of component parts of the scale has been reduced , since separate links are not required to connect the balance beam and the check lever . since only a preferred embodiment of my invention has been described , the full scope of my invention is comprehended by the appended claims . | 6 |
fig1 ( a ) to 1 ( c ) are sectional views of diodes according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention . the diode of fig1 ( a ) has a pn junction similarly to the conventional diode of fig8 . however , an n - layer 21 is decreased in cross - sectional area in a direction from the pn junction to an n + substrate 1 . vacant spaces formed by the reduction of the n - layer 21 in cross - sectional area are filled with n -- layers 22 . in the diode having such a structure , when a low potential is applied to an electrode 7 and a high potential is applied to an electrode 8 , a depletion layer extends from the pn junction formed by a p + layer 3 and the n - layer 21 through the n - layer 21 , in accordance with increase in applied voltage , to the n + substrate 1 . the n -- layers 22 are completely depleted because of their sufficiently low impurity concentration at this time . it is considered that little electric field is present in the n -- layers 22 . the configuration of the electric field in the depletion layer grows similar to the configuration of the n - layer 21 . since the p + layer 3 has a high impurity concentration , the depletion layer hardly extends to the p + layer 3 . the trade - off relation between a breakdown voltage and an on resistance in this diode is described hereinafter in detail , compared with the relation in the conventional diode of fig8 . fig2 ( a ) and fig2 ( b ) show electric fields at the time that a reverse - biased voltage is applied to the diodes of fig8 and fig1 ( a ) to 1 ( c ), respectively . a direction from the p + layer 3 to the n + substrate is taken as positive in the positional coordinate x . the position of the pn junction is taken as origin . in the conventional diode , the cross - sectional area s ( x ) of the n - layer 2 does not depend on x , and constantly s ( x ). tbd . s ( 0 ). from the expression of poisson , the following equation is provided : based on the higher potential , that is , the potential of the n + substrate 1 , the x coordinate at this position or the thickness of the n - layer 2 is taken as a . accordingly , the following boundary conditions hold : the equation ( 1 ) is solved by using the boundary conditions ( 3 ) and ( 4 ), and thereby the voltage of the n + substrate 1 having the higher potential , that is , the breakdown voltage where the depletion layer extends throughout the n - layer 2 is as follows : field intensity in the pn junction ( or the maximum electric field by which avalanche breakdown does not occur ) is as follows : where k is a proportionality constant inherent in the material of the n - layer 2 . the diode of fig1 ( a ) according to the present invention is considered below in which the cross - sectional area of the n - layer 21 is exponentially decreased with the increase of x as shown in fig2 ( b ). the cross - sectional area is assumed to be expressed as : the electric field is found in the same manner as the conventional diode . using the following expression : i . e ., the field intensity in the pn junction is equal to that of the conventional diode , the electric field is as follows : it is found that the electric field in the depletion layer is constant , independent of the position x . although the electric field is decreased only in a small region ( between a and a &# 39 ; in fig2 ( b )) in the n + substrate 1 , it may be supposed that a &# 39 ; is equal to a because the impurity concentration in the n + substrate 1 is high . which is equal to a 2 c from the expression ( 6 ). the breakdown voltage of the present invention is twice as high as that of the prior art represented by the expression ( 5 ). since the electric field in the n - layer 21 is constant in the present invention , the same breakdown voltage as the prior art can be provided with the half thickness of the n - layer 2 of the conventional diode . with the same breakdown voltage , that is with the half thickness ( a / 2 ) of the n - layer 21 in this preferred embodiment ( without change in the function form of s ( x )), the resistance is as follows : ## equ1 ## compared with the expression ( 7 ), the resistance is reduced to about 0 . 6 times it is found that the trade - off relation between the breakdown voltage and the on resistance can be improved . the exponential decrease in the cross - sectional area of the n - layer 21 toward the n + substrate 1 is discussed hereinabove . as far as the cross - sectional area of the n - layer 21 is decreased even in a manner other than exponential , similar effects can be provided . for example , the n - layer 21 may be pyramidical , hemispherical or hemicylindrical . the proportionality constant k indicated in the expression ( 7 ) is approximately inversely proportional to the impurity concentration n d . assuming that the impurity concentration is different between the prior art and the present invention , the following expressions are obtained : n d &# 39 ;: impurity concentration of n - layer 21 where the dielectric constant of the n - layer 21 in the present invention is equal to that of the n - layer 2 in the prior art . fig2 ( c ) shows relation between r 2 / r 1 and n d &# 39 ;/ n d . as is recognized from fig2 ( c ), when the thickness of the n - layer 21 is one half of the thickness of the n - layer 2 , r 2 / r 1 is optimally improved , i . e ., r 2 / r 1 ≈ 0 . 4 , at n d &# 39 ;/ n d ≈ 3 . the resistance can be reduced to half with the same breakdown voltage . the n -- layers 22 disposed complementarily to the n - layer 21 between the p + layer 3 and the n + substrate 1 may be replaced with p -- layers 23 as shown in fig1 ( b ). when the portions where the n -- layers 22 are present are not filled with semiconductor material , similar effects can be provided . a diode in which the metal electrode 7 and the n - layer 21 are in schottky contact with each other without the p + layer 3 can provide the similar effects . as shown in fig3 ( a ) to 3 ( c ), diodes in which the cross - sectional area of the n - layer 21 is decreased toward the n + substrate 1 can provide the similar effects . fig3 ( a ) shows a diode in which the portions other than the n - layer 21 between the metal electrode 7 and the n + substrate 1 are filled with the n -- layers 22 . fig3 ( b ) shows a diode in which the portions are filled with the p -- layers 23 . fig3 ( c ) shows a diode in which the portions are not filled with semiconductor material . a method of fabricating a semiconductor device in which the cross - sectional area of the n - layer 21 is decreased toward the n + substrate 1 will be described in detail in the following preferred embodiment . fig4 ( a ) to 4 ( g ) are sectional views of a vdmos transistor in various stages of fabrication according to the present invention . the description of the operation will follow the description of the steps of fabrication . with reference to fig4 ( a ), the n -- epitaxial layer 22 is formed on the n + substrate 1 of silicon . masked with patterned nitride films 10 disposed on the n -- layer 22 , the n -- layer 22 is wet etched . an etching configuration varies depending on the ingredients of an etchant . in the preferred embodiment of fig4 ( a ) to 4 ( g ), an anisotropic etching using an etchant including koh or naoh is described . as shown in fig4 ( b ), the nitride films are removed , and the n - epitaxial layers 21 are provided in the etched - off portions . a thermal oxide film 11 is formed and patterned by using a photoresist not shown . oxidation before ion implantation and , subsequently , ion implantation of boron are performed . after the photoresist is removed , diffusion is carried out by annealing to form p layers 31 , as shown in fig4 ( c ). the oxide film 11 is entirely removed , and a gate oxide film 12 is formed . polysilicons 6 serving as gate electrodes are formed on the gate oxide film 12 and subsequently patterned . ion implantation of boron is again performed . diffusion is carried out by annealing to form p layers 32 . the p layers 31 and 32 form the p layers 3 , as shown in fig4 ( d ). oxide films formed in annealing on the p layers 3 are removed . using patterned photoresists 13 and the polysilicons 6 as a mask , ion implantation of arsenic is performed , as shown in fig4 ( e ). after the photoresists 13 are removed , n + layers 4 are formed by annealing . a psg 5 , for example , is formed as a passivation film , as shown in fig4 ( f ). to expose parts of the p layers 3 and parts of the n + layers 4 , the psg 5 is opened by patterning right above these parts . a source electrode of al - si 7 is formed by sputtering . the back electrode 8 serving as a drain electrode is formed on the bottom surface of the n + substrate 1 by evaporation , as shown in fig4 ( g ). in the vdmos transistor fabricated in this manner , the cross - sectional area of the n - layers 21 is decreased in a direction from the p layers 3 to the n + substrate 1 . when a low potential is applied to the source electrode 7 and the gate electrodes 6 and a high potential is applied to the drain electrode 8 , that is , when the vdmos transistor is off , the same breakdown voltage as the conventional vdmos transistor of fig9 can be held by the n - layers 21 which are thinner than the n - layer 2 , similarly to the preferred embodiment of the diode of fig1 ( a ). the resistance can be reduced when a high potential is applied to the gate electrodes 6 , that is , when the vdmos transistor is on . therefore , the trade - off relation between the breakdown voltage and the on resistance can be improved . the n - layer 21 need not be formed by epitaxial growth . the n - layer 21 as a substrate may be bonded to the n + substrate 1 . this method is discussed below . fig5 ( a ) to 5 ( g ) are sectional views of a vdmos transistor in various stages of another fabrication method according to the present invention . referring to fig5 ( a ), an n - substrate 21 of silicon is etched , masked with the patterned nitride films 10 provided on the bottom surface of the n - substrate 21 . as described with reference to fig4 ( a ) to 4 ( g ), the etching configuration varies depending on the ingredients of the etchant , and is arbitrary such as a hemisphere and a pyramid . an etching in the form of a curved surface is shown in fig5 ( a ) to 5 ( g ). as shown in fig5 ( b ), the etched surfaces of the n - substrate 21 are mirror - polished . the n - substrate 21 is bonded to the n + substrate 1 having a mirror - polished surface in mirror - polished - surface to mirror - polished surface relation by wafer bonding method . the other surface of the n - substrate 21 is lapped so that the n - substrate 21 is formed in an appropriate thickness . fig5 ( c ) to 5 ( g ) correspond to fig4 ( c ) to 4 ( g ), respectively . the vdmos transistor is attained in a substantially similar method . the vdmos transistor of fig5 ( a ) to 5 ( g ) is capable of improving the trade off relation between the breakdown voltage and the on resistance , similarly to the vdmos transistor of fig4 ( a ) to 4 ( g ). the present invention is applicable to other devices which are required to hold a high breakdown voltage when it is off and to have a low resistance when it is on , in addition to the vdmos transistors . fig6 is a sectional view of an insulated gate bipolar transistor ( hereinafter referred to as an &# 34 ; igbt &# 34 ;) according to the present invention . an n + layer 42 is formed on a p + substrate 41 . the n - layer 21 is formed on the n + layer 42 . the p well regions 3 are formed in the surface of the n - layer 21 . the n + emitter regions 4 are formed in the surfaces of the well regions 3 . the gate electrodes 6 are formed above the n - layer 21 through the gate oxide films 12 and insulated from the emitter electrode 7 by the passivation films 5 . the emitter electrode 7 is in contact with the well regions 3 and the emitter regions 4 . the collector electrode 8 is in contact with the p + substrate 41 . the portions where the n - layer 21 is absent on the n + layer 42 are filled with semiconductor material having an extremely low impurity concentration , for example , the n -- layers 22 . in the igbt having such a structure , when a low potential is applied to the gate electrodes 6 and the emitter electrode 7 by short - circuiting them and a high potential is applied to the collector electrode 8 , the depletion layer extends from the pn junction formed by the well regions 3 and the n - layer 21 . the breakdown voltage is held , with the depletion layer extending through to the n + layer 42 . also in this preferred embodiment , the breakdown voltage can be improved where the thickness of the n - layer 21 is equal to that of the conventional n - layer 2 . when a high potential is applied to the gate electrodes 6 , the n - inversion occurs in the surfaces of the well regions 3 just under the gate electrodes 6 . electrons flow from the emitter regions 4 to the n - layer 21 . holes are directed from the collector electrode 8 to the n - layer 21 , so that the igbt is turned on . with the same breakdown voltage , the on resistance can be reduced , compared with the igbt in which the cross - sectional area of the n - layer 21 is not decreased toward the n + layer 42 . the trade - off relation between the breakdown voltage and the on resistance can be improved . fig7 is a sectional view of a vvmos transistor according to the present invention . the n - layer 21 is formed on the n + substrate 1 . a p region 34 is formed on the n - layer 21 , and an n + source region 4 is formed on the p region 34 . p + diffusion regions 33 are formed in contact with the p region 34 and the source region 4 . the v - shaped gate electrode 6 and gate oxide film 12 are insulated from the source electrode by the passivation film 5 . the source electrode 7 is in contact with the regions 33 and the source region 4 . the drain electrode 8 is in contact with the n + substrate 1 . the portions where the n - layer 21 is absent on the n + substrate 1 are filled with semiconductor material having an extremely low impurity concentration , for example , the n -- layers 22 . in the vvmos transistor having such a structure , when a low potential is applied to the gate electrode 6 and the source electrode 7 by short - circuiting them and a high potential is applied to the drain electrode 8 , the depletion layer extends from the pn junction formed by the p region 34 and the n - layer 21 . the breakdown voltage is held , with the depletion layer extending through to the n + substrate 1 . when a high potential is applied to the gate electrode 6 , the n - inversion occurs in the surface of the p region 34 right under the gate electrode 6 . electrons flow from the source region 4 to the n - layer 2 , so that the vvmos transistor is turned on . also in this preferred embodiment , the trade - off relation between the breakdown voltage and the on resistance can be improved . while the invention has been shown and described in detail , the foregoing description is in all aspects illustrative and not restrictive . it is therefore understood that numerous modifications and variations can be devised without departing from the scope of the invention . | 8 |
fig1 a illustrates an example of a clutch 100 as presently disclosed , in a disengaged (“ idle ”) state , where a rotation 109 of a driving member 101 is not transmitted to a driven member 103 . an engagement bias spring 105 is opposed by a disengagement bias spring 107 which in the idle state causes a complete disengagement between driving member 101 and driven member 103 . mechanically , driving member 101 and driven member 103 can move closer together or further apart along the longitudinal axis of clutch 100 within a predetermined range . the distance between them is thus variable between an upper limit and a lower limit , which are typically provided via mechanical constraints on the relative linear displacement between driving member 101 and driven member 103 . a set of teeth 119 on driven member 103 meshes with a corresponding set of teeth 121 on driving member 101 when the variable distance is at the lower limit . when teeth 119 and teeth 121 are meshed , driven member 103 is locked rotationally to driving member 101 . in such a configuration , clutch 100 operates in a frictionless manner as a direct mechanical coupling device . however , in the disengaged state shown in fig1 a , teeth 119 and teeth 121 are not meshed . some residual torque coupling typically exists between driving member 101 and driven member 103 on account of friction from spring 107 . additionally , in examples utilizing mrf there is also friction from seal 113 and viscous shear from the mrf . however , teeth 119 and 121 are not able to smoothly mesh because driven member 103 and driving member 101 are not yet fully synchronized . a coded array of magnetic regions 123 is affixed to driven member 103 , and a coded array of magnetic regions 125 is affixed to driving member 101 . in some examples described in the present disclosure , a cavity 111 is filled with a magnetorheological fluid ( mrf ), which is retained in cavity 111 by a seal 113 , an elastic membrane diaphragm 115 , and an elastic membrane diaphragm 117 . in the disengaged (“ idle ”) state illustrated in fig1 a there is no magnetic coupling between driving member 101 and driven member 103 , even when an mrf is used , because the far - field magnetic intensity of coded arrays 123 and 125 is very low on account of the relatively large distance between driving member 101 and driven member 103 when clutch 100 is disengaged as shown in fig1 a . cavity 111 has an axial dimension corresponding to the variable distance between driving member 101 and driven member 103 . an actuator 127 is shown in a non - activated state in fig1 a . when activated , actuator 127 engages clutch 100 , as detailed in the following paragraphs . in examples of the present invention , actuator 127 includes a shape memory alloy ( sma ) component . in certain examples , the sma of actuator 127 is activated and deactivated thermally . in other examples , the sma is a ferromagnetic shape memory alloy ( fsma ), which is activated and deactivated magnetically . fig1 b illustrates clutch 100 of fig1 a , when actuator 127 is partially activated at a fraction ( e . g ., 70 % to 80 %) of full stroke , during the beginning of a clutch engagement action . actuator 127 partially overcomes disengagement bias spring 107 to bring coded arrays 123 and 125 sufficiently close together to be in partial magnetic proximity with each other , thereby exerting a torque on driven member 103 via the higher - order mutual magnetic correspondence of coded arrays 123 and 125 . in examples of the present invention which feature mrf in cavity 111 , the mutual magnetic correspondence of coded arrays 123 and 125 causes formation of fibrils 129 in the mrf , and the consequent shear of the mrf results in increased transmission of torque and power from driving member 101 to driven member 103 through the mrf . elastic membrane diaphragm 115 and elastic membrane diaphragm 117 are distended to serve as a reservoir to contain the volume of mrf displaced from cavity 111 by the decrease in distance between driving member 101 and driven member 103 by the transfer of the mrf into and out of cavity 111 as the distance between driving member 101 and driven member 103 changes . at this stage of partial engagement , a rotation 131 of driven member 103 is not yet synchronized with rotation 109 of driving member 101 , and teeth 119 are not yet meshed with teeth 121 . fig1 c illustrates clutch 100 of fig1 a , when actuator 127 is completely activated at full stroke , at the conclusion of the clutch engagement action . actuator 127 fully overcomes disengagement bias spring 107 to bring coded arrays 123 and 125 close together in full magnetic proximity with each other , thereby aligning driven member 103 with driving member 101 via the higher - order mutual magnetic correspondence of coded arrays 123 and 125 . in examples of the present invention which feature mrf in cavity 111 , the mutual magnetic correspondence of coded arrays 123 and 125 increases the formation of fibrils 129 . elastic diaphragm 115 and elastic diaphragm 117 are further distended to contain the volume of mrf displaced from cavity 111 by the further decrease in distance between driving member 101 and driven member 103 . at this stage of full engagement , a rotation 133 of driven member 103 is completely synchronized with rotation 109 of driving member 101 , and teeth 119 mesh with teeth 121 . once this occurs , driving member 101 and driven member 103 are rotationally locked , so that clutch 100 is in a positive drive mode . during the positive drive mode in examples of the present invention which feature mrf in cavity 111 , no more torque is transferred through shear of the mrf . thus , transfer of torque and power does not depend on the characteristics of the mrf , and the useful life thereof is extended . fig2 a illustrates an example of a clutch 100 as alternately disclosed , with features similar to those of fig1 a , except that a reservoir 201 with a freely - moveable (“ floating ”) piston 203 having a return spring 205 is used to receive mrf displaced from cavity 111 as clutch 100 is engaged . fig2 b illustrates the position of piston 203 during the beginning of the clutch engagement action , and fig2 c illustrates the position of piston 203 when clutch 100 is fully engaged . it is noted that the distinction between the member which is considered the “ driving member ” and the member which is considered the “ driven member ” depends on the direction of torque and power transfer . certain embodiments of the present invention are symmetrical , in that either member 101 or member 103 may be considered to be the “ driving member ” depending on the circumstances of use . during service , clutch 100 ( fig1 a ) may alternately transfer torque and power in different directions at different times . thus , it is understood that the terms “ driving member ” and “ driven member ” are not fixed to specific elements of the clutch , but are applied to the relevant elements of the clutch according to the circumstances as appropriate . it is further noted that embodiments of the present invention also provide for symmetrical rotation of clutch 100 ( fig1 a ), in that both clockwise and counterclockwise rotation modes for the driving and driven members are provided . in certain embodiments of the present invention , the speed and / or direction of rotation may be changed at any time , when clutch 100 is disengaged ( idle ), when partially engaged ( startup ), or when fully engaged ( normal operation ). when disengaging clutch 100 ( fig1 a ), the sequence of actions presented in fig1 a , fig1 b , and fig1 c is reversed by deactivating actuator 127 , resulting in a smooth disengagement . it is sometimes desirable to be able to keep clutch 100 in either a disengaged condition or an engaged condition without having to continually expend energy to maintain the disengaged / engaged condition . as described above and illustrated in fig1 a , if actuator 127 is not activated , clutch 100 remains in a disengaged “ power - off hold ” condition without continual expenditure of energy , because disengagement spring 107 is able to overcome both engagement spring 105 as well as the far - field magnetic forces between coded arrays 123 and 125 . in an additional embodiment of the present invention , as illustrated in fig2 a , fig2 b , and fig2 c , a “ power - on hold ” is also provided , in which the clutch remains engaged without having to continually expend energy keeping an actuator 227 activated after a clutch engagement operation . in this embodiment , actuator 227 is configured to operate in a bidirectional fashion , such as by having two opposing elements 227 a and 227 b which can be independently activated . thus , an engagement element 127 a is activated to engage the clutch , and a disengagement element 127 b is activated to disengage the clutch . as before , without activating actuator 227 the clutch , when disengaged , remains disengaged , because disengagement spring 107 overcomes engagement spring 105 . unlike the previous embodiment illustrated in fig1 a , fig1 b , and fig1 c , however , in this embodiment coded magnetic arrays 223 and 225 are configured to hold together with the strong near - field attractive force , so that when the clutch is engaged ( fig2 c ), engagement element 227 a can be deactivated without losing clutch engagement . engagement spring 105 in combination with the near - field attractive force of coded magnetic arrays 223 and 225 sustains the engagement of the clutch even when engagement element 227 a is no longer activated . thus , the clutch has a “ power - on hold ” which keeps the clutch engaged without requiring a continual expenditure of energy to maintain the engagement . to disengage the clutch , disengagement element 227 b is activated . disengagement spring 107 in combination with disengagement element 227 b then overcomes engagement spring 105 in combination with the near - field attractive force of coded magnetic arrays 223 and 225 to disengage the clutch , and return to the state shown in fig2 a . in embodiments of the present invention , elements 227 a and 227 b are sma elements . | 5 |
near infrared ( nir ) measurement of blood ph can use the spectral signature of histidine residing on the hemoglobin molecule . if the amount of hemoglobin in solution varies , the size of the histidine signal can vary depending on changes in either ph or hemoglobin concentration . see , e . g ., m . k . alam , j . e . franke , m . r . robinson , d . nunez , v . abate , j . d . maynard , g . j . kemeny , “ hemoglobin correction for near - infrared ph determination in lysed blood solutions ,”, appl . spec . 57 , 1093 ( 2003 ). multivariate calibration models , developed using the nir spectra collected from blood at a single hemoglobin concentration , can predict data from blood samples of different hemoglobin levels with a bias and slope . a simple , scalar path length correction of the spectral data can be inadequate to correct this problem . however , global multivariate models built with data encompassing a range of hemoglobin concentration can have a cross - validated standard error of prediction ( cvsep ) similar to the cvsep of data obtained from a single hemoglobin level . the prediction of ph of an unknown sample using a global multivariate model can require that the unknown have a hemoglobin concentration falling within the range encompassed by the global model . an alternative method for predicting blood ph can use a model built from samples with a narrow range of hemoglobin levels and then applies a correction to the measurement based on a separate determination of the hemoglobin concentration using an equation developed to correct predicted ph values . since both methods require some knowledge of the hemoglobin concentration order for a ph prediction to be made , a model for determining hemoglobin concentration using data from the same spectral region is also presented . a method according to the present invention can comprise determining a near - infrared spectrum of a sample . a near - infrared spectrum generally refers to any illumination / response relationship , and can be , as examples , transmission , transflectance , diffuse reflectance , attenuated total reflection , and other relationships appreciated by those skilled in the art . the near infrared spectrum can consist , for example , of wavelengths in the range from 4000 to 15 , 000 cm − 1 . a sample can comprise , as examples , blood samples removed from a patient , intravascular blood , skin , or other perfused tissue . the concentration of hemoglobin can be determined , for example by an external measurement , or by determination from the infrared spectrum . there are other parameters related to the concentration of hemoglobin which can be used instead , for example hematocrit . for convenience , the description herein refers to the concentration of hemoglobin , which term includes other parameters related to , derivable from , or useful in the derviation of the concentration of hemoglobin . the determined hemoglobin concentration can be used to select a model relating infrared spectra to ph , where the model is applicable for a range of hemoglobin concentrations that spans the determined hemoglobin concentration . the model can then be used with the infrared spectrum to determine the ph of the sample . inaccurate hemoglobin concentration can affect the accuracy of the ph determination , so in some embodiments it can be useful to measure the sample hemoglobin concentration under physiological conditions that are not undergoing rapid change ( e . g ., during substantial blood loss or during rapid administration of intravascular fluids ), and to account for errors introduced by potentially interfering intravascular substances ( e . g ., blood substitutes or cardiovascular dyes ). a method according to the present invention can comprise determining an infrared spectrum of a sample . the concentration of hemoglobin can be determined , for example by an external measurement , or by determination from the infrared spectrum . the determined hemoglobin concentration can be used as an input to a model that relates infrared spectra and hemoglobin concentration to ph , where the model is applicable to a range of hemoglobin concentrations that includes the determined value . the sample can comprise a variety of configurations , examples including a blood sample drawn from the patient ; a blood sample measured intravascularly ( indwelling measurement ); perfused tissue ; perfused skin ; an ex vivo blood sample in a transmission vessel ( cuvette , capillary tubing , flow cell ); an ex vivo blood sample in a transflectance vessel ( cuvette , tubing , flow cell ); a blood sample in an on - line flow circuit ( e . g ., dialysis circuit or cardiac bypass system ); in situ measurement of a perfused tissue ; and in situ measurement of a perfused organ or muscle . spectroscopic measurement of ph has been described in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 792 , 050 to mary k . alam and mark r . robinson , titled “ near - infrared noninvasive spectroscopic determination of ph ” ( hereinafter “ alam and robinson ”), a continuation of u . s . pat . no . 5 , 355 , 880 issued to edward v . thomas , mark r . robinson , david m . haaland and mary k . alam titled “ reliable noninvasive measurement of blood gases ” ( hereinafter “ thomas et al .”), each of which is incorporated herein by reference . thomas et al . discloses methods and apparatus for determining noninvasively and in vivo at least two of the five blood gas parameters ( i . e ., ph , pco 2 , [ hco3 -], po 2 , and o 2 sat ) in a human . the noninvasive methodology disclosed includes the steps of : generating light at three or more different wavelengths in the range of 500 nm to 2500 nm ; irradiating blood - containing tissue ; measuring the intensities of the wavelengths emerging from the blood - containing tissue to obtain a set of at least three spectral intensities v . wavelengths ; and determining the unknown values of at least two of ph , [ hco3 -], pco 2 , and a measure of blood oxygenation . the methodology disclosed also includes the steps of providing calibration samples , determining if the measured spectrum from the tissue represents an outlier , and determining if any of the calibration samples represents an outlier . the determination of the unknown values was performed by at least one multivariate algorithm ( e . g ., pls ( partial least squares ), pcr ( principal component regression ), and cls ( classic least squares )) using two or more variables and at least one calibration model . preferably , there is a separate calibration model for each blood gas parameter being determined . the method can be utilized in a pulse mode . the method can also be used invasively or can be used to measure blood gas parameters of blood samples ex vivo . the apparatus disclosed by thomas et al . includes a tissue positioning device , a source , at least one detector , electronics , a microprocessor , memory , and apparatus for indicating the determined values . the methodology disclosed by alam and robinson teaches that determination of blood ph can be made by using measured intensities at wavelengths that exhibit change in absorbance due to histidine titration . the histidine absorbance changes are due titration by hydrogen ions . alam and robinson disclose a quantitative analysis instrument for measuring ph in human tissue that includes : a source of at least three different wavelengths of light , the wavelengths being in the range of 1000 - 2500 nm and at least some of the wavelengths having a wavelength dependent differential attenuation due to histidine ; optics for directing the wavelengths into the blood - containing tissue ; at least one detector for measuring the intensity of at least a portion of those wavelengths of light emerging from the blood - containing tissue that are differentially attenuated by histidine ; electronics for processing the measured intensities to estimate ph values in tissue ; and apparatus for indicating the estimated values of blood ph . since the clinical measurement of blood ph is generally made on intact whole blood , with hemoglobin limited to the erythrocyte intracellular space , blood ph was related to spectra collected from whole blood solutions . see , e . g ., m . alam , m . rohrscheib , j . franke , t . niemczyk , j . maynard , m . robinson , appl . spec . 53 , 316 ( 1999 ), incorporated herein by reference . studies using whole blood successfully modeled blood ph using the near infrared signature of histidine within the hemoglobin molecule . during the course of the whole blood study , two separate whole blood data sets were used as calibration and validation sets . predictions for ph across these two data sets benefited from adjustments to account for slope and bias . presumably , the slope and bias errors resulted from differences in hemoglobin concentrations between the two data sets . the slope and bias errors were not unexpected , since the histidine spectral signal that provides ph information is also influenced by the concentration of hemoglobin . results from a large study in which ph , hemoglobin , and bicarbonate were varied in order to study the effect of hemoglobin variation on the spectral model for ph are presented below . an experimental design was developed using a latin hypercube with a d - optimality criterion with ph , bicarbonate ion [ hco3 -] and hemoglobin as components . this design provided a nearly orthogonal relationship between the components while allowing more levels for each component relative to a more traditional factorial design . 261 experimental target points were developed . the data collected from six of the samples were found to significantly different from the rest of the data collected , due to problems with the reference measurements , or problems with the spectral data collection . these samples were removed from further analysis . the remaining 255 spectral data samples were analyzed using partial least squares ( pls ) modeling , with software developed at sandia national laboratories . see , e . g ., d . m . haaland , e . v . thomas , anal . chem . 60 , 1193 ( 1988 ), incorporated herein by reference . pls is a quantitative multivariate calibration technique which models the covariance of the spectral intensities with the reference values of the analyte . other analyses were performed using routines developed with matlab ( the mathworks , natick , mass .). by using a nearly orthogonal experimental design , correlation between ph and bicarbonate ion was minimized as much as the physiological limits allowed . the bicarbonate ion concentrations were limited at low ph by the pco2 range ( 7 - 51 mmhg ), thus introducing an r 2 of 0 . 46 between ph and bicarbonate ion . since po2 was kept at a constant , high value , the calculated o2sat correlated to the measured ph , producing an r 2 of 0 . 824 . as will be discussed , this correlation did not effect the ph model . one unit ( 450 ml ) of heparinized whole blood was collected from a non - smoking , healthy volunteer . the blood was separated into plasma and red cell partitions using a sorvall centrifuge operating at 3000 rpm for 10 minutes and 4 ° c . the plasma was stored at 4 ° c . and set aside for stock solution preparation . a stock solution of lysed blood was prepared by rupturing the cell membranes using a sonicator probe operating at 20 khz and 50 watts for 1 minute . in order to prevent heating during sonication , solutions were kept in ice water . cell membranes were removed by spinning the lysed blood solution for 10 minutes at 3000 rpm and 4 ° c . the resulting pellet , containing the cell walls , was discarded . supernatant , containing hemoglobin was removed and used for stock solution preparation . the hemoglobin concentration of the resulting supernatant was 14 . 1 gm / dl , as measured on a ciba corning model 270 co - oximeter . both the resulting hemoglobin solution and serum were stored at 4 ° c . and used as needed to create five stock solutions . five stock solutions with hemoglobin levels ranging from 0 . 32 - 1 . 12 gm / dl were prepared . the resulting hemoglobin concentrations were 0 . 32 , 0 . 52 , 0 . 72 , 0 . 92 and 1 . 12 gm / dl . scattering material , in the form of 0 . 44 - micron polystyrene beads ( bangs laboratories , fishers , ind . ), was added to each stock solution such that the final concentration of the beads in each solution was 0 . 005 gm / ml . the bead concentration was chosen to reflect the scattering seen during transillumination of the forepaw of a sprague - dawley rat . triton x - 100 surfactant ( 0 . 02 gm / ml ) was added to each solution in order to prevent bead coagulation . plasma made up the remainder of each solution . the resulting stock solutions were stored at 4 ° c . until needed to prepare each sample . each sample in the experimental design was then prepared by adding 0 . 9 n saline followed by acid ( hcl ) or base ( naoh ) to an aliquot of one of the stock solutions so that the total mass of each sample was approximately 3 . 05 gm . the amount of acid or base required to reach a given experimental design target was estimated by using the sigaard - anderson equation for base excess . base excess estimates the amount of acid or base needed to titrate one liter of blood to a normal acid / base status , which is ph = 7 . 40 , pco2 = 40 mmhg , hemoglobin = 15 gm / dl , and temperature = 37 ° c . following the addition of all components described above , each sample was tonometered in an instrumentation laboratories ( model 237 ) tonometer , for 7 min at 37 ° c . with a humidified mixture of o2 , n2 , and co2 . the gas mixtures for the tonometer were set using a cameron instruments ( model gf - 3 ) mass flow controller . following tonometry , the reference values were measured and near infrared spectra were collected . a flow apparatus was designed to allow the measurement of each sample spectroscopically while holding the temperature ( 37 ° c .) and flow rate constant . stainless steel connections isolated each sample from the external atmosphere as it moved through the flow system . a flow rate of 2 ml / min was chosen to allow 2 minutes of spectral data collection . data collection from each sample commenced when the in - line optical flow cell ( 5 mm pathlength ) became completely filled with fluid . between samples , the system was flushed with water , bleach solution , deproteinizer , ethanol and air . see , e . g ., m . k . alam , j . e . franke , t . m . niemczyk , j . d . maynard , m . r . rohrscheib , m . r . robinson , r . p . eaton , appl . spec . 52 , 393 ( 1998 ), incorporated herein by reference . nir spectra of the whole blood samples were obtained in transmission through the optical flow cell using a perkin elmer 2000 fourier transform nir spectrometer . the spectrometer was equipped with a stabilized external quartz - tungsten - halogen source ( 100 watt , oriel ) and a te - cooled extended ingaas photodetector . spectra were collected at a resolution of 16 cm − 1 over the spectral range 5860 - 11500 cm − 1 . the samples were prepared and spectra collected in a random order to avoid possible correlation of run order and instrument drift with any of the design variables . abg values were measured immediately prior to and immediately after spectroscopic data collection . an aliquot of the sample was injected into a ciba corning model 288 automated blood gas analyzer . measured parameters were ph , pco2 , po2 , and hemoglobin concentration . bicarbonate ion concentrations [ hco3 -] were calculated from the measured ph and pco2 levels , while oxygen saturation ( o2sat ) levels were calculated using the measured po2 and ph . previous work indicated that the prediction of ph using a pls model created from nir spectral data at a single hemoglobin level produced slope and bias errors when it was used to predict ph of samples at a different hemoglobin level . this was not surprising , since the nir ph model has been directly linked to changes in the hemoglobin molecule during titration . the current data , collected from 255 bead - blood samples , allowed the assessment of variable hemoglobin concentration on the ph model . fig1 a is an illustration of 255 absorbance spectra of blood bead solutions , containing ph , hb , pco2 and [ hco3 -] variation . shown in fig1 a are the 255 absorbance spectra collected from the bead - blood data set in the region of interest , 6000 cm − 1 to 6300 cm − 1 . at a resolution of 16 cm − 1 , each spectrum is composed 41 data points . the baseline variation in fig1 a is caused primarily by light scattering from the polystyrene beads . the primary feature in the data shown is the curvature due to the edge of the broad ν1 + ν3 combination band of water centered at approximately 6930 cm − 1 . see , e . g . , k . buijs , g . r . choppin , j . chem . phys . 39 , 2035 ( 1963 ), incorporated herein by reference . fig1 b is an illustration of 255 mean centered absorbance spectra from blood bead solutions , containing ph , hb , pco2 and [ hco3 -] variation . although each sample has one of 5 distinct hemoglobin levels , no clear delineation by hemoglobin level is seen in the mean centered data . the variation present in the mean centered data appears to be random , and is likely due to the slight variation in scatter between each sample from the added beads . in order to determine whether an unexpected correlation existed between ph and other measured variables , a correlation table was prepared . table 1 lists the squared correlation coefficients between the measured ph and the other parameters . no significant correlation exists between ph and the variables [ hco3 -], po2 and hb . a slight correlation ( r 2 = 0 . 46 ) exists between ph and pco2 . the pco2 range used in these experiments was chosen based on clinical observations . this clinical range of pco2 combined with the clinical range of ph will always produce a slight correlation between the two variables . however , since there is no significant signal from co2 in the nir , pco2 variation will not affect the prediction of ph , when nir spectra are used for modeling . there is a significant correlation between the calculated o2sat and ph . this was not unexpected , since oxygen content was not controlled . including the correlation due to the bohr effect can pose difficulties for a ph model created using data collected from the high energy region of the near infrared ( 14 , 000 - 9100 cm − 1 ) due to the extremely strong signal from the electronic transition of the heme . the bohr effect refers to the change in binding of oxygen to hemoglobin as a result of changes in ph , temperature or pco2 . for instance , if the oxygen content is held constant while ph is decreased , hemoglobin will bind oxygen less strongly , resulting in an effective change in the measured oxygen saturation . thus ph models built using the visible or high energy near infrared data could inadvertently use the oxyhemoglobin signal . in the longer wavelength near infrared spectral region , signals from oxyhemoglobin are not as large as in the high energy region of the near infrared . see , e . g . , j . t . kuenstner , k . h . norris , j . near infrared spectrosc . 2 , 59 ( 1994 ), incorporated herein by reference . ph models containing correlation to oxygen saturation readily predict data containing no correlation between oxygen saturation and ph . indeed , examination of the resulting loading vectors and regression vectors indicated that models created for ph from correlated and uncorrelated data both contained a distinct ph signature . thus , for the present experiment , an extremely large experimental design was avoided by not including oxygen saturation variation in the experimental design . resulting models were examined closely to insure a distinct ph signature was present . fig2 is a plot of reference ph values versus reference hemoglobin ( hb ) values . the squared correlation coefficient ( r 2 ) between ph and hb is 0 . 002 . the diamond symbols refer to those points lying outside the five chosen hemoglobin levels . the squared correlation coefficient between ph and hb is 0 . 002 . the five levels of hemoglobin are readily apparent in the plot . several points are noted between each of the five levels ( diamond symbols , ⋄). these intermediate hb values were not considered ‘ outliers ’ in modeling for the entire set . models created for individual levels indicated that these samples fell outside the model space , since the majority of samples fell within a hemoglobin level , and thus were removed for single hemoglobin level ph modeling . pls models for ph were created using data acquired at each hemoglobin level . results from these analyses are listed in table 2 . the rms of the cvsep values for the five sets is 0 . 030 ph units . see , e . g . , m . k . alam , j . e . franke , t . m . niemczyk , j . d . maynard , m . r . rohrscheib , m . r . robinson , r . p . eaton , appl . spec . 52 , 393 ( 1998 ), incorporated herein by reference ; m . alam , m . rohrscheib , j . franke , t . niemczyk , j . maynard , m . robinson , appl . spec . 53 , 316 ( 1999 ), incorporated herein by reference . work done with lysed blood and whole blood at higher hemoglobin levels achieved model cvseps of 0 . 037 and 0 . 065 ph units respectively . since the current data are at much lower hemoglobin levels , it is apparent that the decrease in hemoglobin , and the addition of scatter has not affected the signal - to - noise ratio . the decrease in cvsep seen in the present data can be due to better environmental controls within the collection time , increased pathlength , and the improved noise characteristics of the instrumentation . since little po2 variation is present in the data set , the designed ph variations induced a slight variation in o2sat ( range 91 - 99 %) that correlated with blood ph . it can be important to verify that the signal being used in the ph models are indeed related to a ph signal . previous work indicated that models created from data in which ph was correlated to o2sat were capable of predicting data in which ph and o2sat were uncorrelated . to insure the present data models contained ph information , the pls final regression coefficients ( frcs ) from previous data sets were compared to the pls frc calculated from the current data . the frc provides an indication of what features are important to the final model . using previously collected data , the frc vector created from data in which ph was not correlated to o2sat was compared to the frc vector created from data in which ph and o2sat were correlated ( see fig3 a ). fig3 a is a plot of range normalized pls final regression coefficients ( frcs ) from previous data sets . (- - -) indicates the normalized frc for the o2sat model . (···) indicates the range normalized frc for the ph model built using data in which ph correlated with o2sat . (●●●) indicates the range normalized frc for the ph model built using data in which ph did not correlate with o2sat . the vectors have been normalized for comparison . common features can be discerned . in particular , note the common feature at 6200 cm − 1 , identified with ph variation . an o2sat model was also determined from the data in which no correlation between o2sat and ph was present . the squared correlation coefficient for the o2sat model was 0 . 87 , with a cvsep of 5 . 5 %, for an o2sat range of 60 - 100 %. the normalized frc vector calculated for the o2sat model is also shown in fig3 a . the 6130 cm − 1 feature noted in the frc for o2sat can also be seen in the frcs calculated for both ph models , yet other features within the o2sat frc make it distinct from the ph frcs . the presence of the o2sat feature within the ph frcs did not degrade the predictive capability of the ph model in the presence of o2sat variation . fig3 b is an illustration of pls frcs from the lysed blood / bead data , one for each hemoglobin level in the study . (- - -) is the frc calculated for ph using solutions at hb = 0 . 32 gm / dl ; (▪▪▪) is the frc calculated for ph using solutions at hb = 0 . 52 gm / dl ; (-▪-) is the frc calculated for ph using solutions at hb = 0 . 72 gm / dl ; (●●●) is the frc calculated for ph using solutions at hb = 0 . 92 gm / dl ; (-) is the frc calculated for ph using solutions at hb = 1 . 12 gm / dl . this figure demonstrates that the feature at 6200 cm − 1 is present in all 5 frc vectors , providing confidence that the present models are focusing on true ph features . the 6130 cm − 1 feature , associated with o2sat , is not readily visible in the frcs calculated for the current data . this is possibly due to differences in resolution between the old and new data , or due to the addition of the scattering beads . although the frcs calculated for each hemoglobin level appear similar , slight differences are noted in the size of each frc , as well in shifts of features between each frc . using a single frc to predict ph data collected at different hemoglobin levels reveals these differences . fig4 is a plot of reference ph versus pls - predicted ph . the model used for prediction was obtained using samples at hb = 0 . 72 gm / dl . distinct slope and intercepts can be seen for each hemoglobin level predicted . shown in fig4 is a plot of reference ph versus predicted ph using an frc calculated using ph data obtained at 0 . 71 gm / dl hb . each hemoglobin level is clearly delineated using a least squares fit line . once the predicted values are adjusted for slope and offset , the ph within each level can be predicted accurately . the slope , offset and the slope - and offset - corrected sep for each hemoglobin level are listed in table 3 . the specificity of a ph model to a hemoglobin level is not surprising , since it was shown previously 1 that the spectroscopic determination of ph in blood solutions is dependent on the titration of hemoglobin . thus the variation in the amount of hemoglobin will cause a variation in the size of the ph spectral signal . unfortunately , since both slope and intercept of the predicted values vary with the hemoglobin level , a single scalar correction difficulties not possible . the hemoglobin level is , however , linearly related to both the slope and intercept values listed in table 3 ( see fig5 a and 5 b ). using the relationships between the mean hemoglobin level and the slope and intercept values , an equation can be derived that corrects the predicted ph if the hemoglobin level of the sample is known . equation 1 below is specific to using the 0 . 71 gm / dl hemoglobin level for prediction , and was used to predict ph at the other four hemoglobin levels . the hemoglobin level of the solution predicted must be known in order for the correction to be applied . fortunately , the spectral data can also be used to predict hemoglobin level . combining all the spectral data and building a 10 - factor pls model for hemoglobin using the same spectral region , a cvsep of 0 . 0134 gm / dl hemoglobin was achieved , providing an r 2 of 0 . 998 . fig6 is a plot of reference hemoglobin concentration versus pls - predicted hemoglobin concentration , using nir spectral data . the model for hemoglobin , combined with the above equation and the single hemoglobin level pls ph model provides a method for predicting ph at alternate hemoglobin levels . the robustness of this method was tested by creating a ph pls model using data from each hemoglobin level , and creating a correction equation using 4 of the five slope and intercept values from the ph prediction . each model and equation was used to predict each hb set not used in the creation of the correction equation . results are listed in table 4 . although there is an apparent increase in the ph sep of the 0 . 32 and 1 . 12 gm / dl sets , the sep values were not significantly different form the sep values of the other predicted sets ( α = 0 . 001 ). example results of reference ph versus pls - predicted ph are shown in fig7 . the pls model used to generate the ph predictions shown in fig7 was obtained using samples at hb = 0 . 71 gm / dl . the predicted values are corrected using equation 1 . the hb - corrected results yielded an sep of 0 . 032 ph units . the corrected predictions show marked improvement in accuracy , with an sep = 0 . 0324 ph units . alternatively , a pls model can be developed using all the spectral data . using all spectral data , a cvsep of 0 . 040 ph units was achieved with a pls model using 10 factors . the reference versus predicted ph plot obtained using the global model is shown in fig8 . fig8 is a plot of reference ph versus pls - predicted ph using a global ph model . all samples were used to create the 10 factor model . sep = 0 . 040 ph units . to test the applicability of a global pls model in the situation where the hemoglobin might not be known , 5 separate pls models were created , leaving one hemoglobin level out at a time and predicting the remaining level . the results are shown in table 5 . for those ph predictions contained within the hemoglobin model space , the accuracy of the prediction is very good . however , for ph prediction of samples whose hemoglobin values are outside the model space , there is a bias and slope error . by comparing the spectral residuals from the prediction to those from the model , an f - test can be performed . since computing the degrees of freedom can be difficult , the resulting spectral f - ratios are not used as absolute value for comparison to f - test tables . see , e . g . , d . m . haaland , e . v . thomas , anal . chem . 60 , 1193 ( 1988 ), incorporated herein by reference . rather , the spectral f - ratios can be used as a guide to flag possible outliers within the context of the data being examined . fig9 is an illustration of spectral f - ratio values calculated from the prediction of ph for samples at hb = 0 . 32 gm / dl using a model containing (⋄) samples at 0 . 52 , 0 . 72 , . 92 , and 1 . 12 gm / dl hb , and (◯) spectral f - ratio values calculated from the prediction of ph for samples at hb = 0 . 72 gm / dl using a model containing samples at 0 . 32 , 0 . 52 , 0 . 92 and 1 . 12 gm / dl hb . the 0 . 32 gm / dl samples are outside the hemoglobin concentrations contained in the ph calibration model , however , the spectral f - ratio values are not markedly high . fig9 shows the spectral f - ratios from the prediction of the 0 . 32 gm / dl set using the 0 . 52 , 0 . 72 , 0 . 92 and the 1 . 12 sets for model building (⋄), as well as the spectral f - ratios from the ph prediction of the 0 . 72 gm / dl data set using the 0 . 32 , 0 . 52 , 0 . 92 and the 1 . 12 gm / dl sets for model building (∘). the prediction of the 0 . 32 gm / dl set did not produce spectral residuals that were severely high , in comparison to the prediction of the 0 . 72 mg / dl set , which was within the model space . thus even with the global pls model , it can be useful to know the hemoglobin level of the predicted sample in order to ensure the hemoglobin of the sample to be predicted is within the model space . fig4 indicates that a simple correction using a single scalar value is not desirable . this is not unexpected due to the fact that changes in hemoglobin levels induce changes in both the absorption coefficient ( μ a ) and the scattering coefficient ( μ s ) which in turn change the effective pathlength . the situation is somewhere between simple transmission spectroscopy from non - scattering solutions and complex diffuse reflectance spectroscopy from light - scattering solids . shorter effective paths occur under strongly absorbing regions of the spectrum relative to weaker absorbing regions because deeper penetrating rays at highly absorbing bands have a greater probability of extinction than do the same - depth rays at weakly absorbing bands . as the hemoglobin concentration increases , μ s increases so that the mean free path between scattering events decreases . as a result , deeper penetrating rays at highly absorbing bands have an even greater probability of extinction ( as hemoglobin concentration increases ) than do the same - depth rays at weakly absorbing bands . these processes lead to an increasingly non - linear spectral response with concentration as μ a increases . at constant hemoglobin concentration , the non - linear response is primarily caused by ma because ma varies significantly with wavelength due to strong water absorption in the nir region of the spectrum . for that same hemoglobin level , μ s is a weak , monotonically varying function with wavelength in the nir due to the mie - scattering properties of the particles in solution ( size of particles & gt ;& gt ; wavelength of light ). there are some additional spectral non - linearities at very strongly absorbing bands , where ma and ms influence each other due to the correlation of real and imaginary parts of the complex refractive index ( kramers - kronig relation ). however , this additional effect is not significant at most regions of the spectrum . when hemoglobin levels are allowed to vary , only minor changes in water concentration occur so that μ a does not change very much . however , μ s changes significantly when the hemoglobin levels are changed because the concentration of particles in solution changes significantly . as a result , μ s causes the most non - linear spectral responses in the spectrum when hemoglobin concentration is allowed to vary . given different sources of spectral non - linearities that depend on hemoglobin concentration , it is not unexpected that a pls ph model trained using data at one hemoglobin concentration would not predict the ph of a sample at a different hemoglobin concentration with precision equal to the original calibration model . in other words , a linear global ph model , such as a pls model , must include spectral variations coming from multiple hemoglobin levels , and the unknown predicted must be within the model space . those skilled in the art will recognize that the present invention can be manifested in a variety of forms other than the specific embodiments described and contemplated herein . accordingly , departures in form and detail can be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention as described in the appended claims . | 6 |
the elements illustrated in the figures function as explained in more detail below . before setting forth the detailed explanation , however , it is noted that all of the discussion below , regardless of the particular implementation being described , is exemplary in nature , rather than limiting . for example , although selected aspects , features , or components of the implementations are depicted as being stored in memories , all or part of the systems and methods consistent with the image processing system may be stored on , distributed across , or read from other machine - readable media , for example , secondary storage devices such as hard disks , floppy disks , and cd - roms ; a signal received from a network ; or other forms of rom or ram either currently known or later developed . furthermore , although specific components of the image processing system will be described , methods , systems , and articles of manufacture consistent with the systems may include additional or different components . for example , a system processor may be implemented as a microprocessor , microcontroller , application specific integrated circuit ( asic ), discrete logic , or a combination of other type of circuits or logic . similarly , memories may be dram , sram , flash or any other type of memory . parameters ( e . g ., thresholds ), databases , tables , and other data structures may be separately stored and managed , may be incorporated into a single memory or database , or may be logically and physically organized in many different ways . programs may be parts of a single program , separate programs , or distributed across several memories and processors . fig1 shows an image processing system 100 which provides faster than real - time skin detection and localization . the image processing system 100 includes a system processor 102 , a system memory 104 , and a gpu 106 . the gpu may be a graphics processor available from nvidia of santa clara , calif . or ati research , inc of marlborough , mass ., as examples . as will be described in more detail below , the system processor 102 executes a setup program 108 , a skin detection program 110 , and a skin location program 112 from the system memory 104 . the system memory 104 stores a probability table 114 , a source image 116 , and an occlusion query 118 . the system memory 104 also stores a skin detection flag 120 , system parameters 122 , an occlusion result 124 , and skin locations 126 . the system parameters 122 may include a render target upper size limit 128 , a render target lower size limit 130 , and a skin threshold 132 . the memory also stores an occlusion result 124 obtained from the gpu 106 . the occlusion result 124 may provide a skin pixel count 134 . the gpu 106 includes a texture memory 136 , multiple parallel pixel shaders 138 , and a frame buffer 140 . the texture memory 136 stores a probability texture 142 and an image texture 144 . multiple parallel pixel shaders 138 process the probability texture 142 and image texture 144 in response to draw calls from the system processor 102 . the multiple parallel pixel shaders 138 execute a pixel shader control program 148 . alpha test circuitry 150 filters the pixels processed by the pixel shaders 138 . in particular , the alpha test circuitry 150 applies an alpha test 154 to determine whether to keep or discard texture processed pixels . the system processor 102 may establish the skin threshold 132 or other filter parameter for the alpha test 154 . the skin threshold 132 represents a probability below which texture processed pixels are not likely enough to be skin to count as skin pixels . the gpu 106 discards such pixels , but stores the pixels which pass the alpha test 154 as processed pixels 152 in the frame buffer 140 . the source image 116 may be obtained from a video stream , a digital camera , or other source . the source image 116 includes image data represented in a particular color space , such as the rgb color space . the image processing system 100 , however , may process images with image data represented in other color spaces . the image processing system 100 obtains and stores the source image 116 in the system memory 104 for processing . the system processor 102 executes the setup program 108 as a precursor to executing the skin detection program 110 and / or the skin location program 112 . the programs 112 and 114 employ the probability table 114 and source image 116 in conjunction with the gpu 106 to rapidly detect and / or locate skin in the source image 116 . the setup program 108 provides the probability table 114 and the source image 116 to the gpu 106 in preparation for texture mapping operations . the image processing system 100 stores a probability table 114 constructed based on an analysis of images containing skin . the probability table 114 stores the probability that , for any particular pixel expressed in the color coordinate index ( e . g ., cb - cr ) of the probability table 114 , the pixel is a skin pixel . each possible value of cb and cr defines a color location in the probability table 114 at which a skin probability is stored . the probability table 114 may be pre - established in the system 100 , or the image processing system 100 may obtain the probability table 114 from an external source , such as the sources described and shown with reference to fig1 . the system processor 102 may dynamically change the probability table 114 during processing to adapt the skin detection and location to any particular probability criteria . fig2 shows a plot 200 of rgb color values for a set of known skin samples 202 along a red axis 204 , a green axis 206 , and a blue axis 208 . the rgb plot 202 exhibits a significant smear of the skin samples throughout the rgb color space . the variance along each axis 204 , 206 , and 208 makes distinguishing between skin and non - skin pixels difficult in the rgb color space . when the rgb color values are expressed or converted to the y - cb - cr color space , however , the skin pixels localize , pointing to a clearer differentiation between skin and non - skin pixels . fig3 shows a plot 300 of y - cb - cr color values for the set of skin samples 202 , and a two - dimensional plot 302 of the skin samples 202 with respect to only the cb - cr values . the y - cb - cr plot 300 demonstrates tight clustering of the skin samples 202 along the cb and cr axes 304 and 306 . the y axis 308 , which represents luminance , exhibits the largest amount of variance within the y - cb - cr plot 300 of the skin samples . variation in the luminance value is largely imperceptible to the human eye . dropping the luminance value results in the two dimensional cb - cr plot 302 of the skin samples 202 . the skin samples 202 tend to cluster together with a small amount of variance in the cb - cr color space . fig4 shows a probability table 400 obtained from the two dimensional cb - cr color space 302 shown in fig3 . the probability table 400 is setup along a color coordinate index formed from the cb and cr ( x and z ) axes 402 and 404 . each index location defines a possible color in the cb - cr color space . the probability table 400 establishes a skin probability ( e . g ., the skin probability 408 ) along the y axis 406 at each color location . the probability table 400 may be constructed by binning the cb - cr color values of the skin sample set 202 into a 255 × 255 table , represented by the x and z axes 402 and 404 . the skin probability represented by the y axis may be determined by dividing each binned value by the total number of skin samples . the clustered nature of the skin samples 202 in the cb - cr color model results in the relatively large skin probability 408 shown in the probability table 400 . returning to fig1 , the setup program 108 uploads the probability table 114 and source image 116 to the gpu 106 . the gpu 106 stores the probability table 114 as the probability texture 142 and stores the source image 116 as the image texture 144 in the texture memory 136 . the setup program 108 may also determine the alpha parameters ( e . g ., the skin threshold 132 ) for the alpha test circuitry 150 and upload the parameters to the alpha test circuitry 150 in the gpu 106 . the alpha test circuitry 150 compares the skin threshold 132 against texture determinations made by the pixel shaders 138 to determine whether the textured pixels should be considered skin pixels . the acts performed by the setup program 108 are shown in fig5 and are described in more detail below . the skin detection program 110 detects whether or not the source image 116 contains skin . the skin detection program 110 issues draw calls to initiate texture mapping in the multiple parallel pixel shaders 138 . the skin detection program 110 also issues an occlusion query 118 to the gpu 106 to determine the skin pixel count 134 . the skin pixel count 134 is the number of pixels which pass the alpha test 154 and are considered skin pixels . these pixels may also be written to the frame buffer 140 . the skin detection program 110 sets or clears the skin detection flag 120 depending on whether or not the occlusion result 124 returns a non - zero skin pixel count 134 . accordingly , the skin detection program 110 may act as a fast filter to determine whether skin exists at all in the source image 116 . the acts taken by the skin detection program 110 are shown in fig6 and are described in more detail below . the skin location program 112 locates skin in the source image 116 . in one implementation , the skin location program 112 executes a block tree search of the source image 116 to locate skin pixels . the skin location program 112 initially searches regions of the source image 116 defined by the render target upper size limit 128 . in a region where skin pixels are detected , the skin location program 112 subdivides that region and searches for pixels within those subregions . the skin location program 112 may continue subdividing and searching until the size of the subregions equals the render target lower size limit 130 . in this manner , the skin location program 112 efficiently and accurately locates skin within the source image 116 , at a resolution corresponding to the lower size limit of the render target . the skin location program 112 stores the skin locations 126 ( e . g ., the locations of render targets which have a non - zero skin pixel count ) in the system memory 104 . the acts performed by the skin location program 112 are shown in fig7 and are described in more detail below . the skin detection program 110 and skin location program 112 include instructions that issue draw calls to the gpu 106 to initiate texture mapping in the multiple parallel pixel shaders 138 . the multiple parallel pixel shaders 138 texture map the probability texture 142 and the image texture 144 onto a render target . the render target may be defined by vertices which bound the render target ( e . g ., upper left and lower right vertices ). the programs 110 and 112 receive the occlusion result 124 arising from texture mapping the render target . the occlusion result 124 specifies the number of skin pixels which pass the alpha test applied by the alpha test circuitry 150 . the programs 110 and 112 may save the locations where skin is found ( e . g ., by saving the render target locations with respect to the source image 116 ). after executing the skin detection and / or location programs 112 and 114 , the image processing system 100 may report the skin pixel count 134 or skin locations 126 to other applications or may use the skin pixel count 134 or skin locations 126 for other purposes . fig5 shows the acts 500 which the setup program 108 may take to setup the gpu 106 for skin detection or localization . the setup program 108 obtains the probability table 114 from the system memory 104 ( act 502 ). the setup program 108 then uploads the probability table 114 to the gpu texture memory 136 as the probability texture 142 ( act 504 ). the setup program 108 also obtains the source image 116 from the system memory 104 ( act 506 ), and uploads the source image 116 to the gpu texture memory 136 as the image texture 144 ( act 508 ). the image processing system 100 may thereby apply the speed and parallel processing capabilities of the multiple parallel pixels shaders in the gpu 106 to detect and locate skin in the source image 116 . the setup program 108 may also determine alpha parameters ( act 510 ). the alpha parameters may include the skin threshold 132 or other criteria used for the alpha test 154 in the alpha test circuitry 150 . the alpha test circuitry 150 determines whether or not a texture processed pixel qualifies as a skin pixel . as described in more detail below in reference to fig1 , the setup program 108 may also determine the alpha parameter based upon values provided external systems , such as systems requesting skin detection or location in the source image 116 by the image processing system 100 . the setup program 108 establishes the alpha test 154 in the gpu 106 ( act 512 ) prior to skin detection or localization . fig6 shows the acts 600 which the skin detection program 110 may take to determine whether skin exists in the source image 116 . the skin detection program 110 initiates execution of the setup program 108 ( act 602 ). as described above , the setup program 108 uploads the probability table 114 and the source image 116 to the texture memory 136 as the probability texture 142 and image texture 144 respectively . the skin detection program 110 issues the occlusion query 118 to the gpu 106 to request a skin pixel count 134 ( act 604 ). the occlusion query 118 returns the number of pixels that pass the alpha test 154 for any given render target . the skin detection program 110 also defines the initial render target ( act 606 ). to that end , the skin detection program 110 determines the size and location of the render target with respect to the source image 116 . the initial render target may be a rectangle which has the upper size limit 128 ( e . g ., the entire size of the source image 116 ) or may be as small as the lower size limit 130 ( e . g ., a single pixel ). the skin detection program 110 clears the skin detection flag 120 ( act 608 ) and initiates texture mapping of the probability texture 142 and image texture 144 onto the current render target ( act 610 ). to do so , the skin detection program 110 issues a draw call to the gpu 106 to initiate texture mapping by the multiple parallel pixel shaders 138 under control of the pixel shader control program 148 . the gpu 106 determines the transparency of each pixel in the render target , performs the alpha test 154 , and returns the occlusion result 124 , including the skin pixel count 134 . the skin detection program 110 receives an occlusion result 124 which contains the skin pixel count 134 of the current render target . ( act 612 ). if the skin pixel count is non - zero , the skin detection program 100 sets the skin detection flag 120 ( act 614 ) and may save the render target location at which skin was located ( act 616 ). in other implementations , the skin detection flag 120 may be set when a threshold number of skin pixels are located ( e . g ., 5 % or more of the image contains skin ). if the skin detection program 100 will search for skin in other parts of the image , the skin detection program 100 defines a new render target ( e . g ., a larger render target , smaller render target , or a new location for the render target ) ( act 618 ) and initiates texture mapping on the current render target ( act 610 ). fig7 shows the acts which the skin location program 112 may take to locate skin within the source image 116 . although the example below assumes the skin location program 112 locates skin throughout the source image 116 , it is noted that the skin location program 112 may instead selectively locate skin in one or more sub - portions of the source image 116 . the skin location program 112 initiates execution of the setup program 108 ( act 702 ). as described above , the setup program 108 uploads the probability table 114 and the source image 116 to the texture memory 136 as the probability texture 142 and image texture 144 respectively . the setup program 108 may also determine the alpha parameters and establish the alpha test 154 in the gpu 106 . the skin location program 112 defines the render target upper size limit 128 ( act 704 ). the skin location program 112 may define the render target upper size limit 128 as the size of the entire source image 116 , or as any subregion of the source image 116 . the skin location program 112 also defines the render target lower size limit 130 ( act 706 ). the render target lower size limit 130 determines a lower bound on the size of the render target ( e . g ., 64 × 64 pixels , 16 × 16 pixels , 1 × 1 pixel , or any other lower bound ). as the render target decreases in size , the location accuracy increases . the skin location program 112 issues the occlusion query 118 to the gpu 106 ( act 708 ). the skin location program 112 sets an initial render target ( act 710 ). for example , the skin location program 112 may set the initial render target to the render target upper size limit 128 , and select a position ( e . g ., the upper left hand corner of the source image ) for the render target . the skin location program 112 makes a draw call to the gpu 106 to initiate texture mapping of the probability texture 142 and image texture 144 onto the current render target ( act 712 ). alpha testing in the gpu acts as a filter on the transparency values of the texture mapped pixels to determine the number of texture mapped pixels which qualify as skin pixels . the skin pixel count 134 is returned in the occlusion result 124 . when the render target is full or skin pixels or empty of skin pixels , the skin location program 112 does not subdivide the render target . when the render target is full of skin pixels , the skin location program 112 saves the render target locations as skin locations 126 ( act 718 ). the skin location program 112 may also save the contents of the render target in the memory 104 . if more of the source image remains to be processed , the skin location program 112 sets a new render target ( act 720 ) ( e . g ., moves the render target to a new location with respect to the source image ) and again initiates texture mapping . if the render target was partially full of skin pixels , the skin location program 112 determines whether the render target has reached the lower size limit 130 . if so , the skin location program 112 saves the skin locations ( act 718 ) and determines whether more of the source image remains to be processed . otherwise , the skin location program subdivides the render target ( act 722 ). for example , when applying a quad - tree search strategy , the skin location program 112 may sub - divide the render into four smaller render targets . a new , smaller , render target is therefore set ( act 720 ), and the skin location program 112 again initiates texture mapping . in the example above , the skin location program 112 did not subdivide a render target which was completely empty of skin pixels or full of skin pixels . in other implementations , the skin location program 112 may also be configured to process a partially filled render target as if it contained either zero skin pixels , or all skin pixels . for example , the skin location program 112 may process a render target containing between zero and a threshold number of skin pixels as if the render target contained zero skin pixels . likewise , the skin location program 112 may process a render target containing between a given threshold of skin pixels and all skin pixels as if the render target were full of skin pixels . the skin location program 112 described above may also execute skin location using predicated draw calls . a predicated draw call used in the skin location program 112 is a draw call which instructs the gpu to draw a particular render target , and if skin is detected in that render target , to subdivide the render target into subregions and draw those subregions . accordingly , the skin location program 112 issues one draw call to draw the render target and the four smaller render targets as opposed to issuing up to five draw calls to draw the same regions . fig8 shows the acts which the pixel shader control program 148 may take in the gpu 106 for skin detection and localization to identify skin pixels in the source image 116 . the pixel shader control program 148 obtains a pixel from the image texture 144 ( act 802 ). the pixel shader control program 148 converts the pixel from the color space in which the image texture 144 exists , such as the rgb color space , to the color space in which the probability texture 142 exists , such as the cb - cr color space ( act 804 ). the converted pixel becomes a probability coordinate which the pixel shader control program 148 indexes into the probability texture 142 . the pixel shader control program 148 determines the skin probability for the pixel by indexing the probability coordinate into the probability texture 142 ( act 806 ). the indexed value resulting from the texture mapping described above may be an rgba value , where a contains the probability that the pixel &# 39 ; s cb - cr value is skin . the pixel shader control program 148 sets the alpha value of the output pixel to the skin probability obtained from the probability texture ( act 808 ). in this instance the rgb values may contain other data such as the type of skin the pixel contains . the resulting indexed value may also be a one value component texture containing the probability that the pixel contains skin . in these examples , the pixel shader control program 148 sets the a value as the transparency of the indexed pixel . the pixel shader control program 148 , however , may output any other component on any other axis of the probability texture 142 as the rendered pixel output value ( e . g ., the transparency value ) for the pixel . the pixel shader control program 148 then outputs the texture mapped pixel 152 ( act 810 ), which is then subject to the alpha test to determine whether the pixel qualifies as a skin pixel . table 1 , below , shows one example of a pixel shader control program which converts rbg to cb - cr and in which ‘ maintexture ’ refers to the image texture 144 , ‘ dot ’ is a dot product operation , and ‘ tex2d ’ refers to the probability texture 142 . table 2 shows another example of a pixel shader control program 148 in which the textured pixel is determined using a 3d direction vector to index into six 2d textures arranged into a cube map . the cube map texture construct is a set of six textures , each representing the side of a three - dimensional cube . the pixel shader control program may use any three component rgb value as a vector to point from the center of the cube to a spot on the cube wall . fig9 and 10 show examples of a 48 × 48 pixel portion of a source image 900 including skin pixels 902 , render targets 904 , 906 , 908 , and 910 , and progressively smaller render targets 1000 , 1002 , 1004 , and 1006 . fig9 and 10 illustrate steps the skin location program 112 may take to locate skin within the source image 900 . in this example , the skin location program 112 sets the render target upper size limit 128 as 48 × 48 , and the render target lower size limit 130 as 12 × 12 . the skin location program 112 sets the 48 × 48 portion of the source 900 as the initial render target . the skin location program 112 initiates texture mapping of the probability texture 142 and image texture 144 onto the initial render target 900 . the skin location program 112 determines that the initial render target 900 contains more than zero , but less than all skin pixels 902 . as a result , the skin location program 112 subdivides the initial render target 900 into four smaller 24 × 24 subregions 904 - 910 . the skin location program 112 sets the upper left subregion 904 as the new render target and initiates texture mapping as to the render target 904 . the skin location program 112 determines that the render target 904 contains all skin pixels 902 . the skin location program 112 stores the skin locations 126 in system memory 104 . the skin location program 112 sets the upper right subregion 906 as the new render target because the skin location program 112 has not yet processed the entire subdivided render target 900 . the skin location program 112 initiates texture mapping on the render target 906 and determines that it contains zero skin pixels 902 . the skin detection location 112 moves to the lower left subregion 908 as the new render target and determines that the render target 908 also contains zero skin pixels 902 . the skin location program 112 then moves to the lower right subregion 910 as the new render target and , after initiating texture mapping on to the render target 910 , determines that the render target 910 contains more than zero , but less than all skin pixels 902 . the render target 910 , 24 × 24 pixels , has not reached the render target lower size limit 130 . accordingly , the skin detection program 110 subdivides the render target 910 ( in this example , into four quadrants ). fig1 shows the render target 910 subdivided into progressively smaller 12 × 12 subregions 1000 - 1006 . the skin location program 112 sets one of the progressively smaller subregions 1000 - 1006 as the new render target . in this example , the skin location program 112 sets progressively smaller subregion 1000 as the new render target . after determining that the render target 1000 contains zero skin pixels 902 , and that less than the entire previously subdivided render target 910 has been processed , the skin location program 112 sets the progressively smaller subregion 1002 as the new render target . the skin location program 112 determines that the render target 1002 contains all skin pixels 902 and stores the skin location to system memory 104 . the skin location program 112 sets progressively smaller subregion 1004 as the new render target . the skin location program 112 determines that the render target 1004 contains more than zero , but less than all skin pixels 902 . the skin location program 112 also determines that the render target 1004 size equals the render target lower size limit 130 . the skin location program 112 stores the skin location into the system memory 104 . because less than the entire previously subdivided render target 910 has been processed , the skin location program 112 sets the progressively smaller subregion 1006 as the new render target . the skin location program 112 determines that the render target 1006 contains more than zero but less than all skin pixels 902 . the skin location program 112 stores the render target 1006 to system memory 104 instead of subdividing further because the size of the render target 1006 equals the render target lower size limit 130 . thus , the skin location program 112 determines locations for the skin pixels 902 present in the portion of the source image 900 . fig1 shows a skin localization performance graph 1100 of the image processing system 100 in comparison to performing localization entirely on a general purpose cpu . the performance graph 1100 shows performance plots 1102 - 1112 achieved using modern gpus 106 . the performance plots 1102 , 1106 , and 1110 show system 100 performance using different gpus where render targets are not saved . the performance plots 1106 , 1108 , and 1112 show system performance using different gpus where render targets are save to memory 104 . as demonstrated in fig1 , using the image processing system 100 to locate skin results in significantly improved performance ( in some cases several hundred times faster ) compared to the performance plot 1114 of skin location done on a general purpose cpu . fig1 shows a skin localization performance graph 1200 of the image processing system 100 that saves the render target in comparison to the performance of a general cpu . the performance graph 1200 shows different performance plots 1202 - 1214 for the image processing system 100 when the image processing system 100 saves render targets of the following render target block levels : 8 × 8 blocks , plot 1202 , 16 × 16 blocks , plot 1204 , 32 × 32 blocks , plot 1206 , 64 × 64 blocks , plot 1208 , and 128 × 128 blocks , plot 1210 . the performance graph 1200 also shows the performance 1212 and the average performance 1214 of the image processing system 100 where the image processing system 100 uses the quad tree approach to locating skin . as demonstrated by the performance graph 1200 , the image processing system 100 , even when saving 8 × 8 blocks , performs far faster ( in some cases , hundreds of times faster ) than processing on a general purpose cpu . fig1 shows a skin localization performance graph 1300 of the image processing system 100 under the assumption that the image processing system 100 does not save the render target , in comparison to the performance of a general purpose cpu . the performance of the following render target block levels are charted : 8 × 8 blocks , plot 1302 ; 16 × 16 blocks , plot 1304 ; 32 × 32 blocks , plot 1306 ; 64 × 64 blocks , plot 1308 ; and 128 × 128 blocks , plot 1310 . the performance graph 1300 also shows the performance 1312 and the average performance 1314 of the image processing system 100 where the image processing system 100 uses the quad tree approach to locating skin . as demonstrated by the performance graph 1300 , the image processing system 100 is far faster ( typically many hundreds of times faster ) than processing on a general purpose cpu . the different performance plots in fig1 and 13 illustrate that there is overhead associated not only with saving the render targets , but also with issuing draw calls to the gpu . for example , fig1 ( which assumes that render targets are not saved ) shows that issuing draw calls for 128 × 128 blocks over the render target yields higher performance than executing a significant number of additional draw calls for covering the render target using 8 × 8 blocks . nevertheless , the performance is still greater than that of a general purpose cpu , and includes the added benefit of very high accuracy at a block size of 8 × 8 , without saving the render target during the initial pass . the quad tree approach yields an intermediate level of performance ( which is still far greater than that of a general purpose cpu ) because that approach need not further subdivide blocks which are full or empty of pixels . the quad tree approach there need not drill down to the smallest block size in many instances . fig1 shows the image processing system 100 , including a communication interface 1400 connected to a network 1402 . the image processing system 100 communicates over the network 1402 with service requestors 1404 which , for example , submit source images , probability tables , and feature detection and / or location requests to the image processing system 100 . the feature detection requests may be skin detection requests , or requests to detect other characteristics in the source image , such as hazardous substances . to that end , the service requestors may provide probability tables which establish probabilities for detecting the feature of interest ( e . g ., a probability table which assigns probabilities to certain colors being a hazardous substance ). the service requesters 1404 may be , as examples , external security , surveillance , medicine , and / or other systems which request skin detection and / or localization in the source image 116 . alternatively or additionally , the image processing system 100 may obtain source images from the image sources 1406 . the image sources 158 may include a video feed , digital camera , or other image source . the service requesters 1404 may also provide other data to the image processing system 100 . for example , each service requestor 1404 may provide a different feature detection threshold ( e . g ., a skin threshold 132 ) for use in a specific application . the service requestors 1404 may also specify the render target upper size limit 128 , the render target lower size limit 130 , or other parameters . for example , where the service requester 1404 requests highly accurate skin location in the source image 116 , the image processing system 100 may set a relatively small ( e . g ., 8 × 8 , 4 × 4 , 2 × 2 , or 1 × 1 ) render target lower size limit 130 . when the service requester 1404 specifies less stringent accuracy requirements , the image processing system 100 may set a larger render target lower size limit 130 . the service requesters 1404 may use the skin detection and / or location data for a variety of applications . for example , the image processing system 100 may detect and locate skin in a source image 116 as a pre - processing step for a facial recognition system . in addition to skin detection and localization , the image processing system 100 described above may be used for other image processing tasks . for example , the image processing system 100 may be configured to detect and / or locate organic compounds for use at a security station in an airport , bus terminal , government office building , or other facility . in this example , the probability table 114 may be constructed based upon an image set of organic compound samples . in another example , the image processing system 100 may be configured to detect and / or locate certain terrain , objects , or other details in satellite images . for example , using a probability table 114 based upon a set of marijuana field image samples , the image processing system 100 may detect and locate other marijuana fields in satellite or high altitude images . as another example , the image processing system 100 may be configured to detect specific tissues or other materials in medical images . while various embodiments of the invention have been described , it will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that many more embodiments and implementations are possible within the scope of the invention . as one example , the render target may stay the same size during skin detection or localization ( e . g ., a 640 × 480 canvas onto which the gpu performs texture mapping ), while the draw calls may specify smaller blocks within the render target . in other words , in other implementations , the render target itself need not be subdivided . instead , the draw calls may specify portions of the render target for skin detection and localization texture processing . accordingly , the invention is not to be restricted except in light of the attached claims and their equivalents . | 6 |
fig1 illustrates a subject wearing the first embodiment of the training aid 20 of the present invention . as seen , a wrist strap 22 is secured around the subject &# 39 ; s wrist while a bicep strap 24 is secured around the subject &# 39 ; s bicep . a link member 26 is fastened to a loop 28 located on the wrist strap and also to a loop 30 located on the bicep strap . the link member provides a restriction of movement for the elbow . the bicep strap 24 is illustrated in further detail in fig2 - 5 . as seen in these figures , the bicep strap 24 has an upper surface 32 and a bottom surface 34 . located in the middle of the upper surface is a loop 30 . this loop 30 can be fabricated out of any durable or sturdy material such as canvas , metal , leather , or rope . if the loop is constructed of a rectangular piece of material , then the two middle edges of the loop are secured together by an attachment means such as sewing , gluing , etc . this provides added reinforcement to the loop as well as an easier means for the link member to attach to the strap . the loop 30 is secured to the upper surface 32 of the bicep strap 24 of the loop at a first point 36 and a second point 38 by an attachment means . the attachment means can be accomplished by the use of adhesives , stitching , riveting , or any other attachment means . the bicep strap 24 has a first side 40 and a second side 42 . secured on the upper surface of the first side is a fabric hook material 44 . secured on the lower surface of the second side is a fabric loop material 46 . together , the fabric hook material and fabric loop material are commonly known as velcro . when the bicep strap is fit securely around an individual &# 39 ; s upper arm during the utilization of the training aid , the bicep strap is firmly held in place by the velcro attachment means . the cooperating fabric hook material 44 and fabric loop material 46 can be a self - adhesive type or it can be fastened to the bicep strap 24 by any conventional attachment means such as gluing or sewing . when the bicep strap is placed on the arm , the first side of the upper surface is disposed above the second side of the bottom surface , as illustrated in fig5 . an optional loop ( not illustrated ) can be utilized therein for a more secure attachment . the wrist strap 22 is not separately illustrated in detail in that it is identical in design to the bicep strap 24 , except that the wrist strap is typically of a shorter length . the link member 26 is attached to the loop 30 of the bicep strap 24 and a loop 28 located on the wrist strap 22 . this link member , which restricts movement of the elbow , is shown in further detail in fig6 . this link member 26 is comprised of two shafts or shanks 52 . the first shank has a hook portion 54 at one end . the second shank also has a hook portion 56 at one end . at the other end of each shank is a swivel knob 50 . the two swivel knobs are caged by a generally cylindrical barrel or body portion 48 having a hollow interior within . the configuration of body portion 48 is not important and may take any shape or design so long as it permits each hook portion 54 and 56 to rotate independently of each other about the axis of each shank 52 . a spring - loaded manually operable slide finger 58 is provided for each hook portion 54 and 56 . the hook portions are used to retain the link member to the wrist strap loop 28 and bicep strap loop 30 . the slide finger provides the means of restraining or removing the hook portions from the two loops . the swivel knobs 50 are restrained against movement out of the interior of the barrel 48 by an internal shoulder 60 . these swivel knobs provide for each hook to rotate freely about the longitudinal axis of the link member . while a link member which has a fixed length will usually prove satisfactory , it may be desired to provide for a link member that has an adjustable length . fig7 shows an alternative embodiment for the link member . this figure illustrates a link member 26 &# 39 ; which allows for its length to be adjusted . the link member is generally arranged as a turnbuckle and includes an internally threaded barrel or body portion 48 &# 39 ;. each shaft 52 &# 39 ; is also threaded and is received and screwed into the body portion in order to obtain the desired length for the link member . attached to each shank is a respective hook portion 54 &# 39 ; and 56 &# 39 ;. these hook portions can be readily attached to or detached from its respectively loops located on the bicep and wrist straps . the link members of the first and second embodiments 26 and 26 &# 39 ; are fabricated from a rigid and durable material such as plastic , rubber or metal . fig8 - 11 illustrates a second embodiment of the training aid of the present invention . as seen in fig8 a subject is wearing the second embodiment of the throwing aid 20 &# 39 ;. in this figure a wrist strap 22 &# 39 ; is secured around the wrist and a bicep strap 24 &# 39 ; is secured around the bicep . restricting the movement of the elbow is accomplished by a link member 26 . the link member is fastened to two retainer rings 62 , one located on wrist strap and the other located on the bicep strap . fig9 - 11 illustrate the various views of the second embodiment of the bicep strap 24 &# 39 ;. the bicep strap has a free end portion 64 and a retainer end portion 66 . the strap also have an upper surface 68 and a lower surface 70 . located at the retainer end portion is a retainer ring a part of the retainer end portion loops around the retainer ring providing for a secure hold at attachment point 72 by an attachment means in order to secure the retainer ring to the strap . the attachment means can be accomplish by any conventional means such as the use of an adhesive , sewing , or riveting . the bicep strap 24 &# 39 ; is attached to the upper arm of the thrower by passing the free end portion 64 through the retaining ring 62 . the free end portion is then pulled through far enough to produce a snug fit . once the desired fit is obtained , the free end portion is affixed to the body of the strap by an attachment means . this maintains a snug and secure fit while the throwing device is in use . velcro is used as the attachment means . the fabric hook material 44 &# 39 ; is attached to the lower surface of the strap at the free end portion 64 and the cooperating fabric loop material 46 &# 39 ; is attached to the upper surface of the strap at the retaining end portion 66 . the wrist strap is not separately illustrated in detail in that it is identical in design to the bicep strap except that the wrist strap is typically shorter . fig1 a - 12c show the throwing device of the present invention , in either the first or second embodiment , being utilized . in fig1 a , the subject secures the wrist strap around the wrist and the bicep strap around the upper arm . a link member 26 , is attached to the wrist strap and bicep strap and provides the necessary movement restriction to the elbow . in throwing a ball , the wrist is extended backwards pulling against the bicep strap in a cocked position ready to snap forward with the ball . in fig1 b the thrower &# 39 ; s weight is shifted forward and the wrist is moved forward with the lower arm remaining in a nearly vertical position . the wrist is still in a cocked position . fig1 c shows that the thrower has moved all the way forward with most of his weight on the foot opposite to the throwing arm ( i . e . left foot for a right handed thrower ) and has just released the ball with the maximum possible speed . in so doing , the wrist has snapped forward from its cocked position . throughout this entire motion the wrist and the bicep of the throwing arm remain substantially the same distance from each other forcing the thrower to use the power of his wrist to throw the ball . with constant use of the throwing device , an individual or subject will improve and correct their wrist action . the straps of the first and second embodiment illustrated in fig1 - 5 and 8 - 12 can be fabricated from leather , plastic , fabric , or any other material which is sufficiently durable , flexible , and sturdy in order to fit around the thrower &# 39 ; s arm and wrist and to resist the forces produced by throwing a ball . while the invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to an embodiment thereof , it will be understood by those skilled in the art , that various changes in form and detail may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention . | 0 |
within an electrospray ion source , small non - evaporating droplets are generated if the concentration of substances in the spray liquid is high . the droplets may be formed even if sample preparation and lc separation remove many of the main sample components from the compounds of interest . in an exemplary embodiment of the invention , an esi ion source is provided that is similar to the captivespray ™ ion source of the prior art , but that uses an off - axis pre - entrance channel ( 12 ) as shown in fig1 to prevent these droplets from entering the mass spectrometer . the droplets are made to impinge on an area ( 14 ) beside the entrance to the inlet capillary ( 6 ) in a chicane - like arrangement . as can be seen in fig1 , a spray needle ( 1 ) protrudes through the base plate ( 2 ) into the spray chamber ( 11 ) with insulating walls ( 3 ). ions of the spray cloud and non - evaporated droplets are both drawn by the gas flow , which is created exclusively by the pressure differential between the vacuum stage of the mass spectrometer and the ambient , through the off - axis pre - capillary channel ( 12 ) within the metallic block ( 4 ) into a second chamber ( 15 ). whereas the ions are attracted by the cone of the metallic capillary holder ( 6 ), held at attractive electric potential compared to metallic block ( 4 ), and can enter with entraining gas the entrance of the inlet capillary ( 16 ), the droplets , and heavier particulate matter in general , will impinge beside the entrance on area ( 14 ). the droplets are focused inside the pre - capillary channel ( 12 ) by bernoulli forces and form a beam ( 13 ) which hits the area ( 14 ) by the inertia of the droplets . the ions together with neutral gas are guided within the inlet capillary ( 7 ) as a beam into a mass spectrometer where the gas is pumped off . the inlet capillary usually has an outer diameter of about six millimeters , and an inner diameter of half a millimeter , but the dimensions can be chosen to fit technical and analytical requirements . with a flow of spray liquid on the order of ten to a hundred microliters per minute only , vapor on the order of about ten to a hundred milliliters per minute is generated . the inlet capillary ( 7 ), however , usually draws about one to two liters of gas per minute into the mass spectrometer . this forms a pressure below atmospheric pressure in the spray chamber ( 11 ), drawing additional gas through channels ( 9 ) and ( 10 ) into the spray chamber ( 11 ). the gas passing through channel ( 10 ) forms a concentric gas flow around the spray cloud , and the gas passing through at least one of channels ( 9 ) is not directed straight toward an axis of the spray needle ( 1 ), but is slightly offset therefrom and thus forms a vortex around the spray cloud , guiding the gas with entrained ions and residual droplets towards the entrance of off - axis channel ( 12 ). by virtue of the gas flows through channels ( 9 ) and ( 10 ), the complete spray , including all the analytes of interest contained therein , can be sampled from the spray chamber ( 11 ) into pre - channel ( 12 ). droplets are focused within the laminar gas flow in the pre - entrance channel ( 12 ) by bernoulli focusing . within channel ( 12 ), the gas flow is laminar , with the highest gas velocity being along an axis of the channel , and gas velocities being near zero adjacent the channel wall . droplets with their inertia do not have the same velocity as the gas molecules ; they fly more slowly , continuously accelerated by friction with the gas . as soon as a droplet leaves the axis and comes near to the walls of the pre - entrance channel ( 12 ), it is exposed to two different gas velocities : near to the wall , the gas velocity is lower than the velocity closer to the axis of the channel . according to bernoulli &# 39 ; s principle , this results in an aerodynamic force towards the axis , drawing the droplet back to the axis . in this way , the droplets are kept near to the axis and are directed to impinge by their inertia on an impingement area ( 14 ) beside the entrance to the main entrance capillary ( 16 ) into the mass spectrometer . after a number of lc runs ( typically between 10 and 100 ), the impingement area ( 14 ) can get visibly stained . in case of human urine , for example , the deposit can look like a yellow - brownish smear . therefore , the capillary holder ( 6 ) with the impingement area ( 14 ) should be constructed in such a way that it can be easily taken out , either to be cleaned and / or to be replaced by a clean holder . in various embodiments , the impingement area may be enlarged by deep grooves or holes , and the holder ( 6 ) can be made to rotate slowly about a central axis so that deposits distribute over the whole circumference of the front face of holder ( 6 ), which allows for longer operation time before cleaning becomes necessary . the effect of the off - axis channel , which creates the chicane - like arrangement , is demonstrated by comparing fig2 and 3 . in a conventional captivespray ™ ion source , which has an on - axis channel ( as shown in fig4 ), the loss of sensitivity for a digest of twenty femtomol of bsa after collecting only twenty chromatograms of urine can be seen in fig2 . the upper chromatogram of this figure was acquired at the beginning of a run of twenty urine samples of 1 microliter each . the lower chromatogram shows the loss of sensitivity for the twenty femtomol of bsa after the twenty runs . in contrast , fig3 shows the dramatically smaller loss after a much larger number of urine samples are processed using the off - axis ion source shown in fig1 , where droplets are prevented from entering the vacuum stage of the mass spectrometer , and are deposited on peripheral surfaces around the inlet capillary to the vacuum stage of the ms . in the upper chromatogram of fig3 , the sensitivity for twenty femtomol of a bsa digest is shown for a clean ion source . the lower chromatogram was acquired after 768 urine samples of 1 microliter each had already been processed by the ion source , and it shows the very high sensitivity even after this high number of runs . the invention provides an electrospray ion source essentially at atmospheric pressure coupled to an inlet capillary of a mass spectrometer , with an essentially closed spray chamber , into which gas is drawn solely by the drawing effect of the gas flow through the inlet capillary into the vacuum of the mass spectrometer , and with a pre - channel to lead gas - entrained ions from the closed spray chamber to the entrance of the inlet capillary of the mass spectrometer , wherein the channel is directed off - axis to an impingement area beside the entrance of the inlet capillary . in this electrospray ion source , the impingement area beside the entrance of the inlet capillary is preferably located on a metallic holder for the inlet capillary . the impingement area beside the entrance of the inlet capillary should be easily cleanable and / or replaceable , and may comprise a structured surface , such as having grooves and / or holes , in order to enhance the surface area and be able to take up larger amounts of deposits . for the same purpose , the metallic holder for the inlet capillary can be rotated with respect to the off - axis pre - channel exit , or the off - axis pre - channel itself may be located in a metallic block which can be rotated around a central axis of the system so that the deposits can be distributed over a larger area . the angle of inclination of the pre - channel in relation to the spray axis ( that may coincide with the transfer capillary axis ) will largely depend on the longitudinal dimension of the pre - channel and can amount to 5 ° a so . if the pre - channel is generally long , the angle can be small . conversely , if the channel is short , the angle should be larger . in static arrangements where the pre - channel and the inlet capillary do not rotate relative to one another , it may be advantageous to direct the off - axis channel in a direction of the gravity field ( vertically downward ) in order that liquid droplets , which have impinged on the peripheral surface of the entrance cone , will always flow , if at all , in a direction away from the entrance hole of the transfer capillary thereby diminishing the danger of clogging it . the main problem solved by this invention is the reduction of the number of droplets generated by the esi ion source getting into the ms . the removal of droplets , or particulate matter in general , in the ion source minimizes contamination of the mass spectrometer , reducing the down time of the mass spectrometer . the elimination of the droplets improves the quantitative precision of the lc / ms bioassay , minimizes the contamination of the mass spectrometer and improves the robustness for high throughput assays . by application of the off - axis design in esi , lower limits of detection with limited sample amounts in bioanalysis are achieved without sacrificing throughput , robustness or precision . while the invention has been shown and described with reference to different aspects thereof , it will be recognized by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and detail may be made herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims . | 7 |
throughout this application , the embodiments will be referred to as a “ tag ” system . a tag is to be understood as a signal emitting device that is placed within various parts of a vehicle . the signal is emitted for the purpose of transmitting information to a receiving entity . in one embodiment , the tags emit signals at regular or irregular intervals without being prompted to do so . in another embodiment , the tags will emit signals as a result of having received a prompt from either a tag reader or the network with which the system works . it is also possible to have tags that emit signals without the prompt , but can also receive a request from a tag reader or the network to emit at a particular point in time and emit in response to that request . unlike conventional anti - theft devices , the tag system is virtually impossible to completely remove or bypass . the tags are stand - alone and do not need to be wired to the vehicle &# 39 ; s power source . they can also operate at multiple frequencies , making it virtually impossible to detect the multiple tags installed in a vehicle . it is also impossible to jam the tags in a vehicle because they do not rely on a network to transmit . the tag system can still operate as efficiently even if only one tag remains in the vehicle . the tag system has a substantial impact on deterring potential thefts due to its use of multiple tags that can be hidden in thousands of different locations throughout the vehicle . this includes locations that are virtually impossible to reach once the tags are dropped into an opening . the tags can also be affixed to the vehicle in such a way that an attempted removal of it causes damage to the vehicle . the tag system can operate on a large geographical scale due to the fact that tag readers can be located in virtually any area where vehicles circulate and can also be portable . the tags operate at very long ranges and can be read from long distances by the readers . scanning a vehicle should be understood to mean receiving and reading data being emitted by said signal emitting devices . the outlined process for the tag system is as follows . major insurance companies mandate their customers to use the tags in their vehicles and also mandate the vendors that they do business with to use the tag readers . part vendors and body shops must use the tag readers and be tag certified as mandated by the major insurance companies in order to be authorized to sell to them . the demand for stolen vehicles and or stolen parts from the part vendors or body shops will then be dramatically reduced . having witnessed the reduction in demand for stolen parts and or vehicles the thieves will in turn stay away from vehicles that are clearly identified as being equipped with the tag system . the impossibility of completely removing or by - passing the tags in a vehicle , coupled with the dramatic drop in demand from illegal channels , will serve to deter thieves and substantially reduce vehicle theft overall . the tag system is comprised of a variable amount of transceivers and / or transponders and / or transmitters ( tags ), fixed and / or mobile electronic tag readers and several identifying apparatuses such as warning labels or stickers . the tags are installed or hidden within the vehicle to be protected . they are installed in such a manner that they are very difficult to find and virtually impossible to remove . in some cases , removal of the tag would damage the part of the vehicle to which it is attached . the tags can be camouflaged by way of color matching their exterior to the vehicle &# 39 ; s body color or by emulating a vehicle component usually found on the vehicle . the tags can be installed in the vehicle or affixed thereto in a variety of ways . they can be affixed using epoxy compounds , magnets , velcro ™, industrial tape , etc . the method used depends on the nature of the surface to which the tag is affixed . additionally , the tag can be dropped into crevasses of the various parts of the vehicle , such as in between a door panel and the door to which the panel is attached . the tags have the capability of transmitting information using multiple frequencies and signal strengths , as well as transmitting at varying times . they are also stand - alone in nature , i . e . they do not need to be hard - wired to the vehicle for power . the tag readers have various embodiments . they can be fixed or mobile in nature . fixed tag readers would generally be used in buildings or on exterior posts and so on . mobile tag readers would generally be used for surveying areas and or locations and could also be used by persons that are moving from location to location . the tag readers could also have a display so that the user could read the information being read by the reader . for example , in the case of an automobile , the readers would be placed at locations such as ports , scrap yards , automotive parts resellers , body shops etc . the tag readers would then display vehicle and or vehicle parts information being received from any tags found in and around that location . alternatively , the readers do not display any information but simply transmit it directly to a central database . the tag system flow is as follows . following the purchase of a tag system the installation is done in the customer &# 39 ; s vehicle followed by a customer registration in the database . information such as year , make , color and model of the vehicle is part of the information contained in the registration . based on the proof of purchase the customer will benefit from a rebate and or credit from their insurance provider . the insurance company may provide additional incentive for installing the system , such as installation free of cost or the actual system free of cost . tag readers are installed in strategic locations and or geographical areas such as salvage yards , body shops , garages , vehicle part vendors and so on . these various locations must be “ tag certified ” to become a “ preferred ” supplier or service provider to a member insurance company . in order for a location to be certified a verification of the reader installation must be done . this verification can be done by tag personnel . the certified installation must be done in such a way as to make sure that all the vehicles and or parts that transit trough the location are automatically read with no exception . tag readers are updated with “ flagged ” vehicle identification numbers ( vins ). in the event that a reader receives a flagged vin from a tag , it sends a notification to the central . parts and / or vehicles are then seized or refused . the central then communicates with the location and / or law enforcement if applicable . the tag readers can also send requests for information at any time . in order to maintain transmission costs between the readers and the central to a minimum , the central database containing all the vins will be updated with theft notifications . once a day , or at any given time , the central database will update all of the readers via a wireless network , and / or various other means , with a list of vins that are flagged as being stolen . the readers will then use this lookup table to correlate any vins that they receive from tags . if a reader receives a vin from a tag that is indexed in its lookup table as being stolen , it will then send a notification to the central requesting that further action is taken . in order for a location to sell to or be reimbursed for labor , parts or vehicles by any member insurance company it must be tag certified . therein lies the incentive for a given location to be tag certified . fig1 is a flowchart illustrating a method of locating stolen vehicles . a first step is to provide vehicles with signal emitting devices 20 . the signal emitting devices are independent of the vehicle &# 39 ; s power source and are camouflaged among the vehicle &# 39 ; s various parts so as not to be easy to locate . the next step is to register each vehicle having the signal emitting devices in a central database 22 . readers that receive signals from the signal emitting devices are placed in a plurality of locations within a geographical area 24 . each reader is connected to a network such that all information read and processed by the readers is transferred to and accessible by a central location 26 . the information transferred to the central location is then correlated with the information in the central database to determine if a vehicle indexed as stolen was read by any of the readers 28 . in the event that a flagged vin is identified by a reader , there are several actions that may be taken 29 . tag assistance may be requested and provided at the location of the reader having identified the flagged vin . alternatively , the parts or vehicle may be seized on the spot pending further investigation . any transactions involving the parts or vehicle having a flagged vin are immediately halted . another alternative is that an enforcement agency , such as the police , is automatically notified of the positive identification of the flagged vin and that agency proceeds according to its own procedures . a reader may be passive or active . for example , active readers can have a display that indicates that a flagged vin has been scanned . passive readers can simply relay the information to the central and it is the police or the tag system managers that will be informed that a reader at a specific location has identified a flagged vin . since the reader itself may or may not indicate that a positive identification has occurred , the immediate actions that can be taken at the location of the reader is a function of what type of reader is present . fig2 is a flowchart illustrating a method of preventing vehicle thefts . at least one insurance company encourages vehicle owners to install a vehicle theft prevention system in a vehicle by providing incentives to the vehicle owners having installed the system 30 . the incentives can vary , but can include such advantages as preferential rates on an insurance premium , free installation of the vehicle theft prevention system , or even providing the vehicle theft prevention system free of cost . in any case , the vehicle theft prevention system comprises a plurality of signal emitting devices placed among various parts of said vehicle . the insurance company mandates vendors wishing to do business with them to install readers for receiving signals from the plurality of signal emitting devices and for transferring reader data to a central location 32 . the information being processed by the readers is then correlated with a central database to identify vehicles that have been reported stolen 34 . in order to encourage vendors to install the readers , the insurance company can refuse to do business with any vendor who refuses to install the readers . the vendors can be garages , scrap yards , used car dealerships , etc . fig3 is a block diagram illustrating the system for preventing vehicle theft , according to a preferred embodiment . a plurality of readers r 1 , r 2 , r 3 . . . rn , are provided in a large geographical area a 1 . a vehicle v 1 is equipped with a plurality of signal emitting devices ( x ). each of the readers are connected to a network 36 , which is used to transfer reader data to a central location . the network 36 can be a network already in place , such as existing wireless network infrastructures or existing telemetry networks . the central location comprises a central database 38 having registration data rd v1 , rd v2 , . . . rd vn corresponding to each vehicle equipped with the signal emitting devices . the central database 38 is correlated with the reader data to identify stolen vehicles . additionally , various agencies such as the police 40 , insurance companies 42 , or part vendors 44 can access the database 24 hours a day in order to retrieve information or input data into the database , such as flags for stolen vins . essentially , any agency which would have a use for the database can be authorized access thereto . the access is to be controlled in order to avoid tampering with the information in the database . the readers r 1 , r 2 , r 3 , . . . , rn may also communicate with each other , as well as communicate with the central database 38 through the network 36 . two - way communications of all of the entities in the system is also possible . in some instances , the central database 38 will receive information from the readers r 1 , r 2 , r 3 , . . . , rn through the network 36 while in other instances , it will send information to the readers r 1 , r 2 , r 3 , . . . , rn through the network 36 . the tags themselves are also capable of two - way communication with the readers , i . e . they can send and receive data . updating of the database is necessary for vehicles that have body parts that are legally changed from one vehicle to another . the updating of the database can be done by anyone who is authorized for such a procedure . while there are readers that are fixed and readers that are mobile , such as handheld readers for scanning purposes by law enforcement personnel , the fixed readers are capable of periodically verifying their own location to ensure that they have not been moved . this can be done by having the readers use a tag placed in the near vicinity of the reader as a reference point . the strength of the signal received from the reference tag will be an indication of the proximity of the reader to the reference point . the central system can periodically poll the various fixed readers in order to verify that their specific locations have not changed . alternatively , the readers can independently verify their location and only send information to the central in the case of a discrepancy . the difficulty of detecting the tags in a vehicle can be increased by having a number of functioning and a number of non - functioning devices in a single vehicle . preferably , all major body parts of a vehicle are equipped with a tag . furthermore , while some tags are set to emit at a relatively high frequency , such as once every few minutes , others will only emit at a very low frequency , such as once every few hours . this will also discourage a car thief from sitting next to a vehicle and attempting to detect all possible tags within it . in a preferred embodiment , there are at least two tags in each vehicle that is set to transmit only in response to a request from a reader . in order to avoid interference between the data being transmitted by a first tag and the data being transmitted by a second tag , the two tags are set to transmit at different times in response to the request . for example , the first tag is set to transmit immediately upon reception of the request , whereas the second tag is set to transmit after a delay of a fixed amount of milliseconds . the delay imposed on the second tag should be sufficient to allow the reader to receive the data from the first tag and then receive the data from the second tag . it should be appreciated that if more than two tags are installed in a vehicle that respond to a request , multiple delays will be set to allow each tag to transmit its data without interfering with data from another tag . it will be understood that numerous modifications thereto will appear to those skilled in the art . accordingly , the above description and accompanying drawings should be taken as illustrative of the invention and not in a limiting sense . it will further be understood that it is intended to cover any variations , uses , or adaptations of the invention following , in general , the principles of the invention and including such departures from the present disclosure as come within known or customary practice within the art to which the invention pertains and as may be applied to the essential features herein before set forth , and as follows in the scope of the appended claims . | 1 |
embodiments of the present invention overcome disadvantages of using a large electrolytic capacitor as discussed above by providing a current regulator configured to adapt to line voltage variations by switching between separate integrators corresponding to the different parts of the incoming line voltage wave . in various embodiments , the integrators may be switched on and off in sequence using edge and / or zero - crossing detection methods , analog switches , and a one - or two - bit counter ( or timer ), or by any other suitable methods known in the art . in other embodiments , the integrators may be implemented with multi - layer ceramic capacitors ( mlcc ) or any other capacitors known in the art . however , it should be noted that no electrolytic capacitors are required and that the teachings of the present invention may be implemented in most instances with capacitors having a voltage rating not greater than about 10 v , and in other embodiments employing capacitors with a maximum voltage rating not exceeding about 25 v . as shown in fig1 , an ac voltage source 100 may be connected to a bridge rectifier 104 , a fuse 150 , a led load 108 , a mosfet 112 , and a resistor 116 . integrators 120 , 124 may be alternatively switched in and out of the circuit by a detector 128 and switches 130 , 131 . as the integrators are switched in and out , they produce outputs based on a current reference 138 and the voltage across resistor 116 . an optional high - speed cut - out 132 , shown in detail in fig3 , and switches 134 , 135 may be used to protect the led load 108 from undesirable conditions ( discussed further herein below ). the integrator output selected by switches 130 , 131 is provided to the gate of the mosfet 112 as long as the high - speed cut - out 132 is not activated ( fig1 depicts the case where the cut - out is inactive ). in this arrangement , mosfet 112 acts as a variable resistor in order to moderate the amount of current passing through the led load 108 . in one exemplary embodiment , two distinct integrators 120 , 124 may be provided — one for each half - cycle of the line voltage wave . this approach helps compensate for general line and / or component asymmetry . for this implementation , a circuit as shown in fig1 may be used , and the integrators 120 , 124 may be enabled in alternate intervals corresponding to detected half - cycles of the line voltage wave . while an integrator is inactive , it is disconnected from the resistor 116 and it substantially retains the last output it generated while it was active . in an alternative embodiment , two distinct integrators 120 , 124 may be again provided — but in this embodiment , one for the first and third quarters of the line voltage wave and one for the second and fourth quarters of the line voltage wave . this approach helps compensate for asymmetry between rising and falling halves of the rectified circuit voltage . for this implementation , a circuit as shown in fig1 also may be used , and the integrators 120 , 124 may be enabled in alternative intervals corresponding to detected half - cycles of the rectified circuit voltage waveform . while an integrator is inactive , it is disconnected from the resistor 116 and it substantially retains the last output it generated while it was active . fig2 shows an exemplary analog integrator 220 including an operational amplifier ( or “ op - amp ”) 204 , a capacitor 208 , and a resistor 216 , as is known in the art , that may be used to implement the integrators 120 , 124 in the circuit of fig1 . a current reference 138 and , in alternative time periods ( as determined by detector 128 ), the voltage across the resistor 116 , may be provided as inputs to the integrator 220 on the “ left ” pin 201 and the “ lower - right ” pin 203 respectively ; the output is selectively provided to the gate of the mosfet 112 via the “ upper - right ” pin 202 , as described above . the current reference 138 is determined at design time ( i . e ., predetermined by the time of circuit fabrication ) based on ideal / desired conditions of the led load . fig3 shows an exemplary analog high - speed cut - out 332 including a comparator 356 and a voltage divider 318 , connected to “ upper ” pin 301 , that may be used to implement the high - speed cut - out 132 shown in the circuit of fig1 . an over - volt reference 338 and the output of the voltage divider 318 may be provided as inputs to the comparator 356 . the output of the comparator 356 and the output of an optional temperature sensor 330 may be input to an “ or ” logic gate 354 . the or gate 354 outputs its result on pin 302 . the “ upper ” pin 301 may be connected to the circuit of fig1 between the comparator 104 and the led load 108 , while the “ lower ” pin 302 may be operatively connected to the switches 134 , 135 in fig1 . this arrangement results in the high - speed cut - out 332 selectively toggling switches 134 , 135 in order to protect the led load 108 from undesirable conditions ( discussed further herein below ). the over - volt reference 338 may be determined at design time ( i . e ., predetermined by the time of circuit fabrication ) based on ideal / desired conditions of the led load . in another alternative embodiment , as shown in fig4 , four distinct integrators 420 , 422 , 424 , 426 may be provided — one for each of the four quarters of the line voltage wave cycle . this approach helps compensate for asymmetry between any of the four quarters of the line voltage wave . for this implementation , a circuit as shown in fig4 may be used , and the integrators 420 , 422 , 424 , 426 may be sequentially enabled in alternating intervals corresponding to quarter - cycles of the line voltage wave . as shown in fig4 , an ac voltage source 400 may be connected to a bridge rectifier 404 , a fuse 450 , a led load 408 , a mosfet 412 , and a resistor 416 . integrators 420 , 422 , 424 , 426 may be sequentially , alternately switched in and out of the circuit by a counter or timer 428 and switches 430 . fig2 shows an analog integrator 220 , described above , which may be used to implement the integrators in the circuit of fig4 . as the integrators are switched in and out , they produce outputs based on a current reference 438 and the voltage across resistor 416 . while an integrator is inactive , it is disconnected from the resistor 416 and it substantially retains the last output it generated while it was active . an optional high - speed cut - out 432 , shown in detail in fig3 , and switch 434 may be used to protect the led load 408 from undesirable conditions ( discussed further herein below ). the integrator output selected by switches 430 is provided to the gate of the mosfet 412 as long as the high - speed cut - out 432 is not activated ( fig4 depicts the case where the cut - out is inactive ). in this arrangement , mosfet 412 acts as a variable resistor in order to moderate the amount of current passing through the led load 408 . according to one aspect of the invention , a microprocessor arrangement 520 as shown in fig5 may be used to implement select parts of the circuit including at least the integrators 120 , 124 , 420 , 422 , 424 , 426 , the switches 130 , 131 , 134 , 135 , 430 , 434 , the detector 128 , the counter 428 , the comparator 304 , the references 138 , 338 , 438 , and the or gate 354 . a suitable microprocessor arrangement 520 may comprise an “ upper ” pin 501 , a “ right ” pin 502 , a “ lower - right ” pin 503 , a “ lower - left ” pin 505 , an about 1 . 8 v to 5 v voltage regulator 544 , a microprocessor 540 , and an optional over - voltage detector 518 . the microprocessor 540 may be an analog - enabled digital processor or any other suitable processor known in the art . this approach eliminates the need for select discrete analog circuit elements and , as a result , may allow for more cost savings and result in a more compact implementation . in an exemplary embodiment comprising a microprocessor , a circuit like that shown in fig4 may be used ( with the microprocessor - implemented parts being replaced by the microprocessor arrangement 520 ). the voltage regulator 544 of an exemplary microprocessor arrangement 520 may be connected between the “ upper ” pin 501 of the microprocessor arrangement 520 and the microprocessor 540 and may provide a regulated voltage of about 1 . 8 v to 5 v to the microprocessor 540 , as is known in the art . the “ upper pin ” 501 may be connected to the circuit of fig4 between the rectifier 404 and the led load 408 , while the “ lower - left ” pin 505 may be connected to the circuit of fig4 between the resistor 416 and the rectifier 404 in order to provide a common ground for the microprocessor arrangement 520 . the “ lower - right ” pin 503 of the microprocessor arrangement 520 may be connected to the circuit of fig4 between the resistor 416 and the mosfet 412 in order to provide the microprocessor 540 with the voltage across the resistor 416 . outputs of the microprocessor 540 may be generated via software in accordance with the functionality described above and selectively provided to the gate of the mosfet 412 via the “ right ” pin 502 of the microprocessor arrangement 520 in accordance with the desired regulator functionality ( half cycle , quarter cycle , etc . ), as described above . the software may be stored in random - access memory ( ram ), read - only memory ( rom ), or any other suitable machine readable hardware storage known in the art and accessible to the microprocessor 540 . an optional over - voltage detector 518 may be connected between “ upper ” pin 501 and microprocessor 540 of microprocessor arrangement 520 . in the event that the over - voltage detector provides an indication of undesirable circuit conditions , such as a voltage spike , in its output to microprocessor 540 , microprocessor 540 may apply a gate voltage to mosfet 412 having a substantially equivalent voltage to the voltage across resistor 416 , effectively resulting in electrical isolation of led load 408 . for the over - voltage detector 518 , a circuit as shown in fig3 may be used ; alternatively , the over - voltage detector may be implemented in software . according to an aspect of the invention , briefly referenced above , a high - speed cutout may be used to account for abnormal line voltage , current , or temperature . this can help to protect the led load from damage . the high - speed cutout may be implemented with analog switches that disconnect the integrators from the gate of the mosfet and substantially simultaneously short ( or connect ) the mosfet &# 39 ; s gate to its source ( see fig3 and fig4 for exemplary embodiments ). the high - speed cutout may also be implemented with an over - voltage detector and software ( as described above in reference to fig5 ) or by using any other methods known in the art . by enabling separate current regulation for distinct segments of the ac line voltage cycle , embodiments of the present invention diminish or eliminate flickering resulting from undesirable line disturbances . in order to account for the use of a triode for alternating current (“ triac ”) dimmer , a circuit like the one shown in fig1 may be used to attempt to ensure a match between each half of the line voltage cycle . in the case of extreme asymmetry in the line voltage , a circuit like the one shown in fig4 may be used in an attempt to ensure that each quarter cycle of the line voltage provides nearly identical current to the leds . in addition to precluding the visible effects of line voltage noise , embodiments of the present invention provide other advantageous arrangements . using a circuit like the one shown in fig4 , it is possible , by setting a suitable overvolt reference 338 , to use the high - speed cutout 432 to generate a led drive frequency that is about double the line voltage frequency by engaging the high - speed cutout between the first and second cycles and third and fourth cycle of the line voltage . of course , this is done at the expense of power factor and line distortion . however , this corresponds to the time of greatest heat dissipation and power loss in the mosfet . accordingly , this technique may be used to improve efficiency . any timing errors or asymmetry in the line voltage would ordinarily negatively impact the effectiveness of this method , but these effects may be compensated for by using separate current regulation for each quarter cycle of the ac line voltage cycle , as described above . another potential advantage enabled by embodiments of the present invention is related to the fact that if there is a significant mismatch between the led load voltage and the line voltage , a large power dissipation would usually occur in the mosfet in the form of heat . by utilizing a high - speed cut - out with a suitable over - voltage reference , the led load may be electrically isolated during these periods of high voltage and dissipation . this allows for efficient drive of a low voltage , low power led array directly from the line . using separate current regulation for each quarter cycle of the ac line voltage cycle again compensates for any low frequency line anomalies that could otherwise potentially induce flickering . this arrangement may be further extended to create a multi - voltage device that could operate , for example , using either ac 120 v or ac 240 v nominal line voltages . the led array may be driven at line voltage frequency for ac 120 v operation and switched to being driven at double the line frequency when connected to ac 240 v by utilizing a high - speed cutout with a suitable over - voltage reference . the high - speed cutout may be employed between the first and second quarters and between the third and fourth quarters of the ac 240 v repeating wave cycle , where the elevated power dissipation ( due to increased voltage ) would be unwanted or wasteful , and the quarter - cycle regulation , as described above , reduces or eliminates any visible artifacts that may have been caused by frequency conversion and / or line noise . though exemplary embodiments have been described with reference to mosfets , any device with suitable electrically variable resistance characteristics may be used including , but not limited to , bipolar junction transistors ( bjt ), vacuum tubes , a plurality of transistors , any suitable combination thereof , or any other electrically variable resistor . likewise , though exemplary embodiments have been described with reference to a voltage divider , any suitable means of providing suitable voltages may be used . further , though exemplary embodiments have been described with reference to integrators , any suitable discrete circuit elements or mathematical operations ( in the case of using a microprocessor ) may be used . exemplary embodiments have been disclosed above and illustrated in the accompanying drawings . it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes , omissions and additions may be made to that which is specifically disclosed herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention . | 8 |
in the following description , like reference characters designate like or corresponding parts throughout the several views . referring now to the drawings in detail , reference is made to fig1 a , 1b , 2 , and 3 . the present invention is directed toward a decorative wheel cover ( 32 ) comprising : a circular decorative disc sign ( 26 ) and a plurality of claw arm assemblies ( 38 ). the disc frame ( 21 ) has a substantially flat side , an opposing inside , and a circumferential edge . the decorative disc sign ( 26 ) is detacheably attached to the flat side of the disc frame ( 21 ). referring to fig6 b , the disc frame ( 21 ) further comprises an inner ring portion ( 37 ) and an outer ring portion ( 36 ) and a plurality of elongated substantially straight portions ( 39 ). the disc frame straight portions ( 39 ) are connected to the inner ring portion ( 37 ) and outer ring portion ( 36 ), wherein the disc frame straight portions ( 39 ) are circumferentially spaced apart about the disc frame center . referring to fig5 and 7 , each claw arm ( 28 ) comprises a first end and an opposing claw end with a straight elongated portion there between . each claw arm straight portion has an interior side and an outer side . the outer sides of the claw arm straight portions are configured to mate with the disc frame straight portions , wherein each claw arm straight portion is radially , slidably , and detachably attached to a separate disc frame straight portion ( 39 ); wherein the claw end of each claw arm ( 28 ) extends radially beyond the circumferential edge of the disc frame outer ring ( 36 ), and the first end of each claw arm ( 28 ) radially retracts toward the center of the disc frame ( 21 ). the claw arms ( 28 ) are extensible , such that the claw end of each claw arm ( 28 ) can be securely attached to any size rim of an automobile wheel between the circumferential edge of the wheel rim ( 34 ) and tire ( as in fig1 a and 1b ; tire not shown ). referring to fig3 , a preferred embodiment of the present invention comprises a trim ring ( 22 ), wherein the decorative disc sign ( 26 ) is held in place by the trim ring ( 22 ) which is sized to fit securely around and over the circumferential edge of the disc frame ( 21 ). the disc frame straight portions ( 39 ) are rigidly connected to the disc frame inner ring ( 36 ) and disc frame outer ring ( 37 ) portions , and are symmetrically and circumferentially spaced apart about the disc frame center . referring to fig5 and 7 , in a preferred embodiment each claw arm assembly ( 38 ) comprises a claw arm ( 28 ), a spring shaft ( 25 ), a continuous force coil spring ( 27 ), a claw pad ( 29 ), a spring cap ( 24 ), a spring claw screw ( 30 ), a claw support cover ( 23 ), and a pair of torx screws ( 31 ). the first end of each claw arm ( 28 ) has a slot . each continuous force coil spring ( 27 ) has a flattened end ( 35 ). each spring shaft ( 25 ) is inserted inside a separate continuous force coil spring ( 27 ). each continuous force coil spring ( 27 ) is attached to the disc frame inner ring portion ( 36 ) adjacent to a separate disc frame straight portion ( 39 ), wherein a separate claw arm first end is inserted with the continuous force coil spring flattened end ( 35 ), a separate spring cap ( 24 ) holds together the continuous force coil spring ( 27 ) and the spring shaft ( 25 ) to the disc frame inner ring portion ( 36 ); a separate spring claw screw ( 30 ) is inserted between the continuous force coil spring flattened end ( 35 ) and the claw arm first end , holding them together . a separate claw support cover ( 23 ) and a pair of torx screws ( 31 ) hold together the claw arm ( 28 ) and disc frame straight portion ( 39 ), but allowing the claw arm ( 28 ) to radially slide along the disc frame straight portion ( 39 ). still referring to fig5 and 7 , in another preferred embodiment , the disc frame straight portions ( 38 ) have cavities ; the interior sides of the claw arm straight portions have inner groves ; the outer sides of the claw arm straight portions are configured to mate with the cavities of the disc frame straight portions . referring to fig1 a and 1b , fig5 , and fig7 , each continuous force coil spring ( 27 ) is biased toward the disc frame center ; wherein , when a spring claw screw ( 30 ) holds together a claw arm first end and a continuous force coil spring flattened end ( 35 ), the claw arm first end is radially pulled toward the disc frame center , the claw arm ( 28 ) slides along the disc frame straight portion ( 39 ) and the claw arm ( 28 ) claw end pulls toward the disc center ; wherein , in order to clamp the claw arm claw end between a wheel rim ( 34 ) and tire , a person manually pulls the claw arm claw end , sliding the claw arm ( 28 ) along the disc frame straight portion ( 39 ) away from the disc frame center ; wherein the force coil spring ( 27 ) providing resistance in the claw arm claw end , which forms a tight grip between the wheel rim ( 34 ) and tire . another preferred embodiment comprises a plurality of electric motors and a wireless remote control ( not shown ). each motor includes a wireless controller . each spring shaft ( 25 ) is inserted with a separate motor . the wireless remote control operates the motors in synchronization . the motors are sized to further bias the continuous force coil springs ( 27 ) to pull each continuous force coil spring flattened end ( 35 ) toward the disc center , in turn pulling each claw arm ( 28 ) toward the disc center , in turn creating enough resistance in the claw arm claw ends , so that when a person activates the remote control , doing so causes the continuous force coil spring ( 28 ) to pull the claw arms ( 28 ) toward the disc frame center , causing the claw arm claw ends to clamp down on the wheel rim circumferential edge ; wherein , the decorative wheel cover ( 32 ) is more tightly secured to the wheel rim ( 34 ), enabling the wheel cover to remain attached to the rim during on - road use . in another embodiment , the geometry and material of the disc frame are designed to absorb vibrations of on - road use . in this case , the disc frame straight portions ( 39 ) are designed slender , and the material of the disc frame straight portions ( 39 ) are durable but pliable , so that the disc frame straight portions transfers the vibrations to the disc frame inner ring ( 37 ), such that the disc frame inner ring vibrates , but the claw ends remain attached to the wheel rim circumferential edge . in a preferred embodiment , the disc frame straight portions ( 39 ) are made of durable and flexible thermoplastic . in another embodiment , the disc frame ( 21 ) is made of durable brittle plastic that will shatter into small pieces upon sharp impact , such as when a wheel rim hits a pothole . the shattered small pieces eliminate the possibility of a dislodged wheel cover becoming airborne upon impact with a pothole causing a car accident . thermoplastic is inexpensive , and the manufacturing techniques , commonly known in the art , to manufacture the wheel cover ( 32 ) are inexpensive . in another preferred embodiment designed for wheels with a plurality of spokes circumferentially spaced apart about the center of the wheel rim ( not shown ), the disc sign ( 26 ) is made of durable textile fabric ; the disc sign ( 26 ) includes a plurality of straps ; each strap has fasteners ; the straps are circumferentially spaced apart about and adjacent to the circumferential edge of the disc sign , such that the disc sign is mountable directly onto a wheel rim ( 34 ); wherein each strap can be wrapped around a separate wheel spoke , and fastened , such that the disc sign does not dislodge from the wheel rim during on - road use . all of the above descriptions are merely illustrative of the many applications of the present invention . although only a few embodiments of the present invention have been described herein , it should be understood that the present invention might be embodied in many other specific forms without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention . therefore , the present examples and embodiments are to be considered as illustrative and not restrictive , and the invention is not to be limited to the details given herein , but may be modified within the scope of the appended claims . | 1 |
a typical golf cart , as shown in fig1 , has a body shell 1 and four land wheels 2 . within the shell is a metal chassis or like base construction that carries a motor and drive batteries . these internal features are conventional and not separately shown . at its forward end 3 the cart carries a transparent windshield 4 made of glass or synthetic polymer , and a steering wheel 5 , together with such racks or trays 6 as may be needed . at its rearward end 7 the cart is shaped with well 8 to receive golf - clubs and the like for transport , and possesses a wire basket 9 for the smaller articles necessary to the game . the basket itself can carry a frame 10 to which articles in well 8 can be secured for transport . at an intermediate position 11 the cart is provided with a transverse seat 12 for two people , with a small back rest 13 . the seat is conventionally open and unencumbered to each edge of the vehicle , ( e . g . at 14 ) so that users can readily slide on or off the seat , from either side of the cart , for the numerous occasions the cart is used during the course of a game . a roof 15 with downwardly extending surrounding edge 15 a is supported over the cart by two forward supports 16 forming part of a surrounding frame for the windshield 4 , and by two rearward supports 17 , shown in dotted lines , which extend inward from the rear corners 15 b of the roof and then down behind the heads of the persons using the cart . features such as those described above are conventional over a wide range of golf carts . in accordance with the present invention , and in continuation of the teachings of gb patent number 2 309 384 , some aspects of such conventional carts have now been modified . the most significant of these aspects are shown at i , ii and iii in fig1 . these modifications have been made as the result of extensive testing of a full - size prototype of a golf cart as described in gb patent number 2 309 384 , containing one or two full - size dummies seated in the cart . these were subjected to ultra - high voltage free air discharge of lengthy electrical sparks simulating a lightning strike . the results were confirmatory of the teachings of gb patent number 2 309 384 , but provided important extra information . firstly , we have realized that for a conventional golf cart , wide enough to seat two people side by side and appropriately longer than it is wide , six spaced - apart electrically conductive generally vertical components are a sufficient number to constitute a cage protective against lightning strike . more than six could of course still be used . secondly , we have perceived that totally flexible vertical components may not be optimum . while they are usually effective there is a chance that they might move relative to each other ( whether mechanically as the cart is moving , or under electromagnetic effects as it is struck by lightning ) and possibly as a consequence affect the performance of the protective cage . thirdly , we have identified an area of conventional cart design which has led to results where a dummy figure in the cart might not be adequately protected and might become part of the spark path . in the description of modifications to a golf cart which follows reference is made to “ effective electrical connection ” of electrically conductive components . when structures intended to conduct electricity are assembled , care is taken to ensure close conductor - to - conductor contact within the assembly . that is the preferred practice in the present invention . in the special and extreme conduction conditions of a lightning strike an effective electrical connection between components can still exist even if those components are somewhat spaced apart : the high - voltage discharge will arc across any minor gap , without significantly decreasing the effectiveness of the assembly for its intended purpose . accordingly , if , after a long period of use at least one electrical connection ( for example between an end of the movable conductor which does not form the bearing ) has a lower level of contact or a hairline crack , the present invention will still function . however it is a particular advantage of the present invention that the bearing between the movable member and the roof or base construction ensures such close conductor - to - conductor contact which can be maintained over a long period of use . thus , in this description and in the appended claims the term “ effective electrical connection ” is intended to include such an eventuality where such a small gap , or imperfect conductor - to - conductor connection , not affecting the practical operation of the assembly , is present , whether that gap , or imperfection of contact , arises or is intentionally created either on assembly or during use . in the region of fig1 shown generally at i there is an electrically conductive elongate metal member 18 with a long stem portion 18 a and two shorter end portions 19 extending at right - angles thereto , one at each end . these portions 19 both extend in the same direction , and occupy the same general plane as the stem portion 18 a . each end portion 19 is generally about half as long as the seat 12 is deep , and each is pivoted at its free end 19 a at generally vertically - extending upper and lower pivots 20 a and 20 b respectively . thus , the whole assembly can pivot from a generally forward position as shown in full lines to a generally rearward position shown in dotted lines . the upper and lower pivots 20 a and 20 b each provide a bearing in accordance with the invention . at the forward position shown in full lines the assembly is held by a clasp 21 adequate to prevent the assembly swinging arbitrarily but readily disengageable by manual pressure exerted by a user . at this position the stem portion 18 a extends vertically downwards at the outer edge 12 a of the front seat 12 , and will have its upper end in effective electrical contact with the surrounding edge 15 a of the roof of the cart . at the rearward position shown in dotted lines the assembly can be held by a similar effective but readily disengageable clasp 22 . at this position the stem portion 18 a presents no hindrance to a person entering or leaving the cart . the clasps 21 , 22 are shown as engaging the upper of the end portions 19 ; such clasps could - equally well engage at the lower such end portion , or to both end portions , as long as easy engagement or disengagement is permitted . the roof 15 of the cart and its surrounding edges 15 a could be made of electrically conductive material , or could be totally covered with such material . experiment has shown however that it is adequate to provide a partial covering of the roof in electrical contact with the surrounding edges 15 a at least at the sides of the cart . as shown in fig1 by way of example there is provided a central area 23 of electrically conductive material and six flat strips 23 a of such material extending one to each corner of the roof 15 to be in effective electrical contact with a continuous and electrically conductive surrounding edge 15 a which extends all round the roof . while it is envisaged that the electrical contact between the movable member 18 and the roof shall take place at the area of edge 15 a where they meet at the time when the member is in its forward position , it could also be arranged that the pivot 20 a , or the clasp 21 , or both , are in effective electrical contact with this surrounding edge 15 a . all of the description of the stem portion 18 a , end portions 19 and their various interconnections with each other and the roof should also be taken as applying to a like assembly at the far side of the cart . stem portion 18 f of this assembly is visible in the drawing . the rest is not shown but its structure can readily be inferred from the depiction of its visible counterpart , described above . it is also intended that the forward roof supports 16 , surrounding windshield 4 , should be electrically conductive , i . e . formed of or covered with electrically conductive material , and should be in effective electrical connection at their upper ends with the roof 15 and its surrounding edges 15 a . at region ii of fig1 a modification is made to the usual golf cart structure to assist in achieving the objectives of the invention . currently , the rearward roof supports 17 , made of any suitably strong material , extend downwards as shown in dotted lines . that is to say , each such support is usually formed to extend inward from its corner 15 b and then to run vertically downward to the underlying supportive chassis . thus they run just behind the heads of the two occupants . it is now proposed to form alternative rearward roof supports 24 which are necessarily electrically conductive and have their upper ends in effective electrical connection with the roof 15 and its surrounding edges at 15 b . it is also proposed to shape these supports 24 to bow outwardly and rearwardly in their respective downward paths , as shown in fig1 at 25 . this provides a much greater space between the heads of the users and such rearward supports . golf carts typically possess a chassis , conventionally made of metal for strength . it is not shown in the drawings , but occupies the space within the shell 1 enclosing a cart motor and batteries . in the embodiment of the invention shown in fig1 , the lower ends of the forward roof supports 16 ; the lower ends of the modified roof supports 24 ; and the lower ends of the movable members 18 when these members are in their forward positions ; are all to be arranged to be in effective electrical connection with this metal chassis . region iii of fig1 shows a modification of the invention beyond the proposal in gb patent number 2 309 384 . in that patent it was proposed to provide elongate members for deploying from the roof of the cart to the ground to form a cage structure protective against lightning strikes . work with full - size prototypes has shown that this is effective , but i have realised that a simpler structure can be made . in this the risk of distortion of the cage ( which is constituted of flexible elongate members which are capable of relative displacement as the cart is moving , or possibly as a result of electromagnetic effects as the lightning strike discharges ) is obviated . short spaced - apart electrically conductive flexible members such as shown at 26 are now proposed . they are fastened in effective electrical connection with the chassis at their upper end 26 a and normally they trail along the ground at their lower ends 26 b for safety purposes ; that is to say , they are not specially deployed at the threat of lightning . of course , they could be stored and separately deployed but that is not as safe and the number and placement of such members 26 around the chassis can be varied and the provision of two such at each side of the cart is not critical . normally the assembly 18 , 19 is in its rearward position as shown in dotted lines , so that the users of the cart may from time to time during their progress around the golf course easily get in or out of the cart at each side . in the observed or advised risk of lightning each passenger can reach back and swiftly pull the assembly 18 , 19 forward around its pivots 20 a , 20 b , so that the upper and lower ends of the stem 18 a come into effective electrical connection with the edge 15 a and with conductive region 43 , connected to the chassis , respectively . the readily engageable and disengageable pressure clasps are no more difficult to operate than a car seat belt . there is thus formed an electrically conductive cage , with an adequate number of surrounding components suitably spaced from each other and from the bodies of the users and thus protective against lightning strike , and with the charge conducted to earth via the chassis and flexible members 26 . this cage is dimensionally stable against mechanical displacement of its components , whether this is caused by movement of the vehicle or magnetic effects of the electrical discharge . thus , the cart can be driven , while protected , to a place of greater safety or comfort . it is to be noted that while the provision of flexible members 26 is to be preferred , conditions of actual use in a thunderstorm may also lead to discharge of the current by arc discharge directly from the base of the chassis to the ground , or via electrical connection through any moisture on the ground wheels . this is especially the case if the vehicle is travelling over rougher ground , or high grass , or is used in spray conditions of torrential rain . this does not detract from the utility of the invention . modifications can be made within the scope of the invention , and especially to the exact nature of the deployable side assembly as shown by way of example at 18 , 19 . fig2 shows diagrammatically a vertical member 27 , analogous to stem portion 18 a but mounted to slide at its upper and lower ends 27 a , 27 b , in slides 27 c and 27 d respectively from a rearward position allowing ready access to the cart to a forward position as a component of a protective cage . it will be appreciated that the member 27 is in effective electrical connection at its ends 27 a , 27 b with the edge 15 a of roof 15 and with the chassis respectively . suitable clasps at locations 29 hold member 27 securely but in a manner capable of ready disengagement in both its forward and rearward positions . the sliding contact between the ends 27 a and 27 b and the respective slides 27 c or 27 d form sliding bearings . fig3 shows a horizontal member 30 pivoted at the roof 15 around pivot 30 a and held again in a readily disengageable clasp at 31 from which it can be pulled down to a vertical position clasped similarly clasped at 32 at the then lower end . pivot 30 a provides a bearing at the top end of the movable member 30 . fig4 shows the converse structure to fig3 in which a normally horizontal member 33 , clasped at 34 until needed , can be pulled up around its pivot 33 a to a vertical position and clasped at 35 . pivot 33 a forms a bearing at the lower end of the horizontal member 33 . fig5 shows an l - shaped member 36 pivoted at its lower end at 37 and at its upper end at 38 , respectively at ends of the long limb and short limb of the l - shape . this member can be suitably clasped at 39 when not in use , and pivoted to be held by a clasp at 40 when in use . a converse arrangement , with the short limb of the l - shape at the base , can readily be envisaged from this . the pivots at 37 and 38 each provide a bearing a competent engineer will be able to envisage other detailed arrangements of the intermediate side members within the scope of the invention ; in all cases the electrically conductive members should be in effective electrical connection with both the roof structure and the chassis . fig6 shows , in horizontal cross - section of a typical conductor 16 , 17 or 18 , an optional feature of the invention . to increase the protection of the users from arcing of the electrical discharge in a lightning strike it is envisaged to provide an electrically insulating layer 41 at the surface of the stem portion 18 a ( for example ) and similarly at the surfaces of the forward and rearward supports 16 and 17 respectively . most preferably , and as shown in the drawing , the layer 41 does not extend to cover the whole surface in each case , but is configured to cover only the inner face of each such member and to leave uncovered the outer face i . e . that face indicated at 42 as being further from the passengers , since ultra - high voltage discharges are believed to travel along the surfaces of conductors . fig7 shows in a partial and broken - away view , and by way of example , two further valuable optional features of the invention . this figure shows , in its forward position , an electrically conductive movable member 118 , with end portions 119 having respective upper and lower vertical pivots 120 a , 120 b . the numbering of these features is analogous to that in fig1 . clasps for the assembly , and depiction of the rearward position of the assembly have however been omitted from this drawing for ease of illustration . when in position , the long vertical pivots 120 a and 120 b will be received in close fitting bores 120 c and 120 d . each of the pivots 120 a and 120 b and the bores 120 c and 120 d are electrically conductive and form a bearing with close conductor to - conductor contact for providing good earthing contact . as shown in its forward position , the member 118 is in effective electrical contact with the roof edge 115 a and the chassis at 43 , both as in the embodiment of fig1 . in this embodiment , however , an intermediate portion 44 of the member 118 is outwardly stepped , away from the occupants of the cart , to enhance the protection from lightning strike . this portion 44 could of course alternatively be smoothly bowed away from the occupants . it will be immediately apparent from a comparison with fig1 that in the rearward position of member 118 the portion 44 extends inwardly of the cart , but behind the occupants . also shown in fig7 is a transparent polymer screen 45 . in the embodiment shown , this screen is attached to the movable member 118 at the top and bottom by attachments 46 , 47 respectively , and secured at its rearward edge by attachments 48 , 49 in such a way that when the movable member 118 is folded forward the screen is automatically also deployed , to enhance the protection against arcing . the use of a permanent side screen 45 , or of such a screen which is selectively deployable separately from the movable members 118 is also envisaged within the scope of the present invention . | 1 |
fig1 a and 1 b illustrate lithographic apparatus of a transmissive type , and a reflective type , respectively . fig1 a schematically depicts a lithographic apparatus of a transmissive type . the apparatus comprises : an illumination system ( illuminator ) 3 for providing a projection beam 7 of radiation ( e . g . uv radiation ); a first support structure ( e . g . a mask table ) 9 for supporting patterning means 8 , e . g . a mask , and connected to first or mask positioning mechanism 10 for accurately positioning the patterning means with respect to item 11 ; a substrate table ( e . g . a wafer table ) 13 for holding a substrate ( e . g . a resist - coated wafer ) 12 and connected to second positioning mechanism 14 for accurately positioning the substrate with respect to item 11 ; and a projection system ( e . g . a refractive projection lens ) 11 for imaging a pattern imparted to the projection beam 7 by patterning means 8 onto a target portion ( e . g . comprising one or more dies ) of the substrate 12 . as here depicted , the apparatus is of a transmissive type ( e . g . employing a transmissive mask ). alternatively , the apparatus may be of a reflective type ( e . g . employing a programmable mirror array of a type as referred to above ), see fig1 b . the illuminator 3 receives a beam of radiation from a radiation source 1 . the source and the lithographic apparatus may be separate entities , for example when the source is an excimer laser . in such cases , the source is not considered to form part of the lithographic apparatus and the radiation beam is passed from the source 1 to the illuminator 3 with the aid of a beam delivery system 2 comprising for example suitable directing mirrors and / or a beam expander . in other cases the source may be integral part of the apparatus , for example when the source is a mercury lamp . the source 1 and the illuminator 3 , together with the beam delivery system 2 if required , may be referred to as a radiation system . the illuminator 3 may comprise adjusting means 4 for adjusting the angular intensity distribution of the beam . generally , at least the outer and / or inner radial extent ( commonly referred to as σ - outer and σ - inner , respectively ) of the intensity distribution in a pupil plane of the illuminator can be adjusted . in addition , the illuminator 3 generally comprises various other components , such as an integrator 5 and a condenser 6 . the illuminator provides a conditioned beam of radiation , referred to as the projection beam 7 , having a desired uniformity and intensity distribution in its cross - section . the projection beam 7 is incident on the mask 8 , which is held on the mask table 9 . having traversed the mask 8 , the projection beam 7 passes through the lens 11 , which focuses the beam onto a target portion of the substrate 12 . with the aid of the second positioning mechanism 14 and wafer position sensor 16 ( e . g . an interferometric device ), the substrate table 13 can be moved accurately , e . g . so as to position different target portions in the path of the beam 7 . similarly , the first positioning mechanism 10 and another position sensor , which is not explicitly depicted in fig1 a , but will be explained in subsequent figures , can be used to accurately position the mask 8 with respect to the path of the beam 7 , e . g . after mechanical retrieval from a mask library , or during a scan . in general , movement of the object tables 9 and 13 will be realized with the aid of a long - stroke module ( coarse positioning ) and a short - stroke module ( fine positioning ), which form part of the positioning mechanism 10 and 14 . however , in the case of a stepper ( as opposed to a scanner ) the mask table 9 may be connected to a short stroke actuator only , or may be fixed . mask 8 and substrate 12 may be aligned using mask alignment marks and substrate alignment marks . the depicted apparatus may be used in the following preferred modes : step mode : the mask table 9 and the substrate table 13 are kept essentially stationary , while an entire pattern imparted to the projection beam is projected onto a target portion in one go ( i . e . a single static exposure ). the substrate table 13 is then shifted in the x and / or y direction so that a different target portion can be exposed . in step mode , the maximum size of the exposure field limits the size of the target portion imaged in a single static exposure . scan mode : the mask table 9 and the substrate table 13 are scanned synchronously while a pattern imparted to the projection beam is projected onto a target portion ( i . e . a single dynamic exposure ). the velocity and direction of the substrate table 13 relative to the mask table 9 is determined by the ( de -) magnification and image reversal characteristics of the projection system 11 . in scan mode , the maximum size of the exposure field limits the width ( in the non - scanning direction ) of the target portion in a single dynamic exposure , whereas the length of the scanning motion determines the height ( in the scanning direction ) of the target portion . other mode : the mask table 9 is kept essentially stationary holding a programmable patterning means , and the substrate table 13 is moved or scanned while a pattern imparted to the projection beam is projected onto a target portion . in this mode , generally a pulsed radiation source is employed and the programmable patterning means is updated as required after each movement of the substrate table 13 or in between successive radiation pulses during a scan . this mode of operation can be readily applied to maskless lithography that utilizes programmable patterning means , such as a programmable mirror array of a type as referred to above . combinations and / or variations on the above described modes of use or entirely different modes of use may also be employed . fig1 b schematically depicts a lithographic apparatus of a reflective type . the apparatus is generally similar to the apparatus of fig1 a . here , as well as throughout the rest of the application , similar parts are denoted by similar reference numerals , but the mask 8 will be of a reflective type , with corresponding paths of projection beam 7 and patterned beam 15 . furthermore , the “ projection lens ” 11 may comprise ( concentrical ) mirrors , etc . note also that the positions of the mask 8 and the wafer 12 are determined by means of a mask position sensor 19 and a wafer position sensor 16 , respectively . both sensors may be interferometric devices according to the invention . fig2 diagrammatically depicts a detail of a prior art lithographic apparatus . herein , 11 denotes a projection lens , projecting a patterned beam 15 , having an optical axis 24 , onto a substrate wafer 12 . the wafer 12 is fixedly connected to wafer table 13 . an interferometric wafer position sensor 16 emits a measuring laser beam 20 towards a 45 ° mirror 21 which is fixedly connected to wafer table 13 . the beam 20 is reflected towards a z reference mirror 22 , which is connected to a frame 23 . air conditioning means 17 eject an air flow 18 . this air flow ( shown only diagrammatically ) is intended to flow as homogeneously as possible around especially the wafer 12 and the patterned beam 15 . as can be seen , the air flow 18 is hindered by the presence of the z reference mirror , which has to have a certain length in x - direction in order to be able to reflect the measuring beam when the wafer table 13 is displaced with respect to the beam 15 . furthermore , the dimensions and shape of the projection lens 11 , and thus its optical performance , are also limited by the presence of the z - reference mirror 22 . hence the need for an improved apparatus without such z reference mirror close to the projection system / in the air flow can be seen . it will be appreciated that a z reference mirror “ below ” the wafer table 13 is not often a real option , since in practical lithographic apparatus the space below said wafer table is packed with various equipment , such as motors for the wafer table 13 and so on . furthermore , the air flow 18 would still be obstructed . fig3 shows a first diagrammatical embodiment of a detail of a lithographic apparatus , according to the invention , in two different positions , drawn in solid lines and dashed lines , respectively . herein , reference numeral 11 indicates a projection lens , having an optical axis 24 . a wafer 12 is fixed to a wafer table 13 . a measuring laser beam 20 is directed perpendicularly to a measuring mirror 30 , which is secured to wafer table 13 . an x measuring mirror 31 is also secured to wafer table 13 , in which a first x measuring laser beam 32 and a second x measuring laser beam 33 are directed . measuring beam 20 is directed under an angle α with the x - y plane , and towards the intersection of the optical axis 24 with the surface of wafer 12 , which is to be illuminated , as illustrated by line l which is coincident with an optical axis of the measuring laser beam 20 . when positioned correctly , the surface of the wafer 12 is in the focal plane of the beam of radiation , and the measuring laser beam is directed towards the intersection of the optical axis of the beam of radiation and the focal plane , now at least locally coinciding with the surface of the wafer . all the above relates to a first position , which is depicted in solid lines . a second position of the wafer table 13 and wafer 12 is depicted in dashed lines . various changed dimensions have been indicated in the figure , such as a δz , and a δl . note that the shape of the projection lens 11 may now be chosen freely , as compared to the system of fig2 , and that any air flow , though not shown , would not be obstructed by any mirror in its path . in the fig3 , the dashed image relates to a translation in positive z - direction . in this case , the x measuring mirror 31 is imaged onto itself . both x measuring laser beams 32 and 33 do not measure any change . however , when there is a displacement in z - direction , δz may be determined according to wherein δl is the measured displacement in the direction of the measuring laser beam , and α ′ is the angle between the direction of the measuring laser beam 20 and the x - y plane . note that α ′ substantially corresponds to 90 °- α , as α is the angle between the normal to the measuring mirror and the z - direction , and the measuring laser beam substantially has the same direction as the normal to the measuring surface ( in this case ) while the z - direction is perpendicular to the x - y plane . in a practical case , it will be possible to displace the wafer ( table ) not only in the z - direction , but also in the x - direction , e . g . over a distance δx , which may be measured by means of e . g . a linear combination of x measuring laser beams 32 and 33 . the z displacement as a function of measured displacement δl and δx now becomes : as will be appreciated , measuring two δx displacements by means of two x measuring laser beams 32 and 33 gives the opportunity to correct for a tilt around a y - axis , which is perpendicular to both x - axis and z - axis . it will be appreciated that determining further displacements or corrections may be performed by measuring with more laser beams at more positions . fig4 a and 4 b show a side view and a front view of a detail of another embodiment of the lithographic apparatus according to the invention . again , similar parts are denoted by the same reference numerals . fig4 a shows two measuring laser beams 40 and 41 , both incident on a conventional 45 ° mirror 42 fixed to a wafer table 13 . two separate mirrors 43 and 44 reflect the beams 40 and 41 . measuring laser beam 40 is incident in an x - y plane , but makes an angle β with the plane of the mirror 42 , which is smaller than 45 °. hence , beam 40 is incident obliquely , or somewhat “ from the left ” or “ from the right ”. note that , for this reason , the angle β has not been indicated in the figure . the beam 40 and the reflected beam 40 ′ will hence not lie in a plane that is parallel with the z - axis . this may be seen in fig4 b , where beam 40 is e . g . incident horizontally and coming “ from the left ”, and is reflected going “ to the right ” and upwards , but not vertically upwards . in this way it is ensured that the beams 40 and 40 ′ can move away from the optical axis 24 , possible air flows and / or projection beam ( not shown ). another measuring laser beam 41 and its reflected beam 41 ′ are , but need not be , in a plane parallel with the z - axis . however , beam 40 is not incident horizontally , but under an angle to the normal to the mirror 42 which is smaller than 45 °. hence the reflected beam 41 ′ will not point upwards , again ensuring that the beam ( s ) may move away from the optical axis , etc . fig4 b shows a front view of the embodiment , with only the laser beams 40 and 40 ′ depicted for clarity . laser beam 40 is incident on mirror 42 at point p , and reflected as laser beam 40 ′. as can be seen in this figure , neither laser beam 40 nor reflected laser beam 40 ′ will be parallel with the z - direction , even though incident laser beam 40 is in an x - y plane and is incident on a 45 ° mirror . fig5 shows another advantageous embodiment . herein , 50 denotes a first measuring mirror , 51 is a first measuring laser beam directed under an angle α ′ with respect to the x - y plane , 52 is a second measuring mirror , and 53 is a second measuring laser beam directed under an angle α ″ with respect to the x - y plane . a surface to be illuminated is denoted 54 , while a focus point is denoted with 55 . in this figure , as well as all the following , only a holder is shown , it being understood that an object present thereon would cause the plane to be illuminated , i . e . 54 , and of course the focus point , to be shifted to the corresponding part of that object . for clarity reasons , this has been omitted here . in fig5 , beam 51 makes an angle α ′ with the x - y plane , and beam 53 makes an angle α ″ with the x - y plane , in each case the beam being incident perpendicularly with respect to the corresponding mirror 50 , 52 , respectively . both angles α ′ and α ″ may be equal , though they need not be . furthermore , both beams 51 and 53 are directed towards the focus point , the intersection of the focus plane and the optical axis of the beam of radiation ( not shown ). this means that the abbe - arm for both beams is substantially zero . both beams may however also be directed off - axis , although then an abbe - error should be taken into account . the present embodiment offers increased accuracy when measuring z - displacement . fig6 shows another embodiment of the invention . an x - measuring mirror is denoted by 60 , 61 is an x - measuring laser beam , 62 is a first z - measuring mirror , 63 is a first z - measuring laser beam directed under an angle α ′ with respect to the x - y plane , 64 is a second z - measuring mirror , and 65 is a second z - measuring laser beam directed under an angle α ″ with respect to the x - y plane . the focus point is indicated by 66 . in this figure , mirrors 60 and 62 may be two separate mirrors or one continuous though curved / bent mirror surface . mirror 60 and laser beam 61 are used to measure a displacement in x - direction . thereto , laser beam 61 is directed substantially parallel to the x - axis . again , angles α ′ and α ″ may be equal , but need not be . although both laser beams point away from the focus point 66 , and hence the abbe arm of said beams is large , i . e . the distance between the focus point and the laser beam is large , the net effective abbe error turns out to be small . this will be elucidated in fig8 . fig7 shows another embodiment of the invention . herein , 70 is a z - measuring mirror , 71 is a z - measuring laser beam , 72 is an x - measuring mirror , 73 and 74 are a first , a second x - measuring laser beam , respectively , and 75 is a focus point . mirror 72 and laser beams 73 and 74 may be used to measure not only displacement in x - direction , but also a rotation around a y - direction , according to well known interferometry techniques not further discussed here . the z - measuring laser beam 71 is directed under an angle α ′ with respect to the x - y plane , and has an abbe - arm with length a , as indicated in the figure . this embodiment has a large abbe - error , since the abbe - arm is large , and thus every rotation around a y - direction will cause a large deviation in the measurement of z - displacement . if one is able to take this into account , e . g . by accurate measurements with beams 73 and 74 , this need not be a problem , but an embodiment in which the beam 71 is directed towards the focus point is normally preferred . fig8 illustrates some accuracy considerations relating to the embodiment shown in fig6 . the reference numerals correspond to those of fig6 when decreased by a value of 20 , e . g . the focus point 86 in fig8 corresponds to focus point 66 in fig6 . as indicated in the figure , the abbe - arm of laser beam 81 , which runs parallel to the x - axis , is a x . first z - measuring laser beam 83 has an abbe - arm a 1 with respect to the focus point 86 , while second z - measuring laser beam 85 has an abbe - arm a 2 with respect to the focus point 86 . arms a 1 and a 2 may be equal , but need not be . to illustrate that in this case large abbe - arms need not cause large errors when calculating a z - displacement , consider the following . the z - displacement may be calculated by a suitable linear combination of a measured displacement d 1 in the direction of beam 83 and a measured displacement d 2 in the direction of beam 85 . in the case that α ′= α ″, this becomes (− d 1 − d 2 )/( 2 * sin α ′), where the minus sign comes from the beams pointing in the negative z - direction . note that d 1 and d 2 are measuring results , which need not correspond directly to physical displacements . part of the displacement may be due to a shift of the beam ( s ) over the mirror surface . the abbe - error for beam 83 is a 1 * ry , in which ry is an unknown rotation angle around the y - axis , which rotation has been indicated in the figure . similarly , the abbe - error for the beam 85 is − a 2 * ry . the total z - error due to the abbe error is so there are possible combinations of α ′ ( or more generally of α ′ and α2 , if they are not equal ), a 1 , and a 2 where there is no net error in the z - determination due to the abbe arm , e . g . when α ′= α ″ and a 1 = a 2 . other combinations are also possible . even if there is a resulting net error in z due to abbe arms , this error will in this setup likely be small compared to e . g . the embodiment of fig7 . another advantage of this embodiment is that the ry angle can be determined accurately . this can be seen by considering the fact that another measurement , a pseudo - x measurement , can be done by subtracting d 2 from d 1 and dividing the difference by 2 * cos ( α ′), again assuming that α ′= α ″. this pseudo - x measurement has a relatively long abbe arm of ( a 1 + a 2 )/ 2 , and can be compared with a single x axis measurement at ( a 1 + a 2 )/( 2 * cos ( α ′)) below the focus point . therefore the difference between the pseudo x - axis and a measurement along x measuring beam 81 gives a measure of ry which is accurate compared to a calculation on the basis of the difference of two measurements along the x - axis , at different heights , such as e . g . shown in fig7 the beams 73 and 74 . in comparison to the pseudo - x measurement , these are placed relatively close to each other . in other words , in the embodiment of fig8 , use is made of two measurements d 1 and d 2 , each with a considerable abbe - arm , but such that the abbe - arms increase accuracy when determining ry , while the abbe - error due to the abbe - arms may yet be made small when determining z - displacement . mathematically x , z , and ry can be determined by solving the following equations : where x 1 is the measured displacement along beam 83 , x is the actual displacement in x - direction , a x is the abbe - arm of laser beam 83 , ry is the actual rotation around the y - axis , d 1 , d 2 is the measured displacement along beam 83 , beam 85 , respectively , α ′, α ″ is the angle between the x - y plane and beam 83 , beam 85 , respectively , a 1 , a 2 is the abbe - arm of beam 83 , beam 85 , respectively , and z is the actual displacement in z - direction . x = ( a2 sin ( α ′ ) + a1 sin ( α ′′ ) ) x1 - a x d1 sin ( α ′′ ) + a x d2 sin ( α ′ ) - a x sin ( α ′ + α ′′ ) + a2 sin ( α ′ ) + a1 sin ( α ′′ ) z = ( a2 cos ( α ′ ) - a1 cos ( α ″ ) ) x1 + ( a x cos ( α ′′ ) - a2 ) d2 + ( a x cos ( α ′ ) - a1 ) d2 ) ( - a x sin ( α ′ + α ′′ ) + a2 sin ( α ′ ) + a1 sin ( α ′′ ) ) ry = - x1 sin ( α ′ + α ′′ ) + d1 sin ( α ′′ ) - d2 sin ( α ′ ) - a x sin ( α ′ + α ′′ ) + a2 sin ( α ′ ) + a1 sin ( α ′′ ) in other situations , the skilled person will have no difficulty in finding the corresponding equations with which the values for x , z and / or ry may be readily determined . whilst specific embodiments of the invention have been described above , it will be appreciated that the invention may be practiced otherwise than as described . as such , the description is not intended to limit the invention . the configuration , operation , and behavior of the present invention has been described with the understanding that modifications and variations of the embodiments are possible , given the level of detail present herein . thus , the preceding detailed description is not meant or intended to , in any way , limit the invention — rather the scope of the invention is defined by the appended claims . | 6 |
the compounds of formula ( i ) are prepared , for example , as illustrated below . ( 1 ) compounds in which r 1 is -- cn and r 5 and r 6 are h are prepared by the following general method : ## str14 ## the preferred source of cyanide ions are the alkali metal cyanides , particularly sodium and potassium cyanide . in a typical procedure , the compound ( ii ) and sodium or potassium cyanide are heated together in a suitable organic solvent , e . g . dimethylformamide , at up to 100 ° c ., preferably 65 °- 70 ° c ., for up to 6 hours . it is preferred to add the cyanide dropwise to the solution of the oxirane over about a half - hour . after cooling the reaction mixture and pouring it into water , the desired product is isolated and purified by conventional techniques . the starting materials of the formula ( ii ) are in many cases known compounds ( see e . g ., european patent application publication no . 44605 ) or can be prepared by routine methods as will be known to those skilled in the art , for example , ## str15 ## ( 2 ) compounds in which r 1 is -- cn and r 5 and r 6 are each h or ch 3 are prepared , for example , by the following general route ## str16 ## the preferred strong base in n - butyllithium . in a typical procedure , the nitrile is dissolved in a suitable solvent , e . g ., dry tetrahydrofuran ( thf ), and the resulting solution is then cooled to about - 70 ° c . a solution of n - butyllithium in hexane is then slowly added dropwise . after stirring for about an hour at - 70 ° c ., the ketone ( iii ) in a suitable solvent , e . g ., dry thf , is slowly added dropwise . after stirring for about an hour at - 70 ° c . glacial acetic acid in a little thf is added and the reaction mixture is allowed to warm to 0 ° c . the product is then isolated and purified conventionally . when one of r 5 and r 6 is h and the other is ch 3 , the product will exist in two diastereoisomeric forms and these are often separated by chromatography . the starting materials of the formula ( iii ) are either known compounds or can be prepared by conventional methods . ( 3 ) compounds in which r 1 is -- conh 2 and r 5 and r 6 are h are prepared , for example , as follows : ## str17 ## preferable compound ( iv ) is used in its ethyl ester form . the acid is preferably supplied by using compound ( iv ) in an acid addition salt form , e . g . as the dihydrochloride . alternatively , the free base is used and hydrogen chloride gas bubbled into the solution to form the salt . typically the reactants are heated together for a short period , preferably under reflux , in a suitable high - boiling organic solvent such as 1 , 2 - dichlorobenzene ( b . p . 178 ° c . ), the reaction is usually complete in about 15 minutes . the starting materials of the formula ( iv ) are obtainable conventionally , e . g . as follows : ## str18 ## ( 4 ) compounds in which r 1 is -- conh ( c 1 - c 4 alkyl ) or -- con ( c 1 - c 4 alkyl ) 2 are prepared by the alkylation of the corresponding starting materials in which r 1 is -- conh 2 . the alkylation is typically carried out by dissolving the starting material in a suitable organic solvent , e . g . dry thf , followed by cooling to 0 °- 5 ° c . a strong base such as sodium hydride is then added . after stirring for a few minutes , an appropriate quantity of alkylating agent is added . the preferred alkylating agents are the alkali metal iodides and bromides . for mono - alkylation , only one equivalent of alkylating agent should be used , and , for dialkylation , at least 2 equivalents . the alkylated product is isolated from the reaction mixture by conventional techniques . ( 5 ) compounds in which r 1 is -- conr 2 r 3 where r 2 r 3 are as defined in ( a ) or ( b ) in formula ( i ) can also be prepared as follows : ## str19 ## compound ( v ) is preferably used in the form of its functional equivalent as an acylating agent , e . g . as an acid chloride or bromide , a mixed anhydride of the formula ## str20 ## or as a c 1 - c 4 alkyl , succinimido , phthalimido or benzotriazol - 1 - yl ester . all these functional equivalents are prepared conventionally from the acid ( v ). the acid chlorides and bromides are , for example , prepared by reaction of the acid of formula ( v ) with thionyl chloride or bromide , the mixed anhydrides by reaction with a c 2 - c 5 alkanoyl chloride , the c 1 - c 4 alkyl esters by simple esterification , and the succinimido , phthalimido and benzotriazol - 1 - yl esters by reaction with n - hydroxysuccinimide , n - hydroxyphthalimide or 1 - hydroxybenzotriazole in the presence of a dehydrating agent such as dicyclohexylcarbodiimide . in fact , it is preferred to use the compounds ( v ) in the form of their succinimido esters of the formula : ## str21 ## thus in a typical procedure , dicyclohexylcarbodiimide dissolved in e . g . dry dioxan is added to a solution of the acid ( v ) and n - hydroxysuccinimide in e . g . dry dioxan . after stirring for a few hours at room temperature and filtering , the reaction is generally completed by stirring the solution of the compound ( vii ) with the amine r 2 r 3 nh at room temperature for a few hours in e . g . dry dioxan , after which the product is isolated and purified by conventional means . if compound ( v ) is reacted in its free acid form , the reaction should generally be carried out in the presence of a dehydrating agent such as dicyclohexylcarbodiimide . the c 1 - c 4 alkyl esters can also be prepared as follows : ## str22 ## generally some of the product ( viii ) cyclises in situ under the reaction conditions to give the intermediate lactone ( a ). mixtures of the ester ( viii ) and lactone ( a ) are separated e . g . by column chromatography . thus in a typical procedure , dicyclohexylcarbodiimide , 1 - hydroxybenzotriazole and the acid ( v ) are stirred together at room temperature for a short period in e . g . dry dioxan . the reaction is generally completed by stirring the resulting imtermediate ( ix ) with the amine r 2 r 3 nh at room temperature until the reaction is complete , after which the product is isolated and purified by conventional means . ( 6 ) compounds of the formula ( i ) in which r 1 is -- conh 2 are prepared by the controlled hydrolysis of the corresponding compounds in which r 1 is -- cn . typically this hydrolysis is carried out by heating the starting nitrile at about 70 °- 100 ° c ., preferably 90 °- 95 ° c ., with aqueous sulphuric acid , preferably 80 %, by weight , until the formation of the amide is complete as monitored by thin - layer chromatography . further hydrolysis to convert -- conh 2 to -- cooh , if desired , is carried out under similar conditions . the compounds in which r 1 is -- cooh are useful intermediates ( see route ( 5 ) above , for example ). ( 7 ) the amides of the formula ( i ) in which r 1 is -- conr 2 r 3 where r 2 and r 3 are as defined in ( a ) or ( b ) for formula ( i ) are also prepared from the intermediates of the formula ( a ) as follows : ## str24 ## where r , r 2 , r 3 , r 5 and r 6 are as defined for formula ( i ). the reaction is carried out by stirring the reactants together in a suitable solvent , e . g . ethanol , at room temperature until the reaction is complete . if necessary , the mixture is heated to accelerate the reaction . the product is then isolated and purified conventionally . ( 8 ) compounds in which r 3 is 2 -( methylsulphinyl ) ethyl and 2 -( methylsulphonyl ) ethyl are prepared e . g . by the oxidation of the corresponding 2 -( methylthio ) ethyl compounds using the appropriate quantity of oxidizing agent , e . g . m - chloroperbenzoic acid , in conventional manner . ( 9 ) compounds in which r 1 is -- csnh 2 are prepared e . g . as outlined below : ## str25 ## the reaction is typically carried out by heating the reactants at up to about 100 ° c . in the presence of water . the product is then isolated by conventional methods . ( 10 ) compounds in which r 1 is -- conh 2 and r 5 and r 6 are h are also prepared as shown below : ## str26 ## the reaction is typically carried out by stirring bis ( trimethylsilyl ) acetamide at - 70 ° c . in dry tetrahydrofuran ( thf ) while n - butyllithium is slowly added dropwise . the resulting solution is stirred at about - 70 ° c . for a short period , then the ketone ( iii ) in e . g . dry thf is slowly added , and the resulting mixture stirred at about - 70 ° c . for a few hours . the reaction mixture is then allowed to warm to room temperature and aqueous acid is added . the product is then isolated and purified conventionally . ( 11 ) amides of formula ( i ) in which r 2 and r 3 together with the nitrogen atom to which they are attached represent aziridinyl are prepared e . g . as follows : ## str27 ## the reaction is generally carried out at room temperature in the presence of an organic solvent , e . g . dry tetrahydrofuran . ( 12 ) the lactone intermediates of the formula ( a ) are prepared by cyclization , preferably using an ester according to the following scheme : ## str28 ## where q ═ c 1 - c 2 alkyl , phthalimido , succinimido or 1 - benzotriazolyl . these esters are prepared as previously described . the cyclization is carried out e . g . in the presence of a suitable base by stirring at room temperature . preferred bases are tertiary amine bases , e . g . triethylamine , and alkali metal hydrides , e . g . sodium hydride . the compounds of the invention contain a chiral center or centers and the invention includes both the resolved and unresolved forms . pharmaceutically acceptable acid addition salts of the compounds of the formula ( i ) are those formed from strong acids which form non - toxic acid addition salts , such as hydrchloric , hydrobromic , sulfuric , oxalic and methanesulfonic acids . the salts are obtained by conventional procedures , e . g ., by mixing solutions containing equimolar amounts of the free base and desired acid , and the required salt is collected by filtration , if insoluble , or by evaporation of the solvent . the compounds of the formula ( i ) and their pharmaceutically acceptable salts are antifungal agents , useful in combating fungal infections in animals , including humans for example , they are useful in treating topical fungal infections in man caused by , among other organisms , species of candida , trichophyton , microsporum or epidermophyton , or in mucosal infections caused by candida albicans ( e . g ., thrush and vaginal candidiasis ). they are also useful in the treatment of systemic fungal infections caused by , for example , candida albicans , cryptococcus neoformans , aspergillus fumigatus , coccidioides , paracoccidioides , histoplasma or blastomyces . the in vitro evaluation of the antifungal activity of the compounds is carried out , e . g ., by determining the minimum inhibitory concentration ( m . i . c . ), which is the concentration of the test compound in a suitable medium at which growth of the particular microorganism fails to occur . in practice , a series of agar plates , each having the test compound incorporated at a particular concentration is inoculated with a standard culture of , for example , candida albicans and each plate is then incubated for 48 hours at 37 ° c . the plates are then examined for the presence or absence of growth of the fungus and the appropriate m . i . c . value is noted . other microorganisms used in such tests include , e . g ., cryptococcus neoformans , aspergillus fumigatus , trichophyton spp ; microsporum spp ; epidermophyton floccosum , coccidioides immitis and torulopsis glabrata . the in vivo evaluation of the compounds is carried out , e . g ., at a series of dose levels by intraperitoneal or intravenous injection or by oral administration to mice which are inoculated with a strain of candida albicans . activity is based on the survival of a treated group of mice after the death of an untreated group of mice following 48 hours observation . the dose level at which the compound provides 50 % protection ( pd 50 ) against the lethal effect of the infection is noted . the in vivo oral pd 50 values for selected compounds of the invention , obtained with mice inoculated with a lethal dose of candida albicans by the method described above , are summarized in the table below . values in parenthesis were obtained in separate determinations ______________________________________ ## str29 ## ( i ) where r = 2 , 4 - cl . sub . 2 c . sub . 6 h . sub . 3 , r . sup . 5 = r . sup . 6______________________________________ = h : example oral pd . sub . 50r . sup . 1 no . ( mg / kg ) ______________________________________cn 1 , 2 1 . 3 ( 1 . 3 ) conh . sub . 2 4 , 44 , 45 0 . 2 ( 0 . 2 ) ( 0 . 2 ) conhch . sub . 3 5 , 7 , 43b 0 . 2 (˜ 0 . 4 ) ( 0 . 2 ) ## str30 ## 6 ˜ 20conhch ( ch . sub . 3 ). sub . 2 8 0 . 1con ( ch . sub . 3 ). sub . 2 9 0 . 4 ## str31 ## 10 0 . 1 ## str32 ## 11 ˜ 30 ## str33 ## 12 3 . 1 ## str34 ## 13 ˜ 40con ( c . sub . 2 h . sub . 5 ). sub . 2 14 0 . 4conhc . sub . 2 h . sub . 5 15 0 . 2conh ( 1 - admantyl ) 16 ˜ 20conhch . sub . 2 - 4 - pyridyl 17 1 . 5conhch . sub . 2 cf . sub . 3 18 0 . 4conh ( ch . sub . 2 ). sub . 5 ch . sub . 3 19 2 . 2conh - cyclopropyl 20 0 . 1conhch . sub . 2 ch . sub . 2 - 4 - clc . sub . 6 h . sub . 4 21 0 . 6conh ( ch . sub . 2 ). sub . 2 ch . sub . 3 22 0 . 2conhch . sub . 2 chch . sub . 2 24 0 . 4conhch . sub . 2 c ( ch . sub . 3 ). sub . 3 25 3 . 5conhch . sub . 2 ch . sub . 2 oh 26 2 . 2conh ( ch . sub . 2 ). sub . 2 - 4 - ch . sub . 3 c . sub . 6 h . sub . 4 27 4 . 2conh ( ch . sub . 2 ). sub . 2 n ( ch . sub . 3 ). sub . 2 28 4 . 2 ## str35 ## 29 4 . 2conhch . sub . 2 ch . sub . 2 sch . sub . 3 30 0 . 1 ## str36 ## 31 3 . 1con ( ch . sub . 3 ) ch ( ch . sub . 3 ). sub . 2 32 0 . 2conhch . sub . 2 ch . sub . 2 s ( o ) ch . sub . 3 47 0 . 2conhch . sub . 2 ch . sub . 2 s ( o . sub . 2 ) ch . sub . 3 48 0 . 1 ## str37 ## 49 4 . 2csnh . sub . 2 50 0 . 5______________________________________ example oral pd . sub . 50r . sup . 1 r r . sup . 5 r . sup . 6 no . ( mg / kg ) ______________________________________conhch . sub . 3 2 , 4 - f . sub . 2 c . sub . 6 h . sub . 3 h h 33 0 . 3cn 2 , 4 - cl . sub . 2 c . sub . 6 h . sub . 3 h ch . sub . 3 34 0 . 1cn 4 - clc . sub . 6 h . sub . 4 h ch . sub . 3 35 2 . 0conh . sub . 2 2 , 4 - cl . sub . 2 c . sub . 6 h . sub . 3 h ch . sub . 3 37 0 . 4conh . sub . 2 2 , 4 - f . sub . 2 c . sub . 6 h . sub . 3 h ch . sub . 3 38 0 . 4conh . sub . 2 4 - clc . sub . 6 h . sub . 4 h ch . sub . 3 39 0 . 5conhch . sub . 3 2 , 4 - cl . sub . 2 c . sub . 6 h . sub . 3 h ch . sub . 3 40 0 . 2conh . sub . 2 2 , 4 - cl . sub . 2 c . sub . 6 h . sub . 3 ch . sub . 3 ch . sub . 3 41d 3 . 1conhch . sub . 3 2 , 4 - cl . sub . 2 c . sub . 6 h . sub . 3 ch . sub . 3 ch . sub . 3 42 0 . 6______________________________________ for human use , the antifungal compounds of the formula ( i ) can be administered alone , but will generally be administered in admixture with a pharmaceutical carrier selected with regard to the intended route of administration and standard pharmaceutical practice . for example , they can be administered orally in the form of tablets containing such excipients as starch or lactose , or in capsules or ovules either alone or in admixture with excipients , or in the form of elixirs or suspensions containing flavoring or coloring agents . they can be injected parenterally , for example , intravenously , intramuscularly or subcutaneously . for parenteral administration , they are best used in the form of a sterile aqueous solution which may contain other substances , for example , enough salts or glucose to make the solution isotonic with blood . for oral or parenteral administration to human patients , the daily dosage level of the antifungal compounds of the formula ( i ) will be from 0 . 1 to 5 mg / kg ( in divided doses ) when administered by either the oral or parenteral route . thus tablets or capsules of the compounds will contain from 5 mg . to 0 . 5 g of active compound for administration singly or two or more at a time as appropriate . the physician in any event will determine the actual dosage which will be most suitable for an individual patient and it will vary with the age , weight and response of the particular patient . the above dosages are exemplary of the average case ; there can , of course , be individual instances where higher or lower dosage ranges are merited , and such are within the scope of this invention . alternatively , the antifungal compounds of formula ( i ) are administered in the form of a suppository or pessary , or they are applied topically in the form of a lotion , solution , cream , ointment or dusting powder . for example , they are incorporated into a cream consisting of an aqueous emulsion of polyethylene glycols or liquid paraffin ; or incorporated , at a concentration between 1 and 10 %, into an ointment consisting of a white wax or white soft paraffin base together with such stabilizers and preservatives as may be required . the compounds of the formula ( i ) and their salts also have activity against a variety of plant pathogenic fungi , including for example various rust , mildews and molds , and the compounds are thus useful for treating plants and seeds to eradicate or prevent such diseases . the in vitro evaluation of the activity of the compounds against plant fungi is determined , e . g ., by measuring their minimum inhibitory concentrations in the same way as previously described except that the plates are incubated at 30 ° c . for 48 hours or longer before being examined for the presence or absence of growth . microorganisms used in such tests include cochliobolus carbonum , pyricularia oryzae , glomerella cingulata , penicillium digitatum , botrytis cinerea and rhizoctonia solani . for agricultural and horticultural purposes the compounds and their agriculturally acceptable salts are preferably used in the form of a composition formulated as appropriate to the particular use and purpose desired . thus the compounds are applied in the form of dusting powders , or granules , seed dressings , aqueous solutions , dispersions or emulsions , dips , sprays , aerosols or smokes . compositions are also applied in the form of dispersible powders , granules or grains , or concentrates for dilution prior to use . such compositions may contain such conventional carriers , diluents or adjuvants as are known and acceptable in agriculture and horticulture and they are manufactured in accordance with conventional procedures . the compositions may also incorporate other active ingredients , for example , compounds having herbicidal or insecticidal activity or a further fungicide . the compounds and compositions can be applied in a number of ways , for example , they are applied directly to the plant foilage , stems , branches , seeds or roots or to the soil or other growing medium , and they can be used not only to eradicate disease , but also prophylactically to protect the plants or seeds from attack . the following examples illustrate the invention . all temperatures are in ° c . mixtures of solvents employed for chromatography are by volume . to 2 -( 2 , 4 - dichlorophenyl )- 2 -( 1h - 1 , 2 , 4 - triazol - 1 - ylmethyl ) oxirane ( 6 . 7 g ) in dimethylformamide ( 198 ml ) at 60 ° c . was added dropwise over 25 minutes a solution of sodium cyanide ( 2 . 84 g ) in water ( 49 ml ). heating at 60 ° c . was continued for five hours . the reaction mixture was then cooled , poured into water ( 900 ml ), and extracted with ethyl acetate ( 3 × 150 ml ). the combined organic extracts were washed with saturated aqueous brine , dried ( na 2 so 4 ) and evaporated to dryness to give a pale yellow solid ( 6 . 1 g ) which was triturated with ethyl ether . the residual solid was recrystallized from ethyl ether / methanol to give the title compound , 4 . 13 g ( 56 %), m . p . 217 °- 219 ° c . calculated for c 12 h 10 cl 2 n . sub . o : c , 48 . 5 ; h , 3 . 4 ; n , 18 . 8 . acetonitrile ( 2 . 25 g , 0 . 055 mole ) was dissolved in dry tetrahydrofuran ( 100 ml ) and the resulting solution was cooled to - 70 ° c . under nitrogen in an acetone / dry ice bath . a solution of n - butyllithium in hexane ( 39 ml , 1 . 55 molar , 0 . 060 mole ) was added dropwise over five minutes . after stirring for about 45 minutes at - 70 ° c ., 2 &# 39 ;, 4 &# 39 ;- dichloro - 2 -( 1h - 1 , 2 , 4 - triazol - 1 - yl ) acetophenone ( 12 . 8 g ) in dry tetrahydrofuran ( 100 ml ) was added dropwise over a 15 minute period . stirring was continued at - 70 ° c . for about one hour and then glacial acetic acid ( 20 ml ) in tetrahydrofuran ( 20 ml ) was added dropwise . the cooling bath was then removed . the reaction mixture was allowed to warm to 0 ° c ., quenched in water ( 400 ml ), and solid sodium carbonate was added to raise the ph to 8 . 0 . after extraction with ethyl acetate ( 3 × 75 ml ), the combined organic extracts were washed with saturated brine ( 3 × 50 ml ), dried ( na 2 so 4 ) and evaporated to a pale yellow solid . this solid was washed well with ethyl ether to give the title compound ( 6 . 61 g , 44 . 5 %), identical to the product of example 1 as confirmed by n . m . r . and i . r . spectroscopy . 1 - cyano - 2 -( 2 , 4 - difluorophenyl )- 3 -( 1h - 1 , 2 , 4 - triazol - 1 - yl ) propan - 2 - ol was prepared similarly to the previous example using 2 &# 39 ;, 4 &# 39 ;- difluoro - 2 -( 1h - 1 , 2 , 4 - triazol - 1 - yl ) acetophenone as the starting ketone . it had an m . p . of 154 °- 155 ° c . calculated for c 12 h 10 f 2 n 4 o : c , 54 . 6 ; h , 3 . 8 ; n , 21 . 2 . 3 -( 2 , 4 - dichlorophenyl )- 3 - hydroxy - 4 -( 1h - 1 , 2 , 4 - triazol - 1 - yl ) butyrimidic acid , ethyl ester dihydrochloride ( 3 . 42 g ) was suspended in 1 , 2 - dichlorobenzene ( 35 ml ) and the mixture was heated to the reflux temperature of the solvent [ 178 ° c .). after refluxing for five minutes , a solution was obtained . refluxing was then continued for an additional 10 minutes . the reaction mixture was cooled , evaporated , and the resulting gum was triturated with hexane and heated with acetone . on cooling a cream - colored granular solid was formed which was filtered to yield the title compound as a solvate ( 1 . 26 g ). on standing overnight in a refrigerator some further solvated product precipitated ( 0 . 62 g ). after drying at 80 ° c . for 6 hours to remove the solvent the pure ( unsolvated ) title compound was obtained , yield 1 . 5 g , m . p . 144 °- 145 ° c . calculated for c 12 h 12 cl 2 n 4 o 2 : c , 45 . 7 ; h , 3 . 8 ; n , 17 . 8 . 1 - carbamoyl - 2 -( 2 , 4 - dichlorophenyl )- 3 -( 1h - 1 , 2 , 4 - triazol - 1 - yl ) propan - 2 - ol ( 1 . 0 g ) was dissolved in dry tetrahydrofuran ( 20 ml ) and the reaction mixture was cooled to 0 °- 5 ° c . sodium hydride ( 0 . 15 g , as a 50 % dispersion in oil ) was then added , the mixture stirred for 10 minutes and methyl iodide ( 0 . 45 g ) added . further quantities of methyl iodide ( 90 mg ) and sodium hydride ( 375 mg , as a 50 % dispersion in oil ) were added . after stirring for a few minutes , yet further quantities of methyl iodide ( 90 mg ) and sodium hydride ( 375 mg , as a 50 % dispersion in oil ) were added . the mixture was then quenched in water and extracted with ethyl acetate ( 3 × 50 ml ). the combined organic extracts were dried ( mgso 4 ) and evaporated to give the crude product as a gum . a solution of this gum in methylene chloride ( 20 ml ) was chromatographed on a silica gel column ( 10 g ), eluting with methylene chloride ( 100 ml ), then with methylene chloride containing 2 % isopropanol and 0 . 2 % nh 4 oh ( 300 ml ), and finally with methylene chloride containing 5 % isopropanol and 0 . 5 % nh 4 oh ( 500 ml ). appropriate fractions were collected to yield the title compound , which was recrystallized from cyclohexane ( yield 41 mg , m . p . 151 °- 154 ° c .). calculated for c 13 h 14 cl 2 n 4 o 2 : c , 47 . 4 ; h , 4 . 3 ; n , 17 . 0 . 1 - cyano - 2 -( 2 , 4 - dichlorophenyl )- 3 -( 1h - 1 , 2 , 4 - triazol - 1 - yl )- 2 - propanol ( 4 g , 13 . 9 mmole ) was dissolved in 40 % aqueous sulfuric acid ( 100 ml ) and heated in an oil bath at 100 °- 110 ° c . for 18 hours . the solution was then cooled , diluted with water ( 200 ml ), and rendered alkaline by the slow addition of solid sodium bicarbonate . the mixture was then extracted several times with ethyl acetate ( 3 × 100 ml ) and the aqueous phase was rendered acidic ( ph 3 ) by the addition of dilute orthophosphoric acid . the aqueous phase was then extracted with ethyl ether ( 3 × 150 ml ), the combined ether extracts were washed once with water , and then dried over magnesium sulfate . evaporation of the ether gave the title compound as a pale yellow solid , 2 . 7 g , ( 62 %), m . p . 158 °- 159 ° c . required for c 12 h 11 cl 2 n 3 o 3 : c , 45 . 6 ; h , 3 . 5 ; n , 13 . 3 . n , n &# 39 ;- dicyclohexylcarbodiimide (&# 34 ; dccd &# 34 ;) ( 110 mg , 0 . 5 mmole ) dissolved in dry dioxan ( 5 ml ) was added to a solution of 1 - carboxy - 2 -( 2 , 4 - dichlorophenyl )- 3 -( 1h - 1 , 2 , 4 - triazol - 1 - yl ) propan - 2 - ol ( 150 mg , 0 . 5 mmole ) and n - hydroxysuccinimide (&# 34 ; nhs &# 34 ;) ( 60 mg , 0 . 5 mmole ) in dry dioxan ( 10 ml ), and the mixture was stirred at room temperature for 2 hours . the precipitate was filtered off , washed with dry dioxan ( 10 ml ) and the combined filtrate and washings were then added to a solution of morpholine ( 300 mg , 3 . 4 mmole ) in dry dioxan ( 2 ml ). the resultant solution was left at room temperature for 18 hours , diluted with ethyl acetate ( 100 ml ), washed three times with saturated brine solution and dried over magnesium sulfate . evaporation of the filtrate gave an oil ( 300 mg ) which was then chromatographed on &# 34 ; kieselgel 60h &# 34 ; ( merck , trade mark ) silica ( 10 g ), eluting with methylene chloride containing 2 % isopropyl alcohol and 0 . 2 % aqueous ammonium hydroxide ( sp . gr . 0 . 880 ). the title compound was obtained after evaporation of appropriate fractions as a colorless solid , 110 mg ( 57 %), m . p . 92 °- 93 ° c . required for c 16 h 18 n 4 cl 2 o 3 . h 2 o : 47 . 8 ; h , 5 . 0 ; n , 13 . 9 . the following compounds were prepared similarly to the previous example , starting from the same acid , dcdd / nhs and the appropriate amine : __________________________________________________________________________ ## str42 ## analysis % example theoretical in bracketsno . r . sup . 1 m . p . (° c .) c h n__________________________________________________________________________7 conhch . sub . 3 151 - 3 ° ( identical to the product of example 5 ) 8 conhch ( ch . sub . 3 ). sub . 2 105 - 107 ° 50 . 7 5 . 2 15 . 3 ( 50 . 6 5 . 1 15 . 7 ) 9 con ( ch . sub . 3 ). sub . 2 125 - 126 . 5 ° 48 . 95 4 . 65 16 . 3 ( 49 . 1 4 . 7 16 . 4 ) 10 ## str43 ## glass , 64 - 65 ° 52 . 15 ( 52 . 05 3 . 95 3 . 9 12 . 5 12 . 8 ) ( as trihydrate ) 11 ## str44 ## glass , 63 - 5 ° 45 . 3 ( 45 . 1 4 . 4 5 . 6 14 . 4 14 . 6 ) ( as hemihydrate ) 12 ## str45 ## glass , 58 - 60 ° 49 . 2 ( 49 . 1 5 . 1 5 . 2 15 . 0 15 . 1 ) 13 ## str46 ## glass , 40 - 41 ° 52 . 4 ( 52 . 2 5 . 05 4 . 9 15 . 0 15 . 2 ) 14 con ( c . sub . 2 h . sub . 5 ). sub . 2 glass , 51 . 9 5 . 5 15 . 0 60 - 62 ° ( 51 . 8 5 . 4 15 . 1 ) 15 conhc . sub . 2 h . sub . 5 129 - 130 ° 49 . 0 4 . 8 15 . 8 ( 49 . 0 4 . 7 16 . 3 ) 16 conh ( 1 - adamantyl ) 91 - 92 ° 58 . 7 6 . 1 12 . 0 ( 58 . 8 5 . 8 12 . 5 ) ( as hemihydrate ) 17 ## str47 ## glass , 48 - 50 ° 52 . 3 ( 52 . 1 4 . 2 4 . 3 16 . 5 16 . 8 ) 18 conhch . sub . 2 cf . sub . 3 glass , 42 . 6 3 . 5 13 . 6 60 - 62 ° ( 42 . 3 3 . 3 14 . 1 ) 19 conh ( ch . sub . 2 ). sub . 5 ch . sub . 3 114 - 116 ° 54 . 2 6 . 1 14 . 1 ( 54 . 1 6 . 1 14 . 0 ) 20 ## str48 ## 122 - 123 ° 50 . 6 ( 50 . 7 4 . 6 4 . 5 15 . 6 15 . 8 ) 21 ## str49 ## 142 - 143 ° 52 . 9 ( 52 . 9 4 . 2 4 . 2 12 . 2 12 . 3 ) ( as hydrochloride ) 22 conh ( ch . sub . 2 ). sub . 2 ch . sub . 3 169 - 170 ° 45 . 7 4 . 8 14 . 0 ( 45 . 8 4 . 9 14 . 2 ) ( as hydrochloride hemihydrate ) 23 conhch . sub . 2 conh . sub . 2 188 - 191 ° 40 . 6 4 . 05 16 . 9 ( 40 . 2 4 . 1 16 . 8 ) ( as oxalate 1 / 2 hydrate ) 24 conhch . sub . 2chch . sub . 2 glass 45 . 4 4 . 3 12 . 0 ( 45 . 4 4 . 1 12 . 4 ) 25 conhch . sub . 2 c ( ch . sub . 3 ). sub . 3 135 - 137 ° 53 . 2 5 . 9 14 . 7 ( 53 . 0 5 . 8 14 . 5 ) ( as 1 / 4 hydrate ) 26 conhch . sub . 2 ch . sub . 2 oh 143 - 145 ° 46 . 1 4 . 4 15 . 3 ( 46 . 2 4 . 6 15 . 4 ) 27 ## str50 ## 144 - 145 ° 58 . 2 ( 58 . 2 5 . 1 5 . 1 12 . 8 12 . 9 ) ( as dihydrochloride dihydrate ) 28 conh ( ch . sub . 2 ). sub . 2 n ( ch . sub . 3 ). sub . 2 107 - 110 ° 38 . 8 5 . 2 13 . 6 ( 38 . 8 5 . 1 14 . 2 ) ( contains 1 mole of cyclohexane ) 29 ## str51 ## 102 - 105 ° 56 . 6 ( 56 . 6 5 . 4 5 . 3 10 . 9 11 . 0 ) 30 conhch . sub . 2 ch . sub . 2 sch . sub . 3 154 - 156 ° 42 . 6 4 . 5 13 . 3 ( 42 . 3 4 . 5 13 . 2 ) 31 ## str52 ## 137 - 9 ° 51 . 0 ( 51 . 1 4 . 0 4 . 1 11 . 9 11 . 9 ) 32 con ( ch . sub . 3 )( ch [ ch . sub . 3 ]. sub . 2 ) 131 - 2 ° 51 . 7 5 . 3 15 . 2 ( 51 . 8 5 . 4 15 . 1 ) __________________________________________________________________________ the following compound was prepared by the procedure of example 6 , starting from 1 - carboxy - 2 -( 2 , 4 - difluorophenyl )- 3 -( 1h - 1 , 2 , 4 - triazol - 1 - yl )- propan - 2 - ol , &# 34 ; dccd &# 34 ;, &# 34 ; nhs &# 34 ; and methylamine : ## str53 ## calculated for c 13 h 14 f 2 n 4 o 2 : c , 52 . 7 ; h , 4 . 8 ; n , 18 . 9 . propionitrile ( 1 . 21 g ) in dry tetrahydrofuran ( 50 ml ) was cooled to - 72 ° c . a solution of n - butyllithium in n - hexane ( 14 . 2 ml , 1 . 55 molar ) was then slowly added while maintaining the temperature of the reaction mixture at - 45 ° c . or below . after stirring for about 30 minutes , 2 -( 1h - 1 , 2 , 4 - triazol - 1 - yl )- 2 &# 39 ;, 4 &# 39 ;- dichloroacetophenone ( 2 . 56 g ) in dry tetrahydrofuran ( thf ) ( 50 ml ) was added slowly with stirring over a 20 minute period , the temperature of the mixture being maintained at - 70 ° c . stirring was continued at this temperature for one hour and then at - 10 ° for a half hour , then glacial acetic acid ( 10 ml ) in dry thf ( 15 ml ) was added . the reaction mixture was allowed to warm to room temperature ( 20 ° c . ), adjusted to ph 8 with solid sodium bicarbonate , and extracted with ethyl acetate ( 3 × 75 ml ). the combined organic extracts were washed three times with water , dried ( mgso 4 ), evaporated and ethyl ether ( 30 ml ) was added to the residue , yielding a white crystalline solid and a yellow solution . the solid was filtered off , dissolved in a small volume of methylene chloride , and loaded onto an 18 g flash chromatography column of merck &# 39 ; s &# 34 ; kieselgel 60 &# 34 ; ( trade mark ) 230 - 400 mesh silica in ether ( 11 × 2 cm . diameter ). elution was carried out using 5 % ( by volume ) acetone in ether at one p . s . i . ( 0 . 07 kg / m 2 ) &# 34 ; diastereoisomer 1 &# 34 ; of the title compound was eluted first , 0 . 79 g , m . p . 178 °- 180 ° c . calculated for c 13 h 12 cl 2 n 4 o : c , 50 . 2 ; h , 3 . 9 ; n , 18 . 0 . &# 34 ; diastereoisomer 2 &# 34 ; of the title compound was eluted next , 0 . 244 g , m . p . 202 °- 205 ° c . calculated for c 13 h 12 cl 2 n 4 o : c , 50 . 2 ; h , 3 . 9 ; n ; 18 . 0 . the following compounds were prepared similarly to the previous example , starting from the appropriate acetophenone , n - buli / c 2 h 5 cn and glacial acetic acid . ______________________________________ ## str55 ## analysis % example m . p . theoretical in bracketsno . r (° c .) c h n______________________________________35 ## str56 ## 159 - 162 ° 56 . 4 ( 56 . 4 4 . 8 4 . 7 20 . 0 20 . 2 ) 36 ## str57 ## 185 - 187 ° 56 . 2 ( 56 . 1 4 . 3 4 . 3 20 . 0 20 . 1 ) ______________________________________ 3 - cyano - 2 -( 2 , 4 - dichlorophenyl )- 1 -( 1h - 1 , 2 , 4 - triazol - yl ) butan - 2 - ol ( 700 mg , diastereoisomer 1 from the previous example ) was heated for 51 / 2 hours at 90 °- 95 ° c . in 40 % ( by volume ) aqueous sulfuric acid . the solution was then stirred at room temperature ( 20 ° c .) for 19 hours , after which time saturated aqueous sodium bicarbonate solution was added to raise the ph to 8 . 0 . the solution was then extracted with ethyl acetate ( 3 × 50 ml ). the combined organic extracts were washed with water , dried ( mgso 4 ) and evaporated to yield the 3 - carbamoyl title compound , 105 mg , m . p . 215 °- 217 ° c . after trituration with ethyl ether . calculated for c 13 h 14 cl 2 n 4 o 2 . 1 / 4h 2 o : the aqueous phases resulting from the ethyl acetate extractions were combined , acidified to ph 2 . 0 with dilute hydrochloric acid , and extracted with ethyl acetate ( 3 × 50 ml ). the combined organic extracts were washed with water , dried ( mgso 4 ) and evaporated to yield the title acid . after trituration with ethyl ether , the pure acid , 485 mg , m . p . 236 °- 238 ° c ., was obtained . calculated for c 13 h 13 cl 2 n 3 o 3 : c , 47 . 3 ; h , 4 . 0 ; n , 12 . 7 . 3 - carbamoyl - 2 -( 2 , 4 - difluorophenyl )- 1 -( 1h - 1 , 2 , 4 - triazol - 1 - yl ) butan - 2 - ol 1 / 4 hydrate , m . p . 170 °- 172 ° c ., was prepared similarly to the previous example by the hydrolysis of the corresponding nitrile prepared in example 36 but using 80 % ( w / w ) aqueous sulfuric acid . calculated for c 13 h 14 f 2 n 4 o 2 . 1 / 4h 2 o : the mixture of diastereomeric nitriles from example 35 ( 3 . 9 g ) was heated in sulfuric acid ( 80 % by weight , 100 ml ) for four hours at 60 ° c . the reaction mixture was then cooled , diluted with water ( 200 ml ), and calcium carbonate ( 50 g ) was added in small portions with external cooling ( ice bath ). the mixture was then filtered , and the material which had been filtered off was washed well with water ( 200 ml ) and methanol ( 200 ml ). the washings were added to the filtrate , evaporated to dryness , and the residue extracted with ethyl acetate ( 3 × 100 ml ). the extracts were combined , dried ( mgso 4 ), and evaporated to a white solid , 2 . 73 g . this material was absorbed onto 7 g of silica gel by dissolution in the minimum quantity of a chloroform : methanol mixture ( 5 : 1 , v / v ), addition of the silica gel , and evaporation of the solvents . this silica gel was added as a suspension in ether to a silica gel column ( 25 g ) and eluted with ether containing an increasing proportion of ethanol ( 2 → 10 %). a proportion of the least polar amide diastereoisomer was eluted first in a pure state , and was recrystallized from ethyl acetate to give colorless crystals of one isomer of the title compound , m . p . 223 °- 225 ° c ., 105 mg . c 13 h 15 cln 4 o 2 requires : c , 53 . 0 ; h , 5 . 1 ; n , 19 . 0 . the remainder of the product was eluted as a mixture containing both the diastereoisomer characterized above and its more polar diastereomer ( 1 : 4 by nmr ). recrystallization from ethyl acetate gave colorless crystals , m . p . 186 °- 189 ° c ., 404 mg . c 13 h 15 cln 4 o 2 requires : c , 53 . 0 ; h , 5 . 1 ; n , 19 . 0 . 3 - carboxy - 2 -( 2 , 4 - dichlorophenyl )- 1 -( 1h - 1 , 2 , 4 - triazol - 1 - yl ) butan - 2 - ol ( 330 mg ) was added to dry dioxan ( 10 ml ) followed by 1 - hydroxybenzotriazole hydrate (&# 34 ; hobt &# 34 ;) ( 203 mg ) and dicyclohexylcarbodiimide (&# 34 ; dccd &# 34 ;) ( 618 mg ). after stirring for 1 hour at room temperature ( 20 ° c . ), methylamine ( 278 mg of 33 % [ by volume ] solution in ethanol ) was added and stirring was continued overnight ( 20 hours ). the resulting precipitate of dicyclohexylurea was removed by filtration . the filtrate was added to water ( 50 ml ) and solid sodium bicarbonate was added to ph 8 . the mixture was then extracted with ethyl acetate ( 3 × 50 ml ) and the combined organic extracts were washed with water , dried ( mgso 4 ) and evaporated . the residue was dissolved in a small volume of methylene chloride and chromatographed on a merck &# 34 ; kieselgel 60 &# 34 ; ( trade mark ) silica flash column in ethyl ether . elution with ether ( 100 ml ) followed by 15 % ( by volume ) ethanol in ether ( 300 ml ) yielded , by collection of appropriate fractions , the title compound , 29 mg . m . p . 242 °- 244 ° c . since the recovered dicyclohexylurea contained a further quantity of the title compound , this was dissolved in a small amount of methanol and absorbed onto merck &# 39 ; s &# 34 ; kieselgel 60 &# 34 ; ( trade mark ) silica ( 3 g ), and the resulting slurry was then loaded onto a 10 g flash column of this material in ethyl ether . elution with 10 % ( by volume ) ethanol in ether , and collection of appropriate fractions followed by recrystallization from isopropanol , yielded a further quantity of the title compound ( 81 mg ). calculated for c 14 h 16 cl 2 n 4 o 2 : c , 49 . 0 ; h , 4 . 7 ; n , 16 . 3 . 2 -( 1h - 1 , 2 , 4 - triazol - 1 - yl )- 2 &# 39 ;, 4 &# 39 ;- dichloroacetophenone ( 2 . 56 g ) in dry tetrahydrofuran ( 20 ml ) and ethyl alpha - bromoisobutyrate ( 1 . 475 ml ) in dry ether ( 10 ml ) were added simultaneously to granulated zinc ( 1 . 5 g ) in toluene ( 10 ml ) over 20 minutes . the reaction mixture was then heated at 80 ° c . for 18 hours . the cooled reaction mixture was poured onto ice - cold sulfuric acid ( 0 . 2n , 125 ml ) and extracted with ether ( 200 ml ). the ether extract was washed with brine , dried ( mgso 4 ), and concentrated in vacuo . the residue was flash chromatographed on silica ( 120 g ) and eluted with 80 % ethyl acetate / 20 % hexane . the initial fractions yielded the title ester , which was crystallized from ethyl acetate / hexane , yield of the pure product , 61 mg , m . p . 95 °- 96 ° c . calculated for c 16 h 19 cl 2 n 3 o 3 : c , 51 . 6 ; h , 5 . 1 ; n , 11 . 3 . the later fractions on evaporation gave the title beta - lactone , which was recrystallized from ethyl acetate / hexane , yield of the pure product 240 mg , m . p . 177 °- 178 ° c . calculated for c 14 h 13 cl 2 n 3 o 2 : c , 51 . 5 ; h , 4 . 0 ; n , 12 . 9 . to a solution of 2 -( 2 , 4 - dichlorophenyl )- 3 - ethoxy - carbonyl - 3 - methyl - 1 -( 1h - 1 , 2 , 4 - triazol - 1 - yl ) butan - 2 - ol ( 75 mg ) in ethanol ( 5 ml ), aqueous ammonia ( sp . gr . 0 . 88 , 12 ml ) was added and the solution was left at room temperature ( 20 ° c .) for eight days . the solvent was then evaporated in vacuo , the residue was partitioned between methylene chloride and water , and the organic extracts were washed with brine and dried ( mgso 4 ). removal of solvent followed by flash chromatography on silica ( 30 g ) and elution with a mixture of methylene chloride / methanol / ammonia ( 93 : 7 : 1 ) gave the title compound , m . p . 162 °- 163 ° c . ( 34 . 5 mg ). calculated for c 14 h 16 cl 2 n 4 o 2 : c , 49 . 0 ; h , 4 . 7 ; n , 16 . 3 . 1 - carbamoyl - 2 -( 2 , 4 - dichlorophenyl )- 3 -( 1h - 1 , 2 , 4 - triazol - 1 - yl ) propan - 2 - ol was prepared similarly to parts ( a ) and ( b ) above from appropriate starting materials , and was confirmed spectroscopically to be identical to the product of example 4 . a solution of 4 -( 2 , 4 - dichlorophenyl )- 3 , 3 - dimethyl - 4 -( 1h - 1 , 2 , 4 - triazol - 1 - yl - methyl )- beta - propiolactone ( 70 mg ) in ethanol ( 4 ml ) was treated with 0 . 88 sp . gr . ammonia ( 6 ml ) and left to stand at room temperature for five days . the reaction mixture was then evaporated in vacuo and extracted and chromatographed by the method described in part ( b ) above to yield the title compound , m . p . 162 °- 163 ° c ., ( 41 mg ). calculated for c 14 h 16 cl 2 n 4 o 2 : c , 49 . 0 ; h , 4 . 7 ; n , 16 . 3 . a solution of 4 -( 2 , 4 - dichlorophenyl )- 3 , 3 - dimethyl - 4 -( 1h - 1 , 2 , 4 - triazol - 1 - ylmethyl )- beta - propiolactone ( 200 mg ) in ethanol ( 5 ml ) was treated with a solution of 35 % ( by volume ) methylamine in ethanol ( 5 ml ), and the resulting solution was left to stand overnight at room temperature ( 20 ° c .). after evaporating residual methylamine and ethanol , the residue was triturated with hexane and the resulting solid was crystallized from ethyl acetate / hexane to yield the title compound , m . p . 145 °- 146 ° c ., ( 120 mg ). calculated for c 15 h 18 cl 2 n 4 o 2 : c , 50 . 4 ; h , 5 . 0 ; n , 15 . 7 . 3 - carboxy - 2 -( 2 , 4 - dichlorophenyl )- 1 -( 1h - 1 , 2 , 4triazol - 1 - yl ) propan - 2 - ol ( 948 mg ) was dissolved in dry dioxan ( 20 ml ) and 1 - hydroxybenzotriazole hydrate ( 0 . 61 g ) followed by dicyclohexylcarbodiimide ( 1 . 85 g ), was then added . the resulting mixture was stirred at room temperature ( 20 ° c .) for two hours , triethylamine ( 455 mg ) was added and stirring was continued overnight ( 19 hours ). the mixture was added to water ( 100 ml ) and extracted with ethyl acetate ( 3 × 50 ml ). the precipitate of dicyclohexylurea was removed by filtration after the first extraction . the combined organic extracts were washed with water , dried ( mgso 4 ) and evaporated . the residue was dissolved in a small amount of methylene chloride and loaded onto a flash column of merck &# 39 ; s &# 34 ; kieselgel 60 &# 34 ; ( trade mark ) silica ( 12 g , 230 - 400 mesh ) in ethyl ether . elution with ethyl ether ( 100 ml ) and then with 5 % ( by volume ) acetone in ether ( 300 ml ) gave , after collection of appropriate fractions , the title compound , 600 mg , m . p . 178 °- 180 ° c . calculated for c 12 h 9 cl 2 n 3 o 2 : c , 48 . 4 ; h , 3 . 0 ; n , 14 . 1 . this reaction was carried out by the method of example 42 using the starting materials specified in the reaction scheme to give the title compound , confirmed spectroscopically to be the desired product and to be identical to the product of example 5 . this reaction was carried out by the method of example 41 ( d ) using the beta - propiolactone provided above to give the title compound , confirmed spectroscopically to be the desired product and to be identical to the product of example 4 . bis ( trimethylsilyl ) acetamide ( bsa ) ( 1 . 99 g ) was stirred at - 70 ° c . in dry tetrahydrofuran ( 15 ml ) while n - butyllithium in hexane ( 6 . 3 ml , 1 . 55m ) was added dropwise over ten minutes . the resulting solution was stirred at - 70 ° c . for 30 minutes , then a solution of 2 -( 1h - 1 , 2 , 4 - triazol - 1 - yl )- 2 &# 39 ;, 4 &# 39 ;- dichloroacetophenone ( 1 . 0 g ) in dry tetrahydrofuran ( 10 ml ) was added dropwise over 10 minutes , and the mixture was stirred for 11 / 2 hours at - 70 ° c . the reaction mixture was allowed to warm to room temperature , and water ( 5 ml ) and hydrochloric acid ( 7 ml , 2n ) were added . the mixture was adjusted to ph 8 by the addition of solid sodium bicarbonate , and extracted with ethyl acetate ( 3 × 10 ml ). the combined extracts were washed with saturated sodium chloride solution ( 3 × 10 ml ), dried ( mgso 4 ), and evaporated to a gum , 1 . 1 g . this gum was chromatographed on silica (&# 34 ; kieselgel 60 &# 34 ;, merck ), eluting with ether containing 5 % by volume ethanol . after the elution of unreacted ketone , the product was eluted . the product - containing fractions were combined and evaporated to give the pure title compound , ( 0 . 21 g ), confirmed spectroscopically to be identical to the product of example 4 . 1 - cyano - 2 -( 2 , 4 - dichlorophenyl )- 3 -( 1h - 1 , 2 , 4 - triazol - 1 - yl ) propan - 2 - ol ( 1 . 0 g ) was heated at 60 ° c . for 21 / 2 hours in sulfuric acid ( 10 ml , 80 % w / w ). the mixture was cooled to room temperature , carefully treated with water ( 100 ml ), and adjusted to ph 9 with solid sodium hydroxide . the resulting solution was extracted with methylene chloride ( 3 × 50 ml ), and the combined extracts evaporated to a gum , which was chromatographed on silica gel , eluting with methylene chloride containing 3 % by volume methanol , increasing to 6 % methanol . the fractions which contained the product ( as judged by thin - layer chromatography ) were combined and evaporated to a white solid , 0 . 91 g . this was dissolved in a mixture of acetone and methylene chloride at reflux and the product was precipitated by the addition of hexane to give fine crystals , m . p . 144 °- 145 . 5 ° c ., 0 . 61 g , confirmed spectroscopically to be identical with the product of example 4 after drying under vacuum for 7 hours at 80 ° c . 2 -( 2 , 4 - dichlorophenyl )- 1 -[ n -( 2 -[ methylthio ] ethyl ) carbamoyl ]- 3 -( 1h - 1 , 2 , 4 - triazol - 1 - yl ) propan - 2 - ol ( 0 . 8 g ) and m - chloroperbenzoic acid ( 85 %, 0 . 35 g , 1 equiv .) were stirred at room temperature in a mixture of isopropanol and methylene chloride ( 1 : 1 , v / v , 40 ml ) for two days . the solvents were then removed under reduced pressure , and the residue was chromatographed on silica ( merck , &# 34 ; kieselgel 60 &# 34 ;, 25 g ), eluting with a mixture of chloroform , methanol and ammonia ( sp . gr . 0 . 880 ) ( 160 : 20 : 5 , v / v ). a portion of the isomer which was eluted first was obtained pure , 116 mg , m . p . 168 °- 170 ° c . c 15 h 18 cl 2 n 4 o 3 s requires : c , 44 . 4 ; h , 4 . 5 ; n , 13 . 8 . the bulk of the material eluted as a mixture containing both diastereoisomers ( 330 mg ). this material was used in the preparation of the sulphone which follows . the unseparated mixture of diastereoisomers from the previous example ( 330 mg ) and m - chloroperbenzoic acid ( 140 mg ) were stirred together in a mixture of isopropanol and methylene chloride ( 1 : 1 , v / v , 20 ml ) at 0 ° c . after one hour at 0 ° c ., the reaction mixture was allowed to reach room temperature and was stirred overnight . the solvents were then removed under reduced pressure , and the residue was dissolved in ethyl acetate ( 50 ml ). the resulting solution was washed with saturated sodium bicarbonate solution ( 2 × 20 ml ), then with saturated sodium chloride solution ( 2 × 20 ml ), dried ( mgso 4 ), and evaporated to a gum which was triturated with diisopropyl ether to give a white solid , 209 mg , m . p . 123 °- 124 ° c . c 15 h 18 cl 2 n 4 o 4 s requires : c , 42 . 8 ; h , 4 . 3 ; n , 13 . 3 . 1 ( n -[ 2 - hydroxyethyl ] carbamoyl )- 2 -( 2 , 4 - dichlorophenyl )- 3 -( 1h - 1 , 2 , 4 - triazol - 1 - yl ) propan - 2 - ol ( 1 . 0 g ), triphenylphosphine ( 1 . 09 g ) and diethyl azodicarboxylate ( 0 . 72 g ) were stirred at room temperature for 20 hours in dry tetrahydrofuran ( 20 ml ). the reaction mixture was then diluted with water ( 70 ml ) and extracted with ethyl acetate ( 3 × 5 ml ). the combined organic extracts were washed with saturated sodium chloride solution ( 2 × 20 ml ), dried ( mgso 4 ), and evaporated to a brown gum . this material was chromatographed on merck &# 34 ; kieselgel 60 &# 34 ; silica , eluting with 5 % by volume ethanol in ether increasing to 10 % ethanol in ether . the eluted material , which was one compound as judged by thin - layer chromatography , was crystallized from ethyl acetate / n - pentane to give colorless crystals of the title compound , 441 mg , m . p . 151 °- 153 ° c . c 14 h 14 cl 2 n 4 o 2 requires : c , 49 . 3 ; h , 4 . 1 ; n , 16 . 4 . a mixture of 1 - cyano - 2 -( 2 ., 4 - dichlorophenyl )- 3 -( 1h - 1 , 2 , 4 - triazol - 1 - yl ) propan - 2 - ol ( 250 mg ), 0 , 0 - diethyl dithiophosphoric acid ( 0 . 5 ml ) and water ( 0 . 1 ml ) was heated on steam bath for three hours , evaporated under reduced pressure to an oil , and chromatographed on &# 34 ; merck 60h &# 34 ; trademark ) silica ( 10 g ) eluting with ethyl acetate . the eluted product , after evaporation , was triturated under petroleum ether ( b . p . 40 °- 60 ° c .) to give the title compound as a yellow solid ( 143 mg ), m . p 158 °- 159 ° c . calculated for c 12 h 12 cl 2 n 4 os : c , 43 . 6 ; h , 3 . 6 ; n , 16 . 9 . the following illustrate pharmaceutical compositions for the treatment of fungal infections : ( a ) capsule : 71 parts by weight of the compound of example 1 or 2 are granulated with 3 parts maize starch and 22 parts lactose and then a further 3 parts maize starch and 1 part magnesium stearate are added . the mixture is regranulated and filled into hard gelatin capsules . ( b ) cream : 2 parts by weight of the compound of example 3 are dissolved in 10 parts of propylene glycol and mixed into 88 parts of a vanishing cream base . ( c ) pessary 2 parts by weight of the compound of example 5 are suspended in 98 parts of a warm liquified suppository base which is poured into molds and allowed to solidify . by employing the appropriate 2 - r - substituted - 2 -( 1h - 1 , 2 , 4 - triazol - 1 - ylmethyl ) oxirane in the procedure of example 1 or the appropriate ketone in the procedure of example 2 the following nitriles are obtained . ______________________________________ ## str63 ## r r______________________________________4 - fc . sub . 6 h . sub . 4 3 - fc . sub . 6 h . sub . 44 - clc . sub . 6 h . sub . 4 3 - ic . sub . 6 h . sub . 44 - brc . sub . 6 h . sub . 4 3 - br - 5 - ic . sub . 6 h . sub . 34 - ic . sub . 6 h . sub . 4 2 - cl - 4 - cf . sub . 3 c . sub . 6 h . sub . 34 - cf . sub . 3 c . sub . 6 h . sub . 4 2 , 4 -( cf . sub . 3 ). sub . 2 c . sub . 6 h . sub . 32 - clc . sub . 6 h . sub . 4 2 , 4 - br . sub . 2 c . sub . 6 h . sub . 32 - brc . sub . 6 h . sub . 4 2 , 5 - cl . sub . 2 c . sub . 6 h . sub . 32 , 5 - f . sub . 2 c . sub . 6 h . sub . 3 5 - chloro - 2 - pyridyl2 - f - 4 - clc . sub . 6 h . sub . 3 4 - ch . sub . 3 c . sub . 6 h . sub . 42 - cl - 4 - fc . sub . 6 h . sub . 3 4 -( ch . sub . 3 ). sub . 2 chc . sub . 6 h . sub . 42 , 4 , 6 - f . sub . 3 c . sub . 6 h . sub . 2 4 -( ch . sub . 3 ). sub . 3 cc . sub . 6 h . sub . 44 - br - 2 , 5 - f . sub . 2 c . sub . 6 h . sub . 2 4 - - n - c . sub . 4 h . sub . 9 c . sub . 6 h . sub . 42 - cl - 4 - ch . sub . 3 c . sub . 6 h . sub . 3 2 - cl - 4 - ch . sub . 3 oc . sub . 6 h . sub . 34 - ch . sub . 3 oc . sub . 6 h . sub . 4 4 - - n - c . sub . 4 h . sub . 9 oc . sub . 6 h . sub . 44 - cl - 2 - ch . sub . 3 oc . sub . 6 h . sub . 3 2 - cl - 4 - - n - c . sub . 3 h . sub . 7 oc . sub . 6 h . sub . 3______________________________________ the nitriles provided in the previous example are converted to imido ether hydrochlorides by the method described in preparation a and this intermediate is converted to an amide of the formula below by the method of example 4 . ## str64 ## where r is as defined in the previous example . employing the nitrile provided in example 3 as starting material in the hydrolysis procedure of example 6 , part a , provided 1 - carboxy - 2 -( 2 , 4 - difluorophenyl )- 3 -( 1h - 1 , 2 , 4 - triazol - 1 - yl ) propan - 2 - ol , m . p . 185 °- 187 ° c . calculated for c 12 h 11 f 2 n 3 o 3 : c , 50 , 0 ; h , 3 . 9 ; n , 14 . 8 . the remaining nitriles provided in example 52 are converted to the corresponding carboxylic acid of the formula below in like manner . ## str65 ## the above carboxylic acids are reacted with the appropriate amine of formula hnr 2 r 3 by the procedure of example 6 , part b , to provide the amides of the formula below . ______________________________________r r . sup . 2 r . sup . 3______________________________________4 - fc . sub . 6 h . sub . 4 h c . sub . 2 h . sub . 54 - clc . sub . 6 h . sub . 4 ch . sub . 3 c . sub . 2 h . sub . 54 - brc . sub . 6 h . sub . 4 h ( ch . sub . 2 ). sub . 5 ch . sub . 34 - ic . sub . 6 h . sub . 4 c . sub . 2 h . sub . 5 c . sub . 2 h . sub . 54 - cf . sub . 3 c . sub . 6 h . sub . 4 ( ch . sub . 2 ). sub . 3 ch . sub . 3 ( ch . sub . 2 ). sub . 3 ch . sub . 32 - clc . sub . 6 h . sub . 4 ( ch . sub . 2 ). sub . 3 ch ( ch . sub . 3 ). sub . 2 ( ch . sub . 2 ). sub . 3 ch ( ch . sub . 3 ). sub . 22 - brc . sub . 6 h . sub . 4 ch . sub . 3 c . sub . 6 h . sub . 5 ch . sub . 22 , 5 - f . sub . 2 c . sub . 6 h . sub . 3 ( ch . sub . 2 ). sub . 3 ch . sub . 3 4 - ch . sub . 3 c . sub . 6 h . sub . 4 ch . sub . 22 - f - 4 - clc . sub . 6 h . sub . 3 h 4 - t - c . sub . 4 h . sub . 9 c . sub . 6 h . sub . 4 ch . sub . 2 ch . sub . 22 - cl - 4 - fc . sub . 6 h . sub . 3 ch . sub . 3 4 - ch . sub . 3 oc . sub . 6 h . sub . 4 ch . sub . 22 , 4 , 6 - f . sub . 3 c . sub . 6 h . sub . 2 ( ch . sub . 2 ). sub . 5 ch . sub . 3 4 - i - c . sub . 4 h . sub . 9 oc . sub . 6 h . sub . 4 ch . sub . 24 - br - 2 , 5 - f . sub . 2 c . sub . 6 h . sub . 2 ch . sub . 3 3 - clc . sub . 6 h . sub . 4 ch . sub . 2 ch . sub . 22 - cl - 4 - ch . sub . 3 c . sub . 6 h . sub . 3 h 3 - cf . sub . 3 c . sub . 6 h . sub . 44 - ch . sub . 3 oc . sub . 6 h . sub . 4 c . sub . 2 h . sub . 5 2 , 4 - br . sub . 2 c . sub . 6 h . sub . 34 - cl - 2 - ch . sub . 3 oc . sub . 6 h . sub . 3 h 3 , 5 - i . sub . 2 c . sub . 6 h . sub . 3 ch . sub . 23 - fc . sub . 6 h . sub . 4 h ch . sub . 2 cf . sub . 33 - ic . sub . 6 h . sub . 4 h 1 - adamantyl3 - brc . sub . 6 h . sub . 4 h 2 - adamantyl3 - br - 5 - ic . sub . 6 h . sub . 3 c . sub . 2 h . sub . 5 2 - pyridylmethyl2 - cl - 4 - cf . sub . 3 c . sub . 6 h . sub . 3 h 3 - pyridylmethyl2 , 4 ( cf . sub . 3 ). sub . 2 c . sub . 6 h . sub . 3 h cyclopentyl2 , 4 - br . sub . 2 c . sub . 6 h . sub . 3 h cyclopropyl2 , 4 - cl . sub . 2 c . sub . 6 h . sub . 3 ch . sub . 3 cyclohexyl2 , 4 - cl . sub . 2 c . sub . 6 h . sub . 3 h cyclobutyl2 , 5 - cl . sub . 2 c . sub . 6 h . sub . 3 ch . sub . 3 cycloheptyl5 - chloro - 2 - pyridyl h 4 - pyridylmethyl5 - chloro - 2 - pyridyl ch . sub . 3 ch . sub . 35 - chloro - 2 - pyridyl h c . sub . 2 h . sub . 55 - chloro - 2 - pyridyl h cyclopentyl5 - chloro - 2 - pyridyl h ch . sub . 2 conh . sub . 24 - ch . sub . 3 c . sub . 6 h . sub . 4 ch . sub . 3 ch . sub . 3 ch . sub . 2 chchch . sub . 24 -( ch . sub . 3 ). sub . 2 chc . sub . 6 h . sub . 4 h ch . sub . 3 chchch . sub . 24 -( ch . sub . 3 ). sub . 2 cc . sub . 6 h . sub . 4 c . sub . 2 h . sub . 5 ch . sub . 2chch . sub . 24 - n - c . sub . 4 h . sub . 9 c . sub . 6 h . sub . 4 ch . sub . 3 ch . sub . 2 ch . sub . 2 oh2 - cl - 4 - ch . sub . 3 oc . sub . 6 h . sub . 3 h ( ch . sub . 3 ). sub . 2 nch . sub . 2 ch . sub . 24 - n - c . sub . 4 h . sub . 9 oc . sub . 6 h . sub . 4 h ch . sub . 3 sch . sub . 2 ch . sub . 22 - cl - 4 - n - c . sub . 3 h . sub . 7 oc . sub . 6 h . sub . 3 ch . sub . 3 ## str67 ## 2 , 4 - cl . sub . 2 c . sub . 6 h . sub . 3 h ch . sub . 3 s ( o . sub . 2 ) ch . sub . 2 ch . sub . 22 , 4 - cl . sub . 2 c . sub . 6 h . sub . 3 c . sub . 2 h . sub . 5 c . sub . 6 h . sub . 5 och . sub . 2 ch . sub . 22 , 4 - cl . sub . 2 c . sub . 6 h . sub . 3 h 2 , 4 - cl . sub . 2 c . sub . 6 h . sub . 3 och . sub . 2 ch . sub . 2 22 , 4 - cl . sub . 2 c . sub . 6 h . sub . 3 h 2 , 4 - f . sub . 2 c . sub . 6 h . sub . 3 och . sub . 2 ch . sub . 22 , 4 - cl . sub . 2 c . sub . 6 h . sub . 3 h 2 , 4 - cl . sub . 2 c . sub . 6 h . sub . 3 ch . sub . 2______________________________________r r . sup . 2 r . sup . 3______________________________________4 - brc . sub . 6 h . sub . 4 ## str68 ## 4 - clc . sub . 6 h . sub . 4 ## str69 ## 4 - ic . sub . 6 h . sub . 4 ## str70 ## 4 - clc . sub . 6 h . sub . 4 ## str71 ## 2 , 4 - cl . sub . 2 c . sub . 6 h . sub . 3 ## str72 ## 2 , 4 - f . sub . 2 c . sub . 6 h . sub . 3 ## str73 ## 2 , 4 - f . sub . 2 c . sub . 6 h . sub . 3 ## str74 ## 2 , 4 - cl . sub . 2 c . sub . 6 h . sub . 3 ## str75 ## 2 - clc . sub . 6 h . sub . 4 ## str76 ## 4 - clc . sub . 6 h . sub . 4 ## str77 ## 3 - fc . sub . 6 h . sub . 4 ## str78 ## ______________________________________ by employing the appropriate starting carboxylic acid or beta - lactone and amine of formula r 2 r 3 nh in place of methylamine in the procedures of examples 40 and 42 , the corresponding amides of the formula below are similarly obtained . ## str79 ## where r 5 is h or methyl and r , r 2 and r 3 have the values shown in example 55 . 1 - cyano - 2 -( 2 , 4 - dichlorophenyl )- 3 -( 1h - 1 , 2 , 4 - triazol - 1 - yl ) propan - 2 - ol ( 1 g ) was dissolved in dry ethyl alcohol ( 100 ml ) and dry hydrogen chloride gas was bubbled in , at 0 ° c ., for 10 minutes . the reaction mixture was then stirred at room temperature overnight , and then the solvent was decanted from the solid . the solid was then washed with dry ether and dried to yield the title compound , ( 1 . 15 g ), m . p . 154 °- 156 ° c . the product was used in example 4 . calculated for c 14 h 16 cl 2 n 4 o 2 . 2hcl : this compound was prepared similarly to the method described in british patent specification no . 1 , 512 , 918 : ## str80 ## in 20 ml of dry ethyl ether , 3 . 78 g ( 0 . 079 mole ) of sodium hydride ( 50 % dispersion in oil ) was suspended with stirring . the ether was then removed by decantation , and the sodium hydride was dried in a stream of dry nitrogen . dry dimethyl sulphoxide ( 100 ml ) was added followed by 17 . 34 g ( 0 . 079 mole ) of dry powdered trimethylsulphonium iodide , in portions , over 15 minutes . the resulting mixture was stirred for 30 minutes at room temperature ( 20 ° c .). 18 . 33 g ( 0 . 072 mole ) of compound ( y ) as a solution in 50 ml of dry dimethyl sulphoxide was then added . the mixture was heated at 60 ° c . for three hours and then stood at room temperature overnight . the reaction mixture was cooled and quenched in ice . the product was then extracted with ethyl acetate ( 600 ml ). the ethyl acetate layer was separated , dried over magnesium sulphate , and concentrated to give a red gum . column chromatography of the gum on silica , eluting with ethyl ether , gave the product ( z ). on evaporation , 6 . 62 g ( 34 . 4 %) of the title product ( z ) was obtained as a gum which solidified on trituration . the pure product melted at 57 °- 59 ° c . calculated for c 11 h 9 cl 2 n 3 o : c , 49 . 0 ; h , 3 . 4 ; n , 15 . 5 . chloroacetyl chloride ( 113 g , 1 . 0 mole ) was added dropwise to a stirred mixture of 1 , 3 - difluorobenzene ( 114 g , 1 . 0 mole ) and anhydrous aluminum chloride ( 146 . 6 g , 1 . 1 mole ) at room temperature ( 20 ° c .). the mixture was stirred for a further five hours at 50 °- 55 ° c . methylene chloride ( 48 . 5 ml ) was added slowly as the mixture was allowed to cool to room temperature . the methylene chloride layer was separated , washed with water ( 2 × 320 ml ) and the solvent removed by distillation at reduced pressure leaving a pale yellow solid ( 180 g ). a portion of the crude product ( 145 g ) was crystallized from n - hexane ( 435 ml ) giving the title compound ( 113 g , 73 %) m . p . 47 °- 49 ° c . ( literature * 46 . 5 ° c .) ir ( kbr ) and nmr ( cdcl 3 ) were consistent with the desired structure . to a mixture of 1 , 2 , 4 - triazole ( 30 . 4 g , 0 . 44 mole ) and triethylamine ( 15 . 1 g , 0 . 15 mole ) in refluxing ethyl acetate ( 186 ml ) was added a solution of 2 - chloro - 2 &# 39 ;, 4 &# 39 ;- difluoroacetophenone ( 38 . 1 g , 0 . 2 mole ) in ethyl acetate ( 80 ml ). the mixture was refluxed for six hours then cooled to room temperature and the insolubles were removed by filtration . the filtrate was washed with water ( 2 × 200 ml ) and then the solvent was removed by distillation at reduced pressure . the crude product was dissolved in ethyl acetate ( 150 ml ) then 25 % w / v hcl gas in isopropanol was added . the mixture was granulated at 0 ° c . for one hour and then the solid was collected by filtration and dried to give the title compound ( 21 . 6 g , 40 %), melting point 167 °- 170 ° c . ir ( kbr ) and nmr ( dmso ) were consistent with the desired structure . this intermediate was characterized as the free base , which was prepared by the following technique : to a stirred slurry of sodium bicarbonate ( 16 .. 8 g , 0 . 2 mole ) and 1 , 2 , 4 - triazole ( 27 . 6 g , 0 . 4 mole ) in refluxing toluene ( 180 ml ) was added a solution of 2 - chloro - 2 &# 39 ;, 4 &# 39 ;- difluoroacetophenone ( 38 . 1 g , 0 . 2 mole ) in toluene ( 45 ml ). the mixture was stirred at reflux for three hours and the water formed during the reaction was removed using a dean and stark trap . the reaction mixture was cooled to room temperature and then water ( 180 ml ) was added . the toluene layer was separated and the solvent removed by distillation at reduced pressure . the resulting pale brown solid was crystallized from 1 : 1 ethyl acetate : n - hexane ( 70 ml ) giving the title compound ( 3 . 9 g ), melting point 103 °- 105 ° c . the ir ( kbr ) and nmr ( cdcl 3 ) were consistent with the desired structure . calculated for c 10 h 7 f 2 n 3 o : c , 53 . 8 ; h , 3 . 2 ; n , 18 . 8 . | 2 |
fig1 diagrammatically represents a steam turbine 10 with a rotor 11 and rotor blades 12 . the rotor 11 can rotate about a center line 13 . the steam necessary for driving the steam turbine 10 is supplied by means of a live steam feed 14 with a quick - acting stop valve 15 . the live steam feed 14 is supplied by means of a principal feed main 18 and a steam generator or reheater 34 . the quick - acting stop valve 15 is connected between the steam generator or reheater 34 and a supply system 23 for steam to the steam turbine 10 . if the steam turbine 10 has to be shut down , the whole of the steam supply can be interrupted by closing the quick - acting stop valve 15 . in order to cool a shaft region 37 , which is located at the inlet flow to the steam turbine 10 and is indicated by dashed lines , the total mass flow { dot over ( m )} supplied is divided into partial mass flows { dot over ( m )} 1 , { dot over ( m )} 2 upstream of the supply system 23 . a partial mass flow { dot over ( m )} 1 is branched off by means of a branch 16 and conducted to a heat exchanger 17 . water is extracted for cooling purposes , by means of a feed conduit 19 , from the principal feed main 18 . the feed conduit 19 can be closed by means of a valve 20 . at the outlet from the heat exchanger 17 , the water extracted is fed back into the principal feed main 18 upstream of the steam generator or reheater 34 . the heat extracted from the partial mass flow { dot over ( m )} 1 is therefore retained . the cooled partial mass flow { dot over ( m )} 1 is conducted back to the supply system 23 and from the latter into the steam turbine 10 . the heat exchanger 17 is provided with a drain conduit 21 with a valve 22 . condensate possibly occurring in the heat exchanger 17 can be removed by means of the drain conduit 21 . the supply system 23 has a first nozzle 24 for the residual mass flow { dot over ( m )} 2 and a second nozzle 25 for the cooled mass flow { dot over ( m )} 1 which was branched off . the nozzle 24 conducts the residual mass flow { dot over ( m )} 2 to the rotor blades 12 of the rotor 11 and puts the rotor into rotation . the nozzle 25 conducts the cooled partial mass flow { dot over ( m )} 1 into a groove 26 extending round the rotor 11 in the peripheral direction in the region of the supply system 23 . the rotor 11 , and therefore the shaft of the steam turbine 10 , are therefore reliably cooled in the shaft region 37 at the inlet flow location . a piston 36 , in particular , which is necessary for balancing the thrust in the axial direction , is cooled . the proportion of the partial mass flow { dot over ( m )} 1 in the mass flow { dot over ( m )} 1 supplied in total is between 5 % and 7 %, in particular 6 %. in the exemplary embodiment according to fig2 a partial mass flow { dot over ( m )} 1 is again branched off and is supplied to a cooling chamber 27 . two - phase cooling 28 , in which water 29 extracted from the principal feed main 18 is injected , is provided in the cooling chamber 27 . the water is supplied by means of a feed - water conduit 29 with a quick - acting control valve 30 and a pump 31 . this permits highly accurate metering of the water flow { dot over ( m )} 3 supplied . the injected water flow { dot over ( m )} 3 evaporates in the cooling chamber 27 and mixes with the partial mass flow { dot over ( m )} 1 . the two mass flows { dot over ( m )} 1 +{ dot over ( m )} 3 are then supplied , via a further conduit 32 , to the nozzle 25 of the supply system 23 . the partial mass flow { dot over ( m )} 1 in the exemplary embodiment according to fig2 is somewhat smaller than that in the exemplary embodiment according to fig1 . the reason for this is that due to the injection of the water flow { dot over ( m )} 3 , a larger mass flow { dot over ( m )} 1 +{ dot over ( m )} 3 is supplied to the steam turbine 10 than is supplied in the case of the exemplary embodiment according to fig1 . in the exemplary embodiment according to fig2 the partial mass flow { dot over ( m )} 1 branched off can , for example , be 5 . 8 % of the mass flow m supplied , whereas the water flow { dot over ( m )} 3 is 0 . 2 %. in both embodiments ( fig1 and fig2 ), a measurement location 33 for recording the temperature of the partial mass flow { dot over ( m )} 1 or { dot over ( m )} 1 +{ dot over ( m )} 3 is provided downstream of the cooling location , i . e . downstream of the heat exchanger 18 or the two - phase cooling system 28 . the temperature measured at the measurement location 33 is compared with a specified required value . the admission to the heat exchanger 17 or to the two - phase cooling system 28 is adapted as a function of the result of this comparison . the temperature of the cooled partial mass flow { dot over ( m )} 1 or { dot over ( m )} 1 +{ dot over ( m )} 3 supplied to the steam turbine 10 can be held in a targeted manner at the respectively desired temperature by means of this procedure and can therefore be adapted to the conditions in the steam turbine 10 . if the steam turbine 10 has to be shut down , it is only necessary to close the quick - acting stop valve 15 . this interrupts any live steam supply to the steam turbine 10 . the closing of the valve 20 , 30 can take place without difficulty and with little delay . damage is not to be expected . in the case of the embodiment according to fig2 in particular , excessive injected water can be removed by means of the drain conduit 21 . there is no need for a separate quick - acting stop valve for shutting off a cooling medium which is supplied to the steam turbine 10 separately from the mass flow { dot over ( m )} supplied overall . the structural design and the control system are therefore substantially simplified . the invention being thus described , it will be obvious that the same may be varied in many ways . such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention , and all such modifications as would be obvious to one skilled in the art are intended to be included within the scope of the following claims . | 5 |
the present invention will now be explained in connection with embodiments thereof with reference to the accompanying drawings . [ 0039 ] fig1 is a conceptional view showing characteristics of an ink jet recording head according to the present invention . in fig1 an ink jet recording head comprises an mim ( metal insulator metal ) element 1 as an non - linear element , a heat generating resistance member 2 for heating discharge liquid and for discharging discharge liquid droplet , and a current adjusting circuit 101 as current adjusting means for adjusting current flowing in the mim element . incidentally , the reference numeral denotes generation of the discharge liquid droplet conceptionally . in this embodiment , by providing the mim element 1 and the current adjusting circuit 101 for adjusting the current flowing in the mim element 1 , since change in current flowing in a driving circuit for heating the discharge liquid can be suppressed to suppress great change in an electrical power supplying amount of the mim element 1 due to minute change in voltage of the power source , excessive heating or poor heating of the heat generating resistance member 2 as an ink jet heater . [ 0041 ] fig2 is a view showing further concrete characteristics of the embodiment shown in fig1 . more specifically , the current adjusting means 101 is a current adjusting resistance including the heat generating resistance member 2 connected to the mim element 1 in series . since the current adjusting resistor can be manufactured relatively easily , the cost for manufacturing the head can be reduced . particularly , the current adjusting resistor ( r s ) is constituted by the heat generating resistance member ( r h ) 2 or a wiring resistor ( r w ) 91 or an internal resistor ( r i ) 92 of the power source or an adjusting resistor ( r ad ) 93 , which is connected to an mim element 1 in series . since the heat generating resistance member 2 , wiring resistor 91 and internal resistor 92 of the power source are elements indispensable for the ink jet recording head for discharging ink by utilizing thermal energy generated by the heat generating resistance member 2 , it is cost effective when required current adjustment can be achieved by using these element . incidentally , in fig2 for convenience , an arrangement including all of these resistors 2 , 91 , 92 , 93 is shown . further , in fig2 the reference numeral 10 denotes a power source having voltage v 0 , and i 0 denotes a current value flowing in the circuit . however , since the internal resistor of the power source is very small in comparison with the resistance value of the mim element in an operating condition and other resistance values , it is substantially negligible . [ 0042 ] fig3 is a view showing a relationship between a current value i 0 flowing the circuit and the voltage value v 0 of the power source 10 . further , the broken line 72 indicates a current / voltage property when an appropriate resistor is not connected to the mim element 1 , and the solid line 71 indicates a current / voltage property stably when an appropriate current adjusting resistor is connected to the mim element 1 in series . in the property shown by the broken line 72 indicating the fact that an appropriate resistor is not connected to the mim element 1 , circuit current is considerably changed by change in voltage of the power source in the vicinity of operating voltage 73 ( shown by the dot and chain line in fig3 ), with the result that excessive heating or poor heating of the heat generating resistance member 2 is apt to occur . on the other hand , in the property shown by the solid line 71 indicating the fact that an appropriate current adjusting resistor is connected to the mim element 1 in series , the circuit current is gently changed by change in voltage of the power source in the vicinity of the operating voltage 73 ( shown by the dot and chain line in fig3 ), with the result that the excessive heating or poor heating of the heat generating resistance member 2 can be prevented . further , in the ink jet recording head , since excessive heating or poor heating caused when discharging voltage is applied arises a problem , the value r s of the current adjusting resistor 3 must be set on the basis of a resistance value in an on operating condition when the discharging voltage is applied . further , if the value of the current adjusting resistor 3 is too low , non - linearity becomes too preferential to lose a function for limiting circuit current , thereby causing the excessive heating or poor heating . thus , it is desirable that a lower limit of the resistance value of the current adjusting resistor 3 is about 0 . 1 time of the resistance value of the mim element 1 in the operating condition . on the other hand , if the value of the current adjusting resistor 3 is too high , linearity becomes too preferential to lose the advantage of the mim element 1 , with the result that a normal discharging operation under the matrix driving may become difficult . thus , it is desirable that an upper limit of the resistance value of the current adjusting resistor 3 is about 10 times of the resistance value of the mim element 1 in the operating condition . further , from the above explanation , it is preferable that the linearity and non - linearity are provided half and half , and , to this end , it is preferable that the resistance value of the current adjusting resistor 3 is equal to the resistance value of the mim element 1 in the operating condition . particularly , when a two - terminal circuit unit 12 in which the mim element 1 is connected to the heat generating resistance member 2 in series is disposed at a junction of the matrix circuit and matrix driving is effected in a ½ bias system , it is preferable that the wiring resistance is set to zero as less as possible and the resistance value of the heat generating resistance member is set to about 1 time of the resistance value of the mim element 1 . in this case , as schematically shown in fig8 a current / voltage property of the two - terminal circuit unit 12 becomes such that on current of i 0 flows with respect to selected voltage v 0 giving an on condition to the two - terminal circuit unit 12 and current does not flow with respect to non - selected voltage of ± v 0 / 2 . that is to say , the current / voltage property of the two - terminal circuit unit 12 is such that effective current starts to flow in the two - terminal circuit unit 12 from voltage of about ½ time of the operating voltage and desired current flows in the two - terminal circuit unit 12 at the operating voltage . in the matrix driving in the ½ bias system , when the current / voltage property of the two - terminal circuit unit shows the property illustrated in fig8 an ideal condition that power loss of the mim element becomes minimum . further , similarly , when the two - terminal circuit unit 12 in which the mim element 1 is connected to the heat generating resistance member 2 in series is disposed at the junction of the matrix circuit and matrix driving is effected in a ⅓ bias system , it is preferable that the wiring resistance is set to zero as less as possible and the resistance value of the heat generating resistance member is set to about 2 times of the resistance value of the mim element 1 . in this case , as schematically shown in fig9 the current / voltage property of the two - terminal circuit unit 12 becomes such that on current of i 0 flows with respect to selected voltage v 0 giving the on condition to the two - terminal circuit unit 12 and current does not flow with respect to non - selected voltage of ± v 0 / 3 . that is to say , the current / voltage property of the two - terminal circuit unit 12 is such that effective current starts to flow in the two - terminal circuit unit 12 from voltage of about ⅓ times of the operating voltage and desired current flows in the two - terminal circuit unit 12 at the operating voltage . in the matrix driving in the ⅓ bias system , when the current / voltage property of the two - terminal circuit unit shows the property illustrated in fig9 an ideal condition that power loss of the mim element becomes minimum . further , checking the current / voltage property from a different viewpoint , as shown in fig3 differential resistance of the two - terminal circuit unit may be 40 to 250 ω . as result , the value of the current adjusting resistor 3 can be made optimum . in this embodiment , in consideration of the above required factors , particularly , the resistance value of the current adjusting resistor 3 is selected from 0 . 1 to 10 times , and more preferably , about 1 time or about 2 times , of the resistance value of the mim element 1 in the operating condition . by selecting the resistance value of the current adjusting resistor 3 in this way , the non - linearity in the vicinity of the on operating voltage can be suppressed to prevent excessive heating or poor heating of the heat generating resistance member 2 as the ink jet heater . next , embodiments of the present invention will be described by using a concrete construction and numerical values . further , in the following explanation , the same constructural elements as those shown in fig1 and 2 are designated by the same reference numerals . [ 0052 ] fig4 is a schematic sectional view of an ink jet recording head according to a first embodiment of the present invention . referring to fig4 a head according to the first embodiment includes a substrate 23 having a lower layer ( insulation layer ) 22 as a surface . on the lower layer ( insulation layer ) 22 , a lower electrode 5 for constituting the mim element 1 and acting also as a scan side electrode constituting the matrix circuit is coated by a very thin insulation film 24 . further , an upper electrode 6 constituting the mim element 1 is coated on the insulation thin film 24 . the upper electrode 6 is connected to one end of a thin film heat generating resistance member 2 formed on the lower layer ( insulation layer ) 22 and spaced apart from the lower electrode 5 . the other end of the thin film heat generating resistance member 2 is connected to an information side electrode 7 constituting the matrix circuit . further , a discharge port forming member 52 having plural rows of grooves for forming flow paths 31 including one or plural thin film heat generating resistance members 2 and discharge ports 53 ( for discharging recording liquid ) corresponding to the flow paths 31 is joined onto the substrate 23 . further , the substrate 23 is provided with a discharge liquid supplying port 54 for simultaneously supplying the liquid to the plural flow paths 31 . incidentally , in the illustrated embodiment , while an example that a head structure of so - called side shooter type in which the discharge ports 53 are arranged in perpendicular to a heat generating member forming plane at the discharge port forming member 52 is used was explained , the present invention can be applied to a so - called edge shooter type in which the discharge ports are arranged along a direction parallel to the heat generating member forming plane . as shown in fig4 the construction according to the illustrated embodiment includes mim elements 1 disposed at junction of the matrix circuit , and the heat generating resistance members 2 connected to the mim elements 1 in series , and the heat generating resistance member 2 is used as the current adjusting resistor , and by selecting the resistance value of the heat generating resistance member 2 from 0 . 1 to 10 times , preferably , about 1 time or 2 times of the resistance value of the mim element 1 in the operating condition , change in current flowing in the circuit can be suppressed . since the great change in the electrical power supplying amount of the mim element 1 due to minute change in voltage of the power source can be suppressed , the excessive heating or poor heating of the heat generating resistance member 2 as the ink jet heater can be prevented . further , in fig4 by applying liquid droplet discharging voltage between the scan side electrode 5 and the information side electrode 7 which constitute the matrix circuit , the electrical power is supplied to the thin film heat generating member 2 in the on condition of the mim element 1 , thereby heating the discharge liquid quickly . in this way , a bubble 121 is generated to discharge liquid droplet 9 toward a recording medium , thereby forming an image . [ 0057 ] fig5 is a view showing the mim type electrical characteristics . the mim type electrical characteristics are current / voltage property in which a low resistance value is obtained at a high voltage side and a high resistance value is obtained at a low voltage side regardless of polarity , such as current / voltage property represented by an mim element or a barister . the non - linear element applied to the present invention is particularly a non - linear element having the mim type electrical characteristics . here , as shown in fig5 to effect the matrix driving , it is preferable that applied voltage giving the absolute value i 0 of the current value is + v 1 , and v 2 satisfies a relationship 0 . 5 & lt ;( v 1 / v 2 )& lt ; 2 , and the absolute value of the current value at + v 1 / 2 and − v 2 / 2 is smaller than i 0 / 10 . by arranging the non - linear elements having the mim type electrical characteristics at the junctions of the matrix electrodes , undesirable heating at the non - selected points due to bias voltage in the matrix driving can be suppressed , thereby performing the matrix driving of the ink jet heaters effectively . further , by utilizing the matrix driving , separation between the driver and the heater can be facilitated , and mass production on a cheap non si substrate can be permitted . further , the illustrated embodiment relates to an ink jet recording head in which the mim element having a structure “ metal / insulator / metal ” including of very thin oxidation insulation film connected between electrodes are used as non - linear elements . here , the mim element fundamentally means a tunnel coupling element having a structure “ metal / insulator / metal ”. however , normally , a coupling element having a structure “ conductive electrode / insulator / conductive electrode ” is also referred to as a mim element . here , as a conduction mechanism of insulator , hopping type electrical conduction such as pool - frenkel type conduction in which plural tunnelings are repeated in insulator and relatively simple tunnel conduction such as fauler - noldheim type conduction are known . in order to flow such tunnel type current and to flow current in the coupling element , a distance between the electrodes must be very small . although limit film thickness or limit electrode - to - electrode distance of insulator permitting flow of current in the mim element greatly depends upon insulation material , electrode material and conduction mechanism , in order to flow effective current in the mim element , for example , it is desirable that the distance between the electrodes is selected to 100 nm or less . further , if the distance between the electrodes is too small , since ions on the metal surfaces of the electrodes may cause field radiation , it is desirable that the distance between the electrodes is selected to 1 nm or more . further , it is desirable that the distance between the electrodes is selected to 4 nm or more in order to obtain stable tunnel coupling . further , in order to obtain great current required for the matrix driving of the bubble jet recording head with low voltage , preferably , it is desirable that the distance between the electrodes is selected to 40 nm or less . accordingly , by using the mim element in which the distance between the electrodes is greater than 1 nm and smaller than 100 nm and preferably greater than 4 nm and smaller than 40 nm as heat generating means , the bubble can be generated by heating the liquid by means of the mim element to discharge the liquid droplet ( refer to second embodiment in detail ). further , so - called barister in which a sintering layer obtained by adding metal oxide such as pr and co to zno or a grain crystal layer of sic of silicon carbide group is disposed between the electrodes in place of the insulation layer can also be used as the non - linear element similar to the mim element , thereby achieving the similar effect . [ 0063 ] fig6 is a conceptional view showing characteristic of the matrix circuit constituting the head according to the illustrated embodiment . in fig6 wirings , y j , y j + 1 , are j - th and ( j + 1 )- th scan side electrodes , and wirings x i , x i + 1 , are i - th nd ( i + 1 )- th information side electrodes . that is to say , the wirings y j , y j + 1 , x i , x i + 1 , constitute the matrix circuit . further , the reference numeral 1 denotes the mim element disposed at the junction of the matrix ; 2 denotes the heat generating resistance member ; and 9 denotes the discharge liquid . as shown in fig6 in the illustrated embodiment , the heat includes the matrix circuit composed of the wiring electrodes y j , . . . y j + 1 , and the wiring electrodes x i , x i + 1 , . . . , the mim elements 1 as the non - linear elements disposed at the junctions of the matrix circuit , and the heat generating resistance members 2 connected to the mim elements 1 in series . in fig6 by inputting selection potential wave form to one of the scan side electrodes y j , y j + 1 , . . . and by inputting discharge or non - discharge information potential wave forms to the information side electrodes x i , x j + 1 , . . . in accordance with the image signal , the mim elements are brought to on condition or off condition , and discharge and non - discharge of the discharge liquid droplet 9 can be switched by controlling whether or not electric power is supplied to the mim elements 1 and the heat generating resistance members 2 connected to the mim elements 1 in series . in the illustrated embodiment , the mim elements 1 are formed by crossing the metal electrodes 6 on the oxidation insulation film 24 obtained by anodic oxidation of the metal electrodes 5 . more specifically , the upper and lower electrodes 6 , 5 shown in fig4 are obtained , for example , by forming ta film having a thickness of about 300 nm by rf spattering and oxidizing the surface of the film by anoic oxidation to provide ta 2 o 5 thin film having a thickness of about 32 nm . in this case , the rf spattering is performed in ar gas environment of about 10 − 2 - 2 torr . further , the anoic oxidation is performed by using mesh - shaped platinum electrode as cathode in citric acid solution of 0 . 8 weight /%. further , for example , the upper electrode 6 and the information electrode 7 shown in fig4 are tantalum thin film electrodes having a thickness of 23 nm , and the substrate 23 is an si substrate having crystal axis & lt ; 111 & gt ; and thickness of 0 . 6 mm , and the insulation thin film 24 is si thermal oxidation film having a thickness of 2 . 75 μm and the thin film heat generating resistance member 2 is a tantalum nitride thin film having a thickness of 0 . 05 μm . further , for example , the dimension of the heat generating resistance member 2 is 25 μm × 25 μm , an area is 625 μm 2 and resistance value is 53 ω . further , the dimension of the mim element 1 is 84 . 5 μm × 20000 μm and an area is 1690000 μm 2 . in this case , the area of the mim element 1 is greater than the area of the heat generating resistance member 2 by 2704 times , and element resistance regarding voltage of 6 . 7 v applied between the electrodes 5 and 6 at both ends of the mim element is 53 ω . when voltage of 13 . 4 v is applied between the electrodes 5 and 7 , voltage of 6 . 7 v is applied to the mim element 1 and the heat generating resistance member 2 , respectively , with the result that current of 126 ma flows . in this case , consumption electric power converted into heat in the mim element 1 and the heat generating resistance member 2 is 0 . 847 w , and electric power density of the mim element 1 becomes 0 . 5 mw / m 3 and electric power density of the heat generating resistance member 2 becomes 1 . 355 gw / m 3 , and , in the heat generating resistance member 2 , the discharge liquid is heated to generate the bubble . further , since a heat generating amount of the mim element 1 per unit area is { fraction ( 1 / 2704 )} of a heat generating amount of the heat generating resistance member 2 per unit area , increase in temperature can be suppressed . in the illustrated embodiment , a resistance value at an operating point of the circuit in which the mim element 1 is connected to the heat generating resistance member 2 in series is 53 + 53 = 106 ω . if the driving voltage is increased , the resistance value of the serial circuit is limited by the resistance value of the heat generating resistance member 2 , with the result that the fluctuation can be suppressed within a range from 53 to 106 ω at the most , thereby suppressing excessive heating . further , since the resistance value in the vicinity of the operating point is changed gently , non - discharging due to poor heat generating amount can be suppressed even when the driving voltage is decreased minutely . incidentally , in the illustrated embodiment , since the wiring resistance is adequately small in comparison with the resistance value of the mim element , it is negligible . [ 0071 ] fig7 is a schematic sectional view showing a construction of an ink jet recording head according to a second embodiment of the present invention . now , with reference to fig7 difference from the first embodiment will be mainly described . according to the head shown in fig7 on a lower layer ( insulation layer ) 22 on a surface of a substrate 23 , a lower electrode 5 for constituting an mim element 1 and acting also as a scan side electrode constituting a matrix circuit is coated by a very thin insulation film 24 . further , an upper electrode 6 constituting the mim element 1 and acting also as an information side electrode constituting the matrix circuit is coated on the insulation thin film 24 . further , a discharge port forming member 52 having plural rows of grooves for forming flow paths 31 including one or plural mim elements 1 contributing to the bubbling and discharge ports ( for discharging recording liquid ) corresponding to the flow paths 31 is joined onto the substrate 23 . further , the substrate 23 is provided with a discharge liquid supplying port 54 for simultaneously supplying the liquid to the plural flow paths 31 . incidentally , also in this embodiment , while an example that a head structure of side shooter type is used was explained , the present invention can be applied to a so - called edge shooter type in which the discharge ports are arranged along a direction parallel to the heat generating member forming plane . particularly , the construction according to the illustrated embodiment includes the matrix circuit , and the mim elements 1 disposed at junctions of the matrix circuit and contributing to the bubbling , and a resistance value of the wiring resistor connected to the mim element 1 is selected from 0 . 01 to 100 times , preferably , from 0 . 1 to 10 times , more preferably , about 1 time of the resistance value of the mim element 1 in the operating condition . by doing so , change in current flowing in the circuit can be suppressed , and the great change in the electrical power supplying amount of the mim element 1 due to minute change in voltage of the power source can be suppressed . further , in the illustrated embodiment , the resistance value of the wiring resistor is adjusted , and , since the wiring resistor also acts as adjusting resistor , increase in cost can be suppressed . in the illustrated embodiment , the mim element 1 is manufactured in the same manner as the first embodiment . the dimension of the mim element 1 is 65 . 08 μm × 65 . 08 μm ( square ) and an area thereof is 4235 μm 2 . in this case , element resistance regarding voltage of 33 . 5 v applied between the electrodes 5 and 6 at both ends of the mim element is 265 ω . further , the resistance value of the wiring resistor is 53 ω . when voltage of the power source is 40 . 2 v , voltage of 33 . 5 v is applied to the mim element 1 and current of 126 ma flows . in this case , consumption electric power converted into heat in the mim element 1 is 4 . 235 w , and electric power density of the mim element 1 becomes 1 gw / m 3 , thereby heating and bubbling the discharge liquid . further , in the illustrated embodiment , resistance at the operating point of the circuit is 265 + 53 = 318 ω . if the driving voltage is increased , the resistance value of the circuit is limited by the resistance value of the wiring resistor , with the result that the fluctuation can be suppressed within a range from 53 to 318 ω at the most , thereby suppressing excessive heating . further , since the resistance value in the vicinity of the operating point is changed gently , non - discharging due to poor heat generating amount can be suppressed even when the driving voltage is decreased minutely . [ 0079 ] fig1 shows an example of an ink jet recording apparatus on which the ink jet recording head according to one of the above - mentioned embodiments is mounted . the ink jet recording apparatus is designed to convey a paper 406 as a recording medium by a paper feeding roller 405 controlled by a driving circuit 403 . further , an ink jet recording head 407 controlled by a controller 40 is provided with discharge ports opposed to the paper 406 , and discharging and non - discharging of discharge liquid droplet from the discharge port 8 are controlled by bringing the non - linear element 1 to an on condition or an off condition in response to a signal from the controller 40 . when the ink on the heat generating resistance member 2 to which the electric power is supplied in this way is heated quickly , the bubble is generated with very high pressure on the entire surface of the heat generating means ( non - linear element 1 or heat generating resistance member 2 ) by the film - boiling phenomenon . by such pressure , as mentioned above , the discharge liquid droplet 9 is discharged from the discharge port 8 , thereby forming an image on the recording medium . further , as the discharge liquid droplet 9 is discharged , the ink is supplied to the ink jet recording head from an ink tank 402 . | 1 |
fig1 to which reference should now be made , shows a reference oscillator 11 that provides a stream of reference pulses to a comparator 9 . simultaneously with the application of the reference pulses to the comparator 9 , a slave oscillator 7 also applies a stream of pulses to the comparator 9 , as well as to the output device which is a device such as a time - of - day clock 5 . the results of the comparison as made by the comparator 9 between the reference frequency that is provided by the reference oscillator 11 and the output frequency that is provided by the slave oscillator 7 is applied to an error signal generator 3 . the error signal generator 3 provides the drive frequency to the slave oscillator 7 , which will cause the slave oscillator 7 to either raise or lower the frequency of its output signal to correct for previously incurred discrepancies in the output frequency of the slave oscillator 7 and the reference oscillator 11 . additionally , the reference oscillator 11 is subject to having its output frequency vary with temperature . consequently , provisions are made to compensate for any error discrepancies in the reference oscillator &# 39 ; s output frequency for temperature variations through the use of a temperature compensation means that includes a temperature sensor 1 , and correction circuitry that is contained within the error signal generator 3 . in some applications of the closed loop compensated frequency reference , such as a portable radio which has limited access to a power source , it is necessary to conserve power by limiting the application of the power to the circuitry that is contained within the oscillator . consequently , the power is only applied to certain portions of the closed loop frequency reference during the times that measurements for frequency correction are performed . a timer 2 provides a periodic pulse to a flip - flop 8 which causes the power supply switch 6 to apply the power from the power source 18 to the comparator 9 , the error signal generator 3 , and the temperature sensor 1 . after the completion of generating a correction factor for frequency correction of the slave oscillator 7 , the error signal generator 3 will provide a reset signal to the flip - flop 8 which will cause the power supply switch 6 to remove the power from the comparator 9 , the error signal generator 3 and the temperature sensor 1 which may be a device such as a thermister and an analog - to - digital converter . for an understanding of the operation of the circuitry , fig1 and 3 should be used simultaneously . the correction factor that is applied to the slave oscillator 7 whose output frequency is then varied so that the output device , such as the time - of - day clock , does not periodically have to be updated is provided by the equation ## equ1 ## v ( n ) is a new correction factor that is applied to the slave oscillator 7 at the nth sample time . v ( n - 1 ) is the correction factor that was applied during the period between the n - 1 sample time and the nth sample time . k is the gain factor for a stable system and is in the range of the embodiment shown in the figures of from 0 to 4 / 3 . e ( n ) is the accumulated time error up to the sample time n . t is the sample interval , and δf ( n - 1 ) is the average frequency during the interval between n - 1 sample time and the nth sample time . the above referenced correction is provided by the circuitry of fig2 where k is set equal to 1 . the comparator 9 includes a timing generator 18 , a gate circuit 19 and a frequency counter 21 . the reference frequency from the reference oscillator 11 is applied to the timing generator 18 which periodically generates a reset pulse 41 by dividing down the reference frequency as shown in waveform 46 of fig3 . the reset pulse sets the frequency counter 21 to the negative of the nominal frequency , as well as loading an output accumulator 31 with the correction factor that is to be applied during the period of time between reset pulses 41 . this is referred to as the sample period of time . following the expiration of the first reset pulse 41a , a gate pulse is provided to the and gate 19 ( waveform 47 of fig3 ), which ands the output of the slave oscillator 7 with a gate pulse 43 , and applies the added signal to a frequency counter 21 which counts the number of pulses provided by the slave oscillator 7 during the period of time that the gate pulse 43 is present . the information from the frequency counter 21 is applied to the error signal generator 3 and in particular to an adder circuit 17 . the adder circuit 17 in the embodiment of fig2 is used to provide the temperature correction and that function may be implemented by the technique shown in my above referenced u . s . pat . no . 4 , 297 , 657 . primarily , the temperature sensor 1 provides the temperature to an a / d converter 13 which converts the analog signal that is provided by the temperature sensor 1 ( that senses the temperature of the reference oscillator ) to a digital signal . a correction prom 15 has stored therein a full range of correction factors that are stored in an address that corresponds to the digitized representation of the temperature sensed by the temperature sensor 1 . consequently , when a digital signal is provided by the a / d converter 13 and applied to the correction prom 15 , a correction factor is provided to the adder 17 that corresponds to the frequency error of the reference oscillator 11 at the temperature sensor 1 . the adder 17 sums the temperature correction from the correction prom 15 with the output of the frequency counter 21 and obtains a corrected error signal and applies the corrected error signal to an adder 23 as well as to an adder 27 via a data bus 39 . the average frequency that has occurred during the interval between the n - 1 sample or reset pulse 41a and the n reset pulse 41b that is represented by the time interval t and dimension lines 51 of fig3 is accumulated by summing with the output of the adder 17 , the output of a previously accumulated value that is stored within the accumulator 25 . data bus 37 feeds back the output of the accumulator 25 into the adder 23 . at the occurrence of the accumulate pulse 45 , the accumulator 25 is then updated and its output is applied to the adder 27 for summation with the output of the adder 17 . the previous correction that was applied during the previous sample period is stored in the output accumulator 31 . this information is applied to a subtractor 29 where the output of the adder 27 is subtracted from the previous correction factor as stored within the output accumulator 31 during the occurrence of the second reset pulse 41 . the output accumulator is loaded with the correction factor from the subtractor 29 and applied to the d / a converter 34 whose output is used to drive the slave oscillator 7 during the period of time t between the reset pulses 41 . the slave oscillator 7 frequency is thus either increased or decreased to compensate for previous accumulation errors and thus does not require exotic handshaking between the slave oscillator 7 and the time - of - day clock 5 . fig4 to which reference should now be made , has the advantage over the embodiment shown in fig1 and 2 in that a mixer 52 is used to generate the gate signal and thus increases the accuracy of the comparison . in the embodiment of fig1 k is set equal to 1 whereas k can be a variable in the embodiment of fig4 because of the utilization of a microprocessor to perform the calculations necessary to obtain the correction v ( n ). the temperature sensor 1 of fig4 is a temperature sensitive oscillator whose frequency is representative of the temperature and its output is applied to a gate 56 for gating into a frequency counter 57 which calculates the n t quantity , the number accumulated in a counter 57 from a temperature sensor oscillator 1 . the output frequency from the reference oscillator is applied simultaneously to a gate 55 and also to the mixer 52 where it is mixed with the output of the slave oscillator , which in the case of fig7 is a voltage - controlled crystal oscillator ( vcxo ) 7 . the output frequency is mixed by the mixer 52 and applied to a low pass filter 53 and then to a microcomputer 59 which calculates based on a sample of reference oscillator frequency &# 34 ; n &# 34 ; that is stored within a frequency counter 58 and the temperature of the reference oscillator 11 that is represented by a sample n t from the temperature sensor oscillator 11 stored in the frequency counter 57 . both samples n and n t are taken when the discrepancies between the vcxo 7 and the reference oscillator provide a pulse long enough to pass through the low pass filter 53 and trigger the d flip - flop 54 if there is a logic one on its d terminal . the microcomputer 59 calculates the correction factor as based on the sample taken through the operation of the d flip - flop 54 which controls the gates 55 and 56 , and applies it to the digital - to - analog converter 34 for adjustment of the voltage - controlled crystal oscillator ( vcxo ) 7 . the low pass filter 53 passes the mixed signal to clock the d flip - flop 54 and to the gate duration counter in the microcomputer 59 . additionally , the microcomputer 59 provides a periodic pulse to the power supply switch 6 which applies power from the power source 8 to the following devices ; temperature sensor oscillator 1 , gates 55 and 56 , frequency counters 57 and 58 , and &# 34 ; d &# 34 ; flip - flop 54 . the reference oscillator 11 and the temperature sensor oscillator 1 are calibrated by preparing a correction table within the microcomputer 59 . this table is generally built under laboratory conditions . in the calibrate mode or self - compensate mode , switch 106 connects standard 105 to the mixer 52 where it is mixed with the output of the reference oscillator 11 as the temperature of the reference oscillator 11 is received over the full range of expected operation . the temperature correction factor is then stored according to temperature as sensed by the temperature sensor oscillator 1 . fig5 is a flow diagram of the programming of the microcomputer 59 and includes the initialization of the system at start point 60 . the first decision block 61 decides if the unit is to operate in a self - compensation mode . the self - compensation mode enables the unit to build a temperature correction table for compensating for the error discrepancies in the reference oscillator 11 of fig4 . the temperature correction table includes corrections for t 1 , c 1 ; t 2 , c 2 through t n , c n where c 1 through c n are the corrections for temperatures t 1 through t n . by externally supplying the normal frequency f o from the standard 105 of fig4 to the unit while it is exposed to a full range of temperatures of the reference oscillator 11 , it is possible to build a table of correction for the reference oscillator 11 based on the temperature that is sensed by the temperature sensor 1 . in the self - compensation mode , the microcomputer 59 implements loop 63 in which the first step 62 is to read in the temperature t from the temperature sensor oscillator 1 into the system . since the gate period that is provided from the d flip - flop 54 to the gates 56 and 55 for counting is variable , the ratio of the value stored within counter 57 to the value in counter 58 is used to represent temperature . at block 65 , the microprocessor makes a frequency count and determines f r by the enumerating equation in block 65 and the correction is stored at block 67 where r is equal to the number of beat nodes that occurs during the time that the gates 55 and 56 are enabled . a new temperature is read in at block 68 and if there is no increase in temperature at decision block 69 the device loops on itself . when there is an increase in temperature , the device uses loop 70 to go back to store another update within the microcomputer 59 . after there is a full range of temperatures stored in for reference oscillator 11 , at the decision block 61 the microcomputer 59 will go from the self - compensation mode to the nonself - compensation mode or operate mode . at block 71 a value for the temperature &# 34 ; t &# 34 ; of the reference oscillator 11 is read in and forwarded to the next step . in block 72 a calculation is made according to the above equation for the new frequency correction . decision block 73 decides if the unit is to go into the calibrate mode . if so , a frequency count is made and determined at block 85 and the new long turn drift correction which is called f d is performed at block 86 . if not , then the drift correction f d is provided to make the frequency calculation f o which is performed at block 77 according to the illustrated equation . block 78 calculates the change in frequency δf and at block 79 the accumulated time error e n is determined . at block 80 the new correction is performed and provided to the slave oscillator at block 83 via the d / a converter 34 . fig6 provides a simplified schematic diagram of the frequency counters 57 and 58 as well as the microcomputer 59 and should be referred to at this time . the interface of the microcomputer 59 between the digital - to - analog converter 34 , the power switch 6 and the voltage - controlled oscillator 7 is provided as well as to the temperature sensor oscillator 1 and the reference oscillator 11 . the input from the reference oscillator 11 is applied to a gate 56 via a buffer 100 . the gate 56 is part of the counter 57 which in the preferred embodiment includes a divide - by - two counter primarily for speed compensation for the dual divider 104 , the output of which is applied to the frequency counter 57 which is part of a dual divider 104 . the output from the temperature sensor oscillator 1 is applied via buffer 89 to the gate 55 which includes two divide - by - two counters 90 and 91 . the output of the gate 55 is applied to the frequency counter 58 , also part of the dual divider 104 . in the case of the preferred embodiment , both the frequency counter 57 and the frequency counter 58 are contained on the single lsi chip . the correction factors for the temperature oscillator are stored in the prom 95 . the positioning of the switch 101 will determine if the unit will go in the self - compensation mode ( if the switch 101 is connected to the comp terminal ) or the run mode ( when the switch 101 is connected to the run terminal ). in the run position the prom 95 is read and of course in the comp position the prom 95 is loaded or written into . in the case of the preferred embodiment , the microcomputer 59 is a microprocessor chip 93 which is an intel device 80c48 . this device is able to unload data from the frequency counters 57 and 58 and transfer data from the devices to a d / a converter 34 which converts the information to an analog signal which is used to change the frequency of the slave oscillator 7 which is also used to generate the clock of the microprocessor 93 . the output of the slave oscillator 7 is applied to a multiplexer 102 where it is used to drive the clock standard or time - of - day clock 5 of fig1 . it should be noted that during the compensation mode , the multiplexer accepts the output from the standards 106 for loading of the prom 95 . control of the microprocessor 93 is provided by data bus 159 . many changes and modifications in the above described invention can , of course , be carried out without departing from the scope thereof . accordingly , the invention is intended to be limited only by the scope of the appended claims . | 7 |
reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiments of the present invention , examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings . wherever possible , the same reference numbers will be used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or like parts . fig2 a through 2e are cross - sectional views illustrating a method of fabricating a tft according to a first embodiment of the present invention . as shown in fig2 a and 2b , a metal layer is formed on a transparent insulation substrate 100 and etched to form a gate electrode 101 , after which a gate insulation layer 102 is formed on the insulation substrate 100 covering the gate electrode 101 . the gate insulation layer 102 is an inorganic insulation layer , such as sinx or siox . next , a metal layer is formed on the gate insulation layer 102 formed on the insulation layer and a doping layer is formed on the metal layer . the doping layer may be a phosphor - silicate - glass ( psg ) layer , boro - silicate - glass ( bsg ) layer or an amorphous silicon layer doped with n + ions or p + ions . after the metal layer and the doping layer are formed on the gate insulation layer 102 , as shown in fig2 b , photoresist is deposited on the doping layer . then , source electrode 103 a , drain electrode 103 b and doping layers 104 are simultaneously formed by etching the metal and doping layers in accordance with a mask process . accordingly , the doping layers 104 are each formed entirely over the source and drain electrodes 103 a and 103 b . as shown in fig2 c , after the source and drain electrodes 103 a and 103 b are formed on the gate insulation layer 102 , a liquid - phase silicon layer 105 is formed over and in between the source and drain electrodes 103 a and 103 b through a coating process , such as an inkjet method . the liquid - phase silicon layer 105 is formed from a silicon containing liquid - phase material , such as sixh 2 x ( cyclopentasilane ). after the liquid - phase silicon layer 105 is formed in the channel region defined between the source and drain electrodes 103 a and 103 b , an annealing process is performed to form a polysilicon channel layer 106 on the gate insulation layer 102 between the source and drain electrodes 103 a and 103 b and overlapping the doping layers 104 , as shown in fig2 d . as the annealing process is performed , a thickness of the liquid - phase silicon layer 105 is reduced such that a height of the channel layer 106 above the gate insulation layer 102 becomes a little more than that defined by the source and drain electrodes 103 a and 103 b . the annealing process is performed by heating the substrate up to a temperature of 200 - 800 ° c . ( 540 ° c .) and irradiating a laser having a wavelength of 308 nm and an energy of 345 mj / cm2 . in more detail , solvent contained in the channel pattern is removed through the heating process and thus a thickness of the channel pattern is reduced . further , the silicon is changed into polysilicon by irradiating the laser while dopants from the doping layers 104 diffuse into the source and drain electrodes 103 a and 103 b . however , embodiments of the present invention are not limited to this configuration . the heating temperature and the energy of the laser may vary in accordance with a degree of crystallization , or a size of the lcd device and a material property of the liquid - phase silicon . after the channel layer 106 is formed , a passivation layer 109 is formed on the insulation substrate 100 and etched to expose the source and drain electrodes 103 a and 103 b , as shown in fig2 e , . the passivation layer 109 may be a sinx - base inorganic layer or an acryl - based organic layer . subsequently , a metal layer is formed on the passivation layer 109 and patterned to form terminals 107 a and 107 b that electrically contact the source and drain electrodes 103 a and 103 b , respectively . the method of fabricating the tft according to the first embodiment has an advantage of forming the polysilicon channel layer without performing deposition and mask processes . further , since the channel layer is formed without performing a pecvd process , the process load can be reduced . fig3 a through 3e are cross - sectional views illustrating a method of fabricating a tft according to a second embodiment of the present invention . as shown in fig3 a and 3b , a metal layer is formed on a transparent insulation substrate 200 and etched to form a gate electrode 201 , after which a gate insulation layer 202 is formed on the insulation substrate 200 covering the gate electrode 201 . the gate insulation layer 202 is an inorganic insulation layer , such as sinx or siox . next , a metal layer is formed over the gate insulation layer 202 . then , source and drain electrodes 203 a and 203 b are formed through a photolithography process . after the source and drain electrodes 203 a and 203 b are formed on the gate insulation layer 202 , a liquid - phase silicon layer 204 is formed over and in between the source and drain electrodes 203 and 203 b . then , a doping layer 205 is formed on the liquid - phase silicon layer 204 , as shown in fig3 c . the liquid - phase silicon layer 204 is formed of a silicon containing liquid phase material , such as sixh 2 x ( cyclopentasilane ) and the doping layer 205 may be a psg ( phosphor - silicate - glass ) layer , a boro - silicate - glass layer , or an amorphous silicon layer doped with n + or p + ions . after the liquid - phase silicon layer 204 and the doping layer 205 are formed , photoresist is deposited on the doping layer 205 , after which a halftone pattern 280 is formed at a channel region , defined between the source and drain electrodes 203 a and 203 b over the gate electrode 202 , through a diffraction mask or halftone mask process . after the halftone pattern 280 is formed on the doping layer 205 , an etching process is performed to form a channel pattern 204 a and doping layers 205 a and 205 b that are respectively overlapping the source and drain electrodes 203 a and 203 b on the channel pattern 204 a , as shown in fig3 d . subsequently , as shown in fig3 e , an annealing process and a contact layer forming process are performed using a laser to form a polysilicon channel layer 206 a on the gate insulation layer 102 between the source and drain electrodes 203 a and 203 b and to form ohmic contact layers 206 b at the edges of the polysilicon channel layer 206 a contacting the source and drain electrodes 203 a and 203 b . that is , according to the tft fabrication method of the second embodiment , the polysilicon channel layer 206 a and the ohmic contact layer 206 b are simultaneously formed through a single process . the annealing process and the contact layer forming process are performed by heating the substrate up to a temperature of 200 - 800 ° c . ( about 540 ° c .) and irradiating a laser having a wavelength of 308 nm and an energy of 345 mj / cm2 . in more detail , solvent contained in the channel pattern is removed through the heating process and thus a thickness of the channel pattern is reduced . further , the silicon is changed into polysilicon by irradiating the laser . in addition , during the above process , the doping layer is vertically diffused into the channel pattern to form the ohmic contact layers 206 b . after the channel layer 206 a and the ohmic contact layers 206 b are formed on the insulation substrate 200 , although not shown in the drawings , a passivation layer ( insulation layer ) is additionally formed on the insulation substrate 200 , after which a contact hole forming process for exposing the source and drain electrodes 203 a and 203 b is performed . subsequently , a metal layer is formed on the insulation substrate 100 and patterned to form power terminals that electrically contact the source and drain electrodes 203 a and 203 b , respectively . the method of fabricating the tft according to the second embodiment has an advantage of simultaneously forming the channel layer and the ohmic contact layer after the channel layer region and the ohmic contact layer are patterned using the halftone pattern ( see fig2 e ). further , since the channel layer is formed without performing a pecvd process , the process load can be reduced . fig4 a through 4c are cross - sectional views illustrating a method of fabricating a tft according to a third embodiment of the present invention . as shown in fig4 a , a metal layer is formed on a transparent insulation substrate 300 and etched to form a gate electrode 301 , after which a gate insulation layer 302 is formed on the insulation substrate 300 covering the gate electrode 301 . the gate insulation layer 302 is an inorganic insulation layer , such as sinx or siox . next , a metal layer is formed over the gate insulation layer 302 and a doping layer is formed on the metal layer . the doping layer may be a psg layer , a bsg , or an amorphous silicon layer doped with n + or p + ions . after the metal layer and the doping layer are formed on the insulation substrate 300 , photoresist is deposited on the doping layer and source and drain electrodes 303 a and 303 b and doping layers 304 are simultaneously formed by etching the metal and doping layers in accordance with a mask process . accordingly , doping patterns 305 are respectively formed over the source and drain electrodes 303 a and 303 b . after the source and drain electrodes 303 a and 303 b are formed on the gate insulation layer 302 , a liquid - phase silicon layer is formed over and in between the source and drain electrodes 303 a and 303 b through an inkjet method . the liquid - phase silicon layer is formed of a silicon containing liquid - phase material , such as si x h 2x ( cyclopentasilane ). after the liquid - phase silicon layer is formed between the source and drain electrodes 303 a and 303 b , a channel pattern 304 , as shown in fig4 b , is formed between the source and drain electrodes 303 a and 303 b by etching the liquid - phase silicon layer through a photolithograph process , including a mask process . at this point , a portion of the doping pattern 305 , which is not formed under edges of the channel pattern , is removed . after the channel pattern 304 is formed between the source and drain electrodes 303 a and 303 b , an annealing process is performed to form a polysilicon channel layer 304 a between the source and drain electrodes 303 a and 303 b and an ohmic contact layers 306 at both edges of the channel layer 304 a for connecting to the source and drain electrodes 303 a and 303 b , as shown in fig4 c . as the annealing process is performed , a thickness of the liquid - phase silicon layer is reduced and dopants doped in the ohmic contact layer 306 are diffused into both edges of the channel layer 304 a . the annealing process is performed by heating the substrate up to a temperature of 200 - 800 ° c . ( 540 ° c .) and irradiating a laser having a wavelength of 308 nm and an energy of 345 mj / cm 2 . in more detail , solvent contained in the channel pattern is removed through the heating process and thus a thickness of the channel pattern is reduced . further , the silicon is changed into polysilicon by irradiating the laser . however , embodiments of the present invention are not limited to this configuration . the heating temperature and the energy of the laser may vary in accordance with a degree of crystallization , or a size of the lcd device and a material property of the liquid - phase silicon . after the channel layer 304 a is formed , a passivation layer and terminals can be further formed . the method of fabricating the tft according to the third embodiment has an advantage of forming the channel layer without performing deposition and mask processes . further , since the channel layer is formed without performing a pecvd process , the process load can be reduced . fig5 a through 5c are cross - sectional views illustrating a method of fabricating a tft according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention . as shown in fig . sa , a metal layer is formed on a transparent insulation substrate 400 and etched to form a gate electrode 401 , after which a gate insulation layer 402 is formed on the insulation substrate 400 covering the gate electrode 401 . the gate insulation layer 402 is an inorganic insulation layer , such as sinx or siox . next , a metal layer is formed over the gate insulation layer 402 and a doping layer is formed on the metal layer . the doping layer may be a psg layer , a bsg layer , or an amorphous silicon layer doped with n + or p + ions . after the metal layer and the doping layer are formed on the gate insulation layer 402 , photoresist is deposited on the doping layer and source and drain electrodes 403 a and 403 b and an ohmic contact layers 405 are simultaneously formed by etching the metal and doping layers in accordance with a mask process . after the source and drain electrodes 403 a and 403 b are formed , a self - assembled monolayer ( sam ) 410 is applied to the an ohmic contact layers 405 and the gate insulation layer 402 between the source and drain electrodes 403 a and 403 b . the sam 410 has a hydrophilic or hydrophobic property . the property of the sam 410 varies in accordance with whether a liquid - phase silicon layer , which will be formed in the following process has a hydrophilic or hydrophobic property . after the sam 410 is applied in the channel region between the source and drain electrodes 403 a and 403 b , a liquid - phase silicon layer is formed in the channel region and on the ohmic contact layers 405 through a coating process , such as an inkjet method , as shown in fig5 b . the liquid - phase silicon layer is formed of silicon containing liquid - phase material , such as si x h 2x ( cyclopentasilane ). after the liquid - phase silicon layer is formed over and in between the source and drain electrodes 403 a and 403 b and overlapping the ohmic contact layers 405 , the liquid - phase silicon layer exists only on a region of the sam 410 to form a channel pattern 404 a . when the sam 410 has a hydrophilic property and a liquid - phase silicon layer having a hydrophilic property is formed through a coating or inkjet method , the liquid - phase silicon layer exists only on the channel region to form the channel pattern 404 a . after the channel pattern 404 a is formed , an annealing process is performed to form a channel layer 404 , as shown in fig5 c . although not shown in the drawings , as the annealing process is performed , a thickness of the liquid - phase silicon layer is reduced and dopants doped in the ohmic contact layer 405 are diffused to the both edges of the channel layer 404 . the annealing process is performed by heating the substrate up to a temperature of 200 - 800 ° c . ( 540 ° c .) and irradiating a laser having a wavelength of 308 nm and an energy of 345 mj / cm2 . in more detail , solvent contained in the channel pattern is removed through the heating process and thus a thickness of the channel pattern is reduced . further , the silicon is changed into polysilicon by irradiating the laser . however , embodiments of the present invention are not limited to this configuration . the heating temperature and the energy of the laser may vary in accordance with a degree of crystallization , or a size of the lcd device and a material property of the liquid - phase silicon . after the channel layer 404 is formed , a passivation layer and terminals can be further formed . the method of fabricating the tft according to the fourth embodiment has an advantage of forming the channel layer without performing deposition and masking processes . further , since the channel layer is formed without performing a pecvd process , the process load can be reduced . fig6 a through 6c are cross - sectional views illustrating a method of fabricating a tft according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention . as shown in fig6 a , a metal layer is formed on a transparent insulation substrate 500 and etched to form a gate electrode 501 , after which a gate insulation layer 502 is formed on the insulation substrate 500 covering the gate electrode 501 . the gate insulation layer 502 is an inorganic insulation layer , such as sinx or siox . next , a metal layer is formed over the gate insulation layer 502 and a doping layer is formed on the metal layer . the doping layer may be a psg layer , a bsg layer , or an amorphous silicon layer doped with n + or p + ions . after the metal layer and the doping layer are formed on the gate insulation layer 502 , photoresist is deposited on the doping layer and source and drain electrodes 503 a and 503 b and doping layers 505 are simultaneously formed by etching the metal and doping layers in accordance with a mask process . after the source and drain electrodes 503 a and 503 b are formed , a self - assembled monolayer ( sam ) 510 is applied to edge portions of the doping layers 505 away from the channel region between the source and drain electrodes 503 a and 503 b and on the gate insulation layer 502 outside of the channel area . the sam 510 has a hydrophilic or hydrophobic property . the property of the sam 510 varies in accordance with whether a liquid - phase silicon layer , which will be formed in the following process has a hydrophilic or hydrophobic property . after the sam 510 is applied outside of the channel region between the source and drain electrodes 503 a and 503 b , a liquid - phase silicon layer is formed in the channel region and on the ohmic contact layers 505 through an inkjet method . the liquid - phase silicon layer is formed of a silicon containing liquid - phase material , such as sixh 2 x ( cyclopentasilane ). after the liquid - phase silicon layer is formed in the channel region between the source and drain electrodes 503 a and 503 b and overlapping the ohmic contact layers 505 , the liquid - phase silicon layer exists only on a region where the sam 510 is not present to form a channel pattern 504 . for example , when the sam 510 has a hydrophobic property , a liquid - phase silicon layer having a hydrophilic property is formed through a coating or inkjet method and thus the liquid - phase silicon layer exists only on the region where the sam 510 is not present to form the channel pattern 504 . when the channel pattern 504 is formed in the channel region between the source and drain electrodes 503 a and 503 b and overlapping the ohmic contact layers 505 , an annealing process is performed to form a polysilicon channel layer 504 a , as shown in fig6 c . although not shown in the drawings , as the annealing process is performed , a thickness of the liquid - phase silicon layer is reduced and dopants doped in the ohmic contact layer 505 are diffused at both edges of the channel layer 504 a . the annealing process is performed by heating the substrate up to a temperature of 200 - 800 ° c . ( 540 ° c .) and irradiating a laser having a wavelength of 308 nm and an energy of 345 mj / cm 2 . in more detail , solvent contained in the channel pattern is removed through the heating process and thus a thickness of the channel pattern is reduced . further , the silicon is changed into polysilicon by irradiating the laser . however , the present invention is not limited to this configuration . the heating temperature and the energy of the laser may vary in accordance with a degree of crystallization , or a size of the lcd device and a material property of the liquid - phase silicon . after the channel layer 504 a is formed , a passivation layer and a power terminal can be further formed . the method of fabricating the tft according to the fifth embodiment has an advantage of forming the channel layer without performing deposition and mask processes . further , since the channel layer is formed without performing a pecvd process , the process load can be reduced . fig7 is a top plan view of a pixel structure of a liquid crystal display device according to a first embodiment of the present invention . as shown in fig7 , a gate line 601 for applying a driving signal and a data line 605 for applying a data signal are arranged to cross each other to define a unit pixel area and a tft is disposed at a region where the gate line 601 crosses the data line 605 . since the tft is formed by forming a liquid - phase silicon in a channel region through an inkjet method , the channel layer is formed between the source and drain electrodes and overlapping the ohmic contact layers of the source and drain electrodes . a first common line 603 is formed at the unit pixel area . the first common line 603 is in parallel with the gate line 601 and crosses the data lien 605 . a first common electrode 603 a extends from opposite sides of the common line 603 in parallel to the data line 605 . a first common line 603 is formed at the unit pixel area , and a first common electrode 603 a extends from opposite sides of the common line 603 in parallel to the data line 605 . here , the data line 605 and the first common electrode 603 a are bent at a predetermined angle to provide a wide viewing angle . further , a first storage electrode 606 is formed at a region adjacent to the gate line 601 and the gate electrode 601 a and connected to the first common electrode 603 a . accordingly , the first storage electrode 606 is integrally formed with the first common line 603 , the first common electrode 603 a and the first storage electrode 606 to define a closed loop structure . a second common line 613 is formed to overlap a central region of the first common line 603 formed at the unit pixel area and electrically connected to the first common line 603 . the second common electrode 613 a also extends from the second common line 613 along the unit pixel area . further , the second common electrode 613 a is also bent at a predetermined angle to be parallel with the first common electrode 603 a and the data line 605 , thereby providing a wide viewing angle . a second storage electrode 607 for forming a storage capacitance is formed above the first storage electrode 606 to overlap the first storage electrode 606 . first and second pixel electrodes 607 a and 607 b extend from the second storage electrode 607 to the unit pixel area . more particularly , the first pixel electrodes 607 a extend from the second storage electrode 607 and are alternately arranged with the second common electrodes 613 at a transmission area of the unit pixel area . the first pixel electrodes 607 a are also bent at the predetermined angle to thereby provide for a wide viewing angle . the second pixel electrodes 607 b arranged at both edges of the pixel area extend from the second storage electrode 607 and are disposed to overlap the first common electrode 603 a extending from the first common line 603 . that is , the storage capacitance is formed between the first and second storage electrodes 606 and 607 and another storage capacitance is formed between the first common electrode 603 a and the second pixel electrode 607 b , thereby increasing the overall storage capacitance . as described above , as the overall storage capacitance increases in the unit pixel area , the display quality improves . the tft of the first embodiment has an advantage of forming the channel layer without performing deposition and mask processes . further , since the channel layer is formed without performing a pecvd process , the process load can be reduced . fig8 a through 8f are cross - sectional views taken along line i - i ′ of fig7 , illustrating a method of fabricating the liquid crystal display device of fig7 . as shown in fig8 a , a metal layer is formed on a transparent insulating substrate 610 and the gate line ( see fig7 ), gate electrode 601 a , first common line ( see fig7 ), and first storage electrode 606 are formed through a first mask process . then , a gate insulation layer 612 is formed over the gate line ( see fig7 ), gate electrode 601 a , first common line ( see fig7 ), and first storage electrode 606 on the insulation substrate 610 . subsequently , metal and doping layers are formed on the entire surface of the gate insulation layer 612 . the doping layer may be a psg layer , a bsg layer , or an amorphous silicon layer doped with n + or p + ions . after the metal layer and the doping layer are formed , photoresist is deposited on the doping metal layer . source and drain electrodes 617 a and 617 b , an ohmic contact layer 636 , and the data line ( not shown ) are simultaneously formed by etching the metal and doping layers in accordance with a mask process , as shown in fig8 b . accordingly , the ohmic contact layers 636 are formed on the source and drain electrodes 617 a and 617 b . at this time , the data line is formed to cross the gate line , thereby defining the pixel area . after the source and drain electrodes 617 a and 617 b are formed , a liquid - phase silicon layer 633 is formed in a channel region defined between the source and drain electrodes 617 a and 617 b and on the ohmic contact layers 636 through an inkjet method , as shown in fig8 c . the liquid - phase silicon layer 633 is formed of silicon containing material , such as sixh 2 x ( cyclopentasilane ). after the liquid - phase silicon layer 633 is formed in the channel region , an annealing process is performed to form a channel layer 633 a , as shown in fig8 d . as the annealing process is performed , a thickness of the liquid - phase silicon layer is reduced such that a height of the channel layer 106 above the gate insulation layer 612 becomes similar to that defined by the source and drain electrodes 617 a and 617 b and the ohmic contact layers 636 . the annealing process is performed by heating the substrate up to a temperature of 200 - 800 ° c . ( 540 ° c .) and irradiating a laser having a wavelength of 308 nm and an energy of 345 mj / cm 2 . in more detail , solvent contained in the channel pattern is removed through the heating process and thus a thickness of the channel pattern is reduced . further , the silicon is changed into polysilicon by irradiating the laser . however , embodiments of the present invention are not limited to this configuration . the heating temperature and the energy of the laser may vary in accordance with a degree of crystallization , or a size of the lcd device and a material property of the liquid - phase silicon . after the channel layer 633 a is formed , a passivation layer 619 is formed on the insulation substrate 610 and etched to expose a part of the ohmic contact layer 636 formed on the drain electrode 617 b , as shown in fig8 e . the passivation layer 619 can be an inorganic or organic layer . a transparent metal layer , such as an ito layer , is then formed on the passivation layer 619 . then , the second storage electrode 607 and the first pixel electrode 607 a are formed through a mask process . more specifically , the second pixel electrode , second common line and second common electrode that are shown in fig7 are patterned together . fig9 is a top plan view of a pixel structure of a liquid crystal display device according to a second embodiment of the present invention . as shown in fig9 , a gate line 701 for applying a driving signal and a data line 705 for applying a data signal are arranged to cross each other to define a unit pixel area . a tft is disposed at a region where the gate line 701 crosses the data line 705 . a first common line 703 is formed in the unit pixel area . the first common line 703 is parallel with the gate line 701 and crosses the data line 705 . a first common electrode 703 a extends from opposite sides of the common line 703 parallel to the data line 705 . the data line 705 and the first common electrode 703 a are bent at a predetermined angle to provide a wide viewing angle . a first storage electrode 706 is formed in a region adjacent to the gate line 701 and the gate electrode 701 a and connected to the first common electrode 703 a . accordingly , the first storage electrode 706 is integrally formed with the first common line 703 , the first common electrode 703 a and the first storage electrode 706 to define a closed loop structure . a second common line 713 is formed to overlap a central region of the first common line 703 formed in the unit pixel area and electrically connected to the first common line 703 . further , the second common electrode 713 a extends from the second common line 713 . the second common electrode 713 a is also bent at a predetermined angle to be parallel with the first common electrode 703 a and the data line 705 , thereby providing a wide viewing angle . a second storage electrode 707 for forming a storage capacitance is formed above the first storage electrode 706 to overlap the first storage electrode 706 . first and second pixel electrodes 707 a and 707 b extend from the second storage electrode 707 to the unit pixel area . more particularly , the first pixel electrodes 707 a extend from the second storage electrode 707 and are alternately arranged with the second common electrodes 713 in a transmission area of the unit pixel area . the first pixel electrodes 707 a are also bent at a predetermined angle . the second pixel electrodes 707 b arranged at both edges of the pixel area extend from the second storage electrode 707 and are disposed to overlap the first common electrode 703 a extending from the first common line 703 . a storage capacitance is formed between the first and second storage electrodes 706 and 707 and another storage capacitance is formed between the first common electrode 703 a and the second pixel electrode 707 b , thereby increasing the overall storage capacitance . as described above , as the overall storage capacitance increases at the unit pixel area , the display quality can be improved . further , since the channel layer is formed without performing a pecvd process , the process load can be reduced . furthermore , since the channel layer and the ohmic contact layer are simultaneously formed after the source and drain electrodes are formed , the fabrication process can be simplified . fig1 a through 10g are cross - sectional views taken along line ii - ii ′ of fig9 , illustrating a method of fabricating the liquid crystal display device of fig9 . as shown in fig1 a , a metal layer is formed on a transparent insulating substrate 710 . then , a gate line , gate electrode 701 a , first common line , and first storage electrode 706 are formed through a first mask process . then , a gate insulation layer 712 is formed over the gate line , gate electrode 701 a , first common line , and first storage electrode 706 . a metal layer is then formed over the gate insulation layer 712 . subsequently , a photoresist is deposited on the metal layer and used simultaneously pattern the source electrode 717 a , drain electrode 717 b and the data line ( not shown ) by etching the metal layer through a photolithography process , as shown in fig1 b . after the source and drain electrodes 717 a and 717 b are formed , a liquid - phase silicon layer 733 is formed over the doping layer 736 is formed on the liquid - phase silicon layer 733 . the liquid - phase silicon layer 733 is formed of silicon containing material , such as si x h 2x ( cyclopentasilane ). the doping layer 736 may be a psg layer , a bsg layer , or an amorphous silicon layer doped with n + or p + ions . after the liquid - phase silicon layer 733 and the doping layer 736 are formed , photoresist is deposited on the doping layer 736 , after which a halftone pattern 780 is formed at a channel region over the gate electrode 701 a through a diffraction mask or halftone mask process . after the halftone pattern 780 is formed on the doping layer 736 , as shown in fig1 c , an etching process is performed to form a channel pattern 733 a and an ohmic pattern 736 a that is partly overlapping the source and drain electrodes 717 a and 717 b , as shown in fig1 d . subsequently , as shown in fig1 e , an annealing process and a contact layer forming process using a laser are performed to form a channel layer 738 a on a region corresponding to the gate electrode 701 a and to form an ohmic contact layer 738 b on a region contacting the source and drain electrodes 717 a and 717 b . the annealing process and the contact layer forming process are performed by heating the substrate up to a temperature of 200 - 800 ° c . ( about 540 ° c .) and irradiating a laser having a wavelength of 308 nm and an energy of 345 mj / cm2 . in more detail , solvent contained in the channel pattern is removed through the heating process and thus a thickness of the channel pattern is reduced . further , the silicon is changed into polysilicon by irradiating the laser . in addition , during the above process , the doping layer is vertically diffused to the channel pattern to form the ohmic contact layer 738 b . next , as shown in fig1 f , a passivation layer 719 is additionally formed on the insulation substrate 710 , after which a contact hole forming process for partly expose the drain electrode 717 b . after the contact hole forming process is finished , as shown in fig1 g , a transparent metal layer , such as an ito layer , is formed . the second storage electrode 707 and the first pixel electrode 707 a are formed through a mask process . at this point , the second pixel electrode , second common line and second common electrode that are shown in fig9 are patterned together . the method for fabricating the lcd device is not limited to the above - described embodiments . that is , the tft fabrication methods illustrated in fig4 a through 4c , fig5 a through 5c , and fig6 a through 6c may be applied to the method for fabricating the lcd device . in addition , the above described tft fabrication methods and lcd fabrication methods may be applied to a method of fabricating other flat display devices as well as the lcd device . according to embodiments of the present invention , an effect where the channel layer and ohmic contact layer of the tft are simultaneously formed can be obtained . in addition , the channel layer can be formed without performing deposition and mask processes so as to reduce process load reduced . further , since the source and drain electrodes and the ohmic contact layer are simultaneously patterned , the fabrication process can be simplified . because the channel layer and the ohmic contact layer of the tft are simultaneously formed using the liquid - phase silicon and the halftone mask ( refraction mask ), the fabrication process can be simplified to reduce costs . it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention . thus , it is intended that the present invention covers the modifications and variations of this invention provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents . | 7 |
fig1 schematically illustrates a cross - sectional side view of one embodiment of a plurality of microelectronic devices . representatively , in one embodiment , the microelectronic devices 102 a - 102 f may be microsystems enabled photovoltaic ( mepv ) cells . it should be understood that the terms “ photovoltaic solar cell ”, “ photovoltaic cell ”, “ solar cell ” and “ cell ” may be used interchangeably herein to refer to any of microelectronic devices 102 a - 102 f . in addition , it should be understood that although microelectronic devices 102 a - 102 f are described as solar cells herein , they may be any type of microscale component or macroscale component that could benefit from any of the flexible packaging embodiments disclosed herein . representatively , microelectronic devices 102 a - 102 f could be light emitting diode devices , integrated circuit devices , or other semiconductor devices or the like . in addition , the term “ flexible ” as used herein should be understood as referring to the ability of any package , module , assembly , layer or material described herein of being bent and returning to its original non - bent configuration without breaking . for example , the package , module , assembly , layer or material described herein may be considered “ flexible ” where it has a bend radius of from about 0 . 75 mm to about 1 cm , for example , from about 2 mm to about 8 mm , or from about 3 mm to about 5 mm and can be returned to a non - bent configuration relatively easily . microelectronic devices 102 a - 102 f may be , in some embodiments , as small as 10 micrometers across and 1 micrometer thick to 100s of micrometers across and 40 - 50 micrometers thick devices which may be fabricated on a wafer according to any standard microprocessing techniques . once fabricated , microelectronic devices 102 a - 102 f may be separated from the wafer by , for example , a chemical or mechanical separating technique ( e . g . application of an hf solution which chemically separates the devices from the wafer ). for example , the devices may be individually detached from the wafer by , for example , an etching process using a hydrofluoric acid ( hf ) solution to undercut the cells . these “ free floating ” cells may then be assembled into sheets by attracting the individual cells to a desired position on a substrate using self - assembly techniques . fig2 schematically illustrates a cross - sectional side view of the microelectronic devices of fig1 assembled on a flexible substrate . to form the flexible packaging disclosed herein , microelectronic devices 102 a - 102 f are connected to a substrate 204 to form microelectronic device module 200 . substrate 204 may be , in some embodiments , a flexible substrate having circuitry or wiring formed therein . in such embodiments , metal interconnections may be formed between substrate 204 and microelectronic device 102 a - 102 f such that microelectronic devices 102 a - 102 f may be electrically connected to substrate 204 and other assemblies within which they may be integrated ( e . g . a concentrated photovoltaic module ). substrate 204 may be made of any material capable of forming a flexible substrate . representative materials may include plastic polymeric materials , including , but not limited to polyimide , polyethersulfone , polyether ether ketone ( peek ) or a transparent conductive polyester film . microelectronic devices 102 a - 102 f may be bonded to substrate 204 . in some embodiments , microelectronic devices 102 a - 102 f are bonded to substrate 204 with an adhesive layer 202 . adhesive layer 202 may , in some embodiments , be made of an adhesive material such that bonding is achieved by adhering microelectronic devices 102 a - 102 f to substrate 204 . a representative adhesive material may be a high temperature adhesive such as cyanate ester . in such embodiments , the cyanate ester adhesive is applied to substrate 204 followed by placement of microelectronic devices 102 a - 102 f on top of the adhesive . once in position , the assembly is heated to a high temperature to cure the adhesive . in other embodiments , adhesive layer 202 may be formed by any type of bonding material , for example , solder bumps which can be deposited on substrate 204 at locations where a connection to microelectronic devices 102 a - 102 f is desired and then heated to bond devices 102 a - 102 f to substrate 204 . alternatively , adhesive layer 202 may be made of an epoxy , bismalimide , or bismalimide - triazine material . in any case , it is important that any material used for adhesive layer 202 be a material which is compatible with microelectronic devices 102 a - 102 f and any electrical connections ( e . g . metal interconnections or wiring ) formed between microelectronic devices 102 a - 102 f and substrate 204 . it is also important that a material for adhesive layer 202 not substantially impact or reduce a flexibility of the packaging . fig3 schematically illustrates a cross - sectional side view of an encapsulation layer formed over the assembly of fig2 . once microelectronic device module 200 is formed , it is encapsulated within encapsulation layer 302 to form an encapsulated or encapsulation module 300 . in some embodiments , for example where microelectronic devices 102 a - 102 f are pv cells , encapsulation layer 302 may be optically transparent such that light waves can be transmitted to the pv cells through encapsulation layer 302 . representatively , in one embodiment , encapsulation layer 302 is any optically transparent material , which is also flexible so that it does not significantly impact a flexibility of the packaging . in some embodiments , encapsulation layer 302 may be made of an elastomeric material capable of accepting large strain . representative materials may include , but are not limited to , silicone materials such as polydimethylsiloxane ( pdms ) as well as other materials such as ethylene vinyl acetate ( eva ), polyurethane , and polyolefin . other suitable materials , depending upon the type of devices encapsulated within encapsulation layer 302 , may include fire retardant materials , fire retardant treated materials and waterproof materials , including but not limited to , polyesters , nylon , acrylic and other commercial brands such as marko ®, marlan ® and nomex ®. depending upon the material selected for encapsulation layer 302 , encapsulation layer 302 may be formed by a spin coating , doctor blading or a lamination technique . for example , in the case of a silicone encapsulation layer , encapsulation layer 302 may be formed by spin coating the material over microelectronic devices 102 a - 102 f such that it covers all exposed surfaces of microelectronic devices 102 a - 102 f and allowing it to cure . alternatively , encapsulation layer 302 may be formed by a film of material which can be thermally laminated around microelectronic devices 102 a - 102 f . in some embodiments , encapsulation layer 302 may have a thickness of less than 60 micrometers , for example , 50 micrometers or less , or from about 25 micrometers to about 50 micrometers . in addition to providing a protective transparent layer through which light can be transmitted to microelectronic devices 102 a - 102 f , encapsulation layer 302 may also facilitate bonding of devices 102 a - 102 f to substrate 204 since it can encapsulate each of devices 102 a - 102 f and any exposed surfaces of substrate 204 . fig4 schematically illustrates a cross - sectional side view of a protective layer formed over the assembly of fig3 . once encapsulation layer 302 is formed , the resulting encapsulated module 300 is covered by a protective layer 402 according to the process shown in fig4 - fig . 7 . representatively , in one embodiment , protective layer 402 is applied over an exposed top face 404 ( side covering devices 102 a - 102 f ) of encapsulation layer 302 and bonded to encapsulation layer 302 . for example , in one embodiment , protective layer 402 may be formed by surface treating the protective layer 402 and applying it to encapsulation layer 302 before encapsulation layer 302 is cured , encapsulation layer 302 is then cured such that the two layers bond together . in other embodiments , protective layer 402 is made of a material that can be spin coated onto protective layer 402 and bonded thereto prior to or after curing of encapsulation layer 302 . suitable materials for protective layer may include any substantially flexible materials capable of forming a moisture resistant seal around encapsulation module 300 . in addition , suitable materials may be any material , particularly in cases where devices 102 a - 102 f are pv cells , which is optically transparent and can provide mechanical protection to devices 102 a - 102 f . representative materials may include , but are not limited to , polychlorotrifluoroethylene ( pctfe ), polytetrafluoroethylene ( ptfe ), ethylene chlorotrifluoroethylene ( ectfe ), ethylene tetrafluoroethylene ( etfe ) or polyvinylidene difluoride ( pvdf ). in some embodiments , protective layer 402 may have a thickness of less than 60 micrometers , for example , 50 micrometers or less , or from about 25 micrometers to about 50 micrometers . fig5 schematically illustrates a cross - sectional side view of a perimeter protective layer formed around the assembly of fig4 . perimeter protective layer 502 may be formed around a perimeter of encapsulation module 300 , which remains exposed after application of protective layer 402 . in some embodiments , perimeter protective layer 502 may be formed from a film which has a cut out center dimensioned to fit around encapsulation module 300 . in this aspect , once the film opening is formed , perimeter protective layer 502 may be positioned around encapsulation module 300 and sealed against protective layer 402 by , for example , an ultrasonic welding or thermal welding process . in other embodiments , perimeter protective layer 502 may be a sealant tape or sealant bead applied around the exposed perimeter of encapsulation module 300 and sealed to protective layer 402 . perimeter protective layer 502 may be made of the same material as protective layer 402 . representatively , perimeter protective layer 502 may be made of any material capable of forming a moisture resistant seal around encapsulation module 300 . representative materials may include , but are not limited to , polychlorotrifluoroethylene ( pctfe ), polytetrafluoroethylene ( ptfe ), ethylene chlorotrifluoroethylene ( ectfe ), ethylene tetrafluoroethylene ( etfe ) or polyvinyl idene difluoride ( pvdf ). fig6 schematically illustrates a cross - sectional side view of a further adhesive layer formed on the assembly of fig5 . adhesive layer 602 may be applied to substrate 204 to facilitate attachment of a final protective layer 702 along a bottom side 604 of encapsulation module 300 and a bottom side 606 of perimeter protective layer 502 , as shown in fig7 . in this aspect , although adhesive layer 602 is shown formed along the bottom side 604 of substrate 204 , it may instead or additionally , be formed along a top side 704 of the final protective layer 702 as shown in fig7 . adhesive layer 602 may be formed by any material capable of bonding substrate 204 to another protective layer 702 . in preferred embodiments , the material for adhesive layer 602 is an elastomeric material having adhesive properties . representatively , in some embodiments , adhesive layer 602 is an adhesive material such as thermoplastic polyurethane ( tpu ). in this embodiment , adhesive layer 602 is formed by a solid pellet resin which is dispersed in a solvent and brush , spray , doctor blade or equivalent applied to substrate 204 or a film that can bond one material to another , such as by a thermal lamination process . in still further embodiments , adhesive layer 602 may be made of the same material as adhesive layer 202 . in any case , it is important that any material used for adhesive layer 602 be a material which is compatible with microelectronic devices 102 a - 102 f and any electrical connections ( e . g . metal interconnections or wiring ) formed between microelectronic devices 102 a - 102 f and substrate 204 . it is also important that a material for adhesive layer 602 be substantially flexible and / or elastomeric such that it does not significantly impact or reduce a flexibility of the packaging . in some embodiments , adhesive layer 602 may have a thickness of less than 40 micrometers , for example , 30 micrometers or less , or from about 10 micrometers to about 25 micrometers . in addition to bonding protective layer 702 to substrate 204 as shown in fig6 , protective layer 702 should be sealed to the bottom surface 606 of perimeter protective layer 502 as shown in fig7 . in one embodiment , protective layer 702 is substantially the same material as protective layer 402 and perimeter protective layer 502 . protective layer 702 may be sealed to perimeter protective layer 502 using ultrasonic welding or thermal welding process to apply heat and pressure to melt and bond the layers together . it is noted , however , that it is important that adhesive layer 602 be confined to an area between protective layer 702 and substrate 204 and not extend into the seal line between protective layer 502 and protective layer 702 when protective layer 502 and protective layer 702 are bonded using a welding process . rather , protective layer 502 and protective layer 702 are bonded together similar to protective layer 402 and protective layer 502 , using , for example , a thermal welding process or a sealant . once protective layer 702 is sealed to protective layer 502 , and in turn , protective layer 402 , the layers 702 , 502 and 402 in combination form a protective barrier which seals encapsulation module 300 . the protective barrier may provide a moisture barrier , diffusion barrier and mechanical barrier around the layers and devices therein . although formation of the protective layer is shown in fig4 - fig . 7 as a multi - step process in which multiple layers are applied , it is further contemplated that the protective layer may be formed in any manner and using any material capable of completely sealing the encapsulation module 300 shown in fig3 . for example , the encapsulation module 300 may be spin coated or spray coated with a protective material , initially in a liquid form , which is capable of sealing all exposed surfaces of encapsulation module 300 . fig8 schematically illustrates a cross - sectional side view of a further adhesive layer formed on the protective layer of the assembly of fig7 followed by application of a reinforcing layer in fig9 . once the protective layers 702 , 502 and 402 are sealed around encapsulation module 300 , a reinforcing layer 902 is bonded to protective layer 702 . in one embodiment , reinforcing layer 902 is bonded to protective layer 702 by applying a further adhesive layer 802 between reinforcing layer 902 and protective layer 702 . representatively , in one embodiment , adhesive layer 802 is applied to one or both of protective layer 702 and reinforcing layer 902 , then the two layers are bonded using a thermal lamination process . in one embodiment , adhesive layer 802 is made of substantially the same material as adhesive layer 602 and applied to the associated protective layer in a similar manner . for example , in one embodiment , adhesive layer 802 is made of an elastomeric adhesive such as tpu . in this embodiment , adhesive layer 802 is formed by a solid pellet resin which is dispersed in a solvent and brush , spray , doctor blade or equivalent applied to protective layer 702 or a film that can bond one material to another , such as by a thermal lamination process . in any case , it is important that any material used for adhesive layer 802 be a material which is compatible with microelectronic devices 102 a - 102 f and any electrical connections ( e . g . metal interconnections or wiring ) formed through adhesive layer 802 . it is also important that a material for adhesive layer 802 be substantially flexible and / or elastomeric such that it does not significantly impact or reduce a flexibility of the packaging . in some embodiments , adhesive layer 802 may have a thickness of less than 40 micrometers , for example , 30 micrometers or less , or from about 10 micrometers to about 25 micrometers . reinforcing layer 902 is coupled to a side of protective layer 702 opposite microelectronic devices 102 a - 102 f . reinforcing layer 902 may be any type of material layer which provides a mechanical backer to the above discussed device assembly . representatively , reinforcing layer 902 may be made of a flexible fabric material having a very high modulus and strength . for example , reinforcing layer 902 may be any material that is abrasion and penetration resistant and can reduce a mechanical stress on the rest of the package . for example , in one embodiment , reinforcing layer 902 may be made of a fiber reinforced material including , but not limited to , a vectran ®, polyester , aramid , twaron , kevlar ®, spectra ®, polyethylene , carbon fiber or a glass woven fabric . other suitable materials may include fire retardant materials , fire retardant treated materials and waterproof materials , including but not limited to , polyesters , nylon , acrylic and other commercial brands such as marko ®, marlan ® and nomex ®. it is further contemplated , that wiring 904 , which provides an electrical connection between microelectronic devices 102 a - 102 f and any assembly within which it may be integrated , may further be provided . for example , wiring 904 may be connected to substrate 204 and extend through protective layer 702 and out the module assembly 900 through a region between protective layer 702 and reinforcing layer 902 as shown . wiring 904 may , however , extend out of module assembly 900 through other layers or regions of module assembly 900 . regardless of where wiring 904 exits module assembly 900 , it is important that wiring 904 also be sealed at any exit ports within and / or between layers so as not to allow moisture transmission to microelectronic devices 102 a - 102 f . it is further contemplated that in addition to module assembly 900 being a flexible package , it be relatively thin . for example , in some embodiments , an overall thickness of module assembly 900 may be 3 mm or less , for example 500 micrometers or less , for example , less than 400 micrometers , for example , 375 micrometers or less , more specifically , from about 100 micrometers to about 375 micrometers , or from about 200 micrometers to about 300 micrometers . while certain embodiments have been described and shown in the accompanying drawings , it is to be understood that such embodiments are merely illustrative of and not restrictive on the broad invention , and that the invention is not limited to the specific constructions and arrangements shown and described , since various other modifications may occur to those of ordinary skill in the art . for example , although processes for packaging of microelectronic devices such as pv cells are described herein , it is contemplated that the devices need not be limited to such devices . rather , electronic devices or components of any size which could benefit from a flexible , and in some cases , optically transparent packaging , are contemplated . for example , other types of devices that may be packaged within a flexible packaging using the techniques described herein may include , but are not limited to , diacs , diodes ( rectifier diode ), gunn diodes , impatt diodes , laser diodes , light - emitting diodes ( led ), photocells , pin diodes , schottky diodes , tunnel diodes , vcsels , vecsels , zener diodes , bipolar transistors , darlington transistors , field - effect transistors , insulated - gate bipolar transistor ( igbt ) s , silicon controlled rectifiers , thyristors , triacs , unijunction transistors , hall effect sensors ( magnetic field sensor ), integrated circuits ( ics ), charge - coupled devices ( ccd ), microprocessor devices , random - access memory ( ram ) devices , or read - only memory ( rom ) devices . the description is thus to be regarded as illustrative instead of limiting . in the description above , for the purposes of explanation , numerous specific details have been set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiments . it will be apparent however , to one skilled in the art , that one or more other embodiments may be practiced without some of these specific details . the particular embodiments described are not provided to limit the invention but to illustrate it . the scope of the invention is not to be determined by the specific examples provided above but only by the claims below . in other instances , well - known structures , devices , and operations have been shown in block diagram form or without detail in order to avoid obscuring the understanding of the description . where considered appropriate , reference numerals or terminal portions of reference numerals have been repeated in the figure to indicate corresponding or analogous elements , which may optionally have similar characteristics . it should also be appreciated that reference throughout this specification to “ one embodiment ”, “ an embodiment ”, “ one or more embodiments ”, or “ different embodiments ”, for example , means that a particular feature may be included in the practice of the invention . similarly , it should be appreciated that in the description , various features are sometimes grouped together in a single embodiment , figure , or description thereof for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure and aiding in the understanding of various inventive aspects . this method of disclosure , however , is not to be interpreted as reflecting an intention that the invention requires more features than are expressly recited in each claim . rather , as the following claims reflect , inventive aspects may lie in less than all features of a single disclosed embodiment . thus , the claims following the detailed description are hereby expressly incorporated into this detailed description , with each claim standing on its own as a separate embodiment of the invention . | 7 |
fig1 shows as an example a hoist according to an advantageous embodiment of the invention in the form of a top - slewing crane 20 whose tower 21 is mounted on a carriage or solid base . linked to tower 21 in a previously known manner is a boom 23 braced by bracing 24 . the said bracing 24 can be rigid , for example in the form of bracing rods , but also adjustable in the form of a rope reeving that can be changed in length via a bracing winch 25 such that the working angle of boom 23 can be changed , as shown in fig2 . as shown in fig1 , the tower crane 20 can be provided with a trolley boom . a movable trolley is installed on the said crane in operating position , in particular on its horizontally oriented boom 23 , whereby the said trolley 55 can , for example , be moved via a trolley rope which can be guided via deflection pulleys at the boom tip . the tower crane also comprises a hoist rope 1 that can be lowered via deflection pulleys from the boom tip where it is connected with a crane hook 29 , as shown in fig2 , or in the version according to fig1 can run via the said movable trolley 55 and deflection pulleys provided there , and can be connected with the crane hook 29 . in both cases , the said hoist rope 1 runs on a hoist winch 30 . the said hoist rope 1 and / or the bracing rope can be designed as fiber ropes which can consists of synthetic fibers such as aramid fibers or fibers made from a mixture of aramid and carbon . in both cases , the said hoist rope can be fastened to boom 23 of the crane by means of a swivel 4 . to monitor or detect the parameters of the said fiber rope relevant to its discard state , a detection means is provided that can be arranged on the crane and which together with an evaluation unit 3 , which evaluates the acquired parameters , can be connected with or integrated in the electronic crane control unit 31 . as fig2 and 3 show , the torsional stiffness determination means 2 advantageously comprises the above mentioned swivel 4 shown in greater detail in fig3 and 4 . the said swivel 4 comprises two swivel sections 4 a and 4 b which are rotatable relative to each other in the lengthwise direction of the rope . swivel part 4 a forms a fixed or non - tiltable swivel part which with regard to the rope &# 39 ; s lengthwise direction is rigidly mounted on boom 23 . it may have an oscillating , suspended or upright arrangement via a first bearing axis 6 or a lying , also oscillating arrangement via the second bearing axis 7 can be provided which allow oscillating or swivelling movements across the rope &# 39 ; s lengthwise direction while preventing the swivel part 4 to twist in the rope &# 39 ; s lengthwise direction . the other swivel part 4 b forms the rotatable swivel part to which the rope 1 is non - rotatably fastened . the said rotatable swivel part 4 b can , for example , be rotatably mounted about the lengthwise direction of the rope via roller bearings such as in the form of an axial bearing 8 and a radial bearing 9 on the fixed swivel part 4 a . advantageously , the rotatable swivel part 4 b can be connected with a rotary drive 5 which advantageously can be located within swivel 4 . for this , for example , the fixed swivel part 4 a can be bell - shaped or sleeve - shaped to create accommodation for rotary drive 5 . however , a reverse arrangement with bell - shaped or sleeve - shaped contours for the rotatable swivel part 4 b , which then could also enclose the fixed swivel part 4 a , could also be provided . for example , the said rotary drive 5 can comprise an electric motor connected via a gear or directly non - rotatably via an output shaft with the rotatable swivel part 4 b . a drive housing 10 of the rotary drive 5 can be secured against twist on the fixed swivel part 4 a , for example by means of one or more torque supports 14 which can be supported via stops or other suitable bearing contours on swivel part 4 a ; see fig4 . as fig3 and 4 show , the swivel 4 is provided with measuring means beyond the said rotary drive 5 to measure the angle of twist of the two swivel parts 4 a and 4 b at a rotation relative to each other as well as the torque necessary for a twist of the two swivel parts 4 a and 4 b and also the rotational direction . in principle , the torsion angle meter 12 , torque meter 11 and rotation direction meter 13 provided for this can be of various designs and may , for example , comprise a means to measure the operating parameters of the motor for the rotary drive 5 . for example , the torque can be determined from the operating parameters current and voltage of the drive motor . as an alternative or in addition , the torque meter 11 can be assigned to the said torque support 14 or rotary drive 5 against swivel part 4 a to measure the torque and make it available to control device 15 . the said rotation direction meter 13 can also be assigned to the torque support 14 , for example combined with the said torque meter 11 into a measuring unit which measures the pressure of the torque support against the stop contour on swivel part 4 a . as an alternative or in addition , the torque meter 11 and / or the rotational direction meter 13 can also be integrated in a connector part 16 with which rope 1 is connected to the rotatable swivel part 4 b . the torsion angle meter 12 or an equivalent rev sensor can , for example , be connected to an interface between the two swivel parts 4 a and 4 b to directly measure the twist of the two swivel parts relative to each other . as an alternative or in addition , a torsion angle meter 12 can be assigned to rotary drive 5 or on a gear shaft or output shaft of rotary drive 5 . advantageously , the torsional stiffness of rope 1 can be detected by means of the following steps : first , the rope is moved into the position to be measured , for which the hoist position measuring means of the lifting hook can be used . in particular , the lifting hook is moved to a certain hoist height , and if need be , the trolley is moved into a certain position , or the boom is moved into a certain luffing position , when a new rope is used for the first time , the torsional stiffness of rope 1 is measured in the zero state as a reference base for further measurements . for this , the determined test length l of the rope can be set at a certain value and stored , for example by bringing the lifting hook to a certain hoist height , the trolley to a certain position and / or the boom into a certain luffing position . this can be measured via suitable positioning or position sensors and stored such that the reference rope length l can be set again as desired for later measurements . as fig1 shows , in a tower crane with trolley , the measured rope section and its length l can be between swivel 4 and the deflection pulley of the trolley . in a tower crane with luffable boom 23 , the rope section and its length l can be between the said swivel and the lifting hook or the lifting hook sheath . preferable , the test can be done at the hook without a load such that the rope always has the same pull for all subsequent tests . to begin a torsional stiffness test , the twist existing in rope 1 must first be compensated for as much as possible . for this , the torque induced by the rope &# 39 ; s twist into swivel 4 must be measured , which can be done with the above described torque meter 11 . then the control unit 15 controls rotary drive 5 depending on the determined torque and its direction , such that the torque induced by the rope &# 39 ; s twist goes toward zero . that is the initial point for the actual torsional stiffness test . now , in the said section l of rope 1 a predetermined number of rotations is induced , and the resulting torque is measured . for that , rotary drive 5 is activated , and the toque required for the twist is measured . as an alternative or in addition , the rotary drive can be controlled by control unit 15 such that a certain torque is induced into rope 1 , whereby the resulting rotational speed or the resulting angle of twist is measured with the torsion angle meter . the rope &# 39 ; s torsional stiffness is determined from the measured torques and twist angles . with a fixed rotational speed , the torque required for this can be used directly as the measure of torsional stiffness , while with a fixed torque , the resulting rotational speed or the resulting angle of rotation can be used as the measure of torsional stiffness . in particular , the said measuring values of torque and angle of rotation are stored in the memory of the control unit 15 to be used as a reference base for subsequent measuring . in predetermined time intervals — if need be in the form of a predetermined number of load cycles or bending cycles that can be recorded by a load cycle counter — the torsional stiffness is again measured as described and the results are compared with those of previous measurings , in particular with those of the new rope . evaluation arrangement 3 evaluates in particular — in the manner as described above — whether the rope &# 39 ; s torsional stiffness and / or its change in relation to the new rope exceeds a predetermined threshold value . the maximum permissible threshold value of torsional stiffness or of permissible change in the evaluation of a new rope for safe crane operation can be recorded in control unit 15 and used as a comparative basis when measuring the torsional stiffness . in a further development of the invention , a prior warning can be given when the said threshold value is approached , thus indicating that the rope should be replaced . when the said threshold value is disregarded , reached or exceeded , control unit 15 can use the discard signal generated by evaluation unit 3 to automatically shut down the operation with that rope . moving the rope section for determining torsional stiffness can be automatically or manually programmed . | 6 |
fig1 a is an isometric view of the novel powered reel - type tape measuring device 10 . it includes a tape housing portion 12 and a handle portion 14 that contains the batteries for powering the reversible electric motor that drives the tape 16 , having indicia 18 thereon , inwardly and outwardly from the housing 12 . tape 16 is a typical prior art tape that has an end portion 22 that is conventional on plastic or metal - type tape measuring devices and exits a slot 20 in the housing 12 . the tape 16 may be of any type such as plastic or metal and that is sufficiently flexible to be wound on a reel 60 ( shown in fig2 and fig3 ). hereinafter , for simplicity in explanation , the tape 16 will be referred to as &# 34 ; tape &# 34 ; or &# 34 ; metal tape &# 34 ;. a reversible switch 24 having two positions may be used to cause the reversible motor to rotate in the appropriate direction to extend or retract the tape 16 from the housing 12 . the switch 24 could be located at 26 if desired as a rocker switch well known in the art . indicia 28 and 30 which may be , for instance , light - emitting diodes , are placed on the housing 12 to indicate that the reversible motor is energized and the tape is moving either outwardly or inwardly to or from housing 12 . an extended convex surface 32 may extend outwardly from the housing 12 to accommodate the reversible motor mounted inside the housing as will be shown more particularly in relation to fig3 . the housing 12 and handle portion 14 may be pivotally attached to each other at 33 so that by depressing latch 36 , the handle portion 14 may separate from the housing 12 along line 34 to the pivot point 33 as illustrated in fig1 b so that access can be had to the battery for replacement thereof latch 36 may be of any well - known type having a projection 38 extending outwardly from handle 14 towards body portion 12 such that when the body portion 12 is pivotally moved towards the handle 14 , the extension 38 catches a mating projection ( not shown ) in housing 12 to latch the handle 14 to the body portion or housing 12 . any well - known type of latch may be used to pivotally latch the housing 12 to the handle 14 . fig2 is a side view of the novel powered tape measuring device with the interior of the housing portion 12 partially shown in detail to illustrate the manner in which the reversible motor 42 causes the tape 16 to move outwardly from and inwardly to the housing 12 . as can be seen in fig2 in phantom lines , a battery 40 may be mounted in the handle 14 for powering the device . it is connected through well - known means by switch 24 to the reversible motor 42 . terminals 44 and 46 are shown in fig2 on reversible motor 42 for receiving power through appropriate leads from the control switch 24 ( or 26 , if mounted on top as described earlier ). motor 42 drives a gear 50 through its shaft 48 , as can best be seen in fig3 . gear 50 drives an idler gear 52 which is also coupled to drive gear 54 . drive gear 54 is mounted on the same shaft with a roller 56 that is a frictional roller having been formed of a rubberized - type material or any other frictional material and having a convex shape that matches the upper concave surface of the metal tape 16 as can best be seen in fig1 a roller 56 mates with a roller 57 between which the tape 16 passes . roller 57 may or may not be a frictional material and has a concave shape to receive the convex bottom surface of tape 16 . as motor 42 drives the gear 54 which turns roller 56 , the frictional engagement of the roller 56 pulls the tape 16 from the reel or spool 60 on which the tape is wound . an idler roller 59 guides the tape onto and off of the reel 60 on which it is mounted . because roller 56 will be driven at a constant speed , and because the reel 60 will turn at different speeds depending upon the amount of tape thereon , reel 60 has teeth 61 on the interior thereof that are driven by a planetary gear system best shown in fig4 that includes a triangular frame 70 on which are mounted three rotatable gears 62 , 64 , and 66 . a drive gear 68 is attached to the shaft 48 of motor 42 . thus the roller 56 and the reel 60 will both be driven simultaneously but , because the speed of the reel 60 will be changing with respect to the speed of the roller due to the differences in diameter of the reel caused by the amount of tape thereon , the planetary gear system comprised of the gears 62 , 64 , and 66 can rotate within the reel housing 60 thus allowing slippage between the speed of rotation of the reel and the drive motor that is driving roller 56 . such planetary gear systems are old and well known in the art and need not be discussed further here . suffice it to say that when tape is being extended from the housing 12 , roller 56 will provide the frictional force to pull the tape from the reel 60 . however , when the tape 16 is being retracted into the housing portion 12 , roller 56 will keep tension applied to the tape 16 while reel 60 is driven at the speed necessary to steadily wind the tape 16 onto the reel 60 with the planetary gear system providing the necessary differences in speed of rotation of the reel 60 and the frictional drive roller 56 . as can be seen in fig4 the planetary gear system is enclosed on the inside of the cup - shaped reel 60 . reel 60 has gear teeth 61 on the internal side thereof which mesh with the teeth on gears 62 , 64 , and 66 . as the motor 42 turns shaft 48 , gear teeth 68 thereon mesh with the gear teeth on the gears 62 , 64 , and 66 causing them to engage teeth 61 on the inside of reel 60 , thus turning the reel . because the planetary gear system including support 70 on which the gears 62 , 64 , and 66 are mounted is free to rotate within the interior of reel 60 , any variation in speed between the reel 60 and the drive roller 56 can be accommodated by the relative movement of the planetary gear system with respect to the interior of the reel 60 . this operation is well known in the art . an alternative method of enabling the proper relative movement between drive roller 56 and reel 60 would be to provide well - known one - way drive systems for the frictional driving roller and the tape reel 60 as shown in fig6 . the one - way drive system 94 includes an outer ring 96 surrounding an inner 5 shaft 98 . bearings 100 are placed in slots 101 in the outer ring 96 that are narrow at one end 102 and wide or deep at the other end 104 . when inner shaft 98 rotates in the direction of arrow 106 , bearings 100 are moved to the deep end 104 of slots 101 and no connection exists between shaft 98 and outer ring 96 . when shaft 98 rotates in the direction of arrow 108 , the bearings move to narrow end 102 of slots 101 thus coupling shaft 98 to outer ring 96 to rotate ring 96 . thus , one of the one - way drive systems is mounted to drive friction roller 56 in a direction to cause the tape 16 to be pulled outwardly from the housing 12 . however , in the reverse direction , the one - way gear system would not engage and frictional roller 56 would be an idler . the reverse would be true with respect to the one - way gear system replacing the planetary gear system mounted on frame 70 . that one - way gear system would be coupled to the motor shaft 48 such that , when the tape 16 is being moved outwardly from the housing portion 12 , there would be no connection between the one - way drive gear and the tape 16 reel 60 while , when the tape is being drawn inwardly into the housing portion 12 , the one - way drive gear would make connection between the drive motor shaft 48 and the tape reel 60 . thus the tape reel 60 would wind the tape up and pull it inwardly from the exterior of the housing while drive roller 56 idled . in the reverse direction , drive roller 56 would pull the tape 16 out of the housing 12 while the tape reel 60 would simply idle and rotate freely to allow the tape 16 to come off of the reel . fig5 is a partial electrical schematic diagram of the drive system for the novel powered reel - type tape measuring device . as can be seen in fig5 motor 42 , the reversible motor , drives gear 50 on which is located teeth 72 . the switch 24 has a center contact 81 that can be moved in two directions . in the first direction , as the switch 24 is depressed it engages contact 86 which provides a signal to the microprocessor chip 84 to drive the tape forward out of the housing 12 at a slow speed . microprocessor chip 84 is one of many well - known types available in the prior art and need not be discussed in detail here . further depression of the switch 24 in the same direction makes additional contact with switch contact 88 which provides a signal to the microprocessor chip 84 to drive the motor 42 at a fast speed to drive the tape 16 out of the housing 12 . in addition , the light 28 is illuminated in either case . when the switch 24 is pressed in the opposite direction , it first engages contact 90 to provide power from battery 83 to the chip 84 to cause reversible motor 42 to reverse its direction and rewind the tape at the slow speed . if the switch 24 is further depressed in the same direction , contact will also be made with switch contact 92 which provides a signal to the chip 84 to move the tape inwardly at a fast speed , which speed is , for example only , twice the speed of the slow speed drive . again , light 30 is illuminated to indicate on the housing as illustrated in fig1 a that the tape is moving inwardly . there are occasions when it is desirable to determine the half - point of a particular distance . for instance , if tile were going to be laid in a particular room , it may be desirable to start at the interior center section of the room and move outwardly toward each side . there are , of course , other reasons for determining the half - length or mid - point of a particular measurement . the present tape provides this measurement automatically . as the tape is moving outwardly being driven by motor 42 through gear 50 , a detector or light 74 counts the teeth 72 in a well - known manner . the count is stored in storage device 76 and that count is automatically divided by divider circuit 78 to give a half - count on line 79 . thus , when the switch 24 is moved sufficiently downwardly when retracting the tape 16 into the housing 12 , it will also close third contact 80 with line 92 thus coupling the divide by two - count from divider 78 to the microprocessor chip which causes motor 42 to drive the tape into the housing exactly one - half the distance it was driven out from the housing . then the microprocessor chip 84 will stop movement of the tape by removing power to motor 42 at the proper point thus stopping the tape at the mid - point from that which was originally measured . thus , the present invention discloses a powered reel - type tape measuring device that has a reversible motor to move the tape into and out of the housing 12 . these tapes are metal or plastic tapes that are sufficient to move a large distance out from the tape housing without bending . such tapes are old and well known in the art . a switch control is mounted on the housing to enable the user to move the tape outwardly from or inwardly into the housing based on the direction in which the switch is depressed . further , the switch has two levels of depression for both forward and reverse so that the tape can be driven fast or slow speeds out from and into the housing . in addition , a speed control or slippage control device is provided between the drive motor and the tape reel so that the tape reel can change rotational speeds depending upon the amount of tape on the reel as it moves in and out of the housing . in addition , a microchip controller provides a means for automatically determining a half - point of a measured distance by determining the distance the tape moved outwardly from the housing , then determining the half - way distance , and providing a signal to the motor to move the tape inwardly until that point is reached . while the invention has been described in connection with a preferred embodiment , it is not intended to limit the scope of the invention to the particular form set forth , but , on the contrary , it 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 . | 6 |
it is to be understood that the embodiments of the present invention disclosed herein 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 . referring now to the drawings , in which some proportions have been exaggerated for the purposes of conceptual illustration , the description of the invention is best understood by commencing with reference to fig1 , and 3 . attention is first directed to fig1 where a complete lifting apparatus according to the invention is shown and is indicated generally as 1 and may be seen to include one pair 2 of lifting - tower assemblies 3 , 4 . it is to be understood that the components forming one lifting tower assembly of pair 2 are the same as said components forming the second lifting tower assembly of the pair . said lifting apparatus further includes horizontally disposed lower crossmember 13 , and horizontally disposed upper crossmember 12 . an individual lifting - tower assembly , illustrated in fig2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , is assembled in a desired location and includes a base 20 , upright support member 21 , pulley component 25 , cable 34 , at least one diagonal support member 26 , upper collar 27 , at least one lower collar 28 , lifting carriage 23 , load supporting assembly 22 , and is provided with lifting means 35 . as shown in fig5 , base 20 includes a vertically oriented receiver portion 85 . upright support member 21 is provided with a receiver portion 77 and further includes a shank portion 78 that is vertically inserted into receiver 85 . as shown in fig4 , lifting carriage 23 includes a receiver portion 74 and is provided with a main body shaped to form a circumferential sleeve 75 having inner dimension 80 and longitudinal length 81 . upright support member 21 has longitudinal axis 32 and outer dimension 82 , sleeve 75 slidably mounted thereabout . the inner dimension 80 and length 81 of sleeve 75 are proportioned relative to outer dimension 82 such that the values of inner dimension 80 and outer dimension 82 differ by no more than 0 . 75 percent of sleeve length 81 , and preferably less than 0 . 35 percent , the values of inner dimension 80 and outer dimension 82 being sufficiently different as to allow unimpeded motion of lifting carriage 23 along the length of upright support member 21 . thus , an allowable range of proportional relationship is defined between sleeve length 81 , inner dimension 80 , and outer dimension 82 , thereby further defining an allowable tolerance range existing between upright support member 21 and lifting carriage 23 when mounted theresurrounding . lifting carriage 23 further includes mounting site 31 , for attachment of a pulley device of conventional type 30 . an upper circumferential collar 27 is slidably mounted surrounding a segment of upright support member 21 and is secured at a location upwards of lifting carriage 23 by means of a threaded aperture passing through upper collar 27 and a mating bolt 46 , as indicated in fig2 . pulley component 25 includes shank portion 76 that is slidably inserted into receiver 77 of upright support member 21 , shown in fig5 . a cross - sectional view of pulley component 25 is illustrated in fig6 and can be seen to include a conventional pulley device of the bearing type 60 , comprising a cable guide 61 , bearing 62 , and a center 63 having bolt 52 passing therethrough , thereby securing pulley 60 between outer spacer 58 and inner spacer 57 which are located between and immediately adjacent the pulley component outer body 50 and the inside locking plate 56 , respectively . a cable passing through locking device 53 is supported by cable spacer 55 and is positioned between inside locking plate 56 and the outer locking - pin plate 54 . said bolt 52 passes through the outer locking - pin plate 54 , pulley component inner body 51 , cable spacer 55 , inside locking plate 56 , inner spacer 57 , pulley device 60 , and outer spacer 58 , each having an aperture passing therethrough . said mating bolt 52 then passes through threaded aperture 59 in the pulley component outer body 50 thereby extending completely through said pulley component 25 in such manner that sufficient tightening of bolt 52 provides the result that cable 34 passing through locking device 53 is secured between the outer locking - pin plate 54 and inside locking plate 56 in a stationary position relative to pulley component 25 , and further provides secure positioning of the pulley device 60 relative to pulley component 25 . referring again to fig2 , base 20 is further provided with mounting site 36 for attachment of a lifting means 35 , comprising a conventional cable - pulling device of the ratcheting type hereinafter referred to as a come - along 37 . cable 34 has one tail attached to the winch portion 39 of come - along 37 and has opposite tail extending over pulley device 60 and then extending around pulley device 30 and then passing through locking device 53 , said opposite tail being attached to the come - along body 38 . both tails of cable 34 are connected to come - along 37 using means recommended by the manufacturer thereof . operation of come - along 37 is performed as per manufacturer instructions , whereby winching in or winching out cable 34 causes lifting carriage 23 to move upwards or downwards , respectively , along the vertical length of upright support member 21 , said lifting carriage 23 being freely movable about upright support member 21 due to the tolerance existing therebetween as previously defined herein . base 20 limits downward movement of lifting carriage 23 and upward movement thereof is limited to the desired height by said aforedescribed upper collar 27 . lifting carriage 23 further includes a safety feature comprising a securing means such that said lifting carriage 23 can be secured to upright support member 21 at a desired height and in a generally immovable position , said securing means comprising a threaded aperture passing through lifting carriage 23 and a mating bolt 43 , thereby preventing upward or downward movement of lifting carriage 23 regardless of whether or not a load is being supported . hence , a vehicle or part thereof can be lifted to and maintained at a height preferred by the operator or convenient for the task to be performed . as shown in fig9 , base 20 is provided with mounting site 36 having location such that an axis 66 defined by the segment of cable 34 extending between pulley device 60 and ratchet 39 , and the longitudinal axis 32 of upright support member 21 intersecting therewith , forms an angle alpha of not less than 4 degrees but not more than 9 degrees , and preferably between 6 degrees and 7 degrees , thereby defining an allowable range of angle alpha . mounting site 31 has location on lifting carriage 23 such that an axis 67 defined by the segment of cable 34 extending between pulley device 30 and pulley device 60 , and axis 32 intersecting therewith , forms an angle beta of not less than 2 degrees and not more than 17 degrees , and preferably between 3 degrees and 15 degrees , thereby defining an allowable range of angle beta . mounting site 31 includes three points for attachment of pulley device 30 , each of said points corresponding to a pre - determined range of allowable load weight and having location determined such that angle beta is maintained within the allowable range when pulley device 30 is attached to the attachment point which is appropriate for the weight of the load to be lifted . each lifting tower assembly further includes a safety feature , inherent in its design , for the purpose of preventing a catastrophic accident in the event of failure of cable 34 or come - along 37 or the lifting carriage safety feature 43 , and that acts to secure lifting carriage 23 against upright support member 21 immovably in such event . said safety feature is provided by the interrelationship between the angle of cable 34 relative to upright support member 21 ( angle beta ) and the aforedefined allowable tolerance range between lifting carriage sleeve 75 and upright support member 21 . a failure of cable 34 or come - along 37 while the lifting tower assembly is under load results in sleeve 75 tilting or twisting relative to upright support member 21 causing a portion of the inner surface of sleeve 75 to contact and wedge against a portion of the exterior surface of upright support member 21 due to the limited tolerance existing therebetween , whereby lifting carriage 23 is prevented from continued movement along the length of upright support member 21 . the previously defined tolerance range is determined such that a relatively small amount of tilting or twisting of sleeve 75 will cause lifting carriage 23 to become immobile relative to upright support member 21 . the range of values allowed for angles alpha and beta , respectively , ensure sleeve 75 is maintained in an orientation relative to axis 32 such that under normal operating circumstances movement of lifting carriage 23 is unimpeded , however , events including cable failure , lifting means failure , excessive load shift , and etc ., will cause lifting carriage 23 to lock against upright support member 21 before significant downward movement can occur , thereby providing a secondary safety means for preventing catastrophic accident . a base component 20 and attached crossmembers 10 , 13 are illustrated in fig1 . base 20 is provided with a receiver portion 83 and a receiver portion 84 that define a transverse axis 65 and a longitudinal axis 64 respectively . as shown in fig5 , the upright support member 21 connected to a base component 20 and the longitudinal crossmember 10 connected thereto are interconnected by at least one diagonal support member 26 having an upper end attached to said upper collar 27 and a lower end attached to a lower circumferential collar 28 slidably mounted surrounding said crossmember 10 and secured thereto by means of a threaded aperture passing through collar 28 and a mating bolt 47 . said lower collar 28 in a preferred embodiment is further provided with ground traversing means comprising wheels 9 mounted to a lower surface of said collar . both ends of said diagonal support member 26 are secured to their respective collars by means of an aperture passing through each of said collars and each end of said diagonal support member 26 for insertion of pin 48 and 49 , respectively , however an alternate method of securing each end of diagonal support member 26 to its respective collar is possible . a load supporting assembly having sufficient strength and appropriate material composition is provided with attachment means whereby said load supporting assembly can be connected and secured to lifting carriage 23 , said attachment means in a preferred embodiment comprising a shank portion shaped to allow slidable insertion within lifting carriage receiver 74 and secured thereto by means of a threaded aperture passing through lifting carriage 23 and a mating bolt , however alternate attachment means may be used to connect said load supporting assembly to lifting carriage 23 and securing means other than a threaded aperture and mating bolt are possible , such as an aperture and locking pin , for example . one embodiment of the aforedescribed load supporting assembly , indicated generally as 22 in fig1 , 7 , includes a main body 110 , mounting brackets 112 , and load attachment arms 24 . main body 110 is provided with shank portion 111 shaped to allow slidable insertion within lifting carriage receiver 74 , said shank 111 being secured thereto by means of a threaded aperture passing through lifting carriage 23 and a mating bolt 45 , as noted in fig3 . each mounting bracket 112 includes a portion shaped such that it forms a circumferential collar 114 having dimensions allowing said collar to be slidably mounted surrounding a positionally appropriate segment of main body 110 , said collar 114 being provided with means of securing thereto , said means in a preferred embodiment comprising a threaded aperture passing through collar 114 and mating bolt 93 , as illustrated in fig7 . said mounting bracket 112 is further provided with a receiver portion 115 shaped to allow slidable insertion of shank 73 therewithin , said receiver 115 including means for securing shank 73 thereto , said means comprising a threaded aperture passing through receiver 115 and mating bolt 94 . each load attachment arm 24 is provided with a shaped portion that allows a vehicle body of the full - frame type to be attached and secured thereto in a manner whereby the vehicle body is supported from underneath by load attachment arm 24 and attached thereto at a suitably reinforced and appropriate location on the body , said shaped portion comprising a projection 79 . said projection 79 is shaped such that it can be inserted within a channel existing between the vehicle body and frame of a full - frame vehicle , and can be secured at the location of a pre - existing attachment site on the body underside commonly referred to as a body mount , said body mount including a threaded aperture 91 and mating bolt 92 whereby the vehicle body is secured to the frame , as illustrated in fig8 . said body mount thereby provides a suitably reinforced and stable point for attachment of said load attachment arm 24 to the vehicle body . projection 79 includes means for securing load attachment arm 24 to said body mount , comprising an elongated aperture 90 passing through projection 79 whereby alignment of said aperture 90 with body mount aperture 91 allows body mount mating bolt 92 to be inserted into aperture 90 and extended through projection 79 before entering the body mount threaded aperture 91 , thereby securing load attachment arm 24 to the body underside when said mating bolt 92 is tightened sufficiently . lifting carriage 23 is then raised to an elevation such that receivers 115 are at substantially the same height as each load attachment arm shank 73 and each mounting bracket 112 is positioned and secured at an appropriate location on main body 110 whereby movement of the assembled lifting tower in a direction towards said load attachment arms 24 and alignment therewith results in the slidable insertion of each shank 73 within a receiver 115 . the position of the lifting tower assembly and the elevation of lifting carriage 23 may be adjusted to achieve proper insertion of shanks 73 within receivers 115 , such that each shank 73 can be secured to a mounting bracket 112 by means of the aforedescribed threaded aperture mating bolt 94 . means other than a threaded aperture and mating bolt for attaching and securing said load attachment arms to said mounting brackets or said mounting brackets to said main body may be used . an alternate load supporting assembly embodiment having the ability to support an entire vehicle from underneath the frame or undercarriage is also possible , wherein each load attachment arm includes a projecting portion having an upper surface forming a generally horizontal plane shaped to allow a vehicle frame or undercarriage to be supported thereupon in a stable manner . additional alternate embodiments of said load - supporting assembly provided with means to engage and support loads of a type other than those mentioned herein , such as unibody vehicles for example , are also possible without departing from the underlying ideas or principals of this invention . as shown in fig8 , the two lifting tower assemblies 3 , 4 , forming pair 2 are interconnected by a lower transverse crossmember 13 having ends slidably inserted within receiver 83 of each base 20 , and secured thereto by means of a threaded aperture passing through receiver 83 and a mating bolt 42 . a single torsionally stiff crossmember 13 is comprised of three segments 70 , 71 , 72 , assembled and secured together by means of two threaded apertures passing through segment 71 and mating bolts 88 , 89 to form a single crossmember wherein the length of said crossmember is adjustable , said crossmember 13 being shaped in such manner as to allow disassembly and removal from pair 2 , and assembly and installation , while said pair 2 is supporting a load . an alternate embodiment of the present invention including a lower transverse crossmember formed as a single piece ( not shown ) having ends slidably inserted within and passing completely through receiver 83 of base 20 is possible , thereby providing an other method of adjusting the distance between the two lifting tower assemblies 3 , 4 forming pair 2 . an upper transverse crossmember 12 further interconnects pair 2 , having ends slidably inserted within receiver 33 of each lifting carriage 23 and in a manner whereby upper crossmember 12 may be removed or installed between tower assembly 3 and 4 while pair 2 is supporting a load , the aforementioned outward tilt of tower assemblies 3 , 4 providing a means whereby said insertion and removal of crossmember 12 is possible . said crossmember 12 is secured to lifting carriage 23 by means of a threaded aperture passing therethrough and mating bolt 44 , shown in fig2 . said upper crossmember 12 further provides an additional redundant safety feature in the event of failure of both primary and secondary safety features in one tower of a pair , said previously herein described primary and backup safety features each comprising a method whereby lifting carriage 23 is secured to upright support member 21 and in a generally immovable relationship therewith . said upper crossmember 12 , being a torsionally stiff component having ends secured to lifting carriage 23 of tower assemblies 3 and 4 , operatively interconnects tower assemblies 3 , 4 , in a manner such that in the event of failure of both safety features in one tower of pair 2 , tower assembly 3 for example , crossmember 12 will transfer the load to tower assembly 4 and will further result in the descending lifting carriage 23 tilting relative to upright support member 21 , causing the secondary lifting carriage safety feature to become operative , thereby preventing said lifting carriage 23 from further descent . thus , the apparatus according to the invention includes several redundant safety features . referring again to fig9 , base 20 is further provided with ground traversing means comprising wheels 29 mounted to a lower surface of base 20 , said wheels 29 being positioned at locations whereby axis 32 of upright support member 21 defines a direction differing from a true vertical axis , and intersecting therewith forms an angle of not more than 3 degrees but not less than 0 . 5 degrees when viewed in a vertical plane having an axis in parallel relationship to axis 65 of base 20 , as noted in fig8 . an assembled lifting tower assembly supported by base 20 having wheels 29 is thereby provided with a small but measurable tilt in an outward direction indicated by arrow 68 , that is to say , the two lifting tower assemblies 3 , 4 , forming pair 2 tilt away from each other slightly . this outward tilt provides additional stability to each pair of lifting tower assemblies , thereby reducing the possibility of a lifting tower assembly tilting or toppling toward a load being supported . when the apparatus according to the invention is used to lift a vehicle body off its frame , the load attachment arms 24 are secured to the vehicle body and to the assembled lifting tower assemblies 3 , 4 , and lower horizontal crossmember 13 is attached . the vehicle body is then lifted off the frame and elevated , each lifting carriage locking means 43 is engaged , and the upper horizontal crossmember 12 is installed . lower transverse crossmember 13 is then removed , allowing the vehicle frame , suspension , wheels , and etc ., to be rolled out from beneath the body and lifting apparatus . once the frame is removed the lower transverse crossmember is again installed , resulting in a complete lifting apparatus which is a single stable structure having a vehicle body supported thereby . adjustment or alteration of the load elevation may be made at any point hereafter . said apparatus , being movably supported by wheels 29 , is capable of ambulatory motion over a generally level surface while supporting said load , thereby acting as a mobile workholder . an alternate embodiment of the apparatus according to the invention is shown in fig1 , indicated generally as 101 , and can be seen to include four lifting tower assemblies 104 , 105 , and 106 , 107 , forming two pair of lifting tower assemblies 102 , 103 respectively . said pairs 102 and 103 are interconnected by two longitudinal crossmembers 14 , 15 , each having ends slidably inserted within receiver 84 of base 20 and secured by means of the two threaded apertures passing through receiver 84 and mating bolts 40 , 41 , said receiver 84 shaped forming an aperture passing completely through base 20 whereby said longitudinal crossmember is slidably positionable within base 20 such that the distance between pairs 2 and 3 may be increased or decreased . alternate embodiments of said apparatus utilizing means other than a threaded aperture and mating bolt for attaching or securing crossmembers 10 , 12 , 13 , 14 , and 15 are possible without departing from the underlying ideas or principals of this invention , said means comprising an aperture and securing pin , for example . the interconnection of assembled lifting tower assemblies 104 , 105 , 106 , and 107 by horizontal crossmembers 12 , 13 , 14 , and 15 , and each diagonal crossmember 26 further interconnecting therewith , forms a complete apparatus which is a single stable structure capable of ambulatory motion over a generally level surface while supporting a load , said apparatus being movably supported by wheels 29 . although a particular preferred embodiment of the apparatus according to the invention and a number of alternate embodiments have been described herein and illustrated in the figures , the principles of the present invention are not limited to those specific embodiments , and within said embodiments certain changes may be made in the form or arrangement of the parts without departing from the underlying ideas or principles of this invention . | 1 |
fig1 a through 1c are simplified schematic diagrams of previously known circuitry for implementing signal lines using an open - drain architecture . device 16 represents a device coupled to signal line 11 and may be anything from an integrated circuit to a computer peripheral . device 16 includes driver transistor 14 which may be turned on or off by additional circuitry within device 16 ( not shown ). alternatively , device 16 may include a terminal for controlling an external driver transistor . it should be noted that in the schematics of fig1 , and 5 only one device is shown connected to signal line 11 ; however , one skilled in the art will understand that there may be more than one such device . capacitor 18 represents the parasitic capacitance associated with signal line 11 , including stray capacitance associated with signal line 11 itself , as well as with the drivers and receivers coupled to signal line 11 . the main effect of parasitic capacitance 18 , which is typically on the order of a few hundred picofarads , is to limit the rate at which data may be sent on signal line 11 . specifically , the data rate on signal line 11 is limited by the rate at which the parasitic capacitance may be charged and discharged . for this reason , most communication protocols employing an open - drain architecture specify a maximum signal line capacitance . for example , the i 2 c specification allows a maximum signal line capacitance of 400 pf . driver transistor 14 is connected between signal line 11 and ground so that device 16 may actively pull signal line 11 low by turning driver transistor 14 on . since any similar device connected to signal line 11 is capable of pulling it low , the signal line can only be high when driver transistor 14 associated with each device is turned off . thus , any device connected to signal line 11 may selectively drive the signal line low by turning on the driver transistor associated with the device . conversely , when transistor 14 is off in all devices connected to signal line 11 , pullup circuitry connected to the signal line biases the signal line high . in fig1 a , pullup circuitry 10 consists of pullup resistor 12 connected between v cc and signal line 11 . when transistor 14 is switched off , current flows through pullup resistor 12 to signal line 11 , pulling it up to v cc . typically , pullup resistor 12 has a value on the order of a few thousand ohms . a typical signal on signal line 11 of fig1 a is shown by the solid trace in fig2 a . prior to time t 0 , transistor 14 is off , and signal line 11 is high . at time t 0 , transistor 14 is turned on by device 16 , providing a low resistance path between signal line 11 and ground . this rapidly discharges capacitance 18 to ground , pulling signal line 11 low at time t 1 . the interval between time t 0 and t 1 , i . e ., the time needed for signal line 11 to reach a low level after transistor 14 is turned on , is referred to as the fall time ( t f ). at time t 2 , transistor 14 is turned off by device 16 . current through pullup resistor 12 charges capacitance 18 causing the voltage on signal line 11 to rise , pulling signal line 11 high at time t 3 . the interval between time t 2 and t 3 , i . e ., the time needed for signal line 11 to reach a high level after transistor 14 is turned off , is referred to as the rise time ( t r ). in essence , the circuit of fig1 a is a resistor - capacitor ( rc ) circuit . the response of rc circuits exhibit a characteristic exponential waveform over a time determined by the time constant of the circuit , wherein the time constant is the product of circuit capacitance and the resistance in the current path . circuits having a larger time constant have longer rise and fall times . in a typical open - drain system , the value of pullup resistor 12 is much larger than the on - resistance of driver transistor 14 . this causes signal rise time ( t r ) to be many times longer than the signal fall time ( t f ). since the rate at which data may be transmitted on signal line 11 is largely limited by the rise time ( t r ), techniques for increasing data transmission rates have generally focused on shortening the rise time in open - drain systems . as described in the background of the invention , rise time may be reduced by reducing the value of pullup resistor 12 . this would reduce the rc time constant of the circuit , thereby providing a shorter rise time . since reducing pullup resistance may adversely affect power consumption and noise susceptibility , other techniques have been developed to reduce signal rise time . one such previously known technique for reducing rise time is illustrated in the schematic diagram of fig1 b . open - drain circuitry 20 includes pullup resistor 12 , transistor 14 , and capacitance 18 which correspond to like elements of fig1 a . pullup circuitry 20 also includes additional pullup resistor 12 a , which may be selectively connected in parallel with pullup resistor 12 by means of switch 13 . switch 13 , which may be , for example , a cd4066 cmos switch , is controlled by a level on control input 15 , such that a low signal at control input 15 causes switch 13 to be off , while a high signal causes the switch to be on . in the circuitry of fig1 b , when transistor 14 is on , signal line 11 is low and switch 13 is off . when transistor 14 is initially turned off , and assuming no other device is pulling signal line 11 low , pullup resistor 12 provides current to charge parasitic capacitance 18 , and signal line voltage begins to rise . when signal line voltage rises enough to turn switch 13 on , typically about one - half v cc , resistor 12 a is connected in parallel with pullup resistor 12 , effectively reducing the total pullup resistance and increasing the available pullup current . the decrease in pullup resistance caused by turning on switch 13 is a function of the relative values of resistors 12 and 12 a . for example , if the values of resistors 12 and 12 a are equal , the available pullup resistance is effectively halved when switch 13 is turned on . this reduces the rc time constant associated with pulling signal line 11 high , resulting in a shorter rise time ( t r ). the response of pullup circuitry 20 is shown in fig2 a and 2b . from time t 0 to t 1 , the circuit response and waveform are nearly identical to those of fig1 a . at time t 2 transistor 14 is turned off , and the voltage on signal line 11 begins to rise , following the same waveform as the solid trace corresponding to the circuit of fig1 a . at time t 4 signal line 11 reaches a voltage of about one - half v cc and switch 13 turns on , greatly reducing pullup resistance . the reduced pullup resistance reduces the rc time constant and signal line voltage rises much faster , as shown by the dashed line in fig2 a . the corresponding pullup current is shown by the dashed line in fig2 b . clearly , in the circuit of fig1 b , all signal line driver transistors must be off before the signal line voltage can rise enough to turn on switch 13 . as a result , pullup resistor 12 may be made large enough to address the concerns about excess current , power consumption , and noise margin discussed hereinabove , and resistor 12 a may be made small enough to provide adequate pullup performance . a third alternative pullup scheme is shown in fig1 c , wherein pullup current for signal line 11 is provided by constant current source 32 . in the circuitry of fig1 a , and 1 b , pullup current drops as the voltage on signal line 11 rises , giving the response waveform its characteristic exponential shape . using a constant current source ensures that the pullup current , and hence the charging rate of capacitance 18 , remains nearly constant , resulting in a near linear increase in signal line voltage . this is illustrated by the dotted line in fig2 a and 2b . note , that as signal line voltages near the supply rail , pullup current begins to drop due to reduced operating headroom for constant current source 32 . although the circuitry of fig1 b and 1c are effective at reducing signal rise times in open - drain circuits , maximum signaling rates are still limited to less than about 1 mhz using these types of pullup circuits . in addition , care must be taken to keep stray capacitance to a very small value , for example , by limiting the length of signal line 11 , or the number of devices connected to signal line 11 . referring now to fig3 a first illustrative embodiment of pullup circuitry in accordance with principles of the present invention is described . pullup circuitry 40 includes transistors 41 - 44 , and resistors 45 - 48 . transistors 41 and 42 are connected to form a current mirror such that collector current i 2 of transistor 42 is approximately proportional to collector current i 1 of transistor 41 . if signal line 11 is low , transistor 43 is biased off , and the current i 1 is determined by the values of resistors 45 and 46 . when all open - drain driver transistors connected to signal line 11 , e . g ., transistor 14 , are off , the collector current of transistor 42 begins to charge parasitic capacitance 18 , and the voltage on signal line 11 increases . when the signal line voltage exceeds the base - emitter voltage drop of transistor 43 , it begins conducting , sending current i 3 through resistor 47 . the sum of currents i 1 and i 3 flows through current mirror transistor 41 , consequently increasing current i 2 , and making additional current available to charge parasitic capacitance 18 . as the voltage on signal line 11 continues to rise , current i 3 also continues to increase , resulting in a continued increase in current i 2 . thus , the pullup current is a direct function of the signal line voltage . eventually , current i 2 is large enough that the voltage drop across resistor 48 begins to forward bias the base - emitter junction of transistor 44 causing it to begin conducting current i 4 . current i 4 tends to offset any further increase in current i 3 caused by the rising signal line voltage , thereby providing an upper limit on current i 2 . finally , as the voltage on signal line 11 begins to approach v cc , pullup current i 2 begins to drop off due to saturation of transistor 42 and reduction of the voltage across resistor 48 . the reverse sequence of events occurs when signal line 11 is pulled low by turning on an open - drain driver connected to signal line 11 , e . g ., transistor 14 . first , dropping signal line voltage increases current mirror headroom , and pullup current increases up to the limit set by transistor 44 . pullup current is still much less than the current through driver transistor 14 , so signal line voltage continues to drop . eventually , signal line 11 voltage is low enough that transistor 43 turns off , eliminating current i 3 , and consequently reducing available pullup current i 2 to the level set by resistors 45 and 46 . an exemplary graph of pullup current versus signal line voltage for the circuitry of fig3 is shown in fig4 . fig4 also shows a dashed line which represents a load - line corresponding to the on resistance of driver transistor 14 . this is an indication of how much current transistor 14 can sink at any given signal line voltage , i . e ., the available “ pull - down ” current . in designing a pullup circuit such as that in fig3 it is important that the pullup current always remain less than the current transistor 14 can sink . otherwise , transistor 14 cannot sink enough current to pull signal line 11 low . an illustrative schematic diagram of a more preferred embodiment of pullup circuitry is shown in fig5 . in accordance with the principles of the present invention , pullup circuitry 60 provides additional pullup current only when signal line 11 is not being pulled low . pullup circuitry 60 functions in a manner analogous to the circuitry of fig3 . transistors 61 and 62 form a current mirror , wherein the current through transistor 62 provides pullup current to signal line 11 . transistor 63 causes an increase in pullup current i 2 as signal line voltage increases , and transistor 64 limits the maximum pullup current to an acceptable level . however , pullup circuitry 60 includes additional circuitry to create hysteresis in the current - voltage characteristic of the pullup circuit as is shown in fig6 . operational amplifier 67 , in conjunction with capacitor 68 and resistor 69 form a differentiator that monitors the change in voltage on signal line 11 . the output of operational amplifier 67 is a signal indicative of how fast the signal line voltage is changing , i . e ., the slew rate . when the signal corresponds to a positive slew rate that exceeds a threshold level , comparator 53 outputs a signal turning on transistor 54 . the threshold level is provided at the ‘+’ input of comparator 53 by current source 65 and diodes 51 and 52 . turning transistor 54 on enables current i 3 to flow through transistor 63 , providing increased pullup current in a manner analogous to that described in connection with fig3 . however , when the voltage slew rate is below the threshold because the signal line voltage is constant or falling , comparator 53 keeps transistor 54 turned off , and pullup current i 2 is limited to a value set by current source 66 . transistor 54 and the associated slew rate circuitry introduce hysteresis into the current - voltage characteristic of pullup circuitry 60 . that is , the pullup current provided by pullup circuitry 60 depends on whether the signal voltage is rising or falling . a representative current - voltage characteristic is shown in fig6 . because pullup circuitry 60 provides additional pullup current only when the voltage on signal line 11 is rising , the pullup current may exceed the pull - down current load line represented by a dashed line in fig6 . this enables the rise in pullup current to be very rapid . indeed , as long as the increased current is only provided when signal line 11 is not being pulled down , the change in pullup current may be an instantaneous step change . referring now to fig7 exemplary pullup circuitry for providing a hysteretic , non - linear pullup current is described in more detail . pullup circuitry 70 includes four basic sections of circuitry : voltage level detection circuitry 71 for monitoring the voltage level on signal line 11 ; slew rate detection circuitry 77 for monitoring the rate at which the signal line voltage is changing ; nominal pullup current circuitry 88 for providing pullup current when the signal line is stable or being pulled down ; and high pullup current circuitry 95 for providing increased pullup current when needed . in addition , pullup circuitry 70 includes circuitry for implementing a low power mode suitable for use in battery powered systems . additional voltages and signals are provided to the circuitry of fig7 by circuitry not shown therein . for example , voltage regulating circuitry ( not shown ) provides voltages to biash and biasl for biasing , respectively , the high - side and low - side mosfet current sources of fig7 and provides a voltage reference to vref . additional circuitry provides a shutdown signal to − shdn . sgnl is connected to the signal line , e . g ., signal line 11 of fig5 . taking each section of fig7 in turn , voltage level detection circuitry 71 includes a differential amplifier 72 which splits current i 1 into currents i 1a and i 1b according to the voltage at sgnl relative to the voltage at vref ( a voltage reference ). current i 1a is mirrored by current mirror 73 to provide current i 2 tending to pull node 74 to ground . similarly , current i 1b is mirrored by current mirrors 75 and 76 to provide current i 3 tending to pull node 74 up to v cc . if the voltage at sgnl is lower than vref , which is preferably about 0 . 6 volts , current i 1a is smaller than current i 1b , and consequently , current i 2 is smaller than i 3 . this results in node 74 being pulled up to a high level . conversely , if the voltage at sgnl is higher than vref , current i 1a is larger than current i 1b and current i 2 is greater than i 3 , resulting in node 74 being pulled low . thus , node 74 is low when sgnl voltage exceeds vref , and high otherwise . turning now to slew rate detection circuitry 77 , constant current i 4 is provided by transistors 78 , 79 , and 80 in conjunction with current mirror 82 . current i 4 is mirrored by current mirrors 81 and 82 to provide currents i 5 and i 6 , respectively . preferably , current mirror 81 has a gain of about twice that of current mirror 82 , so that current i 5 is normally about twice as large as i 6 , and node 83 is pulled high . capacitor 84 blocks any dc component of sgnl voltage , but passes the ac component through to current mirror 82 . specifically , an increasing sgnl voltage adds to the current flowing into current mirror 82 , thereby increasing current i 6 . at the same time , the current flowing through current mirror 81 is reduced , thereby decreasing current i 5 . a sufficiently rapid positive change in sgnl voltage causes current i 6 to be larger than i 5 , pulling node 83 low . capacitor 84 and resistor 85 are selected to provide adequate sensitivity to slew rate without being overly sensitive to noise on the signal line ( sgnl ). suitable values for capacitor 84 and resistor 85 are about 2 pf and about 187 ω , respectively . nominal pullup current circuitry 88 provides pullup current when the sgnl line is stable or being pulled down . circuitry 88 includes current mirror 89 having an output current coupled back to sgnl , and an input current set by transistors 90 and 91 . transistor 92 may be turned off by a low level on the − shdn terminal , isolating transistor 90 , and thereby reducing the input current to current mirror 89 . this circuit architecture provides a means of reducing pullup current to a shutdown level when appropriate . for example , when the signal line is high , and has been high for an extended period of time , pullup current may be reduced to a low level to conserve power in a battery powered device . preferably , pullup circuitry 88 is designed such that normal pullup current is about 250 μa when − shdn is high , and low power pullup current is about 100 μa when − shdn is low . lastly , pullup current boost circuitry 95 provides additional pullup current when the voltage at sgnl is above a threshold voltage , as determined by voltage level detection circuitry 71 , and exceeds a minimum positive slew rate , as determined by slew rate detection circuitry 77 . the inputs to gate 96 are coupled to node 74 , the output of voltage level detector 71 , and node 83 , the output of slew rate detector 77 . as described hereinabove , node 74 is pulled low whenever the voltage level at sgnl exceeds vref , and node 83 is pulled low whenever the voltage slew rate at sgnl becomes sufficiently large . the output of gate 96 is high only when both inputs are low . thus , the output of gate 96 is high when the conditions for supplying boosted pullup current are satisfied . a high output of gate 96 turns transistor 97 off and transistor 98 on , thereby enabling a constant current source comprising transistor 99 and current mirror 100 . the output of current mirror 100 is connected in parallel with the output of current mirror 89 , so as to provide boosted pullup current . preferably , the output current of current mirror 100 is about 1 . 7 ma . in addition , a high at the output of gate 96 turns on transistor 101 . transistor 101 provides an additional source of input current for current mirror 89 , increasing its output current . preferably , turning on transistor 101 increases the output of current mirror 89 to about 300 μa . thus , when the voltage level and slew rate conditions are satisfied , i . e ., during low - to - high transitions , pullup current is boosted from about 250 μa to about 2 ma , thereby significantly reducing signal rise time . one skilled in the art will appreciated that the present invention may be practiced by other than the described embodiments , which are presented for purposes of illustration and not of limitation , and that the present invention is limited only by the claims which follow . | 7 |
referring now to the figs ., the apparatus 10 of this invention includes a housing or chassis 12 having a hollow interior within which a number of modules 14 are mounted , each consisting of a straight - pass heat exchanger 16 directly connected to a circuit card assembly 18 . the construction of the chassis 12 is described initially , followed by a discussion of the modules 14 and the connection between the two . as best seen in fig1 and 2 , the chassis 12 comprises a top wall 20 , a bottom wall 22 , a front wall 24 , a back wall 26 and opposed side walls 28 , 30 which are interconnected to form a hollow interior . the front wall 24 may be provided with a handle 25 and one or more apertures 27 to receive electrical connectors 29 as schematically depicted in the figs . an inlet end wall 32 is connected to the back wall 26 by an inlet plenum 34 , and an outlet end wall 36 is mounted to an exhaust plenum 38 connected to the front wall 24 . the back wall 26 is formed with an inlet port 40 which allows the passage of cooling air from outside of the chassis 12 into the inlet plenum 34 . the inlet plenum 34 channels the outside air into a series of openings 42 in the inlet end wall 32 . see also fig4 . in the presently preferred embodiment , the inlet plenum 34 is formed with a plurality of slots 35 each of which aligns with one of the openings 42 in the inlet end wall 32 . these slots 35 can be of different size to allow more or less cooling air to pass in respective openings 42 dependent on the degree of cooling requirements of individual modules 14 . each of the openings 42 is connected to an inlet card guide 44 , the detailed structure of which is described below . similarly , the front wall 24 is formed with one or more exhaust ports 46 at the point of connection to the exhaust plenum 38 . preferably , the exhaust plenum 38 has an upper wall 48 and a lower wall 50 which taper inwardly , toward one another , from the location at which they connect to the outlet end wall 36 to the exhaust ports 46 . as described in more detail below , cooling air passing through the heat exchanger 16 of each module 14 is directed through openings 52 in outlet card guides 54 formed on the outlet end wall 36 and then into the exhaust plenum 38 for discharge from the chassis 12 through the exhaust ports 46 in the front wall 24 . a number of modules 14 are mounted within the chassis 12 to the inlet and outlet card guides 44 , 54 , in a manner described in detail below . when positioned within the chassis 12 , the circuit card assembly 18 of each module is plugged into a multi - pin connector 56 carried by a motherboard 58 mounted to the bottom surfaces of the inlet end wall 32 , outlet end wall 36 , and sidewalls 28 and 30 of chassis 12 . the motherboard 58 and connectors 56 are preferably compatible with standard vme architectures , although it is contemplated that other standard or custom architectures could be accommodated , as desired . referring now to fig5 , the detailed construction of modules 14 is shown . as noted above , each module 14 consists of a heat exchanger 16 and a circuit card assembly 18 . a compliant thermal interface material 59 may be used to couple the heat exchanger 16 to the circuit card assembly 18 if the circuit card assembly 18 contains electrical components on its secondary side . if no electrical parts are present on the secondary side , the circuit card assembly may be bonded directly to the heat exchanger to minimize the thermal path . the heat exchanger 16 includes a frame 60 having side walls 62 , 64 connected to end walls 66 , 68 , with a center support 70 extending between the end walls 66 , 68 . the frame 60 forms a seat within which a section of corrugated fin stock 72 , preferably made of aluminum , is received and mounted between an outer skin 74 and a thermal interface sheet 76 . the corrugations of the fin stock 72 are oriented in a direction between the end walls 66 and 68 of the frame , which corresponds to the direction of air flow between the inlet and outlet ends of the chassis 12 . the heat exchanger 16 is characterized as a “ straight - pass ” unit because air flows from one end , along the corrugated fin stock 72 to the opposite end , in an essentially straight flow path . the circuit card assembly 18 is of standard construction , the details of which form no part of this invention except as noted below . the assembly 18 has multi - pin connectors 78 at one end which plug into the multi - pin connectors 56 on the motherboard 58 . the circuit card assembly 18 may support the addition of pmc circuit card assemblies 82 attached to a heat sink often mounted to the primary side of the printed wiring board 80 as shown in fig5 . a standard wedge lock 84 is mounted to opposite ends of the circuit card assembly 18 , for purposes to become apparent below . further , each end of the circuit card assembly 18 mounts an ejector 86 which is pivotal to allow the assembly 18 to be dislodged from the motherboard 58 and removed from the chassis 12 , as desired . with reference now to fig3 and 4 , details of the manner of mounting each of the modules 14 to the chassis 12 are shown . in the presently preferred embodiment , each of the inlet card guides 44 is machined in and protrudes outwardly from the inlet end wall 32 , extending substantially along the height dimension of the inlet end wall 32 , so that each opening 42 in the inlet end wall 32 is integral with one of the inlet card guides 44 . the term “ height dimension ” is intended to refer to the top to bottom dimension in the orientation depicted in the figs . the outwardly facing surface of each heat exchanger inlet 44 is an angled surface 88 extending at an acute angle of about 45 ° with respect to the inlet end wall 32 . an angled support edge 90 forms part of the inlet card guide 44 . similarly , each of the outlet card guides 54 is integrally formed in the outlet end wall 36 , such as by machining , and extends to a height coextensive with that of the inlet card guides 44 . each opening 52 formed in the outlet end wall 36 is integral with one of the outlet card guides 54 , and terminates at an angled surface 92 formed in the outlet card guide 54 . the angled surface 92 of each outlet card guide 54 preferably extends at the same acute angle as the tapered surface 88 of the inlet card guides 44 . an angled support edge 94 forms part of each outlet card guide 54 . opposite ends of the heat exchanger 16 portion of each module 14 are formed to mate and interlock with respective inlet and outlet card guides 44 and 54 . in the presently preferred embodiment , the frame 60 of heat exchanger 16 has one end formed with an angled surface 96 which mates with the angled surface 88 of the inlet card guide 44 , and a v - groove recess 98 which receives the support edge 90 of the inlet card guide . the opposite end of the heat exchanger frame 60 has similar structure . it includes an angled surface 100 which mates with the angled surface 92 of an outlet card guide 54 , and a v - groove recess 102 which receives the support edge 94 of the outlet card guide 54 . each module 14 is mounted within the chassis 12 as follows . as shown in fig1 , the top wall 20 of chassis 12 is removed to provide access to the hollow interior . each module 14 is oriented so that its multi - point connectors 78 face toward the bottom wall 22 , and the support edges 90 , 94 of the inlet and outlet card guides 44 , 54 are received within the respective v - groove recesses 98 and 102 of the heat exchanger frame 60 . the module 14 is then slid along the inlet and outlet card guides 44 , 54 until its multi - pin connectors 78 engage and connect to the corresponding multi - pin connectors 56 of the motherboard 58 . in the seated position of a module 14 , the angled surfaces 96 and 100 at opposite ends of the heat exchanger frame 60 contact substantially the entire surface area of the angled surfaces 88 and 92 on the inlet and outlet card guides 44 , 54 , respectively . each opening 42 in the inlet end wall 32 and one of the inlet card guides 44 aligns with a central passage 104 in the heat exchanger 16 , which is the area where the fin stock 72 is located , and the openings 52 in the outlet end wall 36 and outlet card guides 54 also align with central passage 104 . this construction provides an essentially straight flow path from the inlet end wall 32 , through the heat exchanger 16 and out of the outlet end wall 36 ensuring a highly efficient transfer of heat from the circuit card assembly 18 mounted thereto and minimal pressure drop in the course of passage of cooling air through such flow path . cooling air from outside of the chassis 12 enters its interior through the inlet port 40 in back wall 26 and is distributed by the inlet plenum 34 to each of the openings 42 . as noted above , a slot 35 is formed in the inlet plenum 34 for each opening 42 , and , hence , for each module 14 . it is contemplated that the size of such slots 35 can be varied depending on the circuit elements present on the circuit card assembly 18 of a particular module 14 . that is , a circuit card assembly 18 which produces 120 watts , for example , would require more cooling air and therefore a larger - size slot 35 than a 20 watt circuit card assembly 18 . the size of the slots 35 is therefore adjusted accordingly for a given group of modules 14 . after passing through the heat exchanger 16 along the flow path noted above , the now heated air exits the chassis 12 though the exhaust plenum 38 and exhaust ports 46 in the front wall 24 . a series of modules 14 are placed side - by - side within the chassis 12 in the manner described above , and each is “ locked ” in place by operation of the wedge locks 84 located at either end of each module . an allen wrench or the like is inserted into each wedge lock 84 and rotated causing the angled surfaces 88 and 92 of the heat exchanger frame 60 to bear against the angled surfaces 96 and 100 , and against the support edges 90 , 94 , of the inlet card guide 44 and outlet card guide 54 , respectively . this creates an airtight seal at each end of the heat exchanger 16 which does not require a gasket , and , hence , avoids maintenance issues which can arise with seals that wear over time . further , substantial rigidity is provided at the connection between the ends of the heat exchanger frame 60 and the inlet and outlet card guides 44 , 54 due to the relatively large , angled area of contact between their angled surfaces and the force generated by the wedge locks 84 . this enhances the rotational stiffness at such interface and significantly improves the vibration performance of the chassis 12 . the modules 14 may be removed from the chassis 12 by loosening the wedge locks 84 and operating the ejectors 86 at ends of the module 14 . while the invention has been described with reference to a preferred embodiment , it should be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes may be made and equivalents substituted for elements thereof without departing from the scope of the invention . in addition , many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material to the teachings of the invention without departing from the essential scope thereof . for example , wedge locks 84 are depicted in the drawings and described above as a means of locking or retaining the modules 14 in place within the chassis 12 . it is contemplated that other locking or retainer devices could be employed to releasably secure the modules 14 such as spring clips , screws or other devices . 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 . | 7 |
an embodiment of the invention will be described below . incidentally , the invention is not limited to the following embodiment and various other forms can be adopted as long as they belong to the technical scope of the invention . fig1 is a schematic sectional view of a laser printer 1 as an image forming apparatus to which the invention is applied . fig2 is a perspective view showing an appearance of the laser printer 1 . as shown in fig1 , in the inside of a main body case 2 , the laser printer 1 has a feeder part 4 for feeding a sheet 3 functioning as a recording medium , a multipurpose tray 14 , a process unit 18 for forming an image on the sheet 3 thus fed , and a fixing device 19 , etc . this laser printer 1 is configured so that an optional tray 41 functioning as an optional sheet feeding device can be added optionally on the lower portion of the feeder part 4 . incidentally , in this laser printer 1 , the side ( left side in fig1 ) in which the multipurpose tray 14 is attached to the main body case 2 is set as “ the front side ” and the side opposite to the side in which the multipurpose tray 14 is attached to the main body case 2 is set as “ the rear side ”. as shown in fig1 , in the bottom of the inside of the main body case 2 , the feeder part 4 has a main body sheet feeding tray 6 detachably attached , a sheet press plate 8 disposed inside the main body sheet feeding tray 6 , a sheet feeding roller ( hereinafter called as “ main body sheet feeding roller ”) 12 disposed in the upper portion of one end side of the main body sheet feeding tray 6 , and a separation pad 13 . also , a transport path 7 formed in a curved shape is disposed in the range from the main body sheet feeding roller 12 to an image formation position p ( a portion of contact between a photosensitive drum 23 and a transfer roller 25 , that is , a transfer position in which a toner image on the photosensitive drum 23 is transferred to the sheet 3 ). the sheet press plate 8 can hold the sheet 3 in a stack state and is configured so that the nearer end can move in a vertical direction by swingably supporting the sheet press plate 8 at the farther end with respect to the main body sheet feeding roller 12 and also is urged upward from the back side by a spring 8 a . the separation pad 13 is disposed in a state opposed to the main body sheet feeding roller 12 and a pad 13 a made of a member with a high coefficient of friction is pressed against the main body sheet feeding roller 12 by a spring 13 b . incidentally , the pad 13 a and the main body sheet feeding roller 12 are formed so that a width dimension of a direction perpendicular to a transport direction of the sheet 3 is shorter than a width dimension of the sheet 3 and the pad 13 a and the roller 12 come into contact with the sheet 3 only at the approximately center of the width direction of the sheet 3 at the time of sheet feeding ( see fig4 ). the transport path 7 is formed in the curved shape by arranging a pair of guide plates 7 a , 7 b for guiding a surface of the sheet 3 . also , in this transport path 7 , the main body sheet feeding roller 12 , a pair of transport rollers 11 composed of a driving roller and a driven roller , a pair of transport rollers 10 composed of a driving roller and a driven roller , and a pair of registration rollers 9 which are arranged immediately before the image formation position p and are composed of a driving roller and a driven roller are arranged at appropriate intervals sequentially from the upstream side of sheet transport . also , immediately before the registration rollers 9 , a well - known registration sensor 92 ( see fig5 ) for detecting whether or not the sheet 3 is transported to that position is disposed . in the feeder part 4 configured as described above , after the uppermost sheet 3 of the sheets 3 stacked on the sheet press plate 8 is pressed against the main body sheet feeding roller 12 and is pinched between the main body sheet feeding roller 12 and the separation pad 13 by rotation of the main body sheet feeding roller 12 , the sheet is fed one by one . it is constructed so that the thus fed sheet 3 is transported by the transport rollers 11 and then is sequentially fed to the transport rollers 10 and the registration rollers 9 and the sheet 3 is fed to the image formation position p after a predetermined registration . the multipurpose tray 14 for feeding a sheet 3 manually and a multipurpose side sheet feeding mechanism 15 for feeding sheets 3 stacked on the multipurpose tray 14 are disposed in the front side of the main body case 2 of an upper position from the feeder part 4 . the multipurpose side sheet feeding mechanism 15 has a multipurpose side sheet feeding roller 15 a and a multipurpose side sheet feeding pad 15 b , and the multipurpose side sheet feeding pad 15 b is pressed against the multipurpose side sheet feeding roller 15 a by a spring 15 c disposed in the back side of the multipurpose side sheet feeding pad 15 b . also , the multipurpose tray 14 has a pair of transport rollers 16 composed of a driving roller and a driven roller . in the multipurpose tray 14 configured as described above , the sheets 3 stacked on the multipurpose tray 14 are pinched by the multipurpose side sheet feeding roller 15 a that rotates and the multipurpose side sheet feeding pad 15 b and then are fed one by one and are fed to the registration rollers 9 through the pair of the transport rollers 16 . a scanner unit 17 is arranged in the lower side of a sheet discharge tray 36 of the upper portion of the main body case 2 , and has a laser emitting part ( not shown ), a polygon mirror 20 rotated and driven , lenses 21 a and 21 b , a reflecting mirror 22 , etc . a laser beam in accordance with image data emitted from the laser emitting part is passed or reflected in order of the polygon mirror 20 , the lens 21 a , the reflecting mirror 22 and the lens 21 b , and is applied on a surface of the photosensitive drum 23 in the process unit 18 by fast scanning . the process unit 18 has a drum cartridge having a transfer roller 25 , a scorotron type charger 37 , the photosensitive drum 23 , and a developing cartridge 24 attachable to or detachable from the drum cartridge . the developing cartridge 24 has a toner receiving part 26 , a developing roller 27 , a layer thickness regulating blade 28 , a toner supply roller 29 , etc . the toner receiving part 26 is filled with non - magnetic mono - component polymerization toner with positive charging properties as a developer and the toner is supplied to the developing roller 27 by the toner supply roller 29 and at this time , the toner is positively frictionally charged between the toner supply roller 29 and the developing roller 27 . further , the toner supplied on the developing roller 27 is carried on the developing roller 27 as a thin layer of a certain thickness by sliding friction of the layer thickness regulating blade 28 with rotation of the developing roller 27 . on the other hand , the photosensitive drum 23 rotating is arranged as opposed to the developing roller 27 . a drum body is grounded and also , its surface is formed by organic photoconductor material , for example , a photoconductive layer with positive charging properties made of polycarbonate , etc . this laser printer 1 is constructed so that after a toner image is transferred to the sheet 3 by the transfer roller 25 , the remaining toner remaining on a surface of the photosensitive drum 23 is recovered by the developing roller 27 , that is , the remaining toner is recovered by the so - called method without a cleaner . when the remaining toner on the surface of the photosensitive drum 23 is recovered by such the method without the cleaner , there is no need to dispose preservation means of waste toner or a cleaner device such as a blade , so that cost reduction , miniaturization and simplification of a configuration of the apparatus can be achieved . the scorotron type charger 37 is disposed at a predetermined spacing from the photosensitive drum 23 so as not to be in contact with the photosensitive drum 23 . the scorotron type charger 37 is a scorotron type charger for positive charging for generating a corona discharge from a wire for charging of tungsten , etc ., and is constructed so that a surface of the photosensitive drum 23 is uniformly charged in positive polarity . the surface of the photosensitive drum 23 is first uniformly positively charged with rotation of the photosensitive drum 23 by the scorotron type charger 37 and thereafter is exposed by fast scanning of a laser beam from the scanner unit 17 and an electrostatic latent image based on image data is formed . subsequently , at the time of making opposite contact with the photosensitive drum 23 , toner positively charged and carried on the developing roller 27 by rotation of the developing roller 27 is supplied to an electrostatic latent image formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 23 , that is , an exposure portion with a decreased potential exposed by a laser beam among the surface of the photosensitive drum 23 uniformly positively charged and is selectively carried and thereby the toner is visualized and thus a toner image is achieved . the transfer roller 25 is arranged under the photosensitive drum 23 as opposed to this photosensitive drum 23 and is rotatably supported in the drum cartridge clockwise in fig1 . a metallic roller shaft of this transfer roller 25 is coated with a roller made of ionic conductive rubber material and it is constructed so that a transfer bias ( transfer forward bias ) is applied from a transfer bias applied power source at the time of transfer . as a result , a toner image carried on the surface of the photosensitive drum 23 is transferred to the sheet 3 in the image formation position p described above while the sheet 3 passes through a gap between the photosensitive drum 23 and the transfer roller 25 . as shown in fig1 , the fixing device 19 is disposed in the transport direction downstream side from the process unit 18 , and has a heating roller 31 , a pressurizing roller 32 arranged so as to press this heating roller 31 , and a pair of transport rollers 33 disposed in the downstream side of these rollers . the heating roller 31 has a heater such as a halogen lamp made of metal such as aluminum for heating , and toner transferred on the sheet 3 in the process unit 18 is thermally fixed while the sheet 3 passes through a gap between the heating roller 31 and the pressurizing roller 32 . thereafter , by the transport rollers 33 , the sheet 3 is transported by transport rollers 34 and sheet discharge rollers 35 in a sheet delivery path of the back side inside the main body case 2 and then is discharged on the sheet discharge tray 36 . incidentally , together with the scanner unit 17 and the process unit 18 , the fixing device 19 functions as an image forming unit . the inner structure of the optional tray 41 capable of being added to the lower portion of the feeder part 4 is similar to that of the feeder part 4 . that is , the optional tray 41 has an optional sheet feeding tray 46 detachably attached to the bottom , a sheet press plate 48 urged by a spring 48 a , one of the sheet press plate being swingably supported in the bottom of the optional sheet feeding tray 46 , a sheet feeding roller ( hereinafter called as “ optional sheet feeding roller ”) 52 disposed in the upper portion of the other end of the sheet press plate 48 , and a separation pad 53 . the separation pad 53 is disposed in a state opposed to the optional sheet feeding roller 52 and a pad 53 a made of a member with a high coefficient of friction is pressed against the optional sheet feeding roller 52 by a spring 53 b . also , in the main body sheet feeding tray 6 attached to the feeder part 4 , a passage 6 b capable of passing sheet 3 in a vertical direction is formed between a knob part 6 a of the front side and a swing range of the sheet press plate 8 . further , a pair of transport rollers 54 composed of a driving roller and a driven roller are disposed in the lower portion of the passage 6 b . when the main body sheet feeding tray 6 of the feeder part 4 is attached to a proper position ( a position in which the sheet 3 can be fed to the transport path 7 by the main body sheet feeding roller 12 ), the sheet 3 fed by the optional sheet feeding roller 52 of the optional tray 41 one by one is transported by a pair of the transport rollers 54 and then passes through the passage 6 b and is fed to the transport path 7 by the transport rollers 11 . also , as shown in fig3 , a connector 55 and pins 56 are disposed on an upper surface of the optional tray 41 . when the optional tray 41 is attached to the lower portion of the feeder part 4 , the connector 55 is electrically connected to a cpu 61 ( see fig5 ) of the laser printer 1 disposed inside the main body case 2 . the pins 56 are protrusively disposed at appropriate intervals in order to position the optional tray 41 with respect to the main body case 2 . incidentally , fig3 is a perspective view showing a configuration of the optional tray 41 with a configuration of the sheet press plate 48 , the optional sheet feeding roller 52 , the separation pad 53 , etc ., omitted . further , as shown in fig3 and 4 , a light emitting element 57 and a light receiving element 58 are disposed on a frame upper surface of the optional tray 41 disposed in the upper portion of a knob part 46 a of the optional sheet feeding tray 46 . a shutter 6 c for shutting an optical path extending from the light emitting element 57 to the light receiving element 58 when the main body sheet feeding tray 6 is attached to the proper position as shown in fig4 is protrusively disposed on the back surface ( rear side ) of the knob part 6 a of the main body sheet feeding tray 6 . as a result , it can be detected whether or not the main body sheet feeding tray 6 of the main body side is attached to the proper position by detecting whether or not light emitted from the light emitting element 57 can be received by the light receiving element 58 when the optional tray 41 is added . control of this light emitting element 57 and detection of a light receiving state of the light receiving element 58 are performed by the cpu 61 through the connector 55 described above . hereinafter , the light emitting element 57 and the light receiving element 58 are also called a main body tray draw sensor 59 collectively ( see fig5 ). next , a control system of the laser printer 1 will be described with reference to a block diagram of fig5 . as shown in fig5 , this control system has a cpu ( central processing unit ) 61 for doing various calculations for control of transport operation , etc ., rom ( read - only memory ) 62 in which control programs , etc ., are stored , and ram ( random - access memory ) 63 in which various data is temporarily stored . also , the cpu 61 can receive commands of image formation or a print job through an input / output interface ( not shown ) from a computer , etc ., ( not shown ). in addition , a reset button 90 ( see fig2 ) disposed on a surface of the main body case 2 , a display part 91 , the light emitting element 57 and the light receiving element 58 functioning as the main body tray draw sensor 59 , and a registration sensor 92 are connected to the cpu 61 . also , a main motor 94 for driving the photosensitive drum 23 and various rollers described above is connected to the cpu 61 through a driving circuit 93 and further a first clutch 95 , a second clutch 96 and a third clutch 97 for switching whether or not driving force of the main motor 94 is transmitted to the registration roller 9 , the main body sheet feeding roller 12 and the optional sheet feeding roller 52 are connected to the cpu 61 . incidentally , the main body tray draw sensor 59 and the third clutch 97 among these are connected to the cpu 61 when the connector 55 is connected as described above . subsequently , print processing performed in the control system of the laser printer 1 will be described with reference to fig6 . first , the control system of the laser printer 1 generally performs the following image data generation processing in the case of receiving a print job from a personal computer , etc ., ( not shown ) in a state of turning on a power source of the laser printer 1 . that is , after the received print job is once stored in the ram 63 , its print job is analyzed and also the contents of setting of its print condition information are checked and data included in the print job is converted into image data . incidentally , the print condition information includes information as to whether to feed sheet from the main body sheet feeding tray 6 or from the optional sheet feeding tray 46 . the print processing shown in fig6 is performed after the image data generation processing is performed at the time when a power source of the laser printer 1 is turned on and an initial operation is performed and it is in a wait state . incidentally , in the initial operation , the following action is performed . that is , the initial operation in which the developing roller 27 , the transfer roller 25 and the photosensitive drum 23 in the process unit 18 and the heating roller 31 of the fixing device 19 are rotated and also a power source of the heater of the heating roller 31 is turned on is performed by actuating a main motor , etc . when the print processing is started , it waits in s 1 ( s indicates a step : the same applies to the following ) until a sheet feeding command is generated after receiving the completion of the image data generation processing described above . when the sheet feeding command is generated ( s 1 : yes ), the print processing proceeds to s 2 and it is detected whether or not the optional tray 41 is added . this detection is made by detecting whether or not the connector 55 of the optional tray 41 is connected by inputting and outputting a signal to a connector ( not shown ) of the side of the laser printer 1 connected to the connector 55 . then , when the optional tray 41 is added ( s 2 : yes ), in s 3 , a detection result of the main body tray draw sensor 59 is read out and it is detected whether or not the main body sheet feeding tray 6 is attached to the proper position . when it is not attached to the proper position ( s 3 : no ), after error display is performed on the display part 91 in s 4 , the print processing again proceeds to s 3 . when the main body sheet feeding tray 6 is not attached to the proper position , the main body sheet feeding roller 12 does not abut on the sheet 3 held on the sheet press plate 8 , so that sheet feeding from the main body sheet feeding tray 6 cannot be performed . also , the passage 6 b is not disposed in a proper position , so that sheet feeding from the optional sheet feeding tray 46 cannot be performed . that is , it is impossible to do printing even in the case that the print job is to feed sheet from any of the main body sheet feeding tray 6 or the optional sheet feeding tray 46 when the main body sheet feeding tray 6 is not attached to the proper position . therefore , in this case ( s 3 : no ), error display is performed on the display part 91 ( s 4 ) and it waits until the main body sheet feeding tray 6 is attached to the proper position . on the other hand , when the main body sheet feeding tray 6 is attached to the proper position ( s 3 : yes ), after the error display is released in s 5 , the print processing proceeds to s 6 and a sheet feeding operation is executed . also , when the main body sheet feeding tray 6 is attached to the proper position from the beginning ( s 3 : yes ), error display is not performed from the beginning , so that the print processing proceeds to s 6 as it is and when the optional tray 41 is not added ( s 2 : no ), a sheet feeding operation is similarly executed by directly proceeding from s 2 to s 6 . this sheet feeding operation is executed by driving the sheet feeding roller ( 12 or 52 ) corresponding to the sheet feeding tray ( 6 or 46 ) instructed by the print condition information when the optional tray 41 is added , and is executed by driving the main body sheet feeding roller 12 when the optional tray 41 is not added . in s 7 , it is determined whether or not the end of sheet 3 is detected within a certain period of time based on a detection signal from the registration sensor 92 . incidentally , this certain time is set at the time enough for the sheet 3 to be transported to the image formation position p since the sheet feeding operation was started . then , when the end of the sheet 3 is detected within its certain time ( s 7 : yes ), the process unit 18 and the image forming unit described above are driven and print processing to the sheet 3 is performed ( s 8 ). in s 9 next to s 8 , it is determined whether or not print corresponding to the print job is completed , and when it is not completed ( s 9 : no ), the print processing proceeds to s 6 . then , by repeatedly performing the processing of s 6 to s 9 , the sheet feeding operation ( s 6 ) and the print processing ( s 8 ) are repeated and when the print corresponding to the print job is completed ( s 9 : yes ), the processing is once ended . on the other hand , when a jam , etc ., occurs in the range from the sheet feeding tray ( 6 or 46 ) to the registration roller 9 , the end of the sheet 3 is not detected within the certain time from the start of the sheet feeding operation ( s 7 : no ). also , when the optional tray 41 is not added ( s 2 : no ), it cannot be detected whether or not the main body sheet feeding tray 6 is attached to the proper position , but when it is not attached to the proper position , the sheet feeding operation by the main body sheet feeding roller 12 cannot be executed , so that the end of the sheet 3 is not detected within the certain time similarly ( s 7 : no ). therefore , in such a case , after error display is performed on the display part 91 in s 11 , it waits until the reset button 90 is depressed in s 12 . when a user completes jam handling , etc ., and depresses the reset button 90 ( s 12 : yes ), after the error display is released in s 13 , the processing proceeds to s 6 and the sheet feeding operation is resumed . in this embodiment , the optional tray 41 is provided with the main body tray draw sensor 59 for detecting whether or not the main body sheet feeding tray 6 is attached to the proper position , so that cost reduction of the main body of the laser printer 1 can be achieved . also , when the optional tray 41 is added , it can be decided whether or not the main body sheet feeding tray 6 is attached to the proper position by the main body tray draw sensor 59 , so that the following effects are obtained by reflecting that decision on control as described above . that is , when the main body sheet feeding tray 6 is not attached to the proper position ( s 3 : no ), sheet feeding cannot be performed from any of the main body sheet feeding tray 6 or the optional sheet feeding tray 46 . therefore , in this case , sheet feeding from any of the main body sheet feeding tray 6 and the optional sheet feeding tray 46 can be inhibited to well prevent the occurrence of a jam , etc . also , when the optional tray 41 is not added ( s 2 : no ), it cannot refer to a detection result of the main body tray draw sensor 59 . therefore , in this case , useless decision processing can be eliminated by omitting the processing ( s 3 ) for referring to the detection result of the main body tray draw sensor 59 and can start the sheet feeding operation ( s 6 ). incidentally , when the main body sheet feeding tray 6 is not attached to the proper position ( s 3 : no ), sheet feeding from any of the main body sheet feeding tray 6 and the optional sheet feeding tray 46 is inhibited in the processing , but even when the main body sheet feeding roller 12 is driven at this time , the sheet 3 is not transported at all and it does not become a cause of a jam , etc . therefore , when the main body sheet feeding tray 6 is not attached to the proper position ( s 3 : no ), only sheet feeding from the optional sheet feeding tray 46 may be inhibited . in this case , even when the sheet feeding operation from the main body sheet feeding tray 6 is executed ( s 6 ), the end of the sheet 3 is not detected within a certain time ( s 7 ), so that error display is performed at this point in time ( s 11 ) in this case , the normal sheet feeding operation ( s 6 ) is executed by attaching the main body sheet feeding tray 6 to the proper position and depressing the reset button 90 ( s 12 ). on the other hand , in the present embodiment , when the main body sheet feeding tray 6 is not attached to the proper position ( s 3 : no ), the normal sheet feeding operation ( s 6 ) is executed by only attaching the main body sheet feeding tray 6 to the proper position ( s 3 : yes ). accordingly , operability improves more . also , a useless sheet feeding operation is not executed , so that a print speed as a whole can be improved . in the present embodiment described above , the main body sheet feeding roller 12 functions as a sheet feeding unit , the optional tray 41 functions as an optional sheet feeding device , the main body tray draw sensor 59 functions as a first detector , the cpu 61 functions as a controller , the connector 55 functions as a second detector , and the processing of s 2 functions as a determining unit , respectively . also , in the embodiment , the first detector is constructed by the optical main body tray draw sensor 59 , but the first detector can also be constructed by a contact type sensor such as a limit switch or a magnetic sensor . further , the laser printer 1 may be sold separately from the optional tray 41 , and the optional tray 41 may be sold singly . furthermore , the invention is not limited to the electrophotographic type image forming apparatus as described above , and can be applied to various image forming apparatus such as an ink - jet printer . | 6 |
in describing the embodiments of the invention illustrated in the drawings , specific terminology will be used for the sake of clarity . however , the invention is not intended to be limited to the specific terms so selected , it being understood that each specific term includes all technical equivalents operating in similar manner to accomplish similar purpose . it is understood that the drawings are not drawn exactly to scale . in the drawings , similar reference numbers are used for designating similar elements throughout the several figures . the following describes particular embodiments of the invention . however , it should be understood , based on this disclosure , that the invention is not limited to the embodiments detailed herein . generally , the following disclosure refers to dual or triple lumen catheter assemblies , although catheter assemblies having more lumens and / or distal end tubes are within the scope of the invention . further , the methods described below for making the catheter assemblies of the present invention are also applicable to making catheter assemblies having more than two lumens and / or distal end tubes . it is only for reasons of convenience that the following description refers to two or three lumen embodiments of the present invention . the multitube catheter assemblies of the present invention are inserted into an area of a body of a patient to be catheterized for removing and introducing fluids to the body . the catheter assemblies of the present invention are secured to a fixed location in or on the patient body , such as a subcutaneous area , before the catheter assembly is properly inserted and positioned in the area to be catheterized . this method is particularly preferred for long term catheterization . alternatively , in short term catheterization , the catheter assemblies of the present invention may be secured to an external surface of the body before or after the catheter assembly is properly inserted and positioned in the area to be catheterized . the multitube catheter assemblies of the present invention can be adapted for use in various applications in which bodily fluids , medicaments , or other solutions are introduced into and removed from the body , such as perfusion , infusion , plasmapheresis , hemodialysis , chemotherapy , and the like . the catheter assemblies of the present invention are particularly suitable for chronic hemodialysis and apheresis . the area to be catheterized is preferably a blood vessel , such as an internal jugular vein , but may be any suitable area within the body . other areas in which the catheter assemblies may be used include other blood vessels , including the femoral and subclavian veins , any cavity , and other areas of the body including intra - abdominal , sub - diaphragmatic and sub hepatic areas . it is understood that the above - referenced areas are exemplary , and that the catheter assemblies of the present invention may be used to remove or introduce fluids to various areas to be catheterized . the embodiments of the present invention shown in the figures are particularly useful for intake , or removal , of blood to be purified from a blood vessel , such as the internal jugular vein , and introduction of purified blood into the same vessel . the blood can be purified by any suitable hemodialysis apparatus attached in communication with lumens of the disclosed catheter assemblies . the catheter assemblies of the present invention may also be used to introduce medication or other fluids , including glucose or saline solutions , into the body . for purposes of describing the embodiments of the present invention shown in the figures , the catheter assemblies will be described with respect to an application of hemodialysis and or as channeling to the venous system . however , it is understood that the catheter assemblies of the present invention can be configured and adapted , by increasing or decreasing a size ( diameter or length ) and / or number of distal end tubes and / or lumens in the respective catheter assembly , so that the catheter assembly can be beneficially used for other medical applications in which fluids are introduced into and / or removed from the body . fig1 illustrates one embodiment of the present invention , where a catheter assembly has at least two lumens . the illustration of two lumens is exemplary , and the scope of the invention encompasses catheters having more than two lumens . the catheter assembly includes first tube t 1 which has a proximal end 101 and a distal end 103 . the catheter assembly includes second tube t 2 which has a proximal end 104 and a distal end 106 . the fist tube t 1 and the second tube t 2 united ( fused ) at catheter shaft tc as a result of fusion of a portion 104 of first tube t 1 and the 105 of second tube t 2 . the catheter assembly can be provided ( manufactured ) so that the first distal end tube d 1 and the second distal end tube d 2 are splitable ( releasable attached ) or separate at their respective distal ends . splitable is defined as releasable attached , meaning the first and the second distal end tubes d 1 and d 2 are fused , or otherwise attached , so that only minor force is necessary to pull apart , or split , along the imaginary line 118 . the first tube t 1 and second tube t 2 are split at the end of the catheter tube fused part tc at the point 108 and form free floating distal parts d 1 & amp ; d 2 . the multilumen catheter assembly includes a first lumen 112 and a second lumen 113 extending longitudinally therethrough as illustrated at c 1 . the first lumen 112 is continuous with and through the floating distal part d 1 , the catheter shaft tc and first extension tube e 1 . the second lumen 113 is continuous with and through the floating distal part d 2 , the catheter shaft tc and first extension tube e 2 . the first and the second extension tubes e 1 and e 2 lead to a proximal end of the catheter assembly , through which the materials entering and or exiting the patient enter and / or exit the catheter assembly . the words “ proximal ” and “ distal ” refer to directions away from and closer to , respectively , the inserted end of the catheter assembly . the exterior of the catheter shaft tc is smooth , rounded without ridges or grooves . as shown in the cross - section c 1 of the catheter shaft tc , the outer surface of the catheter shaft tc is generally rounded in shape ( outer configuration ), c 1 illustrating in cross - section a generally round shaped outer wall , with the first and the second lumens 112 , 113 having a circular cross - section . catheter shaft tc can have various shapes , such as but not limited to circular , semi - circular or oval . also lumen cross section can have various shapes , such as but not limited to circular , semi - circular or oval a cuff 114 may and may not be located at a point along the catheter shaft tc . cuffs are known in the art and provide a surface onto which internal tissue may adhere to stabilize the catheter assembly within the patient . in the above mentioned embodiments , it is noted that the proximal ends 101 , 104 may occur at different locations in various catheters . it is within the scope of the present invention to incorporate , in the dimensional aspects of length disclosed above , all locations where the proximal ends 101 , 104 could be said to occur in catheters known in the art , disclosed herein , or to be developed . the smooth generally round exterior surface of the catheter shaft tc passes through and remains positioned at a vessel wall insertion site during insertion of the catheter assembly into a patient . a vessel wall seals quite well around the smooth , round exterior surface of the catheter shaft tc , as shown in cross - section c 1 . since the exterior of the catheter shaft tc provides a good seal at the insertion site , the risk of blood loss around the catheter assembly at the insertion site is minimized . the first and the second distal end tubes d 1 , d 2 extend distally from the catheter shaft tc at the split point 108 . the first and the second distal end tubes d 1 , d 2 have outer surfaces continuous with the outer wall of the unitary catheter shaft tc , and are capable of independent movement when split from one another . the first and the second distal end tubes d 1 , d 2 are defined by circular outer walls . the first and the second lumens 112 , 113 are circular . the first and the second lumens 112 , 113 are always circular since circular cross sections are most conducive to fluid flow properties . however , other shapes such as d - shaped passageways and / or lumens , oval , triangular , square , elliptical , kidney - bean shaped passageways and / or lumens , or other configurations are also within the scope of the invention . further , while the catheter tubes t 1 , t 2 , the distal end tubes d 1 , d 2 , the lumens 112 , 113 and the proximal end tubes e 1 , e 2 are preferably identical in cross section , it is within the scope of the invention to vary the size , shape and / or configuration such that smaller distal end tubes and / or lumens , or varying types of lumens and distal end tubes may be used for other applications , such as an addition of a third , smaller lumen and corresponding distal end tube for introduction of medication . in addition to an l 1 & amp ; l 2 distal end opening , the first and the second distal end tubes d 1 , d 2 may or may not have a plurality of side holes 109 , 110 extending through exterior surfaces of the distal end tubes d 1 , d 2 to the first and the second lumens 112 , 113 . the side holes 109 , 110 provide additional or alternative flow paths . the side holes 109 , 110 can be arranged circumferentially and helically around the distal end tubes d 1 , d 2 to provide optimal flow properties , and to avoid suctioning of the distal tubes against an area to be catheterized , such as a vessel wall . the side holes 109 , 110 can be of various shape , but are typically circular or oval , or of some combination thereof and may also vary in number between the shorter and longer of the distal end tubes d 1 , d 2 . fig2 illustrates another embodiment of the present invention , where a catheter assembly has at least two lumens . the illustration of two lumens is exemplary , and the scope of the invention encompasses catheters having more than two lumens . the catheter assembly includes first tube t 1 which has a proximal end 101 and a distal end 103 . the catheter assembly includes a shorter second tube t 2 which has a proximal end 104 and a distal end 106 . the fist tube t 1 and the second tube t 2 united ( fused ) at catheter shaft tc as a result of fusion of a portion 104 of first tube t 1 and the 105 of second tube t 2 . the catheter assembly can be provided ( manufactured ) so that the first distal end tube d 1 is extending distally beyond the second tube distal end 106 . the multilumen catheter assembly includes a first lumen 112 and a second lumen 113 extending longitudinally therethrough as illustrated at c 1 . the first lumen 112 is continuous with and through the first tube t 1 from the distal end 103 of the floating distal part d 1 , the catheter shaft tc and first extension tube e 1 . the second lumen 113 is continuous with and through the second tube t 2 from the distal end 106 of the second tube t 2 , the catheter shaft tc and first extension tube e 2 . the first and the second extension tubes e 1 and e 2 lead to a proximal end of the catheter assembly , through which the materials entering and or exiting the patient enter and / or exit the catheter assembly . the words “ proximal ” and “ distal ” refer to directions away from and closer to , respectively , the inserted end of the catheter assembly . the exterior of the catheter shaft tc includes a smooth , rounded without ridges or grooves . as shown in the cross - section c 1 of the catheter shaft tc , the outer surface of the catheter shaft tc is generally rounded in shape ( outer configuration ), c 1 illustrating in cross - section a generally round shaped outer wall , with the first and the second lumens 112 , 113 having a circular cross - section . catheter shaft tc can have various shapes , such as but not limited to circular , semi - circular or oval . also lumen cross section can have various shapes , such as but not limited to circular , semi - circular or oval . a cuff 114 may or may not be located at a point along the catheter shaft tc . cuffs are known in the art and provide a surface onto which internal tissue may adhere to stabilize the catheter assembly within the patient . in the above mentioned embodiments , it is noted that the proximal ends 101 , 104 may occur at different locations in various catheters . it is within the scope of the present invention to incorporate , in the dimensional aspects of length disclosed above , all locations where the proximal ends 101 , 104 could be said to occur in catheters known in the art , disclosed herein , or to be developed . the smooth generally round exterior surface of the catheter shaft tc passes through and remains positioned at a vessel wall insertion site during insertion of the catheter assembly into a patient . a vessel wall seals quite well around the smooth , round exterior surface of the catheter shaft tc , as shown in cross - section c 1 . since the exterior of the catheter shaft tc provides a good seal at the insertion site , the risk of blood loss around the catheter assembly at the insertion site is minimized . the distal end tubes d 1 extend distally from the catheter shaft tc at the point 108 . the distal end tubes d 1 has outer surfaces continuous with the outer wall of the unitary catheter shaft tc , and are capable of independent movement . the first distal end tubes d 1 is defined by circular outer wall . the first and the second lumens 112 , 113 are circular . the first and the second lumens 112 , 113 are always circular since circular cross sections are most conducive to fluid flow properties . however , other shapes such as d - shaped passageways and / or lumens , oval , triangular , square , elliptical , kidney - bean shaped passageways and / or lumens , or other configurations are also within the scope of the invention . further , while the catheter tubes t 1 , t 2 , the distal end tube d 1 , the lumens 112 , 113 and the proximal end tubes e 1 , e 2 are preferably identical in cross section , it is within the scope of the invention to vary the size , shape and / or configuration such that smaller distal end tubes and / or lumens , or varying types of lumens and distal end tubes may be used for other applications , such as an addition of a third , smaller lumen and corresponding distal end tube for introduction of medication . the assembly according to the second embodiment , in addition to an l 1 & amp ; l 2 distal end opening , may or may not include a plurality of side holes 109 extending through exterior surfaces of the distal end tubes d 1 , to the first lumen 112 . a second set of side holes 110 extending through exterior surfaces of the distal end of tube 105 , to the second lumen 113 . the side holes 109 , 110 provide additional or alternative flow paths . the side holes 109 , 110 can be of various shape , but are typically circular or oval , or of some combination . fig3 illustrates another embodiment of the present invention , where a catheter assembly has at least two lumens . the illustration of two lumens is exemplary , and the scope of the invention encompasses catheters having more than two lumens . the catheter assembly includes first tube t 1 which has a proximal end 101 and a distal end 103 . the catheter assembly includes a second tube t 2 which has a proximal end 104 and a distal end 106 . the fist tube t 1 and the second tube t 2 united ( fused ) at catheter shaft tc as a result of fusion of a portion 104 of first tube t 1 and the 105 of second tube t 2 . the catheter assembly can be provided ( manufactured ) so that the first tube t 1 and the second tube t 2 is fused along a portion extending from the point 107 to the end of both tube 103 , 106 so as to have a common distal end . the assembly according to the third embodiment includes tipping of the distal end of the catheter shaft tc to form a distal catheter tip 120 . the multilumen catheter assembly includes a first lumen 112 and a second lumen 113 extending longitudinally therethrough as illustrated at c 1 . the first and second lumen 112 , 113 are continuous with and through the first and second tube t 1 , t 2 from the distal end 103 , 106 , the catheter shaft tc and first and second extension tube e 1 , e 2 . the first and the second extension tubes e 1 and e 2 lead to a proximal end of the catheter assembly , through which the materials entering and or exiting the patient enter and / or exit the catheter assembly . the words “ proximal ” and “ distal ” refer to directions away from and closer to , respectively , the inserted end of the catheter assembly . the exterior of the catheter shaft tc includes a smooth , rounded without ridges or grooves . as shown in the cross - section c 1 of the catheter shaft tc , the outer surface of the catheter shaft tc is generally rounded in shape ( outer configuration ), c 1 illustrating in cross - section a generally round shaped outer wall , with the first and the second lumens 112 , 113 having a circular cross - section . catheter shaft tc can have various shapes , such as but not limited to circular , semi - circular or oval . also lumen cross section can have various shapes , such as but not limited to circular , semi - circular or oval in the above mentioned embodiments , it is noted that the proximal ends 101 , 104 may occur at different locations in various catheters . it is within the scope of the present invention to incorporate , in the dimensional aspects of length disclosed above , all locations where the proximal ends 101 , 104 could be said to occur in catheters known in the art , disclosed herein , or to be developed . the smooth generally round exterior surface of the catheter shaft tc passes through and remains positioned at a vessel wall insertion site during insertion of the catheter assembly into a patient . a vessel wall seals quite well around the smooth , round exterior surface of the catheter shaft tc , as shown in cross - section c 1 . since the exterior of the catheter shaft tc provides a good seal at the insertion site , the risk of blood loss around the catheter assembly at the insertion site is minimized . the first and the second lumens 112 , 113 are always circular since circular cross sections are most conducive to fluid flow properties . however , other shapes such as d - shaped passageways and / or lumens , oval , triangular , square , elliptical , kidney - bean shaped passageways and / or lumens , or other configurations are also within the scope of the invention . further , while the catheter tubes t 1 , t 2 , the lumens 112 , 113 and the proximal end tubes e 1 , e 2 are preferably identical in cross section , it is within the scope of the invention to vary the size , shape and / or configuration such that smaller distal end tubes and / or lumens , or varying types of lumens and distal end tubes may be used for other applications , such as an addition of a third , smaller lumen and corresponding distal end tube for introduction of medication . a plurality of side holes 109 , 110 extending through exterior surfaces of tubes 102 , 105 , to the first and second lumens 112 , 113 . the side holes 109 , 110 provide additional or alternative flow paths . the side holes 109 , 110 can be of various shape , but are typically circular or oval , or of some combination . a cuff 114 may or may not be located at a point along the catheter shaft tc . cuffs are known in the art and provide a surface onto which internal tissue may adhere to stabilize the catheter assembly within the patient . the catheter assembly according to the various embodiments may be secured to patient skin by a fixation device . the catheter assembly according to the various embodiments may incorporate a hub secured or over molded over point 107 . the present invention further includes methods for making the multilumen catheter assemblies described above . the fusion parameter settings allow the catheter tube either to be releasable joined to allow longitudinally split from each other or non releasable joined . the present invention also provides a method for making a multitube catheter assembly , by fusing two or more tubes together by use of heat sensitive tube slides over the tubes while metallic mandrels are passed through each tube lumen to protect the lumens during fusion . the heat sensitive tube will generate pressure once heat is applied . continual heating will melt / re - shape the catheter tubes inside the heat sensitive tube while the letter will not be affected due to its high melting temperature . after cooling the heat shrink tube is removed around the fused catheter tubes , the metallic mandrels pulled back and the tubes , forming the one catheter tube . at fig4 illustrate the catheter tube t 1 , t 2 cross sectional changes during the fusion process . according to c 5 , the first tube t 1 and the second tube t 2 has a general round outer surface and circular lumen 112 , 113 and a wall 115 , 116 . c 4 illustrates the presence of the heat sensitive tube 117 slides over the first and second tube t 1 , t 2 . the heat sensitive tube 117 contract and generates pressure once heat is applied . continual heating will melt / re - shape the catheter tubes t 1 , t 2 inside the heat sensitive tube 117 while the letter will not be affected due to its high melting temperature . at c 3 , continual heating melt the wall 115 , 116 of the first and second tube t 1 , t 2 . at c 2 , the wall 115 , 116 fuse together forming one wall 111 defining the catheter tube tc around the catheter lumen 112 , 113 . catheter lumens 112 , 113 are protected during fusion process by the presence of a round mandrel with definite size inside each of them . at c 1 , after cooling , the heat sensitive tube 117 is removed around the formed tc . the metallic mandrels are to be pulled back the catheter shaft tube tc is formed with the wall 111 around the catheter lumens 112 , 113 . | 0 |
referring now to fig1 there is shown an ink jet array having improved performance due to practice of the present invention . each jet comprises a nozzle 10 coupled to a drop generator 11 which includes a supply of ink under pressure . emanating from each nozzle is a continuous electrically grounded stream 12 of ink which passes through a split ring electrode 13 comprising electrode elements 14 and 15 . a time varying voltage constituting a scan signal is applied to these electrodes 14 , 15 via leads 16 , 18 thereby inducing a charge upon the continuous stream 12 . the forces between the induced charge on the continuous stream 12 and the voltages at split ring electrode 13 cause the stream to be pulled toward either electrode 14 or electrode 15 , depending upon the relative magnitudes of the voltages imposed on those electrodes 14 and 15 , thus causing the continuous stream 12 to be laterally displaced in a direction substantially perpendicular to the axis of continuous stream 12 . subsequent to passing through split ring electrode 13 , each stream 12 of ink passes through an optional ground shield 20 which is electrically grounded . the ink stream 12 then begins to break up into drops 22 due to perturbations generated by the drop generator 11 . the ground shield 20 prevents the scan signal voltage from inducing charge upon these drops 22 . a drop charge electrode 24 having a lead 26 is located at the point of drop formation . the drop charge electrode 24 charges the drops 22 to an appropriate level so that selected ones can be deflected by a drop deflection electrode 28 . due to the scanning motion imparted to continuous stream 12 by split ring electrode 13 , continuous stream 12 is caused to scan between two end point positions p and p &# 39 ;. the spacing between ink jet nozzles 10 is such that the streams can be stitched together to cover the entire width of a printing plane 30 through control of the electrode voltages . a lateral distribution of drops intermediate the point of drop formation at drop charge electrode 24 and the printing plane 30 is shown in fig1 . drops shown as solid are understood to be uncharged while the drops represented as circles are understood to be charged . drop deflection electrode 28 is electrically connected to a suitable voltage source v s , to deflect charged drops as they travel toward the printing plane 30 . as depicted in fig1 drop deflection electrode 28 is located beneath the lateral distribution of the drops 22 and , since the drop deflection electrode can act only on charged drops the polarity of voltage source v s must be of opposite polarity to the charge on the charged drops thereby attracting them into a downward trajectory resulting in each charged drop landing in a gutter 32 . it will be appreciated that drop deflection electrode 28 can be located above the lateral distribution of drops and , in that case , the polarity of voltage source v s is of the same polarity as that of charged drops in order to allow repulsion therebetween to achieve the downward deflection of charged drops into the gutter 32 . furthermore , it will be appreciated that gutter 32 can be located either above or below the lateral distribution of the drops 22 . accordingly , the voltage polarity of voltage source v s applied to the drop deflection electrode 28 must be chosen with the location of the drop deflection electrode 28 and the gutter 32 kept in mind . the uncharged drops ( solid drops in fig1 ) are allowed to strike paper coincident with the printing plane 30 while the charged drops are deflected into the gutter . while this is preferred in order to minimize ink splatter contamination normally associated with charged drops being printed upon the paper , it will be appreciated that if desired the relationship between the gutter 32 , drop deflection electrode 28 and print plane 30 can be arranged so that uncharged drops normally impact into the gutter 32 and charged drops are deflected into impact with print plane 30 of a receiving medium such as paper . with regard to the time varying scan signal voltage applied to split ring electrode 13 , the shape of the signal and electrode configuration is chosen to provide a lateral distribution of drops 22 proportional to the scan signal . in a raster scanning mode , wherein an even distribution of drops impacting the receiving medium in the print plane 30 is desired , a ramp voltage which attains a maximum level as a function of time and then drops back to its initial level is desirable . the ramp voltage will be discussed in detail in relation to fig5 and 6 below . in the event aberrations in lateral distribution occur due to fabrication or system design deficiencies , the appropriate portion of the scan signal voltage wave shape can be altered to correct for lateral drop distribution irregularities . as depicted in fig1 the shape of the scan signal voltage wave form is chosen to provide a substantially even distribution of drops . a finite time is required for flyback of the control voltages so the drop charge electrode 24 is controlled to insure that all of the flyback drops are directed into the gutter 32 . it will be appreciated that the geometry of drop charge electrode 24 , ground shield 20 and electrode 13 need not be limited to a circular geometry but may be provided in any shape suitable with system parameters . alternative arrangements are schematically illustrated in fig2 , and 4 . in fig2 scan electrodes 34 , 35 are planar in shape . in fig3 electrodes 36 , 37 are cylindrical in shape and can comprise , for example , a rod or wire . with an array of scanning jets similar to that depicted in fig1 it is desirable to form the scan electrodes , ground shields and charge electrodes in as compact a configuration as is consistent with the jet placement density within the array . various combinations of parameters may be chosen to practice the present invention . a combination of parameters suitable for use in the practice of the present invention is as follows : a drop generator perturbation for drop formation of about 120 khz ; a spacing of about 3 mils between continuous stream 12 and the scan electrode ; a scan electrode extending 10 mils along the stream ; a charging voltage level of about 20 volts on charge electrode 24 ; a voltage level of about 3000 volts on drop deflection electrode 28 ; and a scan sweep voltage on the order of 200 volts maximum . the motion of the paper or receiving member along the print plane 30 can be either continuous or discontinuous . discontinuous motion can be provided by a stepping motor so that the paper remains stationary during one scan period and is moved during flyback of the continuous stream . with proper alignment of the jets , skewing of lines printed on the stepped receiving medium does not occur . however , with continuous motion of the receiving medium in the print plane , skewing will occur in the printed line due to the different times of impact of drops generated during a scan period . one method for compensating for this is by skewing the array of jets and the drop generator in a direction opposite to the direction of skew in the printed line . another method of offsetting the printed line skew is to use a multisegmented electrode having multiple segments 40 - 43 , as the scan electrode . such an electrode , having four segments , is depicted in fig4 as viewed from the front . the scan electrode in fig4 is similar to that of fig1 with the exception of having four segments rather than two segments . the heavy dot in the center of the four directions denotes the continuous stream 12 in its non - scanned or home position . the direction of deflection of the continuous stream is dependent upon the identity of the electrode segments energized and the magnitudes of the voltage levels applied to the addressed segments . by providing continuous dc bias to selected electrode segments , the continuous stream can be maintained away from its home axis in a direction effective to offset printed line skew . each jet in an array of jets can be similarly cocked to a selective home position from which scanning is caused by application of a time varying or periodic scan signal to selected scan electrode segments . referring now to fig5 and 6 , there is schematically illustrated control circuitry for the ink jet array depicted in fig1 . the fig6 circuitry 48 comprises a master clock 50 for clocking the system at a sufficiently high frequency f m to provide a desired degree of accuracy to the system and a desired ink throughput . a waveform from the clock 50 is coupled to first and second counters 52 , 54 . connected to the two counters 52 , 54 are two data latches 56 , 58 which input initial count data to the counters . the counters 52 , 54 are connected to two read only memories 60 , 62 which generate a crystal drive and scan electode signal in digital form . the digital signals from the read only memories 60 , 62 are converted to analog form in two digital to analog converters 64 , 66 . the analog signal from a first digital to analog converter 64 is amplified by an amplifier 68 and drives a crystal 70 at the drop generation frequency . by reference to the pond application ( ser . no . 894 , 799 ) it is seen that thus far the circuitry 48 for controlling the ink jet is the same as the circuitry disclosed in the pond application . in the pond application , however , the output from the digital to analog circuit connected to the scan electrode 13 differs from the waveform generated by the present digital to analog circuit 66 . the difference will be discussed with reference to fig5 . the frequency at which the crystal 70 is driven is equal to the master clock frequency , f m divided by n 1 an interger value provided by the first counter 52 . as an illustrative example , f m is given the value 9 . 216 k hz and n 1 is given the value 128 so that the crystal drive signal has a frequency f d of 72 k hz . this is the drop generation frequency . the scan frequency is less than the drop frequency and in the illustrated embodiment the drop frequency will be a multiple of the scan frequency . the scan frequency f s is equal to the frequency f m of the master clock divided by n 2 where n 2 is equal to n 1 times the number of drops desired per complete scan cycle , including flyback time . as depicted in fig1 during one cycle of the scan , including flyback , a total of 12 drops are produced ; 9 drops during active scanning and 3 drops during flyback . thus , in the illustrated embodiment n 2 is equal to 12 times n 1 or 1 , 536 . this provides a scan electrode signal frequency of about 6 k hz . a reset signal 72 is generated by the first counter 52 and clocks a shift register 74 at the drop frequency f d . the shift register 74 is connected to a data latch 76 which provides a signal pattern for each scan of the continuous stream . the pattern consists of a series of &# 34 ; high &# 34 ; or &# 34 ; low &# 34 ; signals depending on whether a given drop is to strike the paper or strike the gutter 32 . the shift register pattern serves as a blanking function control . a &# 34 ; high &# 34 ; level in the pattern stored in the register 74 indicates a given drop is to strike the gutter , thus , by selectively loading &# 34 ; high &# 34 ; signals into the shift register 74 selected one &# 39 ; s of the drops in each scan are caught by the gutter 32 . this blanking control is achieved by outputting a signal from the shift register 74 to an &# 34 ; or &# 34 ; gate 78 . each time a &# 34 ; high &# 34 ; signal is gated from the register 74 the &# 34 ; or &# 34 ; gate transmits this &# 34 ; high &# 34 ; to an amplifier 80 which generates a voltage causing the drop to be charged and therefore deflected to the gutter . it should be noted that the data from the latch 76 is gated to the shift register at a frequency equal to the scan frequency f s since the reset input to the register 74 is connected to the output from the counter 54 . the &# 34 ; or &# 34 ; gate 78 has a second input connected to a latch circuit 82 which controls the transmission of data signals other than blanking signals . data from a data input on the latch 82 is gated to the &# 34 ; or &# 34 ; gate 78 at a clocking frequency equal to the drop frequency f d . so long as the data output from the latch 82 to the gate 78 is &# 34 ; high &# 34 ; drops will be charged and deflected to the gutter 32 . for those drops directed to the paper , the latch output is low so the electrode 26 leaves them uncharged and consequently unaffected by the deflecting electrode 28 . further information regarding the circuitry illustrated in fig6 may be obtained by referring to the above referenced and incorporated pond application . turning now to fig5 there is illustrated a sweep circuit 110 coupled to the scan electrodes 14 , 15 through the leads 16 , 18 and comprising a part of the fig6 circuitry . it is the scan circuit 110 which makes the column deflection directly proportional to a control voltage rather than the square of that voltage . the sweep circuit 110 comprises a ramp generator 112 coupled to two high voltage amplifiers 116 , 118 . one of the high voltage amplifiers 118 is connected through a level shifter 114 which provides a voltage shift of the output from the second high voltage amplifier 118 in relation to the first high voltage amplifier 116 . the ramp generator 112 is a gated integrator which integrates a dc voltage input 120 to produce a linear ramp output to the high voltage amplifier 116 and level shifter 114 , respectively . the ramp generator 112 includes a reset input 113 which resets the ramp generator output to 0 volts . the output from the ramp generator 112 is therefore a sawtooth waveform starting from zero having a slope controlled by the rate input 120 . since the output from the ramp generator is directly coupled to a first of the high voltage amplifiers 116 , the voltage signal transmitted along the lead 16 to the electrode 14 ramps from zero volts up to a maximum desired positive voltage ( v max ). the output from the ramp generator also drives the level shifter 114 . the level shifter substracts a constant voltage ( determined by the rate input 120 ) from the ramp generator output . the magnitude of the constant voltage is equal to the peak value of the ramp geneator output signal . therefore , the output from the level shifter 114 is a second sawtooth waveform identical to the ramp generator output but , starting at a value of minus v max and varying with the same slope as the ramp generator output to a value of zero volts . the second high voltage amplifier 118 amplifies this second signal and drives a second electrode 15 through a lead 18 . the scan electrodes 14 , 15 , are accordingly driven by sawtooth waveforms separated by a constant voltage . exemplary voltage waveforms from the circuitry are illustrated in fig7 . the rationale for this circuitry and the application of a ramp waveform can be analyzed by discussing the forces acting on the column 12 in response to a voltage applied to the electrodes 13 . the force , f , on a small element of the column 12 in vicinity of the deflection plates is portional to q , the induced charge on the column , and e , the electric field strength between the plates . in prior art practice , one electode is held at ground potential while the potential on the other electrode is varied for scanning purposes . under these circumstances both q and e are proportional to the input voltage on the second electrode making the force proportional to the square of the voltage . the operation of prior art device was non - linear with respect to input voltages and the jet was deflected proportionally as the square of the input signal . when an increasing ramp type voltage is applied to both electrodes , however , the deflection of the column 12 is directly proportional to the changing ramp voltage rather than proportional to the square of that voltage . this phenomena is due to the fact that the electric field strength between the electrode remains constant while the induced charge is roughly proportional to the average of the two electrode potentials . as both voltages ramp upward the voltage difference between the two remains constant and since the electric field strength is approximately equal to the difference in voltage divided by the spacing between electrodes , the electric field strength remains the same . the charge q , however , is proportional to ## equ1 ## as the circuit 110 increases the voltages by an amount δv , the induced charge q is given by the expression ## equ2 ## the change in force on the incremental element is thus proportional to δv . the scan circuitry 110 includes three inputs 120 , 122 and 124 from the circuitry illustrated in fig6 . these inputs , both coordinate the ramping of the high voltage outputs to the electrodes 14 , 15 with ink droplet formation but also allow the circuitry illustrated in fig6 to control the degree of deflection applied to the individual ink jet columns . in order to synchronize the column scan with the drop production process , the output from the counter 52 representing the drop frequency f d is fed to a down counter 130 along the input 124 . the down counter 130 is preset to the number of drops contained in each scan and in the illustrated embodiment this number is 12 . when the down counter 130 reaches its terminal count zero it triggers a monostable multi - vibrator 132 which resets the ramp generator 112 . the counter 130 then automatically reloads the preset count and it awaits a reset signal 122 from the fig6 circuitry . as illustrated in fig6 the master reset signal 122 is shown coupled to the output from the second counter 54 thereby reinitiating the downward count of the down counter 130 once for each scan signal . it should be appreciated , however , that the timing of the master reset input 122 can be modified for a particular ink jet application . the rate input 120 is the input which determines how steeply the ramp generator output rises and also dictates the voltage separation between electrodes 14 , 15 provided by the level shifter . this input 120 is a d . c . voltage generated by the second digital to analog converter 66 in response to the rom 62 . the distinction between operation of the pond application apparatus and the present apparatus is that the pond circuitry generates its control voltages directly in the rom and then uses the digital to analog converter to generate a time varying scan voltage . the present rom 62 only calculates an appropriate d . c . rate voltage for transmittal to the circuit 110 . it is certainly within the scope of the invention , however , to generate two simultaneously varying voltages using the pond technique . a second embodiment for making the scan response of the column 12 directly proportional to input voltage requires that the electric field between the electrodes 14 , 15 be increased while the induced charge on the column 12 remains constant . this embodiment requires that the scan voltages be varied continuously but that while one is increasing in magnitude , the second is decreasing so that the induced charge remains constant , or relatively so . the increase in the net voltage separation between electrodes continuously increases the electric field acting on the constant induced charge thereby producing a column deflection proportional to the changes in the electrode voltages . the same formulations for the electric field and induced charge apply . namely : ## equ3 ## but if v &# 39 ; 1 = v 1 + δv and v &# 39 ; 2 = v 2 - δv , then ## equ4 ## so the charge is a constant . the electric field strength however is variable : ## equ5 ## so that the change in field strength is proportional to the changes in voltage as desired . in the fig5 embodiment of the scan circuitry , this second embodiment requires the insertion of an inverter 140 between the ramp generator 112 and the level shifter 114 . in this embodiment the level shifter 114 insures that a net charge is induced on the column 12 and the inverter 140 insures that while the output from the first high voltage amplifier 116 is increasing the output from the second high voltage amplifier will be decreasing . in this way , the above relations representing the second embodiment are achieved . waveforms illustrative of this second embodiment are shown in fig8 . while the above discussion has described the invention with a degree of particularity , it will be appreciated by one skilled in the art that other variations and changes can be readily made in view of the previous discussion . in particular , the circuitry shown in fig6 is representative of typical ink jet scanning circuit but practice of the improved scanning circuit to linearize the deflection with respect to a voltage input could utilize other functionally equivalent circuitry . it is therefore the intent that all modifications of the invention falling within the spirit and scope of the appended claims be covered . | 1 |
while the image reader for an image processing apparatus of the present invention is susceptible of numerous physical embodiments , depending upon the environment and requirements of use , substantial numbers of the herein shown and described embodiments have been made , tested and used , and all have performed in an eminently satisfactory manner . referring to fig5 and 6 , an image reader in accordance with the present invention is shown . in fig5 and 6 , the same or similar structural elements as those shown in fig2 - 4 are designated by like reference characters . as shown in fig5 photodiodes pd which constitute a line image sensor and switches sw11 - swnm adapted to select the photodiodes pd are grouped in n blocks bl1 - bln each comprising m photodiodes and m switches . the blocks bl1 - bln are each connected to a power source v d via a resistor r , and to an amplifier am via switches sl1 - sln , respectively . each of the switches sl1 - sln is adapted to select an output of its associated block . the junction j 1 of the common terminals of the switches sl1 - sln and the amplifier am is connected to the power source v d via a charging switch sc . the output va of the amplifier am is applied as an image signal to a sample and hold circuit or like circuit which follows the image reader . the switches sw11 - swnm , sl1 - sln and sc are on - off controlled by a controller ( not shown ) as will be described , in order to scan one line of image data at a time . it will be noted that the circuit following the image reader and the controller are operated in synchronism with each other or the following circuit is included in the controller . first , the switch sl1 is turned on ( see a of fig6 ) to select the block bl1 and , upon the lapse of a predetermined period of time , the switch swll associated with the first photodiode pd is turned on ( see d of fig6 ). at this moment , the output level of this particular photodiode pd falls complementarily to the level of incident light and , thereafter , the coupling capacitance cd and distributed capacitance c l are charged to gradually raise the output level of the photodiode . in parallel with this , an image signal via outputted from the amplifier am is varied ( k of fig6 ). in the following circuit , the image signal va is sampled during a period t r after the &# 34 ; on &# 34 ; timing of the switch sw11 , thereby producing an output signal of the associated photodiode pd . at a predetermined time after the elapse of the period of time t r , the switch sc is turned on ( see j of fig6 ) with the result that the capacitances cd and c l of the photodiode pd are charged via the switches sc and sl1 . at this instant , since the &# 34 ; on &# 34 ; resistance of the switch sc is very low and , therefore , the charging time constant is small , the output level of the photodiode pd rapidly rises to significantly shorten the time necessary for charging the capacitance cd and c l of the photodiode pd . after the charging time has expired , the switch sw11 is turned off at a predetermined time , then the switch sc is turned off , and then the switch sw12 associated with the next photodiode pd is turnd on ( see e of fig6 ). after the switch sw12 has been turned on and an image signal va has been sampled by the following circuit , the switch sc is turned on again so as to rapidly charge the second photodiode . upon completion of the charging , the switches sw and sc are sequentially turned off and , then , the next switch sw13 is turned on . in this manner , the switches sw11 - sw1m in the block bl1 are sequentially turned on and , in synchronism therewith , the switch sc is turned on to rapidly charge the capacitances cd and c l of the respective photodiodes . when the last switch sw1m in the block bl1 has been turned off , the switch sl1 associated with the block bl1 is turned off and , instead , the switch sl2 associated with the next block bl2 is turned on ( see b of fig6 ). as a result , the switches sw21 - sw2m in the block bl2 are turnd on and off in the same manner as the switches sw1l - sw1m while , synchronized therewith , the switch sc is on - off controlled to scan the block bl2 . timed to the turnoff of the last switch sw2m in the block bl2 , the switch sl2 associated with the block bl2 is turned off and , instead , the switch sl3 associated with the next block bl3 is turned on ( see c of fig6 ) to scan the block bl3 . subsequently , the other blocks bl4 - bln are sequentially selected by the switches sl4 - sln assigned thereto and scanned . as a result , one line of image signals va are sequentially produced . for comparison purpose , an image signal associated with one photodiode in the prior art arrangement of fig2 is represented by a waveform l in fig6 . as shown , the charging time t2 required of the prior art arrangement is about double the charging time t1 particular to the illustrative embodiment . it will thus be seen that the illustrative embodiment remarkably cuts down the scanning time . furthermore , each of the switches sl1 - sln adapted to select the blocks bl1 - bln , respectively , is actuated during an &# 34 ; on &# 34 ; period of the fast charge switch sc and at the timing when charging of the photodiodes pd completes . hence , at the instant of actuation of the switch , the source voltage v d is applied to the input terminal of the amplifier am so that the image signal va is free from the influence of noise due to turnon and turnoff of the switch . the switches sl1 - sln , sc and sw1l - swnm may be implemented with semiconductor switching elements . in fig6 and fig8 which will appear , low levels represent &# 34 ; on &# 34 ; states of the switches and high levels &# 34 ; off &# 34 ; states of the same . as described above , in accordance with the illustrative embodiment , charging means installed for rapidly charging light - sensitive cells effectively shortens the charging time for each of the cells and , thereby , significantly cuts down the overall period of time necessary for scanning one complete line . in addition , since block selector means are each actuated after the completion of chraging , switching noise little affects the resulting image signals . referring to fig7 and 8 , another embodiment of the present invention is shown . this particular embodiment constitutes an improvement over the prior art image reader which has been discussed with reference to fig4 . in fig7 and 8 , the same or similar structural elements as those shown in fig5 and 6 are designated by like reference characters . the image reader arrangement shown in fig7 differs from that shown in fig5 in that amplifiers , or preamplifiers , am 1 - am n respectively are connected between the blocks bl1 - bln and their associated switches sl1 - sln , and in that image signals va appear at the junction j 2 of the common outputs of the switchs sl1 - sln . also , the arrangement of fig7 is contrastive to that of fig4 in that the former includes fast charge switches sc1 - scn which are associated with the respective blocks and connected in parallel with the respective resistors r . first , the switch sl1 is turned on ( see a of fig8 ) to select the block bl1 and , upon the lapse of a predetermined period of time , the switch sw11 associated with the first photodiode pd is turned on ( see d of fig8 ). at this moment , the output level of this particular photodiode pd falls complementarily to the level of incident light and , thereafter , the coupling capacitance cd and distributed capacitance c l are charged to gradually raise the output level of the photodiode . in parallel with this , an image signal va outputted from the amplifier am is varied ( k of fig8 ). in the following circuit , the image signal va is sampled during a period t r after the &# 34 ; on &# 34 ; timing of the switch sw11 , thereby providing an output signal of the associated photodiode pd . at a predetermined time after the elapsion of the period of time t r , the switch sc is turned on ( see j of fig8 ) with the result that the capacitances cd and c l of the photodiodes pd are charged via the switches sc and sl1 . at this instant , since the &# 34 ; on &# 34 ; resistance of the switch of the switch sc is very low and , therefore , the charging time constant is small , the output level of the photodiode pd rapidly rises to significantly shorten the time for charging the capacitances cd to c l of the photodiode pd . after the charging time has expired , the switch sw11 is turned off at a predetermined time , then the switch sc is turned off , and then the switch sw12 associated with the next photodiode pd is turnd on ( see e of fig8 ). after the switch sw12 has been turned on and an image signal va has been sampled by the following circuit , the switch sc is turned on again so to rapidly charge the second photodiode . upon completion of the charging , the switches sw and sc are sequentially turned off and , then , the next switch sw13 is turned on . in this manner , the switches sw11 - sw1m in the block bl1 are sequentially turned on and , in synchronism therewith , the switch sc is turned on to rapidly charge the capacitances cd and c l of the respective photodiodes . when the last switch sw1m in the block bl1 has been turned off , the switch sl1 associated with the block bl1 is turned off and , instead , the switch sl2 associated with the next block bl2 is turned on ( see b of fig8 ). as a result , the switches sw2l - sw2m in the block bl2 ( see g - i of fig8 ) are turnd on and off in the same manner as the switches sw1l - sw1m while , synchronized therewith , the switch sc is on - off controlled to scan the block bl2 . timed to the turnoff of the last switch sw2m in the block bl2 , the switch sl2 associated with the block bl2 is turned off and , instead , the switch sl3 associated with the next block bl3 is turned on ( see c of fig8 ) to scan the block bl3 . subsequently , the other blocks bl4 - bln are sequentially selected by the switches sl4 - sln assigned thereto and scanned . as a result , one line of image signals va are sequentially produced . for comparison purpose , an image signal associated with one photodiode in the prior art arrangement of fig4 is represented by a waveform l in fig8 . as shown , the charging time t2 in the case of the prior art arrangement is about double the charging time t1 particular to the illustrative embodiment as represented by a waveform k in fig8 . such proves the remarkable cutdown of scanning time which is attainable with this particular embodiment . while in the second embodiment of the present invention all the switches sc1 - scn adatapted to rapidly charge the light - sensitive cells ( photodiodes pd ) which are selected in the respective blocks bl1 - bln are actuated at the same timing , they may alternatively be actuated in synchronism with the switches sl1 - sln , respectively . it will be seen that in accordance with this particular embodiment means provided for rapidly charging light - sensitive cells reduces a charging time necessary for each light - sensitive cell and , thereby , remarkably shortens the overall period of time necessary for scanning one complete line . various modifications will become possible for those skilled in the art after receiving the teachings of the present disclosure without departing from the scope thereof . | 7 |
in the multiplex system 1 shown in fig1 it is possible to connect a plurality of terminals t1 , t2 , . . . , tp to a main transmission channel mc . the links between said terminals and the system 1 are realised by means of sub - channels sc1 , sc2 , . . . , scp . various priority levels are assigned to these sub - channels ; thus , certain sub - channels have the lowest priority level and are qualified as normal sub - channels , and other sub - channels have higher priority levels . a main multiplex unit 10 makes it possible for these sub - channels to access a main transmission channel mc under the control of a management unit 15 . these different sub - channels sc1 , . . . , scp can transmit information signals at various rates and may thus need large or less large pass - bands ; the multiplexing on the mc channel is to be arranged for transmitting these information signals at various appropriate rates . on this subject see french patent application no . 9015691 , filed 14 dec . 1990 in the name of applicants . as , in principle , the transmission pass - band represented by the mc channel is smaller than the sum of the pass - bands of the various sub - channels , the access of these sub - channels to the mc channel must be regulated . for example , it is possible to give access to a priority sub - channel and deny access a number of the normal channels , such number being a function of the pass - band required by the priority sub - channel . according to the invention an additional priority level is assigned which is an authorization to use an overflow channel oc . thus the sub - channels sck + 1 , . . . , scp may be connected to this oc channel by means of a second overflow multiplex unit 20 itself controlled by the management unit 15 . the flow chart shown in fig2 explains in detail the operation of management unit 15 . a handshake between such unit and the terminals is provided by a set of ; circuits [ 105 ] and [ 106 ] shown only by identification in fig1 . a request for access passes through circuit [ 105 ] and the authorization giving access passes through circuit [ 106 ]. the design of these circuits is given in recommendation v24 of the ccitt . in fig2 box k100 indicates a request for access from a sub - channel , the terminal sends a signal to the circuit [ 105 ], which requests a certain pass - band bwr and gives its priority level st . the following priority levels are possible : st can be equal to &# 34 ; n &# 34 ;, denoting a normal sub - channel to which the lowest priority has been assigned , st can be equal to &# 34 ; d &# 34 ;, which gives access to overflow channel if necessary , and is the highest priority level , st is not equal to either &# 34 ; d &# 34 ; or &# 34 ; n &# 34 ;; this denotes a priority sub - channel on normal channels , without having a right of access to the overflow channel . in box k102 there is verified whether the pass - band dwr is smaller than the available pass - band bwf ; if so , the branch &# 34 ;+&# 34 ;; is taken and box k104 is proceeded to where the multiplex transmitted by the mc channel is rearranged , in conformity with the method described in afore - mentioned patent application . subsequently , the box k106 indicates the operation according to which access is finally authorized and a signal is sent to the circuit [ 106 ]. if the verification indicated in box k102 is negative , box k110 is proceeded to where the priority level of the requesting sub - channel is examined . if a normal sub - channel is concerned ( st =&# 34 ; n &# 34 ;), the sub - channel is not permitted to connect to the main channel mc , which is indicated in box k112 . no transmission takes place to the circuit [ 106 ]. if the verification in the box k110 is negative , then a priority channel is concerned . subsequently , in box k120 the total pass - band occupied by the normal sub - channels is verified ; if this is larger than the one required by the requesting sub - channel , a disconnecting procedure , of the normal sub - channels is started in box k122 . this procedure may consist of disconnecting the sub - channels while simply taking their identification codes into consideration . for example , if this code is an alphabetical code , the disconnection may be effected in an alphabetical order , so that only the necessary pass - band is obtained . box k124 denotes the rearrangement of the multiplex and box k126 the access authorization everything as shown in above boxes k104 and k106 . if the verification denoted in box k120 is negative , box k130 is proceeded to , where it is verified whether it is a sub - channel for which an overflow access is permitted or not . if not , this sub - channel is neither authorized to be connected to the mc channel , nor to use the overflow channel ( box k132 ). if it is a matter of a priority channel having authorization to use the overflow channel , then this connection is authorized by the procedure indicated in box k134 . | 7 |
fig1 refers to an embodiment according to the first alternative of the invention comprising an embossing element 60 located on top of an embossing protuberance 61 of an embossing roller 62 . a marrying roller 63 is located opposite to the embossing roller 62 and between both rollers two plies 65 , 66 are position for ply bonding . fig2 shows an embodiment according to the second alternative of the invention comprising several embossing elements 70 being disposed on the outer periphery of a marrying roller 71 . an embossing protuberance 72 located on the surface of an embossing roller 73 is positioned in a face to face correlation to the embossing elements 70 of the marrying roller 71 and two plies 75 , 76 are located between both rollers for ply bonding . fig3 shows an embodiment according to the third alternative of the invention comprising an embossing element 80 located on top of an embossing protuberance 81 of an embossing roller 82 . a marrying roller 83 with embossing elements 84 being disposed on its outer periphery is positioned in a face to face relationship with the embossing roller 82 . two plies 85 , 86 are located between both rollers for ply bonding . fig4 shows an apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention . the shown apparatus in its structural features beside the following differences equals an apparatus for embossing and ply bonding in a nested configuration . in regard of these prior art apparatuses reference is made to for example wo - a - 2006 / 136 186 . the inventive apparatus comprises a first roller 10 and a second roller 20 . the first roller 10 is an embossing roller made of steel . the embossing roller comprises a plurality of the embossing protuberances 24 ( see fig7 ) being provided on the outer periphery . the second roller 20 is a marrying roller and may be formed of rubber the outer periphery being covered by a metal layer thereby forming a metal plated rubber roller . additionally , there is provided a counter roller 9 for the embossing roller 10 which is made of rubber . the apparatus shown in fig4 further comprises a second embossing roller 11 having embossing protuberances on an outer periphery and a counter roller 12 made of rubber . the embossing roller 10 and the embossing roller 11 are associated to each other so that the corresponding embossing protuberances “ mesh ” ( or “ nest ”). a small gap may be present between the embossing rollers 10 and 11 . an applicator for applying a water based fluid on the one side of one ply is provided in association with the embossing roll 10 . this applicator comprises a water based fluid applicator roller 8 , an anilox roll 7 and a water based fluid reservoir 6 ( doctor chamber ). a common fluid applicator may be used to apply the water - based fluid , together with ink onto the ply . such existing application systems for fluid consisting of an applicator roller , fluid transfer roller and fluid bath can be designed as a so - called immersion roll system in which the fluid transfer roller is immersed into the fluid bath and transports water - based fluid by means of surface tension out of the fluid bath . by adjusting the gap between the fluid transfer roller and the applicator or application roller , the amount of fluid to be applied can be adjusted . application rollers may be structured rollers . fluid transfer rollers having defined pit - shaped depressions in their circumferential surface are well - known in the prior art . such fluid transfer rollers are known as anilox - rollers usually made of ceramic material or made of steel or copper and coated with chromium . excessive fluid is removed from the surface of the anilox - roller by means of a blade . the amount of fluid is determined by the volume and the number of depressions . alternative application systems for applying fluid are based on a spraying equipment ( weko - technique ). the two plies are guided through the corresponding roller nips by means of several guide rollers 5 . additionally web tension control systems ( not shown ) can be useful . the function of the apparatus as shown in fig4 a is as follows . two single plies are fed to the apparatus and separated at the first guide roller 5 , one of the plies ( 14 ) being guided around ( this is not essential , also other guiding paths are conceivable ) the rubber roller 9 and the other ( 13 ) being guided via other guide rollers 5 to a nip formed between the second embossing roller 11 and the second counter roller 12 . between this nip a first embossing pattern is imparted to the ply 13 . the ply 14 is transferred into the nip between the counter roller 9 and the first embossing roller 10 to form a second embossing pattern on the ply 14 . then water or a water based ink is taken from the chamber 6 and transferred by means of the anilox roller 7 from the chamber 6 to the applicator roller 8 . the applicator roller 8 then transfers the water based fluid ( water or water based ink ) on the side of the ply 14 which faces the applicator roller 8 . preferable amounts reside within 0 . 1 to 30 g / m 2 , especially within 0 . 2 to 6 g / m 2 and most preferably between 0 . 5 to 3 g / m 2 . in addition , because of the nipping performed between the rubber roller 9 and the embossing roller 10 , only areas of the ply corresponding to the top surfaces of the embossing protuberances on the embossing roller 10 come in contact with the outer periphery of the applicator roller 8 so that only these parts of the ply 14 are moistened or printed by the water based ink . then both plies 14 and 13 subsequently are bonded in the nip formed between the embossing roller 10 and the marrying roller 20 as described later . fig4 b discloses the product obtained by using the apparatus of fig4 a . plies 14 and 13 are being bonded together at the top surface of depressions 45 of ply 14 corresponding to the protuberances of the embossing roller . these ply bonding areas are colored because a water - based fluid comprising ink is being applied onto the embossing roller 10 . plies 14 and 13 are being bonded together in a nested configuration . the embodiment shown in fig5 a differs from the apparatus shown in fig4 a in that a so called goffra incolla apparatus is used as the basis . this apparatus comprises the same elements as the apparatus in fig4 a but omits the second embossing roller 11 and its counter roller 12 . in this apparatus the first ply 14 is guided into a nip between the rubber roller 9 and the embossing roller 10 , the rubber roller 9 being the counter roller . in this nip there is imparted an embossing pattern on the first ply 14 by the protuberances provided on the outer periphery of the embossing roller 10 . the embossing roller 10 has background embossing protuberances of height h 2 and décor embossing protuberances of height h 1 , whereby h 2 & lt ; h 1 . as in fig4 a water or water based ink is applied to the ply 14 in an area corresponding to the top surfaces of the protuberances , wherein a difference in the circumferential speed of the transfer roller and the applicator roller is adjusted to define the amount of water or water - based ink applied on the ply . subsequently , the first ply 14 and the second ply 13 are brought together in a nip between the embossing roller 10 and a marrying roller 20 as described later . fig5 b discloses a two - ply product obtained by using the apparatus of fig5 a . plies 14 and 13 are being bonded together at the top surface of depressions 45 of ply 14 . ply 14 comprises smaller depressions 48 which do not contribute to the ply bonding because these depressions 48 are of reduced depths compared with the depressions 45 . an alternative apparatus is shown in fig6 a . compared to the apparatus shown in fig5 a the apparatus of fig6 a omits the rubber roller 9 . instead the first ply 14 is transferred into the nip between the applicator roller 8 and the embossing roller 10 to apply the water based fluid on the side of the ply 14 mainly in the areas corresponding to the top surface of the protuberances of the embossing roller 10 . then , the second ply 13 together with the first ply 14 are being transferred into the nip and bonded between the embossing roller 10 and the marrying roller 20 , ply bonding is achieved in the areas corresponding to the top surfaces of the embossing protuberances . there is no or only a slight embossing achieved . fig6 b discloses a two ply product obtained by using the apparatus of fig6 a . plies 14 and 13 are being bonded together at areas 50 which do not show the typical shape of embossing depressions because neither ply 14 nor ply 13 is characterized by an embossing pattern . in all of the embodiments , the embossing elements 23 and 25 may either be disposed on the embossing roller 10 or the marrying roller 20 , respectively . these embossing elements 23 , 25 are provided on both rollers 10 , 20 . that is referring to fig7 first embossing elements 25 are located on the top surfaces of the embossing protuberances 24 ( one element 25 on each or at least some protuberances 24 ) and further second embossing elements 23 are located on the outer periphery of the marrying roller 20 . the marrying roller 20 is preferably made of a rubber coated steel core 22 being metal plated by a metal layer 21 which may either be achieved by helically winding a metal belt around the rubber coated steel core 22 or by fitting a tube made of metal over rubber layer 27 surrounding the core 22 . the embossing elements 23 may be etched out of the metal layer 21 . as may be derived from fig7 , the embossing elements 23 , 25 are disposed on the respective rollers at corresponding locations so that the embossing elements 23 , 24 face each other and compress the two plies 13 , 14 in between to obtain the ply bonding . in particular , both plies 13 and 14 are fed into the nip between the embossing roller 10 and the marrying roller 20 . in this nip , the two plies 13 , 14 , which also may be referred to as webs , are compressed in the area of the top surfaces or embossing surfaces of the embossing elements 23 , 25 and compressed so as to achieve the ply bonding ( e . g . if the marrying roller has a diameter of 260 mm and the embossing roller 10 has a diameter of 280 mm , a nip of 8 - 10 mm is adjusted , the marrying roller having a rubber hardness of 95 shore a and a 1 . 5 mm thick steel band ). so the ply bonding is only achieved in these areas , where the embossing elements 23 and 25 face each other . an alternative configuration of the embossing elements 23 , 25 is shown in fig8 and 9 . in this embodiment rectilinear and with respect to the roller 20 circumferentially arranged embossing elements 23 are disposed on the marrying roller 20 . the embossing elements 23 extend about the entire outer circumference of the roller and are spaced apart in an axial direction . in this embodiment a height of the embossing elements 23 may be 0 . 3 mm , wherein the thickness of the metal layer 21 is about 1 . 5 mm . furthermore , embossing protuberances 24 are provided on the embossing roller 10 , which in this embodiment are macro - embossing elements in the shape of leaves . on the top surfaces of the leaf - shaped embossing protuberances 24 , i . e . on their embossing surfaces , rectilinear embossing elements 25 ( here two elements 25 on each protuberance 24 ) are disposed . these rectilinear embossing elements 25 are arranged axially with respect to the embossing roller 10 . hence , in operation and in the view of fig9 which is another view of the embossing elements 23 and 25 , the elements 23 and the elements 25 intersect , wherein the embossing elements 23 intersect a plurality of embossing elements 25 . the intersection in fig9 is indicated by the reference numeral 26 . in this embodiment embossing the ply 13 , 14 between the rollers 10 and 20 , results in a heavy compression of such plies in the area of the intersection 26 so as to obtain ply bonding at these intersecting locations only . subsequently , both plies being combined are further transferred to other processing steps , if required and may be converted to a final product ( not shown here ). it is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the above described embodiments . in particular , it is conceivable to either provide the embossing elements 23 , 25 on the embossing roller 10 or the marrying roller 20 or on both of these rollers . in addition , it is conceivable that the embossing elements 23 , 25 have the same or a different shape and that the embossing elements 23 are larger or smaller in regard of their embossing area with respect to the other embossing elements 25 as long as the embossing elements are smaller in regard of their embossing area compared to the embossing area of the embossing protuberances 24 . in addition , the embossing elements 23 , 25 may have a circular or oval shape but may also be formed in form of a square , a rectangular ( linear ) or a parallelogram . | 1 |
according to fig1 an engine 1 to be tested accelerates a gyrating load 5 with a known moment of inertia via a transmission 3 . the transmission 3 can be omitted in certain applications . a perforated disc 9 with equidistantly arranged holes is fixedly secured to a shaft 7 of the gyrating load . an optical - electric sensing fork 11 converts optical pulses , which are generated as a result of orbiting of holes on the perforated disc , into electrical pulses of uniform frequency if the rpm of the engine is constant . a schmitt trigger 13 , to which these electrical impulses are transmitted , and a monoflop 15 connected to it , standardize the impulses to a fixed pulse width and pulse amplitude , whereby the repetition frequency of the pulses is proportional to the rpm and angular speed of the gyrating mass . a low pass filter 17 forms electronically the mean values of the impulse sequence corresponding to the dc - component of the respective fourier transformation . its direct voltage output signal is thus proportional to the impulse repetition frequency and , therefore , to the angular velocity ω of mass 5 . this direct voltage signal is transmitted to a differentiation unit 19 whose output signal is , therefore , proportional to the angular acceleration β . this output signal , when multiplied by a constant calibration factor , is equal to the torque m ( t ) of the drive system . in a further function block 21 , the product of the signal proportional to ω and the signal proportional to β is formed , and from it a signal is obtained which is proportional to the power l ( t ) which the motor transmits to the gyrating mass . by means of a xy - recorder ( not shown ), to the x - input of which for example the signal proportional to ω is fed and to the y - input of which the signal proportional to β is fed , when the gyrating mass undergoes acceleration , the torque or power characteristic of the motor is obtained as a function of the revolutions . with a relatively small gyrating mass having a moment of inertia of , for example , 1 kg m 2 , with a combustion engine of approximately 100 hp , in the usable revolution range , acceleration times and accordingly measurement times of typically 5 seconds are obtained . with other gyrating masses especially with no gyrating mass and / or with a transmission , practically any acceleration times can be set . relatively long acceleration times are desirable when , simultaneously and in addition to the pure measurement of power or torque , other relatively slowly changing values such as fuel consumption or the temperature curve at various points in the system are to be measured . by using a multi - channel recorder , it is possible to record all other measurement values in so far as they are electrically measurable , at the same time as the power or torque curve as a function of revolutions . other kinematical values , such as the velocity of translatory movement , can be measured by the aforedescribed method . in order to carry out the necessary recalculation steps to ascertain the desired characteristic values , the electronic evaluation system is set up accordingly . by means of suitable calibration , it is possible to measure the absolute values of characteristic data . if only comparative measurements are to be made , precise calibration is unnecessary . the present method is capable of providing significantly shorter times for the measurement of dynamic behavior than heretofore known methods , and for the first time provides the possibility of studying dynamic phenomena under different loads during the acceleration phase in the original time scale . the apparatus of the present invention is very simple , at least from the mechanical side and is , therefore , very reliable and accurate . this is achieved by measuring a purely kinematical value , e . g ., the revolutions , which is simpler and thus more precise than measuring a dynamic value , e . g . the torque . the absolute accuracy of the method described is very high , and with the above described embodiment values with an accuracy of better than 99 % have been obtained , with reproducibility being significantly more accurate . the power which can be determined by this method corresponds to the actual power transmitted to an external load , i . e ., less the power loss in the engine itself . if , for purposes of comparison , it is desired to determine the brake horse power l b ( t ) in the manner in which this is carried out in the conventional stationary braking test benches , then with the method described it is sufficient to take into account the moment of inertia of the whole system , i . e ., of the load and engine , instead of just that of the load , which merely corresponds to an alteration of the calibration factor . this is expressed in the following formula : in which θ s represents the moment of inertia of the load and θ m represents that of the engine . since the moment of inertia of the load is generally much higher than that of the engine except if no additional load is externally mounted , one only needs to know approximately the moment of inertia of the engine , or when a lower degree of accuracy is required , to ignore it . the moment of inertia of the engine can either be estimated mathematically , or can be determined from two measurements with two different known gyrating masses or two different transmission ratios using the method described . it should be noted at this point that , for maximum accuracy , the purely digital processing of the measurement values is appropriate , whereas for lower accuracy requirements , systems which work in a fully analog manner are conceivable . a good balance of effort and accuracy can be obtained by working with a mixed digital - analog system . although the described method provides good results when the engine can be tested on a test - bench under various loading conditions , it has some disadvantages . the width of the impulses generated by the opto - electrical transducer 9 / 11 of fig1 varies with rotational speed ω ( t ). an apparatus which needs no coding disc , and evaluates information regarding the rotational engine speed of the engine itself is shown in fig2 . this apparatus is especially adapted to dynamically record power , torque and efficiency of an engine unremoved from a system actually to be driven by it , whereas the measuring time for a complete record of characteristic values is determined by the acceleration speed of the unloaded engine , which is decoupled from the power transmission system , or of the engine when only internally loaded by the transmission system e . g . if the system is not detachable from the engine . conventionally , an electric power source circuit , e . g ., a battery , is connected to an ignition coil 32 of a combustion engine . an interrupter 34 provides by switching the ignition coil 32 on and off high - voltage impulses at its secondary side and such impulses are fed to the spark plugs of an engine 36 . these parts belong to a conventional combustion engine system and are shown above the phantom line a . without removing the engine the current impulses e . g ., at the primary side of the ignition coil are sensed by an externally applied sensor 38 . this sensor can comprise a current transformer with tongs which are passed over the lead connecting the power source 30 to the ignition coil 32 . the impulses sensed by the sensor 38 have a width which is practically independent of the rpm of the engine as their form is determined only by the time constant of the ignition coil circuit . at all speeds of an engine , these impulses will clearly be separated and so detectable . the pulse repetition period t 2 , respectively the frequency f 2 , is dependent on the revolution speed ω ( t ) of the engine ## equ10 ## where k 2 is a constant and considers the engine type under test . as during one revolution only a few ignition pulses will occur , the repetition frequency may be multiplied in a frequency multiplier unit 40 by a constant factor k 3 which can be selected according to the value of the engine specific constant k 2 . the output pulses with the repetition frequency are transmitted to a frequency - voltage converter 42 which provides at its output a voltage u proportional to f 3 and so still proportional to f 2 ( t ) and ω ( t ). in analogy to the apparatus shown in fig1 the output signal of the f / v - converter 42 is transmitted to a differentiation unit 43 to determine the value ## equ12 ## the output of the differentiation unit 43 is connected to a multiplication unit 45 which provides an output signal proportional to the engine torque m ( t ). in this multiplication unit 45 , β is multiplied with a calibration constant which preferably represents the moment of inertia θ m of the engine as shown by connection b , if said value is known by previous measurements . then the output signal of said multiplication unit 45 will exactly represent the engine torque m ( t ). the output of the first multiplication unit 45 is connected to one input of a second multiplication unit 47 , the second input of which is connected to the output of the frequency voltage converter 42 . according to the here performed multiplication of the voltage proportional to the rpm of the engine and its torque , this multiplication unit 47 will provide an output signal proportional or , after appropriate calibration , equal to the engine power l ( t ). although the acceleration speed of an unloaded engine is often less than 1 second and it appeared to be very doubtful whether significant dynamic measurements could be performed especially at higher speeds because of dynamic effects of the engine ( e . g , fuel mixture variations or thermodynamic effects ), very accurate results were obtained with the described apparatus . the results did in fact correspond to the values which were measured by statical methods . the acceleration times of the engine were less than 1 second . as the unloaded engine can easily be accelerated to overspeed , a comparator unit 51 should be provided to compare either the output signal u of the frequency voltage converter 42 ( this signal which is proportional to the rotational speed ) with a threshold value u m which corresponds to a maximum speed to be reached or which compares a frequency ( e . g ., f 3 ) proportional to the rotational speed with a frequency threshold , and which when said threshold value is reached , will interrupt the ignition circuit of the engine to prevent further acceleration . for this purpose , it may be necessary to introduce a supplemental relay into the ignition circuit of the engine . the characteristic values can be dynamically measured without removing an engine out of e . g ., a vehicle . no additional mechanical apparatus as brakes , rolls , gyrating masses or shafts have to be provided . as only the ignition input frequency is evaluated , the apparatus can be produced at a very low cost . since the engine need not be removed , the measurement need not be performed in garages or other places with special installations . no additional losses due to the power transmission system , will adversely influence the results . measuring time is shorter than 1 second which renders it possible to employ less expensive cooling systems and noise insulations . the output signals of the apparatus can be fed to fast xy plotters or to fast analog - digital converters for further processing . it is also obvious that the apparatus according to fig2 can be used for testing an engine on a test bench in combination with an opto - electrical transducer as shown in fig1 . especially if the power required for the apparatus according to fig2 is taken from the power supply of the engine itself , complete independency from other power supplies is achieved and the characteristic data can be measured anywhere e . g ., on a race track . the functional blocks of fig2 were realized with the following conventional electronic components : ______________________________________mc 14013mc 14027mc 14508mc 14510mc 14511 motorolamc 14518mc 14522mc 14526mc 14528mc 14585______________________________________ the apparatus of fig1 can also be used without any modifications for testing diesel engines or electric motors , generally speaking of any driving systems . the apparatus of fig2 has to be altered for this purpose in such a way that information other than ignition pulses can be obtained for determination of the rotational speed . for example , one can monitor the fuel injection or vibrations of diesel engines . the calculation of characteristic values can be performed by microprocessors or other analog or digital or hybrid techniques . by storing the instantaneous characteristic values , comparing them with subsequent instantaneous values and feeding always the greater of these values into a store or register the maximum rate of the characteristic values which occur during a given measuring cycle can be detected . it is also possible to predetermine a specific rpm and to merely display the characteristic values at such specific rpm . as mentioned above , the information can be displayed by resorting to xy - plotters or oscilloscopes . alternatively , the data can be stored on magnetic tapes , punched tapes , cards , discs or other information storing media . the apparatus of fig2 is especially useful for testing of engines whose rpm exceeds that of engines for road vehicles such as otto - engines . | 6 |
for a better understanding of the present invention , together with other and further objects , advantages and capabilities thereof , reference is made to the following disclosure in conjunction with the accompanying drawing . in the drawing , a transmitted television signal is intercepted by an antenna 3 coupled to a signal receiver 5 . the signal receiver 5 includes the usual rf and if amplifier and detector stages and provides a composite television output signal . one output from the signal receiver 5 is applied to a chrominance channel 7 which is , in turn , coupled to a cathode ray tube or image reproducer 9 . another output from the signal receiver 5 is applied to a synchronization deflection and high voltage development stage 11 which is also coupled to the cathode ray tube 9 . still another output from the signal receiver 5 is applied via a video detector stage 13 to a video buffer stage 14 . video buffer stage 14 is coupled to a secondary control circuit 15 which is connected by a video amplifier stage 17 to the cathode ray tube or image reproducer 9 . the secondary control circuit 15 includes an adjustable resistor or contrast control 19 having one end coupled to the output of the video buffer stage 14 and the opposite end coupled by way of a resistor 21 to a potential source b +. the junction of the adjustable resistor 19 and resistor 21 is connected by a resistor 23 to circuit ground . the adjustable resistor has an alterable arm 25 with a high frequency by - pass capacitor 27 coupling the alterable arm to the output of the video buffer stage 14 . the junction of the resistor 21 and potential source b + is coupled to one end of another alterable resistor or brightness control 29 . the alterable resistor or brightness control 29 has an adjustable arm 31 which is coupled to the opposite end thereof and to a resistor 33 . the resistor 33 is coupled to the junction of a parallel connected resistor 35 and capacitor 37 which are , in turn , coupled to the alterable arm 25 of the adjustable resistor or contrast control 19 . also , the junction of the resistor 33 and the parallel connected resistor 35 and capacitor 37 is coupled to a first contact 39 of a peaking circuit means 41 . the peaking circuit means 41 includes a second contact 43 , a third contact 45 , and a fourth contact 47 . a parallel connected resistor 49 and capacitor 51 are shunted across the first and second contacts 39 and 43 . a pair of capacitors 53 and 55 are series connected intermediate the third and fourth contacts 45 and 47 respectively . moreover , a resistor 57 couples the junction of the capacitors 53 and 55 to circuit ground . as to operation , a composite video signal available from the video buffer stage 14 is applied to the first adjustable resistor or contrast control 19 . the other end of the contrast control 19 is coupled to the junction of a pair of resistors 21 and 23 which are , in turn , connected intermediate the potential source b + and ground . thus , there is a minimal dc drop across the contrast control 19 whereby undesired variations or changes in brightness due to a shift in positional location of the contrast control 19 is minimized . also , the adjustable arm 25 of the contrast control 19 is connected to the resistor 35 which in conjunction with the resistor 36 serves as a voltage divider to lower the dc component of the video signal . however , the ac level of the video signal remains unchanged due to the by - pass capacitor 37 . the adjustable resistor or brightness control 29 is thereof connected to the potential source b + and the opposite end coupled by way of a resistor 33 to the junction of the resistors 35 and 36 . as the adjustable arm 31 of the alterable resistor or brightness control 29 is varied , the dc level appearing at the junction of the resistors 35 and 36 is altered which changes the brightness level of the video signal applied to the peaking circuit means 41 . the peaking circuit means 41 has a maximum positional location when the first and second contacts 39 and 43 are short - circuited , a minimum positional location when the third and fourth contacts 45 and 47 are short - circuited , and a normal position when the second and third contacts 43 and 45 are short - circuited . when the peaking circuit means 41 is in the maximum positional location , the first contact 39 is directly connected to the junction of the resistors 35 and 36 and capacitor 37 whereat the previously mentioned by - pass capacitor 37 provides a very low ac impedance . moreover , the maximum positional location of the peak switching means 41 short - circuits the parallel connected resistor 49 and capacitor 51 . thus the video signal available at the junction of resistors 35 and 36 and capacitor 37 is directly connected to the video amplifier stage 17 . in the normal positional location of the peaking circuit means 41 , the second and third contacts 43 and 45 respectively are short - circuited . in this instance the parallel connected resistor 49 and capacitor 51 in conjunction with the capacitor 53 and resistor 57 form a roll off network whereby the high frequency portion of the video signal is effected . in the minimum positional location of the peaking circuit means 41 the third and fourth contacts 45 and 47 respectively are short - circuited . thereupon the capacitors 53 and 55 are parallel connected and a maximum roll off of the high frequency portion of the video signal is effected . alternatively , fig2 illustrates a preferred continuously adjustable peaking control 59 which can replace the peaking circuit means 41 . herein , a video output signal available at the junction of the series connected resistors 33 and 36 is coupled by an adjustable resistor 61 to the video amplifier stage 17 . the adjustable resistor 61 has an alterable arm 63 coupled by a first capacitor 65 to the junction of the resistors 33 and 36 and by a second capacitor 67 to circuit ground . thus there has been provided a unique secondary control circuit suitable for disposition on a single printed circuit panel and including contrast and brightness control circuits as well as a peaking circuit . more importantly , the secondary control circuit is coupled to the video channel of a signal receiver by a single pair of connections . in this manner a plurality of relatively expensive long wires are eliminated thereby reducing cost and inhibiting numerous signal pickup and regeneration problems associated with undesired long wire connections . while there has been shown and described what is at present considered the preferred embodiment of the invention , it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the invention as defined by the appended claims . | 7 |
reference will be now made in detail to the preferred embodiments of the present invention with reference to the attached drawings . fig1 is a plan view showing a laminated core of a motor according to a first preferred embodiment of the present invention , fig2 is a partially enlarged perspective view of the laminated core of a motor according to a first preferred embodiment of the present invention , and fig3 is a cross sectional view taken along the line of a - a ′ of fig1 showing the laminated core of the motor according to the first preferred embodiment of the present invention . as shown in fig1 to 3 , the laminated core 100 according to the first preferred embodiment of the present invention includes second core sheets 20 which are laminated on the uppermost first core sheet 10 and the lowermost first core sheet 10 in a state where a plurality of first core sheets 10 are laminated . that is , when viewed from the bottom , the plural first core sheets 10 are laminated on one second core sheet 20 , and then , another second core sheet 20 is laminated on the first core sheets 10 . each of the first core sheets 10 includes a plurality of first teeth 12 which are formed radially on a rounded first core base 11 , and first tooth ears 13 which are respectively formed at both sides of the end of each of the first teeth 12 in the circumferential direction . in the first preferred embodiment , the first core sheet 10 is formed by blanking a generally used core material into a thin film sheet like an electrical steel sheet , and you can see the plane form from fig1 . in the meantime , it is preferable that a plurality of the first core sheets 10 be laminated , but it is also good to use at least one first core sheet 10 . that is , if the first core sheet 10 is thick , the number of the first core sheets 10 may be reduced . in some cases , just one first core sheet 10 which has the same thickness as 10 to 30 first core sheets 10 may be used . the first teeth 12 protrude from a first core base 11 in such a way as to face the center of the first core sheets 10 which are arranged to form a circle as shown in fig1 , or on the contrary , in such a way as to face the outside of the circle . the protruding direction of the first teeth 12 are determined by a structure of the motor . that is , in case of a motor of an inner rotor type that a rotor ( not shown ) is located and rotated inside a stator , the first teeth 11 are formed to face the center of the circle , but in case of a motor of an outer rotor type that the rotor is located and rotated outside the stator , the first teeth 11 are formed to face the outside of the circle . the present invention will be described based on the inner rotor type , but may be also applied to the outer rotor type . the first tooth ears 13 are respectively formed at both sides of the end of each of the first teeth 12 in the circumferential direction . in this embodiment of the present invention , a width ( w 2 ) of the first tooth ear 13 is larger than a width ( w 1 ) of the first tooth 12 . preferably , the width ( w 2 ) of the first tooth ear 13 is 1 . 1 times to 1 . 7 times larger than the width ( w 1 ) of the first tooth 12 . in case of a general laminated core , the width ( w 2 ) of the first tooth ear 13 is identical to or smaller than the width ( w 1 ) of the first tooth 12 . in this embodiment of the present invention , the width ( w 1 ) of the first tooth 12 means the width of a straight line section excluding a curved line part which is a connection part between the first core base 11 and the first teeth 12 , and the width ( w 2 ) of the first tooth ear 13 means the width or the average of the remaining part excluding a curved portion where the first tooth 12 and the first tooth ears ( 13 ) are connected . as described above , when the width of the first tooth ears ( 13 ) is increased , the coil wound on the first teeth 12 protrudes inwardly from the first tooth ears 13 so as to prevent that the coil gets in contact with the rotor . a first shaved portion 14 which is formed at the surface of the end of the first tooth ear 13 can prevent cogging torque which may be generated by an increase of the width of the first tooth ear 13 . the first shaved portion 14 is formed by chamfering of the end portion of the first tooth ear 13 in order to prevent cogging torque which may be caused by the increased width of the first tooth ear 13 . a first tooth curved portion 15 is a curved portion formed at an area where the first core base 11 and the first tooth 12 are connected with each other . if the area is formed in a straight line , because the insulating material is massed in a lump or is not uniformly coated on the connected portion which is angled , it is good to form the area into a gently curved shape . the laminated core 100 according to the first preferred embodiment of the present invention is characterized in that one or more the first core sheet 10 are put on top of each other and the second core sheets 20 are laminated on the upper part and the lower part of the first core sheets 10 . referring to fig3 , the second core sheet 20 has the same shape as the first core sheet 10 , but is a little smaller than the first core sheet 10 . when the second core sheet 20 is laminated on the first core sheet 10 , a stepped portion is formed due to a difference in sizes . as described above , the stepped portion is formed when the second core sheets 20 which are a little smaller than the first core sheets 10 are laminated on the first core sheets 10 , and it can prevent a lump or ununiform coating of the insulating material which may occur at the edge or peeling of the insulating material which may occur when the coil is wound . because the second core sheet 20 is smaller than the first core sheet 10 but has the same shape as the first core sheet 10 , the second core sheet 20 includes a second core base 21 , second teeth 22 , second tooth ears 23 , second shaved portions 24 , second tooth curved portions 25 and second tooth ear curved portions 26 which respectively correspond to the first core base 11 , the first teeth 12 , the first tooth ears 13 , the first shaved portions 14 , the first teeth curved portions 15 and the first tooth ear curved portions 16 of the first core sheet 10 . description of each of the parts will be omitted because they are the same as the parts of the first core sheet 10 . preferably , the first core sheet 10 is a little larger than the second core sheet 10 , but the outer circumference of the first core base 11 of the first core sheet 10 is equal to the outer circumference of the second core base 22 of the second core sheet 20 . that is , the outer circumference of the first core base 11 of the first core sheet 10 and the outer circumference of the second core base 22 of the second core sheet 20 have the same size but the remaining parts of the first core sheet 10 and the second core sheet 20 are a little different in size , and hence , there are stepped portions between the first core sheet 10 and the second core sheet 20 . in fig1 to 3 , just one second core sheet 20 is located at the lowermost part and just one second core sheet 20 is located at the uppermost part , but if necessary , two or more second core sheets 20 may be located at the lowermost part and the uppermost part . fig4 is a sectional view showing a state where an insulating material is coated on the laminated core of the motor according to the first preferred embodiment of the present invention . as shown in fig4 , the insulating material 30 is coated on the surface of the laminated core 100 according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention . it is preferable that the insulating material 30 is an epoxy - coated material formed by spray coating , but it is not restricted to the above and any material of a liquid phase or a gas phase can be used if the material has the insulation function and can be coated or deposited on the surface of the laminated core 100 . as shown in fig4 , the stepped portion formed by the difference in size between the first core sheet 10 and the second core sheet 20 at the edge of the laminated core 100 prevents that the insulating material 20 is massed in a lump or is coated ununiformly . fig5 is a partially enlarged perspective view of the laminated core of a motor according to a second preferred embodiment of the present invention , and fig6 is a cross sectional view taken along the line of b - b ′ of fig5 showing the laminated core of the motor according to the second preferred embodiment of the present invention . referring to fig5 and 6 , the laminated core 200 according to the second preferred embodiment of the present invention includes a first core sheet 10 and a second core sheet which are laminated by turns . the first core sheet 10 and the second core sheet 20 are the same as the first preferred embodiment , but in the second preferred embodiment , the thickness of the first core sheet 10 is equal to the thickness of the second core sheet 20 . except the above , detailed descriptions of the first core sheet 10 and the second core sheet 20 are the same as the first preferred embodiment . as shown in fig5 and 6 , the laminated core 200 according to the second preferred embodiment of the present invention is formed by the second core sheets 20 and the first core sheets 10 which are put on top of each other by turns from the bottom . through such a laminated form , a contact surface area of the side part on which the insulating material is coated is increased so as to promote coating of the insulating material . the core sheets which are respectively laminated at the lowermost part and the uppermost part of the laminated core 200 according to the second preferred embodiment are illustrated as the second core sheets 20 in fig5 and 6 , but it is not restricted to the above and the first core sheets 10 may be laminated at the lowermost part and the uppermost part . in order to uniformly coat the insulating material at the edge portion , it is preferable that the second core sheets 20 be laminated at the lowermost part and the uppermost part . in this instance , as described in the first preferred embodiment of the present invention , at least two second core sheets may be laminated at the lowermost and uppermost parts . fig7 is a sectional view showing a state where an insulating material is coated on the laminated core of the motor according to the second preferred embodiment of the present invention . the insulating material 30 illustrated in fig7 is the same as the first preferred embodiment . in case of the laminated core 200 according to the second preferred embodiment , a stepped portion formed at the side portion which will be coated is formed by a difference in size between the first core sheet 10 and the second core sheet 20 , and it promotes coating of the insulating material 30 because a contact area of the insulating material 30 is increased due to the stepped portion . fig8 is a plan view showing a state where various grooves are formed in a second core sheet used for the laminated core of the motor according to the embodiments of the present invention . referring to fig8 , one or more second core base inner grooves 21 a are formed in the inner face of the second core base 21 of the second core sheet 20 . one or more second core base outer grooves 21 b are formed in the outer face of the second core base 21 . moreover , one or more second tooth side grooves 22 a , preferably , a pair of second tooth side grooves 22 a which are arranged symmetrically are formed at both sides of each of the second teeth 22 . one or more second tooth ear inner grooves 23 a are formed in the inner face of the second tooth ear 23 and one or more second tooth ear outer grooves 23 b are formed in the outer face of the second tooth ear 23 . the grooves 21 a , 21 b , 22 a , 23 a and 23 b become paths which serve to promote coating of the insulating material and to increase adhesive power by increasing the surface area with which the insulating material gets in contact when it is hardened . the number and the positions of the grooves are illustrated in fig8 , but may be properly adjusted as occasion demands . while the present invention has been described with reference to the particular illustrative embodiment , it is not to be restricted by the embodiment but only by the appended claims . it will be understood by those skilled in the art that simple modifications and changes of the embodiments within the scope of the present invention belong to the scope of the present invention . | 7 |
the compositions of the present invention are nitrobenzenesulfonamide compounds of the formula ## str1 ## wherein r 1 is hydroxy , hydroxy -( lower alkoxy ), lower alkoxy , alkoxy -( lower alkoxy ), allyloxy , amino , monoalkylamino , dialkylamino , hydroxyalkylamino , di ( hydroxyalkyl )- amino , or allylamino . r 2 and r 3 are each separately hydrogen , lower alkyl from 1 - 4 carbon atoms , hydroxy -( lower alkyl ), allyl , amino -( lower alkyl ), ( lower alkyl )- amino -( lower alkyl ), di ( lower alkyl ) amino -( lower alkyl ), ( hydroxyalkyl )- amino ( loweralkyl ), ( hydroxyalkyl )- alkylamino ( loweralkyl ) or di ( hydroxyalkyl )- amino ( loweralkyl ) or when taken together along with the nitrogen to which they are attached represent a heterocyclic ring selected from morpholino , aziridinyl , azetidinyl , pyrrolidyl , piperidyl , or r 4 - substituted - 3 - oxopiperazin - 1 - yl ## str2 ## wherein r 4 is hydrogen , lower alkyl of from 1 - 4 carbons , or hydroxyalkyl of from 2 - 4 carbons . the 2 -( substituted sulfamyl ) derivatives of 6 - nitrobenzoic acid , ester and amide compounds of the present invention are prepared in the following manner : a substituted nitrobenzoate ester or nitrobenzamide having a 2 - chlorosulfonyl substituent in an aprotic solvent such as tetrahydrofuran , dioxane , dimethoxyethane , or chloroform is treated with at least an equimolar amount of an amine of the formula ## str3 ## wherein r 2 and r 3 are as described hereinabove . it is preferred to carry out the reaction in the presence of a base in sufficient amount to neutralize the hydrogen chloride formed in the course of the reaction . the base utilized may be a tertiary amine such as triethylamine or pyridine . on the other hand the same results may be produced by adding at least twice the molar amount of reactant amine theorectically required . in this event , the reactant amine is utilized both to form the sulfonamide and to neutralize the hydrogen chloride formed in the amination reaction . the temperature at which the reaction is carried out is not critical and may vary from 0 °- 100 ° c . or at the reflux temperature of the solvent , if under 100 ° c . the reaction temperature is preferably maintained at about 0 - 25 ° c . for a period of 1 - 24 hours . the amination reaction may be formulated as follows : ## str4 ## wherein r 1 , r 2 and r 3 are as defined hereinabove . the starting materials for the process are either known or are readily prepared from the known 2 - amino - 6 - nitrobenzoic acid by a process of esterification followed by diazotization of the amino group and treating the formed diazonium compound with so 2 in the presence of cucl 2 whereby the desired starting 2 - chlorosulfonyl - 6 - nitrobenzoate ester is formed . the ester derivatives of this invention may also be prepared by esterification of a carboxylic acid of formula i ( r 1 ═ oh ). established methods for the esterification of carboxylic acids containing basic groups may be used . these include reaction with diazoalkanes or with alcohols under strongly acidic conditions . the benzamide derivatives of this invention may be prepared by reaction of a 2 - monosubstituted sulfamyl - 6 - nitrobenzoate ester of formula iii or a 2 - substituted - 4 - nitro - 2h - 1 , 2 - benzisothiazol - 3 - one 1 , 1 - dioxide of formula iv with at least one equivalent of ammonia or a mono - or dialkyl - substituted amine of formula ii . ## str5 ## in formulas iii and iv , r 2 is as described hereinabove and r 5 is either lower alkyl or hydroxy -( lower alkyl ). the reaction is carried out in a suitable solvent such as a lower aliphatic alcohol or a polar aprotic solvent such as dimethylformamide , dimethylsulfoxide or others such as tetrahydrofuran , glyme , diglyme , chloroform or methylenechloride . the reaction temperature is not critical and may vary from 0 °- 100 ° c ., preferably from about 25 °- 50 ° c . for a period of 1 to 10 days . when low boiling amines are used , the reaction may be run in a sealed vessel . the compounds of this invention may also be prepared by alkylation of an amine with an amide or ester of formula v wherein r 1 and r 2 are as defined hereinabove and r 6 is an alkylating moiety such as haloalkyl , alkylsulfonyloxyalkyl or arylsulfonyloxyalkyl . ## str6 ## the reaction is carried out in a suitable aprotic solvent such as dimethylformamide , acetonitrile or the like . the reaction temperature may vary from 50 ° c . to the boiling point of the solvent for a period of 1 to 10 days . when low boiling amines are used , the reaction may be run in a sealed vessel . it is preferred to carry out the reaction in the presence of a base in sufficient amount to neutralize the acid formed in the course of the reaction . the base utilized may be a tertiary amine such as a trialkylamine or pyridine . alternatively , at least twice the molar amount of reactant amine theoretically required may be used . in this event , the reactant amine is utilized both to form the desired product and to neutralize the acid formed in the amination reaction . the alkylating agents of formula v are readily prepared from the corresponding alcohols by established methods . the method of treatment of human patients or domestic animals undergoing radiation treatment of malignant disease processes employs the compounds of the present invention in pharmaceutical compositions that are administered orally or intravenously . the dose employed depends on the radiation protocol for each individual patient . in protocols where the radiation dose is divided into a large number of fractions , the drug can be administered at intervals in the schedule and not necessarily with each radiation treatment . it should be noted that the compounds of the present invention are not intended for chronic administration . in general , the drug is administered from 10 minutes to 5 hours prior to the radiation treatment in a dosage amount of between 0 . 25 to about 4 . 0 grams per square meter of body surface . the dosage range given is the effective dosage range and the decision as to the exact dosage used must be made by the administering physician based on his judgement of the patient &# 39 ; s general physical condition . in determining the dose for the individual patient , the physician may begin with an initial dose of 0 . 25 g / square meter of body surface to determine how well the drug is tolerated and increase the dosage with each succeeding radiation treatment , observing the patient carefully for any drug side effect . the composition to be administered is an effective amount of the active compound and a pharmaceutical carrier for said active compound . the dosage form for intravenous administration is a sterile isotonic solution of the drug . oral dosage forms such as tablets , capsules , or elixirs may also be used . capsules or tablets containing 25 , 50 , 100 or 500 mg of drug / capsule or tablets are satisfactory for use in the method of treatment of our invention . the following examples are intended to illustrate but do not limit the process of preparation , product , compositions , or method of treatment aspects of the invention . temperatures are in degrees celsius unless otherwise indicated throughout the application . part a -- examples of compounds in which at least one of r 2 and r 3 is a basic substituent . a mixture of 2 - amino - 6 - nitrobenzoic acid ( 11 . 9 g , 65 . 3 mmol ), methyl p - toluenesulfonate ( 15 . 1 g , 81 . 1 mmol ) and triethylamine ( 6 . 60 g , 65 . 3 mmol ) in dmf ( 170 ml ) was stirred under n 2 at 60 ° for 18 hours . after removing dmf at 60 ° and 0 . 2 mm pressure , the residue was dissolved in etoac and washed with a saturated solution of nahco 3 followed by a saturated aqueous solution of nacl . the etoac extract was dried ( na 2 so 4 ), filtered and concentrated under reduced pressure . flash chromatography over silica gel and elution with 50 % toluene - 50 % chcl 3 gave methyl 2 - amino - 6 - nitrobenzoate ( 7 . 6 g , 59 . 4 %), m . p . 105 - 107 °. to a suspension of methyl 2 - amino - 6 - nitrobenzoate ( 7 . 6 g , 38 . 7 mmol ) in glacial acetic acid ( 37 ml ) and conc . hcl ( 67 ml ), cooled to - 5 °, was added slowly a solution of sodium nitrite ( 2 . 86 g , 41 , 4 mmol ) in h 2 o ( 11 . 2 ml ). after addition was complete , the mixture was stirred at - 5 ° to 0 ° for an additional 30 minutes . during this time , a solution of cucl 2 . 2h 2 o ( 2 . 45 g ) in h 2 o ( 8 . 5 ml ) was prepared and added to a cold solution of so 2 ( 25 g , 0 . 39 mol ) in glacial acetic acid ( 50 ml ). the diazonium salt solution was then added in portions to the cooled so 2 -- cucl 2 mixture . after stirring in an ice bath for 3 hours , the reaction mixture was allowed to warm to 20 °- 25 ° and was stirred at this temperature for 18 hours . the reaction mixture was then poured onto ice ( 500 g ), the precipitated tan solid removed by filtration and dried to give the sulfonyl chloride ( 9 . 1 g , 84 . 3 %), m . p . 152 - 4 °. a solution of methyl 2 - chlorosulfonyl - 6 - nitrobenzoate ( 500 mg , 1 . 79 mmol ) and 2 - dimethylaminoethylamine ( 316 mg , 3 . 58 mmol ) in thf ( 35 ml ) was stirred in an ice bath for 1 hour then at 20 - 25 ° for 18 hours . after removing thf under reduced pressure , the residue was partitioned between saturated na 2 co 3 solution and etoac . the organic extract was washed ( saturated nacl solution ), dried ( na 2 so 4 ), filtered and concentrated under reduced pressure . chromatography over silica gel ( elution with 5 % meoh - 95 % chcl 3 ) gave an oil which when triturated with etoac afforded 2 -[ n -( 2 - dimethylaminoethyl ) aminosulfonyl ]- 6 - nitrobenzoic acid ( 90 mg , 16 %), m . p . 193 ° decomposed with effervescence . treatment of the etoac soluble fraction with anhydrous etoh - hc1 and recrystallization from etoh - etoac gave the hcl salt of the methylester ( 250 mg , 38 %), m . p . 170 - 173 °. a solution of methyl 2 -[ n -( 2 - dimethylaminoethyl ) aminosulfonyl ]- 6 - nitrobenzoate ( 200 mg , 0 . 544 mmol ) and 0 . 5 ml of a 40 % aqueous dimethylamine solution in methanol ( 5 ml ) was allowed to stand at 20 - 25 ° for 18 hours . after concentrating under reduced pressure , the residue was treated with anhydrous ethanolic hydrogen chloride and recrystallized from meoh - etoac to give the hcl salt m . p . 166 - 69 °. to a suspension of n , n - dimethyl - 2 -[ n -( 2 - dimethylaminoethyl ) aminosulfonyl ]- 6 - nitrobenzamide hydrochloride ( 347 mg , 0 . 91 mmol ) in dmf ( 5 ml ) under n 2 was added 50 % nah ( 87 mg , 1 . 82 mmol ). after stirring at 20 - 25 ° for 15 minutes until all of the nah had reacted , a solution of 2 -( 2 - bromoethoxy ) tetrahydro - 2h - pyran in dmf ( 2 ml ) was added . the solution was stirred at 20 - 25 ° under n 2 for 20 hours and then concentrated under reduced pressure to remove most of the dmf . the residue was partitioned between etoac and a saturated aqueous solution of nacl . after drying ( na 2 so 4 ) the etoac extract , filtering and concentrating , the residue was chromatographed over silica gel . elution with 7 % meoh - 93 % chcl 3 gave 100 mg of product . a solution of the tetrahydropyranyl ether ( 100 mg ) in thf ( 10 ml ), h 2 o ( 5 ml ) and hoac ( 20 ml ) was stirred at 50 ° for 24 hours . after concentrating under reduced pressure , the residue was partitioned between etoac and saturated nahc 3 solution . the etoac extract was washed ( saturated nacl solution ), dried ( na 2 so 4 ), filtered and cocentrated . the crude product was purified by conversion to the hcl salt and recrystallized ( meoh - etoac - hexane ) to give 32 mg of product , m . p . 162 - 64 ° dec . a solution of n , n - dimethyl - 2 -[ n -( 2 - hydroxyethyl )- n - methylaminosulfonyl ]- 6 - nitrobenzamide , prepared as described in example 9 u . s . ser . no . 795 , 569 , filed nov . 6 , 1985 of walfred saari , incorporated herein by reference , ( 1 . 0 g , 3 . 0 mmol ) and methanesulfonyl chloride ( 0 . 71 g , 6 . 2 mmol ) in pyridine ( 10 ml ) was stirred at 20 - 25 ° for one day . after concentration under reduced pressure , the residue was partitioned between ethyl acetate and 1n aqueous hcl . the ethyl acetate extracted was washed with water , dried and concentrated . pure mesylate ( 1 . 0 g ) was obtained by flash chromatography over silica gel and elution with a 1 % methanol - 99 % chloroform solvent mixture . a solution of n , n - dimethyl - 2 -[ n -( 2 - methylsulfonyloxyethyl )- n - methylaminosulfonyl ]- 6 - nitrobenzamide ( 0 . 50 g , 1 . 2 mmol ) and 2 -( methylamino ) ethanol ( 0 . 22 g , 2 . 9 mmol ) in acetonitrile ( 20 ml ) was stirred at reflux for 20 hours . after concentrating under reduced pressure , the residue was partitioned between ethyl acetate and water . the ethyl acetate layer was dried ( na 2 so 4 ), filtered and concentrated . flash chromatography of the residue over silica gel and elution with 5 % methanol - 95 % chloroform gave 400 mg of pure product as an oil . the hydrogen oxalate salt , mp 159 . 0 - 162 . 0 °, was prepared for analysis . a solution of n , n - dimethyl - 2 -[ n -( 2 - methylsulfonyloxyethyl - n - methylaminosulfonyl ]- 6 - nitrobenzamide ( 0 . 41 g , 1 . 0 mmol ) and piperidine ( 0 . 17 g , 2 mmol ) in acetonitrile ( 20 ml ) is stirred at reflux for 20 hours . the product is isolated following the procedure of example 5 , step b and converted to the hydrochloride salt with anhydrous ethanolic hydrogen chloride . part b - examples in which each of r 2 and r 3 is a non - basis substituent . n - methylethanolamine ( 2 . 96 g , 39 . 4 mmol ) was added to a solution of methyl 2 - chlorosulfonyl - 6 - nitrobenzoate ( 5 . 5 g , 19 . 7 mmol , prepared according to example 1 of part a , supra ) in thf ( 150 ml ) and the mixture stirred at 20 - 25 ° for 18 hours . after removing thf under reduced pressure , the residue was partitioned between etoac and h 2 o . the organic extract was washed with saturated nacl solution and dried ( na 2 so 4 ). flash chromatography of the residue over silica gel and eluation with 1 % meoh - 99 % chcl 3 afforded pure sulfonamide . recrystallization from etoac - hexane gave analytically pure product ( 5 . 2 g , 82 . 9 %), m . p . 98 - 101 °. a solution of di ( 2 - hydroxyethyl ) amine ( 0 . 76 g , 7 . 2 mmol ) in thf ( 10 ml ) was added to a solution of methyl 2 - chlorosulfonyl - 6 - nitrobenzoate ( 1 . 0 g . 3 . 6 mmol ) in thf ( 10 ml ) and the mixture stirred at 20 - 25 ° for 18 hours . after removing thf under reduced pressure , the crude product was extracted into etoac which was then washed ( h 2 o ), dried ( na 2 so 4 ), filtered and concentrated under reduced pressure . flash chromatography of the residue over silica gel and eluation with 5 % meoh - 95 % chcl 3 gave pure sulfonamide . analytically pure material ( 0 . 56 g , 44 . 8 %), m . p . 92 - 3 °, was obtained upon recrystallization from etoac - hexane . piperazin - 2 - one ( 0 . 36 g , 3 . 6 mmol ) was added to a mixture of methyl 2 - chlorosulfonyl - 6 - nitrobenzoate ( 1 . 0 g , 3 . c mmol ) and triethylamine ( 0 . 37 g , 3 . 6 mmol ) in chcl 3 ( 120 ml ) and the resulting solution stirred at 20 - 25 ° for 18 hours . removal of chcl 3 under reduced pressure and flash chromatography of the residue over silica gel ( elution with 5 % meoh - 95 % chcl 3 ) afforded pure sulfonamide ( 1 . 2 g , 96 . 8 %). recrystallization from meoh - h 2 o gave an analytical sample , m . p . 189 - 91 °. a solution of morpholine ( 1 . 25 g , 14 . 3 mmol ) in thf ( 20 ml ) was added over 30 minutes to a stirred , cooled solution of methyl 2 - chlorosulfonyl - 6 - nitrobenzoate ( 2 . 0 g , 7 . 15 mmol ) in thf ( 20 ml ). after stirring at 20 - 25 ° for 18 hours , thf was removed under reduced pressure . the residue was partitioned between etoac and saturated nacl - h 2 0 and the etoac extracted was washed with h 2 o , dried ( na 2 so 4 ), filtered and concentrated . recrystallization from meoh - etoh gave pure sulfonamide ( 1 . 7 g , 72 %), m . p . 145 - 8 °. a solution of methyl 2 - chlorosulfonyl - 6 - nitrobenzoate ( 0 . 50 g , 1 . 79 mmol ) and ethanolamine ( 0 . 33 g , 5 . 4 mmol ) in thf ( 20 ml ) was stirred at 20 - 25 ° for 18 hours and then concentrated under reduced pressure . product was extracted into etoac which was then washed ( h 2 o ), dried ( na 2 so 4 ), filtered and concentrated under reduced pressure . the residue was recrystallized from etoac - hexane to give pure sulfonamide ( 0 . 28 g , 51 . 4 %), m . p . 110 - 12 °. to approximately 2 ml of ethylene oxide cooled in an ice bath was added a suspension of 4 - nitro - 2h - 1 , 2 - benzisothiazol - 3 - one 1 , 1 - dioxide ( 2 . 0 g , 8 . 76 mmol ) in h 2 o ( 140 ml ). after stirring in the ice bath for 1 hour , the mixture was allowed to stir at 20 - 25 ° for 18 hours . water was removed under reduced pressure and the residue flash chromatographed over silica gel . elution with 2 % isopropanol - 98 % ch 2 cl 2 gave product which was recrystallized from etoac - hexane to give the 2 - hydroxethyl derivative ( 0 . 39 g , 16 %), m . p . 140 - 1 °. a solution of 2 -( 2 - hydroxyethyl )- 4 - nitro - 2h - 1 , 2 - benzisothiazol - 3 - one 1 , 1 - dioxide ( 100 mg , 0 . 37 mmol ) and ethanolamine ( 24 mg , 0 . 39 mmol ) in thf ( 5 ml ) was allowed to stand at 20 - 25 ° for 3 days . after removal of thf under reduced pressure , the residue was recrystallized from meoh - etoac - hexane to give 112 mg ( 91 %) of product , m . p . 176 . 5 - 177 . 5 °. a mixture of 2 - amino - 6 - nitrobenzoic acid ( 2 . 0 g , 11 mmol ), allyl chloride ( 1 . 05 g , 13 . 7 mmol ) and triethylamine ( 1 . 11 g , 11 mmol ) in dmf ( 50 ml ) was stirred at 60 ° for 18 hours . after concentrating under reduced pressure , the residue was extracted with etoac which was then washed with saturated nahco 3 solution and saturated nacl solution , dried ( na 2 so 4 ) and filtered . etoac was removed under reduced pressure and the residue chromatographed over silica gel . elution with 50 % hexane - 50 % chcl 3 gave the allyl ester ( 1 . 1 g , 45 %). an analytical sample , m . p . 54 - 5 °, was obtained upon recrystallization from toluene - hexane . to a suspension of allyl 2 - amino - 6 - nitrobenzoate ( 3 . 3 g , 14 . 9 mmol ) in glacial acetic acid ( 80 ml ) and conc . hcl ( 26 ml ) cooled to - 5 was added slowly a solution of sodium nitrite ( 1 . 10 g , 15 . 9 mmol ) in h 2 o ( 6 ml ). after addition was complete , the mixture was stirred at - 5 to 0 ° for an additional 30 minutes . this diazonium salt solution was then added in portions to a cold solution of so 2 ( 10 g , 0 . 156 mol ) and cucl 2 . 2h 2 o ( 1 . 19 g ) in acetic acid ( 20 ml ) and h 2 o ( 4 ml ). after stirring in an ice bath for 3 hours , the reaction mixture was allowed to warm to 20 - 25 ° and then poured on to ice ( 500 g ). the solid sulfonyl chloride was filtered off and dried to give 3 . 5 g ( 77 . 4 %) of product , m . p . 68 - 70 °. an analytical sample , m . p . 70 - 72 °, was obtained upon recrystallization from n - butyl chloride - hexane . a solution of morpholine ( 1 . 63 g , 18 . 7 mmol ) in thf ( 30 ml ) was added over 25 minutes to a stirred and cooled solution of allyl 2 - chlorosulfonyl - 6 - nitrobenzoate ( 2 . 85 g , 9 . 3 mmol ) in thf ( 80 ml ). after stirring at 20 - 25 ° for 18 hours , thf was removed under reduced pressure and the residue partitioned between etoac and saturated nacl solution . the etoac extract was dried ( na 2 so 4 ) filtered and concentrated to give a quantitative yield of the sulfonamide , m . p . 145 - 7 °. an analytical sample , m . p . 150 - 2 ° was obtained upon recrystallization from meoh . a solution of methyl 2 -[ n -( 2 - hydroxyethyl ) aminosulfonyl ]- 6 - nitrobenzoate ( 4 . 58 g , 15 . 1 mmol ) in absolute meoh ( 50 ml ) was added to a solution of dimethylamine ( 6 . 8 g , 0 . 15 mol ) and potassium tertbutoxide ( 0 . 68 ml of a 0 . 262 m soluton in tertbutanol ) in absolute meoh ( 100 ml ). after stirring at 20 - 25 ° for 4 days , solvents were removed under reduced pressure . the residue was dissolved in etoac and washed with 0 . 5n hcl followed by a saturated aqueous nacl solution . the etoac extract was dried ( na 2 so 4 ), filtered and concentrated to give 4 . 2 g ( 88 %) of product . a solution of n , n - dimethyl - 2 -[ n -( 2 - hydroxyethyl ) aminosulfonyl ]- 6 - nitrobenzamide ( 3 . 97 g , 12 . 5 mmol ) in dry dmf ( 40 ml ) was added slowly to a stirred suspension of 50 % nah ( 0 . 60 g , 12 . 5 mmol ) in dry dmf ( 10 ml ) under n 2 at 20 - 25 °. after formation of the sodium salt was complete , a solution of methyl p - toluenesulfonate ( 2 . 40 g , 12 . 9 mmol ) in dmf ( 4 ml ) was added and the reaction mixture stirred at 20 - 25 ° for 20 hours and then at 60 ° for 23 hours . the orange solution was mixed with etoac ( 400 ml ) and the white solid which formed was filtered off . this precipitate was washed with etoac ( 100 ml ). the combined etoac solutions were washed with a saturated aqueous nacl solution , dried ( na 2 so 4 ), filtered and concentrated under reduced pressure . pure produced , mp 107 - 08 °, 2 . 5 g ( 60 %) was obtained by flash chromatography over silica gel and elution with a 65 % n - butylchloride - 35 % acetonitrile solvent mixture . a solution of methyl 2 - chlorosulfonyl - 6 - nitrobenzoate ( 2 . 80g , 10 mmol ) in 100 ml of thf was cooled to ice temperature and stirred in an ice - bath while a solution of 3 - amino - 1 - propanol ( 99 %) ( 1 . 67g , 22 mmol ) was added dropwise over a period of 45 minutes . stirring in the ice - bath was continued for 30 minutes . the reaction miture than was acidified by addition of 3 . 0 ml of 1 . 2n hcl . the thf was evaporated under reduced pressure and the residue taken up in 100 ml of ethyl acetate . after extracting this solution with 4 × 20 ml of saturated nacl solution , the ethyl acetate was evaporated and the residue recrystallized from a mixture of ethyl acetate and hexane to give 2 . 70g ( 84 . 9 %) of light yellow crystalline product , m . p ., 87 - 88 . 5 °. a solution of methyl 2 - chlorosulfonyl - 6 - nitrobenzoate ( 2 . 80g , 10 mmol ) in 100 ml of thf was cooled in an ice - bath and stirred while a solution of 1 - amino - 2 - propanol ( 1 . 65g , 22 mmol ) in 10 ml of thf was added dropwise over a period of 50 minutes . after stirring an additional 30 minutes in the ice - bath , the reaction mixture was acidified by the addition of 3 ml of 1 . 2n hcl . the thf was evaporated under reduced pressure and the residue taken up in 100 ml of ethyl acetate . after extracting with 4 × 20 ml of saturated nacl solution , the ethyl acetate solution was dried over na 2 so 4 and the solvent evaporated . the residue was crystallized from a mixture of ethyl acetate and hexane to give 2 . 02g ( 63 . 5 %) of yellow crystalline product , m . p ., 93 . 5 - 95 °. methyl 2 -[ n -( 3 - hydroxpropyl ) amino sulfonyl ]- 6 - nitrobenzoate ( 2 . 00g , 6 . 28 mmol ) was dissolved in 60 ml . of methanol . sodium methoxide ( 1 . 0 ml of a 0 . 1m solution in methanol ) was added and the solution cooled in an ice - bath and stirred while a rapid stream of dimethylamine was passed into the vortex for 15 minutes . after stirring for 161 / 2 hours , during which time the temperature rose to 25 °, the methanol and excess dimethylamine were evpaorated under reduced pressure . flash chromatography of the residue on e . merck silica gel 60 ( 230 - 400 mesh ) developed with n - butyl chloride : acetonitrile in the ratio of 65 : 35 gave light yellow crystalline product , isolated in two fractions , each melting at 85 °- 87 °. the second fraction contained a small amount of a second component , visible on tlc . recrystallization of each fraction from a mixture of ethyl acetate and hexane gave 0 . 48g of product , m . p ., 86 - 87 . 5 ° and 0 . 43g of product , m . p ., 85 . 5 - 87 °. each product was analytically pure . methyl 2 -[ n -( 2 - hydroxy - 1 - propyl ) aminosulfonyl ]- 6 - nitrobenzoate ( 2 . 00g , 628 mmol ) was dissolved in 60 ml of methanol . sodium methoxide ( 1 . 0 ml of a 0 . 1m solution in methanol ) was added and the solution cooled and stirred in an ice - bath while a rapid stream of dimethylamine was passed into the vortex for 15 minutes . stirring in the ice - bath then was continued for 1 hour , when the flash was removed from the bath and the reaction mixture allowed to stand at room temperature overnight . the methanol and excess dimethylamine then were evaporated under reduced pressure and the residue shaken with ethyl acetate , 80 ml ; 0 . 2n hcl , 10 ml ; and saturated nacl , 10 ml . the ethyl acetate layer was separated , extracted with 3 × 15 ml of saturated nacl and evaporated to give a clear yellow oil . after drying 23 hours in vacuo , this product weighed 2 . 03 g . crystallization had started after 3 days . recrystallization from a mixture of ethyl acetate and hexane gave 1 . 33g ( 63 . 9 %) of product , m . p ., 95 . 5 - 97 °. n , n - dimethyl - 2 -[ n -( 3 - hydroxypropyl ) aminosulfonyl ]- 6 - nitrobenzamide ( 1 . 37g , 4 . 13 mmol ) in 12 ml of dmf , was added dropwise to a suspension of 198 mg ( 4 . 13 mmol ) of 50 % nah in 3 ml of dmf in an atmosphere of n 2 . when evolution of hydrogen was complete , a solution of methyl p - toluene sulfonate ( 0 . 794g , 4 . 14 mmol ) in dmf , 2 ml , was added . the clear deep yellow solution was stirred at 25 ° for 17 hours , then at 60 ° for 23 hours . the solution then was mixed with 175 ml of ethylacetate and the precipitate that separated collected on a filter and washed with 50 ml of ethyl acetate . the combined filtrate and washings were extracted with 6 × 25 ml of saturated nacl solution and the ethyl acetate evaporated to give 1 . 66 g of a clear yellow oil . flash chromatography over e . merck silica gel 60 ( 230 - 400 mesh ) gave 0 . 49 g of a clear light yellow oil . this material was dissolved in 50 ml of chcl 3 , the solution extracted with 4 × 5 ml of 1n naoh , then with 3 × 5 ml of saturated nacl and dried over mgso 4 . after evaporation of the chcl 3 , the residue was dissolved in ethyl acetate and the solution filtered to remove a trace of mgso 4 . evaporation of the solvent gave 0 . 44g of light yellow crystalline product , m . p ., 91 . 5 - 92 . 5 °. a solution of 2 - amino - 6 - nitrobenzoic acid ( 29 . 2 g , 0 . 16 mol ), diethylsulfate ( 24 . 7 g , 0 . 160 mol ) and triethylamine ( 16 . 2 g , 0 . 160 mol ) in n - dimethylformamide ( 250 ml ) was stirred at 20 - 25 ° for 20 hours . after removing dmf at 60 ° and 0 . 2 mm pressure , the residue was flash chromotographed over silica gel and the ethyl ester ( 10 . 8 g ) eluted first with toluene then with 50 % toluene - 50 % chloroform . to a suspension of ethyl 2 - amino - 6 - nitrobenzoate ( 10 . 8 g , 51 . 2 mmol ) in glacial acetic acid ( 55 ml ) and concentrated hcl ( 95 ml ), cooled to - 5 °, was added slowly a solution of sodium nitrite ( 3 . 79 g , 54 . 9 mmol ) in h 2 o ( 15 ml ). after addition was complete , the mixture was stirred at - 5 ° to 0 ° for an additional 30 minutes . during this time , a solution of cucl 2 . 2h 2 o ( 4 . 10 g ) in h 2 o ( 10 ml ) was prepared and added to a cold soluton of 20 2 ( 32 g ) in glacial acetate acid ( 100 ml ). the diazonium salt solution was added in portions to the cooled so 2 - cucl 2 mixture . after stirring in an ice bath for 3 hours , the reaction mixture was allowed to warm to 20 - 25 ° and then poured onto ice ( 800 g ). the precipitated solid was removed by filtration and dried to give 10 . 62 g ( 70 . 7 %) of the sulfonyl chloride , m . p . 102 - 105 °. an analytical sample , m . p . 107 - 08 °, was obtained upon recrystallization from etoac - hexane . anal calc &# 39 ; d for c 9 h 8 clno 6 s : c , 36 . 81 ; h , 2 . 75 ; n , 4 . 77 . a solution of n , n - dimethylethylenediamine ( 1 . 5 g , 17 mmol ) and n , n - diisopropylethylamine ( 2 . 2 g , 17 mmol ) in tetrahydrofuran ( 25 ml ) was added over 15 minutes to a stirred solution of ethyl 2 - chlorosulfonyl - 6 - nitrobenzoate ( 5 . 0 g , 17 mmol ) in tetrahydrofuran ( 100 ml ) cooled with an ice bath . after addition was complete , the reaction mixture was stirred at ice bath temperature for 1 hour , then at 20 - 25 ° for 20 hours . tetrahydrofuran was removed under reduced pressure and the residue partitioned between ethyl acetate and water . the organic extract was dried ( na 2 so 4 ), filtered and concentrated under reduced pressure . the residue was treated with ethanolic - anhydrous hydrogen chloride and the hydrochloride salt recrystallized from methanol - ethylacetate - hexane to give 4 . 28 g ( 65 . 9 %) of product , m . p . 165 - 166 ° dec . anal . calc &# 39 ; d for c 13 h 19 n 3 o 6 s . hcl : c , 40 . 89 ; h , 5 . 28 ; n , 11 . 00 . a solution of the methyl ester hydrochloride ( 367 mg , 1 mmol ) in absolute ethanol ( 20 ml ) containing sodium ethoxide ( 1 . 26 mmol ) was stirred at reflux for 15 hours under n 2 . after adding glacial acetic acid ( 0 . 1 ml ) and concentrating under reduced pressure , the residue was partitioned between ethyl acetate and a saturated aqueous solution of sodium chloride . the ethyl acetate extract was washed with more aqueous sodium chloride , dried ( na 2 so 4 ), filtered and concentrated . the residue was converted to the hydrochloride salt with ethanolic - anhydrous hydrogen chloride and recrystallized from ethanol - ethyl acetate - hexane to give 110 mg ( 28 . 9 %) of product . m . p . 163 - 4 °. anal calc &# 39 ; d for c 13 h 19 n 3 o 6 s . hcl : c , 40 . 89 ; h , 5 . 28 ; n , 11 . 00 ; a solution of n -( 2 - dimethylaminoethyl ) ethanolamine ( 0 . 95 g , 7 . 15 mmol ) in tetrahydrofuran ( 20 ml ) was added over 10 minutes to a stirred solution of methyl 2 - chlorosulfonyl - 6 - nitrobenzoate ( 1 . 0 g , 3 . 58 mmol ) in tetrahydrofuran ( 30 ml ) cooled with an ice bath . after addition was complete , the reaction mixture was stirred at 20 - 25 ° for 5 hours . tetrahydrofuran was removed under reduced pressure and the residue partitioned between ethyl acetate and water . the organic extract was dried ( na 2 so 4 ), filtered and concentrated under reduced pressure . the concentrate was flash chromatographed over silica gel and product eluted with 5 % methanol -- 95 % chloroform . the hydrochloride salt , m . p . 152 . 5 - 4 . 5 ° dec , 0 . 63 g , ( 42 . 9 %), was obtained upon treatment of the purified base with ethanolic anhydrous hydrogen chloride and recrystallization for methanol - ethyl acetate . anal calc &# 39 ; d for c 14 h 21 n 3 o 7 s : c , 40 . 82 ; h , 5 . 39 ; n , 10 . 20 a solution of methyl 2 -[ n -( 2 - dimethylaminoethyl ) aminosulfonyl ]- 6 - nitrobenzoate hydrochloride ( 12 . 0 g , 32 . 6 mmol ) in dry isopropanol ( 500 ml ) containing sodium isopropoxide ( 39 mmol ) was stirred at reflux under n 2 for 18 hours . after adding glacial acetic acid ( 1 ml ) and concentrating under reduced pressure , the residue was partitioned between ethyl acetate and water . the ethyl acetate extract was washed with a saturated aqueous solution of sodium chloride , dried ( na 2 so 4 ), filtered and concentrated . the residue was converted to the hydrochloride salt with ethanolic anhydrous hydrogen chloride and recrystallized from methanol - ethyl acetate to give 4 . 0 g ( 31 %) of product , m . p . 187 . 0 - 190 . 0 ° dec . anal calc &# 39 ; d for c 14 h 21 n 3 o 6 s . hcl : c , 42 . 47 ; h , 5 . 60 ; n , 10 . 61 a solution of 1 -( 2 - aminoethyl ) piperidine ( 0 . 23 g , 1 . 79 mmol ) and n , n - diisopropylethylamine ( 0 . 23 g , 1 . 79 mmol ) in tetrahydrofuran ( 5 ml ) is added over 15 minutes to a stirred solution of methyl 2 - chlorosulfonyl - 6 - nitrobenzoate ( 0 . 50 g , 1 . 79 mmol ) in tetrahydrofuran ( 25 ml ) cooled with an ice bath . the product is isolated following the procedure of example 1 and converted to the hydrochloride salt with anhydrous ethanolic hydrogen chloride . the foregoing specification and examples describe the invention to the extent necessary to illustrate the principles and practice of the present invention . it will be understood that the scope of the present invention encompasses any modifications , deletions and variations as come within the present invention . the following claims also illustrate the nature of the invention . | 2 |
as stated above , in a synchronous cdma downlink using orthogonal codes , multiple access interference ( mai ) is essentially caused by the multipath channel . therefore , mai may be suppressed by linear channel equalization . a receiver using a channel equalizer algorithm is disclosed , which performs linear interchip interference cancellation by adaptive chip separation . the method is suitable for systems with long code scrambling , such as the proposed third generation wideband cdma systems . the results are shown below to provide considerable performance gains when compared to a conventional rake receiver . in an aspect of this invention , a cdma terminal space - time adaptive receiver structure is disclosed for the downlink of cdma systems employing long code scrambling the receiver &# 39 ; s ability to suppress mai is based on equalizing the effects of the multipath channel , which essentially restores the orthogonality between different users . the adaptation rule is derived from the bootstrap principle , and its applicability here stems from the observation that the downlink signal is a sequence of uncorrelated , fairly high - powered signal elements , i . e . multiuser chips . an objective of the adaptive separation is to remove the correlation between the chips caused by the channel . thus , the receiver performs linear channel equalization by adaptively decorrelating consecutively transmitted chips . the approach has particular application to the cdma downlink , since the signal sent by the synchronous base station transmitter is formed by a sequence of uncorrelated multiuser chips , and it has a suitable signal - to - noise ratio for this application . thus , the power of the entire multiple access signal can be utilized for adaptation . in a cdma downlink , the different users &# 39 ; signals are symbol synchronous , and distinguished from each other with orthogonal ( walsh ) codes . the typical structure of a single base station transmitter with k simultaneous users is depicted in fig1 . signals b 1 , . . . , b k are the complex quadraphase shift keying ( qpsk ) data symbols for each of 1 through k users . the walsh code for each user is represented by s 1 ( n ), . . . , s k ( n ), applied at junctions 100 1 through 100 k . user dependent power control amplitude is shown as a 1 , . . . , a k and is applied at junctions 110 1 through 110 k . the resulting signals are combined by the summation function 120 . a common complex scrambling code c ( n ) is applied to the combined signals at junction 130 . the resulting signal is shown as d ( n ). the overall multiuser chip sequence is : d ( n ) = ∑ i ∑ k = 1 k a k b k ( i ) s k ( n - in ) c ( n ) , ( 1 ) where , for the kth user , a k is the real positive amplitude due to power control , b k ( i ) is the ith complex qpsk data symbol , and s k is the walsh code . here , for n = 0 , 1 , . . . , n − 1 , s k ( n )=± 1 , and 0 elsewhere . the period of the common complex scrambling code c ( n ) may extend over an entire frame of symbols . due to the long pn code scrambling , { d ( n )} n is a sequence of uncorrelated complex signal elements , and due to the user - dependent power control , its amplitude distribution is unknown to the receiver . however , from the adaptation point of view , d ( n ) represents the signal to be estimated . the chips are given a transmission waveform p ( t ) of limited bandwidth . thus the continuous time model for the multiple access baseband signal is : u ( t ) = ∑ n d ( n ) p ( t - nt c ) , ( 2 ) due to multipath propagation , the received chip waveform at the mth receiver antenna is : h m ( t ) = ∑ l = 1 l γ ml p ( t - τ l ) , ( 3 ) where γ ml is the complex gain , and τ l is the relative delay of the lth path of the multipath channel . since , compared to the chip rate , the channel parameters are slowly time - varying , they may well be assumed constant over the time interval of interest . thus the received signal at the mth antenna is : r m ( t ) = ∑ n d ( n ) h m ( t - nt c ) + η m ( t ) , ( 4 ) where η m ( t ) is a process of white gaussian background noise ( awgn ) with two - sided power spectral density n 0 / 2 . for a matrix representation , the continuous time waveform h m ( t − nt c ) may be discretized into a vector h m ( n ). the infinite , m - dimensional received signal may be stacked into a vector r = [ r 1 r 2 ⋮ r m ] , ( 5 ) so that each of the column vectors of matrix h , for n = . . . , − 1 , 0 , 1 , . . . , h ( n ) = [ h 1 ( n ) h 2 ( n ) ⋮ h m ( n ) ] , ( 9 ) represents the received waveform conveying the information of the transmitted multiuser chip d ( n ). a block diagram of the structure of the receiver 10 is depicted in fig2 . signals r 1 ( t ) through r m ( t ) are received through at least one or a plurality of antennas 140 1 , . . . , 140 m , which are each coupled to a corresponding chip matched filter 150 1 , . . . , 150 m . each chip matched filter 150 1 , . . . , 150 m , produces at least one sample per chip at its output . the chip sample sequences pass through delays 160 1 , . . . , 160 m , to compensate for possible channel estimation delay . in order to determine the mutually correlated chip estimates , the receiver 170 includes a unit , designated chip mrc 175 , for performing chip maximal ratio combining ( mrc ) over multipath components and antenna elements . the operation corresponds to channel matched filtering , and as such , minimizes the signal dimensionality with no loss of information prior to equalization . reference in this regard may be had to : i . kaya , a . r . nix and r . benjamin , “ exploiting multipath activity using low complexity equalisation techniques for high speed wireless lans ,” ieee international vehicular technology conference , vtc &# 39 ; 98 , ottawa , canada , may 1998 , pp . 1593 - 1597 . the mutually correlated chip estimates are adaptively separated by the adaptive separation filter 180 . the output of the adaptive separation filter 180 is coupled to a correlator 190 which operates to obtain estimates for the desired users &# 39 ; data symbols by despreading the signal , i . e . by multiplying with a conjugated long scrambling code and user specific walsh code , supplied by a code generator 200 , and then integrating over the symbol period . the output of the correlator 190 is coupled to a deinterleaver 210 which in turn is coupled to a decoder 220 . the deinterleaver 210 and the decoder 220 could be conventional in construction and operation . assuming perfect knowledge of the channel , the nth output element of the chip mrc 175 is : x ( n ) = h h ( n ) r = ∑ m = 1 m ∑ t = 1 l γ ml * ∫ r m ( t ) p ( t - nt c - τ l ) t , ( 10 ) where ( )* denotes taking complex conjugate and ( ) h hermitian transpose . in matrix form , the total output sequence x =[ . . . , x (− 1 ), x ( 0 ), x ( 1 ), . . . ] t is in practice , instead of known γ ml , coherent combining employs estimates â m , l ≡ γ ml for m = 1 , . . . , m and l = 1 , . . . , l of the channel response provided by amplitude estimators 230 1 , . . . , 230 l . these estimations may be based on dedicated pilot symbols or on a common pilot channel , received through antennas 140 1 , . . . , 140 m . from equation ( 11 ), it can readily be seen that by multiplying the vector x from the left with p − 1 , chip decorrelation or zero - forcing equalization is performed . however , such an operation offers little advantage due to considerable noise enhancement . due to multipath propagation , the combined chips are mutually correlated . the objective of the adaptive separation filter 180 is to remove this correlation . since the correlation matrix p is of toeplitz form , the separation is reduced into a filtering problem . as depicted in fig3 a symmetric filter v is used . ideally , the filter is infinitely long , but in practice it may be truncated into a manageable length . a suitable filter length may be determined primarily by the channel delay spread . by denoting : x ( n ) = [ x ( n - f ) ⋮ x ( n - 1 ) x ( n ) x ( n + 1 ) ⋮ x ( n + f ) ] , and v ( n ) = [ v f ( n ) ⋮ v 1 ( n ) 1 v 1 * ( n ) ⋮ v f * ( n ) ] , where 2f + 1 is the filter length , the output of the separation filter 180 may be expressed as similarly to the above mentioned bootstrap algorithm described by y . bar - ness and j . b . punt , the adaptation is based on blind linear decorrelation . the adaptation step of the weights , for f = 1 , 2 , . . . , f , may be expressed as : v f ( n + 1 )= v f ( n )− μ ( n ) z *( n ) z ( n − f ), ( 13 ) where μ ( n ) is the ( possibly normalized ) step - size parameter . note that in the initial condition , v f = 0 , for f = 1 , 2 , . . . , f , the overall receiver acts as a conventional rake receiver . from equation ( 13 ) it can be shown that when the adaptation has reached the steady state ( in the mean ), the condition e ( z *( n ) z ( n − f ))= 0 , f = 1 , 2 , . . . , f ( 14 ) is satisfied . when the noise level is insignificant , this condition is also satisfied by a zero - forcing equalizer . it should be noted that the steady - state filter weights cannot be solved from equation ( 14 ) without ambiguity , and that the algorithm does not offer global convergence . however , simulations have shown that the adaptation is stable if the step - size is kept reasonably small . in this section , the results of the computer simulations determining the bit error rate ( ber ) performance of the adaptive chip separator , are presented , and compared to those of a conventional rake receiver . consider a wcdma downlink signal with k active , equal power users , qpsk data modulation and real orthogonal walsh codes of length n = 4 or 32 , along with a long complex gold sequence for scrambling . a fixed step - size parameter is used for adaptation , and the separation filter length is set to 17 ( f = 8 ). error correction coding is excluded from the simulations . the receivers are tested in a time - varying rayleigh channel with delay spread 1 μs , with three resolvable paths of equal average powers , each independently fading according to a classical doppler spectrum . a chip rate of 4 mhz with root raised cosine pulse shape filtering , a carrier frequency of 2 ghz , and a vehicle speed of 5 km / h are used in the simulations . both single - antenna , and two - antenna receivers are simulated . in the two - antenna case , full diversity due to independent fading between the elements is assumed . perfect estimates of the channel impulse response are given to the receivers . in fig4 the ber performance curves of single antenna receivers in the case of spreading factor n = 32 , with variable number of users , are depicted . the performance of the two - antenna receivers in the corresponding channel load situations are shown in fig5 . here , the x - axis indicates the e b / n 0 per antenna element . the results for the single - and two - antenna receivers in the low spreading factor n = 4 situation are given in fig6 and 7 , correspondingly . as can be seen , the chip separator offers considerable gain compared to rake especially in heavily loaded channels . the separator also seems to benefit more from the extra dimension given by the diversity antenna . in the single user case of low data rate and large spreading factor n = 32 , however , the detection performance is just slightly decreased due to adaptation jitter . it is worth noting though , that a high data rate user with n = 4 , clearly benefits from the separation even in the single user case . the simulations show that the adaptive chip separator outperforms the conventional rake receiver , especially at high data rates when the spreading factor is small , or when the system is heavily loaded by multiple users . it should be understood that that the functions described herein may be implemented with discrete circuit elements , or as software routines that are executed by a suitable data processor . a combination of circuit elements and software routines may also be employed . thus , while the invention has been particularly shown and described with respect to preferred embodiments thereof , it will be understood by those skilled in the art that changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention . | 7 |
with reference to the figures , the following discloses bakery - cafes having a layout conducive to improving the customer experience by , among other things , providing a fresh dough facility that allows customers to have accessibility to the bakers , including the ability to not only watch bakers performing their craft but to also interact verbally with the bakers . while described in the context of a bakery - cafe , it is to be understood that this description is not intended to be limiting . rather , those of ordinary skill in the art will readily appreciate how to apply the various improvements described hereinafter to other types of endeavors . generally , the bakery - cafes illustrated in the figures include a customer area 12 and a food preparation and food staging area 14 . as will be appreciated , the customer area 12 is the area in which the customer is free to move , e . g ., to order and consume purchased cafe - bakery items . accordingly , the customer area 12 may be provided with seating and tables . meanwhile , the food preparation and food staging area 14 is intended to be utilized only by the employees of the bakery - cafe . various of the stations that are to be described hereinafter will also serve the function of separating the customer area 12 from the food preparation and food staging area 14 . within with the food preparation and food staging area 14 , the bakery - cafe may include one or more order entry stations 16 . the order entry stations 16 are desired to be positioned adjacent to a bakery display case 18 in which is displayed baked goods of a relatively fragile nature ( e . g ., mini bundt cakes , cookies , muffins , brownies , croissants , danish , specialty pastries , etc .) and one or more bakery wire shelves / baskets 20 in which baked goods of a relatively more sturdy nature ( e . g ., artisan breads , bagels , etc .) are displayed . the wire shelves / baskets 20 are further preferably positioned along a wall ( i . e ., a “ bread and / or bagel wall ”) that is located in an area generally behind the display case 18 so as to be out of reach of , but viewable by , customers . accordingly , baked goods displayed within the display case 18 and in the shelves / baskets of the bread / bagel wall 20 may be labeled for easy identification by the customer . for reasons that will become apparent , it may also be preferred that the order entry stations 16 , the display case 18 , and the bread / bagel wall 20 be positioned in an area that is in the general vicinity of an entrance , i . e ., vestibule 17 , to the bakery - cafe and that the baked goods within the display case 18 and the wire shelves / baskets 20 ( which become readily viewable to a customer entering the bakery - cafe ) be quickly accessible to an employee operating in the vicinity of an order entry station 16 . for allowing a customer to view that the baked goods , especially the artisan breads , are made fresh daily on premise , the customer is preferably provided with a view of baking ovens 21 as well as a fresh dough facility 25 . the fresh dough facility 25 , a part of the food preparation and food staging area 14 , will be understood to be an area in which a baker mixes ingredients , hand - shapes , and hand - scores various types of artisan bread . the fresh dough facility 25 of the subject bakery - cafe preferably includes shelving on which are stored the various ingredients for making the artisan breads ( e . g ., flours , nuts , etc .) and one or more scales , mixers , moulders , dividers , rounders , and tables . as illustrated in fig1 , the baking ovens 21 may be positioned , by way of example , behind the “ bread wall ” and be viewable there through . still further , as illustrated in fig2 and 3 , the baking ovens 21 may be located in the customer viewable fresh dough facility 25 . further located in the food preparation and food staging area 14 of the illustrated , exemplary bakery - cafes may be a “ bulk - bagel station 22 ,” a beverage preparation station 23 , and a food product preparation station 24 ( for example , a staging area of food products utilized to prepare salad , sandwich , and / or soup ordered by a customer ). the bulk - bagel station 22 is preferably provided to be accessed by an employee of the bakery - cafe , to fill bulk orders for bagels , to restock the wire shelves / baskets 20 holding bagels , etc . the beverage preparation station 23 is illustrated as being located intermediate the bulk bagel station 22 and the food product preparation station 24 . the beverage preparation station 23 is preferably provided for the purpose of fulfilling orders for specialty beverages , e . g ., espresso , cappuccino , latte , tea , blended ice coffee , and / or those drinks that generally require the mixing of ingredients . while the preparation of the specialty drinks takes place in the beverage preparation station 23 of the food preparation and food staging area 14 , the beverage preparation station 23 is preferably provided with a counter or the like whereby prepared beverage products may be delivered to the customer within the customer area 12 . drinks that do not need to be especially prepared , such as fountain drinks and / or coffee , may be made accessible to the customer within the customer area 12 , although such drinks may be retrieved from the food preparation area 12 and delivered to the customer as part of the ordering process . thus , by way of example , the customer area 12 may be provided with a cooler for keeping customer - accessible bottled drinks , a hot beverage filling area 28 , e . g ., for keeping customer - accessible coffee dispensers , and / or a customer - accessible soft drink fountain area 30 . the hot beverage filing area 28 may be positioned in the vicinity of the bakery , e . g ., the bakery display 18 , to better serve customers during the morning rush when it is more likely that the customer will be primarily ordering only bakery items and / or hot beverages which are more likely to be taken out rather than consumed on premise . the food product preparation station 24 is illustrated as being located at an end of the food preparation and food staging area 14 that is opposite the order entry stations 16 . as noted , the food product preparation station 24 is preferably provided for the purpose of fulfilling orders for salads , sandwiches , and / or soups . to minimize the time needed to prepare salads , sandwiches , and / or soup ( i . e ., for serving in a bread bowl or the like ), the food product preparation station 24 is further preferably positioned in the vicinity of storage areas ( such as walk in refrigerators and freezers ) and food pre - preparation stations ( such as sinks , chopping and cutting areas , microwave ovens , toasters , etc .). in this manner , the amount of distance and , therefore , time required to stage food products for quickly preparing food product orders may be minimized . for generally reducing customer queue times and overall congestion in the customer area in the vicinity of the food preparation area , the order entry stations 16 are preferably provided with one or more point - of - sale cash registers that are linked to one or more order printers and / or order screens that are located in the vicinity of the work stations . in a conventional manner , a customer will convey their order to a cashier manning an order entry station 16 and the cashier will , in turn , be responsible for entering the order into the combined cash register / order input system . the cash register / order input system will then calculate the total price and deliver ( all or part of ) the order to the order printer / order screen of an appropriate work station ( 22 , 23 , and / or 24 ) within the bakery - cafe for fulfillment of the order , if necessary . to link order / customer pairs at the various work stations ( 22 , 23 , and / or 24 ), a reference indicia , such as a number , may be assigned to each order . this indicia may be printed on a receipt , be associated with a pager , or the like that is provided to the customer ( or the customer may be verbally informed as to their assigned indicia ). in this same manner , the indicia is also preferably provided to an operator of a work station ( 22 , 23 , and / or 24 ), for example by being printed on an order request or by being viewable on an order screen , so as to allow the operator to match food product that is to be prepared at the work station to the correct customer . it is to be appreciated that the indicia may be automatically assigned by the cash register / order input system ( typically as a number assigned in a numerically increasing order ) or may be manually assigned . in this regard , the indicia may be manually assigned when , for example , the customer is provided with a placard , pager , or the like having an indicia which will serve as a means for delivering prepared food product to the appropriate customer . by way of further example , when a customer provides an order to an operator of an order entry station 16 , the operator will enter the order into the cash register / order input system and charge the customer the appropriate amount . in the event that the order includes an order for baked goods that are within the display case 18 and / or wire shelves / baskets 20 , an order filler , i . e ., a “ backer ,” or the operator of the order entry station 16 may fulfill the order by retrieving the ordered baked goods from the display case 18 and / or wire shelves / baskets 20 which , as previously noted , are conveniently located in close proximity to the order entry stations 16 . this order fulfillment may then be presented to the customer while the customer is at the order entry station 16 . in this manner , it will be apparent that the location of baked products in the vicinity of the order entry station 16 will function to minimize queue times by minimizing food product retrieval times , especially during the morning rush when the demand for baked goods is likely to be at its highest . it will also be apparent that the location of the baked goods in an area that is readily viewable by customers in the vicinity of the entrance of the bakery - cafe will also function to minimize customer ordering time ( and hence customer wait time ) as customers will have an opportunity to quickly discern which baked goods are available for ordering upon entrance to the bakery - cafe . in the event that the order includes an order for baked goods in a bulk quantity ( e . g ., a dozen or more ), the order is preferably routed to the bulk order fulfillment station 22 where an operator of the bulk order fulfillment station 22 will be responsible for filling the order . at this time , the customer will also be directed to the bulk order fulfillment station 22 so as to receive the fulfilled order . in this manner , the current customer is efficiently removed from the ordering queue to thereby allow the next customer to place their order . similarly , the operator of the bulk order fulfillment station 22 will be able to quickly fill the order , having bulk quantities of the pre - prepared food product readily available , to further reduce the wait time of the customer . in the event that the order includes an order for pre - prepared beverage product ( e . g ., coffee , fountain drink , or bottled beverages ), the customer is free to retrieve the ordered beverage at the appropriate beverage storage location ( e . g ., cooler 26 , coffee filing area 28 , and / or soft - drink fountain area 30 ). as noted previously , such beverages may alternatively be retrieved by a backer or order entry operator and provided to the customer . if required , the customer may be provided with the appropriate cup prior to leaving the order entry station 16 . again , it will be appreciated that allowing the customer to access pre - prepared beverage products will eliminate any wait time associated with an order entry operator retrieving the product for the customer . furthermore , this allows the current customer to be efficiently removed from the ordering queue to thereby allow the next customer to place their order . in the event that the order includes an order for beverage product that requires preparation by an employee of the bakery - cafe , the order is preferably routed to the beverage product fulfillment station 23 where an operator of the beverage product fulfillment station 23 will be responsible for filling the order . the customer may then move toward the beverage product order fulfillment station 23 so as to be in a position to receive the fulfilled order . as before , this method of fulfilling an order of the customer serves to efficiently remove the current customer from the ordering queue to thereby allow the next customer to place their order . in the event that the order includes an order for food product that requires preparation , the order and customer are provided with an indicia that serves to associate the customer with the order and , while waiting for the order to be fulfilled , the customer is free to avail themselves to the beverage stations or seating as desired . in this manner , this method of providing food orders to customers functions to efficiently remove the current customer from the ordering queue to thereby allow the next customer to place their order . similarly , since the operator of the food preparation station 24 will have food product staged for food product preparation , the operator of the food preparation station will also be able to quickly fill the order to further reduce the wait time of the customer . from the foregoing , it is also to be understood that the arrangement of the various stations of the illustrated , exemplary bakery cafe also functions to move the customer from a first side of the bakery cafe , i . e ., the area of the order entry stations 16 and entry vestibule 17 , towards an opposite side of the bakery cafe with the result being a more pleasant atmosphere , e . g ., it provides a bakery - cafe having relatively less customer congestion at the various stations . in the examples illustrated , the bulk order fulfillment station 22 is conveniently located in a position prior to the beverage preparation station since bulk orders for pre - prepared food products are likely to be fulfilled quicker than orders for to - be - prepared beverage products . similarly , the beverage preparation station 23 is conveniently located in a position prior to the food preparation station 24 since it is likely that the to - be - prepared beverage orders will be fulfilled prior to the fulfillment of the to - be - prepared food order . as noted previously , for allowing a customer to fully appreciate that the artisan breads are made from scratch and baked fresh daily , the fresh dough facility 25 is preferably viewable by a customer . in this regard , the fresh dough facility 25 is preferably viewable upon entry through the vestibule 17 to allow the customer to immediately discern that the breads and bagels that they will see in the bread / bagel racks 20 is made fresh on premise . more particularly , the fresh dough facility 25 is separated from the customer area 12 by means of a partial - wall 32 that includes a portion constructed from a transparent material , such a glass , plexiglas or the like . thus , the transparent material may comprise the entirety of the partial - wall 32 or may be the limited to just the upper portion of the partial - wall 32 . ideally , the partial - wall 32 is further limited in height to allow customers to talk directly to bakers working in the fresh dough facility 25 without interfering with such conversation . by way of example , the height of the partial - wall 32 may be in the range of 5 feet , plus or minus 6 to 12 inches . still further , when the entirety of the partial - wall 32 is not constructed from a transparent material , it may be desirable to extend the transparent material downward to a level , e . g ., a three foot height , where small children may observe actions taking place in the fresh dough facility 25 . in some instances it may also be desirable to allow the fresh dough facility 25 to be viewed from the exterior of the cafe - bakery through a window 34 . yet further , certain of the equipment within the fresh dough facility may be positioned so as to draw the baker into an area in the vicinity of the partial - wall to further facilitate interaction between customers and the baker . by way of example , such equipment may include one or more mixers 40 , a scale 41 , and / or a kneading table 42 that are positioned within the fresh dough facility 25 against the partial - wall as seen in fig2 . thus has been described a bakery - cafe wherein the customer is able to experience the entirety of the artisan bread making process . while specific embodiments of such a cafe - bakery have been described in detail , it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that various modifications and alternatives to those details could be developed in light of the overall teachings of the disclosure . accordingly , the particular arrangements disclosed are meant to be illustrative only and not limiting as to the scope of the invention which is to be given the full breadth of the appended claims and any equivalents thereof . | 6 |
the detailed description set forth below in connection with the appended drawings is intended as a description of various embodiments of the present invention and is not intended to represent the only embodiments contemplated by the inventor . the detailed description includes specific details for the purpose of providing a comprehensive understanding of the present invention . however , it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the present invention may be practised without these specific details . the present invention relates generally to processes of cleaning bitumen froth or diluted bitumen using naphtha . in one aspect , the present invention relates to a process for bitumen froth cleaning which yields a fungible diluted bitumen amenable to downstream upgrading processes . to meet specification requirements , the fungible diluted bitumen must have a water and solids concentration of less than 0 . 5 vol %. optimum naphtha - to - bitumen ratios have been identified for the effective treatment of bitumen froth produced from oil sands . the amount of naphtha is significant with respect to the amount of bitumen . a desired flow rate of bitumen froth is set and the required naphtha to meet the naphtha - to - bitumen ratio is calculated . the bitumen froth is used as the feed to the process of the present invention , and is directly fed with naphtha at the desired naphtha - to - bitumen ratio . a combination of the naphtha - to - bitumen ratios and separation is applied to separate the desired diluted bitumen from water and contaminants . typically , separation may be conducted by centrifugation in a sequence of scroll and disc centrifuges , or gravity settling in a series of inclined plate separators (“ ips ”). the effectiveness of the treatment is assessed in terms of the water and solids concentration of the diluted bitumen . as described in example 1 , below , the results from an experimental run indicate that as the naphtha - to - bitumen ratio increases , the percent water in the diluted bitumen decreases . in one embodiment , the naphtha - to - bitumen ratio is in the range of between about 4 . 0 ( w / w ) to about 10 . 0 ( w / w ). separation comprises either gravity settling or centrifugal separation . this range of ratios and separation yields diluted bitumen containing about 0 . 01 wt % to about 0 . 35 wt % water . preferably , the naphtha - to - bitumen ratio is about 10 . 0 ( w / w ), and separation comprises gravity settling to yield diluted bitumen containing about 0 . 01 wt % water . in another aspect , the present invention uses diluted bitumen obtained from a conventional froth treatment process as the feed . a conventional froth treatment process is shown in fig1 . for example , the diluted bitumen may be obtained from an ips unit . a typical ips product comprises about 2 - 4 wt % water and 1 - 2 wt % solids . the diluted bitumen is directly fed with naphtha at the desired naphtha - to - bitumen ratio , and gravity settling or centrifugal separation is conducted to produce marketable fungible raw bitumen . as described in example 2 , below , the results from an experimental run indicate that as the naphtha - to - bitumen ratio increases , the percent water in the fungible bitumen product decreases . in one embodiment , the naphtha - to - bitumen ratio is equal to or greater than about 1 . 8 ( w / w ), and separation comprises gravity settling to yield a fungible bitumen product containing less than about 0 . 5 wt % water . without being bound by theory , the application of the above naphtha - to - bitumen ratios has the effects of partially precipitating a portion of the asphaltenes and solids associated with asphaltene , and changing the hydrocarbon fluid properties such as for example , reducing the viscosity and density for better water and solids separation . as the emulsified water is known to be stabilized by asphaltenes and solids , these effects induced by the naphtha - to - bitumen ratios significantly reduce the emulsified water present in diluted bitumen , producing high quality fungible bitumen . it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the processes of the present invention may entirely replace or be incorporated into conventional processes . fig1 is a schematic of a typical process for froth treatment . extraction bitumen froth ( 10 ) is mixed with a sufficient amount of naphtha ( 12 ) to produce a naphtha - to - bitumen ratio of about 0 . 7 ( w / w ). the resulting mixture is subjected to either gravity settling or centrifugal separation ( 14 ) to yield a diluted bitumen component ( 16 ) and a diluted tailings component ( 18 ). each component is subjected to a naphtha recovery process . recovery of the naphtha from the diluted bitumen component in a recovery unit ( 20 ) is required before the bitumen may be delivered to a refinery for further processing ( 22 ). recovery of the naphtha from the diluted tailings component in a recovery unit ( 24 ) is desirable to avoid discarding flammable , carcinogenic solvent with the tailings ( 26 ) in a tailings pond and to minimize expenditures for fresh solvent . fig2 is a schematic of one embodiment of the process of the present invention for treating diluted bitumen obtained from the process line of fig1 ( i . e ., an intermediate stream from current froth treatment process ) in order to produce marketable fungible raw bitumen . the diluted bitumen ( 28 ) is used as the feed in the process of the present invention . the diluted bitumen ( 28 ) is directly fed with a sufficient amount of naphtha ( 12 ) to produce a naphtha - to - bitumen ratio equal to or greater than about 1 . 8 ( w / w ). the resulting mixture is subjected to either gravity or centrifugal separation ( 30 ). preferably , gravity settling is carried out using an inclined plate separator to produce an overhead stream of further diluted bitumen component ( 32 ) and a naphtha - rich underflow stream ( 34 ). recovery of the solvent from the diluted bitumen component in a recovery unit ( 36 ) is conducted . then , light hydrocarbon , e . g ., condensate or synthetic crude , is added to the product of recovery unit ( 36 ) before the marketable fungible raw bitumen is delivered to a pipeline or refinery ( 38 ), thereby meeting the required density and viscosity specification for the pipeline product . the naphtha - rich underflow stream ( 34 ) may be recycled as a source of naphtha ( 40 ), or combined with either fresh froth feeding to another processing unit ( for example , a bird centrifuge , andritz ag , graz , austria ) or other froth treatment product . fig3 is a schematic of another embodiment of the process of the present invention for producing marketable fungible raw bitumen . in this embodiment , bitumen froth ( 10 ) from oil sand extraction is directly fed with naphtha ( 12 ) to give a naphtha - to - bitumen ratio of about 4 . 0 ( w / w ) to about 10 . 0 ( w / w ). the resulting mixture is subjected to either gravity or centrifugal separation ( 50 ). preferably , gravity settling is carried out using an inclined plate separator to produce an overhead stream of diluted bitumen component ( 52 ) and a naphtha - rich underflow stream ( 54 ). recovery of the solvent from the diluted bitumen component in a recovery unit ( 56 ) is conducted . light hydrocarbons , e . g ., condensate or synthetic crude , is the added to the product of recovery unit ( 56 ) before the marketable fungible raw bitumen is delivered to a pipeline or refinery ( 58 ), thereby meeting the required density and viscosity specification for the pipeline product . naphtha ( 12 ) from the new diluents recovery unit ( 56 ) can be reused . the naphtha - rich underflow stream ( 54 ) from either gravity or centrifugal separation may be recycled as a naphtha source in the current bitumen froth treatment process . exemplary embodiments of the present invention are described in the following examples , which are set forth to aid in the understanding of the invention , and should not be construed to limit in any way the scope of the invention as defined in the claims which follow thereafter . an experimental run was conducted in which bitumen froth was directly fed with naphtha at various naphtha - to - bitumen ratios . the average froth compositions based on duplicate samples were 49 . 3 % bitumen , 36 . 1 % water and 14 . 6 % solids . the naphtha - based froth treatment processes were simulated using a standard jar test for gravity based process and cold spin test for the centrifuge based process . diluted bitumen water content was determined by karl - fischer titration . the percent water in diluted bitumen was based on an average of two samples . the results are summarized in table 1 : the results in table 1 show that as the naphtha - to - bitumen ratio increases , the percent water in the diluted bitumen decreases for both the gravity and centrifuge - based separation . for comparison , a naphtha - to - bitumen ratio of 0 . 7 is commercially used to produce diluted bitumen typically with a water content ranging between 2 . 0 to 4 . 0 wt % and a solids content ranging between 0 . 5 to 1 . 0 wt %. both water contents for the gravity and centrifuge - based separation fall within this range . however , the average diluted bitumen with a water content of 0 . 01 wt % was achieved at a naphtha - to - bitumen ratio of 10 for the gravity - based separation . an experimental run was conducted in which diluted bitumen obtained from an ips unit was directly fed with naphtha at various naphtha - to - bitumen ratios . diluted bitumen at a naphtha - to - bitumen ratio of about 0 . 7 was obtained from an ips unit . in this sample , the average ips product contained about 2 wt % water and about 1 wt % solids . the naphtha - based fungible bitumen process was simulated using a standard jar test for the gravity based process . the water content in the diluted bitumen was determined by karl - fischer titration . the percent water in fungible bitumen product as a function of settling time is presented in fig4 . the results show that as the naphtha - to - bitumen ratio increases , the percent water in diluted bitumen decreases . the fungible bitumen water and solids content of 0 . 5 vol % or less was achieved at a naphtha - to - bitumen ratio of 1 . 8 for the gravity based process . achieving the required specification was not attributable to a dilution effect as demonstrated by re - plotting fig4 to exclude the dilution effect . as shown in fig5 , the results support that the fungible bitumen process can achieve the required specifications . in this example , diluted bitumen obtained from convention bitumen froth treatment when using inclined plate settlers is used as the feed and mixed with various amounts of naphtha to give naphtha - to - bitumen ratios of about 1 . 8 to about 9 . 07 . the resultant further diluted bitumen component was analyzed for both water content and solids content . the results are shown in table 2 . as can be seen in table 2 , even at n / b ratios as low as 1 . 8 , the diluted bitumen product consists of 0 . 017 wt % water and 0 . 09 wt % solids . the vol % of the sum of the water and solids to bitumen was less than 0 . 5 vol % for naphtha - to - bitumen ratios ranging from about 1 . 8 to about 9 . 07 . thus , the products are all fungible bitumen products which can be directly pipelined to conventional refineries for further treatment . from the foregoing description , one skilled in the art can easily ascertain the essential characteristics of this 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 . thus , the present invention is not intended to be limited to the embodiments shown herein , but is to be accorded the full scope consistent with the claims , wherein reference to an element in the singular , such as by use of the article “ a ” or “ an ” is not intended to mean “ one and only one ” unless specifically so stated , but rather “ one or more ”. all structural and functional equivalents to the elements of the various embodiments described throughout the disclosure that are known or later come to be known to those of ordinary skill in the art are intended to be encompassed by the elements of the claims . moreover , nothing disclosed herein is intended to be dedicated to the public regardless of whether such disclosure is explicitly recited in the claims . the following references are incorporated herein by reference ( where permitted ) as if reproduced in their entirety . all references are indicative of the level of skill of those skilled in the art to which this invention pertains . czarnecki , j . and moran , k . ( 2005 ) on the stabilization mechanism of water - in - oil emulsions in petroleum systems . energy & amp ; fuels 19 : 2074 - 2079 . kotlyar , l . s ., sparks , b . d ., woods , j . r . and chung , k . h . ( 1999 ) solids associated with the asphaltene fraction of oil sands bitumen . energy & amp ; fuels 13 ( 2 ): 346 - 350 . moran , k ., cymerman , g . and tran , t . method for treatment of bitumen froth with high bitumen recovery and dual quality bitumen production . united states patent application publication no . 2010 / 0012555 a1 , published jan . 21 , 2010 . renouf , g ., ranganathan , r ., scoular , r . j . and soveran , d . ( 1997 ) the impact of changing canadian pipeline bs & amp ; w specifications : a survey . petroleum society of cim , petroleum conference of the south saskatchewan section . october 19 - 22 . paper no . 97 - 179 . yang , x . and czarnecki , j . ( 2002 ) the effect of naphtha to bitumen ratio on properties of water in diluted bitumen emulsions . colloids and surfaces a : physicochem . eng . aspects 211 : 213 - 222 . | 2 |
in fig1 the light from the radiation source 1 is focussed by means of the mirrors 2 and passed through the windows 3 into the reaction chamber 4 designed as a directly - absorbing receiver . the waste sulfuric acid contaminated with organic material is atomized through a diffusor 5 , e . g . by means of an ultrasonic atomizer or by injector nozzles , and fed into the reaction chamber . alternatively , the waste sulfuric acid may also be directly atomized into the reaction chamber . fig2 shows an alternative embodiment of the reaction chamber 4 designed as a directly - absorbing receiver , said reaction chamber 4 being provided with laterally located windows 3 . thus , the stream comprising waste sulfuric acid and air can be introduced directly towards the focused radiation ( fig1 ), so that the lowest concentration of residual organic material will be present at the inlet site of the radiation . alternatively , the stream can be passed by a plurality of radiators ( fig2 ). in the case of lamp - operated units , and lamps and optical systems may be separated from the actual reaction chamber by the windows which preferably are made of quartz glass . moreover , the windows should be provided with an air curtain in order to protect them from contaminants likely to be burnt in . in the case of the solar units according to the present invention , the directly - absorbing receiver simultaneously acts as the reaction chamber 4 , as is shown in fig3 top and bottom . the respective reaction chambers 4 of the two directly - absorbing receivers of fig3 are distinguished only by the mode of how the waste sulfuric acid is atomized . the latter may be introduced into the reaction chamber 4 either radially from the outside 6 or through an injector ( lance ) 7 inside the reaction chamber 4 . in fig4 additional filling structures 8 are shown which may be present in the reaction chamber 4 according to the invention . such filling structures , included in volumetric receivers serve to improve the energy balance , if the waste sulfuric acid introduced into the reaction chamber still has some transparency . for separating the stream of the waste sulfuric acid and air from the source of radiation , it is preferred that the radiators and the optical system are separated from the receiver by windows . furthermore , it is advantageous that the windows are protected from coatings caused by condensations or decomposition products by passing an air flow over the surfaces thereof . a preferred embodiment of the present invention consists of introducing a stream comprising waste sulfuric acid and air directly towards ( in a direction countercurrent to ) the focussed radiation . alternatively , there is a possibility that the stream comprising waste sulfuric acid and air is passed by a plurality of radiators . more preferably , the volume ratios of waste sulfuric acid to air is adjusted to a value within the range of from 0 . 01 to 100 . it is particularly preferred that the volume ratio of waste sulfuric acid to air is adjusted to a value within the range of from 0 . 25 to 10 . another preferred embodiment of the present invention consists of generating the concentrated radiation with one or a plurality of high - performance lamp ( s ). a further alternative of the process according to the invention is utilizing the direct radiation from the sun as the source of radiation . thus , in one particularly preferred embodiment of the present invention , a central receiver system , a paraboloid concentrator , a fixed - focus concentration or a solar furnace is used for focusing the solar radiation . optionally , an elliptic or spherical mirror or a weakly concentrating vacuum tube collector may also be used . a line - focusing concentrator likewise may be employed for concentrating the solar radiation . another preferred embodiment of the present invention consists of adjusting the reaction temperature to a value within the range of from 200 ° c . to 1000 ° c ., and especially from 500 ° c . to 800 ° c . to avoid any decomposition of the sulfur trioxide molecule . in cases where the decomposition of the sulfur trioxide molecule , into sulfur dioxide and oxygen , is tolerable or desirable , then it is preferred that the temperature is adjusted to a value within the range of from 400 ° c . to 1500 ° c ., and especially from 700 ° c . to 1000 ° c . the process according to the invention may meaningfully employ broad - spectrum radiators and , among these , especially the sun . it is preferred to employ light sources which have their emission maxima in the near uv ( wavelengths higher than about 190 nm ) or within the region of visible light . alteratively , lamps emitting line spectra ( such as , e . g ., mercury high - pressure lamps ) and being widely used in photo - chemistry can also be used , if only a substantial portion of the emitted light is within the above - mentioned uv and / or visible region . another preferred embodiment of the present invention consists of adjusting the irradiation intensity to the range of from 0 . 1 to 10 mw / m 2 . a particularly preferred embodiment of the present invention is adjusting the irradiation intensity to the range of from 0 . 2 to 3 mw / m 2 . in yet still another preferred embodiment of the present invention the process utilizes both the heat of reaction of the reverse reaction between the decomposition products sulfur trioxide and water to reform sulfuric acid , and the sensed heat of the gases leaving the reaction chamber to preheat and superheat the waste sulfuric acid supplied to the reaction chamber . with reference to the schematic in fig5 a diluted waste sulfuric acid ( h 2 so 4 concentration 30 % by weight ; toc content 22 , 500 ppm ) is recycled in a directly - absorbing receiver . from a reservoir 10 a definite amount of waste sulfuric acid is taken through a control valve 11 and volume flowmeter 12 and passed to the mixing chamber 13 comprising an ultrasonic atomizer . in an analogous manner , air is introduced into the mixing chamber 13 through a volume flowmeter 14 . thus , a mixture comprising waste sulfuric acid and air is formed . the resulting mixture is passed to a tubular reactor 20 comprising the reaction chamber 4 designed as a directly - absorbing receiver . therein , focused radiation is allowed to act on the waste sulfuric acid and air mixture . the reaction temperature is determined by means of the measuring device 16 . the tubular reactor 20 made of quartz glass and having a front face transparent for the entering radiation is located in an electrically heated tubular furnace 21 that serves as a thermostat to heat the &# 34 ; thermal only &# 34 ; reference experiments , which are indicated hereafter as &# 34 ; comparative &# 34 ; examples . the jacket tube and internal tube of the tubular reactor have diameters of 45 mm and 20 mm , respectively , and are in positions concentric with respect to each other . in the irradiation experiments , 55 to 60 % of the radiation provided by a high - pressure xe radiation source ( xenon high power lamp 20 kw , 20000 d , durotest corp . ), which is concentrated by a system of reflectors and lenses , is passed into the inner tube of the reaction chamber . the air / waste sulfuric acid mixture is advanced through the jacket tube tower the front face of the reactor and then through the inner tube to the reactor outlet . the resulting gas mixture comprising sulfuric acid , sulfur trioxide , sulfur dioxide , water , carbon dioxide , possibly undecomposed organic contaminants and air is fed to a heat exchanger 17 for cooling . then , liquid constituents are removed in a separator 18 . thereafter , the reprocessed sulfuric acid is collected in the collection container 19 , and is subjected in order to determine the residual toc contents of the various samples . average irradiation intensity in the inner tube : 0 . 28 mw / m 2 . average irradiation intensity in the inner tube : 0 . 28 mw / m 2 . average irradiation intensity in the inner tube : 0 . 28 mw / m 2 . average irradiation intensity in the inner tube : 0 . 88 mw / m 2 . while the present invention has been described with respect to what presently are considered to be preferred embodiments , it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments . to the contrary , the present invention is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims . the scope of the following claims is to be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent structures and functions . | 8 |
referring now to fig1 a computer system in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention includes : a central processing unit ( cpu ) or processor 110 ; a terminal interface 150 ; an auxiliary storage interface 140 ; a direct access storage device ( dasd ) 170 ; a floppy disk 180 ; a bus 160 ; and a memory 120 . in this example , memory 120 includes a web browser 122 , a bookmark staging mechanism 123 , and bookmark staging memory 124 . it should be understood that bus 160 is used to load bookmark staging mechanism 123 into memory 120 for execution . bookmark staging memory 124 is used to store information about intermediate or staged bookmarks while bookmark staging mechanism 123 is operational . bookmark staging mechanism 123 and bookmark staging memory 124 are explained in greater detail below . processor 110 performs computation and control functions of system 100 . processor 110 associated with system 100 may comprise a single integrated circuit , such as a microprocessor , or may comprise any suitable number of integrated circuit devices and / or circuit boards working in cooperation to accomplish the functions of a central processing unit . processor 110 is capable of suitably executing the programs contained within memory 120 and acting in response to those programs or other activities that may occur in system 100 . memory 120 is any type of memory known to those skilled in the art . this would include dynamic random access memory ( dram ), static ram ( sram ), flash memory , cache memory , etc . while not explicitly shown in fig1 memory 120 may be a single type of memory component or may be composed of many different types of memory components . in addition , memory 120 and processor 110 may be distributed across several different computer that collectively comprise system 100 . for example , web browser may reside on one computer with cpu 1 , bookmark staging mechanism may reside on another computer system with a separate cpu 2 , and bookmark staging memory may reside on a third computer system with a different cpu n . computer system 100 of fig1 simply illustrates many of the salient features of the invention , without limitation regarding the physical location of processor 110 or memory locations within memory 120 . bus 160 serves to transmit programs , data , status and other forms of information or signals between the various components of system 100 . the preferred embodiment for bus 160 is any suitable physical or logical means of connecting computer systems and components known to those skilled in the art . this includes , but is not limited to , direct hard - wired connections , internet connections , intranet connections , fiber optics , infrared ( ir ) and other forms of wireless connections . it is anticipated that many alternative methods and material for connecting computer systems and components will be readily adapted for use with the present invention . this would include those methods and materials not presently known but developed in the future . terminal interface 150 allows human users to communicate with system 100 . auxiliary storage interface 140 represents any method of interfacing a storage apparatus to a computer system known to those skilled in the art . auxiliary storage interface 140 allows auxiliary storage devices such as dasd 170 to be attached to and communicate with the other components of system 100 . while only one auxiliary storage interface 140 is shown , the present invention anticipates multiple interfaces and multiple auxiliary storage devices such as dasd 170 . as shown in fig1 dasd 170 may be a floppy disk drive which is capable of reading and writing programs or data on disk 180 . dasd 170 may also be any other type of dasd known to those skilled in the art . this would include floppy disk drives , cd - rom drives , hard disk drives , optical drives , etc . disk 180 represents the corresponding storage medium used with dasd 170 . as such , disk 180 can comprise a typical 3 . 5 inch magnetic media disk , an optical disk , a magnetic tape or any other type of storage medium . it is important to note that while the present invention has been ( and will continue to be ) described in the context of a fully functional computer system , those skilled in the art will appreciate that the mechanisms of the present invention are capable of being distributed as a program product in a variety of forms , and that the present invention applies equally regardless of a particular type of signal bearing media used to actually carry out the distribution . examples of signal bearing media include recordable type media such as floppy disks , cd - roms and transmission type media such as digital and analog communication links including wireless communications . obviously , system 100 will typically include additional components such as a mouse , a keyboard , a network interface , a modem , etc . that allow system 100 to connect to various computer networks and allow the user of system 100 to communicate over a network connection to a network . the use and operability of these various components are well known to those skilled in the art and , accordingly , are not addressed herein . referring now to fig2 a web browser window 200 incorporates a bookmark staging area 220 in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention . bookmark staging area 220 includes a series of staged bookmarks 225 and a scroll bar 229 . each staged bookmark 225 includes icon portion 226 and a url portion 227 . each icon portion 226 is a pictorial representation or “ thumbnail ” of a staged bookmark 225 which has been placed into bookmark staging area 220 by bookmark staging mechanism 123 as directed by the user . each url portion 227 is the url for the corresponding icon portion 226 . scrollbar 229 is provided to navigate through bookmark staging area 220 when the number of staged bookmarks 225 exceed the display limits of bookmark staging area 220 . scrollbar 229 works in a fashion similar to other window scroll bars provided in other gui environments . it is important to note that although a url portion 227 is shown for each icon portion 226 , bookmark staging mechanism 123 may be implemented to display the url portions 227 only upon demand or by a specific user action such as placing the cursor over a given icon portion 226 . alternatively , bookmark staging mechanism 123 may be configured to display the html title of the bookmarked www page . various combinations of these url and title display features will be user - configurable options in the most preferred embodiments of the present inventions . while web browser window 200 has been used to explain one preferred embodiment of the present invention , those skilled in the art will recognize that many other embodiments with other types of interface elements may be used to provide the same or similar functionality as web browser window 200 . referring now to fig3 a block diagram representation of one preferred embodiment of bookmark staging memory 124 is illustrated . as shown in fig3 each staged bookmark 225 in bookmark staging area 220 is represented by a bookmark record 310 . each bookmark record 310 contains a series of fields which describe certain characteristics regarding each staged bookmark 225 . these characteristics include information such as the url of the bookmark , the parent url or url that was viewed just prior to the staged bookmark represented by the record , time of day the staged bookmark was added to bookmark staging area 220 , total amount of time that the web browser user has spent viewing the url , the title of the page represented by the url , and the icon for the web page represented by the url . the parent url field provides a link to the url or world wide web page that led to the current world wide web page . bookmark staging mechanism 123 can timestamp and update the appropriate fields in records 310 by using the system clock for system 100 . while one specific embodiment of records 310 used to store information regarding the bookmarks 225 stored in bookmark staging memory 124 has been described in conjunction with fig3 those skilled in the art will recognize that many variations are possible . any suitable memory structure known to those skilled in the art will suffice to store and manage staged bookmarks 225 . obviously , other types of information may be included in a given record 310 if desired . referring now to fig4 a pop - up menu 400 which provides access to the various features of bookmark staging mechanism 123 is illustrated . as is well known to those skilled in the art , a pop - up menu can be implemented in a gui environment . in this case , the web browser user may click and hold the right mouse button on a two - button mouse to invoke pop - up menu 400 . as shown in fig4 pop - up menu 400 allows a user to add a bookmark to staging area 220 , quickly and easily promote or delete staged bookmarks and save the staged bookmarks for later access . while various functions of bookmark staging mechanism 123 are illustrated by an implementation of pop - up menu 400 , those skilled in the art will understand that the same functions can be easily implemented in other ways such as pull down menus or click and drag operations . in the most preferred embodiments of the present invention , the functions of bookmark staging mechanism 123 will be accessible via pull - down menus , pop - up menus , and click and drag operations . it should be noted that bookmark staging mechanism 123 may also have more functions than those shown in pop - up menu 400 . specifically , the most preferred embodiments of bookmark staging mechanism 123 provides for the implementation of at least the following functions : click or drag on a web site url to add it to bookmark staging area 220 ; display a series of staged bookmarks 225 in bookmark staging area 220 ; delete any or all staged bookmarks that are no longer considered relevant ; update a staged bookmark with a more relevant choice by dragging a new bookmark into bookmark staging area 220 and placing it over an existing bookmark , thereby replacing the existing staged bookmark 225 with a new staged bookmark 225 ; select several sites within bookmark staging area 220 and promote all staged bookmarks 225 to an existing or new folder with a single click ; click on the icon portion 226 of a staged bookmark 225 to view the full window of the site ; and view the title of a site represented by a staged bookmark 225 . this list of features should not be considered exclusive or exhaustive , but is presented to clearly identify several key features that are implemented in bookmark staging mechanism 123 . referring now to fig5 a general method 500 for implementing the functionality of bookmark staging mechanism 123 is illustrated . according to the preferred embodiments of the present invention , bookmark staging mechanism 123 can be incorporated into any web browser such as web browser 122 . when web browser 122 is launched , bookmark staging mechanism 123 will be started ( step 510 ). first , bookmark staging mechanism 123 will retrieve the profile of the user using web browser 122 ( step 515 ). the user profile can be stored in memory 120 and retrieved based on log - in parameters , network identifiers , or other identification techniques well known to those skilled in the art . after obtaining the user profile , bookmark staging mechanism 123 will retrieve any previously staged bookmarks , if they exist ( step 520 ). it is important to note that bookmark staging mechanism 123 can save staged bookmarks between browsing sessions and match previously staged bookmarks to the appropriate user by examining the user profile information obtained in step 515 . after retrieving any previously staged bookmarks , bookmark staging mechanism 123 will enter main event loop 580 for web browser 122 and will perform the various bookmark staging update and storage routines of bookmark staging mechanism 123 ( step 525 ). the various capabilities and functionality of bookmark staging mechanism 123 have been introduced above and will be described in more detail in fig6 below . bookmark staging mechanism 123 will remain operational until the web browser user decides to quit web browser 122 ( step 540 = yes ). as long as the user continues to use web browser 122 ( step 540 = no ), bookmark staging mechanism 123 will remain active and web browser 122 will cycle through the step contained within main event loop 580 . as part of this process , bookmark staging mechanism 123 will sort the staged bookmarks according to the user &# 39 ; s preferences ( step 530 ). step 530 is explained in more detail in fig7 below . standard processing ( step 535 ) refers to all of the standard functions associated with web browser 122 such as scrolling , window updating , searching for new urls , etc . when the web browser user is going to quit web browser 122 ( step 540 = yes ), bookmark staging mechanism 123 will check bookmark staging area 220 to determine whether or not any changes have been made to staged bookmarks 225 ( step 550 ). if the user has made any changes , such as promoting bookmarks , replacing staged bookmarks , etc . ( step 550 = yes ), then bookmark staging mechanism 123 will issue a warning to the user ( step 555 ). this warning will alert the user that changes have been made and that the changes will be lost if the user does not save the staging area . the user can opt to save the altered staging area 220 ( step 560 = yes ) in which case bookmark staging mechanism 123 will save the changes out to memory 120 . alternatively , the user may choose to discard the changes in which case the changes will not be saved and bookmark staging mechanism 123 will end ( step 570 ). similarly , if no changes have been made to bookmark staging area 220 ( step 550 = no ), then bookmark staging mechanism 123 will simply end when the user quits web browser 122 ( step 570 ). referring now to fig6 step 525 from fig5 is explained in greater detail . as shown in fig6 bookmark staging mechanism 123 repeatedly performs a series of checks to monitor changes to bookmark staging area 220 based on the actions of the user of the web browser . first , bookmark staging mechanism 123 will determine if the user has selected a url for viewing ( step 610 ). if the user has selected a url ( step 610 = yes ), then the web browser will retrieve the page associated with the url ( step 611 ). bookmark staging mechanism 123 will highlight previously - visited urls in one specific color ( step 612 ) and highlight any urls which are already permanent urls in yet another color ( step 613 ). these two steps will allow the user of web browser 122 to know that these highlighted urls have already been visited and will allow the user to make better decisions about which urls to bookmark and will also help to prevent redundant bookmarks . if a selected url is to be added to bookmark staging area 220 ( step 620 = yes ), then bookmark staging mechanism 123 will create a new staging structure or record 310 in memory 120 ( step 621 ), create an icon to represent the selected url ( step 622 ), and add the icon to staging area 220 with the icons sorted according to a user - selectable criteria or sorting preference ( step 623 ). the method for implementing the user - selectable sorting methodology is explained in conjunction with fig7 below . at some point during the browsing session , the user of the web browser may decide to promote one or more of the staged bookmarks to the regular bookmark menu ( step 630 = yes ). as is well known to those skilled in the art , bookmarks are typically stored in folders with related bookmarks being stored in the same folder . given this option , many users prefer to arrange and organize their bookmarks in this fashion . as shown in fig6 bookmark staging mechanism 123 will display a bookmark folder list ( step 631 ), allowing the web browser user to select an existing folder in which to place the promoted bookmarks . the user may optionally decide to create a new folder for the promoted bookmarks ( step 632 ). in any event , the user will then select the appropriate folder for the bookmarks and add the url ( s ) to the selected folder ( step 633 ). after the url has been added to the appropriate folder , the urls are removed from bookmark staging area 220 and the associated record 310 in memory 120 is deleted ( step 634 ). if the user drags a url to bookmark staging area 220 ( step 635 = yes ), then this is interpreted by bookmark staging mechanism 123 that the url is to become a staged bookmark 225 . further , bookmark staging mechanism will check to see if the new url to be added to bookmark staging area 220 is being placed onto or dropped onto an existing staged bookmark 225 ( step 640 ). if it is ( step 640 = yes ), then bookmark staging mechanism will create a new staging structure or record 310 in memory 120 ( step 641 ), create an icon to represent the selected url ( step 642 ), and replace the existing url ( step 643 ). if the new url is not placed onto an existing url then bookmark staging mechanism will create a new staging structure or record 310 in memory 120 ( step 644 ), create an icon to represent the selected url ( step 645 ), and add the icon to staging area 220 with the icons sorted according to a user - selectable criteria or sorting preference ( step 646 ). finally , bookmark staging mechanism 123 will monitor the position of the cursor relative to staged bookmarks 225 in bookmark staging area 220 ( step 650 ). if the user positions the cursor over a staged bookmark 225 in bookmark staging area 220 ( step 650 = yes ), them bookmark staging mechanism 123 will display the title of the web page associated with the icon beneath the cursor ( step 651 ). this will allow the user to quickly and easily identify the various staged bookmarks 225 and return to staged bookmarks 225 that are stored in bookmark staging area 220 . as previously noted , depending on the user - configurable options , the url of a given staged bookmark 225 could be displayed at step 651 instead of the title . it should be noted that if the web browser user is not performing any of the actions depicted in fig6 ( steps 610 , 620 , 630 , 635 and 650 = no ), then bookmark staging mechanism 123 will cycle through the other steps shown in event loop 580 of fig5 . this includes determining if the user is going to quit web browser 122 ( step 540 of fig5 ) and standard processing ( step 535 of fig5 ). as shown in fig5 and 6 , using event loop 580 , bookmark staging mechanism 123 will return to step 525 and continue to process bookmarks in accordance with the event loop depicted in fig6 until the user decides to quit web browser 122 ( step 540 = yes ). in addition , steps 621 , 641 , and 644 all produce a timestamp which is entered into the appropriate record 310 in memory 120 for the selected url . referring now to fig7 method step 530 of fig5 is further illustrated and explained . as shown in fig7 staged bookmarks can be sorted by time added ( step 705 ), total time viewed ( step 720 ), or by parent url ( step 740 ). even if no special sorting procedure is requested by the web browser user ( step 705 , 720 , and 740 = no ), bookmark staging mechanism 123 will still continually update the viewing time of the appropriate filed in record 310 ( step 760 ) as part of completing step 530 in main event loop 580 as depicted in fig5 . if the web browser specifies a specific sort , then bookmark staging mechanism 123 will set the current sort to the specified criteria ( steps 710 , 725 , or 745 ) and sort the urls accordingly ( steps 715 , 735 , or 750 ) and update the viewing time for the appropriate bookmark . those skilled in the art will readily recognize that the sorting criteria shown in fig7 are not exhaustive and that other sorting criteria may be added as desired . referring now to fig8 step 760 of fig7 is explained and illustrated in greater detail . in order to update the viewing time , it is necessary for the system to determine when a user is idle and whether or not the user is viewing a url that is maintained in bookmark staging area 220 . as shown in fig8 bookmark staging mechanism 123 will first determine if the user is idle ( step 820 ). the methodology for making this determination is explained in conjunction with fig9 below . if the user is not idle ( step 820 = no ), bookmark staging mechanism 124 will next check to see if the current url is already located in bookmark staging area 220 ( step 830 ). this can be determined by examining all records 310 contained in bookmark staging memory 124 . if the current url is in bookmark staging area 220 ( step 830 = yes ), then the view time of the staged url will be updated in the appropriate record 310 in bookmark staging memory 124 . in either case , if the user is idle ( step 820 = yes ); or if the user is idle and the current url is not in staging area 820 ( steps 820 and 830 both = no ), then the system will return and continue processing in main event loop 580 of fig5 . referring now to fig9 the method steps for step 820 of fig8 are shown . as shown in fig9 if there is no interaction between the viewer and web browser 122 , the system will need to determine if the user is idle . in this case , bookmark staging mechanism 123 will check to see if the system has been idle long enough to reach the predetermined idle threshold set in the system . this procedure is accomplished by obtaining the current system time from the system , subtracting the last user interaction time from the current time and comparing the result with the predetermined idle threshold time ( step 920 ). if the idle time is greater than the predetermined idle threshold time ( step 920 = yes ), then bookmark staging mechanism will return a value of true to method 800 in step 820 . alternatively , if the idle time has not exceeded the idle threshold time ( step 920 = no ), then bookmark staging mechanism will return a value of false to method 800 in step 820 . those skilled in the art will recognize that the idle threshold time can be set at whatever level is appropriate for a given system . referring now to fig1 , method steps 623 and 646 of fig6 are explained and illustrated in greater detail . as shown in fig1 , if a selected url is already a staged bookmark in bookmark staging area 220 , the url will not be added again to bookmark staging area 220 . instead , the selected url will simply be highlighted . although some existing web browsers provide for the automatic continual caching of recently visited web pages in a first - in - first - out manner , no known web browser provides for the selective addition of bookmarks to a staging area and overall control of the contents of the staging area , based on user input . in addition , no web browser provides for a graphical iconic display of staged bookmarks with the ability to sort the staged bookmarks based on user preference and optionally display information regarding the staged bookmarks such as title , parent url , time the staged bookmark was added to the staging area , total time the web page has been viewed , etc . these features , and the other features described above , provide a level of functionality that will enable web browser user to more effectively manage and utilize the bookmark capabilities of any web browser . while the invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to preferred exemplary embodiments thereof , it will be understood by those skilled in the art hat various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the scope of the invention . | 6 |
an embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings . fig1 is a diagram depicting the concept of the present embodiment . the concept of the present embodiment will be described first with reference to fig1 . as fig1 ( a ) shows , in the present embodiment , a plurality of storage devices , where the attribute level of at least one of reliability and performance is different , coexist . in the plurality of storage devices , one or more fiber channel disk devices ( hereafter “ fc disk device ”) 201 , which are high reliability high performance disk devices , for example , are included as storage devices with a high attribute level . also as a storage device with a low attribute level , one or more serial ata disk devices ( hereafter “ sata disk device ”) 203 , which have a low reliability low performance but which are less expensive than the fc disk device 201 , are included . in the present embodiment , “ reliability ” refers to durability which can hold data without damage and to probability of failure which may occur , and specifically to mtbf ( mean time between failure ). “ performance ” refers to the value of the data transfer rate and the speed of response . a plurality of logical units ( hereafter - lu ) are disposed on one or more fc disk devices 201 and on one or more sata disk devices 203 . each lu is comprised of a plurality of same sized sub - lus ( hereafter called chunks ). and hereafter the lu 205 disposed on the fc disk device 201 is called “ fc - lu ”, and the lu 207 disposed on the sata disk device 203 is called “ sata - lu ”. the chunk constituting the fc - lu 205 is called “ fc - chunk ”, and the chunk constituting the fc - lu 206 is called “ sata - chunk ”. in fig1 , the fc - chunk is indicated by a blank frame , and the sata - chunk is indicated by a hatched frame . in the present embodiment , one virtual lu is comprised of one or more lus . a virtual lu is also called a “ logical volume ”. in the present embodiment , a virtual lu is either a primary volume ( hereafter pvol ) 204 or a secondary volume ( hereafter svol ) 206 , for example . the pvol 204 is comprised of one or more fc - lus 205 . the svol 206 , on the other hand , may be comprised of only one or more fc - lus 205 or only one or more sata - lus 207 , or a combination of fc - lu 205 and sata - lu 207 . hereafter the fc - lu 205 constituting the pvol 204 is called the “ pvol - fc - lu 205 ”, and the fc - chunk constituting the pvol 204 is called the “ pvol - fc - chunk ”. the fc - lu 205 constituting the svol 206 is called the “ svol - fc - lu 205 ”, the sata - lu 207 constituting the svol 206 is called the “ svol - sata - lu - 207 ”, the fc - chunk constituting the svol 206 is called the “ svol - fc - chunk ”, and the sata - chunk constituting the svol 206 is called the “ svol - sata - chunk ”. the svol - fc - chunk and the svol - sata - chunk may commonly be called the “ svol - chunk ”. in the present embodiment , the storage control program can perform management by duplicating of pvol 204 and svol 206 , and in this case , when the data from the host device is written to the pvol 204 , for example , the same data can be written to the svol 206 . specifically , in the storage control system , the pvol - fc - chunk and the svol - fc - chunk or the svol - sata - chunk are duplicated and managed , and when sub - data ( one composing element of data ) is written to a pvol - fc - chunk , the same sub - data is also written to the duplicated svol - fc - chunk or svol - sata - chunk . hereafter storing the same data to the pvol 204 and the svol 206 is called “ mirroring ”, a pair of pvol 204 and svol 206 is called a “ volume pair ”, and a pair of pvol - fc - chunk and svol - fc - chunk or svol - sata - chunk is called a “ chunk pair ”. in the present embodiment , other than the pvol - fc - chunk , svol - fc - chunk and svol - sata - chunk , a pool chunk group 208 , comprised of a plurality of pool chunks which belong to neither pvol 204 nor svol 206 , exists . the plurality of pool chunks constituting the pool chunk group 208 includes a “ pool - fc - chunk ” which is an fc - chunk , and a “ pool - sata - chunk ” which is an sata - chunk . the storage control system selects a pool chunk from the pool chunk group 208 , allocates it to an svol - chunk , copies the sub - data in the svol - chunk to the selected pool chunk , sets the pool chunk as svol - chunk , and sets the svol - chunk , which is the copy source of the sub - data , as a pool chunk , so as to exchange the pool chunk and svol - chunk . allocation of pool chunks to the svol - chunk can be determined depending on variety of policy , for example , the update frequency of sub - data in the pvol - chunk which is chunk pair partner of the svol - chunk . specifically , in the case when the pvol - fc - chunk “# 2 ” and svol - fc - chunk “ 2 ” form a chunk pair , as shown in fig1 ( a ), for example , if it is detected that the update frequency of the sub - data in the pvol - fc - chunk “# 2 ” is lower than a predetermined threshold , the storage control system selects a pool sata - chunk ( e . g . # 51 ”) from the pool chunk group 208 , and copies the sub - data b in the svol - fc - chunk “# 2 ” to the selected pool sata - chunk “# 51 ”. and , as shown in fig1 ( b ), the storage control system sets the pool sata - chunk “# 51 ” as svol - fc - chunk “# 51 ” instead of svol - fc chunk “# 2 ”, and sets the svol - fc - chunk “# 2 ” as the pool sata - chunk “# 2 ” instead of the pool sata - chunk “# 51 ”. in this way , if it is detected that the chunk pair partner of pvol - fc - chunk , of which update frequency of the sub - data is lower than the predetermined threshold , is the svol - fc - chunk , then the chunk pair partner of the pvol - fc - chunk is switched from the svol - fc - chunk to the pool sata - chunk ( after swap , the pool sata - chunk becomes the svol - sata - chunk ). also , in the case when pvol - fc - chunk “# 8 ” and svol - sata - chunk “# 4 ” form a chunk pair , as shown in fig1 ( a ), for example , if it is detected that the update frequency of the sub - data in pvol - fc - chunk “# 8 ” is higher than the predetermined threshold , the storage control system selects the pool fc - chunk ( e . g . “# 53 ”) from the pool chunk group 208 , and copies the sub - data h in the svol - sata - chunk “# 4 ” to the selected pool fc - chunk “# 53 ”. and the storage control system sets the pool fc - chunk “# 53 ” as svol - fc - chunk “# 53 ” instead of svol - sata - chunk “# 4 ”, and sets the svol - sata - chunk “# 4 ” as the pool sata - chunk “# 4 ” instead of the pool fc - chunk “# 53 ”. in this way , when it is detected that the chunk pair partner of the pvol - fc - chunk , of which the update frequency of the sub - data is higher than the predetermined threshold , is the svol - sata chunk , then the chunk pair partner of the pvol - fc - chunk is switched from the svol - sata - chunk to the pool fc - chunk ( after swap , the pool fc - chunk becomes the svol - fc - chunk ). the above is the description on the concept of the present embodiment . in the description herein below , it is assumed that one or more fc - lus 205 constituting the pvol 204 and one or more fc - lus 205 and sata - lu 207 constituting the svol 206 exist in a same storage control system , but these may be distributed in a plurality of systems . fig2 shows a configuration example of the storage control system according to the present embodiment . the storage control system 200 is comprised of one or more fiber channel interface devices ( hereafter fiber i / f ) 290 a and 290 b ( this is not limited to an fc interface device , but may be another interface device ). for example , a host device 100 , such as a personal computer , may be connected to the fiber i / f 290 a , and a backup server 400 having a tape device ( e . g . magnetic tape recording device ) 500 may be connected to the fiber i / f 290 b . the backup server 400 reads data in the svol 206 via the fiber i / f 290 b , and writes the data to the tape device 500 . if the data in the svol 206 is updated during backup , data consistency is lost , so the storage control system 200 does not allow backup by the backup server 400 during mirroring . a case of when backup is allowed , for example , is allowing a data update from the host device 100 to the pvol 204 , but not to the svol 206 , which is a non - mirroring status . the storage control system 200 comprises a management interface ( hereafter management i / f ) 240 , such as a lan controller , for example . a management terminal 600 , for managing the storage control system 200 , is connected to the management i / f 240 . the storage control system 200 is comprised of a plurality of disk devices 201 and 203 , a disk controller 250 for controlling the plurality of disk devices 201 and 203 , a cache memory 230 for temporarily storing data to be exchanged between an external device ( e . g . host device 100 ) and the disk devices 201 and 203 , a cpu 210 for controlling operation of the storage control system 200 , and a control memory 220 for storing a computer program to be read by the cpu 210 and such control information as a table which is referred to by the cpu 210 . the plurality of disk devices 201 and 203 include one or more fc disk devices 201 and one or more sata disk device 203 . the one or more fc disk devices 201 has a plurality of fc - lus 205 , as mentioned above . each fc - lu 205 can be a composing element of the pvol 204 or can be a composing element of the svol 206 . the one or more sata disk devices 203 , on the other hand , has one or more sata - lus 207 , as mentioned above . the sata - lu 207 can be a composing element of the svol 206 . in the illustrated example , one fc - lu 205 constitutes the pvol 204 , and one fc - lu 205 and one sata - lu 207 constitute the svol 206 . in the control memory 220 , a basic control program 301 , volume copy acquisition program 302 , update frequency threshold swap program 303 , disk usage ratio swap program 304 , failure swap program 305 , volume copy lu registration table 309 , volume copy management table 308 , setup value table 307 , failure handling volume copy management table 306 and lu management table 911 are stored . the basic control program 301 is a computer program for controlling the basic operation of the storage control system 200 . for example , the basic control program 301 reads data from the lu 205 and 206 a or 206 b according to the i / o request from the host device 100 , and sends it to the host device 100 via the cache memory 230 , or stores the data included in the i / o request in the first lu 205 . the volume copy acquisition program 302 is a computer program for executing volume copy acquisition . the update frequency threshold swap program 303 selects the type of chunk ( in other words , either pool fc - chunk or pool sata - chunk ) to be the data swap partner of the svol - chunk corresponded to the pvol - fc chunk , based on whether the update frequency of the pvol - fc chunk is over the predetermined update frequency threshold . the disk usage ratio swap program 304 selects the type of chunk ( in other words , either pool fc - chunk or pool sata - chunk ) to be the copy destination of the sub - data of the svol - chunk , based on whether the ratio of the svol - fc - chunk ( or svol - sata - chunk ) in the svol 206 is over the predetermined ratio . the failure swap program 305 switches the svol - fc - chunk corresponding to the pvol - fc - chunk to the pvol - fc chunk when a failure occurs to the pvol 204 ( e . g . when the fc disk device having the pvol - fc - lu is damaged ). when failure occurs to the pvol 204 and if the svol - sata - chunk corresponding to the pvol - fc - chunk exists in the svol 207 , the failure swap program 305 moves the sub - data in the svol - sata - chunk to the pool fc - chunk selected from the pool chunk group 208 , and switches the pool fc - chunk to the pvol - fc - chunk . in this way , when failure occurs to the pvol 204 , the failure swap program 305 constructs a new pvol by the svol - fc - chunk corresponding to the pvol - fc - chunk and the pool fc - chunk allocated to the svol - sata - chunk corresponding to the pvol - fc - chunk . now each table 309 - 306 and 911 , which are stored in the control memory 220 , will be described with reference to fig3 to fig6 . fig3 shows a configuration example of the volume copy lu registration table 309 . the volume copy lu registration table 309 is a table where the information on a plurality of lus in the storage control system 200 is registered . specifically , in the volume copy lu registration table 309 , a pair number , external lu number , internal lu number , lu capacity , disk type , pvol / svol information and access attribute are registered for each of the plurality of lus . the external lu number is an lu number received from an external device , such as a host device . when two or more lus are provided to the external device as one logical volume , the external lu number becomes a same number for these two or more lus . in the case of this example , if “ 2 ” is specified from the external device as an lu number , the lu with the internal lu number “ 2 ” and the lu with the internal lu number “ 3 ” are provided to the external device as one svol 206 . the internal lu number is an lu number which the storage control system 200 recognizes and manages . in this embodiment , the lu with the internal lu number “ 1 ”, for example , is pvol - fc - lu 205 , and the lu with the internal lu number “ 2 ” is svol - fc - lu 205 , and the lu with the internal lu number “ 3 ” is svol - sata - lu 207 . the disk type is a type of disk device which has the corresponding lu ( e . g . interface ). specifically , a disk type indicates either an fc disk device or an sata disk device . pvol / svol information is information to indicate whether the corresponding lu constitutes a pvol or an svol . the access attribute is information to indicate what kind of access is enabled to the corresponding lu . for example , “ r / w enable ” indicates that both read and write are enabled , “ r only ” indicates that read is enabled but that write is disabled , “ w only ” indicates that write is enabled but that read is disabled , and “ r / w disable ”, which is not shown in the drawing , indicates that both read and write are disabled . various types can be used for the access attribute . fig1 shows a configuration example of the lu management table 911 . in the lu management table 911 , a plurality of lu information items , corresponding to the plurality of lus existing in the storage control system 200 respectively , is registered . the lu information includes such lu information elements as the internal lu # ( number ), lu capacity , disk type , selectability information and pool chunk #. here the selectability information is information that indicates if the lu can be selected or not when a volume copy pair is being set (“ volume copy ” is a stored image of data at a certain point of time ). the pool chunk # is a number assigned to a chunk for which the kind of chunk and how the chunk will be used is not defined , and which can be dynamically allocated ( therefore it is a pool chunk ). fig4 is a configuration example of a volume copy management table . the volume copy management table 308 is a table for managing original data and information on volume copy . the volume copy management table 308 is largely divided into a left column , middle column and right column . in the left column , information on pvol 204 , which stores original data , is registered . specifically , in the left column , the lu #, chunk # and update frequency , for example , are registered for each chunk constituting the pvol 204 . the lu # is an internal lu number of an lu which has a corresponding chunk , and is registered as a pvol . the chunk # is a serial number of the chunk assigned within an lu . for example , the minimum value of a chunk # is 1 , and the maximum value of a chunk # is a value of the quotient obtained when the lu capacity of an lu having a corresponding chunk is divided by the chunk size ( the quotient is rounded up if a remainder is generated ). the update frequency is a number of times when the sub - data stored in the corresponding chunk is updated , and the initial value is 0 . the update frequency is incremented or reset by the cpu 210 , for example . in the middle column , information on an svol 206 for storing the volume copy is registered . specifically , in the middle column , a disk type , lu # and chunk #, for example , are registered for each chunk constituting an svol 206 . the disk type is a type of disk device ( e . g . interface type ) which has an lu having a corresponding chunk . the lu # is an internal lu number of an lu which has a corresponding chunk , and is registered as an svol . the chunk # is a serial number of the chunk assigned within the lu . each row in this middle column corresponds to each row of the left column . in other words , information on a pvol - fc - chunk is registered in the rows of the left column , and in each row of the middle column , information on an svol - chunk ( specifically , either an svol - fc - chunk or an svol - sata - chunk ) is registered . in the right column , information on a swap partner chunk is registered . here “ swap partner chunk ” is a chunk to be the swap destination ( in other words the shift destination ) of the sub - data in the corresponding svol - chunk . in this right column , the disk type , lu # and chunk # are registered for each swap partner chunk . as a swap partner chunk , a pool chunk , which has not yet been decided how to be used as a chunk , can be allocated . a blank means that an svol - chunk has no swap partner chunk . the cpu 210 refers to this volume copy management table 308 , and can identify the following . for example , the cpu 210 can identify that an fc - chunk with lu # “ 2 ” and chunk # “ 1 ” is corresponded to the pvol - fc - chunk with lu # “ 1 ” and chunk # “ 1 ” as an svol chunk . and the cpu 210 can also identify that a pool sata - chunk with lu # “ 3 ’ and chunk # “ 5 ” is corresponded to the svol - chunk as the swap partner chunk . the above is a configuration example of the volume copy management table 308 . in the volume copy management table 308 , a plurality of svol - chunks may be corresponded to one pvol - fc - chunk , or a plurality of swap partner chunks may be corresponded to one svol - chunk . fig5 shows a configuration example of the setup value table 307 . in the setup value table 307 , information can be input and registered from the management terminal 600 , for example . the chunk size , swap period , update frequency threshold and disk ratio threshold , for example , are registered in the setup value table 307 . the chunk size is a value for driving an lu into a certain number of byte units to be chunks . the swap period is a value for indicating the schedule to swap the data stored in an svol - chunk with a pool fc - chunk or pool sata - chunk , based on the update frequency threshold or disk ratio threshold ( e . g . “ weekly ” if this is to be done once every week ). the update frequency threshold is a threshold for deciding whether the sub - data in an svol - chunk corresponding to a pvol - fc - chunk is stored in a pool chunk . this update frequency threshold is a value to be compared with the number of times sub - data in a pvol - fc - chunk was updated during the above mentioned swap period ( that is , the update frequency recorded in the volume copy management table 308 ) by the write command from an external device . the disk ratio threshold is a threshold of the ratio of the storage capacity created by one or more svol - fc - chunks ( hereafter svol - fc storage capacity ) in an entire svol 206 . specifically , if the disk ratio threshold is “ 0 . 3 ”, for example , the svol - fc storage capacity is 0 . 3 ( that is 30 %) in an entire svol 206 , which means that the storage capacity created by one or more svol - sata - chunks ( hereafter svol - sata storage capacity ) is the remaining 0 . 7 ( that is 70 %) in an entire svol 206 . a plurality of setup value tables corresponding to the plurality of pair numbers ( that is a plurality of volume pairs ) may be provided . in this case , the cpu 210 of the storage control system 200 may perform management referring to the setup value tables corresponding to each pair number . this increases flexibility of management . fig6 shows a configuration example of a failure handling volume copy management table . the failure handling volume copy management table 306 is a table for managing which fc - chunk , corresponding to each pvol - fc chunk in a pvol 204 , is switched to a pvol - fc - chunk when a failure occurred to the pvol 204 . the failure handling volume copy management table 306 is largely divided into a left column , middle column and right column , just like the volume copy management table 308 . the left column has the same configuration of the left column of the volume copy management table 308 , except that the update frequency is not registered in this case . the middle column has the same configuration as the middle column of the volume copy management table 308 . in the right column , information on the failure handling shift destination chunk is registered . here “ failure handling shift destination chunk ” is a chunk selected from the pool chunk group 208 as a shift destination of the sub - data in an svol - chunk . in the right column , the disk type , lu # and chunk # are registered for each failure handling shift destination chunk . as fig6 shows , the failure handling shift destination chunk is an fc - chunk in the present embodiment , and the svol - chunk corresponded to the failure handling shift destination chunk is an svol - sata chunk . by this , when a failure occurs in a pvol 204 , and if a copy of the sub - data in the pvol - fc - chunk exists in the svol - sata - chunk , the sub - data in the svol - sata - chunk is shifted to the fc - chunk corresponded to the svol - sata - chunk ( that is , an open chunk on the fc disk device , which is a high reliability high performance disk device ). a blank indicates that a failure handling shift destination chunk in an svol - chunk is not corresponded . the above is the description on each table 309 - 306 and 911 which are stored in the control memory 220 . now the processing flow to be executed in the present embodiment will be described below with reference to the above mentioned tables 309 - 306 and 911 . fig7 shows a processing flow to be executed by the volume copy acquisition program 302 which is read by the cpu 210 . the volume copy acquisition program 302 sets a pair of volume copy ( step s 1 ). in this case , information is registered in the volume copy lu registration table 309 according to the flow shown in fig1 , for example . for example , the volume copy acquisition program 302 displays the copy pair setup screen 912 on the display screen of the management terminal 600 . the lu # ( internal lu number ) of the pvol - lu constituting the pvol 204 and the lu # of a plurality of svol - lus ( one or more fc - lu and one or more sata - lu ) constituting the svol are input in the copy pair setup screen 912 . when pvol - fc - lu ( fc - lu constituting the pvol 204 ), svol - fc - lu ( fc - lu constituting the svol 206 ) and svol - sata - lu ( sata - lu constituting the svol 206 ) are selected from the plurality of lus not registered in the volume copy lu registration table 309 ( in other words , lus which are selectable in the lu management table 911 ), the respective lu # s are input in this copy pair setup screen 912 , and the volume copy acquisition program 302 writes each lu # which was input to the volume copy lu registration table 309 . the volume copy acquisition program 302 also acquires other lu information elements ( e . g . disk type ) corresponding to the lu #, which was input , from the lu management table 911 , and writes the acquired lu information elements to the volume copy lu registration table 309 . for example , if the internal lu # “ 1 ” is input as the pvol - fc - lu , the internal lu # “ 2 ” is input as the svol - fc - lu , and the internal lu # “ 3 ” is input as the svol - sata - lu , then in the lu management table 911 , the volume copy acquisition program 302 switches the selectability information corresponding to each internal lu # “ 1 ”-“ 3 ” from selectable to unselectable , and constructs the volume copy lu registration table 309 shown in fig3 . now s 2 and later processing will be described with reference again to fig7 . the volume copy acquisition program 302 receives input of the values of the setup value table 307 from the user via the management terminal 600 , for example . when various values ( that is chunk size , swap period , update frequency threshold and disk ratio threshold ) are input , the volume copy acquisition program 302 registers the values , that were input , in the setup value table 307 ( s 2 ). then the volume copy acquisition program 302 registers the pvol - fc - chunk in the volume copy management table 308 ( s 3 ). a specific example of this processing will be described with reference to fig1 ( a ). for example , the volume copy acquisition program 302 calculates the number of chunks based on the lu capacity and the chunk size registered in the setup value table 307 , for the pvol - fc - lu which is set in the volume copy lu registration table 309 . and the volume copy acquisition program 302 assigns the chunk # as a serial number to the calculated number of chunks respectively , and registers the assigned chunk # and the lu # of the pvol - fc - lu thereof in the volume copy lu registration table 309 . the volume copy acquisition program 302 inputs “ 0 ” to the update frequency of each pvol - fc - chunk as an initial value . when data is updated by a write command from an external device , such as the host device 100 , the volume copy acquisition program 302 adds “ 1 ” to the update frequency corresponding to the pvol - fc - chunk for which data was updated . then the volume copy acquisition program 302 registers the svol - fc - chunk in the volume copy management table 308 ( s 4 ). a specific example of this processing will be described with reference to fig1 ( b ). for example , the volume copy acquisition program 302 calculates the number of chunks of the pvol - fc - lu and assigns a chunk # to each chunk in a same method as the case of registering the pvol - fc - chunk , and registers the assigned chunk # and the lu # of the svol - fc - lu thereof in the volume copy lu registration table 309 . if an svol - chunk was set for all the pvol - fc - chunks in s 4 ( y in s 5 ), the volume copy acquisition program 302 moves to s 11 without executing the later mentioned operations in s 6 - s 10 . when the svol - chunk is not set for at least one pvol - fc - chunk , and the svol - fc - chunk remains without being corresponded with the pvol - fc - chunk in s 4 ( n in s 5 and y in s 6 ), the volume copy acquisition program 302 executes the operation in s 4 for the remaining pvol - fc - chunk . when the svol - chunk is not set for at least one pvol - fc - chunk and svol - fc - chunks do not remain ( n in s 5 and n in s 6 ) in s 4 , the volume copy acquisition program 302 calculates the number of chunks for svol - sata - lu and assigns a chunk # to each chunk , just like the case of svol - fc - lu , and registers the allocated chunk # and lu # in the volume copy lu registration table 309 ( s 7 ). fig1 ( c ) shows an example of this result . when the svol - chunk is set for all the pvol - fc - chunks in s 7 ( y in s 8 ), the volume copy acquisition program 302 moves to s 11 without executing the later mentioned operations in s 9 - s 10 . when the svol - chunk is not set for at least one pvol - chunk and the svol - sata - chunk remains without being corresponded to the pvol - fc - chunk in s 7 ( n in s 8 and y in s 9 ), the volume copy acquisition program 302 returns to the beginning of s 7 . when the svol - chunk is not set for at least one pvol - fc - chunk and selectable svol - sata - chunk does not remain at s 7 ( n in s 8 and n in s 9 ), the volume copy acquisition program 302 outputs a warning , to add an lu to svol , on the management terminal 600 , for example ( s 10 ), because this means that the number of chunks of svol are insufficient . if data is stored in pvol after y in s 5 and y in s 8 , the volume copy acquisition program 302 judges the correspondence of the chunk of pvol and the chunk of svol referring to the volume copy management table 308 , and stores the sub - data in the pvol - fc - chunk and the svol - chunk corresponded thereto ( s 11 ). specifically , the volume copy acquisition program 302 duplicates the sub - data registered in the cache memory 230 , stores one sub - data on the cache memory 230 in the pvol - fc - chunk , and stores the other sub - data on the cache memory 230 in the svol - chunk corresponded to that pvol - fc - chunk . after s 11 , the volume copy acquisition program 302 sets the access attribute of each lu constituting the svol to r / w enable ( enabling both read and write ) in the volume copy lu registration table 309 at an arbitrary timing ( s 12 ). in this processing , data may be written to the pvol by random write access , or data may be written by sequential write access . in the case of random write access , for example , the volume copy acquisition program 302 receives a corresponding write command for each pvol - fc - chunk , and stores the sub - data to the pvol - fc - chunk and the svol - chunk corresponded thereto each time one write command is processed . in the case of sequential write access , for example , the volume copy acquisition program 302 receives write commands corresponding to a plurality of pvol - fc - chunks ( e . g . all the pvol - fc - chunks ), and when one write command is processed , sub - data is written to the plurality of pvol - fc - chunks and the plurality of svol - chunks corresponding thereto sequentially from a smaller chunk #. fig8 shows the processing flow to be executed by the update frequency threshold swap program 303 which is read by the cpu 210 . when the time of the swap period registered in the setup value table 307 comes ( s 21 - a ), or when the user inputs a data swap instruction via a predetermined terminal ( e . g . management terminal 600 or host device 100 ) ( s 21 - b ), the basic control program 301 starts up the update frequency threshold swap program 303 . when it is detected that the volume pair selected from one or more volume pairs ( hereafter target volume pair ( s )) are in non - mirror status , the update frequency threshold swap program 303 sets the access attribute of each lu constituting the svol of the target volume pair to update disable ( e . g . r only ) in the volume copy lu registration table 309 . when the target volume pair is in mirror status , a warning is output ( s 22 ). whether the target volume pair is non - mirror status or mirror status can be judged by referring to the pair management table 914 ( e . g . provided in the control memory 220 ) in which the status information corresponding to each pair number ( information to indicate mirror status or non - mirror status ) is registered . mirror status is a status where data is duplicated . in other words , in this status if data is updated in the pvol , the same updated data is copied to the svol ( in other words , the svol is synchronized with the pvol ). non - mirror status is a status where duplication is not being done , in other words , in this status even if data is updated in the pvol , the updated data is not written to the svol ( in other words , the svol is not synchronized with the pvol ). the update frequency threshold swap program 303 compares the update frequency of the pvol - chunk registered in the first row of the volume copy management table 308 and the update frequency threshold registered in the setup value table 307 ( s 23 ). when it is judged that the update frequency of the pvol - fc - chunk is the update frequency threshold or more ( y in s 23 ) and the svol - chunk of the chunk pair partner of the pvol - fc - chunk is an fc - chunk based on the judgment according to the volume copy management table 308 ( y in s 24 ) in s 23 , the update frequency threshold swap program 303 advances to the later mentioned s 28 . when the update frequency of the pvol - fc - chunk is the update frequency threshold or more ( y in s 23 ) and the svol - chunk corresponding to the pvol - fc - chunk is not an fc - chunk based on the judgment according to the volume copy management table 308 ( n in s 24 ) in s 23 , the update frequency threshold swap program 303 selects a pool fc - chunk from the plurality of pool chunks , and writes the chunk # and lu # of the selected pool fc - chunk to the right column ( column of the swap partner chunk ) of the volume copy management table 308 with corresponding to the svol - chunk which is not the above fc - chunk ( that is , svol - sata - chunk ) ( s 25 ). by this , for the svol - sata - chunk corresponded to the pvol - fc - chunk of which the update frequency of the sub - data is the update frequency threshold or more , the fc - chunk existing on a high reliability high performance disk device is corresponded as the data swap partner . the chunk # corresponded to the svol - sata - chunk is selected from a plurality of pool chunks , therefore it is a chunk # not registered on the volume copy management table 308 . when the update frequency of the pvol - fc - chunk is less than the update frequency threshold ( n in s 23 ) and the svol - chunk corresponding to the pvol - fc - chunk is an sata - chunk based on the judgment according to the volume copy management table 308 ( y in s 26 ) in s 23 , the update frequency threshold swap program 303 advances to the later mentioned s 28 . when the update frequency of the pvol - fc - chunk is less than the update frequency threshold ( n in s 23 ) and the svol - chunk corresponding to the pvol - fc - chunk is not an sata - chunk ( n in s 26 ) based on the judgment according to the volume copy management table 308 in s 23 , the update frequency threshold swap program 303 selects the sata - chunk from a plurality of pool chunks , and writes the chunk # and lu # of the selected sata - chunk to the right column ( column of the swap partner chunk ) of the volume copy management table 308 with corresponding to the svol - chunk which is not the above sata - chunk ( that is the svol - fc - chunk ) ( s 27 ). by this , for the svol - fc - chunk corresponded to the pvol - fc - chunk of which the update frequency of the sub - data is less than the update frequency threshold , the sata - chunk existing on a low reliability low performance but inexpensive disk device is corresponded as the data swap partner . in the case of y in s 24 , y in s 26 and a chunk existing in the swap destination ( that is , a selectable pool chunk does not exist ) in s 25 or s 27 ( n in s 28 ), the pools of chunks at the swap destination are insufficient , so the update frequency threshold swap program 303 outputs a warning , to have the svol add an lu or change the threshold , to the management terminal 600 or host device 100 , for example ( s 29 ). the later mentioned processings in s 31 - s 36 may be executed without confirming all the chunks . in this case , processing in s 22 or later may be executed after these processings . when the swap destination chunks are sufficient in s 28 ( y in s 28 ), the update frequency threshold swap program 303 judges whether the comparison processing of the update frequency and the update frequency threshold has been completed for all the pvol - fc - chunks ( s 30 ). if there is a pvol - fc - chunk for which comparison processing has not been executed in s 30 ( n in s 30 ), the update frequency threshold swap program 303 returns to s 23 , and executes the processings in s 23 - s 28 for the next pvol - fc - chunk . if it is judged that the comparison processing has been completed for all the pvol - fc - chunks in s 30 ( y in s 30 ), the update frequency threshold swap program 303 judges whether data is being read from the svol by backup so as to execute processing to swap data in the corresponding copy destination chunk to the swap destination chunk having the chunk # registered in the volume copy management table 308 ( s 31 ). when data is being read from the svol in s 31 ( y in s 31 ), the update frequency threshold swap program 303 outputs a warning to stop the reading operation , such as backup , or to stop the swap program ( s 32 ). when data is not being read from the svol in s 31 ( n in s 31 ), the update frequency threshold swap program 303 sets the access attribute of each lu constituting the svol to read disable ( e . g . r / w disabled ) ( s 33 ). after s 33 , the update frequency threshold swap program 303 shifts the sub - data in the svol - chunk having a chunk # registered in the middle column ( svol column ) to the swap destination chunk corresponded to the svol - chunk based on the volume copy management table 308 ( s 34 ). when this completes , the update frequency threshold swap program 303 overwrites the content of the swap destination chunk ( disk type , lu # and chunk #) on the content of the svol - chunk corresponding to the swap destination chunk in the volume copy management table 308 , and deletes the content of the swap destination chunk from the right column ( swap partner chunk column ) ( s 35 ). in this case , the update frequency threshold swap program 303 may register the deleted content of the swap destination chunk ( e . g . chunk #) to the lu management table 911 , for example , as a content of a pool chunk . after s 35 , the update frequency threshold swap program 303 sets the access attribute of each lu constituting the svol to read enable ( e . g . r only ) ( s 36 ). after s 36 , if processing after s 31 had been executed without performing the above comparison processing for all the pvol - fc - chunks , the update frequency threshold swap program 303 returns to s 3 , as shown by the dotted line . after s 36 , the update frequency threshold swap program 303 resets the update frequency of each v on the volume copy management table 308 to the initial value ( s 37 ). and the update frequency threshold swap program 303 sets the access attribute of each lu constituting the svol to updatable ( e . g . r / w enabled ) ( s 38 ). the above is the processing flow to be executed by the update frequency threshold swap program 303 . fig9 shows the processing flow to be executed by the disk usage ratio swap program 304 which is read by the cpu 210 . when the swap period registered in the setup value table 307 comes ( s 41 - a ), or when the user inputs a data swap instruction via a predetermined terminal ( e . g . management terminal 600 or host device 100 ) ( s 41 - b ), the basic control program 301 starts up the disk usage ratio swap program 304 . the disk usage ratio swap program 304 sets the access attribute of each lu constituting the svol of the target volume pair to update disable ( e . g . r only ) in the volume copy lu registration table 309 with the same method as s 22 in fig8 ( s 42 ). then the disk usage ratio swap program 304 sorts a plurality of rows on the volume copy management table 308 in the descending order of data update frequency ( s 43 ). hereafter the number of rows in the volume copy management table 308 is assumed to be n and the row number after the above sorting is i , and the volume copy management table 308 after the above sorting is p ( i ). the disk usage ratio swap program 304 executes the following s 44 and the later processings in the sequence of lower row number i after the sorting ( in other words , starting from the higher data update frequency ). the disk usage ratio swap program 304 selects one row number i from the plurality of row numbers after the above sorting , and compares the value i / n when the selected row number i is divided by the number of rows n and the disk ratio threshold t registered in the setup value table 307 ( s 44 ). when i / n is t or more as a result of s 44 , the disk usage ratio swap program 304 judges whether the svol - chunk corresponding to the pvol - fc - chunk with the above selected row number i is an fc - chunk or not ( s 45 ). in s 45 , if a positive judgment result is acquired ( y in s 45 ), the disk usage ratio swap program 304 executes the later mentioned processing in s 51 . if a negative judgment result is acquired in s 45 ( n in s 45 ), the disk usage ratio swap program 304 selects an fc - chunk from a plurality of pool chunks , and sets the selected fc - chunk in p ( i ) as a swap partner chunk of the above mentioned corresponded svol - chunk ( s 46 ). at this time , if a selectable fc - chunk does not exist in the plurality of pool chunks ( n in s 49 ), the disk usage ratio swap program 304 outputs a warning , to increase the selectable pool fc - chunks , to the user ( s 50 ), and if not executes s 51 ( y in s 49 ). when i / n is less than t as a result of s 44 , the disk usage ratio swap program 304 judges whether the svol - chunk corresponding to the pvol - fc - chunk with the above mentioned selected row number i is an sata - chunk or not ( s 47 ). in s 45 , if a positive judgment result is acquired ( y in s 47 ), the disk usage ratio swap program 304 executes the later mentioned processing in s 51 . if a negative judgment result is acquired in s 47 ( n in s 47 ), the disk usage ratio swap program 304 selects an sata - chunk from a plurality of pool chunks , and sets the selected sata - chunk in p ( i ) as a swap partner chunk of the above mentioned corresponded svol - chunk ( s 48 ). at this time , if a selectable sata - chunk does not exist in the plurality of pool chunks ( n in s 49 ), the disk usage ratio swap program 304 outputs a warning , to increase the selectable pool sata - chunks , to the user ( s 50 ), and if not executes s 51 ( y in s 49 ). the disk usage ratio swap program 304 executes the above mentioned processings in s 44 - s 48 for all the row numbers i ( n in s 51 ), and when this processing is completed for all the row numbers i ( y in s 51 ), the same processing as s 31 - s 38 in fig8 are executed . in the above processing flow , if the svol - chunk corresponding to the pvol - fc - chunk is not a chunk with an appropriate attribute level according to the update frequency of the sub - data in the pvol - fc - chunk , the sub - data in the svol - chunk is shifted to another chunk with an appropriate attribute level , and the ratio of the svol - fc storage capacity in svol 206 ( in other words , the ratio of the svol - sata storage capacity ) is adjusted to the disk ratio threshold t . fig1 shows the processing flow to be executed by the failure swap program 305 which is read by the cpu 210 . in the description below , to make the description simple and clear , the pvol when failure occurs is called the “ original pvol ”, the svol when failure occurs is called the “ original svol ”, and the pvol and svol created by the failure swap program are called the “ new pvol ” and the “ new svol ” respectively . also in the description below , it is assumed that a failure occurred to the original pvol , while the write data received from the host device 100 is being written to the original pvol . when a failure occurs to the original pvol ( s 61 ), the basic control program 301 detects this , and starts up the failure swap program 305 . the failure swap program 305 sets the access attribute of each lu constituting the original pvol where a failure occurred to read disable ( e . g . r / w disable ) in the volume copy lu registration table 309 ( s 62 ). the failure swap program 305 saves the write data from the host device 100 to the original pvol in the cache memory 230 or in another lu ( s 63 ). then the failure swap program 305 selects an fc - chunk out of a plurality of pool chunks , and writes the chunk # and lu # of the selected fc - chunk in the right column of the failure handling management table 306 ( failure handling shift destination chunk column ) with corresponding to the original svol - sata - chunk ( s 64 ). at this time , if there are sufficient allocatable fc - chunks ( y in s 65 ), the failure swap program 305 executes the later mentioned s 67 , and if no allocatable fc - chunk exists in the plurality of pool chunks , the failure swap program 305 outputs a warning to notify that fc - lu is insufficient ( n in s 65 and s 66 ). in s 67 , the failure swap program 305 shifts the sub - data in the original svol - sata - chunk , having a chunk # registered in the middle column ( svol column ), to the swap destination chunk ( fc - chunk ) corresponded to that original svol - sata - chunk , based on the failure handling volume copy management table 306 ( s 67 ). then the failure swap program 305 overwrites the content ( lu # and chunk #) of the swap destination chunk on the content of the original pvol - fc - chunk corresponding to that swap destination chunk in the failure handling volume copy management table 306 , and deletes the content of the swap destination chunk . for the original pvol - fc - chunk where no swap destination chunk exists , the failure swap program 305 overwrites the content ( lu # and chunk #) of the original svol - fc - chunk on the content of the original pvol - fc - chunk , and deletes the content of that original svol - fc - chunk ( s 68 ). if failure occurs to the original pvol by this processing , the original svol - chunk is switched to the new pvol - chunk if the original svol - chunk corresponding to the original pvol - fc - chunk is an fc - chunk . and if the original svol - chunk corresponding to the original pvol - chunk is an sata - chunk , then an fc - chunk selected from the plurality of pool chunks is corresponded to that sata - chunk , and the selected fc - chunk is switched to the new pvol - chunk . as a result , each of the plurality of original pvol - chunks registered in the left column ( original data column ) of the failure handling volume copy management table 306 is switched to the original svol - fc - chunk or the above mentioned selected fc - chunk , and a new pvol comprised of the original svol - fc - chunk and the above mentioned selected fc - chunk are generated . fig1 ( a ) shows the status of the failure handling volume copy management table 306 before update , and fig1 ( b ) shows the status of the table 306 after update . by this update processing in s 68 , the plurality of fc - chunks out of the original svol - chunks are all switched to new pvol - fc - chunks , so new svol - chunks for this amount of chunks are required . so the failure swap program 305 selects the required number of fc - chunks from the plurality of pool chunks , and registers the selected fc - chunks in the middle column of the failure handling volume copy management table 306 and the volume copy management table 308 as new svol - chunks . and the failure swap program 305 copies the data in the fc - chunks , which were original svol - chunks , to the new svol - chunks ( s 69 ). then the failure swap program 305 writes the write data saved in s 63 to the new pvol . the failure swap program 305 provides the information on the new pvol ( e . g . external lu number and storage capacity ) to the host device 100 when a predetermined inquiry command ( e . g . inquiry command based on scsi protocol ) from the host device 100 ( s 69 ). by this , the host device 100 can recognize the new pvol . the above is the processing flow executed by the failure swap program 305 . in the processing in s 68 , the failure swap program 305 may update the content of the volume copy management table 308 in the same way . the content of the original svol - chunk switched to the new pvol - chunk may be deleted from the failure handling volume copy management table 306 and volume copy management table 308 . according to the above mentioned embodiment , each of the plurality of lus existing on the storage control system 200 is divided into a plurality of chunks . the pvol is comprised of only fc - chunks , but an svol is comprised of both fc - chunks and sata - chunks . and to each of the plurality of svol - chunks , either an fc - chunk or sata - chunk selected from the plurality of pool chunks is dynamically corresponded . the type of corresponded chunk is switched depending on the status of data write to the pvol . specifically , to the svol - sata - chunk corresponding to the pvol - fc - chunk with a high data update frequency , for example , an fc - chunk existing on a high reliability high performance fc disk device is corresponded , and to an svol - fc - chunk corresponding to a pvol - fc - chunk with a low data update frequency , a sata - chunk existing on a low reliability low performance but inexpensive sata disk device is corresponded . by this , the drop in speed of copy processing by a low reliability low performance disk device and an increase in cost can both be addressed . according to the above mentioned embodiment , the storage capacity ratio of an svol - fc in an svol ( in other words the svol - sata storage capacity ratio ) is automatically adjusted to be a preset disk ratio threshold . therefore the fc storage capacity ratio in an svol becomes the ratio desired by the user , even if the user does not periodically perform complicated settings . according to the above mentioned embodiment , the storage capacity ratio of an svol - fc is adjusted in the sequence of svol - chunks corresponding to the pvol - fc - chunks with a higher update frequency . by this , the storage capacity ratio of an fc is efficiently adjusted . according to the above mentioned embodiment , when a failure occurs to the original pvol , even if the chunk corresponded to the original pvol - chunk is an sata - chunk , the data in the sata - chunk is shifted to the fc - chunk selected from the plurality of pool chunks , and the fc - chunk is switched to the new pvol - chunk . by this , the new pvol - chunk constituting the new pvol can be an fc - chunk regardless the type of chunk corresponded to the original pvol - chunk . an embodiment of the present invention was described above , but this is just an example in order to describe the present invention , and it is not intended to limit the scope of the present invention to only this embodiment . the present invention can be implemented by various other embodiments . for example , the above embodiment can be applied to a storage device with an attribute level other than reliability or performance . the above embodiment can be applied even when a plurality of lus are distributed in two or more devices ( e . g . a pvol exists in a storage control system 200 and an svol exists in another storage control system ). also in the above embodiment , there are two levels of disk devices , one has high reliability and high performance , and the other has low reliability and low performance , but more levels of disk devices may be used . also in the present embodiment , a plurality of thresholds may be used for at least one of the update frequency threshold and the disk ratio threshold , for a more refined adjustment . two types of disk ratio thresholds may be provided for the fc storage capacity ratio and the sata storage capacity ratio . the data update frequency is a number of times of data updates in a predetermined period , but may simply be an update frequency , regardless the period . | 8 |
an ultrasonic sensor 100 according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention is shown in fig1 a and 1b . fig1 b shows the sensor 100 mounted on a circuit board k . the sensor 100 includes one transmission device s 1 and four reception devices r 1 - r 4 , which are integrated on the same semiconductor substrate 10 . fig2 a shows an ultrasonic element 90 for providing each of the transmission device s 1 and the reception device r 1 - r 4 . the ultrasonic element 90 is similar to the mems type ultrasonic element 90 r as the reception device shown in fig1 a . the transmission device s 1 of the ultrasonic element 90 has the same construction of the reception device r 1 - r 4 of the ultrasonic element 90 . the ultrasonic element 90 is formed of a soi ( i . e ., silicon - on - insulator ) semiconductor substrate 10 . the substrate 10 includes a first semiconductor layer 1 a as a supporting layer , an embedded oxide layer 1 b , a second semiconductor layer 1 c and a protection oxide film 1 d . a membrane m as a thin portion of the substrate 10 is formed by using a semiconductor micromachining method . a piezoelectric vibrator 20 is formed on the membrane m to cover the membrane m . the piezoelectric vibrator 20 includes a piezoelectric thin film 2 and a pair of metallic electrodes 3 a , 3 b . specifically , the piezoelectric thin film 2 is sandwiched by a pair of the metallic electrodes 3 a , 3 b , which are formed of a metallic film . when the ultrasonic element 90 is used as the transmission device s 1 , alternating voltage is applied to the metallic electrodes 3 a , 3 b of the piezoelectric vibrator 20 so that the membrane m together with the piezoelectric vibrator 20 is resonated with a predetermined ultrasonic frequency . thus , the ultrasonic wave is transmitted . when the ultrasonic element 90 is used as the reception device r 1 - r 4 , the returned ultrasonic wave reflected by the object to be measured resonates the membrane m together with the piezoelectric vibrator 20 so that the returned ultrasonic wave is converted to an electric signal by the piezoelectric vibrator 20 . thus , the ultrasonic wave is received . when the ultrasonic element 90 is used as the transmission device s 1 , it is preferred that a planar area of the membrane m in the transmission device s 1 is comparatively large . this is because it is required to generate large ultrasonic sound pressure outputted from the transmission device s 1 . thus , it is preferred that the planar area of the membrane m in the transmission device s 1 is larger than that in the reception device r 1 - r 4 . thus , the transmission device s 1 can transmit the ultrasonic wave having large sound pressure . however , the planar area of the membrane m in the reception device r 1 - r 4 may be comparatively small as long as the reception device r 1 - r 4 has sufficient sensitivity of the ultrasonic wave . fig3 shows another ultrasonic sensor 100 a according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention . in this case , the planar area of the membrane ms in the transmission device s 1 a is larger than the planar area of the membrane mr in the reception device r 1 - r 4 . fig4 a to 8c show other ultrasonic elements 91 - 95 for using as the transmission device s . the ultrasonic element 91 shown in fig4 a and 4b includes the semiconductor substrate having soi structure . the piezoelectric vibrator 21 is formed on the membrane m formed to be a thin portion of the substrate 10 . the piezoelectric vibrator 21 covers the membrane m . the piezoelectric vibrator 21 also includes the piezoelectric thin film 2 and the metallic electrodes 3 a , 3 b . the piezoelectric thin film 2 is sandwiched by the metallic electrodes 3 a , 3 b . in the piezoelectric vibrator 21 of the ultrasonic element 91 , the piezoelectric thin film 2 includes a partial cutting pattern 2 a as a groove , which separates the piezoelectric thin film 4 into four parts . this partial cutting pattern 2 a is obtained by removing a part of the piezoelectric thin film 2 , at which a stress caused by radial direction vibration of the membrane m is concentrated . therefore , rigidity of the part of the piezoelectric thin film 2 as a stress concentration region is reduced , so that the membrane m is easily bent , i . e ., the flexibility of the membrane m is increased . accordingly , the piezoelectric vibrator 21 can transmit , i . e ., output the ultrasonic wave having sufficient sound pressure . in the piezoelectric vibrator 22 of the ultrasonic element 92 shown in fig5 a and 5b , the piezoelectric thin film 2 includes a partial concavity pattern 2 b as a partial groove . the thickness of the part of the piezoelectric thin film 2 , which is the stress concentration region of the radial direction vibration of the membrane m , is reduced so that the partial concavity pattern 2 b is formed . thus , the flexibility of the membrane m is increased so that the piezoelectric vibrator 21 can output the ultrasonic wave having sufficient sound pressure . the piezoelectric vibrator 23 of the ultrasonic element 93 shown in fig6 a to 6c is formed of multiple layers composed of multiple piezoelectric thin films 2 and multiple metallic electrodes 3 a - 3 c , which are alternately stacked . when the voltage is applied to the piezoelectric vibrator 23 , deformation of the piezoelectric vibrator 23 is increased . thus , vibration amplitude of the membrane m is increased so that the vibrator 23 outputs the ultrasonic wave having sufficient sound pressure . in the piezoelectric vibrator 24 of the ultrasonic element 94 shown in fig7 a and 7b , the piezoelectric vibrator 24 and the membrane md are cantilevered with the substrate 10 . thus , the membrane md can be deformed sufficiently , i . e ., no portion of the membrane md , which prevents the membrane md from deforming , exists in the membrane md . thus , when the voltage is applied to the piezoelectric vibrator 24 so that the piezoelectric vibrator 24 is deformed , the membrane md is also deformed largely . accordingly , the vibrator 24 outputs the ultrasonic wave having sufficient sound pressure . in the piezoelectric vibrator 25 of the ultrasonic element 95 shown in fig8 a to 8c , the membrane me is formed in such a manner that a part of the embedded oxide layer 1 b of the substrate 10 is hollowed , i . e ., cut from a top surface side of the substrate 10 by a sacrifice etching method . a whole h for the sacrifice etching method is formed around the membrane me and a beam ha . accordingly , the periphery of the membrane me is partially supported on the substrate 10 through the beam ha . thus , the interference part of the membrane me , which prevents the membrane me from deforming , becomes small . when the voltage is applied to the piezoelectric vibrator 25 so that the membrane me is deformed , distortion of the beam ha is generated and the beam ha is deformed largely ; and therefore , the membrane me is largely deformed . thus , the vibrator 25 outputs the ultrasonic wave having sufficient sound pressure . since each ultrasonic element 91 - 95 can output the ultrasonic wave having sufficient sound pressure , the element 91 - 95 can provide the transmission device s 1 of the ultrasonic sensor 100 having high detection accuracy . here , the element 91 - 95 may also provide the reception device r 1 - r 4 of the ultrasonic sensor 100 . next , a method for detecting the object by using the ultrasonic sensor 100 is explained with reference to fig9 a to 9c . in fig9 a to 9c , the substrate surface of the ultrasonic sensor 100 is disposed to be perpendicular to the ground . specifically , the surface of the transmission device s 1 is perpendicular to the ground . here , a x - y plane in fig9 a is parallel to the ground . a z - axis in fig9 b is perpendicular to the ground . fig9 a shows the reception devices r 1 , r 2 of the ultrasonic sensor 100 and the reception ultrasonic wave in the x - y plane . specifically , the ultrasonic wave transmitted from the transmission device s 1 is reflected by the obstacle 50 , and then the reflected ultrasonic wave is received by the reception device r 1 , r 2 as the reception ultrasonic wave . fig9 b shows the reception devices r 1 , r 3 of the ultrasonic sensor 100 and the reception ultrasonic wave in the z - x , y plane . here , the z - x , y plane in fig9 b is perpendicular to the ground . δl represents difference of a path of the reception ultrasonic wave . fig9 c is a timing chart showing an alternate pulse signal of the ultrasonic wave outputted from the transmission device s 1 and four alternate pulse signals of the ultrasonic wave received by four reception devices r 1 - r 4 . in fig9 a , dx represents a distance between the center of the ultrasonic sensor 100 and the obstacle 50 in the x - y plane . the distance dx is calculated on the basis of a s signal no . 1 outputted from the transmission device s 1 , a r signal no . 1 received by the reception device r 1 and a r signal no . 2 received by the reception device r 2 . the reception devices r 1 , r 2 are disposed on an upper side of the sensor 100 in fig1 . specifically , the distance dx is calculated from an average time difference δtx between reception times ( i . e ., an arrival time ) of the r signals no . 1 and no . 2 and a transmission time ( i . e ., an output time ) of the s signal no . 1 . in fig9 a , θx represents a direction angle to the obstacle 50 in the x - y plane . the direction angle θx is measured from the x - axis as a reference axis . the direction angle θx is obtained on the basis of the r signals no . 1 and no . 2 from the reception devices r 1 and r 2 . specifically , the direction angle θx is calculated from a phase difference δpx between the r signal no . 1 and the r signal no . 2 . in fig9 b , dz represents a distance between the center of the ultrasonic sensor 100 and the obstacle 50 in the z - x , y plane , which is perpendicular to the ground . the distance dz is calculated on the basis of the s signal no . 1 from the transmission device s 1 , the r signal no . 1 from the reception device r 1 and a r signal no . 3 received by the reception device r 3 . the reception devices r 1 , r 3 are disposed on a left side of the sensor 100 in fig1 . specifically , the distance dz is calculated from an average time difference δtz between reception times of the r signals no . 1 and no . 3 and the transmission time of the s signal no . 1 . in fig9 b , θz represents a direction angle to the obstacle 50 in the z - x , y plane . the direction angle θz is measured from the x - y plane as a reference plane . the direction angle θz is obtained on the basis of the r signals no . 1 and no . 3 from the reception devices r 1 and r 3 . specifically , the direction angle θz is calculated from a phase difference δpz between the r signal no . 1 and the r signal no . 3 . on the basis of the distances dx , dz and the direction angles θx , θz , the distance between the obstacle 50 and the sensor 100 and the direction to the obstacle 50 are determined . thus , the sensor 100 detects the obstacle 50 . in the sensor 100 , the transmission device s 1 and the reception devices r 1 - r 4 are integrated into the same substrate 10 . accordingly , the dimensions of the sensor 100 and the manufacturing cost of the sensor 100 are reduced , compared with the sensor 900 shown in fig1 b , in which the transmission device s 1 and the ultrasonic allay device a 90 r are independently formed . further , since the positioning relationship between the transmission device s 1 and the reception device r 1 - r 4 is accurately designed , i . e ., determined on the substrate 10 . thus , even when the sensor 100 is mounted on a bumper of an automotive vehicle , mounting accuracy of the sensor 100 on the bumper does not affect the detection accuracy of the sensor 100 . even when the number of the transmission devices s 1 and / or the number of the reception devices r 1 - r 4 are increased or reduced , and / or even when the dimensions of the transmission device s 1 and / or the dimensions of the reception device r 1 - r 4 are changed , the sensor 100 can be formed only by changing a mask . thus , the manufacturing cost of the sensor 100 is almost the same . although the sensor 100 includes four reception devices r 1 - r 4 , the obstacle 50 can be detected by using three reception devices r 1 - r 3 . specifically , the distance dx in the x - y plane and the direction angle θx measured from the x - axis are obtained by using two reception devices r 1 , r 2 , which are disposed on the upper side of the sensor 100 . the distance dz in the z - x , y plane and the direction angle θ z measured from the x - y plane are obtained by using two reception devices r 1 , r 3 , which are disposed on the left side of the sensor 100 . however , the distance dx in the x - y plane and the direction angle θx measured from the x - axis can be obtained by using two reception devices r 3 , r 4 , which are disposed on a lower side of the sensor 100 . the distance dz in the z - x , y plane and the direction angle θz measured from the x - y plane can be obtained by using two reception devices r 2 , r 4 , which are disposed on the right side of the sensor 100 . thus , the obstacle 50 can be detected by three reception devices r 2 - r 4 . accordingly , in the sensor 100 , two different distances and two different direction angles to the obstacle 50 are obtained . by comparing these two data of the obstacle 50 , operation failure of the sensor 100 is judged . specifically , when two data of the obstacle do not coincide , the operation failure of the sensor 100 occurs . accordingly , the sensor 100 has operation failure detection function . if the sensor 100 determines that only one reception device r 1 - r 4 acts up the operation failure , the sensor 100 can detect the obstacle 50 by using other three reception devices r 1 - r 4 . accordingly , the sensor 100 has fail safe function . further , even when the sensor 100 includes only three reception devices r 1 - r 3 , the sensor 100 can have the operation failure detection function . specifically , the distance dx and the direction angle θx are obtained from two reception devices r 1 , r 2 , and the distance dz and the direction angle θz are obtained by using two reception devices r 1 , r 3 . accordingly , the obstacle 50 is detected on the basis of two combination data , one of which is obtained from the reception devices r 1 , r 2 , and the other one of which is obtained from the reception devices r 1 , r 3 . the other combination data obtained from the reception devices r 2 , r 3 can be used for checking the calculation of detection of the obstacle 50 . thus , even when the sensor 100 includes three reception devices r 1 - r 3 , the sensor 100 can have the operation failure function . thus , when the sensor 100 includes three or more reception devices r 1 - r 3 , the sensor 100 has the operation failure function . when the sensor 100 includes four or more reception devices r 1 - r 4 , the sensor 100 has the fail safe function . thus , if the operation failure of the sensor 100 is occurred by waterdrop or dust , which is attached to the sensor 100 , the sensor 100 can avoid the operation failure . the sensor 100 can output two or more different ultrasonic waves having different frequencies , which are transmitted from one transmission device s 1 by controlling the frequency of the alternate pulse signal in terms of time , the pulse signal being applied to the transmission device s 1 . by using two different ultrasonic waves , the sensor 100 can detect the obstacle 50 with humidity compensation function . here , the input voltage is controlled to have a frequency range other than the resonant frequency of the membrane m so that the ultrasonic waves having two different frequencies are transmitted . fig1 explains the method for compensating the humidity . in fig1 , the transmission device s 1 outputs two different ultrasonic waves having two different frequencies f 1 , f 2 . the transmission device s 1 transmits the first ultrasonic wave having the first frequency f 1 , and then , the device s 1 transmits the second ultrasonic wave having the second frequency f 2 . the first and the second ultrasonic waves are periodically , i . e ., with a predetermined time interval , outputted . in four reception devices r 1 - r 4 , the first r signal no . 1 corresponding to the first ultrasonic wave and the second r signal no . 1 corresponding to the second ultrasonic wave to the first r signal no . 4 corresponding to the first ultrasonic wave and the second r signal no . 4 corresponding to the second ultrasonic wave are detected . the relationship among the first r signals no . 1 - 4 and the first s signal no . 1 corresponding to the first ultrasonic wave in fig1 is the same as that in fig9 c . further , the relationship among the second r signals no . 1 - 4 and the second s signal no . 1 corresponding to the second ultrasonic wave in fig1 is the same as that in fig9 c . in fig1 , the height of the alternate pulse signal of the first s signal no . 1 of the first frequency f 1 is equal to that of the second s signal no . 1 of the second frequency f 2 . however , the height of the first r signal no . 1 of the first frequency f 1 is higher than that of the second frequency f 2 , i . e ., the second r signal no . 1 of the second frequency f 2 is largely attenuated , compared with the first r signal no . 1 of the first frequency f 1 . similarly , the second r signals no . 2 - 4 are largely attenuated , i . e ., reduced . here , attenuation loss p , i . e ., absorption loss of the ultrasonic wave is obtained by the following formula . here , m represents absorption coefficient , r represents transmission distance , m represents a predetermined coefficient , f represents a frequency , t represents a temperature , g 0 represents a saturated vapor pressure , g represents a total air pressure , and h represents a humidity . from the above formula f 1 , the attenuation loss p depends on the frequency f . as the frequency f of the ultrasonic wave becomes larger , the attenuation loss becomes larger . further , the attenuation loss p depends on not only the frequency but also the temperature t and the humidity h of the transmission environment . the frequency f of the ultrasonic wave is preliminarily determined . the temperature t of the environment can be detected by an external temperature sensor or the like . when the sensor 100 is mounted on the vehicle , the temperature t , i . e ., the external temperature can be detected easily . however , the humidity h of the environment , i . e ., the external humidity h is not detected easily by a humidity sensor . this is because there is no appropriate humidity sensor for detecting the external humidity around the vehicle . however , since the received ultrasonic waves having two different frequencies f 1 , f 2 are measured , the humidity h can be calculated on the basis of the difference of two attenuation losses p obtained from two different frequencies f 1 , f 2 . this calculated humidity h is used for compensating the standard humidity , which is preliminarily determined and memorized in the sensor 100 . thus , the sensor 100 has the humidity compensation function . in this case , the detection accuracy of the sensor 100 is much improved regarding the humidity change . although the sensor 100 includes only one transmission device s 1 , it is preferred that the sensor 100 includes two or more transmission devices s 1 . when the sensor 100 includes two transmission devices s 1 , each transmission device s 1 can output the ultrasonic wave having different frequency with high q value , the device s 1 outputting the wave by using different resonant frequency of the membrane m . fig1 shows an ultrasonic sensor 101 having two transmission devices s 1 , s 2 . the sensor 101 can output two ultrasonic waves having different frequencies f 1 , f 2 simultaneously by using two transmission devices s 1 , s 2 for outputting two different ultrasonic waves . thus , no compensation for compensating motion of the vehicle is necessitated . here , since the ultrasonic waves having different frequencies f 1 , f 2 have the same transmission velocity , the reflected ultrasonic waves are arrived at the sensor 100 at the same time . accordingly , frequency analysis for decomposing the reception ultrasonic waves into the component having the first frequency f 1 and the component having the second frequency f 2 is required . fig1 shows an ultrasonic sensor 102 having the transmission device s 1 and eight reception devices r 1 - r 8 . the transmission device s 1 is surrounded with eight reception devices r 1 - r 8 . in this case , it is preferred that two reception devices r 1 - r 8 are arranged to be symmetrically with respect to the transmission device s 1 . specifically , a pair of the reception devices r 1 , r 8 , a pair of the reception devices r 2 , r 7 , a pair of the reception devices r 3 , r 6 , and a pair of the reception devices r 4 , r 5 are arranged to be symmetrically with respect to the transmission device s 1 so that each pair of the reception devices r 1 - r 8 surrounds the transmission device s 1 . in this case , since each pair of the reception devices r 1 - r 8 is symmetrically disposed , the reflected ultrasonic wave outputted from the transmission device s 1 is returned to the pair of the reception devices r 1 - r 8 in such a manner that the sound pressure of the received ultrasonic wave received by one of the pair of the reception devices r 1 - r 8 is almost the same as the other one of the pair of the reception devices r 1 - r 8 . accordingly , the detection accuracy of the obstacle 50 is improved . thus , each sensor 100 , 100 a , 101 , 102 has small dimensions and low manufacturing cost , and the detection accuracy of the sensor 100 , 100 a , 101 , 102 is not affected by mounting accuracy of the sensor on the vehicle . further , the sensor 100 , 100 a , 101 , 102 has high detection accuracy , even if the waterdrop or the dust is adhered to the sensor 100 , 100 a , 101 , 102 and even if the humidity around the sensor 100 , 100 a , 101 , 102 changes . although the sensor 100 , 100 a , 101 , 102 includes one transmission device s 1 and four or eight reception devices r 1 - r 8 , the sensor may includes one or more transmission devices s 1 and two or more reception devices . when the sensor includes multiple transmission devices and multiple reception devices , the information from the sensor is increased . further , when the sensor includes two or more transmission devices , the sound pressure of the ultrasonic wave becomes larger , and the directivity of the ultrasonic wave is controlled . alternatively , the reception devices in the sensor may be arrayed so that a transmission signal is received by multiple reception devices in order to cancel the transmission signal , since the transmission signal may cause noise of the sensor . specifically , when the transmission device and the reception device are integrated into one substrate , the transmission signal may input into the reception device so that the transmission signal may cause the noise of the sensor . thus , by canceling the inputted transmission signal , the noise of the sensor is reduced . accordingly , when the obstacle is disposed near the sensor , the s / n ratio of the signal is improved for detecting the obstacle . although the reception device includes the piezoelectric thin film so that the reception device provides a piezoelectric type device , the reception device may be a capacitance type device for detecting a capacitance change between electrodes . further , the reception device may be a piezo type for detecting an output of a gauge generated by pressure . furthermore , the sensor may include a combination of these different type reception devices . while the invention has been described with reference to preferred embodiments thereof , it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the preferred embodiments and constructions . the invention is intended to cover various modification and equivalent arrangements . in addition , while the various combinations and configurations , which are preferred , other combinations and configurations , including more , less or only a single element , are also within the spirit and scope of the invention . | 6 |
the present invention relates to the preparation and handling of surface active agents . more particularly , it relates to surface active compositions based on salts of acyloxyalkanesulfonates of the general formula rcoor &# 39 ; so 3 m , where r is a monovalent aliphatic hydrocarbon radical having from 5 to 19 carbon atoms , r &# 39 ; is a divalent hydrocarbon radical having from 2 to 4 carbon atoms , and m is sodium potassium or ammonium . these salts , also known as acylisethionates ( in particular , sodium cocoylisethionate ), are commonly used in syndet bars to impart mildness and rinsability . when produced by conventional methods ( u . s . pat . nos . 1 , 932 , 180 and 4 , 515 , 721 ), the product is a finely divided powder and gives off air - borne dust that is highly irritating to personnel working with it . in order to avoid this problem , the product can be produced with substantial amounts of free coconut fatty acid ( u . s . pat . no . 2 , 923 , 724 ), or the coconut fatty acid can be largely replaced by stearic acid ( u . s . pat . nos . 3 , 320 , 292 and 3 , 420 , 857 ). in either case the substantial amount of free fatty acid dilutes the active agent and negates the rinsability of the acylisethionate . i have found that a high active agent concentrate , that is easily handled in the molten state and readily forms crisp , nondusting flakes , can be prepared from acyloxyalkanesulfonate salts and a mixture of cetyl and stearyl alcohol ( optionally with ethylene oxide adducts of this same alcohol blend ). the alcohol / nonionic combination is commonly found in various creams and lotions used for skin care . this combination varies from about 50 % alcohol to about 80 % alcohol , the balance being water - soluble ethoxylated monohydric alkanols . these products are ethylene oxide adducts of a fatty alcohol or a mixture of fatty alcohols having 10 to 20 carbon atoms in the aliphatic carbon chain . the ethylene oxide content may vary from about 5 moles to about 50 moles , but the 15 - to 25 - mole adducts are preferred . the preferred fatty alcohol mixture is about 30 % cetyl alcohol and about 70 % stearyl alcohol and is commonly referred to as hydrogenated tallow fatty alcohol . while this product can be produced from the natural source , it is also available from petrochemical processes , such as the ziegler - natta process . as to the ratio of saturated aliphatic alcohol to acyloxyalkanesulfonate salt , the range of about 20 : 80 to about 50 : 50 is operable . in the preparation of flakes of the composition of cahn et al . ( u . s . pat . no . 3 , 320 , 292 ) or of holland et al . ( u . s . pat . no . 3 , 420 , 857 ), one observes a gradual stratification if good agitation is not maintained since the two principal components are not miscible in the molten state . such is not the case with the present invention . further ( perhaps because of the compatibility of the components ), combinations with higher active anionic content can be handled in the melt and flaked . the following examples illustrate the present invention , but numerous modifications and variations thereof will be apparent to those skilled in the art . a mixture of 21 g . of alfol 1618t ( vista chem . co . ), a mixture of about 30 % cetyl alcohol and about 70 % stearyl alcohol , with 9 g . of macol csa - 20 ( ppg / mazer chem . ), a 20 - mole ethoxylate of the same alcohol blend , was heated to 150 ° c . while bubbling nitrogen through the molten material and stirring slowly . over a 20 - minute period , 70 g . of jordapon ci - up ( ppg / mazer chem . trade name for sodium cocoylisethionate ) was added . this clear melt was cooled to 100 ° c . and poured onto aluminum foil . when cooled to room temperature , there resulted crisp , non - dusting flakes of uniform composition . a mixture of 210 g . of coconut fatty acid ( procter & amp ; gamble c - 108 ), 252 g . of 46 % sodium isethionate solution , and 0 . 30 g . of zinc oxide was charged to a one - liter reaction vessel and stirred while sparging with nitrogen . the mixture was heated rapidly to 120 ° c . to remove the water in the sodium isethionate solution , then to 240 ° c . and held at that temperature for two hours . a mixture of 42 g . cetyl / stearyl alcohol and 18 g . macol csa - 20 was then added , and the excess coconut fatty acid distilled at about 10 mm hg . the vacuum was relieved with nitrogen , the mixture was cooled to 120 ° c ., and poured onto aluminum foil . analysis by the traditional epton methylene blue titration showed 65 . 7 % anionic surfactant . fifty grams of alfol 1618t was stirred slowly at 150 ° c . while 150 g . of jordapon ci powder was added . when clear and uniform , the molten mass was poured onto aluminum foil . forty grams of the flakes from example 1 were dispersed into 60 g . of water at 50 ° c . when cool this dispersion had the consistency of &# 34 ; cold cream &# 34 ;. twenty grams of this dispersion was added to one gallon of warm ( 40 ° c .) water and 200 g . of corriedale wool was thoroughly soaked with this dispersion , then rinsed with warm water and dried . the resulting fiber was carded then spun into yarn on a louet spinning wheel . the spun yarn was unusually uniform with a luxuriant soft hand . the wheel operator felt neither harshness nor greasiness in handling the fiber . although the present invention has been described with reference to specific details of certain embodiments thereof , it is not intended that such detail should be regarded as limitations upon the scope of the invention except as and to the extent that they are included in the accompanying claims . | 8 |
it is understood in advance that although this disclosure includes a detailed description on cloud computing , implementation of the teachings recited herein are not limited to a cloud computing environment . rather , embodiments of the present invention are capable of being implemented in conjunction with any other type of computing environment now known or later developed . cloud computing is a model of service delivery for enabling convenient , on - demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources ( e . g . networks , network bandwidth , servers , processing , memory , storage , applications , virtual machines , and services ) that can be rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort or interaction with a provider of the service . this cloud model may include at least five characteristics , at least three service models , and at least four deployment models . on - demand self - service : a cloud consumer can unilaterally provision computing capabilities , such as server time and network storage , as needed automatically without requiring human interaction with the service &# 39 ; s provider . broad network access : capabilities are available over a network and accessed through standard mechanisms that promote use by heterogeneous thin or thick client platforms ( e . g ., mobile phones , laptops , and pdas ). resource pooling : the provider &# 39 ; s computing resources are pooled to serve multiple consumers using a multi - tenant model , with different physical and virtual resources dynamically assigned and reassigned according to demand . there is a sense of location independence in that the consumer generally has no control or knowledge over the exact location of the provided resources but may be able to specify location at a higher level of abstraction ( e . g ., country , state , or datacenter ). rapid elasticity : capabilities can be rapidly and elastically provisioned , in some cases automatically , to quickly scale out and rapidly released to quickly scale in . to the consumer , the capabilities available for provisioning often appear to be unlimited and can be purchased in any quantity at any time . measured service : cloud systems automatically control and optimize resource use by leveraging a metering capability at some level of abstraction appropriate to the type of service ( e . g ., storage , processing , bandwidth , and active user accounts ). resource usage can be monitored , controlled , and reported providing transparency for both the provider and consumer of the utilized service . software as a service ( saas ): the capability provided to the consumer is to use the provider &# 39 ; s applications running on a cloud infrastructure . the applications are accessible from various client devices through a thin client interface such as a web browser ( e . g ., web - based e - mail ). the consumer does not manage or control the underlying cloud infrastructure including network , servers , operating systems , storage , or even individual application capabilities , with the possible exception of limited user - specific application configuration settings . platform as a service ( paas ): the capability provided to the consumer is to deploy onto the cloud infrastructure consumer - created or acquired applications created using programming languages and tools supported by the provider . the consumer does not manage or control the underlying cloud infrastructure including networks , servers , operating systems , or storage , but has control over the deployed applications and possibly application hosting environment configurations . infrastructure as a service ( iaas ): the capability provided to the consumer is to provision processing , storage , networks , and other fundamental computing resources where the consumer is able to deploy and run arbitrary software , which can include operating systems and applications . the consumer does not manage or control the underlying cloud infrastructure but has control over operating systems , storage , deployed applications , and possibly limited control of select networking components ( e . g ., host firewalls ). private cloud : the cloud infrastructure is operated solely for an organization . it may be managed by the organization or a third party and may exist on - premises or off - premises . community cloud : the cloud infrastructure is shared by several organizations and supports a specific community that has shared concerns ( e . g ., mission , security requirements , policy , and compliance considerations ). it may be managed by the organizations or a third party and may exist on - premises or off - premises . public cloud : the cloud infrastructure is made available to the general public or a large industry group and is owned by an organization selling cloud services . hybrid cloud : the cloud infrastructure is a composition of two or more clouds ( private , community , or public ) that remain unique entities but are bound together by standardized or proprietary technology that enables data and application portability ( e . g ., cloud bursting for load - balancing between clouds ). a cloud computing environment is service oriented with a focus on statelessness , low coupling , modularity , and semantic interoperability . at the heart of cloud computing is an infrastructure comprising a network of interconnected nodes . referring now to fig1 , a schematic of an example of a cloud computing node is shown . cloud computing node 10 is only one example of a suitable cloud computing node and is not intended to suggest any limitation as to the scope of use or functionality of embodiments of the invention described herein . regardless , cloud computing node 10 is capable of being implemented and / or performing any of the functionality set forth hereinabove . in cloud computing node 10 there is a computer system / server 12 , which is operational with numerous other general purpose or special purpose computing system environments or configurations . examples of well - known computing systems , environments , and / or configurations that may be suitable for use with computer system / server 12 include , but are not limited to , personal computer systems , server computer systems , thin clients , thick clients , hand - held or laptop devices , multiprocessor systems , microprocessor - based systems , set top boxes , programmable consumer electronics , network pcs , minicomputer systems , mainframe computer systems , and distributed cloud computing environments that include any of the above systems or devices , and the like . computer system / server 12 may be described in the general context of computer system - executable instructions , such as program modules , being executed by a computer system . generally , program modules may include routines , programs , objects , components , logic , data structures , and so on that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types . computer system / server 12 may be practiced in distributed cloud computing environments where tasks are performed by remote processing devices that are linked through a communications network . in a distributed cloud computing environment , program modules may be located in both local and remote computer system storage media including memory storage devices . as shown in fig1 , computer system / server 12 in cloud computing node 10 is shown in the form of a general - purpose computing device . the components of computer system / server 12 may include , but are not limited to , one or more processors or processing units 16 , a system memory 28 , and a bus 18 that couples various system components including system memory 28 to processor 16 . bus 18 represents one or more of any of several types of bus structures , including a memory bus or memory controller , a peripheral bus , an accelerated graphics port , and a processor or local bus using any of a variety of bus architectures . by way of example , and not limitation , such architectures include industry standard architecture ( isa ) bus , micro channel architecture ( mca ) bus , enhanced isa ( eisa ) bus , video electronics standards association ( vesa ) local bus , and peripheral component interconnects ( pci ) bus . computer system / server 12 typically includes a variety of computer system readable media . such media may be any available media that is accessible by computer system / server 12 , and it includes both volatile and non - volatile media , removable and non - removable media . system memory 28 can include computer system readable media in the form of volatile memory , such as random access memory ( ram ) 30 and / or cache memory 32 . computer system / server 12 may further include other removable / non - removable , volatile / non - volatile computer system storage media . by way of example only , storage system 34 can be provided for reading from and writing to a non - removable , non - volatile magnetic media ( not shown and typically called a “ hard drive ”). although not shown , a magnetic disk drive for reading from and writing to a removable , non - volatile magnetic disk ( e . g ., a “ floppy disk ”), and an optical disk drive for reading from or writing to a removable , non - volatile optical disk such as a cd - rom , dvd - rom or other optical media can be provided . in such instances , each can be connected to bus 18 by one or more data media interfaces . as will be further depicted and described below , memory 28 may include at least one program product having a set ( e . g ., at least one ) of program modules that are configured to carry out the functions of embodiments of the invention . program / utility 40 , having a set ( at least one ) of program modules 42 , may be stored in memory 28 by way of example , and not limitation , as well as an operating system , one or more application programs , other program modules , and program data . each of the operating system , one or more application programs , other program modules , and program data or some combination thereof , may include an implementation of a networking environment . program modules 42 generally carry out the functions and / or methodologies of embodiments of the invention as described herein . computer system / server 12 may also communicate with one or more external devices 14 such as a keyboard , a pointing device , a display 24 , etc . ; one or more devices that enable a user to interact with computer system / server 12 ; and / or any devices ( e . g ., network card , modem , etc .) that enable computer system / server 12 to communicate with one or more other computing devices . such communication can occur via input / output ( i / o ) interfaces 22 . still yet , computer system / server 12 can communicate with one or more networks such as a local area network ( lan ), a general wide area network ( wan ), and / or a public network ( e . g ., the internet ) via network adapter 20 . as depicted , network adapter 20 communicates with the other components of computer system / server 12 via bus 18 . it should be understood that although not shown , other hardware and / or software components could be used in conjunction with computer system / server 12 . examples , include , but are not limited to : microcode , device drivers , redundant processing units , external disk drive arrays , raid systems , tape drives , and data archival storage systems , etc . referring now to fig2 , illustrative cloud computing environment 50 is depicted . as shown , cloud computing environment 50 comprises one or more cloud computing nodes 10 with which local computing devices used by cloud consumers , such as , for example , personal digital assistant ( pda ) or cellular telephone 54 a , desktop computer 54 b , laptop computer 54 c , and / or automobile computer system 54 n may communicate . nodes 10 may communicate with one another . they may be grouped ( not shown ) physically or virtually , in one or more networks , such as private , community , public , or hybrid clouds as described hereinabove , or a combination thereof . this allows cloud computing environment 50 to offer infrastructure , platforms and / or software as services for which a cloud consumer does not need to maintain resources on a local computing device . it is understood that the types of computing devices 54 a - n shown in fig2 are intended to be illustrative only and that computing nodes 10 and cloud computing environment 50 can communicate with any type of computerized device over any type of network and / or network addressable connection ( e . g ., using a web browser ). referring now to fig3 , a set of functional abstraction layers provided by cloud computing environment 50 ( fig2 ) is shown . it should be understood in advance that the components , layers , and functions shown in fig3 are intended to be illustrative only and embodiments of the invention are not limited thereto . hardware and software layer 60 includes hardware and software components . examples of hardware components include mainframes 61 ; risc ( reduced instruction set computer ) architecture based servers 62 ; servers 63 ; blade servers 64 ; storage devices 65 ; networks and networking components 66 . in some embodiments , software components include network application server software 67 and database software 68 . virtualization layer 70 provides an abstraction layer from which the following examples of virtual entities may be provided : virtual servers 71 ; virtual storage 72 ; virtual networks 73 , including virtual private networks ; virtual applications and operating systems 74 ; and virtual clients 75 . in one example , management layer 80 may provide the functions described below . resource provisioning 81 provides dynamic procurement of computing resources and other resources that are utilized to perform tasks within the cloud computing environment . metering and pricing 82 provide cost tracking as resources are utilized within the cloud computing environment , and billing or invoicing for consumption of these resources . in one example , these resources may comprise application software licenses . security provides identity verification for cloud consumers and tasks , as well as protection for data and other resources . user portal 83 provides access to the cloud computing environment for consumers and system administrators . service level management 84 provides cloud computing resource allocation and management such that required service levels are met . service level agreement ( sla ) planning and fulfillment 85 provide pre - arrangement for , and procurement of , cloud computing resources for which a future requirement is anticipated in accordance with an sla . workloads layer 90 provides examples of functionality for which the cloud computing environment may be utilized . examples of workloads and functions which may be provided from this layer include : mapping and navigation 91 ; software development and lifecycle management 92 ; virtual classroom education delivery 93 ; data analytics processing 94 ; transaction processing 95 ; and avoiding file content reading using machine &# 39 ; s information 96 . embodiments of the invention provide a cloud - based method and system that verifies hardware and software information specific to a computer and only allows the file to be accessed if a request for access passes some validations tests , such as mac address , items , ip address ( to get the location ) and operating system information . the system may cross check some or all of this information in order to uniquely identify the computer which has access granted to the file . fig4 illustrates a method and system in accordance with an embodiment of the invention . the system provides an administrative console 102 operating on computer 104 so the user 106 can browse the files and select the ones 110 he wants to protect . once the files are selected , they are encrypted 112 and an entry 114 is created in the cloud 116 to store the computer related data such as hardware items , mac address , ip ( in order to determine the user &# 39 ; s location ) and operating system information to uniquely identify that computer 104 , and a reference file 120 is generated containing a method which invokes a web service 122 hosted in the cloud 116 to check for this information . in the administrative console , the user can specify a security level for each file . these security levels can control both local access ( from the computer 104 where the file is located ), and remote access ( file sharing ). for example , the security levels for local access can include full access and read only mode . with full access , the file is fully accessible from the owner &# 39 ; s computer and authorized devices only . in the read only mode , the files can be viewed but not edited nor copied to any other location . as another level of access , the file is accessible only by providing username and password every time to prevent unauthorized users that might have access to an authorized machine / device . to allow remote access , the file owner 106 can send the reference file corresponding to protected data to another user 124 that the file owner wants to share the file with . with the reference file , an authorized user can access the original file content vie cloud storage 116 . when a person 124 receives the file and tries to open the file for the first time , a prompt is shown asking for a token to grant access to this user . this token is only generated via the administrative console 102 from the file owner &# 39 ; s 106 computer / device 104 . the embodiment of fig4 provides local storage protection . the user 106 opens the administrative console 102 and selects the files 110 he wants to protect . for each file selected , the original file is encrypted 112 and hidden in operating system level , a reference file 120 is generated and an entry is created in the cloud 116 to store hardware configuration items , operating system information , mac address and ip address to uniquely identify that computer . the hiding of the protected file is done at the operating system level , and any suitable available hiding mechanism can be used to do this hiding . the purpose of the hiding is to hide the protected file from an invalid user on the operating system , to avoid access to an unauthorized user to the protected file . additionally , the user can assign a password to this file for a higher level security . the user then defines the access level to that file . if the user is sure that he is the only person who accesses the computer , he can specify a lower level security , which includes hardware , mac and ip addresses and operating system verification so this file can be easily accessed from his computer without being prompted to provide user credentials every time the file is accessed . by specifying this security level , if the file is stolen from his computer , the file cannot be accessed from any other computer as any request to access the file will fail the hardware and operating system validations . the reference file contains information such as hardware configuration items , operating system information , mac address and ip address to uniquely identify a computer . with the reference file , an authorized user can access the original file content via cloud storage . any request for access to the protected file requires data from the reference file . thus , when the request is made to the protected file , the protected file checks for the data in the reference file . even if the protected file is stolen , the thief would not have access to the reference file and thus would not be able to decrypt the encrypted protected file . the reference file contains a method that invokes a web service 122 hosted in the cloud that checks the hardware and software of each computer accessing the reference file . if the reference file verifies that the computer 126 accessing the reference file is the computer where the file was created , then the access is granted locally to the original file 110 . however , in case the verification method identifies that the computer accessing the file is not the authorized computer , a security token is required to access the file , and this token can only be generated from the administrative console from where the file was created . an alert is sent to the creator of the file to inform him that someone is trying to access the file . the security token can be generated from the administrative console 102 in case the user wants to share the file with another user or have the file accessible from another computer . if the user specifies read only mode , the file can be accessible from the local computer , but cannot be edited ( in the case of a text , spreadsheet or other documents ) and cannot be copied or moved to another location . if the file was marked to be accessible only by providing username and password , nothing can be done with the file unless the credentials are confirmed for each action ( open , save , move , coy , etc .). generally , with the method illustrated in fig4 , the user open the administrative console and selects a file to be protected , hardware and software details captured from the computer are stored in the cloud storage system , and a reference file is created . this reference file can invoke a remote method to verify if any computer trying to access the protected file is authorized to do so . fig5 shows a method and system in accordance with another embodiment of the invention . this embodiment provides secure file sharing via cloud computing . in case the user 202 wants to share a secure file 204 with another person 206 , this can be done via cloud 210 . the reference file 212 ( which references the original file ) contains a web service method which checks entries in cloud storage 210 for all the devices certified to have access to the file . the user needs to enable sharing options to the file via administrative console 214 . once this is done , the protected file 204 is automatically uploaded to the cloud 210 . the user 202 then can send the reference file 212 to any other user he wants to share the file 204 with . when the other user 206 first attempts to access the file , a prompt 214 is shown to this other user to request a security token . this security token is only generated from the administrative console installed in the computer 216 where the file was created . the creator of the file receives a notification about this other user and specifications of the machine 220 of the other person trying to access the file . if the creator 202 wants to grant privileges to this other person , the file creator will then need to generate the security token from the administrative console 214 and share it with the other user . once the other user 206 inputs this information , his hardware and operating system details are captured and stored in the cloud 210 , to assure that he is now an authorized user . the access level of this user 206 depends on the file creator &# 39 ; s preference . the access , for example , can be read only , full access without sharing , or full access with sharing options . with read only access , the user can see the file but not edit it . with full access without sharing , the user can edit the document but cannot share the document with other users . with full access with sharing options , the user can edit the document and share the document with others . in addition , for all these options , there is an alternative “ time limited option ”, which is the same as the original option but for a limited time specified by the file creator . generally , with the method illustrated in fig5 , the user 202 who protected the file 204 shares the reference file 212 with another user 206 , and this other user tries to access the protected file ( remote access via the cloud ). this other user is not yet authorized to access the file , and therefore a prompt 214 is shown to this user to request a security token . the creator of the file provides the other user with the security token , this other user inputs this information and is granted access to the protected file , and hardware and software information about the computer or computing device 220 used by this other user 206 is stored in the cloud to enable him as an authenticated user . embodiments of the invention create a reference file which represents protected data , which is encrypted and hidden . the access control is done via the reference file which checks if a device trying to access the protected file is entitled to do so , by validating a series of hardware and software components that uniquely identify that device . the access restrictions can be applied locally as well , and the reference file allows easy and dynamic content sharing via the cloud , as long as the owner of the protected files shares the security token that can be generated via administrative console and is used to authorize a different device . even behind an nat server , embodiments of the invention work in a similar way . behind these servers , all the packages sent contain the global router ip ( external ip ) and in the source port , a number which was generated by nat to identify this computer under the internal network . in that case , it does not matter whether the ip is dynamic or not , or even if the device is under an nat server . the goal is to have a reference of the source location with this information , and not using this information as a parameter that should precisely identify the device under an internal network . this way , this information can be stored in the administrative console and in the cloud and would work as if it was a regular ip address . even though ip and mac addresses can be cloned , they are just two of the parameters used to uniquely identify the computers , they are only part of the “ key ,” and a user who tries to steal or have unauthorized access to the files would need to know the mac address and ip of the computes allowed to access the files in order to clone this information , and again , the mac address and the ip of the computer are only part of the key . in embodiments of the invention , the reference file contains information such as hardware configuration items , operating system information , mac address , and op address to uniquely identify a computer . with the reference file , an authorized user can access the original file content via cloud storage . any request for the access to the protected file requires data from the referenced file . thus , when the request is made to the protected file , the protected file checks for the data in the referenced file . even if the protected file is stolen , the thief would not have access to the reference file and thus would not be able to decrypt the encrypted protected file . in embodiments of the invention , the protected file checks with the reference file if the access should be granted . there is a mapping between the protected file and the reference file . the protected file can have a file attribute that indicates the reference file . in embodiments of the invention , the reference file contains a method that checks the hardware and software of each computer accessing the protected file . this method may be , for example , a method invocation using rmi , or web service , etc . there is communication that is happening between the reference file and the protected file that decides on the access . this communication can be through a remote method call , as an example . in embodiments of the invention , the reference file contains a method which invokes a web services hosted in the cloud . the web service is hosted in the cloud , and the invocation of the web service happens from the reference file . in embodiments of the invention , the protected file should only be accessed once the credentials are verified , therefore before the credentials are verified , the protected file is totally protected and inaccessible . therefore , the reference file should contain the method to call the web service hosted in the cloud to verify the computer credentials . the method should be encapsulated in the reference file . the description of the invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description , and is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention in the form disclosed . many modifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope of the invention . the embodiments were chosen and described in order to explain the principles and applications of the invention , and to enable others of ordinary skill in the art to understand the invention . the invention may be implemented in various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to a particular contemplated use . | 6 |
novel method , system , and apparatus for controlling swirl of exhaust gas in a gas turbine are described . in one aspect , the described method , system , and apparatus utilize memory materials to control the flow area of the exhaust gas , the swirl angle of the exhaust gas , or both based on the load on the gas turbine . fig1 illustrates a front view of an example exhaust diffuser embodiment of a gas turbine according to the present invention . as seen the example exhaust diffuser 100 can include a shroud 110 and a wall 120 that surrounds the shroud 110 . the exhaust diffuser 100 may be double walled . in this instance , the exhaust diffuser 100 may also comprise an outer wall 130 that surrounds the wall 120 , which may also be referred to as the inner wall 120 . the exhaust diffuser 100 can include a plurality of struts 140 . each strut 140 can extend from the shroud 110 to the wall 120 . a plurality of exhaust flow passages 145 can be defined . each flow passage 145 can be bounded by the shroud 110 , the wall 120 and adjacent struts 140 . fig2 illustrates a top view and fig3 illustrates a side view of an example strut 140 . as seen in these figures , the strut 140 can include a support part 210 and a foil part 220 that surrounds the support part 210 . a strut cavity 235 can be formed in between the support part 210 and the foil part 220 . in one aspect , the strut cavity 235 can be used to carry cooling fluid so as to keep the temperature of the strut 140 within a predetermined range . the strut 140 can also include one or more shape memory devices 230 attached to the foil part 220 . preferably all , but at least one shape memory devices 230 can be structured to change its shape in accordance with a temperature of that shape memory device 230 . the shape memory device 230 may be a memory metal such as a nickel - titanium alloy . memory metals are also referred to as shape memory alloy ( sma ), shape memory metal ( smm ), smart metal , memory alloy , smart alloy , and so on . there are known uses for smart materials . semmere et al . ( u . s . pat . no . 7 , 462 , 976 b2 ) and care et al . ( u . s . pat . no . 6 , 485 , 255 b1 ), both incorporated by reference herein in their entirety , disclose examples of such known uses . when heat is applied to the memory metal , its shape can change . shape characteristics — e . g ., first shape at first temperature , second shape at second temperature , and so on — of the memory metal , or more generally , of the shape memory device 230 may be designed into the device 230 . when there are multiple shape memory devices 230 , they all need not be exactly alike . that is , at least two shape memory devices 230 can differ in their shape characteristics . as seen in fig2 , the strut 140 can include one or more memory device heaters 240 . each memory device heater 240 can be provided with a shape actuating signals from an external source , such as from a controller which is described in further detail below . based on the provided shape actuating signal , each memory device heater 240 can apply heat to at least one shape memory device 230 so as to affect the shape of that shape memory device 230 . the amount of heat applied can vary in accordance with the shape actuating signal provided to that memory device heater 240 . one example of the memory device heater 240 is an electrically powered heater , such as a resistor or a coil . in one aspect , a memory device heater 240 can be attached to a shape memory device 230 . this provides a direct way to apply heat to the attached shape memory device 230 . in another aspect , a memory device heater 240 can be attached to the foil part 220 and in close proximity to a shape memory device 230 such that the heat from the memory device heater 240 is applied to that shape memory device 230 . that is , the memory device heater 240 and the shape memory device 230 can be considered to be in thermal connection with each other . in yet another aspect , the memory device heater 240 may be a microwave device structured to apply microwave energy to a shape memory device 230 . when there are multiple memory device heaters 240 , they all need not be exactly alike . for example , one memory device heater 240 can be a resistor and another may be a coil . as another example , one may be capable of applying relatively high heat as opposed to another . also , the strut 140 may be structured such that a common shape actuating signal is provided to all memory device heaters 240 of the strut 140 . alternatively , the strut 140 may be structured such that at least one memory device heater 240 receives its corresponding shape actuating signal independent of the shape actuating signal received by another memory device heater 240 . there can be any number of shape memory devices 230 and any number of memory device heaters 240 , and the two need not necessarily be equal . in one aspect , one memory device heater 240 can be structured to apply heat to multiple shape memory devices 230 . in another aspect , one shape memory device 230 may be heated by multiple memory device heaters 240 . when the numbers of the shape memory devices 230 and of the memory device heaters 240 are equal , there can be one - to - one correspondence . that is , the strut 140 can be structured such that each memory device heater 240 applies heat to only one shape memory device 230 . alternatively , even when the numbers are equal , a group of memory device heaters 240 , the group comprising more than one memory device heater 240 , may commonly apply heat to a group of shape memory devices 230 , again the group comprising more than one shape memory devices 230 . use of memory device heaters 240 is one way to apply heat to the shape memory devices 230 . in another way , the cooling fluid flowing within the strut cavity 235 can also be used . that is , one or more shape memory devices 230 can be thermally connected with the cooling fluid via the foil part 220 . by controlling the temperature of the cooling fluid , heat applied to the shape memory devices 230 can be controlled . the cooling fluid and the memory device heaters 240 can be used exclusive of each other or can be used in combination . fig4 and 5 illustrate example changes in the exhaust flow passage 145 as due to changes in shape memory devices 230 . under normal operating conditions , shape actuating signals may be provided to the memory device heaters 240 ( not shown in these figures ) so as to control the shapes of the shape memory devices 230 to maximize the area of the exhaust flow passage 145 as illustrated in fig4 . often , the foil part 220 is aerodynamically contoured . thus , the shape memory devices 230 may be structured substantially conform to the contour of the outer strut 220 when maximum exhaust flow area is desired . of course , this is not a strict requirement . under part load conditions , the rate of the exhaust flow is reduced . thus , it is also desirable to correspondingly reduce the area of the exhaust flow passage 145 as illustrated in fig5 . this can be accomplished by providing the appropriate shape actuating signal or signals to the one or more memory device heaters 240 . note that the shapes of the shape memory devices 230 need not be the same under all operating conditions . as indicated above , one shape memory device 230 can differ in its shape characteristics from another shape memory device 230 . but even if two shape memory devices 230 have identical shape characteristics , the applied heat can be different for the two devices . for example , the strut 140 can be structured such that the shape actuating signal received by at least one memory device heater 240 is independent of the actuating signal received by at least one other memory device heater 240 . the shape memory devices 230 can be controlled so as to affect not only the area of the exhaust flow passage 145 , but also affect the swirl angle of the exhaust gas flow . more generally , by providing appropriate shape actuating signal or signals to the one or more memory device heaters 240 , one or both of the area of the exhaust flow passage 145 and the swirl angle of the exhaust gas flowing through the exhaust flow passage 145 can be controlled . recall that in addition to the adjacent struts 140 , each exhaust flow passage 145 can also be bounded by the shroud 110 and the wall 120 . thus , while not particularly illustrated in the figures , one or more shape memory devices 230 can be attached to the shroud 110 or to the wall 120 along with one or more memory device heaters 240 structured to apply heat to the shroud 110 or the wall 120 attached shaped memory devices 230 in accordance with the received shape actuating signals . through providing appropriate shape actuating signals to these memory device heaters 240 , the area of the exhaust flow passage 145 and / or the swirl angle of the exhaust gas flowing through the exhaust flow passage 145 can also be controlled . fig6 illustrates an architecture of an example gas turbine system 600 . as seen , the system 600 may include a compressor 610 , a combustor 620 fluidly connected to the compressor 610 , and a gas turbine 630 fluidly connected to the combustor 620 . the compressor 610 can be structured to compress oxidant , e . g ., air , and provide the compressed oxidant to the combustor 620 . the combustor 620 can be structured to combust a mixture of fuel and the compressed oxidant and provide high energy gas to the gas turbine 630 , which can in turn be structured convert energy of the high energy gas from into useful work to drive a load 660 . in fig6 , the load 660 is a generator , and the useful work is in the form of mechanical energy used to drive the generator to generate electricity . while not shown , the useful work can come in a form of a thrust which can be used to propel an airplane . the system 600 can include any one or more of a compressor sensor 615 , a combustor sensor 625 , a turbine sensor 635 and a load sensor 665 , each structured to monitor its respective system component . for example , the compressor sensor may detect or otherwise determine any one or more of an intake oxidant temperature , oxygen content of the compressed oxidant , pressure of the compressed oxidant , compressor discharge temperature , etc . the combustor sensor 625 may detect or otherwise determine any one or more of a combustion temperature and acoustical dynamics . the turbine sensor 635 may detect or otherwise determine any one or more of an exhaust temperature and pressure , flow rate of the energized gas through various stages ( e . g ., high pressure , intermediate pressure , low pressure ), etc . the load sensor 665 may detect or otherwise determine the load on the gas turbine 630 . the system 600 can also include one or more ambient sensors 640 that are not necessarily specific to any of the system component . for example , an ambient sensor 640 may detect or determine an ambient temperature . the system 600 can also include a controller 650 structured to control an operation of the gas turbine system 600 . as seen , the controller 650 can receive as inputs the sensor signals from any one or more of the sensors 615 , 625 , 635 , 640 , 665 . the controller 650 can also receive operation inputs such as instructions for start up , partial load operation , full load operation , shut down , and so on . based on the inputs , the controller 650 can output control signals to any one or more of the system components 610 , 620 , 630 . in fig6 , the sensor signals from the sensors 615 , 625 , 635 , 640 , 665 to the controller 650 and the control signals from the controller 650 to the system components 610 , 620 , 630 . to minimize clutter , the connections of the sensor and control signals between the controller 650 and the system units 610 , 620 , 630 are not explicitly shown . among the control signals , the controller 650 can provide one or more shape actuating signals to the external diffuser 100 located towards the exhaust end of the gas turbine 630 . in particular , the controller 650 can provide the shape actuating signals to the one or more memory device heaters 240 . these shape actuating signals can be based on the load signal indicative of the load on the gas turbine 630 . the load signal can be provided by the load sensor 660 . the shape actuating signals can also be based on an ambient temperature signal from one of the ambient sensors 640 that detects or determines an ambient temperature . just for explanatory purposes and not as a limitation , a range of ambient temperature may range between − 20 ° f . and 120 ° f . generally , a drop in ambient temperature results in a reduction of the exhaust temperature . other sensor signals that may be taken into account by the controller 650 in providing the shape actuating signals include temperature of the compressor discharge ( e . g ., from the compressor sensor 615 ) and the gas turbine exhaust temperature ( e . g ., from the turbine sensor 635 ). of course , these are not exhaustive . it suffices to indicate that many of the sensor inputs that are taken into account to actuate swirl control may also serve as inputs taken into account to provide shape actuating signals . recall from above discussion that between any two memory device heaters 240 , they need not receive the same shape actuating signal even under identical circumstances . for example , assume that at least one strut 140 comprises multiple memory device heaters 240 including first and second memory device heaters 240 respectively structured to apply heat to first and second shape memory devices 230 . the controller 650 can provide a first shape actuating signal to the first shape memory device 230 and independently provide a second shape actuating signal to the second shape memory device 230 . as another example , assume that the exhaust diffuser 100 includes multiple struts 140 including first and second struts 140 . the controller 650 can provide a first shape actuating signal to one or more memory device heaters 240 of the first strut 140 and independently provide a second shape actuating signal to one or more memory device heaters 240 of the second strut 140 . the first and second actuating signals in regards the first and second struts 140 discussed in this paragraph are not necessarily the same as the first and second actuating signals in regards the first and second memory device heaters 240 discussed in the previous paragraph . flexibility to provide independent shape actuating signals to a particular strut 140 can allow the controller 650 to finely control the shapes of the shape memory units 230 of that particular strut 140 . flexibility to provide independent shape actuating signals among the struts 140 can allow the controller 650 to finely control the shapes of the shape memory units 230 across the plurality of struts 140 . of course , both flexibility within and among the struts are possible . in another aspect , the control signals can include signals to control one or both of a temperature and a flow rate of the cooling fluid flowing within the strut cavity 235 of one or more struts 140 . the shape change actuating signals and the cooling fluid control signals can be exclusive of each other or in conjunction with each other . fig7 illustrates a flow chart of an example method to control exhaust gases exiting through an exhaust diffuser of a gas turbine of a gas turbine system . for purposes of explanation , the gas turbine system 600 of fig6 is assumed . the method 700 in fig7 can be performed by the controller 650 . in step 710 , the controller 650 can receive sensor signals from any one or more of the sensors 615 , 625 , 635 , 640 and 665 . a load signal indicative of the load on the gas turbine 630 , e . g ., from the load sensor 665 , may be included among the received sensor signals . in step 720 , the controller 650 may also receive one or more operation inputs . based at least on the received load signal , the controller 650 in step 730 may provide one or more shape actuating signals to one or more memory device heaters 240 . alternative to or in conjunction with step 730 , the controller 650 can provide one or more cooling fluid control signals to the gas turbine 630 based on the sensor and / or operation input signals . in step 710 , the received sensor signals may also include ambient temperature signal from the ambient sensor 640 . then in step 730 , the ambient temperature signal may also be taken into account when the controller 650 provides the shape actuating signals . in step 730 , shaping signals can be independently provided to multiple memory device heaters 240 within any particular strut , independently provided to multiple struts 140 , or both . several advantages can be realized by one or more aspects of the disclosed subject matter . a non - exhaustive list of advantages include : improved efficiency ; improved part - load operation ; and reduced auxiliary power to control exhaust swirl . this written description uses examples to disclose the invention , including the best mode , and also to enable any person skilled in the art to practice the invention , including making and using any devices or systems and performing any incorporated methods . the patentable scope of the invention is defined by the claims , and may include other examples that occur to those skilled in the art . such other examples are intended to be within the scope of the claims if they have structural elements that do not differ from the literal language of the claims , or if they include equivalent structural elements with insubstantial differences from the literal language of the claims . | 5 |
the present invention may be understood more readily by reference to the following detailed description of preferred embodiments of the invention and the examples included therein . in the following specification and the claims which follow , reference will be made to a number of terms which shall be defined to have the following meanings : the singular forms “ a ”, “ an ” and “ the ” include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise . “ optional ” or “ optionally ” means that the subsequently described event or circumstance may or may not occur , and that the description includes instances where the event occurs and instances where it does not . as used herein the term “ polycarbonate ” refers to polycarbonates incorporating structural units derived from one or more dihydroxy aromatic compounds and includes copolycarbonates and polyester carbonates . as used herein , the term “ melt polycarbonate ” refers to a polycarbonate made by a process comprising the transesterification of a diaryl carbonate with a bisphenol . “ catalytically effective amount ” refers to the amount of the catalyst at which catalytic performance is exhibited . as used herein the term “ contact time ” is used interchangeably with reaction time . as used herein the term “ alkyl radical ” refers to a radical having a valence of at least one comprising a linear or branched array of atoms which is not cyclic . the array may include heteroatoms such as nitrogen , sulfur and oxygen or may be composed exclusively of carbon and hydrogen . examples of alkyl radicals include methyl , methylene , ethyl , ethylene , hexyl , hexamethylene and the like . as used herein the term “ aromatic radical ” refers to a radical having a valence of at least one comprising at least one aromatic group . examples of aromatic radicals include phenyl , pyridyl , furanyl , thienyl , naphthyl , phenylene , and biphenyl . the term includes groups containing both aromatic and aliphatic components , for example a benzyl group . as used herein the term “ cycloalkyl radical ” refers to a radical having a valence of at least one comprising an array of atoms which is cyclic but which is not aromatic . the array may include heteroatoms such as nitrogen , sulfur and oxygen or may be composed exclusively of carbon and hydrogen . examples of cycloalkyl radicals include cyclopropyl , cyclopentyl cyclohexyl , tetrahydrofuranyl and the like . in the present invention it has been discovered that ester - substituted phenols such as methyl salicylate are efficiently converted to ester - substituted diaryl carbonates such as bis - methyl salicyl carbonate under mild reaction conditions while minimizing the use of excess phosgene . in one aspect the present invention provides a method for the efficient preparation of an ester - substituted diaryl carbonate having structure i wherein r 1 is independently at each occurrence c 3 - c 20 alkyl radical , c 4 - c 20 cycloalkyl radical or c 4 - c 20 aromatic radical , r 2 is independently at each occurrence a hydrogen atom , halogen atom , cyano group , nitro group , c 1 - c 20 alkyl radical , c 4 - c 20 cycloalkyl radical , c 4 - c 20 aromatic radical , c 1 - c 20 alkoxy radical , c 4 - c 20 cycloalkoxy radical , c 4 - c 20 aryloxy radical , c 1 - c 20 alkylthio radical , c 4 - c 20 cycloalkylthio radical , c 4 - c 20 arylthio radical , c 1 - c 20 alkylsulfinyl radical , c 4 - c 20 cycloalkylsulfinyl radical , c 4 - c 20 arylsulfinyl radical , c 1 - c 20 alkylsulfonyl radical c 4 - c 20 cycloalkylsulfonyl radical , c 4 - c 20 arylsulfonyl radical , c 1 - c 20 alkoxycarbonyl radical , c 4 - c 20 cycloalkoxycarbonyl radical , c 4 - c 20 aryloxycarbonyl radical , c 2 - c 60 alkylamino radical , c 6 - c 60 cycloalkylamino radical , c 5 - c 60 arylamino radical , c 1 - c 40 alkylaminocarbonyl radical , c 4 - c 40 cycloalkylaminocarbonyl radical , c 4 - c 40 arylaminocarbonyl radical , and c 1 - c 20 acylamino radical ; and b is independently at each occurrence an integer 0 - 4 . examples of ester - substituted diaryl carbonates which may be prepared using the method of the present invention include bis - methyl salicyl carbonate ( cas registery no . 82091 - 12 - 1 ), bis - ethyl salicyl carbonate , bis - propyl salicyl carbonate , bis - butyl salicyl carbonate , bis - benzyl salicyl carbonate , bis - methyl 4 - chlorosalicyl carbonate and the like . typically bis - methyl salicyl carbonate is preferred for use in melt polycarbonate synthesis due to its lower molecular weight and higher vapor pressure . according to the method of the present invention an ester - substituted phenol is contacted with phosgene in an amount equivalent to from about 0 . 95 to about 1 . 20 , preferably about 1 . 0 to about 1 . 1 and even more preferably about 1 . 01 to about 1 . 05 moles of phosgene per mole of ester - substituted phenol the product ester - substituted diaryl carbonate , said contact taking place in a in a two phase system comprising water and a water - immiscible solvent , an acid acceptor , a phase transfer catalyst , and optionally a tertiary amine catalyst , the ester - substituted phenol being contacted with said phosgene for a contact time of sufficient length to allow the conversion of at least 90 % of the ester - substituted phenol into the product ester - substituted diaryl carbonate i . the ester - substituted phenol is at least one compound selected from among phenols having structure ii wherein r 1 and r 2 are defined as in structure i and b is an integer 0 - 4 . examples of ester - substituted phenols which may serve as starting materials for the method of the present invention include methyl salicylate , ethyl salicylate , propyl salicylate , butyl salicylate , benzyl salicylate , methyl 4 - chlorosalicylate and the like . typically , methyl salicylate is preferred . the two phase system is comprised of an aqueous phase and an organic phase . the ph of the aqueous phase is controlled throughout the reaction by the addition of aqueous base . suitable bases include alkali metal hydroxides such as sodium hydroxide and lithium hydroxide and alkaline earth metal hydroxides such as calcium hydroxide and magnesium hydroxide . an aqueous solution of sodium hydroxide containing from about 5 to about 50 percent by weight naoh is preferred . care must be taken in order to maintain a ph of the aqueous phase of at least about 9 . 3 during the contact time because rates of ester - substituted diaryl carbonate formation drop dramatically at lower ph . in one embodiment of the present invention the ph of the aqueous phase is maintained at between about 9 . 3 and about 12 , preferably between about 10 . 3 and about 12 . the organic phase is at least one solvent said solvent being immiscible with water . the organic phase may comprise a halogenated or a non - halogenated solvent . examples of halogenated solvents suitable for use in the method of the present invention are methylene chloride and chloroform . examples of non - halogenated solvents suitable for use in the method of the present invention are toluene and ethyl acetate . the amount of solvent used is such that there is sufficient solvent to dissolve the ester - substituted phenol . typically , a solution of the ester - substituted phenol in the water immiscible solvent contains between about 5 and about 50 weight percent ester - substituted phenol . in one embodiment of the present invention the volume of the aqueous phase is roughly equal to the volume of the organic phase at the outset of the reaction . the contact between the ester - substituted phenol and phosgene may take place at below ambient temperature , ambient temperature or above ambient temperature . in one embodiment of the present invention ester - substituted phenol is contacted with phosgene at a temperature of between about 0 ° c . and about 50 ° c . preferably between about 10 ° c . and about 40 ° c . the contact between the ester - substituted phenol and phosgene is of a sufficient length of time such that greater than 90 % preferably greater than 95 % and still more preferably greater than 98 % of the starting ester - substituted phenol is converted to product ester - substituted diaryl carbonate and is referred to as the reaction time . in one embodiment the present invention the reaction time is in a range between about 5 and about 60 minutes . in embodiments of the present invention in which phosgene is added to a solution of the ester - substituted phenol reaction times are limited by the rate of phosgene addition . the method of the present invention relies upon the unexpected finding that a phase transfer catalyst dramatically improves the conversion of ester - substituted phenols to product diaryl carbonates when said phenols are contacted with phosgene in a two phase reaction system comprising aqueous and organic phases in which the ph of the aqueous is controlled by the addition of an aqueous base such as aqueous sodium hydroxide . suitable phase transfer catalysts are widely available and include quaternary ammonium salts of aliphatic amines , quaternary ammonium salts of aromatic amines , quaternary phosphonium salts , sulfonium salts , polyethers and the like . quarternary ammonium salts of aliphatic amines are illustrated by methyl tributyl ammonium chloride , tetramethyl ammonium chloride and the like . quarternary ammonium salts of aromatic amines are illustrated by n - benzyl pyridinium chloride , n - benzyl 4 - n ′, n ′- dimethylamino pyridinium chloride and the like . quarternary ammonium slats include hexaalkyl guanidinium compounds such as hexaethyl guanidinium chloride . quaternary phosphonium salts are illustrated by tetrabutyl phosphonium acetate and the like . sulfonium salts are illustrated by trimethyl sulfonium chloride and the like . polyethers are illustrated by polyethylene glycol and crown ethers such as 18 - crown 6 and the like . in one embodiment of the present invention the phase transfer catalyst is a quarternary ammonium compound having structure iii wherein r 3 - r 6 are independently a c 1 - c 20 alkyl radical , c 4 - c 20 cycloalkyl radical or a c 4 - c 20 aryl radical and x − is at least one organic or inorganic anion . suitable anions x − include hydroxide , halide , carboxylate , sulfonate , sulfate , carbonate and bicarbonate . where x − is a polyvalent anion such as carbonate or sulfate it is understood that the positive and negative charges in structure iii are properly balanced . for example , where r 3 - r 6 in structure iii are each methyl groups and x − is carbonate , it is understood that x − represents ½ ( co 3 − 2 ). quarternary ammonium compounds having structure iii and which are suitable for use as phase transfer catalysts according to the method of the present invention are illustrated by methyl tributyl ammonium chloride , tetrabutyl ammonium chloride and decyl trimethyl ammonium chloride . the amount of phase transfer catalyst employed is in a range between about 0 . 1 and about 2 , preferably between about 0 . 25 and about 1 . 0 mole percent catalyst per mole of ester - substituted phenol employed . in one embodiment of the present invention a tertiary amine is also included as a co - catalyst for the formation of ester - substituted diaryl carbonates . the tertiary amine has been found to accelerate the formation of ester - substituted diary carbonate product and to act to minimize the presence of the intermediate ester - substituted phenyl chloroformate in the product . the optional use of a tertiary amine added after phosgene addition has been completed has been found useful in reaction systems in which the chloroformate intermediates tend to persist . thus , phosgene addition to a two phase reaction system comprising a water immiscible organic solvent , water , an acid acceptor , an ester - substituted phenol and a phase transfer catalyst under the conditions of the present invention may at times result in the a product mixture comprising ester - substituted diaryl carbonate and the intermediate ester - substituted phenyl chloroformate . typically , the amount of ester - substituted phenyl chloroformate is low , less than 1 mole percent based upon the total number of moles of phenol employed but its presence in the product is undesirable . it has been found that a small amount of a tertiary amine added following the phosgenation step provides a means of eliminating residual chloroformates , present in the product mixture . typically , the amount of tertiary amine co - catalyst used is in a range between about 0 . 01 mole and about 1 mole percent based upon the total number of moles of ester - substituted phenol employed . tertiary amines suitable for use as co - catalysts according to the method of the present invention are illustrated by triethylamine , diisopropyl ethyl amine , tributyl amine , and 1 , 4 - diazabicyclooctane . the following examples are set forth to provide those of ordinary skill in the art with a detailed description of how the methods claimed herein are evaluated , and are not intended to limit the scope of what the inventors regard as their invention . unless indicated otherwise , parts are by weight , temperature is in ° c . in the tables which follow examples of the present invention are designated by a number , for example , 1 , representing example 1 . comparative examples are designated by “ ce - number ”, for example , ce - 1 for comparative example 1 . a 500 milliliter , 5 neck baffled round bottom flask equipped with a mechanical stirrer , ph probe , sodium hydroxide inlet , condenser , phosgene inlet , nitrogen inlet and gas outlet connected to an efficient phosgene scrubber , was charged with phenol ( 40 . 00 g , 0 . 4255 moles ) 112 ml of methylene chloride and 84 . 5 ml of water . triethylamine ( 0 . 0043 g , 0 . 0043 moles ) was added to the reaction mixture . phosgene ( 25 . 27 g ( 0 . 2553 moles ) was added at 0 . 5 grams per minute ( g / min ) while maintaining a ph of 10 . 3 with the counter addition of 50 % sodium hydroxide . upon completion of the addition of phosgene , nitrogen was allowed to purge the system for 5 minutes . a sample was taken , quenched with acid and analyzed by liquid chromatography . phenol was converted in essentially quantitative yield to diphenyl carbonate as determined by hplc . comparative examples 2 - 5 were carried out under essentially identical conditions using 20 mole percent excess phosgene except that the ph of the aqueous phase was varied between 10 . 3 and 7 . 3 . initial starting concentrations for comparative examples 1 - 5 was 31 percent solids . the data in table 1 illustrate that although diphenyl carbonate ( comparative example 1 ) may be prepared efficiently using a 20 percent molar excess of phosgene and triethylamine as a catalyst , application of these conditions to methyl salicylate results in incomplete conversion to product bis - methyl salicyl carbonate ( bmsc ). conversion of methyl salicylate was incomplete even with the use of 20 percent excess phosgene and showed a strong dependence upon the ph of the aqueous phase . a 500 milliliter , 5 - neck baffled round bottom flask equipped with a mechanical stirrer , ph probe , sodium hydroxide inlet , condenser , phosgene inlet , nitrogen inlet and gas outlet connected to an efficient phosgene scrubber , was charged with methyl salicylate ( 42 . 92 g , 0 . 2821 moles ), 112 ml of methylene chloride and 84 . 5 ml of water , and methyl tributyl ammonium chloride ( 0 . 0028 mole mtba ). phosgene ( 16 . 76 g , 0 . 1693 moles ) was added at 0 . 5 grams per minute while maintaining a ph of 10 . 3 with the counter addition of 50 % sodium hydroxide . upon completion of the phosgene addition , the reaction mixture was purged with nitrogen for 5 minutes . a sample was taken , quenched with acid , and analyzed by liquid chromatography . methyl salicylate was converted to bis - methyl salicyl carbonate ( bmsc ) in greater than 99 % yield as determined by hplc . data are gathered in table 2 for examples 1 - 7 which illustrate the method of the present invention . examples 2 - 7 were carried out essentially identically to example 1 with the following exceptions . examples 2 - 7 each employed a small amount of triethylamine as a co - catalyst . in examples 3 and 4 the triethylamine was added prior to phosgenation whereas in examples 2 , 5 , 6 and 7 the triethylamine was added after the completion of phosgenation . examples 1 - 4 were run at a concentration equivalent to that shown for comparative examples 2 - 5 of table 1 . starting concentrations for examples 1 - 4 and comparative examples 1 - 5 were such that , assuming 100 % conversion of methyl salicylate or phenol to product bmsc or dpc , the weight of the product diaryl carbonate would represent 31 percent by weight of the methylene chloride employed at the outset of the reaction . this is designated 31 percent solids . examples 5 , 6 and 7 were run at slightly higher concentrations 37 . 3 , 54 . 4 and 70 percent solids respectively . at concentrations of about 45 percent solids and higher the product bmsc was observed to precipitate from the reaction mixture and additional methylene chloride was added for work up and hplc analysis . examples 1 - 6 were run at ambient temperature . in example 7 the reaction mixture was immersed in an ice bath during the reaction . values for percent conversion of methyl salicylate are provided as well as the selectivity for bmsc . the selectivity is the hplc peak area generated by the bmsc peak relative to the total peak area of all products peaks present in the crude product sample . in table 2 the symbol “*” indicates post - phosgenation addition of triethylamine . the invention has been described in detail with particular reference to preferred embodiments thereof , but it will be understood by those skilled in the art that variations and modifications can be effected within the spirit and scope of the invention . | 2 |
the embodiments of the present invention shall be described in the following with reference to the drawings . fig4 is a circuit diagram showing the present invention . insofar as the components are the same as that shown in fig1 the same reference numerals are employed . its difference from the one shown in fig1 is that an angle advancing circuit f consisting of a series circuit of a zener diode 14 and resistance 15 is connected across the line l 1 and the base of the switching transistor 9 . also , a diode 16 is connected in the illustrated direction between the emitter of the transistor 10 and the primary coil 13a . in this circuit , at the time of starting the engine , the put 6 will be on at or a little past the peak of the primary short - circuiting current . the switching transistor 9 will be thereby on and then the transistor 10 will be off . the primary short - circuiting current flowing through this transistor 10 will be interrupted and a high voltage will be generated in the secondary coil 13b of the ignition coil d . when the rotation speed of the engine becomes gradually higher , by the charging and discharging time constant of the circuit consisting of the resistances 1 and 2 and capacitor 3 , and although the put 6 has which had been on at or a little past the peak of the primary short - circuiting current , then the timing of setting it on will be gradually delayed ( for example , as in the solid lines x or dotted lines y in fig3 and 11 ). further , when the rotating speed of the engine rises , the potential of the line l 1 will reach the set potential of the zener diode 14 and will break over . therefore , whereas the two transistors 9 and 10 had been controlled to be on and off by setting the above mentioned put 6 on , the two transistors 9 and 10 will have been previously controlled to be on and off with the series circuit of the zener diode 14 and resistance 15 and the potential dividing circuit of the resistance 7 by sensing the voltage level of the potential dividing circuit of the zener diode 14 and resistance 15 . therefore , until the zener diode 14 breaks over after the engine starts , the operation of the put 6 is made in the delaying direction by the above mentioned charging and discharging time constant . when , however , zener diode 14 breaks over the operation of the transistors 9 and 10 ( to be on and off ) will advance gradually or quickly , as for example , shown by the dotted lines y or solid lines x in fig3 and 11 . therefore , the ignition timing of the engine will gradually delay at the rotation speed just before the zener diode 14 breaks over . when the rotation speed further rises and the zener diode 14 breaks over , the angle will be gradually advanced or will be made a jump - spark advance angle . further , when the number of revolutions of the engine is elevated , in the rotation ranges of a low speed ( clutching rotation ), medium speed and normal rotation speed , the negative current of the primary coil 13a of the ignition coil d will be prevented by the diode 16 from flowing through the transistor 10 ( emitter - collector ). therefore , the influence of the reaction of the armature will be eliminated , the primary short - circuiting current , ( positive current ) producing no delay , will be made to flow through the transistor 10 , and therefore the ignition time will be substantially constant ( the proper ignition time of the engine ) in the respective rotation ranges of the low speed , medium speed and normal rotation speed as shown in fig3 and 11 . the output of the internal combustion engine will be stabilized and the startability will improve . incidentally , when the above mentioned resistance 5 is replaced with a temperature compensating circuit consisting of resistances 17 and 18 and a thermistor 19 as shown in fig5 the temperature of the put 6 will be compensated . further , although it is necessary to set a proper ignition time at the time of starting the engine , at which the engine can develop the maximum output at the time of the normal rotation , the ignition time of the engine is delayed during the period from the starting to the normal rotation so that the ignition time will be on the side a little advanced from the proper ignition time at the time of the normal rotation . therefore , ( as the piston will be lowered before it reaches the top dead center ,) when the engine is to be started , it will reversely rotate and will be difficult to start in some case . therefore , at the time of starting the engine , the ignition time will have to be set on the side delayed from the proper ignition time at the normal rotation . thereby , the engine will be able to be operated easily without being reversely rotated at the time of starting . in fig6 a protecting circuit g for the ignition coil d is connected to the circuit shown in fig4 . this protecting circuit g consists of a resistance 20 and a thyristor 21 connected in series between the lines l 1 and l 2 and two resistances 22 and 23 connected in series between their connecting middle point and the line l 2 . the gate of the thyristor 21 is connected to the connecting middle point of the two resistances 22 and 23 . in the above mentioned circuit , influences of the armature reaction , as is mentioned above , will not be produced in the low speed , medium speed and normal rotation speed ranges of the engine . therefore , when a surge voltage such as a primary interrupted voltage rises , the insulation of the transistor 10 or particularly the ignition coil d will be likely to be destroyed or deteriorated . however , when the ignition coil d is unloaded , if the voltage level at the connecting middle point of the above mentioned resistances 22 and 23 is sensed and the thyristor 21 is set on , the current applied to the ignition coil d will be able to be shunted to a set level . the primary interrupted voltage ( surge voltage ) to the ignition coil d and the excess voltage of the secondary unloading voltage will be cut and set at values only required to generate a spark of the spark plug e . by the way , when the values of the above mentioned resistances 22 and 23 are made variable , the values of the above mentioned primary interrupted voltage ( surge voltage ) and secondary unloading voltage will be able to be freely set . incidentally when , instead of the thyristor 21 and resistances 20 , 22 and 23 , a ballist or a surge absorbing element is connected between the lines l 1 and l 2 , the above mentioned electronic parts and ignition coil will be able to be protected . in fig7 an over rotation preventing circuit h and an electronic part protecting circuit i are connected to the circuit shown in fig4 . the over rotation preventing circuit h is as follows . the reference numeral 24 comprises a diode 24 , a capacitor 25 and a diode 26 . they are connected in series between the lines l 1 and l 2 . a series circuit consisting of a thyristor 27 and capacitor 28 is connected between the connecting middle point of the resistance 15 and the base of the switching transistor 9 and the line l 2 . the reference numerals 29 and 30 denote respectively a resistance and capacitor connected in parallel between the cathode and gate of the thyristor . further , the connecting middle point of the diode 24 and capacitor 25 is connected to the cathode of the thyristor 27 . the connecting middle point of the above mentioned capacitor 25 and diode 26 is connected to the gate of the thyristor 27 through a resistance 31 . by the way , the electronic part protecting circuit i is of the same formation as is shown in fig1 . in the circuit of the formation shown in fig7 in the low speed , medium speed and normal rotation speed ranges of the engine , the capacitor 25 will be charged in the illustrated polarity through the diodes 24 and 26 in the negative half cycle of the primary winding 13a voltage and will be discharged through the resistances 31 and 29 in the positive half cycle . however , as the charging and discharging time of the capacitor 25 does not reach to the positive half cycle a1 of the primary voltage a2 of the primary winding 13a as shown in fig8 a , even if the trigger signal b is put into the gate of the above mentioned thyristor 27 and the thyristor is operated to be on , the operation of the transistor 9 of the above mentioned switching controlling circuit b will not be influenced at all . by the way , in the same diagram , the reference symbol a 1 denotes a charging and discharging voltage wave form of the capacitor 25 , a 2 denotes a primary voltage wave form of the ignition coil and b denotes a trigger level of the thyristor 27 . however , at the time point at which the rotation speed of the engine reaches the set over rotation range , as shown in fig8 ( b ), the charging and discharging time a1 of the capacitor 25 will come into the positive half cycle of the above mentioned primary voltage a2 and , even if the primary voltage changes to be positive from being negative , the thyristor 27 will remain on and the above mentioned capacitor 28 will be charged with a positive voltage . therefore , whereas the switching of the primary short - circuiting current has been controlled with a potential dividing level of a series circuit of the zener diode 14 and resistance 15 having the base of the transistor 9 as a middle point and the resistance 7 , the interrupting timing of the primary short - circuiting current will quickly vary with the charging time constant of the above mentioned resistance 15 and capacitor 28 and the ignition time of the engine will also quickly delay in the angle . as a result , the over rotation of the engine will be prevented . instead of the above mentioned resistance 29 , a temperature compensating circuit for the thyristor 27 consisting of the resistance 23 and thermistor 34 can be connected as shown in fig9 . fig1 shows further another embodiment of the present invention . therein , an ignition coil protecting circuit g is connected to the circuit shown in fig7 . thereby , the as is described in connection with fig6 the insulation of the ignition coil d can be prevented from being destroyed by the rise of the secondary unloading voltage . further , the control of the ignition timing of the engine will be as shown in fig1 . from the starting rotation range to the normal rotation range , an angle advancing circuit f is provided . in the set over rotation range , the ignition timing will be able to be quickly reduced by the action of the over rotation preventing circuit h to reduce the engine rotation . fig1 shows a contactless ignition circuit having the same over rotation preventing circuit h as is mentioned above . in the diagram , a capacitor 41 and resistance 15 are connected in series with the primary winding 13a of the ignition coil d . a resistance 42 and a series circuit of a thermistor 43 and resistance 44 are connected respectively in parallel with this capacitor 41 . the reference numeral 9 denotes the same switching transistor as is already described having its base connected to the connecting middle point of the resistance 15 and capacitor 7 , the collector being connected to the line l 1 through the resistance 8 and the emitter connected to the line l 2 . further , a transistor 45 has its base connected to the collector of the transistor 9 , the collector being connected to the line l 1 through a resistance 46 and the emitter being connected to the line l 2 . the reference numeral 47 denotes a pnp type transistor having the base connected to the collector of the transistor 13 and the emitter connected to the base of the transistor 10 in the next step . further , this transistor 10 has its collector and emitter also connected respectively to the above mentioned lines l 1 and l 2 . now , if a voltage is induced in the primary side winding of the ignition coil by the rotation of the rotor , in the half cycle in which the potential of the line l 1 is positive , an electric current will flow through the series circuit of the resistance 15 and capacitor 41 so that the base potential of the transistor 9 will gradually rise on the basis of the charging circuit time constant of the series circuit . meanwhile , as the transistor 9 is still off , when the base potential of the transistor 45 rises to a predetermined potential , the transistor 45 will be on and its collector potential will reduce . therefore , the base potential of the transistor 47 will be reduced , a current will flow between the emitter and the base of the transistor 47 . the transistor 47 will also be on and the transistor 10 connected in series with the transistor 47 will be immediately on . therefore , a large current will flow between the collector and emitter of this transistor 10 . on the other hand , the above mentioned capacitor 41 will be gradually charged , and when its terminal voltage reaches a predetermined potential , a current will begin to flow between the base and the emitter of the transistor 9 and this transistor 9 will be on . with this , all the transistors 9 , 45 , 47 and 10 having been on as mentioned above will be converted to be off . when the large current flowing through the transistor 10 is interrupted , a high voltage will be generated in the secondary side coil 13b of the ignition coil d and a spark will be generated in the spark plug . now , the charging and discharging voltage of the above mentioned capacitor 25 will be as shown by the diagram a 1 in fig8 ( a ). the capacitor 25 will be charged during the negative half cycle period of the ignition coil d and a trigger voltage will be put into the gate of the thyristor 27 through the resistance 31 . the trigger level of this thyristor 27 is shown as tl . however , at this time , the anode side of the thyristor 27 will not be positive and the cathode side will not be negative . that is to say , the above mentioned capacitor 28 will not be charged and the transistor 9 will be controlled to be on with the resistance 15 and the charging time constant of the capacitor 41 . on the other hand , when the number of revolutions of the rotor is over the normal number of revolutions in response to the number of revolutions of the engine , in the same negative half cycle as is mentioned above , the capacitor 25 will be charged , the positive and negative discharge voltages of the capacitor 25 will overlap with each other and a predetermined trigger current will be put into the thyristor 27 . in the positive half cycle of the induced voltage of the ignition coil d , the discharging time constant of the discharge circuit consisting of the capacitor 25 and resistances 29 and 31 will be so sufficiently larger as shown in fig8 ( b ) than at the time of the low speed of the engine that the above mentioned trigger current will continue to flow even during the above mentioned positive half cycle period in response to the discharging time constant and the thyristor 27 will remain on . therefore , the capacitor 28 connected to the thyristor 27 will be charged with a positive voltage and will be newly connected to the base of the above mentioned transistor 9 so as to increase in the capacity , the total charging circuit time constant will increase and the timing at which this transistor 10 becomes on will delay . therefore , the timing at which the transistors 45 , 47 and 10 become off will also delay and the timing of interrupting the short - circuiting current flowing through the primary side winding 13a of the ignition coil d will also delay . fig1 shows a primary interrupted current wave form in such case . as a result , the ignition timing will delay at a predetermined normal number of revolutions , that is , at the time point when the thyristor 27 becomes on and will then continuously delay at a proper gradient depending on the charging time constant determined by the above mentioned capacitors 41 and 28 and resistance 15 with the rise of the number of revolutions of the engine . in this embodiment , as the switching transistor 9 and transistors 45 , 47 and 10 are connected in series and the transistor 10 for interrupting the primary short - circuiting current is interrupted and controlled by a large input power , the control sensitivity can be improved . further , a thyristor can be used in place of the above mentioned switching transistor 9 . as explained above , the present invention provides for a circuit connecting a conventional trigger circuit , switching controlling circuit and ignition coil , an angle advancing circuit operating the switching controlling circuit prior to the trigger circuit , an over rotation preventing circuit preventing over rotations and various protecting circuits with them for the states and uses . therefore , there can be obtained advantages that the engine will start smoothly and the operation after the start will be stable . | 5 |
the casting receptable 1 shown in fig1 comprises a cylindrical shell 2 having preferably a substantially round cross - profile , but other suitable cross - profile shapes , such as an ellipse and quadrangle , are also possible . the top end of the casting receptable 1 is closed with a lid 3 or the like , making the casting receptable substantially gas tight . in a closed casting receptable , melt cannot get into contact with the surrounding air during transport . in addition , the melt cools clearly less during transport than in open casting receptables . the bottom part of the shell of the casting receptable 1 is shaped like a cut cone 2 a . at the bottom of the casting receptable 1 , there is a filling opening 4 , through which melt metal 5 is fed inside the casting receptable and correspondingly out of it . an elongated shutter plug 6 is arranged through the casting receptable 1 and has a bottom end in the shape of a sharp cone . the shutter plug 6 opens and closes the filling opening 4 when moved vertically y by means of an actuator 7 . the actuator 7 is preferably a pressure medium cylinder , but any other power unit and mechanism can also be used to provide the required linear movement . the return movement of the shutter plug can be arranged by means of a spring 8 . in the solution of fig1 the shutter plug 6 is shown in its closed position . correspondingly , the open position of the shutter plug 6 is shown in fig1 with a dashed line . the vertical cross - profile of the lowest section of the shutter plug 6 is substantially in the shape of a quadrangle standing on its tip , whereby it comprises sealing surfaces 6 a and 6 b that in the closed position are arranged to press tightly against the sides of the filling opening 4 . the spring 8 then presses the shutter plug 6 against the bottom end of the shell 2 , whereby a compression stress acts on the shell due to the springback force , which preferably reduces the creeping tendency of metal casting receptables and further improves the strength of fragile ceramic casting receptables . the outer surfaces 6 c and 6 d of the bottom end of the shutter plug 6 form a sharp point at the bottom end of the casting receptable . the angle of inclination of the outer surfaces 6 c and 6 d is preferably the same as that of the conical bottom end 2 a of the shell 2 , whereby the bottom end of the casting receptable 1 becomes streamlined . the angle of the bottom end of the shutter plug 6 can differ to some extent from the angle of the bottom end 2 a of the shell 2 , and still they form a substantially uniform conical and streamlined outer surface at the bottom of the casting receptable . after the casting receptable 1 is immersed to a predetermined depth of the melt 5 in the furnace , the shutter plug 6 is opened by pushing it downwards by means of the actuator 7 to allow the melt metal 5 to flow inside the casting receptable 1 through the gap between the sides of the filling opening 4 and the sealing surfaces 6 a , 6 b of the shutter plug 6 . because the bottom end of the shutter plug 6 is sharp , and further because the bottom part of the casting receptable is conical , protective slag 9 on the surface of the melt 5 and impurities risen to the surface of the melt 5 are moved smoothly aside when the casting receptable 1 is immersed with its sharp point first into the melt 5 in the melting furnace . because the shutter plug 6 forms a substantially uniform outer surface with the shell 2 , no impurities remain at the bottom of the casting receptable that could enter the casting receptable when the filling opening 4 opens . on the outer surface side of the casting receptable 1 , there is a first sensor 10 that indicates the immersion depth of the casting receptable 1 into the melt 5 . further , inside the casting receptable 1 , there is a second sensor 11 that indicates the level of the melt 5 a inside the casting receptable , i . e . the degree of fullness of the casting receptable 1 . the sensors 10 and 11 are connected to a control unit 12 that controls the functions of the casting receptable , such as the immersion of the casting receptable into the melt , the transfer of the casting receptable from the melting furnace to the casting site , and the opening and closing of the shutter plug . [ 0024 ] fig1 further shows a channel 13 for feeding shielding gas into the casting receptable 1 . a suitable inert gas , such as nitrogen , that does not react harmfully with the melt metal can be used as the shielding gas . by feeding shielding gas at high pressure from the channel 13 above the melt 5 a in the casting receptable 1 , it is possible to speed up the emptying of the melt from the casting receptable , if necessary . the casting receptable shown in fig2 differs from the construction shown in fig1 in its shutter plug 6 , for instance . in this solution , the shutter plug 6 is arranged to open towards the inside of the casting receptable , i . e . contrary to fig1 . in the low position , the sealing surface 6 a of the shutter plug 6 , which is round in cross - profile , is tightly against the inside edges of the filling opening 4 . the lowest part of the shutter plug 6 is shaped like a sharp point 6 d in such a manner that when closed , the shutter plug 6 forms together with the convergent bottom part 2 a of the shell 2 a casting receptable 1 that is sharp - pointed at the bottom . in the solution of the figure , the height of the second sensor 11 monitoring the level of the melt 5 a inside the casting receptable 1 can be adjusted . at its simplest , the arm 11 a of the second sensor 11 is equipped with threads and the lid 3 correspondingly has a threaded counter part , whereby the elevation of the sensor can be steplessly adjusted by turning the sensor 11 around its longitudinal axis . alternatively , the lid 3 has suitable quick - release elements for locking the sensor to the desired elevation . at their simplest , both the first sensor 1 and the second sensor 11 are rods that are made of an electrically conductive and heat - resistant material , such as steel . the sensors 10 and 11 are electrodes of a kind , to which electric current is led . the casting receptable 1 can also be made of an electrically conductive material , in which case the casting receptable is arranged to serve as a second electrode . when the level of the melt 5 or 5 a reaches the outermost end of the sensor 10 or 11 , the metal melt acts as an electrically conductive medium between the sensor and the casting receptable . the creation of an electric circuit between the bottom end of the sensor 10 and the casting receptable 1 indicates that the casting receptable 1 is immersed in the correct depth in the melt 5 . correspondingly , the creation of an electric circuit between the bottom end of the sensor 11 and the casting receptable 1 indicates that a sufficient amount of melt 5 a is in the casting receptable 1 . if the casting receptable 1 is made of a non - conductive material , the sensor can comprise two electrodes at a distance from each other . [ 0026 ] fig3 shows a transport apparatus 14 for transferring the casting receptable 1 from the melting furnace 15 to the casting site 16 . the transport apparatus 14 comprises a handling arm 17 to which the casting receptable 1 is fastened . by means of the handling arm 17 , the casting receptable 1 can be moved vertically a for instance when the casting receptable is immersed into the melt 5 . the handling arm 17 can preferably be extended and retracted telescopically . the handling arm 17 is suspended by means of reels 21 or the like from a guide bar 18 , along which it can be moved horizontally b from the melting furnace 15 to the casting site 16 . the control unit 12 is arranged to also control the operation of the transport apparatus 14 . at the casting site 16 , the handling arm 17 lowers the casting receptable 1 ( shown as a dashed line ) to the feed channel 20 of the casting mould 19 . the conical bottom end of the casting receptable 1 seals against the sides of the feed channel 20 preventing the surrounding air from entering the casting mould 19 from the feed channel 20 . in fig4 the casting receptable 1 has been brought by means of the handling arm 17 to the feed channel 20 of a casting machine 22 . the feed channel 20 comprises a sealing 23 , against which the conical shell 2 a of the casting receptable presses in a gas - tight manner . alternatively , it is possible to feed pressurized shielding gas , such as nitrogen , from a channel 25 to a collar 24 arranged around the joining point between the casting receptable 1 and the feed channel 20 to prevent the surrounding air from entering into the feed channel 20 . when the casting receptable 1 is at the feed channel 20 in such a manner that the entry of outside air to the feed channel is prevented , shielding gas is fed from a channel 26 to a feed cylinder 27 of the casting machine 22 . the shielding gas flushes out the gases in the casting machine 22 and mould 19 . alternatively , the mould 19 is connected to a vacuum pump 28 that creates a negative pressure in the mould 19 and casting machine 22 . this ensures that the metal melt does not come into contact with undesirable gases during casting . the casting is done in such a manner that the shutter plug 6 opens the filling opening 4 of the casting receptable 1 to allow the melt 5 a to enter the feed channel 20 of the casting machine 22 and the feed cylinder 27 . when a sufficient amount of melt is in the feed cylinder 27 , a feed piston 29 strikes and pushes melt into the mould cavity 19 a of the mould 19 . after this , the feed piston 29 makes a return movement , the mould 19 is opened and the formed piece is removed , and a new gas flushing or negative pressure creation is performed before the next stroke of the feed piston 29 . [ 0028 ] fig5 shows a shutter plug 6 with a paraboloid bottom end . in this case , too , the shutter plug is at its bottom end sharp enough to push protective slag and impurities to the sides of the casting receptable as described above . the bottom end of the shutter plug 6 shown in fig6 is in the shape of a pyramid . further , in the special case shown in fig7 the bottom end of the shutter plug 6 is in the shape of a hemisphere . this latter shape is also capable of pushing smoothly through the protective slag . the bottom part 2 a of the casting receptable is preferably shaped to substantially correspond to the shape of the bottom end of the shutter plug 6 . the drawings and the related description are only intended to illustrate the idea of the invention . the invention may vary in detail within the scope of the claims . | 1 |
in an example embodiment of the invention , a motor drive algorithm uses foc to draw full current through a brushless direct - current motor without generating torque . the foc motor drive algorithm represents a 3 - phase motor as an equivalent 2 - phase device , with armature currents referred to the rotor . that allows independent control of , on the one hand , the currents in direct alignment with the field flux ( i . e . in the direct axis ) and , on the other hand , the currents in quadrature with the field flux ( i . e . on the quadrature axis ). by deliberately aligning the armature flux with the field flux , rather than by offsetting by 90 ° as is usual in motor drives , high current can flow in the motor whilst inducing little , if any , rotor torque . additionally , in this example , a position and velocity control loop with a zero setpoint is used to control the quadrature - axis current . any motor rotation that is sensed is compensated for using the quadrature - axis currents , further reducing any residual torque induced by the high direct - axis currents , and thus further reducing the rotor motion . referring to fig1 , an electrical drive system 10 according to an embodiment of the invention incorporates a control system comprising a direct - axis current controller 30 and a quadrature - axis current controller 40 . a current demand profile is issued by a controller 20 configured to provide a setpoint function . in this example , the current demand profile is a ramped setpoint , i . e . an instantaneous current demand setpoint increasing linearly from zero to a full - rated current before returning rapidly to zero . the current demand profile is the current demand that is used to test the inverter 65 and motor 70 . the current demand profile is applied to the direct - axis current controller 30 . although both the direct - axis and quadrature - axis currents are controlled by feedback loops ( from the inverter 65 to the direct - axis current controller 30 and the quadrature - axis current controller 40 , respectively ), position feedback is used for calculating the quadrature - axis current demand only . the rotational position of the shaft 80 of the motor 70 is monitored using a shaft encoder 90 . the position information passes from the shaft encoder 90 to a position controller 100 , which calculates a quadrature - axis current demand value , aiming to keep the motor shaft 80 stationary . the position controller 100 calculates and applies the quadrature - axis current demand value to the quadrature - axis current controller 40 . the inverter 65 and motor 70 are of a 3 - phase construction . motor phases are converted to a 2 - phase direct - and quadrature - axis representation using the standard clarke and park transformations ( see e . g . modern power electronics and ac drives , p56 - 59 , bimal k bose , prentice hall 2002 . isbn 0 - 13 - 016743 - 6 ). individual feedback control of the direct - axis and quadrature - axis currents is then implemented . the current controllers 30 , 40 issue demand voltage setpoints to a field - orientated control unit 50 , which maps the demand voltage setpoints back to a 3 - phase representation using the appropriate inverse transformations . the 3 - phase voltage demands are supplied to a pulse - width modulation system 60 , which then constructs and applies the demanded phase voltages using inverter 65 . fig2 shows an overview of this example method of operating the electrical drive system . the drawing shows the following steps : step 300 : monitor the rotor position and the current in a least two ( of e . g . 3 ) phases . step 310 : transform the monitored current into direct - axis current and quadrature - axis current components , relative to a frame of reference aligned with the monitored rotor 80 position . step 320 : compare the direct - axis current and quadrature - axis current components against target values for those components . step 330 : calculate the direct - axis and quadrature - axis voltages across the motor 70 needed to produce the target current component values . step 340 : transform the calculated direct - axis and quadrature - axis voltages back into the original frame of reference . step 350 : apply the transformed calculated voltage to the motor 70 . step 360 : pause . step 370 : repeat from step 300 . a test system was constructed according to the system design of fig1 . the test system applied the ramped direct - axis current demand 20 and then , after a time delay , applied a similar quadrature - axis current demand . ( the quadrature - axis current demand was applied in order to check that neither the inverter 65 nor the motor 70 was simply dead .). the motor 70 was connected to a drive mechanism providing 100 : 1 gearing and a torsional spring load . fig3 shows the resulting motor current ( lower plot ) and mechanism motion ( upper plot ). the ramped direct - axis current demand can be seen to have an effect around the 8 - 14 ms time period . the motor current rises from zero to 25 amps , yet the mechanism moves by only around 0 . 02 °. the electrical drive circuitry is therefore proved to be functional , and its ability to supply full rated current is proven . at 65 ms the smaller quadrature - axis current demand was imposed , and reset to zero 2 ms later . the direct - axis demand remained zero . during this time period the motor current rose to around 4 amps , and 0 . 2 ° of motion was observed . when the quadrature - axis current demand returned to zero , a current spike was observed as the energy stored in the torsional spring was returned to the power supply through generator action . the mechanism position then exhibited decaying oscillations . the deliberate use of motor armature current to produce flux along the direct - axis is thus shown to allow large currents to be passed through the motor without creating significant electromagnetic torque . in another example embodiment of the invention , the apparatus is used to test a motor 70 connected to a mechanism locked by a shear - pin . confidence can be gained that the power supply and motor drive is operational , and can draw full rated current , without breaking the shear - pin . the ability to carry out the test allows the shear - pin lock to be used in applications where reliable operation is essential , and where previously a pyrotechnic lock may have been preferred . a shear - pin mechanism is significantly cheaper than a pyrotechnic lock . example embodiments of the invention thus enable the carrying out of for example through - life drive circuit tests and battery tests , enabling verification or proving of proper operation of electrical power sources and circuitry , without generating undesirable torque or force within mechanisms . in example embodiments of the invention in which an element that is designed to be broken by the motor in use , for example a shear - pin used to restrain a mechanism , is used to provide a lock or zero - position , this invention improves the coverage of test sequences , as inverter and motor circuitry may be tested at full rated current without breaking the shear - pin . this capability can remove the need to partly disassemble a mechanism prior to test , reducing through - life service and test costs , or allow more comprehensive in - situ testing of electrical drive systems . whilst the present invention has been described and illustrated with reference to particular embodiments , it will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that the invention lends itself to many different variations not specifically illustrated herein . for example , whilst the example embodiment has been described in the context of testing an electrical drive system , there are other example embodiments in which the ability to operate the drive system at a high current without producing any torque in the motor is used for other purposes . for example , in some embodiments , the high current is used to heat the motor , for example to de - ice the motor and / or surroundings equipment . where in the foregoing description , integers or elements are mentioned which have known , obvious or foreseeable equivalents , then such equivalents are herein incorporated as if individually set forth . reference should be made to the claims for determining the true scope of the present invention , which should be constructed so as to encompass any such equivalents . it will also be appreciated by the reader that integers or features of the invention that are described as preferable , advantageous , convenient or the like are optional and do not limit the scope of the independent claims . moreover , it is to be understood that such optional integers or features , whilst of possible benefit in some embodiments of the invention , may be absent in other embodiments . | 7 |
in accordance with the present invention , there is provided a supported thermoplastic resinous multilayer laminate film of a plurality of very thin layers of substantially uniform thickness , the layers being generally parallel and the contiguous adjacent layers being of different transparent thermoplastic resinous materials . the multilayer laminate film is supported on a carrier layer and adhered thereto such that the support layer can be readily stripped from the film . the multilayer laminate film preferably has at least 10 of the very thin layers , more preferably at least 35 and most preferably at least 70 . the individual layers generally have a thickness of about 30 to 500 nm . the adjacent layers of the laminate film preferably differ in refractive index by at least about 0 . 03 and more preferably by at least about 0 . 06 . any transparent thermoplastic resinous materials can be used in the present invention . the preferred transparent thermoplastic resinous materials of the laminate film are polyethylene terephthalate ( pet ), polymethyl methacrylate ( pmma ), polybutylene terephthalate ( pbt ), glycol modified polyethylene terephthalate ( petg ) and polystyrene ( ps ). combinations which can be employed include pmma / pbt , pmma / pet and pmma / ps . one of the advantages of the present invention is that combinations which would otherwise be too brittle to be handled conveniently can now be easily employed . some film formulations are not brittle but elongate when cutting is attempted , thereby making it difficult or impossible to comminute into flakes . another advantage of the invention is that it allows laminate film formulations which have very low elongation to be size reduced to the desired particle sizes by precision cutting or possibly by milling . the carrier can be any material which is weakly adherent to the iridescent laminate film such as , for instance , a polymer support , metallic support , and the like . the carrier is applied in any convenient thickness on one surface of the multilayer laminate film to permit it to be produced in wide lengths , trimmed and slit into narrow lengths ( when precision cutting is contemplated ) and wound into rolls . application can be by coextrusion with the iridescent laminate film or the laminate film can be extruded onto a solid carrier web or by any other convenient means . the only requirement is that the carrier not have an adverse effect on the multilayer laminate film and be weakly adherent to the iridescent laminate film . by weakly adherent is meant that the support layer can be readily stripped from the laminate film at an appropriate time , e . g . on a slitter / rewinder . the carrier is preferably a polymer and the polymer is preferably a polyolefin , which may be thermoplastic and may be transparent or opaque . the polyolefin is preferably coextrudable with the laminate film , an attribute which facilitates the production process . typical polyolefins include high density polyethylene , low density polyethylene , lldpe , polypropylene , and the like . polymers other than polyolefins , such as polyesters , can also be used . polyethylene terephthalate ( pet ) thermoplastic polyester was fed to the feedblock from one extruder and polymethyl methacrylate ( pmma ) from a second extruder to form a 115 layer optical core , and a layer ( about 20 % of the total thickness ) of polyethylene was added to one surface by means of a third extruder to form a 0 . 73 mil ( 18 . 5 micron ) thick laminate iridescent film . the laminate film after stripping the polyethylene layer was brightly iridescent and was prevailing red and green when seen by reflection at perpendicular incidence , and blue and pink when seen by transmission at perpendicular incidence . the supported multilayer laminates iridescent film was comminuted as follows . first , the carrier web and the iridescent laminate film were separated from one another . the separated film was then cut into flakes in a granulator and then milled with cooling . the flakes could be used in any application where a “ sparkle ” appearance was desired . for instance , they can be incorporated into either or both of the clear coat and base coat of an automotive coating system and either of these coatings has have additional colorants therein . a multilayer laminate structure with the same polymers in the optical core as in example 1 is prepared and flaked as there described except that the optical core had 99 layers . the procedure of example 1 was repeated with the following materials : total no . of high index low index support layer example layers polymer polymer polymer 3 116 pet pmma polypropylene 4 116 ps pmma polyethylene 5 116 pbt pmma lldpe 6 116 petg pmma polypropylene 7 116 pet pmma polyethylene various changes and modifications can be made in the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope thereof . the various embodiments which have been described herein were for illustration purposes only and were not intended to be limiting on the present invention . | 1 |
prior to providing a detailed description of the various exemplary embodiments of the methods and systems for endoscopic microscopy according to the present invention , some introductory concepts and terminology are provided below . as used herein , the term “ endoscopic probe ” can be used to describe one or more portions of an exemplary embodiment of an endoscopic system , which can be inserted into a human or animal body in order to obtain an image of tissue within the body . prior to describing the exemplary embodiments of the systems and / or probes for spectrally encoded endoscopy according to the present invention , certain exemplary concepts and terminology are provided herein . for example , the term “ endoscopic probe ” may be used to describe a portion of an endoscopic system , which can be inserted into a human body in order to obtain an image of tissue within the human body . the term “ monolithic ” may be used to describe a structure formed as a single piece , which can have more than one optical function . the term “ hybrid ” may be used to describe a structure formed as a plurality of pieces , e . g ., each piece having one optical function . the exemplary embodiments of the system , apparatus , probe and method described herein can apply to any wavelength of light or electro - magnetic radiation , including but not limited to visible light and near infrared light . fig2 shows an exemplary embodiment of a see imaging system / probe 200 ( e . g ., endoscopic probe having a single mode fiber that deliver light from a light source to the tip of the fiber ) which can include an optical fiber 210 , an expansion region 220 , a focusing region 230 , an angled region 240 and a dispersing element 250 ( e . g ., grating ). the exemplary system / probe 200 can generate a spectrally encoded imaging signal , e . g ., a line 260 on the imaged surface with the longer wavelengths 280 deviated further from the probe axis than the shorter wavelengths 270 . the optical fiber 210 can be a single - mode fiber and / or a multi - mode fiber ( e . g ., preferably single mode for preserving the phase relation of the source light and the light remitted by the sample ). by facilitation a light delivery through the optical fiber 210 , see capabilities can be provided in a catheter or endoscope . thus , a high - resolution microscopy of surfaces of the body accessible by endoscope can be facilitated by the exemplary embodiment of the system / probe 200 . a multiple of ( e . g ., four ) distinct regions with specific optical properties can be used to determine the system / probe functionality . for example , the expansion region can be used to facilitate the beam that is confined in the fiber core to expand and fill an aperture . the expansion region can be composed of optical glass ( e . g ., a piece of coreless fiber spliced to the main fiber and then cleaved to a predetermined length ), optical epoxy , air , or transparent fluid . index matching with the fiber core may be desirable for reducing the back reflection from the interface between the fiber and the expansion region . other techniques and / or arrangements for reducing the back reflection , e . g ., anti - reflection coating or angle cleaving , can be employed in case of air or other non - matching media used as an expansion region . in the focusing region , the diverging beam can be transformed to a converging one . for example , a gradient index (“ grin ”) lens or spherical micro lens can be used as shall be described in more detail below with reference to other exemplary embodiments . for example , the grin lens can be made by splicing a piece of grin fiber and cleaving it to a predetermined length . the spherical lens can be formed on the coreless fiber tip by melting it , by polishing , or by applying a small measured amount of optical epoxy . the angled region can be used to support the dispersing element and / or provide an incidence tilt for the output direction and / or the desired regime ( litrow ) in certain cases ( e . g ., a diffraction grating ). as with the expansion region , different media can be used , and different techniques and / or arrangements for obtaining the desired tilt can be employed . for example , some of such exemplary techniques can include angle cleaving , polishing , molding of the optical epoxy etc . the dispersing element can tilt different parts of the incident spectrum at different angles , thus producing the desired spatial spread of the incident light . it can be a prism made of high dispersion material or a high efficiency diffracting grating . it is possible to also produce a grating at the fiber tip . for example , transmitting or reflecting gratings can be used in different regimes depending on the application . other numerous combinations and permutations of the above - mentioned regions can provide a functional system / probe , certain exemplary embodiments of which shall be described in further detail below . for example , two general types of dispersing elements can be used : prism or diffracting grating . the holographic optical element that combines the dispersing power of the grating and the focusing power of a lens can also be used as shown in fig7 . prism made of dispersing material can be used when the light source has a very broad spectrum , e . g ., a femto - second laser source with microstructured fiber for super - continuum generation . in such exemplary source , the spectrum can span in visible and near infrared . fig3 shows another exemplary embodiment of the see system / probe 300 which can include a single mode optical fiber 310 spliced to a coreless fiber 320 ( e . g ., the expansion region ). further , a short piece of gradient refracting index ( grin ) fiber 330 can be spliced to the coreless fiber ( e . g ., the focusing region ). in addition , another short piece of coreless fiber 340 can be spliced to the focusing region 330 . the output surface 350 may be angle polished / cleaved , thus forming a refracting boundary between the fiber 340 and the external medium 355 ( e . g ., air , water or other liquid ). in fig3 , an exemplary use of the prism 340 is illustrated as a dispersive element . with an anti - reflecting coating on the output surface 350 , this exemplary configuration can provide a high transmission efficiency . it may be desirable for the angled region to be made of a highly dispersive material . in the case of a normal dispersion , longer wavelength parts of the original spectrum 370 may deviate less than the shorter wavelengths 380 , thus forming the imaging line 360 . diffracting gratings can be preferable in the case of narrow band source because of the higher dispersing power that can be achieved with such gratings . for example , the transmission and reflection diffracting gratings can be used . fig5 shows a schematic diagram of a further exemplary embodiment of the see imaging system / probe 500 , which has a micro spherical lens 530 with a grating 550 provided before the lens 530 use of the reflection diffracting grating . in other exemplary configuration , the use of reflection diffracting grating utilizes a housing that can enlarge the system / probe . the additional details of the exemplary embodiment of the see system / probe 500 shall be described in further detail below . the selected dispersing element can be a transmission diffracting grating . it is also possible to use other grating , e . g ., a volume holographic grating or a surface phase grating . the volume holographic gratings can exhibit a higher efficiency , but are less common , and some of the materials used therefore generally require sealing from the humidity , as well as more expensive and difficult to replicate . the surface phase gratings may be less efficient , but are easy to replicate and mass - produce when a master grating is made . for both of these exemplary elements , the grating can be a thin film (˜ 5 - 10 μm ) that is applied to the angled region . fig4 shows another exemplary embodiment of the see system / probe 400 which can include a single mode optical fiber 410 spliced to a coreless fiber 420 . in this exemplary embodiment , the tip of the expansion region 420 can be melted to form a small spherical surface 425 , and then a low refractive index epoxy 430 may be used to attach the grating 440 at an angle to the system / probe 400 . in this exemplary system / probe 400 , the focusing region can be the surface that separates the expansion region and the angled region . the longer wavelengths 460 of the original spectrum may deviate more than the shorter wavelengths 470 , thus possibly forming the imaging line 450 . fig5 shows the exemplary see probe 500 described above , which can include a single mode optical fiber 510 spliced to a coreless fiber 520 . the tip of the expansion region 520 can be melted to form a ball 530 . the ball may be polished at an angle ( littrow ) and on the flat surface 540 that can result from this exemplary procedure , a reflecting grating 550 may be deposited . the light beam can expand in the expansion section after exiting an end 510 of the core of the optical fiber 510 , and may then be dispersed by the grating 550 . different monochromatic beams that can result may then be focused by the near spherical surface of the glass ball to form the imaging line 560 . the dispersing element may be provided before the focusing element . the longer wavelengths 580 of the original spectrum may deviate more than the shorter wavelengths 570 . fig6 shows another exemplary embodiment of the see system / probe 600 which may include a single mode optical fiber 610 spliced to a short piece of coreless fiber 620 that may be angle cleaved or polished at an angle ( which can be the littrow angle for the grating 630 ) and the grating 630 may be deposited on the tip of the expansion region 620 . a drop of an optical epoxy 640 can be cured at the tip of the fiber 610 to protect the transmission grating 630 and form the focusing surface 650 . the dispersing element 630 can be provided before the focusing element 650 , and the expansion region 620 and the angled region 620 may coincide . the longer wavelengths 670 of the original spectrum may deviate more than the shorter wavelengths 680 to form the imaging line 660 . fig7 shows yet another exemplary embodiment of the see system / probe 700 , which can include a single mode optical fiber 710 . a holographic optical element (“ hoe ”) 730 written in a drop of photosensitive polymer 720 can incorporate the optical functionality of the expansion , focusing and dispersing elements . the longer wavelengths 750 of the original spectrum can deviate more than the shorter wavelengths 760 to form the imaging line 740 . fig8 shows still another exemplary embodiment of the see system / probe 800 which can include a static monolithic core 810 and a spinning flexible thin wall teflon tubing 820 with the angled region 850 attached to its end . an optical fiber 830 , an expansion region 835 , and a focusing region 840 may be attached / glued / spliced together to form the core 810 . a dispersing element / grating 857 can be deposited on the tilted output surface of the angled region 850 . the glass - to - air interfaces of the focusing region 840 845 and the angled region 850 853 may be anti - reflection coated . changing the gap between such elements by advancing the core 810 can effectively change the distance 880 of the imaging line 860 to the output surface of the system / probe 800 ( e . g ., the grating 875 ). exemplary non - monolithic configurations similar to those shown in the exemplary embodiment of fig8 can allow for additional functionality such as zooming and / or focusing to be provided in the distal probe end . multi - lens configurations may also be implemented . the use of a prism - grating combination ( grism ) may facilitate a control of the angle of incidence and the probe output direction . exemplary arrangement which implements such configurations are shown in fig9 a and fig9 b . in particular , fig9 a shows a further exemplary embodiment of the see imaging system / probe 900 which can include a static sheath 905 with a transparent window 908 and a monolithic optical core 910 that can be scanned . the core can include an optical fiber 915 , an expansion region 917 , a focusing element ( e . g ., a grin lens ) 920 , and a prism 925 with the grating 930 deposited on its output surface . the optical elements may be maintained together with a micro mechanical housing 940 . this exemplary configuration may represent a side looking imaging system / probe . fig9 b shows still another exemplary embodiment of the see imaging system / probe 950 which can include a static sheath 955 with a transparent window 958 and a monolithic optical core 960 that can be scanned . the core can include an optical fiber 965 , an expansion region 967 , and a focusing element ( grin lens ) 970 . a grating 980 may be sandwiched between prisms 975 and 977 . the optical elements may be maintained together with a micro mechanical housing 990 . this exemplary configuration can represent a forward - looking imaging system / probe . it may be beneficial for this exemplary application to utilize a grating in littrow regime when the angle of incidence is equal to the angle of diffraction ( e . g ., for the central wavelength ). in this exemplary configuration , the shape of the beam may not change after the grating , and thus provide an effective regime . fig1 a - 10c illustrate exemplary embodiments of the substrate that can provide a littrow regime for the grating . for example , fig1 a shows an exemplary embodiment of a diffracting grating substrate 1000 which can include a cylindrical body 1005 with one side 1020 polished at the littrow &# 39 ; s angle 1015 . fig1 b shows another exemplary embodiment of the diffracting grating substrate 1025 which includes a prismatic body 1030 with one side 1045 polished at the littrow &# 39 ; s angle 1040 . fig1 c shows still another exemplary embodiment of the diffracting grating substrate 1050 which can include a cylindrical body 1055 with one side 1057 polished at the complimentary to littrow &# 39 ; s angle 1058 and a mirror 1087 deposited . another flat surface 1065 may be polished parallel to the cylinder axis where the grating is to be deposited . fig1 d shows yet another exemplary embodiment of the diffracting grating substrate 1075 which can include a prismatic body 1080 with one side 1087 polished at the complimentary to littrow &# 39 ; s angle 1085 and a mirror 1087 deposited . the grating is intended to be deposited on the side 1095 . it should be understood that the illustrated sizes are merely exemplary , and other sizes are possible and are within the scope of the present invention . in certain exemplary applications , the system / probe can be small enough to be introduced through a small opening , and big enough to be able to image at big distances in a cavity . these conflicting preferences can be met by using an inflating balloon with added optical functionality . two such exemplary configurations are shown in fig1 a and 11b . in particular , fig1 a shows another exemplary embodiment of the see system / probe 1100 which can include a single mode optical fiber 1110 . a holographic optical element (“ hoe ”) 1125 written on the surface of the inflating balloon 1120 can incorporate the optical functionality of the focusing and dispersing elements . the dispersed light may be focused into the imaging line 1130 . when the exemplary system / probe 1100 is spun , the image of the area 1135 may be obtained . this exemplary configuration may be further defined by the material availability for infrared applications and the possible difficulties associated with the holographic process . fig1 b shows still another exemplary embodiment of the see system / probe 1150 which can include a single mode optical fiber 1160 . a holographic optical element (“ hoe ”) 1165 written in a drop of photosensitive polymer 1067 deposited on the tip of the fiber 1060 can incorporate the optical functionality of the expansion , and dispersing elements . further , the balloon catheter 1170 may be filled with a high refractive index biocompatible liquid , thus forming a near spherical refracting focusing surface 1175 . this exemplary configuration may be further defined by the material availability for infrared applications and the possible difficulties associated with the holographic process . one exemplary advantage of the various exemplary embodiments of the present invention may be the relative simple configurations and designs of the exemplary embodiments of the systems / probes . according to one exemplary embodiment , e . g ., the system / probe can include an optical fiber with a modified tip . ( see fig2 - 7 ). for example , the system / probe can illuminate a line at the object and acquire one line of image at a time . in order to acquire an image with this exemplary system / probe , it may be preferable that the imaging line is scanned in transverse direction across the object . this can be a repetitive or a single scan . in such cases , an image or the surface that the line scans can be acquired and displayed . the information obtained from the back - scattered light can be interpreted in various manners to represent different tissue types , different states of the same tissue , various types of dysphasia , tissue damage etc . as well as motion of body liquids and cells . certain exemplary arrangements which can be used for placing the probe and scanning the tissue may be as follows . where catheters are used in medicine , a very thin wall sealed ptfe tube can be used as a protective transparent sheath for the probe that can be delivered through the lumen of a guide catheter to the area of interest ( as shown in fig1 ). when in place , the fiber inside the thin tube can be scanned by rotating or by pulling in order to obtain an image . a short distal part of the catheter can be of a small diameter . the proximal end can be of a bigger diameter with added additional springs / shafts to protect the fiber and convey the motion . for example , fig1 shows an exemplary embodiment of a catheter of the see system / probe 1200 which can include an optical core 1230 . the exemplary system / probe 1200 can be protected by a transparent sheath 1220 that can allow the transmission of the imaging light 1240 into the region of interest . the imaging catheter 1220 can be placed trough a guide catheter 1210 . for needle biopsies that are traditionally performed under ct , mri , or ultrasound guidance , the fiber optic probe may be inserted into the biopsy needle ( as shown in fig1 ). in this exemplary configuration , the fiber optic probe may be embedded within the needle biopsy device or inserted through the lumen of the needle . the image can be acquired during the insertion of the needle or by rotating of the probe inside the needle and , e . g ., only looking at a limited angle fig1 shows another exemplary embodiment of a catheter of the see system / probe 1300 which can include an optical core 1330 . the exemplary system / probe 1300 can be delivered to the region being imaged through the lumen of a biopsy needle 1320 that may be delivered through an endoscope or guide catheter 1310 . for example , the exemplary system / probe may be incorporated into an electrocautery device , scalpel , or be an independent hand - held device . one exemplary parameter for comparing different miniature endoscope technologies may be the number of resolvable points . this exemplary parameter can be the limiting factor that may render a technology more or less useful for the particular application . the total number of resolvable points provided by the exemplary embodiments of the see system / probe ( n ) for the first diffraction order can be defined by : exemplary determinations can indicate that for a source with a center wavelength , λ 0 , source bandwidth , δλ , of 250 nm , a grating input angle , θ i , of 49 ° and a grating groove density , λ , of 1800 lines per mm , a 250 μm diameter see probe may facilitate imaging with , e . g ., 40 , 000 resolvable points . in comparison , a commercially available 300 μm diameter fiber - optic image bundle ( holl meditronics , 30 - 0084 - 00 ) contains only 1 , 600 resolvable points . fig1 shows a flow diagram of a method according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention for making the exemplary embodiment of the see system / probe shown in fig2 . in particular , the end of smf - 28 optical fiber 210 or any other optical fiber can be stripped ( step 1410 ). in step 1420 , the spacer can be polished to a predetermined length . the grin lens can be polished to a predetermined length in step 1430 . further , in step 1440 , the grating 250 can be polished to a predetermined length and angle . the results of step 1410 are provided to step 1450 , in which the end of the optical fiber is cleaved . the results of steps 1420 and 1430 are provided to step 1460 , in which the spacer and grin lens are glued together . the results of step 1440 are provided to step 1470 , in which the grating 250 is deposited on the grating substrate . the results of steps 1450 and 1460 are provided to step 1475 , in which the spacer - grin lens assembly is glued to the optical fiber using an optical epoxy and the spacing is varied to achieve the desired focal properties . the results of steps 1475 and 1470 are provided to step 1485 in which the grating 250 bearing the grating substrate is glued to the grin lens . in step 1480 , flexible , optically clear , bio - and device - compatible sheath can be provided for housing the imaging core . the results of steps 1480 and 1485 are forwarded to step 1490 , in which the exemplary system / probe is assembled , e . g ., by inserting the core into the sheath and sealing and sterilizing the resultant assembly . fig1 shows an illustration of procedural steps of an exemplary embodiment of a process for mounting grating substrates which can be facilitated for an exemplary grating fabrication process . it should be understood that dimensions and materials provided in fig1 are exemplary , and numerous other dimensions and materials can be utilized in accordance with the exemplary embodiments of the present invention . for example , several glass rods 1500 , 1510 with different diameters can be stacked and mounted together inside a particular mount 1520 into a particular location 1525 . the rods can be separated by a thin lead foil 1530 ( e . g ., 127 μm thick ). the rod stack can then be polished at an angle while inside the mount 1520 . after polishing , the polished face can be cleaned , and a grating 1540 may be fabricated , e . g ., without disassembling the pieces . when grating fabrication is completed , the pieces can be disassembled . the individual pieces may then be polished from the other side 1550 . the completed grating 1560 can then be assembled into the fiber or lens . the stack of fibers and the lead foil 1530 is shown in fig1 as a small square 1525 in the middle of the particular mount 1520 ( e . g ., a holder ). in a top projection indicated in fig1 , the same stack is shown as a parallelogram in the middle . this stack is further enlarged in the top right drawing of fig1 , labeled “ top view ”. the final exemplary product ( e . g ., a completed piece 1560 ) can be obtained from one of the rods 1500 by shortening and / or polishing the non - grating - carrying end to obtain the desired length . the foregoing merely illustrates the principles of the invention . various modifications and alterations to the described embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art in view of the teachings herein . indeed , the arrangements , systems and methods according to the exemplary embodiments of the present invention can be used with and / or implement any oct system , ofdi system , sd - oct system or other imaging systems , and for example with those described in international patent application pct / us2004 / 029148 , filed sep . 8 , 2004 , u . s . patent application ser . no . 11 / 266 , 779 , filed nov . 2 , 2005 , and u . s . patent application ser . no . 10 / 501 , 276 , filed jul . 9 , 2004 , the disclosures of which are incorporated by reference herein in their entireties . it will thus be appreciated that those skilled in the art will be able to devise numerous systems , arrangements and methods which , although not explicitly shown or described herein , embody the principles of the invention and are thus within the spirit and scope of the present invention . in addition , to the extent that the prior art knowledge has not been explicitly incorporated by reference herein above , it is explicitly being incorporated herein in its entirety . all publications referenced herein above are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties . | 6 |
a problem frequently experienced by individuals who use powder to dry their skin and reduce chafing is an inability to deliver the powder or powder composition to specific areas of the body , to target those areas , and to avoid leaving a perceptible powdery mess on the surrounding ground or floor . the present invention overcomes these problems with the use of an aerosol spray and a container which may be operated in an upright or inverted orientation . a powder blend is carried in a rapid - drying vehicle , and delivered as an aerosol spray . the spray deposits a long - lasting powder coating to the skin , providing drying , lubricating and anti - chafing benefits , while substantially reducing the dusting produced by conventional body powders . where a range of values is provided , it is understood that each intervening value , to the tenth of the unit of the lower limit ( unless the context clearly dictates otherwise ), between the upper and lower limit of that range and any other stated or intervening value in that stated range is encompassed within the invention . the upper and lower limits of these smaller ranges may independently be included in the smaller ranges and are also encompassed within the invention , subject to any specifically excluded limit in the stated range . where the stated range includes one or both of the limits , ranges excluding either or both of those included limits are also included in the invention . unless defined otherwise , all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs . although methods and materials similar or equivalent to those described herein may possibly be used in the practice or testing of the present invention , the preferred methods and materials are now described . it is also noted that as used herein and in the appended claims , the singular forms of “ a ,” “ and ”, and “ the ”, include plural references unless the context clearly dictates otherwise . also , as defined herein , the term “ mitigate ” is used to mean to prevent irritation in a subject , reduce the amount of irritation in a subject , or the rate of spread of irritation . the inventive composition comprises zinc oxide in an amount of about 0 . 1 - 5 %, more preferred from about 0 . 1 - 1 %, and most preferred from about 0 . 1 - 0 . 5 %. 1 . a volatile carrier , comprised of a lower alcohol , such as ethanol or isopropanol , alone or in combination with a volatile silicone , such as hexamethyldisiloxane , cyclomethicone , or other volatile material , such as isododecane . the carrier is present in a range from about 5 - 20 %, more preferred from about 10 - 15 %, and most preferred from about 10 - 12 %. the volatile silicone may represent 100 % of the carrier . more preferred is about a 20 / 80 - 80 / 20 blend of volatile silicone with an alcohol . most preferred is about a 55 / 45 - 65 / 35 blend of hexamethyldisiloxane with alcohol . 2 . an absorbent powder blend . absorbent powders are modified to produce a very large surface area and , therefore , are capable of absorbing more moisture and / or oil than conventional absorbent powders . this is achieved through a finer particle size , or through modifications which increase the porosity of the material . for example , aluminum starch octenylsuccinate is more porous , and has more surface area than ordinary cornstarch , and can therefore absorb more moisture and / or oil . the blend may be comprised of talc , aluminum starch octenylsuccinate , sodium starch octenylsuccinate , cornstarch , tapioca starch , bentonite , kaolin , zeolite , calcium silicate , and other absorbent powders known to the art . the powder blend is present in a range from about 4 - 40 %, more preferred from about 4 - 15 %. most preferred is a blend of talc and aluminum starch octenylsuccinate in a range of about 4 . 75 - 12 %. 3 . an aerosol propellant . suitable propellants include , but are not limited to : hydrocarbons , such as n - butane , isobutane , propane ; hydrofluorocarbons , such as dymel 152a and dymel 134a ; dimethyl ether ; blends of any of the above . the propellant may be present in a range from about 30 - 90 %, or more preferred from about 40 - 80 %. most preferred is n - butane in a range from about 70 - 80 %. the preferred delivery system for the inventive product is in the form of an aerosol . most preferred is an aerosol canister fitted with a 180 or 360 degree powder spray valve system , which enables the product to be dispensed in both an upright or upside - down canister orientation . when the mixture is applied to the target area , it prevents or mitigates chafing by absorbing moisture on the skin and adhering to the skin . other ingredients in the mixture provide a cooling sensation to the skin . the aerosol propellants and the mixture carriers evaporate shortly after exposure to the air , leaving a fine layer of talc and zinc oxide on the skin . the inventive delivery system overcomes a limitation of shaken powder , by suspending the talc in a medium which can be propelled laterally or vertically ( with or against gravity ) by way of an aerosol spray . moreover , the suspension medium is far less affected by air currents and causes the talc to adhere to the skin for a longer lasting effect than common powder or common corn starch . the examples set forth herein disclose various specific embodiments of the spray composition disclosed herein as well as methods of production of the spray composition . ingredient % zinc oxide 0 . 225 menthol 0 . 100 sda40b200 ( alcohol ) 4 . 425 hexamethyldisiloxane 5 . 500 isopropyl myrsitate ( ipm ) 3 . 750 talc 4 . 750 aluminum starch 4 . 750 octenylsuccinate magnesium stearate 0 . 750 silica 0 . 500 fragrance 0 . 250 a - 17 ( n - butane ) 75 . 000 100 . 00 the following procedure is used to obtain the sprays set forth in examples 1 and 2 . alcohol , hexamethyldisiloxane and isopropyl myristate are added to the mixing tank . zinc oxide is added and mixing proceeds for approximately 5 minutes , or until homogeneous . talc is slowly added and further mixing occurs for approximately 10 minutes , or until homogeneous . aluminum starch octenylsuccinate is slowly added and mixed for a minimum of 30 minutes . magnesium stearate and silica is added and mixed approximately 5 minutes until homogeneous . fragrance and menthol are added ( where indicated ), and mixing is continued for 30 minutes , or until homogeneous . product is filled into aerosol canisters and charged with propellant , so that the product is capable of spraying with the canister upright or upside - down , and of providing a cooling sensation , increasing comfort and preventing chafing , particularly in the groin area , buttocks and feet . although the invention has been described with reference to specific embodiments , the details thereof are not to be construed as limiting . further , various equivalents , changes and modifications that would be obvious to one skilled in the art are within the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims . moreover , each of the references cited throughout this specification is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety . | 0 |
fig1 - 4 illustrate a kit spatula applicator 12 , a brush applicator 14 and a nozzle 16 selectively engageable with the spatula applicator and the brush applicator in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure , and a container 18 of viscous fluid having a spout 20 engageable with the nozzle for dispensing the viscous fluid from the container . the viscous fluid may be any type of sealant or the like , including epoxy , caulk , adhesive , etc . the illustrated container 18 may be in the form of any commercially - available container of sealant or the like or may have any other suitable construction . similarly , the spout 20 of the container 18 may be in the form of any commercially - available spout or may have any other suitable construction . the spatula applicator 12 includes an applicator body 30 that terminates in a working area 32 configured as a spatula . the applicator body 30 is generally cup shaped and is substantially flat . the leading edge 34 of the working area 32 is beveled , and extends linearly to facilitate smooth application of the viscous fluid . the spatula applicator 12 also includes nozzle engaging structure in the form of a rim 40 that protrudes from the side 42 of the applicator body 30 . the rim 40 extends arcuately and continuously from the side 42 , extending outward from the side and curving back to the side . the rim 40 defines an opening 44 for receiving the nozzle 16 and also defines a slot 50 on the inner surface 52 of the rim at or near the center of the rim . the opening 44 defined by the rim 40 is bell shaped . the slot 50 has a generally rectangular or square cross section and extends along the entire width of the rim 40 . the spatula applicator 12 , including the nozzle engaging structure , may have any other suitable construction in accordance with other embodiments of the present disclosure . the brush applicator 14 includes an applicator body 60 that terminates in a working area 62 in the form of a brush . the applicator body 60 is generally cup shaped , but curved along its width . the brush applicator 14 also includes a pair of reinforcing ribs 64 extending at an angle from the side edges of the applicator body 60 and protruding from the applicator body . the reinforcing ribs 64 define a channel 66 for receiving the nozzle 16 when the nozzle is engaged with the brush applicator 14 . the working area 62 of the brush applicator 14 defines a plurality of slits 70 forming bristles 72 to form the brush and to facilitate brushing application of the viscous fluid . the leading edges of the bristles are beveled for application purposes . additionally , the leading edge 78 of the working area 62 of the brush applicator 14 is arcuate along its expanse . the brush applicator 14 also includes nozzle engaging structure in the form of a rim 80 that protrudes from the side 82 of the applicator body 60 . the rim 80 extends arcuately and continuously from the side 82 of the applicator body 60 , extending outward from the body and curving back to the side of the applicator body . the rim 80 defines an opening 84 for receiving the nozzle 16 and also defines a slot 88 on the inner surface 90 of the rim 80 at or near the center of the rim . the opening 84 defined by the rim 80 is generally bell shaped . the slot 88 has a generally square or rectangular cross section and extends along the entire width of the rim 80 . the nozzle engaging structure of the brush applicator also includes the pair of reinforcing ribs 64 defining the channel 66 . the brush applicator 14 , including the nozzle engaging structure , may have any other suitable construction in accordance with other embodiments of the present disclosure . the nozzle 16 includes a dispensing portion 100 , a cylindrical portion 102 and a flange 104 disposed about the end of the cylindrical portion opposite the dispensing portion . the dispensing portion 100 terminates in an elliptic opening 110 and the cross section of the dispensing portion transitions from the cylindrical portion 102 to the elliptic opening 110 . the center of the elliptic opening 110 is offset from the center longitudinal axis of the cylindrical portion 102 . the nozzle 16 includes an inner wall 120 defining a channel 122 for dispensing the viscous fluid . the inner wall 120 includes a screw thread for mating with a complementary screw thread 132 on the container 18 . the inner wall 120 also includes a pair of diametrically - opposed stops 134 to engage a pair of diametrically opposed stops 136 on the spout 20 of the container 18 for engaging the nozzle 16 with the spout 20 of the container 18 . the nozzle 16 includes applicator engaging structure comprising the outer surface 140 of the cylindrical portion 102 and a rib 144 formed on the outer surface . the rib 144 has a generally square or rectangular cross section and extends from the flange 104 in a direction parallel to the longitudinal axis of the cylindrical portion 102 . to engage the nozzle 16 and either the spatula applicator 12 or the brush applicator 14 , the cylindrical portion 102 of the nozzle 16 slides into and fits snugly within the opening 44 of the spatula applicator or the opening 84 , the brush applicator 14 , with the rib 144 sliding into and fitting snugly within the slot 50 of the spatula applicator 12 or the slot 88 of the brush applicator 14 . when the nozzle 16 is engaged with the brush applicator 14 , the dispensing portion 100 is also received by the channel 66 defined by the reinforcing ribs 64 of the brush applicator . thus , in engaging the brush applicator 14 , the applicator engaging structure of the nozzle also includes the outer surface 150 of the dispensing portion 100 . the nozzle 16 , including the nozzle engaging structure , can have any other suitable construction in accordance with other embodiments of the present disclosure . accordingly , in the illustrated embodiment , the nozzle engaging structures of the spatula applicator 12 and the brush applicator 14 are substantially identical to each other except that the brush applicator 14 further includes the pair of reinforcing ribs 64 defining the channel 66 . the applicator engaging structure of the nozzle 16 is configured to engage either the nozzle engaging structure of the spatula applicator 12 or the nozzle engaging structure of the brush applicator 14 . thus , the nozzle 16 is selectively engageable with either the spatula applicator 12 or the brush applicator 14 . as a result , the dispensed viscous fluid can be readily applied with either the spatula applicator 12 or the brush applicator 14 and , further , either applicator 12 or 14 can be readily replaced with the other applicator 12 or 14 depending upon the needs . any other suitable applicator for applying viscous fluid dispensed from the container 18 can be used instead of or in addition to the spatula applicator 12 and instead of or in addition to the brush applicator 14 . further , such other applicators for applying viscous fluid can have any other suitable construction and can include any other suitable working areas in accordance with other embodiments of the present disclosure . the spatula applicator 12 , brush applicator 14 and the nozzle 16 in accordance with the present disclosure provide several advantages . for example , the applicators 12 and 14 and nozzle 16 can be readily carried to the location where the viscous fluid is to be applied . further , once at the location , the different applicators 12 and 14 provide different and readily - available options to apply the viscous fluid . such advantages can be especially valuable where , as often is the case , the location where viscous fluid is to be applied may be difficult to reach , such as , for example , a roof , or such other location that is difficult to reach because of its physical location or because of obstructions , and the type of applicators needed cannot be determined until the location is reached . while embodiments have been illustrated and described in the drawings and foregoing description , such illustrations and descriptions are considered to be exemplary and not restrictive in character , it being understood that only illustrative embodiments have been shown and described and that all changes and modifications that come within the spirit of the disclosure are desired to be protected . the description and figures are intended as illustrations of embodiments of the disclosure , and are not intended to be construed as having or implying limitation of the disclosure to those embodiments . there are a plurality of advantages of the present disclosure arising from various features set forth in the description . it will be noted that alternative embodiments of the disclosure may not include all of the features described yet still benefit from at least some of the advantages of such features . those of ordinary skill in the art may readily devise their own implementations of the disclosure and associated methods , without undue experimentation , that incorporate one or more of the features of the disclosure and fall within the spirit and scope of the present disclosure and the appended claims . | 1 |
this invention provides a device , system and method for performing continuous and non - invasive monitoring of fetal heart rate and maternal contractions . this works through a system designed to be affixed to a pregnant woman &# 39 ; s abdomen and the acquired signal and / or analyzed data is transmitted to a central unit where the medical staff can quickly respond to fetal distress . in the following description , various aspects of the present invention will be described . for purposes of explanation , specific configurations and details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of a preferred embodiment of the present invention . however , it will also be apparent to one skilled in the art that the present invention may be practiced without the specific details presented herein . furthermore , well - known features may be omitted or simplified in order not to obscure the present invention . reference is now made to fig1 which illustrates the device and system and its components according to a preferred embodiment of the invention . fig1 illustrates a fetal monitoring device . in this one embodiment of the device , three identically - equipped patches each with 2 unique sensors ( labeled 1 and 2 ), are placed on the laboring mother &# 39 ; s abdomen to detect heart rate and uterine contractions . these sensors output signals wirelessly to a post - processing hub at the mother &# 39 ; s bedside that incorporates the familiar user interface of current fetal monitoring devices . signals can be displayed on a screen , saved to a database , and printed on thermal paper . the bedside computer is linked to a central computer at the nurses &# 39 ; station to accommodate the monitoring of multiple laboring mothers in different rooms in a preferred embodiment of the present invention , the device and system is typically comprised of 3 patches that each contain two unique sensors , 1 and 2 . it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that a plurality of sensors may be used either independently or in a variety of combinations in the device and system of the invention in order to accurately acquire the fetal heart rate . these sensors may refer to any element suitable for sensing the presence of heart rate ( maternal and fetal ) and maternal uterine contractions . examples of ways that this device might use to detect heart rate include , but are not limited to : electrocardiography , auscultation , doppler , visual , angiogram , echocardiography , functional magnetic imaging , fluoroscopy , arterial line , pulse oximetry , palpation of pulse , etc . examples of ways that this device might use to detect uterine contractions include , but are not limited to : strain , electomyogram , ultrasound , accelerometer , rigidity , tension , gyroscope , sound , vibration , visual , pressure , etc . in an embodiment of the present invention , the device comprises three disposable adhesive patches placed on the expectant mother &# 39 ; s upper and lower abdomen . thin - film technologies are employed to embed miniature auscultation devices ( microphones ), piezoelectric sensing crystals , and associated electronic systems into a hypoallergenic , breathable dermal adhesive . each patch can be equipped with identical components that allow for the monitoring of fetal and maternal heart rate ( thin - film auscultation apparatus ) and uterine contractions ( thin - film piezoelectric apparatus ). examples of surface materials that may be used in the present embodiment may include but are not limited to : quartz , gallium , orthophosphate , langosite , polyvinyl , fluoride . in an alternative embodiment , the adhesive patches would be disposable , while the sensors would be reusable . in this design , each of the patches will have an integrated docking site including electrical connections for electronic sensors 1 and 2 , along with a transmitter to send received data to a bedside unit . these sensors attach to the disposable patch through a reversible docking station . alternatively , the entire sensing device including the adhesive patches and the sensors may be disposable . additionally , the bedside unit would display continuous data plotted for easy viewing and interpretation . this unit could contain the processor for interpreting the data displayed and then transmitting to a central area for monitoring multiple laboring patients . alternatively , this bedside unit could simply act as a relay station sending its data to a central processor that would analyze multiple signals from multiple laboring patients . from the central processor , the bedside unit would receive its processed data for display at the bedside . in one incarnation of the invention , three patches containing sensor - type 1 are placed in a standard fashion shown in fig1 . the signal received from the separate patches could be transmitted for processing where it would be identified , filtered and amplified to obtain an isolated fetal heart rate . using multiple sensors would also allow for the multilateration of the heart rate signal location . this would also allow for a position independent method for obtaining the fetal heart rate . the processing could either be at the bedside unit or at the central monitoring unit as described above . examples of possible techniques that this device may use to detect heart rate may include , but are not limited to the following : electrocardiography , auscultation , doppler , visual , angiogram , echocardiography , functional magnetic imaging , fluoroscopy , arterial line , pulse oximetry , palpation of pulse , etc . the heart rates could be displayed at the bedside unit in parallel with uterine contractions . the bedside unit could then communicate with the central monitoring station . the monitoring unit could have alarms to alert the medical staff of fetal distress to optimize early intervention . in one incarnation of the invention , patches containing sensor 2 would be placed in an distribution shown in fig1 . the auscultatory sounds received simultaneously from the separate patches are detected and transmitted for processing where the signals would be combined to identify uterine contractions and show their temporal relation to the fetal heart rate . given that the location to detect maximal effect of contraction varies , using multiple sensors would allow for summation of the signals and position - independent contraction monitoring . examples of ways that this device might use to detect uterine contractions include , but are not limited to : strain , electomyogram , ultrasound , accelerometer , rigidity , tension , gyroscope , sound , vibration , visual , pressure , and the like . one embodiment of the invention would use a mechanical - electrical transducer to sense contractions . these sensors would pick up subtle changes in tension which would provide information about the duration of contractions and its timing with fetal heart rate . this would be displayed in parallel with the fetal heart rate on the bedside unit . another variation would be to combine a patient input button that would allow the machine to be trained early in the process , before an epidural is placed . when the patient feels a contraction coming on , she presses a button . when the patient perceives the contraction has ended , she again presses the same button . this allows the machine to cross reference its signal processing with real patient input . the transducer that most closely correlates with the patients contraction input is then selected as the primary detector . the remaining transducers can then add to the primary detectors signal recording , when it detects a signal . alternatively , the other two sensors can be silenced to conserve power . other methods to acquire this signal using mechanical - electric transducers include , but not limited to : constant recording using all three detectors , only detecting uterine contractions when the fetal heart tracing is outside normal variation , constant patient input regarding perceived contractions , etc . in one incarnation of the invention , patches containing both or either sensor 1 and 2 would be placed on the laboring patient &# 39 ; s abdomen . the signals received from the sensors could be processed as outlined in fig2 , which is a flowchart showing signal processing for separation of the three outputs : fetal heart rate , maternal heart rate and uterine contractions . signal conditioning may include , but is not limited to , filtering , amplification , upsampling , downsampling , and other operations . types of filters that may be incorporated include , but are not limited to , band pass filters , time of flight cancellation , blind source separation , and the like . processing of sensor signals may include , but is not limited to , fourier transformation , wavelets , principal components analysis , singular value decomposition , hidden markov models , other statistical analysis techniques , and the like . one incarnation of this invention &# 39 ; s signal transmission is a wireless signal from each patch to the bedside unit and from the bedside unit to the central monitoring station . this would allow the patient to ambulate while being monitored and facilitate procedures such as epidurals . the invention would allow for continuous monitoring during transportation and throughout delivery process ( vaginal or cesarean section ). the methods for wireless transmission include , but are not limited to : wifi , bluetooth , infrared , radio frequency , acoustic , optical , laser , morse code , etc . the device could also be connected using wires from the patch to the bedside unit and wireless from the bedside unit to the central monitoring station . alternatively , it could be wireless from the patch to the bedside unit and wired from the bedside unit to the central monitoring station . finally , the device could be connected completely using wires . in the preferred incarnation of the invention , the patch would contain bluetooth wireless technology to transmit a signal to the bedside unit , which would then transmit the processed signal to the central monitoring station via wifi or hospital internet . one embodiment of the current invention &# 39 ; s display includes , but is not limited to an interactive screen that allows the user to touch - navigate the menu of options . when not touched the display would show post - processing tracings of both the fetal heart rate and uterine contractions . this same information would be transmitted to the central processing station where an identical view can be seen . the bedside unit would also allow for printing of either segments of concerning rhythms or a complete record of tracings for medical records . the menu options would include , but would not be limited to all necessary display adjustments , print options , help menu , setup instructions , alarms , etc . a possible display option may include a three dimensional representation of signals received , giving the user visual feedback on the sounds relative location . an alternative embodiment employs the use of a non - interactive display screen ( including , but not limited to , lcd , tft , plasma , crt , etc .) with user input buttons and / or dials to the side . the power source for the above described invention will vary based on the component needing power . in general the power can be supplied by a number of suitable power sources . for example , but not be limited to the following : one or more batteries , rechargeable batteries , high density chemical batteries , high efficiency micro - batteries , removable batteries , electrochemical cells , fuel cells , solar - powered cells , or any other suitable electrical power source . one incarnation of the current invention &# 39 ; s patch power source would have a single use battery that is appropriately sized and of sufficient power to obtain and transmit its wireless signal . they would also allow for continuous monitoring . alternatively , the patch can have rechargeable batteries that can be easily switched with batteries being charged at the bedside unit . the patch would become active when contact is made with the patient &# 39 ; s skin . alternatively the patch could have a switch or button to turn on the wireless technology . another alternative embodiment is to have the patches activated by the base unit . one incarnation of the present invention &# 39 ; s bedside unit power source is to use a rechargeable battery that can be charged by plugging the unit to an alternating current outlet . the battery pack can also be swapped for those that are charged in a separate location . during transportation , the unit can be unplugged while continuing to receive and process signals . the unit would have a button , switch or any other mechanical way of quickly powering on and off the unit . the bedside unit could also charge the batteries which may be used interchangeable in the patches . another embodiment of the bedside unit power supply would be completely powered by an alternating current outlet . in a preferred embodiment of the present invention , the device and system described above is intended to be integrated into the care of laboring women monitored in the hospital . the decision tree to use this technology would be identical to that for current external fetal monitoring and up to the discretion of the medical staff . once the decision is made to monitor the patient , the bedside unit and patches are brought in to the room with the patient . the bedside unit is powered on and immediately asks for the patients name and medical record . subsequently , the unit instructs the staff on the correct sequence for setting up the device . the bedside unit receives the signal from the separate patches and immediately starts processing the data . the processed signals are displayed on the bedside unit and sent to the central station . while the current form of the device is intended for a hospital setting , future generations of the device could extend it to antepartum clinic or home use , leveraging existing technology platforms to make fetal monitoring widely accessible to pregnant mothers via personal computers or handheld devices . various embodiments of the invention have been described . these and other embodiments are within the scope of the following claims . | 0 |
the present invention provides methods of transitioning a filter function of a two - port lattice - form planar waveguide optical delay line circuit filter in a manner that obviates or mitigates problems associated with previously known methods . the present invention also provides methods of transitioning a filter function of a two - port lattice - form planar waveguide optical delay line circuit filter that enables a controlled transition of the filter function between a start filter function and a target filter function . the present invention further provides methods of transitioning the filter coefficients of a two - port lattice - form planar waveguide optical delay line circuit filter to a new set of filter coefficients where the filter function is kept constant within a predefined range . according to an embodiment of the invention , there is provided a method of transitioning a filter function of an optical delay line circuit filter from a start filter function to a target filter function , characterized in that it comprises the steps of : a ) determining start filter coefficients defining the start filter function for said optical delay line circuit filter ; b ) interpolating the differences in values of said start filter function and said target filter function over a spectral range of said optical filter to establish m − 1 intermediate filter functions , where m is an integer and m ≧ 2 ; c ) determining best fit filter coefficients for a first intermediate filter function by performing an optimization process on filter coefficients using the start filter function coefficients to obtain the best fit solution to said first intermediate filter function filter coefficients ; and d ) iteratively repeating step c ) to obtain best fit filter coefficients for the successive intermediate filter functions if any and , advantageously , for the target filter function , utilizing in each iteration the best fit filter coefficients obtained from the preceding optimization step thereby resulting in a best fit solution to the filter coefficients of the target filter function of the optical filter . advantageously , the differences between said start filter function and said target filter function to establish respective m − 1 intermediate filter functions are interpolated linearly . advantageously , the optimization process of step c ) comprises , utilizing a non - linear least squares estimation function to determine a best fit solution . the optimization process may comprise a gauss - newton or levenberg - marquardt algorithm . advantageously , the method includes a step of maintaining optimized filter coefficients within their respective physical boundaries which may comprise adding a penalty function to the non - linear least squares estimation function . alternatively , or in addition , the method of maintaining optimized filter coefficients within their respective physical boundaries comprise a slide back process to place the value of a filter coefficient at the value of a boundary or at a value within the boundaries of the physical range of that that filter coefficient has crossed . advantageously , the slide back process is applied to only delay line filter coefficients . the filter function of the optical delay line circuit filter is characterized by its wavelength dependent attenuation and chromatic dispersion . depending on the design and the application of the filter , either the attenuation , the chromatic dispersion or both describe the filter function as used in this document . according to a second example embodiment of the invention , there is provided a method of transitioning a filter function of a dynamic gain equalizer having an optical delay line circuit from a start filter function to a target filter function , characterized in that it comprises the steps of : a ) determining start filter coefficients defining the start filter function for said optical delay line circuit of said equalizer , b ) interpolating differences in values of said start filter function and said target filter function over a spectral range of said dynamic gain equalizer to establish m − 1 intermediate filter functions , where m is an integer and m ≧ 2 ; c ) determining best fit filter coefficients for a first intermediate filter function by performing an optimization process on filter coefficients using the start filter function coefficients to obtain the best fit solution to said first intermediate filter function ; and d ) iteratively repeating step c ) to obtain best fit filter coefficients for any successive intermediate filter function and , advantageously , the target filter function , utilizing in each iteration the best fit filter coefficients obtained from the preceding optimization step thereby resulting in a best fit solution to the filter coefficients of the target filter function of the gain equalizer . referring to fig4 , the present invention provides an optical signal processing system 30 incorporating an optical delay line circuit filter 10 as taught by jinguji and the &# 39 ; 611 patent and as illustrated by fig1 and 2 . in an advantageous arrangement of the embodiment of the invention as illustrated by fig4 , the processing system 30 comprises a dynamic gain equalizer 31 . however , the processing system 30 of the present invention could equally well comprise other optical processing systems such as a wavelength dispersion filter or the like . the embodiment of the invention as depicted by fig4 uses like numerals as employed in fig1 and 2 for like parts . the filter function of a dynamic gain equalizer 31 is specified by its attenuation at each wavelength of its operating spectrum . the filter coefficients ( sets of parameters θ & amp ; φ ) to define a desired filter function for the optical delay line circuit filter 10 can be calculated in accordance with jinguji and the &# 39 ; 611 patent . these parameters are stored in a memory table 33 of a control processor 32 of the gain equalizer 31 and are employed in the control of the phase shift controllers 19 , 21 of the optical delay line circuit filter 10 to implement said filter function . however , there is no unique solution to the recurrent equations taught by jinguji and the &# 39 ; 611 patent . in fact , there are 2 n solutions for a desired filter function . consequently , any one of the 2 n solutions can be selected to implement the filter function . also , the 2 n solutions for a desired filter function calculated in accordance with jinguji and the &# 39 ; 611 patent are for an ideal model of the optical delay line circuit filter 10 . in jinguji and the &# 39 ; 611 patent , certain assumptions are made to the effect that all mach - zehnder interferometers ( delay lines ) have the same optical path length difference δ l , that the amplification / attenuation in both waveguides of a delay line are equal and that the directional couplers are wavelength independent . in a real device , fabrication anomalies etc . will result in an optical delay circuit where all of these assumptions do not hold true . as a result , the filter coefficients calculated in accordance with jinguji and the &# 39 ; 611 patent will not actually define the desired filter function ( target filter function ) in a real optical delay line circuit filter 10 but define what can be considered as a start filter function . this will be apparent from a resultant , measured gain attenuation profile for the dynamic gain equalizer 31 when the transfer coefficients calculated in accordance with jinguji and the &# 39 ; 611 patent are implemented as an optional initialization step ( step 40 , fig5 ) of the method according to the invention . it will then be necessary to transition the measured ( start ) filter function to the desired ( target ) filter function . as an alternative optional initialization step 40 of initializing the dynamic gain equalizer 31 , a set of arbitrary filter coefficients are implemented which define an arbitrary , start filter function . similarly to the above , this arbitrary , start filter function will then have to be transitioned to a desired ( target ) filter function . during operation , the gain profile of an optical amplifier changes with time . consequently , it is desirable to change an attenuation profile of a gain equalizer to compensate for changes in the amplifier &# 39 ; s gain profile by transitioning its currently implemented filter function to a desired ( target ) filter function that better compensates the changed gain profile of the amplifier . in the following description of a method in accordance with the invention , reference will be made to a start filter function and a target filter function . the start filter function comprises the filter function being implemented by the dynamic gain equalizer 31 whether that filter function is one resulting from the ideal filter coefficients being calculated in accordance with jinguji and the &# 39 ; 611 patent for a desired filter function , selection of an initial arbitrary start filter function or a currently implemented filter function . the target filter function comprises the filter function to which it is desired to transition the start filter function . as aforesaid , the filter function of a dynamic gain equalizer is specified by its attenuation at each wavelength of its operating spectrum . beginning with a start filter function which is already known or can be determined by measuring the current attenuation profile of the dynamic gain equalizer 31 or modeled from the parameters stored in the control processor table 33 and wishing to transition it to a target filter function , the method of the invention comprises as a first step ( step 42 , fig5 ) of dividing the transition of the filter function of the gain equalizer 31 into m small steps . as illustrated by the gain equalizer attenuation profile graph of fig6 , the m small steps comprise m − 1 intermediate filter functions 51 ( a . . . i ) being interpolated between the start filter function ( denoted by broken line 50 in fig6 ) and the target filter function ( denoted by broken line 52 in fig6 ), where m is an integer and is greater or equal to 2 . in the example illustrated by fig6 , m = 10 resulting in nine intermediate interpolated filter functions 51 ( a . . . i ) between the start filter function 50 and the target filter function 52 . at any given wavelength in the gain equalizer &# 39 ; s operating spectrum , the intermediate interpolated filter functions 51 are determined by a step - wise interpolation between respective attenuations of the start and target filter functions 50 , 52 . as a second step ( step 44 , fig5 ), the filter coefficients of the first intermediate interpolated filter function 51 a are optimized by employing the filter coefficients of the start filter function 50 as ‘ guess ’ parameters . in such a process , the filter coefficients of the start filter function and the attenuation values of the first intermediate filter function 51 a are inputs and the filter coefficients of the best fit first intermediate filter function is an output . the optimization process cormprises a non - linear minimization of an error function defined as the sum over squared differences between the attenuation values of the first intermediate interpolated filter function 51 a and the filter function obtained with the filter coefficients that are to be optimized . the levenberg - marquardt algorithm is one example of a suitable non - linear least squares estimation process for use in the optimization step 44 to determine the best fit values for the filter coefficients of the first intermediate interpolated filter function 51 a . in the third ( step 46 , fig5 ) and subsequent steps , the best fit values for the filter coefficients of the next intermediate interpolated filter function 51 ( b . . . i ) are determined using the previously obtained best fit filter coefficients as ‘ guess ’ parameters and the pre - determined attenuation values of the next intermediate interpolated filter function for that optimization step 46 . this iterative process yields a series of m sets of best fit filter coefficients . these are applied to the filter circuit in a step - wise manner to transition it from its start filter function 50 to its target filter function 52 . the m steps have to be chosen small enough such that differences between subsequent intermediate filter functions are small . for instance , if the optical filter is configured as a dynamic gain equalizer , the number of steps m may be chosen such that the difference in attenuation of subsequent intermediate filter functions is smaller than 1 db at all relevant wavelengths . if the steps m are chosen to be sufficiently small , then it is possible to achieve a controlled change of the filter coefficients of the start filter function 50 to the target filter function 52 in a stepwise continuous fashion without encountering undesirable transition phenomena ( 48 , fig5 ). in each step of the transition of the start filter function 50 to the target filter function 52 , the optimization process must find filter coefficients that lie within the physical boundaries of the optical delay line circuit filter 10 . such boundaries are limited , for example , by the maximum power that can be applied to a resistive ( cr ) heater 19 , 21 that controls a phase shift controller 19 , 21 and thus a phase of a delay line 17 or a coupling strength of a directional coupler 18 . a known method to accommodate such constraints is to introduce a penalty function as discussed in the publication entitled “ practical methods of optimization ”, 2 nd edition authored by r . fletcher and published by john wiley & amp ; sons , 1987 . the method to constrain the optimized filter coefficients to lie within their physical boundaries using a penalty function comprises choosing a penalty function to be equal to zero or a constant for values falling within their physical boundaries and to increase them by some value when outside of their boundaries . the increase imposed by the penalty function may be chosen to be quadratic in the distance of the filter coefficient that is outside of its boundary from its respective boundary . the penalty function increases are added to the least square error function as part of the optimization steps 44 and 46 . with this approach , solutions with filter coefficients outside their physical boundaries pay a penalty , although they are not completely avoided . an enhancement to the use of a penalty function to constrain filter coefficients within their physical boundaries is to define upper and lower boundaries lying within ( on the inner sides of ) the physical boundary ranges for said coefficients and to utilise these inner boundaries as the trigger values for imposition of the penalty function . in this way , solutions pay an increasing penalty when their filter coefficients approach their physical boundaries from an inner side of their physical boundary ranges and not only when they have crossed the boundaries . by carefully selecting the upper and lower inner boundary values and the strength of the penalty function as it is applied outside of the inner boundaries , it is possible to maintain optimised filter coefficients within their physical boundaries through the whole of the filter function transfer process . since the filter functions are periodic in each filter coefficient , it is sufficient to realize an optical filter with a tuning range for each filter coefficient that spans at least one period . for example , the physical boundaries of a filter coefficient that is implemented as electrical power applied to a resistive heater on one side of a mach zehnder interferometer are given by the phase difference of the mach zehnder interferometer at zero power applied to the heater ( lower physical boundary ) and the phase difference of the mach zehnder interferometer at maximum allowed power ( upper physical boundary ). the phase difference between upper and lower physical boundary has to be ( 1 + q ) 2π , where 2π is the period of the filter coefficient and q & gt ; 0 . ideally , the inner boundaries within which the penaltiy function is chosen to be zero or constant span a range which is larger than or equal to 2π . the penalty function is chosen to increase in the ranges between the lower physical boundary and the lower inner boundary , as well as in the range between the upper inner boundary and the upper physical boundary , which together span a range that is smaller than or equal to 2πq . fig7 is a graph illustrating the calculated gain equalizer attenuation profiles 51 using the filter coefficients resulting from the stepwise fitting of the intermediate interpolated filter curves of fig6 in accordance with the method illustrated by the flow diagram of fig5 employing a penalty function for filter coefficients extending beyond set back inner physical boundaries of the filter coefficients . in this illustration , the upper inner boundaries of the filter coefficients are placed 0 . 2π inside of the physical boundaries with the exception of the lower inner boundaries of the directional couplers which are not set back , i . e . the set back = zero for this exception . fig8 is a graph illustrating the filter coefficients calculated by the stepwise fitting of the intermediate interpolated filter curves of fig6 using the before described method . in fig8 , the horizontal axis describes the transition step , where 0 stands for the start filter function 50 , 1 . . . 9 for the intermediate filter functions 51 ( a . . . i ), and 10 for the target filter function 52 . the vertical axis labels the values of the filter coefficients for the coupler strength of couplers 1 . . . 8 ( upper chart ) and the phases of delay lines 1 . . . 7 ( lower chart ). as an additional means to keep the filter coefficients within their physical boundaries , in each optimization step of an intermediate interpolated filter function 51 , out of boundary coefficients are set back at the value of the crossed boundary . if no or only a small penalty function is employed in the optimization process , some filter coefficients may ‘ stick ’ to the boundary , which leads to a poor optimization of the intermediate interpolated filter function 51 . in such cases , an auxiliary method step is introduced as described below . because any given filter function of a gain equalizer 31 can be realized with many different sets of filter coefficients , the filter system is over - determined . this provides a degree of freedom to choose one of the 2n + 1 delay line and directional coupler coefficients at will , and adapt the remaining 2n coefficients during the optimization process . this auxiliary step comprises sliding back filter coefficients into their respective physical ranges when they cross or ‘ stick ’ to a respective physical boundary . it has been found that this process provides better results when the filter coefficient to be slid back comprises a delay line phase coefficient . in the case of directional coupler coefficient , since these are naturally limited to a range between 0 and +/− 1 , out of boundary values can be prevented by circuit design constraints in contrast with the periodic delay line phases which are not similarly limited . the auxiliary method step comprises a check at each optimization process step of whether filter coefficients are still within their boundary ranges or the inner boundaries where such are employed . if not , then a sequence of optimization steps is effected which slides the affected filter coefficient back into its range . in each of these steps , the constrained optimization is performed for 2n free filter coefficients and one fixed filter coefficient . this process leads to a series of filter coefficient sets corresponding to the same filter function . a subsequent setting of the filter coefficients through these values leads to a sliding back of the affected filter coefficient within its physical range . a total sliding distance of π was found to be effective to detach a stuck filter coefficient from its boundary . fig9 is a graph illustrating the calculated gain equalizer 31 attenuation profiles using the filter coefficients resulting from the stepwise fitting of the intermediate interpolated filter curves 51 of fig6 in accordance with the method illustrated by the flow diagram of fig5 and employing a filter coefficient sliding process without the use of a penalty function . in this example , the sliding process was employed between the second and third optimization steps 44 , 46 . fig1 is a graph illustrating the filter coefficients calculated by the stepwise fitting of the intermediate interpolated filter curves of fig6 in accordance with the method illustrated by the flow diagram of fig5 and employing a filter coefficient sliding process without the use of a penalty function . in this example , a fourth delay line 18 has its phase slid back by an amount of + π during the third to seventh optimization steps . the present invention provides a method of controlling the transition of a filter function of a two - port optical delay line circuit filter from a start filter function to a target filter function using a stepwise iterative interpolation process in concert with a non - linear least squares optimization process . the method may also include the use of a penalty function or a slide back process in association with said optimization process to constrain calculated filter coefficients to their physically possible ranges . | 6 |
in view of the state of the art and the unexpected discoveries disclosed herein , it is the purpose of this invention to provide peptide - containing compositions for use in treatment of chronic disease conditions such as neuropsychiatric disorders and psoriasis . it is another object of the invention to provide methods for treatment of neuropsychiatric disorders by administration of peptides as thymoleptic agents . it is a further object of the invention to provide methods for treatment of psoriasis not associated with hiv infection . studies were initiated in human subjects to evaluate the efficacy of peptides of pert in treatment of aids patients for purposes of obtaining fda approval . among the human subjects tested were individuals suffering from psoriasis . in many patients the psoriasis was aids - related . however , some patients were suffering from psoriasis which was not aids related . these patients were among subjects used as controls . these subjects were found to respond very favorably to treatment with compositions of the invention . several of the control subjects also suffered from neuropsychiatric disorders which were not aids related . while these peptides were under evaluation for use in treating aids , it was found that patients who tested negative for antibodies to hiv , but who suffered from dementias and / or prior mood disorders showed significant improvement while receiving peptide therapy . while it had previously been known that aids patients &# 39 ; general sense of well - being improved during treatment with these peptides , it is now known that these peptides possess thymoleptic properties which are not associated with blocking infectivity of hiv . the class of compounds for use in the practice of the invention contain peptides of the formula wherein r a represents an amino terminal residue which is ala -, d - ala , or cys - ala , r b represents a carboxy terminal thr -, thr - amide , thr - cys or thr - cys - amide , and derivatives thereof , such as esters and amides or a peptide formula : r 1 is an amino terminal residue which is x - r &# 39 ; or r &# 39 ; when r &# 39 ; is thr -, ser -, asn -, leu -, ile -, arg - or glu - and x is cys ; r 3 is thr , ser , asn , arg , gln , lys or trp ; r 5 is a carboxy terminal amino which is r &# 34 ; x or r &# 34 ; wherein r &# 34 ; may be any amino acid ( thr , arg or gly being preferred ) or a peptide of the formula ( iii ): r 1 &# 39 ; is an amino terminal residue ala - r &# 39 ; d - ala - r &# 39 ; or x - ala - r &# 39 ; r 5 &# 39 ; is a carboxy terminal residue thr , thr amide or thr - cys ; and derivatives thereof ( preferably the amindes and esters of the acids ) or the physiologically acceptable salts thereof . ______________________________________amino acid three letter code one letter code______________________________________arginine arg rasparagine asn naspartic acid asp dcysteine cys cglycine gly gserine ser sthreonine thr ttyrosine tyr y______________________________________ and their analogues with d - thr as the amino terminal residue and / or an amide derivate at the carboxy terminal . the compounds of the invention may be beneficially modified by methods known to enhance passage of molecules across the blood - brain barrier . acetylation has proven to be especially useful for enhancing binding activity of the peptide . the terminal amino and carboxy sites are particularly preferred sites for modification . these peptides may also be modified in a constraining conformation to provide improved stability and oral availability . the peptides were custom synthesized by peninsula laboratories under a confidentiality agreement between the inventors and the manufacturer . the merrifield method of solid phase peptide synthesis was used . ( see u . s . pat . no . 3 , 531 , 258 which is incorporated herein by reference .) the synthesized peptides are especially preferred . while peptide t and the pentapeptide which is a portion thereof could be isolated from the virus , the peptides prepared in accord with merrifield are free of viral and cellular debris . hence , untoward reactions to contaminants does not occur when the synthesized peptides are used . the peptides of the invention may be produced by any conventional method of peptide synthesis . both solid phase and liquid phase methods may be used . we have found the solid phase method of merrifield to be particularly convenient . in this process the peptide is synthesized in a stepwise manner while the carboxy end of the chain is covalently attached to the insoluble support . during the intermediate synthetic stages the peptide remains in the solid phase and therefore can be conveniently manipulated . the solid support was a chloromethylated styrene - divinylbenzene copolymer . an n - protected form of the carboxy terminal amino acid , e . g ., a t - butoxycarbonyl protected ( boc -) amino acid , is reacted with the chloromethyl residue of the chloromethylated styrene divinylbenzene copolymer resin to produce a protected amino acyl derivative of the resin , where the amino acid is coupled to the resin as a benzyl ester . this is deprotected and reacted with a protected from of the next required amino acid thus producing a protected dipeptide attached to the resin . the amino acid will generally be used in activated form , e . g ., by use of a carbodiimide or active ester . this sequence is repeated and the peptide chain grows one residue at a time by condensation at the amino end with the required n - protected amino acids until the required peptide has been assembled on the resin . the peptide - resin is then treated with anhydrous hydrofluoric acid to cleave the ester linking the assembled peptide to the resin , in order to liberate the required peptide . side chain functional groups of amino acids which must be blocked during the synthetic procedure , using conventional methods , may also be simultaneously removed . synthesis of a peptide with an amide group on its carboxy terminal can be carried out in any conventional manner , using a 4 - methylbenzhydrylamine resin . pharmaceutical compositions comprising a peptide compound of the invention in association with a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier or excipient are appropriate for administration as thymoleptic agents or for use in treatment of psoriasis . such compositions may be presented for use in any conventional manner in admixture with one or more physiologically acceptable carriers or excipients . thus , the peptides according to the invention may be formulated for oral , buccal , parenteral , topical , or rectal administration . peptides may also be formulated for injection or for infusion and may be presented in unit dose form in ampoules or in multidose containers with an added preservative . the compositions may take such forms as suspensions , solutions , or emulsions in oily or aqueous vehicles , and may contain formulatory agents such as suspending , stabilizing and / or dispersing agents . alternatively , the active ingredient may be in powder form for constitution with a suitable vehicle , e . g ., sterile , pyrogen - free water , before use . the pharmaceutical compositions according to the invention may also contain other active ingredients such as antimicrobial agents , or preservatives . a preferred route for use in practice of the inventive method is nasal inhalation (&# 34 ; snorting &# 34 ;). however , any means which provides ready bio - availability without injection would be advantageous , for example , buccal or sublingual administration . buccal preparations prepared according to the method of pitha ( u . s . pat . no . 4 , 727 , 064 which is incorporated herein by reference ) would be appropriate . however , since it appears these small peptides are not destroyed in the intestinal tract , the means of administration of such peptides for the inventive method is not confined to the preferred means recited . particularly preferred compositions of the invention are compositions for intranasal administration . the peptides may be presented as lyophylized powders prepared with or without filler . formulations were prepared which contained manmitol . other preparations lacked such additives . the lyophilized powders were prepared in vials containing appropriate dosage . when the vial was broken open the patient would &# 34 ; snort &# 34 ; the contents of the vial . the compositions of the present invention can also be administered as a cyclodextrin inclusion complex . summary of clinical results from nimh peptide t testing in volunteer subjects 1 . 6 male research subjects with histories of substance abuse , childhood dyslexia , and depression , have received peptide t intravenously in doses ranging from 0 . 033 mg / kg to 0 . 133 mg / kg per day for seven days . unexpected clinical effects observed in these research volunteers while on peptide t include : a . incremental scores on memory and attention components of standard neuropsychologic tests ( e . g ., halstead - reitan trials b , paced auditory serial addition test , jcomplex figure test , wechsler memory test , california verbal learning test ) which remitted after peptide t was discontinued . b . improved mood scores on depression scales in the two research volunteers who had prior histories of depression . this effect maintained for one month of follow - up . c . all subjects reported decreased fatigue , increased energy and vigor . this effect abated off drug . d . all subjects were observed to demonstrate increases in physical activity while on drug , which did not continue after drug discontinuance . e . these cns manifestations of peptide t were independent of any immunologically mediated effects on lymphocyte subset count , mitogen stimulation , or natural killer activity . 2 . a 43 y . o . wm hiv seronegative normal volunteer received peptide t both intranasally and sublingually at 12 . 5 mg bid for one week coincidentally reported improvement in multiple red , scaling pruritic areas located in scalp and lower neck areas . this individual has a history of mild psoriasis which , by personal choice , has been treated with only topical treatments including hydrocortisone , coal tar derivatives , and calamine lotion . during a one month period follow - up subsequent to testing , the lesions in question did not return , nor did new lesions appear . 3 . no evidence of either cns or immunologic toxicity associated with drug administration was aobserved in any of these patients in any of these normal volunteers . the activity of these peptides on neuropsychiatric signs and symptoms is illustrated in table 1 . __________________________________________________________________________clinical effects ofpeptide t in normal volunteer subjects clin . peptide trails wechslerpat # history dosage b pasat mem cvlt beck spielberger poms__________________________________________________________________________1 alcohol 0 . 033 - + + + + + + + abuse 0 . 133 mg / kg2 poly - 0 . 033 - + + + + + + + drug 0 . 133 abuse mg / kg3 dys - 0 . 033 - + + + + - - + lexia 0 . 133 mg / kg4 depres - 0 . 033 - - - + + - - + sion 0 . 133 mg / kg5 depres - 0 . 033 - + + + - + - + + sion 0 . 133 mg / kg6 no np 0 . 033 - + - - - - - + 0 . 133 mg / kg__________________________________________________________________________ 1 . trails b : a test of attention and cognitive flexibility . trails b , a part of the halstead - reitan neuropsychological battery , is a sensitive measure of general brain functions , and requires the subject to connect randomly placed letters and numbers in correct alternate sequence ( e . g ., 1 - a - 2 - b - 3 - c , etc .). alternate versions of trails b were used . this test involves recognition of the symbolic significance of letters and numbers , visual scanning , psychomotor speed , and complex cognitive sequencing or double conceptual tracking . 2 . pasat ( paced auditory serial addition test ): an assessment of an individual &# 39 ; s ability for attention , for shifting cognitive set , and for mathematical abilities . it requires basic educational skills to test mathematical ability . the pasat requires that the subject add 60 pairs of randomized digits so that each is added to the one immediately preceding it . the digits are presented via audiotape and are organized into 4 blocks which vary in rate of digit presentation : block 1 , 2 . 4 sec rate ; block 2 , 2 . 0 sec rate ; block 3 , 1 . 6 sec rate ; block 4 , 1 . 2 sec rate . this test is an extremely sensitive measure of deficits in information processing ability since it requires complex sustained attention and perseverance of attention and speed . it has been found to be a sensitive measure of recovery in post - concussion patients . 3 . wechsler memory : an assessment of modality - specific memory deficits , the test has both a logical and a visual component . the improved scores on the subjects were in the logical or memory scores based on ability to recall detail of a story that has two versions , thus allowing a pre - and post - drug testing assessment . improvement is judged by changes in scores of one standard deviation compared to age appropriate norms . 4 . cvlt ( california verbal learning test ): the cvlt provides a brief , sensitive assessment of the amount of impairment in memory and learning as well as specifying the strategies and processes involved in different forms of memory failure . it has been used in the diagnosis and treatment of memory impairments secondary to neurological disorders and psychiatric problems . the cvlt evaluates an individual &# 39 ; s ability to learn a list of words over five trials , to learn a second interference list , free and cued recall of the first list over a short - and long - delay , and recognition . quantitative measures of eleven different areas of memory and learning are provided , along with normative data for each . scores that differ one or more standard deviations from the age appropriate average are considered significant . there are two versions of this test allowing assessments both at baseline and at post - test . subjects showed an increased ability on long delay recall on this test . 5 . beck depression scale : clinical measure of depression , has accepted cut - off scores for clinically significant depression . the control subjects were the patients described as having prior histories of depression . they had elevated , but not clinically significant , scores on depression which improved on drug . 6 . spielberger trait state anxiety : a test of state anxiety measures both the individual &# 39 ; s current anxiety state as well as general predisposition to anxiety ( trait ). 7 . poms ( profile of mood state ): a six subscale self - report instrument of fatigue , vigor , depression , anxiety , anger , and confusion . the cases reported here show subjects with decreased fatigue and increased vigor scores . there was elevation of depression scores consistent with the beck in three subjects . otherwise , the range of scores on other scales was within the normal range . the test reports t scores where the baseline is 50 and variations are measured in standard deviations around that . clinical significance reported here are changes in scores of one standard deviation or more . as indicated in the table , symptoms of substance abuse , childhood dyslexia and depression were ameliorated . the peptide having the formula : was given at dosage of 0 . 033 mg / kg / da to 0 . 133 mg / kg / da for seven days . as indicated in the table , the unexpected effects observed in these volunteers who tested negative for hiv antibodies were the following : 1 . incremental scores on memory and attention components of standard neuropsychologic tests ( e . g ., halstead - reitan trails b , paced auditory serial addition test , compex figure test , wechsler memory test , california verbal learning test ) which remitted after peptide t was discontinued . 2 . improved mood scores on depression scales in the two research volunteers who had prior histories of depression . this effect maintained for one month of follow - up . all subjects reported decreased fatigue and increased energy and vigor . this effect abated off drug . all subjects were observed to demonstrate increases in physical activity while on drug , which did not continue after drug discontinuance . these cns manifestations of peptide t were independent of any immunologically mediated effects on lymphocyte subet count , mitogen stimulation , or natural killer activity . it was postulated that affinity constants similar to those for morphine would be operative . on this basis , dosage of 0 . 0003 mg / kg / da to 0 . 00 mg / kg / da was chosen . the daily dosage may preferably be given in one to four increments . a . a mixture containing 1200 ml 2 . 5 % mannitol and 3 . 56 grams of a peptide preparation containing 91 . 7 % peptide of formula a was mixed well . the mixture was adjusted to ph 6 . 15 . the solution was filtered through a 0 . 22 micron durapor ® filter and the sterilized solution was delivered by a peristalic pump in 2 ml aliquates into sterile 5 ml serum vials . the vials were stoppered and transferred to the freeze drier . after drying was accomplished , the vials were sealed . vials could be stored under freezing conditions for several months . b . distilled water ( 768 ml ) was added to 9 . 9 grams of a peptide preparation supplied by peninsula which contained 97 % peptide of formula a . the powdered peptide product was very light and very static . the solution was covered and sonicated until dissolved ( 4 - 6 hours ). the solution was then transferred to a silo filtering apparatus and filtered through a 0 . 22 micron durapore ® filter membrane into a sterile receptacle . the sterile solution was dispensed into vials and dried in the manner previously described . for administration by injection or infusion , the daily dosage employed for treatment of an adult human of approximately 70 kg body weight will range from 0 . 2 mg to 10 mg , preferably 0 . 5 to 5 mg , which may be administered in 1 to 4 doses , for example , depending on the route of administration and the condition of the patient . for administration nasally or sublingually somewhat higher dosage will be needed . for the human adult of about 70 kg , 5 - 50 mgm may be given one to four times a day . | 8 |
in the following , embodiments of the present invention are described with reference to the accompanying drawings . fig1 is a circuit diagram of a power circuit 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention . the power circuit 10 includes a reference voltage vref , an error amplifying circuit 11 , a temperature detector 12 , a current detector 13 , an “ and ” circuit 14 , a power transistor m 1 , a pmos transistor m 2 , resistors r 1 and r 2 , an output terminal vo , and an external terminal so . further , a load 20 is connected to the output terminal vo . the power transistor m 1 is a pmos transistor where a drain is connected to a power source vdd , a source is connected to the output terminal vo , and the source is further connected to ground potential ( another power source ) gnd through the resistors r 1 and r 2 that are connected in series . the reference voltage vref is connected to an inverting input of the error amplifying circuit 11 , and a voltage vfb that is a divided voltage of the output voltage vo divided by the resistors r 1 and r 2 is connected to a non - inverting input of the error amplifying circuit 11 . further , an output of the error amplifying circuit 11 is connected to a gate of the power transistor m 1 . a drain of the pmos transistor m 2 is connected to the power source vdd , and a source of the pmos transistor m 2 is connected to the gate of the power transistor m 1 . further , an output t 2 of the temperature detector 12 and an output io 2 of the current detector 13 are connected to a gate of the pmos transistor m 2 . another output t 1 of the temperature detector 12 is connected to one of input terminals of the “ and ” circuit 14 . another output io 1 of the current detector 13 is connected to the other input terminal of the “ and ” circuit 14 , and an input ii is connected to the gate of the power transistor m 1 . fig2 shows details of the temperature detector 12 . the temperature detector 12 includes two comparators 15 and 16 , a diode d 1 for temperature detection , a current source i 1 , and resistors r 3 through r 5 . the current source i 1 and the diode d 1 are connected in series between the power source vdd and ground potential gnd . further , the resistors r 1 through r 3 are connected in series , and the reference voltage vref is applied to the serial connection . an anode voltage vt of the diode d 1 is provided to an inverting input of the comparator 15 , and to a non - inverting input of the comparator 16 . a voltage vt 1 at a point where the resistors r 3 and r 4 are connected is applied to a non - inverting input of the comparator 15 . a voltage vt 2 at a point where the resistors r 4 and r 5 are connected is applied to an inverting input of the comparator 16 . an output t 1 of the comparator 15 serves as the output t 1 of the temperature detector 12 , and an output t 2 of the comparator 16 serves as the output t 2 of the temperature detector 12 . fig3 shows details of the current detector 13 . the current detector 13 includes an operational amplifying circuit 17 , a comparator 18 , a pmos transistor m 3 , and resistors r 6 through r 9 . the pmos transistor m 3 and the resistor r 6 are connected in series between the power source vdd and the ground voltage gnd . further , the resistors r 7 through r 9 are connected in series , and the reference voltage vref is applied to the serial connection . since the gate of the pmos transistor m 3 is connected to the gate of the power transistor m 1 , a drain current of the pmos transistor m 3 is equal to a drain current of the power transistor m 1 , wherein the drain current is proportional to a load current . the voltage vi at a junction of the pmos transistor m 3 and the resistor r 6 is applied to an inverting input of the operational amplifying circuit 17 and a non - inverting input of the comparator 18 . the voltage vi 2 at the junction of the resistors r 7 and r 8 is applied to a non - inverting input of the operational amplifying circuit 17 . the voltage vi 1 at the junction of the resistors r 8 and r 9 is applied to an inverting input of the comparator 18 . an output of the operational amplifying circuit 17 serves as the output io 2 of the current detector 13 . an output of the comparator 18 serves as the output io 1 of the current detector 13 . fig4 is a graph for explaining operations of the temperature detector 12 , and fig5 is for explaining operations of the current detector 13 . hereafter , the operations of the circuits shown by fig1 through 3 are explained with reference to fig4 and fig5 . where the temperature is low , a voltage drop of the diode d 1 ( fig2 ) for temperature detection is great . accordingly , the voltage vt is greater than the voltage vt 1 that is the divided voltage of the reference voltage vref . as a result , the output of the comparator 15 is a low level ( low ), and the output of the comparator 16 is high - level ( high ). accordingly , the output t 1 of the temperature detector 12 is low , and the output t 2 is high . consequently , if the output of the current detector 13 is disregarded , the pmos transistor m 2 is turned off ( off ), and the output of the “ and ” circuit 14 , ( i . e ., the output to the external terminal so ) is low . as the temperature rises , a forward voltage of the diode d 1 decreases . if the temperature exceeds the temperature t 1 ( fig4 ), the voltage vt becomes less than the voltage vt 1 , and the output of the comparator 15 becomes high . however , the output of the comparator 16 stays high . that is , the output t 1 of the temperature detector 12 is high , and the output t 2 is high . consequently , although the pmos transistor m 2 is still off , since one input of the “ and ” circuit 14 becomes high , the level of the output of the “ and ” circuit 14 ( i . e ., the terminal so ) is determined by the level of the output io 1 of the current detector 13 . if the temperature further rises and exceeds the temperature t 2 ( fig4 ), the voltage vt becomes less than the voltage vt 2 . as a result , the output of the comparator 15 is high and the output of the comparator 16 becomes low . consequently , the output t 1 of the temperature detector 12 becomes high , and the output t 2 becomes low . consequently , the pmos transistor m 2 is turned on ( on ), the gate electric voltage of the power transistor m 1 is pulled up , the power transistor m 1 is turned off ( off ), and supply of the load current is stopped . in addition , one input of the “ and ” circuit 14 is still high , so that the output of the “ and ” circuit ( i . e ., the external terminal so ) is determined by the level of the output io 1 of the current detector 13 . when the load current is small , a voltage drop across the resistor r 6 is small given that the drain current of the pmos transistor m 2 is proportional to the load current . the voltage drop across the resistor r 6 is less than the voltage vi 1 that is the divided voltage of the reference voltage vref . as a result , the output of the comparator 18 is low , the output of the operational amplifying circuit 17 is high , the output io 1 of the current detector 13 is low , and the output io 2 is high . consequently , if the output of the temperature detector 12 is disregarded , the pmos transistor m 2 is off , and the output of the “ and ” circuit 14 at the external terminal so is low . if the load current increases and exceeds the load current i 1 ( fig5 ), the voltage drop vi of the resistor r 6 becomes greater than the voltage vi 1 . then , the output of the comparator 18 becomes high . in addition , the output of the operational amplifying circuit 17 is still high . that is , the output io 1 of the current detector 13 is high and the output io 2 is high . consequently , although the pmos transistor m 2 is still off , since the input io 1 provided to the “ and ” circuit 14 becomes high , the output level of the “ and ” circuit 14 at the external terminal so is determined by the output t 1 of the temperature detector 12 . if the load current further increases and exceeds the load current i 2 ( fig5 ), the voltage drop vi of the resistor r 6 exceeds the voltage vi 2 . then , although the output io 1 of the comparator 18 is still high , since the output io 2 of the operational amplifying circuit 17 is decreased , the gate voltage of the pmos transistor m 2 is decreased , the impedance of the pmos transistor m 2 is decreased , and the gate voltage of the power transistor m 1 is pulled up , the output voltage vo is decreased and the over - current protection takes place as shown in fig5 . as described above , although the temperature detector 12 and the current detector 13 independently protect the power circuit 10 , before either starts the protection function , the inputs provided to the “ and ” circuit 14 are high . that is , with the temperature rise , if the output of the “ and ” circuit 14 becomes high , although the protection function is not started . the output of the “ and ” circuit 14 is provided to a controlling unit , such as a cpu , prepared outside of the semiconductor device through the external terminal so . if the external terminal so becomes high , the controlling unit is arranged to take suitable measures before the protection function of the power circuit 10 is triggered so that other circuits may not be affected even if the load currently supplied from the power circuit 10 is reduced , and the output voltage of the power circuit 10 is decreased or turned off by the protection function . where the semiconductor device includes two or more power circuits 10 , the controlling circuit identifies a power circuit 10 that is likely to pose a problem by monitoring the signal level at the external terminal so of each power circuit 10 . in this way , suitable measures can be taken in advance of the problem occurring . further , since the semiconductor chip is small , the temperature detector 12 is affected by heat from power transistors other than the target power transistor . therefore , the alarm signal is provided through the external terminal so only when the load current of the target power transistor is greater than a predetermined current value . in this way , the power circuit that is likely to pose a problem is reliably identified . further , an electrical apparatus , such as a cellular phone , where the power circuit is appropriately protected is realized by building the semiconductor device into the electrical apparatus . in addition , although the embodiment describes a semiconductor device that includes the power circuit , the present invention can be generally applied to other cases . for example , a part of a circuit that may pose a problem can be identified by detecting a temperature and a current of more than one part with one or more temperature detectors and current detectors of the semiconductor device ; then , measures can be taken in advance , and a great current flowing through the identified part of the circuit can be stopped . further , the present invention is not limited to these embodiments , but variations and modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention . the present application is based on japanese priority application no . 2006 - 070907 filed on mar . 15 , 2006 with the japanese patent office , the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference . | 7 |
portable devices use hardware and software that are designed for portability . a portable device is one that can be moved easily and can fall into multiple categories such as notebook , ultralight and handheld . the portable device can have batteries or another portable power source and can have hardware such as processors and displays that use less power than a non - portable counterpart to prolong the battery life of the portable device before requiring a recharge . portable devices can have applications that can be downloaded or purchased . the applications such as games , productivity , and media applications can be used on the portable device , but cannot be easily accessed by a computing device such as a desktop computer . a user may not want to purchase different software to run on a desktop computer if the software that they want to access is on their portable device . if a portable device advertised itself to a computing device , then the computing device could display a list of applications that are on the portable device . for example if the portable device and the computing device were on the same 802 . 11 ( wi - fi ) network the portable device can advertise to the computing device that it is there . the computing device can determine a list of applications that are on the portable device and present an application in a graphical user interface ( gui ) such as a menu or folder . the user can then access an application from the gui which can cause the computing device to execute the application from the portable device using a hardware virtualizer that emulates the hardware of the portable device . by executing the application on the computing device from the portable device the user may have available a larger screen , more processing speed , more memory or other capabilities than are not on the portable device . in one embodiment , a computing device includes a transceiver to establish a connection to a portable device . the computing device includes a controller that can receive an advertisement from the portable device through the transceiver if the portable device is connected . the controller also can request a list from the portable device . the computing device can include a memory to store a list , received from the portable device through the transceiver , of an application formatted for the hardware of the portable device . a graphical user interface can present the list of the application to the user of the computing device . a hardware virtualizer on the computing device can execute the application on the computing device . one embodiment is a method of automatically presenting an application including a portable device that advertises itself . the portable device can be discovered with a computing device paired with the portable device . a computing device can establish a connection with the portable device . the computing device can determine an application that is available on the portable device . the computing device can present the application on the portable device in a list with a native computing device application . with reference to the figures , fig1 is a block diagram of a device according to an example embodiment of the invention . a computing device 100 can include a transceiver 120 to establish a connection to a portable device . the computing device 100 can be for example a desktop computer , a notebook computer , a tablet computer or another computing device . the transceiver 120 can be for example a wireless transceiver such as bluetooth or wlan such as 802 . 11 . the transceiver may also be a wired connection such as usb , ieee 1392 , esata or another connection . if the transceiver 120 is a wireless transceiver then the computing device 100 may be paired with the portable device . pairing can be the creation of a persistent link between the computing device and the portable device , which may involve the exchange of a passkey between two devices . pairing may occur once so future connections between the devices are authenticated automatically . the computing device 100 can include a controller 105 to receive an advertisement from the portable device through the transceiver 120 if the portable device is connected through a wired connection or paired with the computing device 100 . the advertisement may be done by a service discovery protocol such as zeroconf , that locates devices such as other computers , and the services that those devices offer on a local network using multicast domain name system service records . the controller 105 may be a network controller , a central processing unit or another circuit to process instructions or data . the controller 105 can send a request to the transceiver 120 . if the transceiver is connected to a portable device then the request can cause the portable device to send a list that includes at least one application or service that are stored on the portable device . the list of that application or service can be stored in a memory 145 . the memory may be a volatile or non - volatile memory , for example the memory may be random access memory ( ram ), flash memory , a hard disk drive , an optical storage or another type of memory . the application may be interpreted or static . a static application is translated into machine code before execution . for example applications written in c or c ++ are static and html are interpreted . if the application from the portable device is static the machine code may not be executed properly on the computing device hardware and the hardware virtualizer 115 is used to execute the machine code of the static application . if the application is interpreted then it may be executed with a dynamic translator 130 such as a just - in - time ( jit ) compiler on the computing device 100 . the jit compiler can translate the application to machine readable code continuously . the list of that application received from the portable device through the transceiver 120 can be of an application formatted for the hardware of the portable device and stored on the portable device . the computing device may include a controller for example that uses a first instruction set such as x86 while the application may be formatted to execute on a controller that uses a second instruction set such as arm . a hardware virtualizer 115 may be used to create a virtual controller with the second instruction set that executes on the controller with the first instruction set . the hardware virtualizer may be hardware or software . a graphical user interface ( gui ) 135 can present the list of the application . the list may be presented to a user on a display . for example the list may include links , icons , menu items and may be presented in a folder , a task bar , on the desktop of a gui or in other forms . if the user activates displayed presentation of the application on the list the computing device can receive the application 110 from the portable device through the transceiver 120 . the application can then be executed by the hardware virtualizer 115 or the dynamic translator 130 . the user may then see the application on the gui 135 of the computing device 100 . fig2 is a block diagram of a system according to an example embodiment of the invention . the system 201 includes a computing device 200 and a portable device 250 . the portable device 250 can be a device that can be moved easily and can fall into multiple categories such as notebook , ultralight and handheld . the portable device 250 can have batteries and can have hardware such as processors or displays that use less power than a non - portable counterpart to prolong the battery life of the portable device before requiring a recharge . the portable device 250 can include an application 210 stored on the portable device 250 . the application can be formatted to execute on the hardware of the portable device 250 . the hardware may be different than the hardware of the computing device 200 . the computing device 200 may have a native application 211 that is designed to execute on the hardware of the computing device 200 . for example the computing device may have an operating system designed to execute on the computing device 200 . the native application 211 may also be for example a word processor , spreadsheet or web browser or another application . the hardware virtualizer 215 may be run by the operating system if the application that is trying to be executed is not a native app to the hardware or operating system of the computing device 200 and is not an application that can be interpreted by a dynamic translator 230 . the portable device 250 may include a transceiver 265 to communicate data to the transceiver 220 of the computing device 200 . the transceiver 265 can send an advertisement from the advertise system 270 of the portable device to the computing device 200 . the advertisement can be received and / or discovered by the computing device 200 and processed by the controller 205 . the computing device 200 and the portable device 250 may automatically create a connection that allows data to be sent between the computing device 200 and the portable device 250 . the automatic creation of the connection can be by a service discovery protocol . the connection can allow the computing device 250 to request from the portable device values 275 . the values 275 may be for example the name , description or an icon of an application on the portable device . the values may be stored in the memory 245 of the computing device . the controller 265 can access the values 275 from the memory and display the values on the graphical user interface ( gui ) 235 . the gui may present in a menu that the values from the portable device 250 . the values may be links that if activated cause the application 210 to be retrieved from the portable device 250 and executed on the hardware virtualizer 215 of the computing device 200 . in one embodiment a menu presented by the graphical user interface may include a value for the application 210 and a link or value for a second application that is a native application 211 to the computing device . the menu may be presented as a folder that includes many values . fig3 is a flow diagram of a method according to an example embodiment of the invention . the method can be for automatically presenting an application . the method can begin at 305 by receiving an advertisement from a portable device . advertising can be by a service discovery protocol . a portable device that is connected by a wire or paired with the computing device can discover at 310 the portable device from the advertisement . the computing device can establish a connection with the portable device at 315 . the connection can be established automatically and allow the transfer of data between the computing device and the portable device . the computing device can determine an application that is available on the portable device at 320 . the determination may be from a request sent to the portable device from the computing device and the computing device may then receive from the portable device a list or values of an application that is available on the portable device . the value may be for example a name , description or an icon that is associated with the application on the portable device . the computing device may present the application on the portable device in a list at 325 . the list may include a native computing device application . the presentation can be done in a graphical user interface ( gui ) such as a menu , folder , window or another gui . fig4 is a flow diagram of a method according to an example embodiment of the invention . the method can be for automatically presenting an application . the method can begin at 302 by pairing a portable device and computing device . if a portable device is paired with a computing device they can connect to each other automatically when they are on the same network or in range . for example if the portable device and the computing device are paired by bluetooth they will automatically connect when they are in range of each other or if they are paired by wlan then they may connect via an adhoc network if they are in range of each other or through an access point if they are both in range of an access point on the network . if the portable device and the computing device are paired then the portable device can advertise to the computing device . advertising can be by a service discovery protocol . a portable device that is connected by a wire or paired with the computing device can discover at 310 the portable device from the advertisement . the computing device can establish a connection with the portable device at 315 . the connection can be established automatically and allow the transfer of data between the computing device and the portable device . the computing device can determine an application that is available on the portable device at 320 . the determination may be from a request sent to the portable device from the computing device and the computing device may then receive from the portable device a list or values of an application that is available on the portable device . the value may be for example a name , description or an icon that is associated with the application on the portable device . the computing device may present the application on the portable device in a list at 325 . the list may include a native computing device application . the presentation can be done in a graphical user interface ( gui ) such as a menu , folder , window or another gui . the computing device can execute the application in a hardware virtualizer on the computing device . any of pairing at 302 , advertising at 305 , discovering at 310 , establishing 315 , determining at 320 , present at 325 or executing at 330 can be performed automatically , for example without user input , if the computer device discovers the portable device . in one embodiment the connection between the portable device and the computing device is a secure connection . the secure connection prevents tampering with the applications and prevents access to information on the portable device from devices except the computing device . in one embodiment the portable device authenticates a user profile and the computing device authenticates a user profile to make the connection . the authentication of the user profile may be used to create the secure connection . fig5 is a block diagram of a device according to an example embodiment of the invention . the device 500 can include a processor 505 , a controller hub 510 connected to the processor . the controller hub 510 may be in the same package as the processor 505 , may be on the same substrate as the processor 505 or in a separate package from the processor 505 . the controller hub 510 can connect to a graphic controller 520 . a display 530 can be connected to the graphics controller 520 . the display 430 can display a graphical user interface . the graphic controller 520 can generate the signals that are received by the display and generate the graphics on the display . the controller hub 510 may connect to input devices . for example a keyboard 535 or a mouse 540 can be connected to the controller hub 510 . the controller hub may be connected to a computer readable media 515 or 516 . the computer readable media 515 or 516 can include code that if executed may cause the processor 505 of a computing device 500 to discover a portable device paired with the computing device . the code may cause computing device 500 to automatically authenticate the portable device . the code may cause computing device 500 to establish a secure connection to the portable device . the code may cause computing device 500 to determine an application available on the portable device . the code may cause computing device 500 to execute the application in a hardware virtualizer on the computing device . the code may generate a list that is presented on the display 530 by the graphics controller 520 or may authenticate the portable device using a user profile on the computing device and the portable device . the techniques described above may be embodied in a computer - readable medium for configuring a computing device to execute the method . the computer readable media may include , for example and without limitation , any number of the following : magnetic storage media including disk and tape storage media ; optical storage media such as compact disk media ( e . g ., cd - rom , cd - r , etc .) and digital video disk storage media ; holographic memory ; nonvolatile memory storage media including semiconductor - based memory units such as flash memory , eeprom , eprom , rom ; ferromagnetic digital memories ; volatile storage media including registers , buffers or caches , main memory , ram , etc . ; and the internet , just to name a few . other new and various types of computer - readable media may be used to store and / or transmit the software modules discussed herein . computing devices may be found in many forms including but not limited to mainframes , minicomputers , servers , workstations , personal computers , notepads , personal digital assistants , various wireless devices and embedded systems , just to name a few . in the foregoing description , numerous details are set forth to provide an understanding of the present invention . however , it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the present invention may be practiced without these details . while the invention has been disclosed with respect to a limited number of embodiments , those skilled in the art will appreciate numerous modifications and variations therefrom . it is intended that the appended claims cover such modifications and variations as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention . | 6 |
in accordance with the principles herein , a recursive dft based estimator is achieved that provides both good performance and low complexity . thus , as illustrated in fig1 , for each frequency f at time n an alternate quantity { tilde over ( λ )}( f , n ) 2 to the absolute value of the periodogram can be derived responsive to an input signal 110 with a system , shown generally at 100 that achieves a peak value at the same frequency as the classical optimum estimator . the input signal 110 for a frequency estimation algorithm is given as t z ( n )= t i ( n )+ jt q ( n )=√{ square root over ( p s )} exp ( j 2π f 0 n + jφ )+ n ( n ). in accordance with the principles herein , it is assumed that n ( n ) is an additive white gaussian noise . for a system 100 wherein n ( n ) is additive white gaussian noise , the maximum likelihood frequency estimator is given as f ^ ml = arg max f ∈ [ - 0 . 5 , 0 . 5 ] ∑ n = 1 n t z ( n ) exp [ - j 2 π fn ] = arg max f ∈ [ - 0 . 5 , 0 . 5 ] λ ( f , n ) . two metrics need to be recursively computed from an input signal to implement the ml estimator , such as , for example , λ ( f , n ) and γ ( f , n ) = ∑ n = 1 n t z ( n ) exp [ - j 2 π fn ] . γ ( f , n ) = ∑ n = 1 n t z ( n ) exp [ - j 2 π fn ] = γ ( f , n - 1 ) + t z ( n ) exp [ - j 2 π fn ] . represents phase noise of the signal , and is stored in a memory device 120 provided in or operatively connected to the system 100 . without loss of optimality , the ml metric can be λ ( f , n ) 2 , and a similar recursion for λ ( f , n ) 2 = ∑ n = 1 n t z ( n ) exp [ - j 2 π fn ] 2 = γ ( f , n - 1 ) + t z ( n ) exp [ - j 2 π fn ] 2 = γ ( f , n - 1 ) 2 + t z ( n ) 2 + 2 re [ γ ( f , n - 1 ) ( t z ( n ) ) * exp [ j 2 π fn ] ] = λ ( f , n - 1 ) 2 + t z ( n ) 2 + 2 re [ γ ( f , n - 1 ) ( t z ( n ) ) * exp [ j 2 π fn ] ] . as | t z ( n )| 2 and constants are not frequency dependant quantities , these terms can be ignored in the computation of the ml estimator , i . e ., { tilde over ( λ )}( f , n ) 2 ={ tilde over ( λ )}( f , n − 1 ) 2 + re └ γ ( f , n − 1 )( t z ( n ))* exp [ j 2π fn ]┘. as a result , the ml estimator uses all data to estimate the frequency offset . further , if phase noise is present in the system , it is important to place too much weight on the earlier data in the offset calculation . over reliance on the phase noise is easily avoided in the system , employing a recursive algorithm , constructed in accordance with the principles herein . to this end , an exponentially weighting factor is applied in the update of γ ( f , n ), i . e ., γ ( f , n )= γγ ( f , n − 1 )+ t z ( n ) exp [− j 2π fn ]. the structure of the estimator is useful for digital implementation as the accuracy of the frequency estimation is determined by the number of discrete frequency points that are considered and the updates for each of these different frequency points can either computed serially or in parallel ( or some combination ) depending on the update rate that needs to be maintained . the memory device 120 can include , for example , any suitable data storage mechanism or device , such as , for example , a server , rom , ram , or other suitable digital device adapted and constructed to perform operations in accordance with the principles herein or incorporated into other digital devices . an alternate quantity { tilde over ( λ )}( f , n ) 2 , is then computed and stored either in the memory device 120 via a control 130 or in a separate , suitable memory device , such as device 140 shown in fig1 , depending on the requirements of the system 100 . the alternate quantity can be computed recursively using the relationship between the alternate quantity and γ ( f , n ) in the calculation of the frequency estimator . for each signal received , a system constructed in accordance with the principles herein advantageously simplifies the update to the estimator based on the recursive nature of the estimator , and the inherent parallelism of modern digital signal processing can be advantageously applied as well . as a result , each frequency can be processed in parallel , serially , or both serially and in parallel , in accordance with the principles herein . further , each calculation of the estimator can be updated using { tilde over ( λ )}( f , n ) 2 and , γ ( f , n ), which removes phase noise , for each signal sample . as a result , the frequency estimate is the value of f that produces a maximum value for { tilde over ( λ )}( f , n ) 2 . the system 100 eliminates the need and cost for a complex system to compute and update the frequency offset between a locally generated clock of the system 100 and a received clock . after the offset frequency is determined , the signal can be locked and the data demodulated . if there is an offset frequency , then the system 100 makes a best estimate of the difference between the locally generated clock and the received clock . in accordance with the principles herein , a simple way to make the frequency offset estimate recursive is achieved . in accordance with these principles , the estimator is updated with a limited number of computations n + 1 , whereas the known systems use all of the data over . thus , the system 100 herein only calculates γ to have a simple way to find a maximum for λ , as for each new signal sample λ { tilde over ( )}( f , n ) 2 can be derived from γ ( f , n ), which removes phase noise , and the frequency offset can be updated based on the offset so generated . in other words , the system 100 provides a frequency estimate based on the value of the frequency f that produces the maximum value of λ { tilde over ( )}( f , n ) 2 . the estimator of the system 100 constructed in accordance with the principles herein uses all data to calculate the frequency offset . by applying an exponentially weighting factor to the update , avoids undue reliance on a phase noise aspect in the frequency offset estimate is avoided , given the assumption that n ( n ) is an additive white gaussian noise . a system and method constructed in accordance with the principles herein is suitable for use in systems wherein unmodulated signal are received , such as , for example , antennas , automotive electronics , avionics , communications systems , electronics , energy systems , lasers , materials , mems , military , photonics , satellite communications , semiconductors , sensors , space , superconductors , medical equipment , musical instruments , and associated devices , and other systems adapted to receive unmodulated input signals . further , the simple recursive architecture of a system constructed in accordance with the principles herein is optimized for implementation in digital integrated circuits , and in systems implementing or in operative communication with digital integrated circuits . thus , in accordance with the principles herein , near optimum estimation performance is achieved in a simple recursive architecture that is optimized for implementation in digital integrated circuits , and in systems implementing or in operative communication with digital integrated circuits . the embodiment ( s ) set forth herein include principles achieved via a system and method adapted and constructed to operatively facilitate demodulation of communication data packets between transmitting and receiving devices . as such , each exemplary system or method herein contemplates the operative connection of signals to a communication , wireless , or other network over which data is capable of being transmitted between devices . the embodiments herein have been described and shown for purposes of illustration only , and are not to be construed as constituting any limitations of the present principles . modifications will be obvious to those skilled in the art , and all modifications that do not depart from the spirit of the principles herein are intended to be included within the scope of the appended claims . those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception upon which this disclosure is based , may readily be utilized as a basis for the designing of other structures , methods and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the present principles . therefore , the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles herein . further , since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art , it is not desired to limit the principles to the exact construction and operation shown and described , and accordingly , all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to , falling within the scope of the principles described herein . | 7 |
fig1 shows a corona discharge apparatus 2 used in the present invention . the apparatus 2 has a discharge electrode 4 facing a roller electrode 6 . the roller electrode 6 acts as a ground electrode for the corona discharge apparatus 2 . the apparatus 2 also has an input roller 8 for feeding a plastic film 10 onto the roller electrode 6 and an output roller 12 for guiding the plastic film 10 off the roller electrode 6 . the discharge electrode 4 is directed towards an external surface 14 of the roller electrode 6 , so that in use , a first side 16 of the plastic film 10 is treated by the discharge electrode 4 and a second side 18 of the plastic film is supported by part of the external surface 14 . the discharge electrode 4 extends along one side of the roller electrode 6 . in this embodiment , the discharge electrode 4 extends along most of the length of the roller electrode 6 . the particular sizes of the discharge electrode 4 and roller electrode 6 may be selected depending on the plastic film 10 size and requirements . the external surface 14 of the roller electrode 6 is conductive and patterned with the word “ void ”. of course , the pattern on the external surface 14 of the roller electrode 6 may be formed from any other letters , words and / or symbols . the pattern of the words may be created by protrusions 20 in the shape of letters protruding from a surface of the roller electrode 6 ( as seen in fig1 a ) or created by recesses 22 in a surface of the roller electrode 6 ( as seen in fig1 b ). fig1 a shows a first embodiment of the roller electrode 6 . the roller electrode has an aluminium roller base 24 . the roller base could be made from other any other conductive material . the ground electrode of the present invention may be non - cylindrical , e . g . flat . however , for the processing of a continuous sheet of plastic film 10 , a cylindrical roller is preferred . vinyl polymer letters 26 are adhered to an external surface of the aluminium roller base 24 . the letters 26 forms the protrusions 20 from the surface of the roller base . the vinyl letters 26 are roughly 0 . 5 mm in height with respect to the roller base 24 . the height of the letters shouldn &# 39 ; t be particularly limited so long as the letters 26 are at least 0 . 1 mm in height with respect to the aluminium base 24 . the letters 26 can be any size and shape in use , the protruding letters 26 support the plastic film 10 and the areas of the plastic film 10 that are adjacent to and supported by the letters 26 are treated by the corona discharge electrode 4 . for the areas of the plastic film 10 that rest over recessed aluminium roller base 24 , an air gap is created between the film 10 and the roller base 24 ( roughly equivalent to the height of the letters 26 ). as a result , coronas form in the air gap between the film 10 and the roller base 24 rather than on the first side of the plastic film 10 . in this manner , areas of the first side of the plastic film 10 are not treated . as a result , a plastic film is produced that has a first side 16 with treated areas in the pattern of the word “ void ”. the treated areas ( in the shape of the letters ) are surrounded by untreated areas . fig1 b shows a second embodiment of the roller electrode . the roller electrode 6 has an aluminium roller base 24 covered with a high - carbon content conductive rubber sleeve 28 . the sleeve 28 is engraved with recesses 22 that form the letters 26 of the word “ void ”. the recesses 22 can be formed by any method , such as engraving , etching or chiselling . however , engraving , and in particular laser engraving , is preferred . the recesses 22 are around 1 . 5 mm deep . the depth of the recesses 22 can be varied so long as the recesses 22 are at least 0 . 1 mm deep . the recesses 22 do not penetrate the complete thickness of the conductive rubber sleeve 28 so that the external cylindrical surface of the roller base 24 is covered . however , the recesses 22 could extend completely through the rubber sleeve 28 to expose parts of the external cylindrical surface of the roller base 24 . the area on the external cylindrical surface around the recesses 22 forms a raised conductive surface 30 . in use , the plastic film 10 is supported by the raised conductive surface 30 surrounding the recesses 22 . when the film 10 is treated with the corona discharge electrode 4 , the first side of the film 10 is treated in these supported areas . where the plastic film 10 lies over the recesses 22 , an air gap between the film 10 and the roller electrode 6 is formed within the recesses 22 . when the film 10 is treated with the corona discharge roller , corona form within the recesses rather than on the first side 16 of the film 10 and as a result , the first side 16 of the film 10 is not treated . in this manner , the first side 16 of the plastic film 10 is patterned . the untreated areas of the film 10 are in the shape of the words “ void ” and the area surrounding the words are treated . the plastic film 10 used is usually high density polyethylene ( hdpe ), low density polyethylene ( ldpe ), a blend of hdpe and ldpe or a polyester . however other plastic materials may be used for the film 10 , such as polypropylene , polyvinyl acetate , vinyl polymers , any density of polyethylene or blends thereof . in operation , a hdpe security film 10 is fed into the apparatus 2 via the input roller 8 . the film 10 may have been subjected to any number of pre - treatments , but there is no need to apply a masking agent to the film 10 . the hdpe security film 10 is fed onto the roller electrode 6 and comes into contact with the conductive surface 14 . the roller electrode 6 carries the hdpe security film 10 under the discharge electrode 4 , which is charged to a standard voltage potential of corona discharge equipment for treatment of hdpe plastic films . the treated security film 32 is guided off the roller electrode 6 by an output roller 12 . the resulting film 32 has a first side 16 with corona discharge - treated areas 34 and corona discharge untreated areas 36 . fig2 shows a schematic diagram of the resulting security film 32 . the security film 32 is patterned on the first side 16 with the word “ void ”, although this pattern is not visible with the naked eye . in this embodiment , the security film 32 is produced using the grounded roller electrode 6 of fig1 a so that the areas in the shape of the letters of void are the treated areas 34 . the areas surrounding the letters form untreated areas 36 . it will be clear that if the alternative roller electrode 6 of fig1 b is used , the resulting security film 32 would be similar to the security film 32 of fig2 but the areas in the shape of the letters would form untreated areas and the areas surrounding the letters would form treated areas . the resulting security film 32 is then processed to add an ink 38 to the first side 16 of the security film 32 . in this embodiment , a polyamide - based ink 38 is painted with a roller onto the first side 16 of the security film 32 to form a security tape laminate 40 . other inks may be applied and other methods of applying the ink to the first side 16 of the security film 32 may be used . fig3 a shows a cross - section of such a security tape laminate 40 . the first side of the plastic film 10 has been treated to produce a security film 32 with treated 34 and untreated 36 areas . a layer of polyamide ink 38 is printed onto this first side 16 of the security film 32 . once the ink 38 has been applied to the security film 32 , the appearance of the ink 38 is uniform across the ink surfaces of the security laminate 40 . in other words , it is difficult or impossible to distinguish by eye between the treated 34 and untreated 36 areas of the first side 16 of the security film 32 . the resulting roll of treated and inked hdpe security film laminate 40 may be supplied to customers as a roll of laminate 40 to be processed later into tamper evident tape 42 . alternatively , the laminate 40 may be processed further in the same production line to make the tamper evident tape 42 . processing security film 32 into tamper evident tape 42 is known . typically , the roll of laminate 40 is cut into strips and an adhesive layer 44 applied to the ink 38 layer . fig3 b shows a cross - section of the security laminate of fig3 a with an adhesive layer 44 applied to the ink layer . the adhesive layer 44 must then be protected by , for example , a protective film 46 or applied to a substrate 48 , such as a tamper - evident bag before the adhesive 44 becomes ineffective . fig3 c shows a cross - section of the security laminate of fig3 b with a protective layer 46 applied to the adhesive layer 44 to form tamper - evident tape 42 . commonly , the security tape laminate 40 is partially adhered to a substrate 48 , such as a bag , and partially protected with a protective film 46 . in this way , the tamper - evident tape 42 forms part of the bag and may be used to seal the bag at a time selected by the user . | 6 |
fig1 a is a schematic diagram showing an electrowetting - on - dielectric ( ewod ) device 100 according to one embodiment of the present disclosure . a drop of aqueous solution 101 (˜ 0 . 5 μl ) immersed in silicon oil 103 ( 1 cst ) ( sigma - aldrich , mo ) or hexadecane ( 3 . 34 cst ) ( sigma - aldrich , mo ) was sandwiched by a top indium tin oxide ( ito , kaivo optoelectronic ) glass 110 and a bottom glass 120 with a 0 . 25 mm spacer 170 . electrodes 130 ( 1 mm × 1 mm ) patterned on the bottom glass 120 are separated from each other with a 0 . 01 mm gap . a dielectric layer of ta 2 o 5 140 ( 250 / 50 nm ) was coated on the electrodes followed by a layer of parylene c 150 ( 480 nm ) ( galxyl ) and then a layer of teflon 160 ( 100 nm ) ( dupont ). silane a 174 ( momentive performance materials ) was utilized to improve the bonding between the ta 2 o 5 and parylene c layer . the top ito glass 110 ( kaivo , ito - p001 ) was coated with a layer of 100 nm teflon 160 . fig1 b is a schematic diagram showing an electronic module for real - time droplet position sensing and driving in digital microfluidic ( dmf ) system according to one embodiment of the present disclosure . the dmf system comprises ( fig2 ): ( i ) the control electronics 210 ( discrete components on printed circuit board , pcb ), ( ii ) the field programmable gate array ( fpga ) 220 , and ( iii ) the computer - based software engine 230 . the control electronics 210 connects to the ewod device 100 and provides an actuation pulse to the electrodes , where the control electronics 210 generates a capacitance - derived frequency signal . the fpga 220 connects to the control electronics 210 and collects the capacitance - derived frequency signal . the computer 230 connects to the fpga 220 , the computer 230 uses a frequency of the capacitance - derived frequency signal to calculate a precise droplet position and generates a duration voltage signal . the control electronics 210 implements natural discharge after pulse ( ndap )/ cooperative electrodes ( ce ) under the guide of the fpga 220 . the pcb comprises a high - voltage ( hv ) switches ic chip array 211 , a blocking capacitance array 212 , a ring oscillator 213 , and an analog switches ic chip array 214 . the hv switches ic chip array 211 is for connecting / disconnecting the actuation pulse to the electrodes . the ring oscillator 213 is for generating the capacitance - derived frequency signal . the analog switches ic chip array 214 is for connecting / disconnecting the electrodes to the ring oscillator 213 . the blocking capacitance array 212 is for connecting electrodes to the analog switches array 214 , and for blocking a hv signal from the actuation pulse to the analog switches array 214 . dc ( direct current ) and ac ( alternating current ) are the common voltage waveforms for electrode driving in ewod - based dmf devices . present disclosure provides a new control - engaged electrode - driving technique , ndap , for better v droplet and electrode lifetime of a ewod device . fig2 is a profile showing an electrode - driving signal for a droplet moving across two electrodes according to one embodiment of the present disclosure . as shown in fig2 , the initial high - level excitation is a t ′ α - width dc with a peak value of u α , offering the initial ewod device force to rapidly accelerate v droplet from still . before the low - level excitation begins , we allow the high - level excitation to drop to a lower value first , by the operation of the designed circuit described later . when a droplet - in - run starts to move , the high - level excitation will be stopped by disconnecting the electrode from the power source . during the discharge period , the residual charge on the electrode is still adequate for real - time sensing of the dynamic position of the droplet . the corresponding voltage of the residual charge on the electrode ( u res ) is given by where u β is the discharge period initial voltage , t is the elapsed time , and τ is the rc ( resistance - capacitance ) time constant , which is defined as during the natural discharge , a number of short ( 1 ms , t α ) recharging pulse is applied to the electrode to sustain v droplet over a longer period t β , which can be managed by the control unit that guides the droplet movement till completion . the rms voltage ( v rms , discharge ) of discharge period is given by , v rms , discharge = 1 t β ∫ 0 t β u res 2 d t ( 3 ) v rms , discharge = u β τ 2 t β ( 1 - e - 2 t β / τ ) ( 4 ) which is obviously lower than that during charging . in our case , rms voltage of the whole excitation is up to 26 . 7 % lower than dc . the ndap can also be applied to other dmf systems even there is with no position sensing . the transportation of a droplet from one electrode to another is not linear . the drop transportation between electrodes in three phases : phase i ( only the leading edge moves while the trailing edge is still pinned ), phase ii ( both the leading and trailing edges move with great different velocities ), and phase iii ( both edge move in a similar velocity ). fig3 a shows the droplet movement from 0 to 230 ms , where the first row focuses on the very beginning of charging and the second row shows the rest . as soon as the driving signal was applied , phase i started instantly , resulting a deformation of the droplet shape where the front edge became thinner while the trailing edge stayed pinned . phase ii began at around 10 ms when the trailing edge depinned and started to catch up the leading edge . the present disclosure provides a convenient method to decide the boundary of the three phases from the instantaneous velocity of a droplet , as shown in fig3 b . the instantaneous velocity was calculated based on the movement of the droplet centroid , and thus the conformation change of the droplet would be reflected on the velocity . as shown in fig3 b , there is a sudden velocity change from 0 to 3 mm / s at the moment when the power is applied . this is due to the deformation of the droplet in phase i ( frame a in fig3 a and point a in fig3 b ). for the same reason , when the trailing edge started to move , there would be another steep change in the droplet conformation , which would cause a drop in the calculated velocity . point b at ˜ 10 ms in fig3 b marks the beginning of phase ii which is consistent with that obtained from fig3 a . when the trailing edge catches up the front edge and keeps the conformation of droplet stable , phase iii starts and the instantaneous velocity would increase smoothly with the continuous driving signal application . point c in fig3 b marks the start of phase iii at around 30 ms . note that after 130 ms , point d , the droplet velocity starts to decline . by investigating the video we found that this was the time when the centroid of the droplet reached the lower edge of the target electrode as shown in fig3 a . the ewod force was applied at the contact line . when the centroid of the droplet passed the edge , the ewod force on the rear part would be a dragging force instead of a driving force which causes the droplet to slow down . there is another sudden velocity change close to the end of the transportation , it happened when the leading edge of the droplet reached the rim of the second electrode and stopped moving forward . again , the sudden conformation change would be reflected on the velocity . after that , the velocity drops quickly . hence , by studying the instantaneous velocity of a droplet , we can obtain the dynamics of the droplet transportation , which is crucial in optimizing our ndap signal as analyzed as follows . in general , increasing the rms value of the control signal is an effective way to enhance v droplet on the ewod device . nevertheless ewod device aging and breakdown problems arise while a control voltage with a high rms voltage is applied . in order to maintain v droplet while lowering the rms voltage , the efficiency of the control voltage would have to be enhanced . the present disclosure uses a ndap signal with a scope of reducing the rms voltage while improving v droplet . to assess the performance of ndap , we for the first time compared v droplet of di water driven by ndap with that driven by dc , for a droplet to move over to the next electrode immersed in silicon oil . the charging time of dc was empirically fixed at 300 ms to complete the transportation . ndap was executed by the feedback - control unit . the natural discharge can be multi - cycled to complete the overall transportation . fig4 a is a diagram showing the average velocities of a droplet driven by ndap signals with different t ′ α according to one embodiment of the present disclosure . as illustrated in fig4 a , a dc signal with a 15 v rms gives an average velocity of 3 . 73 mm / s . this velocity is slightly dependent on the size of the droplet . with the ndap signal , the average velocity increased dramatically from 2 . 74 mm / s with a t ′ α of 1 ms , to 4 . 18 mm / s with a t ′ α of 13 ms . the rms value of 13 ms ndap was only 10 . 87 v , 73 % of that of dc . however , the average velocity under this condition was even higher than that of the dc driving signal . considering the droplet dynamics during the transportation , we expected that when the first pulse duration is less than that needed to overcome phase i , the driving force would be inadequate to move the droplet at a high speed , though the natural discharge in ndap may still pull the droplet forward . the average transporting efficiency would remain low . however , if the first pulse in ndap makes the droplet move into phase ii or iii , the whole droplet starts to move in a stretching conformation . the retreat of the force would cause the droplet to relax and back to a round shape as much as possible . this rounded shape would maximize the driving force efficiency , which as a consequence enhance the droplet transportation by ndap even faster than dc due to its high driving efficiency . fig4 b is a diagram showing the average velocity of droplet transportation with t ′ α from 1 to 300 ms . as shown in fig4 b , when t ′ α is less than 10 ms , which is the boundary of the phase i and phase ii , the average velocity is less than that driven by dc . this range is labeled as zone i , where the transporting efficiency remains low . however , when t ′ α is between 10 ms and 130 ms ( zone ii ), the average velocity reaches ˜ 3 . 5 mm / s , which is 20 . 6 % higher than that of dc ( 2 . 9 mm / s ). a further increase of t ′ α does not add more benefits . when t ′ α is larger than 130 ms ( zone iii ), the velocity returns back to that of dc . as we have discussed , 130 ms is the time when the centroid of the droplet gets onto the second electrode . under this condition , ndap shows no more effect because its high driving efficiency works on both the front and trailing edges , which is actually a dragging force . balancing the velocity and electrode lifetime , we conclude that using α t ′ α just into the boundary of phase ii would be the optimized ndap signal . the beginning of phase ii may vary with different chemical or biological systems , which would require a calibration for each case . we tested the start point of phase ii with different driving voltages , different immerse oils and different sample components to investigate the variation . as shown in table 1 , raising u α from 15 to 25 v shortened the phase i period from 10 to 7 . 5 ms for a di water droplet in silicon oil ( 1 cst ). further increase in driving voltage does not affect the phase behavior of the droplet . we also studied the profile for a water droplet dispersed with stabilized 8 μm polysterin particles ( nano micro . ltd ) to mimic the biological samples with cells in the droplet . the phase behavior stays similar to that of pure deionized water . the beginning of phase ii takes place 2 . 5 ms earlier with a higher voltage than a just adequate driving voltage . for some biological applications which need heating up the samples , such as pcr , the high evaporation rate of the silicon oil ( 1 cst ) makes it inappropriate as an immerse oil . replacing it with thermal stable but more viscous oil is inevitable . we investigated the phase behavior of a water droplet in hexadecane ( 3 . 34 cst ) when u α is equal to 20 v to see if that would cause a necessary recalibration of the system . as shown in table 1 , the phase ii starts at 12 . 5 ms , which is about 50 % later than that in the silicon oil . however , the zone i to zone iii for di water droplet in hexadecane ( fig4 c ) is still consistent with the phenomenon that of in silicon oil , matching its beginning of phase ii ( boundary of zone i and ii ) and centroid time ( boundary of zone ii and iii ), which further confirmed our hypothesis . we admit that the phase behavior of a droplet varies in the range of 4 ms in different immerse oil . however , compared with the range of zone ii which is up to 130 ms in silicon oil or 250 ms in hexdecane , the off - optimization of this 4 ms is negligible . conservatively , one can use the optimized t ′ α at a low voltage for all ndap signals on aqueous droplets . as such , recalibration of the system for different applications is likely unnecessary . the above comparisons of performance are all between ndap and dc actuation signals as ndap is dc - based . in order to further test the performance of our new techniques , we modified our signal generating system and rerun the experiment for the velocity of droplet transportation and electrode lifetime of a ewod device . in the experiments of velocity determination , a droplet of di water ( 0 . 5 ul ) was transported from one electrode to the next under different actuation signals . the same electrodes were used for alternatively running dc , ac or ndap . the peak - values of all three signals were fixed at 15 v . in ndap signal , 15 ms t ′ α was used for the best driving performance . the charging of ac or dc was sustained till the movement was completed . therefore , the rms voltages of ac , dc and ndap were 15 v , 15 v and 11 . 27 v , respectively . the frequency of the ac signal was set at 1 khz . fig5 a is a diagram showing velocity comparisons of three different actuation signals according to one embodiment of the present disclosure . as shown in fig5 a , the droplet actuated by the ndap signal reached the target electrode in the shortest time (˜ 250 ms ), while dc signal took a longer time (˜ 300 ms ) and ac signal takes the longest time (˜ 400 ms ) to complete the droplet transportation . a droplet running across an 8 - electrode straight array was monitored to obtain the average velocity driven by dc , ac or ndap . the charging duration of dc and ac was empirically optimized at 300 ms and 400 ms , respectively , to complete a movement from one electrode to the next . the average velocity was calculated in the droplet movement disregarding whether the actuation signal stopped or not . fig5 b is a diagram showing average velocity of a droplet moving across an eight - electrode straight array according to fig5 a . as shown in fig5 b , ndap reached a velocity of 4 . 4 mm / s while dc gave 3 . 4 mm / s and ac only reached 2 . 9 mm / s . ndap enhanced the velocity by 26 . 8 % and 49 . 5 % when compared to dc and ac , respectively . according to the dielectric dispersion , the dielectric permittivity decreases as a function of frequency of the applied electric field . consequently , the ewod force induced by the dc electric field can be higher than that of ac , as well as the actuation velocity . generally , the dc - based actuation signal would give higher transportation efficiency . since ndap has low rms voltage we expected that the electrode lifetime with ndap would be longer than both dc and ac . to test this hypothesis we shuttled a droplet between two adjacent electrodes driven by dc , ac and ndap . the charging duration of dc and ac was set empirically at 250 ms and 400 ms . the electrode lifetime was determined when an electrode breakdown was monitored ( fig6 a ), although the droplet could still move in some cases . the dielectric layer was normally 250 nm in the experiments in this paper . as shown in fig6 b , the electrode did not show any sign of breakdown after 10 , 000 shuttles for all the three actuation signals at normal dielectric coating conditions . in order to touch the limit of electrode lifetime , we coated a batch of ewod device with critical thickness of 50 nm of dielectric layer which are prone to breakdown . as shown in fig6 b , ndap had an electrode lifetime about 3 times longer than that of dc with a value of 200 and 63 shuttles , respectively . this would be due to the lower rms value of ndap . but unexpectedly , ewod device actuated by ac were still robust even under those critical coating conditions . we suspect this may be attributed to the defects or impurities in the thin layer of dielectric material . for dielectric layer as thin as 50 nm , the number of defects and impurities dramatically increase , which causes charge trapping . according to poole - frenkel emission conduction mechanism , the trapped electrons can escape by thermal emission , and form current due to electrons ‘ jumping ’ from trap to trap . it was found that the charge trapping related leakage current is more obvious for dc - based signal than ac , resulting in a field stress in dc and ndap and the lowering of the electrode lifetime . however , in the dmf system , prior arts always coat a ewod device with thick enough dielectric layer for a robust performance . therefore , the lifetime of all the three actuation signals is same good in real usage . nevertheless , under some circumstances when the droplet contained charged materials such as protein or dna , dc based signals with the same polarity of charge as the sample would be desired , in order to eliminate the adhesion of those materials to the electrodes . in those cases , ndap would be preferable in the view of both velocity and electrode lifetime . another electrode - driving technique of present disclosure is cooperative electrodes ( ce ). ce is inspired by the fact that when a droplet is transported over a sequence of electrodes , the droplet suffers from deformation and local vibration , lowering the average v droplet , between the gap of the electrodes . in fact , the next target electrode can be early - charged before discharging the current one to regulate v droplet over a sequence of electrodes transportation . guided by the real - time droplet position feedback , the electrodes overlap charging time can be optimally calculated by the software engine , with no extra cost . also , ce is independent of the actuation waveform . fig7 a and 7b illustrate the cases of ndap and ndap + ce , whereas fig7 c and 7d depict the cases of simple dc and dc + ce , respectively . two crucial timing t ths and t thc are defined as : the leading edge of the droplet to reach the next electrode , and the droplet &# 39 ; s center to overlap with that of the target electrode , respectively . for ndap + ce , the charging is specialized to pulse the second electrode after t ths . for dc + ce , the charging of the two adjacent electrodes was overlapped . ce should be started right on time , requiring a feedback to track the droplet position in real time and perform self - optimization . the ce is triggered when the monitored position reaches the predefined thresholds t ths and t thc as shown in fig7 e . conventionally , when a droplet is transported over a row of electrodes , only one individual electrode is charged . it had been observed that v droplet decelerated significantly when the center of a droplet approached that of the electrode , being a main factor limiting the average v droplet . when we cooperatively charged two adjacent electrodes ( ce ), the deceleration phenomenon was greatly inhibited . fig8 shows the velocity of ndap ( 13 ms , t ′ α ) and dc enhanced by ce . obviously , at ˜ 0 . 95 mm , the minimum v droplet under ce was higher than that without enhancement . the same improvement can be seen on the dc case as well . as shown above ndap + ce had dramatically improved the transportation characteristics of a droplet between two adjacent electrodes compared with that driven by dc . a droplet moving across 12 electrodes arranged by a 2 × 6 matrix driven by either ndap + ce or dc only was monitored and studied . the traces of the centroids of the moving droplet are shown in fig9 a and 9b . it shows that when more electrodes were involved with the same running conditions , the enhancement was indeed more obvious . the dc signal charging time was fixed empirically at 260 ms ( just adequate to transport the droplet to the next electrode ) and t ′ α of ndap was 13 ms . the whole running time was set at 3 s such that the droplet driven by ndap + ce could complete a whole travel and return to the origin . however , during the same charging period , the droplet driven by dc only completed 10 electrodes . the average time for the droplet to move across single electrode for ndap + ce and dc signals were 223 and 260 ms , with average velocities of 4 . 48 and 3 . 84 mm / s , respectively . fig9 c is a diagram showing instantaneous velocity of droplet moving across the electrodes according to fig9 a - 9b . it can be seen that ndap + ce dramatically and reliably reduced the decrease of velocity between two adjacent electrodes . the velocity of ndap + ce at electrode no . 6 was smaller than that of dc . moreover , the total time of getting through the corner ( no . 6 , 7 and 8 ) was much shorter ( 620 ms ) than that of dc ( 780 ms ). the direction change toward electrode no . 7 of ndap + ce was also earlier than dc . this curved movement could be very useful in terms of quickly mixing / circulating of droplets on ewod device . as shown in fig9 c , when a droplet moves along an electrode , the velocity is not constant . it vibrates across each electrode . we analyzed the velocities in groups as maximum , minimum and in average to find out which part ndap + ce significantly enhanced to improve its overall transportation efficiency . fig9 d is a diagram showing average velocities of minimum / maximum instantaneous velocities and mean velocities across each electrode . as shown in fig9 d , the minimum velocities were greatly enhanced by 2 . 5 times by ndap + ce while the maximum velocities are comparable between ndap + ce and dc . this causes an overall increase in the average velocity of 16 . 6 % by ndap + ce . the significance of the data had been tested ( p & lt ; 0 . 01 ). raising the dc voltage could greatly improve the droplet transportation velocity . as a dc based manageable pulse actuation , ndap can be used at any voltage . in another word , no matter what dc voltage is used to improve the droplet transportation , switching to ndap + ce would gain another 15 % over the enhancement . especially for a high dc voltage , ndap + ce would be more preferred for its low rms value has less possibility in shortening the lifetime of the electrode due to dielectric breakdown . in summary , present disclosure has introduced two electrode - driving techniques , natural discharge after pulse ( ndap ) and cooperative electrodes ( ce ), with a real time feedback control in dmf system and speeded up the droplet movement beyond those achieved by conventional actuation signal via matching the droplet dynamics with the strength and duration of the applied electric field . the entire scheme involves only low - cost electronics and software programming . that gives the feasibility to be upgraded for further researches , customized to other applications , and easily repeated by others . although the present disclosure has been described in considerable detail with reference to certain embodiments thereof , other embodiments are possible . therefore , the spirit and scope of the appended claims should not be limited to the description of the embodiments contained herein . it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made to the structure of the present invention without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention . in view of the foregoing , it is intended that the present invention cover modifications and variations of this invention provided they fall within the scope of the following claims . | 1 |
referring initially to fig1 a memory system 10 is shown for providing reliable memory access within a computer system 12 . the general computer architecture of the computer system 12 shown in fig1 is in common use . computer system 12 includes a processor 14 that is coupled through a bus 16 to the memory system 10 . processor 14 fetches computer instructions from the memory system 10 through bus 16 and executes the fetched computer instructions . processor 14 also reads data from and writes data to memory system 10 and a mass memory unit 18 , which is also coupled to bus 16 . the computer system 12 can be a personal computer made by international business machines corporation ( ibm ) of armonk , n . y . other digital processors , however , may be used , such as a laptop computer , mainframe computer , palmtop computer , personal assistant , or any other suitable processing apparatus . computer system 12 also includes one or more user input devices 20 , which can include without limitation a keyboard and an electronic pointing device such as a mouse , trackball , light pen , digitizing tablet , and / or touch - sensitive pad . a user manipulates input devices 20 to generate command signals through bus 16 to processor 14 which takes appropriate action in response thereto according to computer instructions fetched from memory system 10 . in response to computer instructions from memory system 10 , and sometimes in response to user generated command signals received from user input devices 20 , processor 14 transmits data and control signals to one or more output devices 22 for display to a user . output devices 22 can include without limitation printers and computer display devices such as cathode - ray tubes , light emitting diode displays and liquid crystal displays in any case , the processor 14 of the computer 12 accesses the memory device 10 to undertake the logic of the present invention , which may be executed by a processor as a series of computer - executable instructions . the instructions may be contained on a data storage device with a computer readable medium , such as a computer diskette 29 shown in fig2 having a computer usable medium 31 with code elements a , b , c and d stored thereon . or , the instructions may be stored on random access memory ( ram ) of the computer 12 , on a dasd array , or on magnetic tape , conventional hard disk drive , electronic read - only memory , optical storage device , or other appropriate data storage device . in an illustrative embodiment of the invention , the computer - executable instructions may be lines of c ++ code . indeed , the pseudocode listings shown herein illustrate the structure of the logic of the present invention as embodied in computer program software . those skilled in the art will appreciate that the pseudocode listings illustrate the structures of computer program code elements including logic circuits on an integrated circuit , that function according to this invention . manifestly , the invention is practiced in its essential embodiment by a machine component that renders the program code elements in a form that instructs a digital processing apparatus ( that is , a computer ) to perform a sequence of function steps corresponding to those shown . u . s . pat . nos . 4 , 295 , 218 and 3 , 542 , 756 , incorporated herein by reference , describe error correcting schemes that can use the cod one type of parity check code is referred to as low - density parity check codes ( ldpc ). ldpc codes can perform very close to the shannon capacity limit when their associated tanner graphs possess certain desirable properties . a ldpc code can be described by specifying its parity check matrix h , which is an m × n binary matrix . the name “ low density ” refers to the fact that the matrix h is very sparse . the “ length ” of the ldpc code is n and its “ rate ” is ( n − m )/ n . given a parity check matrix h , we can define its associated tanner graph g ( h )=( v , e ) as a bipartite graph with m + n vertices v ={ 1 , 2 , . . . , m , m + 1 , . . . m + n }. the first m vertices correspond to m parity check equations , and are referred to as the check nodes . the last n vertices are referred to as the bit nodes . for 1 ≦ i ≦ m and 1 ≦ j ≦ n , there is an edge ( i , m + j ) in e if and only if h i , j = 1 . this is illustrated in fig6 a and 6b , where we have a parity - check matrix and its corresponding tanner graph . fig6 c illustrates the concept of a cycle . in that figure there is a path from bit node 5 through several other nodes and back to bit node five . more specifically the path is b5 - c2 - b6 - c1 - b7 - c3 - b5 . the length of a path is given by the number of edges traversed . in this example , the length of the path is 6 . since the path begins and ends at the same node , the path is called a cycle . the length of the smallest cycle in a graph is known as its girth . this concept is illustrated in fig6 d . the importance of large girth stems from the fact that when decoding ldpc codes using the sum - product - decoding algorithm , the number of independent iterations of the algorithm is proportional to the girth of the tanner graph corresponding to the code . the present invention is concerned with the following design problem . given positive integers { a }=( a 1 , a 2 , . . . , a n ), { b }=( b 1 , b 2 , . . . , b m ), n , and m ; construct a m × n parity check matrix h with the largest possible girth such that h has exactly a j ones in each column j = 1 , 2 , . . . , n , at most b r ones in row r = 1 , 2 , . . . , m . the present invention utilizes a heuristic “ bit - filling ” algorithm for the above problem . this algorithm has a computational complexity of o ( bm 3 ), where b = 1 m ∑ r = 1 m b r . alternatively , a simpler version can be implemented using o ( bm 2 ) operations . the techniques of the present invention contrasts with the various ad - hoc , random constructions commonly used , which often have exponential time complexity , and hence , can be made to work only for small column weights and for small values of g ( for example , g = 6 ). as a benchmark , the algorithm of the invention finds better or comparable rates to some of the highest rate codes disclosed by d . j . c . mackay in “ encyclopedia of sparse graph codes ,” 1999 . the algorithm of the present invention can be easily adapted to the following important cases ( as well as others ): 1 ) “ fixed rate , high girth ”, which is defined as follows : given the number of check nodes m , the number of bit nodes , the check - degree distribution { b }, and bit - degree distribution { a } ( s u c h t h a t ∑ j = 1 n a j = ∑ r = 1 m b r ) , maximize the girth g ; and 2 ) “ fixed girth , fixed length , high rate ”, which is defined as follows : given the length of the code n , the bit - degree distribution { a }, and the girth g , minimize the number of check nodes , m , that is maximize the rate . in brief , the general idea of the bit filling algorithm used in the present invention is to first consider that a matrix h with n columns , ( n ≧ 0 ) is already constructed which already satisfies all the constraints , that is , the weight of the j th column is exactly a j , j = 1 , 2 , . . . , n , row r has weight at most b r , r = 1 , 2 , . . . , m , and the associated tanner graph g ≡ g ( h ) has girth at least g & gt ; g . the techniques of the present invention include processes for adding ( n + 1 ) th column to h . the new column to be added is considered to be a set u 1 which has size as most a n + 1 and is initially empty . the set u 1 is a set of check nodes and hence is a subset of m ≡{ 1 , 2 , . . . , m }. further , assume that i check nodes , 0 ≦ i & lt ; a n + 1 , have been already added to u 1 . the following procedure attempts to add ( i + 1 ) th check node to u 1 . it may fail , in which case the whole procedure stops . fig3 shows a pseudocode representation of the bit filling procedure outlined above in accordance with one embodiment of the invention . each iteration of the outer “ do . . . while ” loop in lines 3 - 17 attempts to add a column to the parity check matrix . if an iteration succeeds , then , in the beginning of the next iteration , line 4 updates the matrix . each iteration of the inner “ do . . . while ” loop in lines 6 - 15 attempts to add a check node to the set u 1 . to better understand the procedure it is helpful to think of the tanner graph g ; g has m check nodes and n bit nodes . the process of adding the ( n + 1 ) th column of h is like adding the ( n + 1 ) th bit node to g . in this context , u 1 can be thought of as the set of check nodes that have been already connected to the ( n + 1 ) th bit node that is being added . the process of adding a check node c * is like adding an edge from the ( n + 1 ) th bit to the c * th check node . this new edge must not create any cycles of length ( g − 2 ) or smaller . the following discussion describes a test to enforce this constraint . for a check node 1 ≦ c ≦ m , let n c denote the set of all check nodes that share a bit node with it . in other words , n c is the set of all check nodes that are exactly two distinct edges away from c . for j ≧ 2 , define u j as shown in equation ( 1 ) in fig4 . intuitively , there is a path of length 2 from every check node in u 2 to some check node in u 1 . now adding a check node c * to u 1 will create a path of length 2 from c * to every check node in u 1 . so if c * is in u 2 , then we are guaranteed a 4 - cycle . hence , to avoid 4 - cycles , we should avoid the check nodes in u 2 . continuing in this fashion , there is a path of length 2 from every check node in u j to some check node in u j − 1 , and hence there is a path of length at most 2j − 2 from every check node in u j to some check node in u 1 . thus , adding a check node in u j to u 1 will create a cycle of length 2j or smaller . hence , to satisfy the girth constraint , we should avoid adding check nodes in the set u , as defined in equation ( 2 ) in fig4 to u 1 . denote the set of check nodes that are connected to fewer than the maximum allowed number of bit nodes . then , the set of feasible check nodes that can be added to u 1 without violating the girth or the check - degree constraint is if f 0 is empty , the current girth is decreased , if g falls below g the procedure terminates . before discussing the issue of how to select a check node from f 0 , an efficient implementation of equation ( 2 ) will be discussed . it can be observed that , as check nodes are added to u 1 , it is computationally more efficient to incrementally update u in line 11 ( fig3 ) than recomputing it afresh using equations ( 1 )-( 2 ). specifically , if we have added a check node c to u 1 , then we set u 1 ( c )={ c } and for 2 ≦ j ≦( g / 2 )− 1 , compute u j ( c ) as shown in equation ( 3 ) in fig4 . then compute v ( g / 2 )− 1 ( c ) as shown in equation ( 4 ) in fig4 . finally , update u using u = u ∪ v ( g / 2 )− 1 ( c ). the main heuristic in accordance with the bit - filling algorithm will now be discussed . an important step of the bit filling algorithm is the choice of the check node c * εf 0 in line 9 of fig5 . while any choice of c * from f 0 is valid , judicious selection of c * is crucial to achieving high performance codes . technically , using back - tracking and recursion , every possible choice can be tried , and then “ conditioned ” on that choice try every future choice , etc ., thus searching through an extremely large tree of possibilities . unfortunately , while optimal , such exhaustive search is computationally infeasible . also , a large number of choices actually lead to isomorphic graphs and are thus equivalent from our perspective . the role of heuristics is to pick one seemingly effective and yet computationally feasible , path through this huge tree of possibilities . in accordance with one embodiment of the invention , we let the choice of c * in line 9 of fig3 be guided by the simple principle of keeping the tanner graph as homogeneous as possible , that is , from the set of all feasible check nodes , pick the check node that has the smallest weight , w ( c *). the weight function w ( c ) plays a fundamental role in determining the choice of check nodes to put in u 1 . different choices of the weight function will lead to different results . in our preferred embodiment , the weight function will be the degree of the check node . another example of a good weight function is the sum of the degrees of the bit nodes that are connected to the check node . choosing to use the degree of the check node as the weight function amounts to keeping all parts of the graph equally dense . also , from the perspective of the ( n + 1 ) th bit node that is being added , this choice connects it to the check node that is least used . the next discussion explains how to make the choice more precise . initially , as a first try , a subset of f 0 is examined , namely f 1 , which is defined by equation ( 5 ) in fig4 . f 1 is the set of check nodes in f 0 that have the smallest weight . as a first order heuristic , we may simply choose c * to be any element of f 1 . these heuristics will be referred to as “ 1 − h ”, meaning first - order homogeneity . it can be shown that this first - order heuristic already yields quite competitive codes ( when using the 1 − h , it might be preferable to use the sum of the degrees of the bits connected to the check node as the weight function ). typically while f 1 is smaller than f 0 , it does not uniquely determine a check node . to further narrow available choices , we look once more to homogeneity . the idea is to look at the degrees of check nodes that are two edges away from the check nodes in f 1 . f 2 can be written as shown in no . eq . 6 in fig4 where v 2 (.) is as in equation ( 4 ). now we may try selecting a check node from f 2 . h further narrow the set of choices , we may look at the degrees of check nodes that are four edges away from the check nodes in f 1 , and can continue in this fashion . the basic idea can be described in the pseudocode listing shown in fig5 . the idea is to progressively look at larger and larger neighborhoods of the feasible check nodes in order to distinguish them . this heuristic is referred to as “ c - h ” for “ complete homogeneity ”. the “ while . . . endwhile ” loop in line 9 c - 9 i in fig5 terminates when the set of choices reduces to a set of cardinality one , or until the set of choices does not further reduce cardinality . the set e j in line 9 h contains all check nodes in f j such that their neighborhood can be further enlarged . the loop terminates if e j ≠ f j , since in this case , the check nodes in e j are guaranteed to be less homogeneous than the check nodes in f j \ e j . furthermore , since , using homogeneity as our guide , we cannot further distinguish between the elements of f j \ e j , we simply make some choice from this set . specifically , we select the lexicographically smallest check node from this set . the bit - filling technique of the present invention offers more flexibility in the code design parameters than conventional techniques . for example , one may choose to trade - off the bit error rate performance against the code rate . furthermore , while the above discussion addressed the task of maximizing the girth given constraints on the number of check nodes , the number of bit nodes , the check - degree distribution , and the bit - degree distribution , the present invention can be used for cases where it is desirable to maximize the rate r given the number of check nodes m , and the bit - degree distribution { a }. the present invention can be adapted to this case as follows . simply apply the algorithm with given parameters m , { a }, { b }, g , and some initial girth . set n = infinity , and run the algorithm until g falls below g . the number of bit nodes allocated at that point is the maximum number of bit nodes achievable by the bit - filling algorithm . furthermore , the present invention can be used to maximize the rate given a fixed girth g and fixed length n , and fixed column weight distribution { a }. this is done by trying different values of m where g , n , and { a } are fixed . this may be done in a binary search mode by selecting the smallest m that achieves the desired length . the method described above can be used for any bit - degree distribution { a } regardless of the ordering of the elements , a k , in the sequence . however , the performance of the resulting ldpc codes depends on the order chosen . in our preferred embodiment , we order the bit degrees so that a 1 a 2 . . . a n . this ordering of the bit degrees during the construction process prevents the appearance of short cycles containing only bits with small degree in the resulting ldpc parity check matrix . consider fig6 . let us define the graph gn to be the graph associated to the parity check matrix after n bits have been allocated . then the resulting sequence of graphs has the property that girth ( g 1 )≧ girth ( g 2 )≧ . . . ≧ girth ( g n ). also , let g ( d ) be the subgraph of graph g obtained be retaining only the nodes that have degree at most d . let g be the graph corresponding to the final ldpc parity - check matrix output by the present bit - filling algorithm . if the bit degrees used for the bit - filling algorithm are ordered from smallest to largest as explained above in our preferred embodiment , i . e ., a 1 ≦ a 2 ≦ . . . ≦ a n , then it follows that girth ( g ( 1 ))≧ girth ( g ( 2 ))≧ . . . ≧ d is the largest degree in g . that is , the graph g corresponding to the code that is generated by the bit - filling algorithm has the property that the subgraphs of g containing only bit nodes of small degree have large girth . more precisely , the graph g corresponding to the code that is generated by the bit - filling algorithm has the property that girth ( g ( 1 ))≧ girth ( g ( 2 ))≧ . . . ≧ girth ( g ( d )), where d is the largest degree in g . moreover , in one non - limiting preferred embodiment the bit - filling starts with a large girth constraint , e . g ., g = g ′≧ m / 2 + 1 to guarantee that no cycles are formed until it is impossible to add a bit without forming a cycle . that is , the graph starts out as a tree . while the particular system and method for generating low density parity check codes using bit - filling as herein shown and described in detail is fully capable of attaining the above - described objects of the invention , it is to be understood that it is the presently preferred embodiment of the present invention and is thus representative of the subject matter which is broadly contemplated by the present invention , that the scope of the present invention fully encompasses other embodiments which may become obvious to those skilled in the art , and that the scope of the present invention is accordingly to be limited by nothing other than the appended claims , in which reference to an element in the singular is not intended to mean “ one and only one ” unless explicitly so stated , but rather “ one or more ”. all structural and functional equivalents to the elements of the above - described preferred embodiment that are known or later come to be known to those of ordinary skill in the art are expressly incorporated herein by reference and are intended to be encompassed by the present claims . moreover , it is not necessary for a device or method to address each and every problem sought to be solved by the present invention , for it to be encompassed by the present claims . furthermore , no element , component , or method step in the present disclosure is intended to be dedicated to the public regardless of whether the element , component , or method step is explicitly recited in the claims . no claim element herein is to be construed under the provisions of 35 u . s . c . § 112 , sixth paragraph , unless the element is expressly recited using the phrase “ means for ” or “ steps for ”. | 7 |
fig1 shows a preferred embodiment of the invention where a motor 9 provides power for the actuator . motor power is transmitted through a worm 8 and a worm wheel 81 to a screw shaft 5 . rotary movement of the screw shaft 5 is further transformed to linear movement by screw nut 4 . when driving tube 3 , engaged to screw nut 4 , reaches the shortening limit position , screw nut 4 will press the trigger button of shortening limit switch 61 and disconnect the current of the motor 9 , which will stop the driving tube 3 . at this shortening limit position , driving tube 3 can only be driven outwards . as shown in fig1 the trigger button of shortening and extending limit switches 61 , 62 are both pressed at this shortening limit position . when driving tube 3 moving outwards , and reaches its extending limit position , as shown in fig2 screw nut 4 will push against an end cap 22 of external tube 2 and force this external tube 2 to move along . a spring clip 21 , which fixed on a groove of external tube 2 , will press on a compressing spring 7 located in the chamber of the actuator housing 1 . the external tube will keep moving outwards until its right end leaves the trigger button of extending limit switch 62 and disconnects the current of motor 9 to stop the driving tube . at this extending limit position , the driving tube can only be driven inwards . as shown in fig2 limit switches 61 and 62 are deactivated . when the actuator is operated in shortening mode , compressing spring 7 will push external tube 2 backwards so that the right end of the external tube contacts again with limit switch 62 . this will cause the driving tube again in a position where it can be operated either in outwards or inwards directions . during this circumstance , extending limit switch 62 is activated , and shortening limit switch 61 is deactivated . to implement the above stated travel limit function , the control logic of limit switches is particularly designed in such a way that : when shortening limit switch 61 is not activated by screw nut 4 and extending limit switch 62 is activated by the right end of external tube 2 , driving tube 3 is able to move outwards or inwards . when shortening limit switch 61 is triggered by screw nut 4 and extending limit switch 62 is activated by external tube 2 , driving tube 3 is only able to move outwards . when both the limit switches are not triggered , driving tube 3 is only able to move inwards . when shortening limit switch 61 is triggered by screw nut 4 and extending limit switch 62 is not activated by external tube 2 , the entire mechanism of actuator might fail , for instance , the compressing spring 7 lost its elasticity . in this case , driving tube 3 will not be driven by motor 9 to avoid further damage caused to actuator . in this preferred embodiment , as shown in fig3 both limit switches 61 and 62 are mounted on circuit board 6 . between limit switch 61 and circuit board 6 is a spacer 6 , so that the position of limit switch 61 is slightly higher than the position of limit switch 62 . this is to ensure that the trigger of limit switch 61 by screw nut 4 does not interfere the trigger of limit switch 62 by the external tube . to simplify the assembly task of circuit board 6 into actuator housing 1 , the housing of actuator is specially designed to have insert slots 12 , 13 and a protrusion pad 11 , which help to position the circuit board and guide the limit switches during assembly . when circuit board 6 is inserted into slots 12 and 13 , protrusion pad 11 will separate limit switches 61 and 62 , but still remains contact with circuit board 6 . this structure ensures that the trigger of limit switches by screw nut 4 and external tube 2 will not remove circuit board 6 from its original position , so that the travel limit function could be secured and guaranteed . trigger buttons of the limit switches on circuit board 6 are purposely arranged in a straight line , as shown in fig4 which is parallel to the axis of the external tube . with this particular arrangement , the activities of these limit switches , if compared to existing solutions , are less sensitive to vertical deformation of the external tube as well as to the assembly tolerance between the limit switches , the screw nut and the external tube . in this preferred embodiment , limit switches are used to implement travel limit function . this overcomes drawback of motor over - current approach in which travel limit function is not reliable . since the two limit switches and its control circuit are positioned outside the external tube , dimension of the external tube and the actuator can be drastically reduced . the housing is designed to have two insert slots and a protrusion pad so that limit switches module can be easily inserted into the housing , which reduces assembly cost and time . when the travel limit positions are changed , only dimension of the screw shaft and external tube should be altered , the limit switches , and its control circuit need not be modified as what stated in the prior art . having described the preferred embodiment of this invention with reference to the attached drawings , it is understood that this invention is not only limited to the mentioned embodiments , and various changes and modifications may be affected therein by one skilled in the art without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention as defined in the appended claims . | 8 |
referring to fig1 a , a schematic block diagram representing a first embodiment of a locomotive turbocharger system 100 is shown and includes a turbocharger re - circulation valve 102 having a valve actuation device 103 , an air filter box 104 , a turbocharger compressor portion 106 , a main intercooler device 108 and a locomotive engine 110 , wherein locomotive engine 110 includes an intake manifold 112 and an exhaust manifold 114 . air filter box 104 includes an air inlet 116 and an air outlet 118 , turbocharger compressor portion 106 includes a turbocharger compressor inlet 120 , a turbocharger compressor outlet 122 , a turbocharger turbine exhaust inlet 124 and a turbocharger turbine exhaust outlet 126 . main intercooler device 108 includes a main intercooler inlet 128 and a main intercooler outlet 130 . intake manifold 112 includes an intake inlet 132 and an intake outlet 134 and exhaust manifold 114 includes an exhaust inlet 136 and an exhaust outlet 138 . in this embodiment , the main intercooler outlet 130 is in flow communication with the turbocharger re - circulation valve 102 to direct a cooled compressed air back into air filter box 104 . referring to fig1 b , a schematic block diagram representing a second embodiment of a locomotive turbocharger system 100 is shown and includes a turbocharger re - circulation valve 102 having a valve actuation device 103 , an air filter box 104 , a turbocharger compressor portion 106 , a main intercooler device 108 and a locomotive engine 110 , wherein locomotive engine 110 includes an intake manifold 112 and an exhaust manifold 114 . air filter box 104 includes an air inlet 116 and an air outlet 118 , turbocharger compressor portion 106 includes a turbocharger compressor inlet 120 , a turbocharger compressor outlet 122 , a turbocharger turbine exhaust inlet 124 and a turbocharger turbine exhaust outlet 126 . main intercooler device 108 includes a main intercooler inlet 128 and a main intercooler outlet 130 . intake manifold 112 includes an intake inlet 132 and an intake outlet 134 and exhaust manifold 114 includes an exhaust inlet 136 and an exhaust outlet 138 . in contrast to fig1 a , in this embodiment , the turbocharger compressor outlet 122 is in flow communication with the turbocharger re - circulation valve 102 to direct a compressed air back into air filter box 104 . it should be appreciated that , as shown in fig2 , an additional embodiment of locomotive turbocharger system 100 is shown and includes an optional intercooler device 140 having an optional intercooler inlet 142 and an optional intercooler outlet 144 may be included , as required . this may be utilized to satisfy new emission standards that require the air temperature of the air stream going into the intake manifold to be approximately equal to 100 ° fahrenheit . it should also be appreciated that one or both of main intercooler device 108 and / or optional intercooler device 140 may be any type of intercooler device suitable to the desired end purpose , such as a water based intercooler device and / or an air to air intercooler device , and / or any combination thereof . referring back to fig1 a , locomotive turbocharger system 100 operates as follows . as the locomotive turbocharger system 100 is operated , ambient air is drawn into air filter box 104 via air inlet 116 , as represented by arrow 146 . air filter box 104 filters this air and discharges the filtered air out of air outlet 118 and into turbocharger compressor portion 106 via turbocharger compressor inlet 120 , as represented by arrow 148 . turbocharger compressor portion 106 compresses the filtered air and discharges the compressed air out of turbocharger compressor outlet 122 and into main intercooler device 108 via main intercooler inlet 128 , as represented by arrow 150 . prior to being introduced into main intercooler device 108 , the compressed air typically reaches temperatures of approximately 400 ° fahrenheit . this air is cooled by main intercooler device 108 and discharged via main intercooler outlet 130 . at this point , the temperature of the air stream coming out of main intercooler outlet 130 is approximately 200 ° fahrenheit . as can be seen , one portion of this discharged air stream is directed toward the locomotive engine 110 and the remaining portion of the discharged air stream is directed toward valve actuation device 103 . the portion of this air stream directed toward engine 110 is directed into intake manifold 112 via intake inlet 132 , as represented by arrow 152 , and out of intake manifold 112 and into locomotive engine 110 . as the locomotive engine 110 operates , this air stream is used to help create combustion after which the resultant is exhausted out of locomotive engine 110 and into exhaust manifold 114 via exhaust inlet 136 . exhaust manifold 114 then discharges this exhaust out of exhaust outlet 138 and into turbocharger turbine exhaust inlet 124 , as represented by arrow 154 . turbocharger turbine portion 107 then discharges this exhaust via turbocharger turbine exhaust outlet 126 , as represented by arrow 158 . the portion of the air stream discharged from main intercooler device 108 directed toward valve actuation device 103 is directed into the air flow of the ambient air being drawn into air filter box 104 via air inlet 116 , as represented by arrow 156 . this causes the cold ambient air and the redirected warmer air represented by arrow 156 to be combined , thus acting to warm the air stream flow being drawn into air filter box 104 . thus , the warmer air acts to prevent the build up of snow and / or ice that may block air inlet 116 . moreover , the opened valve acts to hold the intake manifold pressure so as to not exceed the rated cylinder pressure . for example , referring to fig3 , consider an operating environment at higher altitudes where the ambient air temperature is very low . during the initial operation of the locomotive in this environment ( i . e . higher altitude and cold ambient air temperature ), the initial gross horse power ( ghp ) is typically at a de - rated value and the manifold air temperature ( mat ) may be high . unfortunately , these conditions are favorable for driving the operating characteristics of the locomotive close to or beyond the recommended operating parameters of the locomotive , represented in fig3 as the surge line 202 , possibly causing damage to the locomotive turbocharger compressor portion 106 . this is because as the locomotive begins to operate in this environment , the cold ambient air is being drawn into the air inlet 116 of the air filter box 104 . the air filter box 104 filters this air and discharges the filtered air out of the air outlet 118 and into the turbocharger compressor portion 106 via the turbocharger compressor inlet 120 . the turbocharger compressor portion 106 compresses the filtered air and discharges the compressed air out of the turbocharger compressor outlet 122 , wherein the compressed air being discharged out of the turbocharger compressor outlet 122 typically reaches temperatures of approximately 400 ° fahrenheit . as such , there is a considerable temperature differential between the inlet airflow and the outlet airflow which is a result of a compressor outlet pressure , p out , that is considerably larger than the compressor inlet pressure , p in . plotting the ratio of the compressor outlet pressure , p out , to the compressor inlet pressure , p in , versus the corrected airflow through the turbocharger gives a graphical representation of the corrected operating characteristics of the turbocharger relative to the surge line 202 , as shown in fig3 . ideally , the locomotive should be operating well within the operating range identified as element 210 . however , as can be seen , in the environment stated above , the turbocharger may be operating at or exceeding the design parameters of the turbocharger system 100 . to counter this , a recirculation valve is used to re - circulate a portion of at least one of the compressed air and the cooled compressed air ( cooled via the intercooler device 108 , although at a much higher temperature than the ambient air ) back into at least one of the compressor inlet 120 and the airflow inlet 116 which increases the temperature of at least one of the airflow into the airflow inlet 116 and the airflow into the compressor inlet 120 . although increasing the temperature of the airflow into at least one of the compressor inlet 120 and the airflow inlet 116 translates into a slightly richer fuel / air mixture by introducing a slightly smaller number of air molecules into the compressor , the change in airflow through the compressor from this is relatively insignificant and does not significantly affect the turbine speed . opening the recirculation valve 102 results in a decrease in boost pressure and turbo speed , the main cause being that by opening the recirculation valve 102 the turbocharger backpressure is reduced and the engine appears to the turbocharger system 100 to be a much larger engine . as such , the compressor outlet pressure , p out , is reduced while the compressor inlet pressure , p in , remains relatively the same , translating to a lower ratio between the compressor outlet pressure , p out , and the compressor inlet pressure , p in . again , referring to fig3 , graphically this has the affect of ‘ moving ’ the initial operating point 200 away from the surge line 202 of the turbocharger 100 by shifting the initial operating point 200 down and to the left to an intermediate operating point 204 for the locomotive having a de - rated ghp . as the locomotive engine 110 continues to operate , the intermediate operating point 204 shifts to a final operating point 206 , as represented by arrow 162 , which represents the locomotive engine operating at a full ghp , but well within the surge margin operating range 210 . as shown by fig4 and 5 , these ideal operational characteristics were verified via multiple tests at both sea level ( fig4 ) and at a higher altitude ( fig5 ). referring to fig4 , as the locomotive engine 110 was operated , the locomotive engine 110 was operating at an initial operating point 301 close to the baseline surge margin 302 . as the compressed air was re - circulated back into the ambient air flow via the re - circulation valve 102 the operating characteristics shifted down and to the right of the surge margin 302 to an intermediate operating point 304 . as the locomotive engine 110 continued to operate and adjust to the re - circulated flow the operating characteristics of the locomotive engine 110 began to operate at a greater efficiency as represented by the final operating point 306 , well within the surge margin operating range 310 . referring to fig6 , a block diagram illustrating a method 600 for controlling the operating point of a locomotive engine 110 operating at high altitude and in low ambient temperatures is shown and includes operating the locomotive engine 110 to generate an ambient air stream flow into the locomotive engine such that a hot , compressed air stream is generated , as shown in block 602 . the hot , compressed air stream is then injected into a main intercooler device 108 to generate an intercooler air stream , as shown in block 604 . a portion of the intercooler air stream is then diverted toward a controllable re - circulation valve , such as turbocharger re - circulation valve 102 , as shown in block 606 , and the controllable re - circulation valve is operated to generate a combined air stream flow , as shown in block 608 . this is accomplished by injecting the intercooler air stream into the ambient air stream flow such that the intercooler air stream and the ambient air stream combine together to create a combined air stream flow . at this point , the combined air stream flow is injected into the locomotive engine , as shown in block 610 . valve actuation device 103 functions in a manner responsive to the ambient air conditions ( such as temperature , etc . ), the altitude of the locomotive and a higher horse power . it should also be appreciated that valve actuation device 103 may be controlled manually and / or via any device and / or method suitable to the desired end purpose , such as computer controlled , pneumatically controlled , mechanically controlled , electrically controlled or any combination thereof . it should be appreciated that , as shown in fig2 , an optional intercooler device 140 having an optional intercooler inlet 142 and an optional intercooler outlet 144 may be included , as required . this may be utilized to satisfy new emission standards that require the air temperature of the air stream going into the intake manifold to be approximately equal to 100 ° fahrenheit . it should also be appreciated that one or both of main intercooler device 108 and / or optional intercooler device 140 may be any type of intercooler device suitable to the desired end purpose , such as a water based intercooler device and / or an air to air intercooler device , and / or any combination thereof . in addition to improvements in cold ambient fuel consumption , re - circulating the air back into the air filter box also warms the baggie filters and acts to reduce ice build - up , eliminates the need to control cylinder pressure by de - rating ghp on cold days and improves surge margin under conditions of cold ambient and high mat . 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 , omissions and / or additions may be made and equivalents may be substituted for elements thereof without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention . in addition , many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material to the teachings of the invention without departing from the 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 . moreover , unless specifically stated any use of the terms first , second , etc . do not denote any order or importance , but rather the terms first , second , etc . are used to distinguish one element from another . | 5 |
as can be seen in fig1 , an interactive billboard - type garment is shown capable of indoor and outdoor day and night display and capable of transmitting or receiving audio or visual content either directly applied to the garment or through visual recognition communication cloud connected devices which may include mediated or augmented reality head - mounted eyepiece components . the equipment may be equipped with video cameras , microphones , speakers , satellite transceiver equipment , gps ( global positioning system ) equipment , incoming and outgoing wireless communication devices , chroma - key technology components and radio transmission equipment . in some embodiments , the ipops ™ content may be distributed remotely through cloud based transmissions or on - site through hard - wired electronic devices . an ipops ™ video display surface is a radiant , full - color or black and white video screen , which is visible both at day and at night and is capable of displaying both still and motion picture imagery or a combination of both . in a preferred embodiment , the video screen is implemented by covering an ipops ™ video display with black and white pixels to millions of red , green , and blue light - emitting diodes ( or a combination thereof ), which are computer controlled . in certain embodiments , the billboard - type garment may provide stereoscopic 2d to multi - dimensional ( 3d , 4d . . . etc ) images to viewers who may be wearing head - mounted stereoscopic liquid crystal or multi - dimensional augmented reality ( ar ) glasses or utilizing handheld mobile devices to access additional content as are known in the art . in some cases , ipops ™ radio transmission equipment may be used to provide the necessary synchronization signal to such head - mounted liquid crystal or mediated or augmented reality eyepiece connected to wireless mobile device ( s ) to access additional content displayed through the head - mounted eyepiece or a combination thereof as are known in the art . under certain circumstances , an ipops ™ may provide audio as well as video . audio programming may be delivered to viewers by an ipops ™ in a number of ways . for example , audio may be delivered via an ipops ™&# 39 ; s on - garment speaker system . as another example , an ipops ™ may use its radio transmission equipment to transmit analog or digital audio information from the ipops ™ audio system to a non - garment wearing consumer &# 39 ; s mobile device through wireless transmission communication . such transmitted audio information may be received , for example , by portable receiver units , mobile devices ( such as mobile phones or tablets ) and / or wearable head - mounted mediated or augmented reality eyepiece hardware connected to a wireless device ( s ) possessed by a billboard - type garment wearer or any combination of these components . audio / video programming for an ipops ™ may be provided in a number of ways . for example , content may be stored on mass storage situated on a local site or through a cloud based computer system . alternately , content may be transmitted wirelessly to an ipops ™ via satellite and / or conventional radio frequency and / or wireless transmission signals or any combination thereof . the programming may originate from a studio where artists and / or other individuals generate and coordinate the imagery or audio content that is shown or heard on an ipops ™. the studio is ideally equipped with powerful graphical workstations running advanced creative software such as maya , final cut pro , avid , montage , adobe photoshop or any other audio or video production software as known in the art . in some embodiments , the artists and / or other individuals may blend into the content images and sounds received via an ipops ™ embedded garment camera ( s ). under certain circumstances , advertisements may be placed upon an ipops ™ by the studio . in other embodiments , multiple locations may broadcast the same live or pre - recorded audio and / or video content simultaneously creating a simulcast event which may include employee training videos , concerts , instant replays or any other content or indicia that may be broadcasted . the website and / or mobile application ( app ), depending on the embodiment , may play a number of roles in the operation of an ipops ™. as noted above , the website and / or mobile application ( app ) may be used for the submission of artwork to be incorporated into an ipops ™&# 39 ; s content . software for creating such submissions may be downloadable from the website and / or mobile application ( app ). the website and / or mobile application ( app ) may also be used to provide web or app users with real - time views captured by an ipops ™&# 39 ; s camera ( s ) and / or with the content currently being delivered by an ipops ™. for example , when an ipops ™ is in a retail outlet , web and / or mobile application ( app ) users may see live views in the retail location and hear live sounds captured by an ipops ™&# 39 ; s cameras and built - in microphones . the web and / or mobile application ( app ) users might also be able to choose to hear and see the audio and video being delivered from the ipops ™ to the people in the retail location , concert , sporting event or any other indoor or outdoor environments which includes live or pre - recorded audio and / or video simulcast event broadcasting . an operational day for an ipops ™ billboard - type garment is now given by way of example . in the morning , an employee shows up to work and retrieves his / her fully charged ipops ™ billboard - type garment from an electronic garment charging system that holds a freshly cleaned and pressed ipops ™ garment provided by a ipops ™ licensed or designated industrial laundry service provider . simultaneously , the ipops ™ interactive video display panel ™, rfid tag , atom chip sound system , data and mobile device communication system , eyepiece , earpiece , gaming transmitter , near field communication device , smell disseminator , gps location system and holographic projector and wearable eyepiece with wireless sound device and microphone are activated by the ipops ™ control team , either located on - site or from a remote location , which maintains constant communication with the ipops ™ billboard - type garment ( s ). the control team , computers and communication equipment monitor each of ipops ™&# 39 ; s users . the ipops ™&# 39 ; s billboard - type garment user could travel throughout a retail store displaying content . at some point , the ipops ™ can change the content on the ivdp ™ as the electronic transmitters are communicating with the ivdp ™ to change its video content based on pre - determined transmitters located throughout the retailer or may display simulcasted broadcasts from the ipops ™ control team &# 39 ; s cloud based or other computer network or through wearable head - mounted augmented reality eyepiece hardware connected to wireless handheld devices possessed by viewers , or a combination of these components . consumers can interact with the ipops ™ by using a mobile wireless device ( including but not limited to a head mounted eyepiece ) that can be activated by qr codes ( mobile action codes ) that are displayed on the ivdp allowing consumers to receive text messages , coupons , internet website links , entry into contests or any other electronic proposition the ipops ™ system may deliver . the ipops ™ will collect critical consumer data via the ipops ™ electronic data collection transfer to later use to engage with ipops ™ customers or third party vendors utilizing their hard - wired or wireless devices at its discretion . the ipops ™ will also include an opt - in signature from the consumer allowing the ipops ™ network to engage with the consumer at a time in the future as is standard in the industry . as the employee travels throughout the store , the smell disseminator may release the “ bread in the oven ” smell as the employee travels near the bakery section or a “ fresh irish spring soap ” scent may be disseminated as the employee travels through the men &# 39 ; s health and beauty aisle of the store , enticing consumers to purchase products that are in the vicinity of the scents . as a consumer approaches an employee wearing an ipops ™ garment and / or eyepiece , and the on - garment or eyepiece microphone picks up a question asked by the consumer and the data communication system relays the question back to the ipops ™ network and relays the answer back to the employee who then tells the consumer the answer to their question which all happens in a matter of seconds . the employee may see the answer to the consumer via the eyepiece heads up display ( hud ) and may also give gps mapping directions to a specific product location in the store . in addition , the employee may look at a barcode ( data matrix code or multi dimensional code or tag ) and the eyepiece code ( or tag ) reader can display product information , pricing or access the data communication system to access additional specifics about the item being viewed by the eyepiece . as the consumer walks by the employee they wave their mobile device near the employee and instantly receive customer loyalty points , are entered into a contest or receive coupons delivered straight to their wireless device that relate to the advertisement being displayed on the ipops ™ interactive video display panel ™ or for a product that was discussed with the employee that was answered through the ipops ™ data communication system . store security has no problems identifying their employees from consumers due to the gps locator device installed in the ipops ™ garment and it is easy to track their movements and break periods throughout the day while they are on - premise . consumers may also be invited to play a game for rewards such as a scavenger hunt while they are in - store based on different propositions that may appear on the ipops ™ interactive video display panel ™. as an employee walks down an aisle , the atom chip installed in the ipops ™ garment can identify from one to many consumers by age , race and nationality and the ipops ™ interactive video display panel ™ can instantly switch an advertisement to meet the exact demographics of the consumers who are looking at the ipops ™ interactive video display panel ™. the data communication may collect the generalized data and process the number of consumers , the captured data ( age , gender and nationality ), time of viewing , what content was viewed and generate real - time dashboard vitalytics ™ reports via the ipops ™ network and charge advertisers based on the content provided . a consumer may walk down an aisle and see an employee wearing an ipops ™ garment displaying a multi - dimensional holographic image within close proximity of the employee which could ask and answer questions from a consumer or play a full - motion advertisement or video content with audio being broadcast by the embedded speakers in the employee ipops ™ garment or wirelessly transmitted to a consumer &# 39 ; s wireless device , earpiece or eyepiece capable of receiving audio and / or video content . it can be seen that there is disclosed an interactive point of purchase billboard - type garment system . the invention comprises the addition of interactive mobile action code technology ( mac ), to the billboard - type garment that includes and is not limited to : wireless delivery of electronic transmission of smartcodes or one to many dimensional coded images inclusive and not limited to data matrix , qr - quick response , eyelevel interactive ™ codes “ ei ™ codes ”, cloudtag ™ technology codes , aztec codes or any version of a mobile action code ( mac ) or multi dimensional code or tag , or visual search results utilizing pictures to identify objects . response including but not limited to electronic data , images , video or any other electronic information to a wireless device ( handheld , head - mounted eyepiece , affixed to a body or embedded into a garment or garment panel , or human being flesh that is delivered by capturing a dimensional image code or visual search code that initiates communication with a wireless communication device whether delivered by a one or many dimensional image placed on a garment or re - moveable or interchangeable garment panel and / or a removable interactive video display panel ( ivdp ™). addition of an interactive video display panel ™ system ( ivdp ™), which includes and is not limited to : a removable ivdp ™ that is affixed to the garment utilizing the billboard - type garment / ipops ™ panel system . ivdp ™ is powered by a mobile power source that is embedded into the billboard - type garment and / or the ivdp ™ panel . source power includes but is not limited to re - chargeable lithium cell or hydrogen fuel cell batteries . ivdp ™ surface may display black and white , or radiant full color video on the screen displaying both still and / or motion picture imagery . in a preferred embodiment , the video screen is implemented by covering the panel portion of the garment and has millions of light - emitting diodes ( led ), full - color organic light emitting diode ( oled ) video display , electronic paper ( e - paper ) or a combination of the aforementioned display technology and / or any other video display mechanism that are computer controlled . in certain embodiments , the ivdp ™ may provide stereoscopic 3d or multi - dimensional images to viewers that are wearing liquid crystal glasses or through wearable head - mounted augmented reality eyepiece hardware connected to wireless devices possessed by viewers , or a combination of these components such as are known in the art . in some cases , a ipops ™ radio transmission equipment may be used to provide the necessary audio synchronization signal to such liquid crystal glasses or head - mounted augmented reality eyepiece hardware connected to wireless devices possessed by viewers , or a combination of these components . under certain circumstances , an ivdp ™ system may provide audio as well as video . audio programming may be delivered to viewers by a ipops ™&# 39 ; s garment embedded speakers , headphones , ear buds or audio source built in to head - mounted eyepiece hardware . addition of interactive embedded radio frequency identification ( rfid ) tag , which includes but is not limited to : embedded radio frequency identification ( rfid ) tag within garment or a removable or interchangeable garment panel and / or a removable interactive video display panel ™ ( ivdp ™); which allows a company to track the location and location history of its personnel within a pre - determined geographical radius that is monitored by a wireless tracking system . the rfid may also help identify an employee from a consumer / civilian . rfid tag may also be used in symphony with the ivdp ™ for the purpose of being able to remotely switch the content via a wireless network feed . for example , while a person is wearing garment with a combination of a billboard - type garment with ivdp ™ and a programmed rfid tag , the content of transmitted wireless electronic data , images , video to the ivdp ™ can be electronically switched based on strategic placement of live or pre - programmed rfid transmitting devices . this may also include simulcast broadcasting as known in the art . addition of atom chip ( ac ), which includes but is not limited to : embedded interactive atom chip , which communicates in tandem with the ipops ™ and identifies specific viewer information such as the age , gender , and nationality of one , or a multitude of viewers , and is programmed to determine the specific electronic content to be delivered to the viewer ( s ) audience . the ac may also be used in symphony with the ivdp ™ and rfid tags for the purpose of being able to remotely switch the content via a wireless network feed . for example , while a person is wearing a billboard - type garment in conjunction with an ivdp ™, a programmed rfid ™ tag and an atom chip , the content of transmitted wireless electronic data , images , video or any other electronic information to a ivdp ™ can be automatically switched based on the age , gender , and nationality of one , or a multitude of viewers . ipops ™ ac technology also allows for transmission of sensitive and relevant consumer data to be stored , retrieved , accessed and displayed on an ipops ™ vitalytics ™ dashboard . ipops ™ ac technology can automatically collect the time or viewing , and number of viewers , creating an advertising matrix for charging on a pay - per - view platform . addition of interactive near or far frequency communication ( nfc or ffc ) transmitter ( s ), which includes but is not limited to : creating a connection between two chips ; one chip installed in a wireless communication device ( for example , a smartphone ) and a second chip embedded in a garment that together utilize high - frequency transmissions through the air ( wireless ) to communicate to each other allowing data , images , sound , wireless transactional data or any other information that may be developed for distribution between the two communication devices . for example , with frequency communication transmitters built into the wireless communication devices and the garment ( the ivdp ™ system ), consumers can waive their mobile phones at a frequency communication transmitter ( fct tag ) and obtain context - sensitive information such as product information , wireless coupons , customer loyalty points , discounts or opportunities for consumers to be instantly entered into a contest or utilized as a check out point in the store to pay for purchases directly through the ipops ™ garment network . another example of frequency communication transmitter is a wireless communication device user (“ user ”) utilizing near frequency communication (“ nfc ”) passes by a person that has a near frequency communication transmitter embedded in their garment ( pants , shirt , hat , shoes or any other wearable garment including human flesh ) that allows the user to receive context - sensitive information that will allow the user to instantly collect information that allows the user to view , research and / or purchase , the garment or other proposed purchase through the transmission ( with the embedded transmitter ) on demand , in real - time . addition of frictionless processing that includes but is not limited to : frictionless processing of waving a mobile hand held wireless device in front of an electronic communication transmission link creating a transfer of data , sound , purchasing or any other context - sensitive information , including and not limited to the process of wireless , frictionless financial transactions between a mobile hand held device and a garment or garment panel . an example of frictionless processing is ; instead of picking up a product and taking it to a checkout location and swiping a credit card for purchase , simply wave your mobile wireless device with a frequency communication transmitter installed ( that you are already holding ) within close proximity of a garment or garment panel and the frequency communication transmitter tag will deliver the purchase directly to the mobile wireless device for your approval and will instantly process the transaction for in - store or direct to home or office delivery . another example is while attending a sporting event , the person delivering beverages , ice cream , snacks , food , beer , etc ., to spectators , is wearing an ipops ™ garment with an advertisement of a product that may or may not be available at the event ( or the spectator does not want to carry the purchase out of the event ). by utilizing frictionless processing , the spectator may simply wave their mobile wireless device with a frequency communication transmitter installed ( that they are already holding ) within close proximity of an ipops ™ garment and the frequency communication transmitter tag will deliver the purchase directly to the mobile wireless device for their approval and will instantly process the transaction for on - site or home delivery . another example of frictionless processing is a wireless mobile handheld device user (“ user ”) utilizing near frequency communication (“ nfc ”) and who passes by a person that has a near frequency communication transmitter embedded in their garment ( pants , shirt , hat , shoes or any other wearable garment ) that allows the user to receive context information - sensitive data that will allow the user to instantly collect information that allows the user to view , research and purchase products or the like utilize , the garment ( with the embedded transmitter ). addition of voice activated frictionless processing that includes but is not limited to : multi - lingual voice activated frictionless processing by communicating to a wireless device through voice activation transmission through an electronic communication transmission link embedded in a garment or garment panel creating a transfer of data , sound , wearable eyepiece with a hud display or any other context information - sensitive information , including and not limited to the process of wireless , frictionless financial transactions between a wireless mobile device and a garment or garment panel . addition of human flesh or embedded frequency communication transmitter ( s ), which includes but is not limited to : a computer chip embedded into the human flesh that interacts with a wireless device that delivers similar attributes or the same attributes as the ipops ™ system . addition of visual recognition communication ( vrc ) technology processing that includes but is not limited to : visual recognition communication that transmits a signal between a wireless mobile device and a garment and may or may not include communication with a wearable head - mounted mediated or augmented reality eyepiece hardware . visual recognition communication will rely on visual clues and patterns to identify specific objects and match them with internet content . visual recognition communication allows a user to scan an object or picture through a camera on your mobile hand held device and your device will recognize the object and provide additional information without the assistance of barcodes or mobile action codes (“ tags ”). visual recognition communication technology does not require the manufacturing of any type of tag . an example of vrc technology would be to scan an image off of a garment or garment panel at a retail outlet and obtain information , video content , coupon or to be directed to make an instant purchase of the item contained in the image directed to the user by the ipops ™ system provider . addition of interactive audio speakers , which includes but is not limited to : surface mounted or embedded speakers that work either independently or in symphony with the content being electronically delivered to the ivdp . speakers may be mounted on the front , back or sides or a combination of front , back and sides of ipops ™ garment . speakers may also be used for an audio transmission to a wireless device to be used for listening . addition of interactive holographic image projection ( ihip ) of images , which includes but is not limited to : surface mounted or embedded holographic projector that may be installed into the front , rear or side , or a combination of or front , rear and side of the ipops ™ garment . a example of interactive holographic image projection images is a retail worker wearing an ipos system garment walking down a store aisle projecting a holographic image within a designated proximity of the retail worker displaying a multi - dimensional image that the store customer can interact with by having a virtual conversation or by interacting with a wireless device which may include augmented reality scenarios . addition of mobile power supply ( battery pack ), which includes but is not limited to : a mobile battery pack that can be charged and provide power to many sources built into the ipops ™ garment or the ivdp ™ ( or both ) to power a digital panel ( s ), audio speaker ( s ), rfid transmitter ( s ), atom chip ( s ), frictionless transmitter ( s ), visual recognition processor ( s ), holographic projector ( s ), smell disseminator ( s ), data communication device ( s ), wearable eyepiece , rfid transmitters , gps device ( s ), microphone ( s ), earpiece ( headphones ), wireless device ( s ) ( such as a smartphone or tablet ) frequency communication transmitter ( s ) or any other electronic device that works in unison with the ipops ™ system , individually and / or in unison . addition of virtual point or monetary collection and processing system ( a virtual bank ) which includes but is not limited to : interactivity through a wireless mobile device and garment or garment panel that allows a user to receive electronic information to their wireless communication device from a garment or garment panel that includes a point or monetary reward that is collected by the user when interacting with a garment that uses the ipop &# 39 ; s ™ system ( or any portion thereof ). upon electronic collection of the points or monetary reward issued to the user , the points or monetary reward is deposited into a virtual electronic collection bank specifically set up for the user that will keep a running account of the points or monetary rewards they receive upon each successful transmission ( s ) interaction ( s ) between the wireless mobile device and the garment wearer . at the option of the user , their collection of points and / or monetary rewards may be embedded in their social media related website like facebook ™, myspace ™, twitter , or any other social networking or page that is connected to the internet , cloud based network or any other network , including and not limited to a website , blog , application ( app ) or any other form of electronic information placement as known in the art . points or monetary rewards may be redeemed through the ipop ™ system for tangible or intangible goods or services or monetary rewards . addition of points or monetary reward system which includes but is not limited to : interactivity with a garment or removable or interchangeable garment panel and a wireless communication device where the user receives virtual points , customer loyalty and / or monetary rewards that are redeemable for goods or services provided through the ipops ™ system or an ipops ™ system provider . addition of interactive logo placed on or within a garment or removable or interchangeable garment panel which includes but is not limited to : interactivity with a logo or branding on a garment or garment panel that has embedded mobile action codes , tags , frictionless communication or any wireless transmitter that communicates with a mobile wireless device and connects to the internet , cloud based , satellite , microwave , or any other wireless electronic information communication delivery system . addition of interactive gaming system ( ei ™ games ) which includes but is not limited to : addition of an electronic game that combines the use a wireless communication device and a garment , by utilizing a one or many dimensional image ( code ) placed on a garment or removable or interchangeable garment panel and / or a removable interactive electronic video display panel ( ivdp ™). the gaming may included the user collecting points and / or a monetary reward through a electronic accumulation system ( virtual bank ) where the user receives points that may be redeemed for products , services , discounts , coupons or any other reward through accumulation of electronic points received . an example of the interactive gaming system ( ei ™ games ) is where a user utilizes their wireless device ( for example a smartphone or tablet ) and scans an image of a mobile access code ( mac ). the user may then be sent an electronic communication that can give them a point reward for the image scan and may also deliver the user a coupon , customer loyalty incentives , enter them into a contest , play a game or any other interactive proposition or giveaway . the user may repeat this process at many other locations that have participating subscribers of the ei ™ games system allowing them to collect many points from one or many subscribing companies . the user at any point may redeem the points collected to receive a benefit reward from interactive gaming or an ei ™ games provider . addition of gps locator : tracks employees and allows security personnel to track current and past locations of an employee , view their breaks and can differentiate an employee from a consumer or civilian . may also allow users to locate family members while on premise in case family members get lost or separated from one another . also works as an amber alert system helping in assisting the recovery of a lost or stolen child , linking employees with wireless mobile consumers / civilian together in one network . addition of wireless mobile device for access to database for aisle assistance or live customer service link . plugs into garment audio source . this system allows employees to be connected directly to a live or pre - programmed data communication source that can relay any pertinent information that an employee or consumer / civilian may need to know at anytime . for example , this may be related to product information , navigation through the store or product location within a store . may also be used to call internally to other branches of related stores or to distribution warehouses to locate inventory . addition of microphone for communication with virtual service attendant ( questions about products ) or live customer service or question and answer dialogue with consumer / civilian . this system allows employees to be connected directly to a live or pre - programmed data communication source that can relay any pertinent information that an employee or consumer / civilian may need to know at any time . for example , this may be related to product information , navigation through the store or product location within a store . may also be used to call internally to other branches of related stores or to distribution warehouses to locate inventory . charger connector to work with electronic garment charging system . electronic leads that are embedded into the ipops ™ garment that allows for charging and re - charging of the ipops ™ garment battery electronic devices and or portable embedded battery power supply packs . addition of data communication transmitter and receiver system . works in symphony with or independently of a wireless mobile device . this component is the heart of the distribution of data and communication between the ipops ™ network data center and the ipops ™ garment wearer . it collects and delivers all data and communication from all components including but not limited to ivdp ™, digital panel ( s ), audio speaker ( s ), rfid transmitter ( s ), atom chip ( s ), frictionless transmitter ( s ), visual recognition processor ( s ), holographic projector ( s ), smell disseminator ( s ), data communication device ( s ), wearable eyepiece , rfid transmitters , gps device ( s ), microphone ( s ), earpiece ( headphones ), wireless device ( s ) ( such as a smartphone or tablet ) frequency communication transmitter ( s ) or any other electronic device that works in unison with the ipops ™ system , individually and / or in unison . a key component includes the live or pre - recorded communication between the ipops ™ garment wearer and the ipops ™ network database . ( see [ 0072 ] & amp ; [ 0073 ]). addition of scent / odor disseminator . the odor disseminator is an electronic device that operates in conjunction with the gps locator and / or the rfid chip . it has the ability to identify the location of the ipops ™ garment in the store or event and emit an odor that is programmed into the disseminator device that relates to a product , location or an event that recognizes pre - programmed sensory olfactory scents based on an advertisers or customers desires at any given time or location . an example may be ; as an employee travels throughout the store , the smell disseminator may release the “ bread in the oven ” smell as the employee travels near the bakery section or a “ fresh irish spring soap ” scent may be disseminated as the employee travels through the men &# 39 ; s health and beauty aisle of the store , based on an advertisers sponsorship , enticing consumers to purchase their branded products that are in the vicinity of the scents that relates specifically to the scent or their product . addition of connectivity to wearable eyepiece hardware . the addition of the eyepiece to the ipops ™ garment allows a hands free element to the employees . by wearing a heads up display ( hud ) eyepiece , it allows the employees to communicate with the data communication network and ask and retrieve data in near real - time receiving answers from live or pre - recorded sources that can either give an audio response through the earpiece , headphones or display information within the confines or the eyepiece . for example , as a consumer approaches an employee wearing an ipops ™ eyepiece , and the on - garment or eyepiece microphone picks up a question asked by the consumer and the data communication system relays the question back to the ipops ™ network and relays the answer back to the employee who then tells the consumer the answer to their question ; all communication happens in a matter of seconds . the employee may see the answer to the consumer via the eyepiece heads up display ( hud ) and may also give gps mapping directions to a specific product location in the store . in addition , the employee may look at a barcode ( data matrix code or multi dimensional code or tag ) and the eyepiece code ( or tag ) reader can display product information , pricing or access the data communication system to access additional specifics about the item being viewed by the eyepiece . the ipops ™ eyepiece may contain elements of visual recognition communication which includes and is not limited to mediated or augmented reality components connected to wireless device ( s ) possessed by ipops ™ garment wearer or the consumer / civilian . addition of chroma - key panel . the ipops ™ may also include chroma - key technology to project indicia on the garment that may be viewable from a interactive wearable head - mounted eyepiece with an integrated processor for handling content for display and an integrated image source for introducing the content to an optical assembly through which the user views a surrounding environment and garment indicia through the displayed content in the eyepiece . the addition of chroma - key technology to the ipops ™ garment allows for multiple wearers of head - mounted eyepieces with an integrated processor for handling content for display to view completely different indicia on the garment while looking at the garment simultaneously . for example , a consumer in a retail store may have a store branded customer loyalty card stored electronically on his wireless device that connects to the in - store ipops ™ network which may pull a consumers shopping list off of their wireless device and display an advertisement of a product listed on his / her wireless device that they have purchased in the past or are intending to purchase that day and will directly relate to that product while in the aisle or vicinity of that product in the store . at the same time , any number of consumers may be looking at the same ivdp ™ with chroma - key displayed and see the product displayed on the ipops ™ wearer ( employee ) that is on their mobile shopping list or is scheduled to purchase in the very near future based on the information the retailer has stored within their mobile customer loyalty shopping card , due to their specific buying habits and patterns . the invention herein contemplates the addition of earphone jack or wireless audio transmitter for use with a plug - in or wireless device to distribute audio through the ipops ™ garment , headphones ( earbuds ) or eyepiece with built - in audio earpiece . the ipops ™ may also include a microphone plug - in jack or wireless transmitter for real - time listening , bluetooth technology or any open wireless technology standard for exchanging data over short distances ( using short wavelength radio transmissions in the ism band ), earphone plug - in jack for live interaction or recorded communication from a database ( that may or may not be connected or used in conjunction with the wearable head - mounted eyepiece ), a wireless communication device ( such as a mobile phone ) that may or may not be connected to the ipops ™ interactive video display panel ™ and certain embodiments may access a virtual attendant that can provide “ real - time ” answers to consumer or garment wearer questions ; either live or accessed through a computer based network , cloud based database source , video camera and / or video or atom chip technology and may include a gps tracking identification device . the invention contemplates the addition of battery pack with rechargeable system ( attached to charger connector ). ipops ™ garment built - in or embedded connector leads power the cell battery removable and re - chargeable battery pack that powers the ipops ™ on - garment electronic components that need power assistance . referring to fig1 to 7 , a removable billboard panel 8 is shown on a garment 100 as disclosed in u . s . pat . no . 7 , 51 , 495 . suitable indicia and interactive video is displayed on panel 8 in accordance with the teachings of the invention . a battery power supply 10 may be provided along with a wireless near field communication transmitter 9 . one or more mobile action codes 7 may also be provided on panel 8 at suitable locations . audio speakers 5 may be provided on the shoulder of the garment on opposite sides of the collar . a cell phone 1 may be disposed in a pocket ( not visible ) of the garment . glasses 2 may be worn by the user having suitable hardware and electronic components therein for carrying out the teachings of the invention . a built - in microphone 14 may be provided at the neck portion along with an earpiece plug in jack and wireless transmitter 13 . a wireless transmitter 104 may be embedded in panel 8 . fig2 is similar to fig1 and like numerals refer to like parts of fig1 . here , instead of large panel 8 there is a smaller removable panel 8 . sup . 1 . it can be seen in fig2 how the flaps or tabs 101 cover one of the mating fastening means 102 which mate with the fastening means 103 on the panel 8 . sup . 1 . a data delivery processor and / or transmitter and communication system 3 may be provided on panel 8 . sup . 1 along with a gps locator device and / or rfid transmitter 4 . an atom chip transmitter 11 may also be provided on panel 8 . sup . 1 along with a holographic projector and / or video camera 6 . a connector 12 is provided on panel 8 . sup . 1 adapted to electronically connect to power source 10 on garment 100 . a vest 103 . sup . 1 is shown in fig3 . again , like numerals refer to like parts of fig1 and 2 . the speakers 5 . sup . 1 are on the vest 103 . sup . 1 . the system 3 . sup . 1 and transmitter 4 . sup . 1 on panel 8 . sup . 1 in fig2 may be placed on vest 103 at top ( data delivery processor / transmitter and communications system 3 . sup . 1 and gps locator and / or rfid transmitter 4 . sup . 1 ). speakers 5 . sup . 1 are identical to speakers 5 of fig1 . fig4 is a rear view of the garment of fig1 having a similar removable panel 8 . that is , panel 8 may be disposed on either the front of a garment , as in fig1 , or on the rear , as in fig4 . speakers 5 . sup . 11 may be disposed on the rear as shown ( identical to speakers 5 in fig1 ) along with transmitter 9 and battery power supply 10 . a microchip 15 may be embedded in the arm of the wearer of the garment 100 which would interact with a wireless device to deliver information similar to the system disclosed herein . alternative locations for the various components are illustrated in fig5 . here ; again like numerals refer to like numerals of fig1 to 4 . thus , devices 300 , 60 , 110 , 40 , 90 and 120 are located on panel 8 and identical to aforementioned devices 3 , 6 , 11 , 4 , 9 and 12 respectively . the garment in fig6 is similar to that of fig1 , so again like numerals refer to like parts of fig1 to 5 . not all of the various components are shown in fig6 . a wireless transmitter 104 may be provided on the collar of garment 100 and a similar wireless transmitter 104 is mounted in glasses 2 . the wearer thus can communicate with the retail establishment 17 , a mobile environment 18 or a restaurant environment 19 . the user and the 3 environments 17 to 19 are thus connected to the internet 105 which is connected to various offsite or remote users 24 , a home 22 , a power center 23 , etc . the signals from the internet 105 may be picked up at the retail environment 17 by a user 28 , a mobile phone 27 , a base station 25 , etc . in the mobile environment , the internet signals from the internet 105 may be picked up by a mobile base station 26 , a user 28 , a mobile phone 27 , etc . finally , the signals from the internet 105 may be picked up by the user 28 , by the mobile phone 27 , and the base station 25 in the restaurant environment 19 . the user 28 illustrated herein is wearing billboard panel 8 with its interactive video display in communication with the various environments in accordance with the teachings of the invention . the user 28 in fig6 is shown in fig7 in a suggested internet set up 20 . the user 28 is in wireless communication with a wireless network router 106 connected to the internet 21 which is in wireless communication with a server 23 . the router 106 is in wireless communication with a content distribution center 29 and one or more computer base stations 30 , 31 , 33 may be in wireless communication with router 106 for carrying out the teachings of the invention . although a number of devices are illustrated in fig1 to 7 located on the panel or garment , not all may be present on all embodiments . also , the various devices may be provided at differing locations and visible or not visible , as desired . although removable panels are disclosed , obviously the devices may be provided on the garment at any suitable location . although a specific embodiment of the invention is disclosed , variations thereof may occur to an artisan and the scope of the invention should only be limited by the scope of the appended claims . the present invention , as well as features and aspects thereof , is directed towards providing in the description and claims of the present application , each of the verbs , “ comprise ”, “ include ” and “ have ”, and conjugates thereof , are used to indicate that the object or objects of the verb are not necessarily a complete listing of members , components , elements , or parts of the subject or subjects of the verb . in this application the words “ unit ” and “ module ” are used interchangeably . anything designated as a unit or module may be a stand - alone unit or a specialized module . a unit or a module may be modular or have modular aspects allowing it to be easily removed and replaced with another similar unit or module . each unit or module may be any one of , or any combination of , software , hardware , and / or firmware . the present invention has been described using detailed descriptions of embodiments thereof that are provided by way of example and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention . the described embodiments comprise different features , not all of which are required in all embodiments of the invention . some embodiments of the present invention utilize only some of the features or possible combinations of the features . variations of embodiments of the present invention that are described and embodiments of the present invention comprising different combinations of features noted in the described embodiments will occur to persons of the art . it will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that the present invention is not limited by what has been particularly shown and described herein above . rather the scope of the invention is defined by the claims that follow . | 7 |
fig1 shows a front view of one embodiment of a device ( 102 ) according to the present invention , which surrounds a smart phone ( 104 , iphone as shown ). the device comprises a camera mount ( 106 ) attached to a proximal frame ( 108 ), and a distal frame ( 110 ). camera mount 106 typically includes three prong - like protrusions ( 112 ), each including a through - hole ( 114 ). the camera mount 106 is typically molded as a single piece with proximal frame 108 , although in certain cases it may be detachable . proximal frame 108 further comprises a front ( 116 ), a back ( 118 ) and two sides ( 120 ). front side 116 includes an edge ( 122 ) that wraps around smart phone 104 , covering a small portion of the smart phone &# 39 ; s face . edge 122 is typically less than 7 mm in width and oftentimes less than 6 mm or 5 mm in width . proximal frame 108 is made to connect with distal frame 110 such that a single seam ( 124 ) appears around the outside portion of the device . the connection may be of any suitable type known to those of ordinary skill in the art . distal frame 110 comprises a front ( 126 ), a back ( 128 ) and two sides ( 130 ). front side 126 includes an edge ( 132 ) that wraps around smart phone 104 , covering a small portion of the smart phone &# 39 ; s face . edge 132 is typically less than 7 mm in width and oftentimes less than 6 mm or 5 mm in width , but is of the same width as edge 122 . fig2 shows a back ( 112 ) of one embodiment of a device ( 102 ) according to the present invention , which surrounds a smart phone ( 104 , not shown ). camera mount 106 , including protrusions 112 and through - holes 114 , is attached to proximal frame 108 , which is connected to distal frame 110 . proximal frame 108 optionally includes a cutout portion for a camera lens ( 134 ) and connects to distal frame 110 , as noted above . single seam 124 appears between proximal frame 108 and distal frame 110 . fig3 shows a bottom view of one embodiment of the device 102 surrounding smartphone 104 . the figure shows an optional cut - out ( 134 ) from the bottom of distal frame 110 . through cut - out 134 is shown the charging receptacle ( 136 ) for the smart phone . fig4 shows a top view of one embodiment of the device 102 surrounding smartphone 104 . the figure shows camera mount 106 , including protrusions 112 . optional cut - out 138 is shown from the top of proximal frame 108 . through cut - out 138 is shown the on / off button ( 142 ) for the smart phone . fig5 shows a front view of camera ( 146 ) attached to mount 106 of device 102 by passage of a pin into through - holes 114 of protrusions 112 . fig6 shows a front view of a second embodiment of a device ( 602 ) according to the present invention , which surrounds a smart phone ( 604 , iphone as shown ). the device comprises a camera mount ( 606 ) attached to a unitary frame ( 608 ). camera mount 606 typically includes three prong - like protrusions ( 610 ), each including a through - hole ( 612 ). the camera mount 606 is typically molded as a single piece with frame 608 , although in certain cases it may be detachable . frame 608 further comprises a front ( 614 ), a back ( 616 ) and two sides ( 618 ). front side 614 includes an edge ( 620 ) that wraps around smart phone 604 , covering a small portion of the smart phone &# 39 ; s face . edge 620 is typically less than 7 mm in width and oftentimes less than 6 mm or 5 mm in width . fig7 shows a back ( 616 ) of the second embodiment of device 602 , which surrounds a smart phone ( 604 , not shown ). camera mount 606 , including protrusions 610 and through - holes 612 , is attached to frame 608 . frame 608 optionally includes a cutout portion for a camera lens ( 622 ). fig8 shows a bottom view of the second embodiment of the device 602 surrounding smartphone 604 . the figure shows an optional cut - out ( 624 ) from the bottom of frame 608 . through cut - out 624 is shown the charging receptacle ( 626 ) for the smart phone . fig9 shows a top view of the second embodiment of the device 602 surrounding smartphone 604 . the figure shows camera mount 606 , including protrusions 610 . optional cut - out 628 is shown from the top of frame 608 . through cut - out 628 is shown the on / off button ( 632 ) for the smart phone . fig1 shows a front view of camera ( 636 ) attached to mount 606 of device 602 by passage of a pin into through - holes 612 of protrusions 610 . fig1 shows a front view of a third embodiment of a device ( 1102 ) according to the present invention , which surrounds a smart phone ( 1104 , iphone as shown ). the device comprises a camera mount ( 1106 ) attached to a frame ( 1108 ). camera mount 1106 typically includes three prong - like protrusions ( 1110 ), each including a through - hole ( 1112 ). the camera mount 1106 is typically molded as a single piece with frame 1108 , although in certain cases it may be detachable . frame 1108 further comprises at least one handle ( 1114 ), a front ( 1116 ), a back ( 1118 ) and two sides ( 1120 ). at least one handle 1114 may be of any suitable configuration . as shown it is molded in a single piece along with frame 1108 . front side 1116 includes an edge ( 1122 ) that wraps around smart phone 1104 , covering a small portion of the smart phone &# 39 ; s face . edge 1122 is typically less than 7 mm in width and oftentimes less than 6 mm or 5 mm in width . fig1 shows a back 1118 of the third embodiment of device 1102 , which surrounds smart phone 1104 ( not shown ). camera mount 1106 , including protrusions 1110 and through - holes 1112 , is connected to frame 1108 , as well as handles 1114 . frame 1108 optionally includes a cutout portion for camera lens ( 1124 ). fig1 shows a bottom view of the third embodiment of the device 1102 surrounding smartphone 1104 . the figure shows at least one handle 1114 and an optional cut - out ( 1126 ) from the bottom of frame 1108 . through cut - out 1126 is shown the charging receptacle ( 1128 ) for the smart phone . fig1 shows a top view of the third embodiment of the device 1102 surrounding smartphone 1104 . the figure shows camera mount 1106 , including protrusions 1110 . optional cut - out 1130 is shown from the top of frame 1108 . through cut - out 1130 is shown the on / off button ( 1134 ) for the smart phone . fig1 shows a front view of camera ( 1138 ) attached to mount 1106 of device 1102 by passage of a pin into through - holes 1112 of protrusions 1110 . fig1 shows a back view of device 102 , surrounding smart phone 104 ( not shown ), where a support member ( 1602 ) has been added along the back of the device . the support member strengthens the device to augment the ability of the device to retain its shape after a camera is attached to the device . it is typically made of a relatively strong material , such as metal , that is usually less than 10 mm in width . oftentimes , it is less than 9 mm , 8 mm , 6 mm or 5 mm in width . in certain aspects , the device of the present invention completely surrounds the smart phone . fig1 is such a device related to the one shown in fig1 , where side 1702 extends from edges 122 to 132 . fig1 is such a device related to the one shown in fig6 , where side 1802 extends from and to edges 620 . fig1 is such a device related to the one shown in fig1 , where side 1902 extends from and to edges 1122 . the side of the various figures — e . g ., 1702 , 1802 , 1902 — may be transparent or opaque . in one case , the device according to the present invention is made of , or substantially made of , polycarbonate or polyurethane . in another case , the device according to the present invention is made of , or substantially made of , rubber or wood . any suitable method may be used for construction of the device . | 7 |
fig1 shows an exemplary , simplified illustration of the design of an integrated charge pump voltage converter based on the invention . the voltage converter has an integrated oscillator 1 whose output 2 is connected to the input of a circuit for time control 3 . the charge pump voltage converter also comprises a charge transfer capacitor tc which can be charged via an input 4 on the voltage converter and can be discharged via an output 5 on the voltage converter . for this , it is possible to connect a first electrode 6 on the charge transfer capacitor tc to the input 4 via a switch s 1 and to the output 5 via a switch s 2 . the second electrode 7 of the charge transfer capacitance tc may likewise be connected to the input 4 of the voltage converter via a switch s 2 ′. in addition , the second electrode 7 can be earthed via a switch s 1 ′ and thereby discharged . the input 4 of the voltage converter is optionally connected to earth via a capacitance c 1 . at the output 5 , a capacitance c 2 is connected to earth . the switches ( transistors ) s 1 , s 2 , s 1 ′, s 2 ′ are controlled by the time control circuit 3 via an output 8 . it will be pointed out that a multiplicity of different options in relation to the time control circuit and to the arrangement and design of the switches s 1 , s 2 , s 1 ′, s 2 ′ are known which can also be taken as a basis for implementing the inventive circuit . the line 9 indicates that the oscillator 1 , the control circuit 3 , the switches s 1 , s 2 , s 1 ′, s 2 ′ and the charge transfer capacitance tc are integrated on one chip . the capacitances c 1 and c 2 may likewise be produced on the chip . the known way in which a charge pump voltage converter works is described below to provide a better understanding of the invention : in a first operating phase , the switches s 1 and s 1 ′ are on and the switches s 2 and s 2 ′ are off . in this phase , the charge transfer capacitance tc is being charged by the input voltage . when the charging operation is complete ( or else earlier than this ), the switches s 1 and s 1 ′ are turned off and the switches s 2 and s 2 ′ are turned on . this raises the second electrode 7 of the charge transfer capacitance tc to the potential of the input voltage . consequently , a voltage which is given by the sum of the input voltage and of the charging voltage of the charge transfer capacitance tc — i . e . no more than twice the input voltage — appears at the output 5 of the voltage converter . the charge transfer capacitor tc is now discharged at the output . this cycle is performed in constant repetition . the output voltage v out of the voltage converter is given by the following equation : v out = v in · ( 1 + c c + c par ) - ( 1 f s · c + 2 · r sw ) · i out . ( 1 ) in this case , v in denotes the input voltage of the voltage converter , c denotes the value of the charge transfer capacitance tc , c par denotes a parasitic capacitance , f s denotes the switching frequency generated by the oscillator 1 , r sw denotes the resistance of a switch s 1 , s 2 , s 1 ′, s 2 ′ and i out denotes the output current . forgetting the parasitic capacitance c par and the resistance r sw of the switches , the following simple relation is obtained : v out = 2 · v in - ( 1 f s · c ) · i out . ( 2 ) equation ( 2 ) shows that the output voltage is dependent on four parameters v in , f s , c , i out . v in can fluctuate greatly particularly for battery - operated systems . similarly , fluctuations in the output current i out may arise over a certain operating range . in the text below , fluctuations in the parameters c ( value of the charge transfer capacitance ) and f s ( switching frequency ) are considered . these parameters may vary both as a result of manufacturing tolerances and as a result of changes in temperature . this means that the dynamic resistance 1 /( f s · c ) of the charge transfer capacitance tc increases when the capacitance value c decreases at constant switching frequency f s . integrated capacitances have a wide range of fluctuation in relation to their absolute value . consequently , an excessively large capacitance value c may lower the output voltage v out to such an extent that the demands made at the load can no longer be met . in addition , inexpensive oscillators in which the switching frequency is prescribed by a capacitance frequently have a switching frequency f s with a significant temperature dependence . this applies particularly to ring oscillators , which are a simple and inexpensive form of implementation for frequency generation in the voltage converter . the oscillator or switching frequency f s is dependent on the temperature , the supply voltage and manufacturing parameters . a ring oscillator comprises a series circuit containing inverters 10 , the output of the inverter 10 which is last in the signal path being fed back to the input . a ring oscillator executes a self - starting oscillation having the period 2 ( 2n + 1 ) τ d , where n denotes the number of inverters and τ d denotes the gate transit time of the inverter . the gate transit time τ d of the inverters and hence also the frequency of the ring oscillator are directly dependent on the value of the capacitance which needs to be charged or discharged upon each inversion . in a conventional ring oscillator which can be used in principle for the invention , this is the gate capacitance of the input fet ( field effect transistor ) of the next inverter 10 . this gate capacitance then needs to be of the same type ( e . g . mosfet ) as the charge transfer capacitance tc . preferably , the ring oscillator has a capacitance 11 connected to earth at the output of each inverter 10 , see fig2 . this capacitance 11 is of the same capacitance type as the charge transfer capacitance tc and therefore has the same temperature response as the charge transfer capacitance tc . the result of this is that a reduction in the size of the value c of the charge transfer capacitance tc as a result of fluctuations in the manufacturing process increases the frequency of the ring oscillator on account of the smaller capacitance value c of the capacitances 11 . if c assumes a large value as a result of manufacture , the switching frequency f s generated by the ring oscillator is reduced . if the capacitance 11 is chosen such that it dominates the total capacitance brought about by the capacitance 11 and the gate capacitance of the subsequent inverter 10 , the ring oscillator has a frequency which is inversely proportional to the value of the capacitance 11 . in this case , the factor 1 /( f s · c ) in equation ( 2 ) remains almost constant under varying manufacturing circumstances . the effect of this is that the dynamic resistance of the charge transfer capacitance tc and hence the output resistance of the charge pump voltage converter likewise remain largely constant i . e . are insensitive towards fluctuations in the manufacturing conditions . fig3 illustrates a circuit for compensating the temperature dependence of the ring oscillator . the operating current for the ring oscillator is controlled using a current mirror with the transistors q 1 and q 2 . the mean operating current of the ring oscillator is in this case directly proportional to a current i bias which flows through the transistor diode q 1 in the first path of the current mirror . in the second path of the current mirror , the operating currents flowing through all of the inverters 10 in the ring oscillator converge at the node p , flow through the transistor q 2 and are controlled and smoothed by the latter . controlling the operating current for the ring oscillator allows the frequency of the ring oscillator to be altered . increasing i bias shortens the gate transit time τ d for each inverter 10 , which increases the switching frequency f s , and vice versa . to compensate for the temperature effect , it is necessary to set an operating current which rises as temperature rises ( in order to counteract the ring oscillator &# 39 ; s frequency reduction brought about as a result of a rise in temperature ). the current source 12 shown in fig3 has this characteristic . fig4 shows a detail a from the circuit shown in fig3 for producing a temperature - compensating operating current for the ring oscillator . an input 14 is used to supply the circuit section a with a temperature - stable reference current i ref which is provided by a reference current source 13 . the input 14 of the circuit section a is connected to earth firstly via a diode d 4 and the transistor diode q 1 in the first path of the current mirror and secondly via a second transistor diode q 3 which is connected in parallel with the first path of the current mirror . consequently , the reference current i ref is split into the current i bias and the current i q3 flowing through the transistor diode q 3 . the text below explains the way in which the circuit for producing the operating current for the ring oscillator works . the drain / source current i ds in a mos transistor follows the relation i ds = 1 2 · μ n · c ox · ( w l ) · ( v gs - v t ) 2 , ( 3 ) where μ n denotes the mobility of the charge carriers , c ox denotes the capacitance of the gate oxide per unit area , w denotes the width and l denotes the length of the channel , v gs denotes the gate / source voltage and v t denotes the threshold voltage . at constant gate / source voltage v gs , the drain / source current i ds changes on account of a temperature increase for two reasons : the mobility μ n decreases , which reduces the current i ds ; the threshold voltage v t decreases , which increases the current i ds . for mos transistors with a long channel , the effect brought about by the change in mobility is dominant , since the gate overvoltage is always high and hence insensitive towards fluctuations in v t , whereas for mos transistors with a short channel length , the effect caused by the change in v t is dominant , since the gate overvoltage is low . the transistors q 3 and q 1 connected up as diodes are designed such that w 1 / l 1 & gt ;& gt ; w 3 / l 3 applies . in addition , provision is made for a voltage difference to appear between the gates of the transistors q 1 and q 3 ( as explained in more detail later , the voltage difference is brought about by the diode d 4 ). in this case the mos transistor q 1 operates at a lower gate / source voltage than the transistor q 3 . the effect of this is that the ratio of i bias to i q3 is increased when there is an increase in temperature . consequently , the ring oscillator &# 39 ; s operating current flowing through the transistor q 2 increases when there is an increase in temperature . preferably , a forward - biased diode d 4 is used as voltage source in order to produce the voltage difference between the gates of the mos transistors q 1 and q 3 . the reason for this is two - fold . first , a forward - biased diode produces a voltage of approximately 650 mv , which is practically independent of fluctuations in the manufacturing conditions , while the influence of such fluctuations on the threshold voltage v t of a mos transistor is very pronounced . when the diode d 4 is used , the effects brought about by a change in the threshold voltage v t compensate for one another , however . changes in the voltage v t which are brought about by manufacturing fluctuations arise in the circuit section a only on the transistors q 3 and q 1 . since the process conditions for manufacturing these transistors are the same , the same fluctuations v t arise in the transistors q 3 and q 1 and compensate for one another . if instead of the diode d 4 a mos transistor were used to produce the voltage difference between the gates of q 3 and q 1 , one path of the circuit section a would contain a transistor ( q 3 ) and the other path would contain two transistors ( q 1 and the additional transistor ). the circuit would be asymmetrical with respect to fluctuations in the threshold voltage v t and would therefore no longer reproduce the desired temperature response with sufficient accuracy for large fluctuations in v t . the second reason for using a diode d 4 to produce the voltage difference is that it has a temperature coefficient of approximately − 2 mv / k . this means that the voltage difference between the mos transistors q 1 and q 3 becomes smaller as temperature rises . the effect of this is likewise that a larger current flows through the path d 4 - q 1 of the circuit section a when there is an increase in temperature . the most important advantage of the inventive solutions for compensating for the effects brought about by component tolerances and changes in temperature is that it is possible to save chip area , since the large proportioning of the charge transfer capacitance tc required in conventional circuits , which ensures that the demanded tolerance range is observed for the dynamic output resistance of the circuit , is no longer needed on account of the inventive measures . fig5 shows a schematic illustration of a usb interface . the usb interface has two data lines d + and d − , in known fashion , which are used to transfer the data transmitted and received by a transmitter / receiver 15 . the pull - up resistor 16 prescribed for usb interfaces connects a regulated input voltage source 17 to the data line d + . the regulated input voltage is also supplied to the transmitter / receiver 15 and to a charge pump voltage converter 18 based on the invention . the output 5 of the inventive charge pump voltage converter 18 provides a voltage v bus which is required by a usb interface ( not shown ) on a battery - operated appliance ( not shown ) at the opposite end . as fig5 shows , the charge pump voltage converter 18 , the transmitter / receiver 15 , the regulated input voltage source 17 and also the pull - up resistor 16 ( and further circuits ) can be produced on the integrated circuit . | 7 |
referring specifically to the drawings wherein like numerals indicate like parts , there is seen in fig1 a gabion basket lift apparatus in which a plurality of fork lift tines 11a through 11d are shown attached to the bottom terminal portions of vertical frame elements 10a through 10d . the frame elements are also connected together by crossbeam 16 at the lower end thereof and extend upwardly to a second crossmember 18 which comprises a boxbeam extending across the full length of the apparatus . each vertical frame member 10a through 10d is securely welded to boxbeam 18 and to crossmember 16 to form a rigid lifting apparatus . fork tines 11a through 11d are chosen in length to accomodate the width of a gabion basket . the gabion basket such as that shown in fig2 comprises a wire mesh basket which is filled with stones of varying diameters in the range of a minimum of about 2 inches to a maximum of 12 to 15 inches with the normal run being 6 to 10 inches in diameter . hold - down arms 14a through 14d are adapted to rotate into contact with the upper surface and one edge of the gabion basket . the terminal end of arm 14 is bent downwardly to prevent the gabion basket from slipping off the end of the fork tines when the apparatus is inclined . the inboard end of arms 14a through 14d are respectively pivotally mounted at arm pivot bearings 42a through 42d on rear frame members 10a through 10d respectively . in the embodiment shown , hold - down arms 14a and 14b pivot as a unit within arm pivot bearings 42a and 42b whereas the hold - down arms 14c and 14d pivot as a unit in arm pivot bearings 42c and 42d . arms 14a through 14d are actuated by a linkage mechanism operated by the main lift cable 28 . this mechanism has a counterbalance in the form of springs 46a and 46b which act to hold the hold - down arms 14a through 14d in the open position as shown in fig1 and 4 . the main lift line 28 engages a pair of straddle cables 22a and 22b which in turn are connected to lift beam 20 which acts to hold the straddled cables 22a and 22b in the position shown in fig1 . the lift beam 20 is connected by means of a pair of clevis elements 25 and 26 to lever arms 30a and 30b . lever arms 30a and 30b constitute levers of the third class having a fulcrum at pivot 34a and 34b respectively , lift effort at the joint between lift beam 20 and lever arms 30a and 30 b and a load or weight at the ends 35a and 35b respectively . a pair of links 38a and 39a are pivotally attached to the end 35a of lever arm 30a . the links 38a and 39a are in turn pivotally attached to the end of crank arms 50a and 51a with pin 52 . crank arms 50a and 51a are mounted on arm pivot beam 40a and upon application of force from lever arm 30a causes rotation of arm pivot beam 40a about arm pivot bearings 42a and 42b . in turn , arm pivot beam 40a causes hold - down arms 14a and 14b to pivot downwardly since they are rigidly attached to arm pivot beam 40a . also attached to arm pivot beam 40a is a spring shackle means 44a onto which is mounted a tension spring 46a which extends from spring shackle 44a to lower spring shackle 48a mounted on crossbeam 16 . spring 46a urges arm pivot beam 40a in a clockwise direction when viewed from the near side of the apparatus shown in fig1 thus causing hold - down arms 14a and 14b to assume the position shown in fig1 . spring 46a is of such strength as to prevent the rotation downwardly of arms 14a and 14b when the apparatus is raised without a gabion basket resting on fork tines 11 , but readily permits the hold - down arms 14a and 14b to rotate downwardly when the apparatus is lifted with a gabion basket resting on the fork tines 11a through 11d . in their travel up and down , lever arms 30a and 30b are restrained from side - to - side movement by guide members 36a and 36b comprising a pair of spaced apart , substantially vertical members attached at their lower end to crossbeam 16 and held in position at their upper end by braces 37a and 37b . similarly , lever arm 30b is guided by guide means 36b which also is held in position by attachment to crossbeam 16 at its lower end and braced by braces 37c and 37d at its upper end . arms 14c and 14d are operated by a linkage identical to that described above for arms 14a and 14b . thus , two independently operated sets of hold - down arms are described , each being independently rotatable by lifting forces applied to lift cable 28 . the angle at which the loaded gabion basket lifting apparatus assumes may be adjusted by movement of the clevis 25 from the position shown to any of the other positions shown generally by numeral 32 along the length of lever arm 30 . this adjustment also provides for different weights and sizes of gabion baskets so that the proper angle will be assumed upon lifting . in fig3 a device carrying a gabion basket is shown in which the approximate center of gravity 80 is shown directly below the main lift line 28 . thus by positioning clevis 25a and 25b at the proper lift position , the angle assumed can be controlled . the apparatus of this invention is equipped with a secondary lift position comprising a secondary lift ring 62 connected to straddle beams 64a and 64b which in turn engage the vertical frame members 10b and 10c at secondary lift pivots 66a and 66b . usage of this lift location , being positioned relatively rearwardly on the apparatus , permits tilting of the apparatus and removal from beneath the gabion basket such as shown in fig4 . fork tines 11 are removed from contact with the gabion basket 85 . the approximate center of gravity of the apparatus when unloaded is shown at 82 causing the equipment to assume the position shown in fig4 . in operation , the gabion baskets as shown in fig2 are first placed on a support surface 86 having a pallet or other means for elevating the gabion basket above the support surface 86 . the pallet 87 has passages therethrough which permit insertion of fork tines 11 underneath the gabion basket without engaging pallet 87 . rocks or other aggregate are then placed in the gabion basket 85 until the basket is as full as desired . the top of the gabion basket is then wired shut and the entire assembly moved to a position adjacent the stream bed into which the gabions are being placed . the gabion basket lifting and emplacement apparatus is then inserted underneath the gabion basket 85 so that tines 11 are in engagement with the underside of gabion basket 85 . the apparatus may be conveniently slid underneath the gabion baskets since the center of gravity of the apparatus as is shown in fig2 is at the location marked 82 directly beneath the main lifting line 28 . thus the apparatus hangs suspended from line 28 with fork tines 11 positioned substantially horizontally . when the gabion basket is located upon the tines 11 , tension is applied to main lifting cable 28 and the combined wieght of the apparatus and the gabion basket overcomes the counterbalancing effect of spring 46 and hold - down arms 14a through 14d are rotated downwardly into position above the upper surface and in engagement with the outer surface of a gabion basket 85 whereby the gabion basket 85 cannot slide off tines 11 . further lifting by cable 28 rotates the apparatus and gabion basket into the position shown in fig3 whereby the center of gravity 80 is positioned substantially directly below lift cable 28 and the angle of the tines with respect to the horizontal approximates the slope angle a shown in fig3 of the stream bed prepared to receive the gabion baskets . the loaded apparatus is then swung into the position such as shown in fig3 wherein gabion basket 85 is nestled adjacent another gabion basket 88 and dropped into position against gabion 88 . when cable 28 becomes slack , spring 46 causes hold - down arms 14a through 14d to rotate upwardly out of engagement with gabion basket 85 so that the apparatus may be removed from basket 85 . at that time , secondary lift cable 60 is hooked into secondary lift ring 62 and tension applied thereto so that the apparatus is lifted away from the gabion basket as shown in fig4 . secondary lift cable 60 is then slackened and released from secondary lift ring 62 so that the primary lift cable 28 may again be utilized to lift and transport the apparatus back to the remaining gabion baskets awaiting emplacement . while the inventor has described his gabion basket emplacement apparatus and method in detail with specific reference to his preferred embodiment , it is apparent that many modifications and substitutions well within the abilities of one skilled in the art may be made to this invention without departing from the scope and spirit thereof . the apparatus may assume variant forms such as , for example , including an adjustability feature so that arm pivot bearings 42a through 42d may be positioned at various locations vertically with respect to fork tines 11a through 11d whereby gabion baskets of various vertical dimensions may be accommodated . similarly , the lengths of the fork tines 11a through 11d and the hold - down arms 14a through 14d may be varied similarly to accommodate various lengths and widths of gabion baskets . it is apparent also that simple adjustability means may be provided for varying the point of attachment of clevis 25a and 25b at any location along lever 30a and 30b respectively so that precise adjustment of the carrying attitude of the apparatus may be achieved . other changes and modifications will become apparent to one skilled in the art . | 1 |
the above procedure is intended primarily as a demonstration of the fabrication method of this invention . one skilled in the art might vary the time duration of the equilibrium cycles as well as the number of repetitions . likewise , the method of this invention may be applied to any doped semiconductor material that may be precipitated out of solution , including the currently most familiar commercial thermoelectric , based on bismuth telluride . to increase diffusion rates of the ions the solution temperatures can be increased to a range of 50 - 90 c . in the most promising embodiments , anions may be of those provided by sulfides , selenides , tellurides , arsenides , or antimonides , even hydroxides ( under simple basic conditions ), or any combination of more than one of those depending on the end product desired . in the case of sulfide , one skilled in the art might utilize precursors such as thiosulfates , thiourea , thioacetamide , or any other reagent that would generate a sulfide equivalent in solution , including hydrosulfide or even dissolved hydrogen sulfide itself . likewise , parallel reagents incorporating selenium and tellurium exist , selenosulfate , tellurosulfate , etc . cations may be any combination any of the transitional metals in groups 3 - 11 of the periodic table together any of the poor metals in groups 12 - 15 , which exhibit thermoelectric properties as covalent mixed compounds , with individual elements acting either as the primary component , a minor component or a dopant . the cation mix in the sample procedure happens to be similar to known p - type materials as metal only alloys . other potential formulations necessarily would include copper with combinations of zinc , antimony , tin , nickel and indium as materials for the primary cation mix , one example of which might be copper / zinc / nickel in the proportions 10 / 6 / 6 . it is also possible by the method of this invention to deposit successive layers of semiconductor material of different composition , for example an outer zns shell for confinement of electron and hole wave functions . it has been theorized that atomic level disorder is an indicator for reduced heat conductivity . given that bismuth is such a prominent component of known high performance thermoelectrics , the various known low - melting bismuth alloys with various combinations of lead , tin , cadmium , indium and antimony , which form polyphase multi - component eutectics on their own , but which have never been specifically tested for thermoelectric potential as their covalent semiconducting mixed compounds with the anions mentioned here , deserve scrutiny as a basis for the cation mix of this invention , including the formulations in table 1 . while the base aerogel precursor material in the case of the sample procedure is pure silica , it might include as components oxides of titanium , aluminum or zirconium in particular , or just about any other metal or metalloid oxide . or any of them might be used as the sole , main or a minor component , as one skilled in the current state of the art can now create aerogels from any of them . any other aerogel of suitable low thermal and low electrical conductivity might be employed . the rate at which the thin film layer of thermoelectric semiconductor material is deposited can be varied by the molar concentration of the ion reactants , as well as by complexing counter anions for the cations , which can also act to deposit a more smooth film if that is desired . the suggested molar concentration of reactant ions in the sample procedure can be taken as a mid range number , and can be varied by an order of magnitude or so either up or down depending on reagent choices . however , with sodium sulfide , for example , care must be taken in that higher concentrations can attack the backbone of a silica gel . in another embodiment a partially silica or non - silica aerogel precursor can be used that is more resistant . in the sample procedure , there is natural surface complexing as each alternate ion layer is laid down , which tends to keep the layer in place while the alternate ions are diffusing in during the next equilibration stage . in addition , the added triethanolamine complexes and stabilizes the metal ions . but one skilled in the art might choose to add in the alternative hydrazine , ethylenediamine , chloride , cyanide , ammonia , citrate , oxalate , tartrate , edta , or any other similar acting complexing anion for this purpose , while maintaining an awareness of the solubility of all side products , or to have no complexing anions present at all . so while the instant application may include specific compounding suggestions , the key to the fundamental novelty of this invention is not the particular selection of reagent components , but rather the construction of a continuous thin film layer of thermoelectric semiconductor material overlaid on an aerogel foundation evenly throughout its interior , and at least one particular practical method for achieving that structure . in the case of a pure silica aerogel precursor , alternate procedures would also include base catalyzation of a silica solution , or teos / ethanol and tmos / methanol systems to produce their respective precursor gels . as demonstrated by the alcohol systems ( alcogels ) just mentioned , neither is the method of this invention limited to aqueous only reaction conditions . for example , thioacetamide as the sulfide source can operate at room temperature also in pure ethanol with the appropriate choice of soluble metal salts , for example chlorides , for the cation sources . one skilled in the art might choose any solvent or combination of solvents that will dissolve the relatively low molar concentration of reactants required for this method , and still keep the side products in solution . in one embodiment , the method of this invention exploits the fact that a freshly formed wet gel has very many existing exposed hydroxy functional groups , estimated at 5 per square nm of surface area , to coordinate with , and ultimately to anchor , the first layer of cations . by contrast , in a standard silar procedure the starting material hard substrate must be aggressively chemically and / or mechanically cleaned to facilitate this . a standard silar procedure specifies short immersion times on the order of 1 minute , whereas the method of this invention depends on long equilibration times to achieve even diffusion . because of its immense internal surface area , a hydrogel or alcogel will draw in ions from the surrounding solution as needed even from a dilute solution . another option would be to equilibrate in a more concentrated solution , and then to reverse equilibrate in pure solvent before the next corresponding ion equilibration . in this manner the gel only retains the quantity of ions it can fully surface coordinate . one nice feature of the chalcogenides ( the o , s , se , and te compounds ) and other constituents of the end product compounds suggested is that many of them , besides being insoluble in water , exist as stable individual natural minerals , which bodes well for their endurance in a thermoelectric module application . as long as they are protected from extreme ph conditions , even the ones with poisonous elemental constituents are relatively non - toxic once formulated . it is also fortunate that antimonide in particular is already showing promise in thermoelectric bulk compounds , as the tellurium mostly used now is exceptionally rare on earth , on a par with gold or platinum , which might otherwise limit widespread deployment of this new thermoelectric technology . while aerogels will support large weights compared to their own , they can be friable ( subject to being shattered on a nanoscale ), but the additional thermoelectric overlay tends to strengthen the whole . the melting point of silica aerogel is about 1 , 200 c , generally much higher than the thermoelectric layer , so with patience one may anneal the final thin film component to improve the smoothness of the layer for altering performance . one must be careful not to create capillary forces which might collapse the aerogel backbone . an inert atmosphere like nitrogen or argon , but which might be the same as the carbon dioxide retained in the aerogel at the conclusion of the supercritical drying step , helps to prevent decomposition during annealing . such a process may be accomplished with induction or microwave heating to penetrate the interior of the aerogel . there are some desirable dopants in some thermoelectric materials , for example elements like chlorine or potassium , which will not precipitate as insoluble materials from solution , or which would cause premature precipitation as in the case of a cation mix including lead or silver . in another embodiment these elements can be diffused into the thin film layer of semiconductor material during the annealling process , for example by including a corresponding halide gas in the annealing atmosphere , allowing it to equilibrate slowly , and then triggering and controlling the diffusion process with induction or microwave heating as already suggested . the thickness of the thermoelectric layer may range from an atom or two thick , approaching a monolayer of about 0 . 2 nm , to about 10 nm , with a median of about 1 - 2 nm based on a presumed pore size distribution in the gel in the 8 nm range , but can vary proportionally to pore size based on the parameters of the gel preparation . by the method of this invention , each cycle of ion equilibrations deposits about 1 monolayer if the concentrations are kept low or back equilibrated , otherwise potentially more , with a rougher resulting surface . for the final supercritical drying step another option is to supercritically dry directly from the ethanol , for which the critical point is 240 . 75 c and 60 . 6 atmospheres . methanol or any other solvent with like properties might be used , but care must be taken that these elevated temperature and solvent conditions do not deteriorate the thermoelectric material in question . depending on the thickness of the thermoelectric layer and the additional structural strength and hydrophobicity provided by that feature , the material may even be air dried under ambient conditions , optionally with the application of moderate heat and / or vacuum , with acceptable shrinkage levels , and trimmed to precise size with a diamond covered mini - saw . lastly , this applicant will close with a suggestion for a further modified and improved atomic layer deposition method which might have made the edwards approach more feasible , which is this : one problem with attempting to apply ald to an aerogel is managing heat distribution in such a thermally insulating material . this applicant proposes to use gentle induction or microwave heating to maintain the internal temperature of the aerogel at a moderately higher temperature than the incoming gases . fine control could be achieved by combining infrared temperature sensing with a microprocessor control circuit . this might make other materials accessible like thin films of nitrides , carbides and silicides , which also have thermoelectric potential . those skilled in the art will appreciate that the present invention may be susceptible to variations and modifications other than those specifically described . it will be understood that the present invention encompasses all such variations and modifications that fall within its spirit and scope . | 7 |
one embodiment of the present invention will be described in the following based on the drawings . fig1 is a structural drawing of an information processing device of the present invention . as shown in fig1 , this information processing device 10 includes a main processor 12 and a plurality of sub - processors 24 - 1 to 24 - n , and is constructed as an asymmetric multi - core processor . the main processor 12 and the plurality of sub - processors 24 - 1 to 24 - n are all connected to a bus 22 , and data can be mutually sent and received among the processors via this bus 22 . a main memory 14 is connected to the bus 22 via a memory interface 16 , and an nic 20 as an i / o device is connected to the bus 22 via an input output interface 18 . the main processor 12 is program execution means for executing programs , such as an operating system and performing task allocation to the sub - processors 24 - 1 to 24 - n , and contains a memory management unit 12 a and a cache memory 12 b . the memory management unit 12 a is hardware for executing processing for translating a logical address , that is generated by the main processor 12 or received externally , into a physical address of the main memory 14 and carries out this translation processing in accordance with an address translation table stored in the main memory 14 . the address translation table is a table which associates logical addresses with physical addresses , and is made up of page groups of a specified size such as 4 kb . therefore , the memory management section 12 a is provided with a memory for storing the necessary pages , of these pages , and when a logical address generated by the main processor 12 does not exist in a page stored in the memory , another page is read out from the main memory 14 and the memory contents updated . also , the cache memory 12 b is a memory for temporarily storing commands and data to be processed by the main processor 12 . the sub - processors 24 ( 24 - 1 to 24 - n ) are ancillary program execution means containing local memory 24 a , a memory management section 24 b and a dmac ( direct memory access controller ). the local memory 24 a , as shown in fig2 ( a ) is used to store a program 24 a ′ executed by the sub processor 24 , and temporarily stored data that is the object of processing . the memory control section 24 b also provides the same functions as the memory management section 12 a . more specifically , the memory management unit 24 b is hardware for executing processing for translating a logical address , that is generated by the sub processor 24 or received externally , into a physical address of the main memory 14 and carries out this translation processing in accordance with an address translation table stored in the main memory 14 . the memory management section 24 b is provided with a memory for storing the necessary pages of the address translation table , and when a logical address that requires translation does not exist in a page stored in the memory , another page is read out from the main memory 14 and the memory contents updated . the dmac 24 c is also a control unit for direct access to the main memory 14 , without going via the main processor 12 . with this embodiment , in particular , of the sub - processors 24 - 1 to 24 - n , a transfer task for transferring transfer data stored in the main memory 14 to the nic 20 is allocated to the sub - processor 24 - 1 , and in this way it is possible to execute high speed data transfer without imposing a processing load on the main processor 12 . therefore , processing to transfer the transfer data stored in the main memory 14 to the nic 20 is implemented by storing a data transfer program in the local memory 24 a - 1 as a sub - processor program 24 a ′, and having the sub - processor 24 - 1 execute this data transfer program . also , at the time of this transfer task , as shown in fig2 ( a ), data to be transferred to the nic 20 that is stored in the main memory 14 , that is , transfer data 24 a ″, is temporarily stored in the local memory 24 a - 1 of the sib - processor 24 - 1 ( described in detail later ). as shown in fig2 ( b ), a system program 14 a , such as an os ( operating system ) executed by the main processor 12 , a user program 14 b executed by the main processor 12 , and an address translation table 14 c are stored in the main memory 14 . the address translation table 14 c is updated by the main processor system program 14 a , and when the table has been updated this fact is also notified to the sub - processors 24 - 1 to 24 - n , and the latest address translation table 14 c is shared by the main processor 12 and the sub - processors 24 - 1 to 24 - n . data generated by the main processor 12 and the sub - processors 24 - 1 to 24 - n that is to be transferred to the nic 20 , namely transfer data 14 d , is also stored in the main memory 14 . as has been described above , this transfer data 14 d is temporarily transferred to the sub - processor 24 - 1 at the time of transfer to the nic 20 , and is stored in the local memory 24 a - 1 . the nic 20 is an interface for connecting this information processing device 10 to a data communication network such as a lan ( local area network ), and contains a dmac 20 a and a buffer memory 20 b . the dmac 20 a is a control unit for direct access to the main memory 14 and the local memory 24 a of each sub - processor 24 , and stores received data in the buffer memory 20 b . the buffer memory 2 b is a fifo ( first in first out ) buffer , and data stored in the buffer memory 20 b are sequentially sent to the network . here , data transfer processing of the information processing device 10 will be described . fig3 is a sequence diagram for data transfer processing when data transfer to the sub - processor 24 - 1 , which is a processor for data transfer , is carried out after transfer data 14 d has been stored in the main memory 14 by a sub - processor n . as shown in fig3 , if a data transfer request designating of logical address ( here made “ a ”) of transfer data 14 d is transmitted by the sub - processor 24 - n via the bus 22 to the sub - processor 24 - 1 ( s 101 ), the sub - processor 24 - 1 receives this data transfer request . the memory management section 24 b - 1 of the sub - processor 24 - 1 translates the logical address “ a ” designated in the data transfer request to a physical address “ a ” based on some pages of the address translation table 14 c stored in the internal memory ( s 102 ). this physical address “ a ” is then transmitted to the memory interface 16 ( s 103 ), and transfer data 14 d stored at the physical address “ a ” of the main memory 14 is received ( s 104 ). next , the sub - processor 24 - 1 stores the received transfer data 14 d in the local memory 24 a - 1 ( s 105 ). then , a data transfer instruction designating a physical address ( here made “ b ”) for a storage destination is transmitted via the bus 22 to the nic 20 ( s 106 ). the nic 20 transits the physical address “ b ” to the sub - processor 24 - 1 in response to this instruction ( s 107 ), and receives transfer data 24 a ″ ( namely transfer data 14 d ) returned from the sub - processor 24 - 1 ( s 108 ). the thus received transfer data 24 a ″ is then stored in the buffer memory 20 b and used in communication processing ( s 109 ). according to the above described information processing device 10 , since a single sub - processor 24 - 1 constituting a multi - core processor is allocated solely to data transfer , it is possible to implement data transfer at high speed and with low latency regardless of the operating state of the main processor 12 . also , since data transfer is implemented using an address translation table 14 c that is shared between the main processor 12 and the sub - processor 24 due to the hardware architecture of the information processing device 10 , it is possible to carry out data transfer immediately as the need arises . incidentally , the present invention is not limited to the above described embodiment , and various modifications are possible . for example , with the above described embodiment an nic 20 has been adopted as the i / o device , but it is also possible to have another i / o device such as a hard disk storage device . also , with the above described embodiment transfer data 14 d stored in the main memory is stored as it is in the local memory 24 a - 1 of the sub - processor 24 - 1 , but it is also possible , for example , to perform various translation processes such as encryption in the sub - processor 24 - 1 , and after that store as transfer data 24 a ″, and transfer this translated data 24 a ″ to the nic 20 . | 6 |
preferred embodiments of the invention will herein be described with reference to the drawings . it will be understood that the drawings and descriptions set out herein are provided for illustration only and do not limit the invention as defined by the claims appended hereto and any and all their equivalents . for example , the terms “ first ” and “ second ” or “ left ” and “ right ” are used for the sake of clarity and not as terms of limitation . referring to fig1 and 2 of the drawings , numeral 10 generally indicates a conventional roller drive chain for a bicycle or any similar chain - driven device . the drive chain 10 generally includes outer chain links 12 and inner chain links 14 which are pivotally mounted on and connected to the outer chain links by pins 16 , 18 . the outer chain links 12 are alternatingly interleaved with the inner chain links 14 . the outer chain links 12 have paired outer link plates 20 and the inner chain links have paired inner link plates 22 . typically , rollers 24 are arranged around the pins 16 , 18 . the plates 20 , 22 are provided with holes 30 at their ends 32 . the pins 16 , 18 typically extend through and project out of the holes 30 , although no projection at all is considered to be optimal . the pins 16 , 18 are externally riveted at their ends 34 , 36 during the assembly of the roller chain 10 . while the pin 16 may be made of round stock , pin 18 may be made of tube stock , as in the roller chain 10 in fig2 . a narrow middle part 38 , which helps to determine the positioning of the roller chain 10 extends between the two circular ends 32 of each of the outer link plates 20 and the inner link plates 22 . as seen best in fig1 , and as viewed from above ( or below ) the chain , the interleaving of the outer links 12 and inner links 14 creates corresponding alternating outer link spaces 40 and inner links spaces 42 . generally , the outer link spaces 40 are openings defined by the outer link plates 20 and rollers 24 . generally , the inner link spaces 42 are openings defined by the inner link plates 22 and rollers 24 . the inner link spaces 42 are generally rectangular with the long axis of the rectangle aligned with the long axis ( a ) of the chain 10 ( as viewed as in fig1 ). the axial length of the inner link spaces 42 is determined by the distance between the rollers 24 , while the distance between the inner link plates 22 determines the transverse spacing of the inner link spaces . as seen in fig1 , the outer link spaces 40 are generally in the shape of a “ cross ” or in other words , a “ plus .” the axial length of the outer link spaces 40 is determined by the distance between the rollers 24 , while the distance between the outer link plates 20 determines the transverse spacing of the outer link spaces . it can be seen that the transverse spacing between the outer link plates 20 is greater than the spacing between the inner link plates 22 . thus , because the transverse width of the rollers 24 determines the spacing of the inner link plates 22 , the rollers dictate the transverse spacing d 1 of the inner link spaces 42 . similarly , since the outer link plates 20 are positioned on the pins 16 ( or 18 ) on the outboard sides of the inner link plates 22 , the transverse spacing d 2 of the outer link spaces 40 is dictated by the sum of the transverse width of the rollers 24 and the thickness of two inner link plates . referring to fig3 , a chainring 50 according to the invention is used with a conventional chain 10 . chainrings typically have a large plurality of teeth compared to cassettes , for example , having about 20 or more teeth . a crank or crank arm 48 is in a typical position and attached to the chain ring 50 in a well - known manner . the crank side of the chainring 50 is shown in fig3 , which is the outboard side 54 of the chainring . the outboard side also faces away from the vehicle to which it is attached . the opposite of the outboard side 54 of the chainring 50 is the inboard side 56 . the inboard side 56 faces toward the vehicle . generally , force applied to the crank arm 48 ( typically in a downward direction , for example ) causes rotation of the chainring 50 in a like direction ( clockwise ). rotation of the chainring 50 causes the chain 10 to be drawn over and advanced about the chainring . the chainring 50 has a plurality of teeth 52 formed about the periphery 51 of the chainring , with the total number of the plurality of teeth consisting of an even number . the plurality of teeth 52 include a first group of teeth 58 and a second group of teeth 60 arranged in an alternating fashion and wherein the first group of teeth is equal in number to the second group of teeth . in a most general form , the invention provides the first group of teeth 58 , that is configured to be received by and fitted into the outer link spaces 40 , and a second group of teeth 60 that is configured to be received by and fitted into the inner link spaces 42 . the overall shape of the chainring periphery 51 may be generally circular or non - circular , that is elliptical , oval , polygon , or parabolic , for example . all of the examples of chainrings provided herein are shown with a circular periphery 51 . each of the first group of teeth 58 is configured to engage with the chain 10 via an outer link space 40 . each of the second group of teeth 60 is configured to engage with the chain 10 via an inner link space 42 . turning to fig1 , each of the second group of teeth 60 has a shape which in a cross sectional view is generally rectangular , particularly at or near the base or root of the tooth . the cross sectional view is taken through a plane parallel to the top land 80 of the tooth and passing through the base circle position of the tooth , i . e ., about halfway between the root circle and the outside circle . the rectangular cross section and overall width wo 1 of each of the second group of teeth 60 should closely match the configuration of each of the inner link spaces 42 ( fig1 ). the cross section shown of each of the second group of teeth shows that the outboard side 54 is generally planar and the inboard side 56 is also generally planar . each of the second group of teeth 60 may fill over about 75 % of the axial distance d 1 of a corresponding space in the chain 10 . preferably , each of the second group of teeth 60 may fill over about 80 % of d 1 of a corresponding space in the chain 10 . more preferably , each of the second group of teeth 60 may fill over about 85 % of d 1 of a corresponding space in the chain 10 . turning to fig1 - 15 , each of the alternative versions of teeth 58 a , 58 b , 58 c of the first group of teeth 58 ( see fig3 ) has a shape which in a cross sectional view , taken through the tooth as in fig1 , has the same longitudinal length l t as that of the second group of teeth 60 ( fig1 ). each of the first group of teeth 58 may fill over about 75 % of the distance d 2 of a corresponding space in the chain 10 . preferably , each of the first group of teeth 58 may fill over about 80 % of d 2 of a corresponding space in the chain 10 . more preferably , each of the first group of teeth 58 may fill over about 85 % of d 2 of a corresponding space in the chain 10 . each of the first group of teeth 58 has the additional feature of an outboard or first protrusion 62 on the outboard side 54 of each alternative teeth 58 a , 58 b , and 58 c . fig1 also demonstrates that the inboard side 56 of tooth 58 a can be the same ( i . e ., without a protrusion ) as the inboard side 56 of each of the second group of teeth 60 . the first protrusion 62 is configured to fit into the corresponding part of outer link spaces 40 of chain 10 ( fig1 ) and has a width w 1 . the protrusion 62 functions to help maintain the chain 10 on the chainring 50 ( fig3 ). the protrusion 62 causes an overall width wo 2 of each of teeth 58 a to be greater than the overall width wo 1 of each of teeth 60 by the extent of protrusion 62 . fig1 is another embodiment of a tooth 58 b of the first group of teeth 58 . in particular , tooth 58 b is similar to those of fig1 , with the additional feature of an inboard or second protrusion 64 on the inboard side 56 of the tooth . the protrusion 64 has a width w 2 that is less than the width w 1 of the protrusion 62 of tooth 58 a , or alternatively , greater than w 1 . the protrusions 62 , 64 cause an overall width wo 3 of each of teeth 58 b to be greater than the overall width wo 1 of each of teeth 60 by the extent of protrusions 62 , 64 . furthermore , wo 3 is greater than wo 2 . fig1 is yet another embodiment of a tooth 58 c of the first group of teeth 58 . in particular , tooth 58 c is similar to that of fig1 , with an inboard or second protrusion 66 on the inboard side 56 of the tooth . the protrusion 66 has a width w 1 that is equal to the width w 1 of the protrusion 62 of tooth 58 a . the protrusions 62 , 66 cause an overall width wo 4 of each of teeth 58 c to be greater than the overall width wo 1 of each of teeth 60 by the extent of protrusions 62 , 66 . furthermore , wo 4 is greater than wo 3 . it will be understood that the various configurations of the teeth 58 include protrusions that are positioned along the side or sides of each tooth in a position where they effectively function to assist in positioning the chain on the chainring 50 , including positions that are adjacent or at the base of each tooth or higher on each tooth 58 . fig4 and fig6 is an outboard side 54 of chainring 50 and the driving direction dd . the first group of teeth 58 is alternatingly arranged with the second group of teeth 60 . the configuration of the second group of teeth 60 may be defined , with respect to the outboard and inboard sides 54 , 56 of each of the teeth 60 , by forming an inner link receiving recess 72 in the chainring 50 that represents material removed from the sides of the teeth 60 . the inner link receiving recess 72 also serves to define the cross - sectional shape of each of the group of teeth 58 . the inner link receiving recess 72 defines the outboard and inboard sides 54 , 56 of each tooth and extends from the front flank 68 of one of the group of teeth 58 to a rear flank 70 of an adjacent one of the group of teeth 58 in the drive direction dd . each inner link receiving recess 72 is configured to receive the length l p an inner link plate 22 of the chain ( fig6 ). each recess 72 has a base surface 72 a that extends in an axial direction and a wall 72 b ( fig7 ) that extends radially . the base surface 72 a may describe a smoothly curving contour , and may be generally in the shape of a “ u ”. fig5 is the profile of each tooth of the teeth 58 , 60 in more detail . the inner link receiving recess 72 is formed in the chainring 50 and can be seen extending along the side of each of the second group tooth 60 and extending from the load side , front or leading flank 68 of one of the group of teeth 58 to a rear flank 70 of an adjacent one of the group of teeth 58 in the drive direction dd . the recess 72 is configured to receive the length l p ( fig6 ) of an inner link plate 22 . each tooth may have a top land 80 . the base surface 72 a may extend to the top land 80 of each of the teeth 58 . the front flank 68 of each tooth includes a contact zone 74 , where a roller 24 ( fig1 ) contacts the tooth . above the contact zone 74 is an optional tip portion 76 . the roller 24 does not contact the tip portion 76 under normal driving conditions . the tip portion 76 may protrude forwardly from a line drawn along the contact zone 74 a distance t . the protruding tip portion 76 functions to engage a chain link earlier than a chain lacking the tip portion and provides better guiding of the chain . an optional hook feature 78 is a feature that may be formed on the rear flank 70 of each of teeth 58 , 60 . the hook feature 78 is positioned along the rear flank 70 and may cooperate with the tip portion 76 to provide better guiding of the chain . the hook feature 78 may include a portion of the rear flank 70 being aligned in the radial direction r . turning to fig7 the first group of teeth 58 and the second group of teeth 60 of the chainring 50 are arranged in an alternating fashion . an optional feature of each of the first group of teeth 58 and second group of teeth 60 is a respective outer chamfer 82 a , 82 b . each of the first group of teeth 58 has an outer chamfer 82 a , which may be an arcuate face formed on the outboard side 54 or shoulder of each tooth . each of the second group of teeth 60 has an outer chamfer 82 b , which may be an arcuate face formed on the outboard side 54 or shoulder of each tooth . the outer chamfer of 82 b of each tooth 60 may have an extent c 1 that is greater relative to the extent c 2 of the outer chamfer 82 a of each tooth 58 . turning to fig8 and 9 the chainring 50 includes chain 10 positioned and engaged thereon . outer chain links 12 are positioned on the first group of teeth 58 . inner chain links 14 are positioned on the second group of teeth 60 . fig1 and 11 respectively is a front view of the chainring 50 without a chain 10 and with a chain . an optional feature of all of the teeth 58 , 60 of the chainring 50 is an offset os of the center of the tooth tip or top land 80 from the center line cl in a direction toward the inboard side 56 of the chainring . this offset feature provides better guiding of the chain to one side of the chainring . turning to fig1 , a chainring 50 includes a number of teeth 58 , 60 . link 1 of a chain engaged on the chainring 50 is represented by line l 1 , and link 2 and link 3 are represented by lines l 2 , l 3 respectively . the line of each of l 1 - 3 is drawn between the centers of the axis of each of the chain rollers 24 . the hook feature 78 is shown on the rear flank 70 of each of teeth 58 , 60 . the hook feature 78 is positioned along the rear flank 70 and may cooperate with the tip portion 76 of the front flank 68 to provide better guiding of the chain . the hook feature 78 may include a portion of the rear flank 70 being aligned in the radial direction r . the hook feature 78 has a radially outermost extent 78 a where the hook feature and the link centerlines l 1 - 3 intersect . alternately , the outermost extent 78 a may be higher than the centerlines l 1 - 3 providing more room for the roller to engage the teeth in the driving direction . the curved line 90 is the path of the roller 24 when it disengages the tooth . in use , the chain 10 is installed with each of the outer chain links 12 on one of the first group of teeth 58 and each of the inner chain links 14 on one of the second group of teeth 60 . as the chainring 50 is rotated by the crank 48 , the chain 10 is drawn about the chainring , and the outer chain links 12 and the inner chain links 14 are sequentially engaged with respective first and second ones of the groups of teeth 58 , 60 . as detailed above , the various features of the chainring 50 function to guide and maintain the chain 10 thereon . while this invention has been described by reference to particular embodiments , it should be understood that numerous changes could be made within the spirit and scope of the inventive concepts described . accordingly , it is intended that the invention not be limited to the disclosed embodiments , but that it have the full scope permitted by the language of the following claims . | 1 |
referring to the drawing in detail in which conventional elements not forming part of the invention , have been indicated in phantom , a fixed support bracket 10 is illustrated as consisting of a rectangular plate having rounded ends , and being offset near the center of its length . the form of the plate , however , is as indicated , merely for esthetic and rigidity of construction reasons , and is not to be considered as being restrictive to any degree . a tubular member 11 depends from the underside of the bracket 10 at one end thereof , and an aperture 12 , complementary to , and in alignment with the inner diameter of the tubular member is provided in the end of the bracket 10 , as can most clearly be seen on fig2 . a pivot pin 13 is adapted to be contained within the tubular member 11 . this pin is provided with a concentric collar or flange 14 which acts as a stop whereby the position of the pin , at assembly is fixed . in its assembled position , the pin 13 is free to rotate within the tubular member 14 , and can be removed therefrom simply by lifting it out . the upper end of the horizontal pivot pin 13 , the term horizontal being used to define the plane of the pivotal action rather than the actual alignment of the pin itself , is adapted to have pivotally mounted thereon a rod - support cradle 15 . this support cradle consists of a member of arcuate , transverse cross sectional form , having its concave side facing upwardly , and being provided with a depending member 16 , of relatively short length , as can be seen on fig2 . a pin 17 , completes the aforesaid pivotal mounting . with further reference to fig2 it will be noted that , with the cradle 15 in a horizontal position as indicated , no further rotation in a clockwise direction is possible . rotation in the opposite direction , however , can be effected because , at the lower end thereof , the member 16 has been split for a portion of its length , and has been formed in a u - shaped section 18 , as shown on fig3 . this arrangement permits the pin 13 and the cradle 15 to assume positions of angular relationship from that indicated on fig2 up to and slightly beyond that indicated on fig5 . the limit of rotation in the counterclockwise direction is established by the beveled upper end 19 , of the pin 13 . a stop bracket 20 , of similar form to that of bracket 10 , is pivotally attached thereby by any suitable means such as the screw and wing nut 21 , as indicated . this arrangement enables the brackets to be locked together in any desired angular relationship within the limits of the swing of the bracket 20 . this is clearly illustrated in fig4 . extending upwardly from the free end of bracket 20 , is a stop pin 22 , adapted to limit horizontal rotation of the rod in direction determined by the alignment of the brackets 20 and 10 . the pin 22 is preferably furnished with an outer sleeve 23 , of rubber or other suitable material , to prevent marring of the surface of the rod where it comes into contact with the stop . in use , the holder is anchored in place at the water &# 39 ; s edge , by means of any suitable stake attached thereto , such as the angle s indicated in phantom on fig2 or as previously stated , it can be attached to the side of a boat by any suitable means . a rod r is than secured in place in cradle 15 by clamps c as indicated . the position of the rod in the cradle should be selected such that a normal balance will allow the rod to automatically assume a position similar to that as indicated on fig5 than if there is any current running , the stop pin is placed on the downstream side of the rod . any surf action affecting the line , and which would otherwise cause slack in the line , will be corrected by vertical oscillations of the balanced rod . also , if the holder is mounted on a boat , the effect of rocking of the boat , on the rod , will be minimized by the inertia of the rod which will virtually float on the pin 17 . it should be obvious from the foregoing that all conditions normally encountered in angling activities , of the type using such equipment , have been provided for . it should again be noted that the rod can be immediately removed from the holder when necessary , the attached parts , as indicated on fig5 causing no inconvenience to the further activities of the angler . in addition to the above described embodiment , the objectives of the fishing rod holder as outlined previously in the brief summary of the invention , may be accomplished by alternate embodiments without departing from the novel conceptual scope of this invention . for example , the embodiment shown in fig6 and 8 , provides a highly efficient and more compact unit for enabling the freely pivotly vertical movement within defined limits as described for the previous embodiment . referring to fig6 and 7 , a fishing rod illustrated in part in phantom and designated by the reference letter r is shown supported on and clamped to a cradle member 25 by conventional clamps c , also shown in phantom . the cradle member 25 has a depending neck 26 of relatively short length which is connected to a pivot unit 27 by a pivot pin 28 . the construction and arrangement of the cradle member 25 and pivot unit 26 is such that the cradle member 25 is freely pivotal within a limited range such that the support surface 29 of the cradle member and hence the attached rod is pivotal from the substantially vertical position shown in dash line in fig6 and 7 , here ten degrees from a true vertical , to the horizontal position primarily illustrated . this is accomplished by a hollowed - out portion 30 of the depending neck 26 of the cradle member 25 into which is inserted a projecting head portion 31 of the pivot unit 27 . on one side of the depending neck 26 is a u - shaped slot 32 , which allows passage for the head portion 31 of the pivot unit 27 during pivot to a position approaching a vertical position . the slot 32 is short of the depth of the hollowed out portion such that a lip 33 at the base of the slot provides a contact stop for the top of the head portion 31 in the horizontal position and a contact stop for the lower side of the head portion in the near vertical position . on the opposite side of the depending neck 26 is a window aperture 34 allowing passage of the top of the head portion when the cradle member is pivoted from the near vertical position to the substantially horizontal position . a cross portion 35 at the bottom of the aperture 34 and depending neck 26 provides a contact stop for the lower side of the head portion when the cradle member is in the substantially horizontal position and a contact stop for the upper side of the head portion when the cradle member is in the substantially vertical position . in this manner , when the cradle member is forcefully tipped to the horizontal position , for example from the surge of a hooked fish or forcefully tipped to the near vertical position , for example in setting a hook , no stresses of any substance are placed on the pivot pin because of the diametrically opposite stops on the cradle member . preferably for maintenance of good operating tolerances after long use , the head portion 31 of the pivot unit 27 is square in cross section as shown in fig8 . this forms a flat contact surface against the contact stops of the depending neck portion of the cradle member . as mentioned hereinbefore , the depending neck 26 of the cradle member is of relatively short length . in this manner , a balance of the rod on the cradle , biased somewhat toward the near vertical position , is easily obtained . were the length excessive , the point of pivot would be to far displaced from the center of gravity of a coupled rod and cradle member . the pivotal connection would thereby lack stability and result in improper operation for the manner of use contemplated . the cradle member 25 and pin coupled pivot unit 27 are slidably engageable in a bearing plate 36 attached to a tubular extension member 37 . the pivot unit 27 includes a small tab plate 38 projecting horizontally from the juncture of the head portion 31 and a depending journal pin portion 39 . the tab plate 38 rests on the bearing plate 36 , thereby providing support for the pivot unit and cradle member . the journal pin portion is insertable into a bearing sleeve or aperture 40 in the bearing plate 36 for generally free rotation therein . rotation is restricted by a pin 41 on the bearing plate 36 which is insertable through a hole 42 in the tab plate 38 to inhibit rotation of the cradle member and pivot unit with respect to the bearing plate as shown in fig8 or to provide limited rotation of the cradle member and pivot unit when the tab plate 36 is oriented away from the pin 41 as shown in dash line in fig8 . in this manner , the pin functions , respectively , either as a locking pin or a stop pin depending on the action desired . for example , if the fishing conditions are such that a fixed orientation of the rod with regard to rotation in the horizontal plane is desired , as in surf casing , the tubular extension and attached bearing plate can be oriented such that the pin engages the hole , eliminating the horizontal rotation action . if the conditions are such that a limited rotation is preferred as in anchored boat fishing with a transverse current , the tubular extension and bearing plate can be oriented such that the pin is arranged to contact the side of the tab plate within a desired range allowing a limited free rotation to occure to compensate for such movements as the boat drifting around the anchor point . in either position , the cradle member and pivot unit are quickly removable from the bearing plate and extension member . this is necessary to allow the rod to be snatched from its support when hooking a fish or securing a hooked fish and reeling it in . the tubular extension member may be employed to mount the attached components in a variety of manners . the extension may be simply driven into the ground for surf fishing or may be telescopically connected to a ground driven member ( not shown ) or may be supported by a bracket 43 with a sleeve section 44 , as shown in fig1 . the extension member is slidably insertable into the sleeve section and secured in the desired position by a locking screw 45 . the bracket 43 includes mounting holes 46 for attaching the bracket with conventional fasteners ( not shown ) to a structure such as a boat gunwale ( not shown ). referring to fig9 and 10 , a simple structure is shown which accomplishes the primary conceptual feature of this invention without the collateral features of the preferred embodiments described above . essentially , a cradle member 47 having a cradle portion 48 attachable to a rod ( not shown ) includes also a depending tab 49 with wing tabs 50 ( one shown in fig9 and 10 ) projecting normally from the depending tab 49 . the depending tab 49 is slidably insertable into a slot 51 in a flat head portion 52 of extension member 53 , the flat head portion comprising the pivot member receiving the pivotal cradle member . the projecting wing tabs , which run from the cradle portion 48 , a relatively short length , to a point short of the distal end of the depending tab 49 , insert into a keyway 60 in the flat head portion 52 of the extension member 53 . the keyway 60 is designed to limit the rotation movement of the cradle member 47 by stop surfaces 54 and 55 for substantially horizontal positioning of the cradle member 47 with respect to the extension member 53 and stop surfaces 56 and 57 for positioning of the cradle member to a position approaching the vertical , as shown in dash line in fig1 . between these limits defined by the stop surfaces , the cradle member 47 is freely pivotal in the vertical plane . while the pivotal action is directed at the sliding interface of the ends 58 of the wing tabs 50 against the curved base 59 of the keyway , the action is similar to that of a pin having a central axis at the center of the imaginary axis about which the cradle member 47 is rotatable . the extension member 53 shown fragmented in fig9 and 10 extends for a desired length and preferably has a transition from the flat head portion 52 to a tubular section ( not shown ) which may be mounted as described above for the previous embodiment . while in the foregoing specification embodiments of the invention have been set forth in considerable detail for purposes of making a complete disclosure of the invention , it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that numerous changes may be made in such details without departing from the spirit and principles of the invention . | 8 |
in the following description specific details are set forth , such as device types , configurations , protocols , applications , etc ., in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention . however , persons having ordinary skill in the relevant arts will appreciate that these specific details may not be needed to practice the present invention fig1 illustrates the business card dispenser 10 . the dispenser 10 is in a general rectangular shape , with dimensions generally proportional to a standard business card . due to the rectangular shape of the dispenser , multiple dispensers may be easily stacked or lined up against one another , without the need for excessive wasted space . the height of the dispenser can be made large enough to hold over one hundred cards . this is particularly useful in advertising situations , where it may be necessary to distribute a large number of cards . the dispenser 10 has a front panel 20 , further illustrated in fig2 and a shell 40 , further illustrated in fig4 . fig2 illustrates the component parts of the front panel 20 of the dispenser 10 . the front panel 20 is comprised of a front cover 22 , made up of two panels 22 a and 22 b . the panels 22 a and 22 b join together to create a vertical opening . the vertical opening is large enough to house a single business card 21 . the front panel 22 a of the front cover 22 is made up of a transparent or translucent material , so that the written contents of the business card 21 are clearly visible on the outside of the dispenser 10 . the front panel 20 has an ejector slot 23 large enough to dispense a single business card from within the dispenser . a single business card will appear far enough out of the ejector slot 23 so that a person may easily take the single business card . the ejector slot 23 is very thin , so that it will not allow multiple cards to be improperly dispensed out at the same time . the front panel 20 has screw holes 24 a for two screws 24 b . the screws 24 b are used to lock the front panel 20 to the dispenser 10 . this prevents other people from easily opening the front panel and removing the stack of business cards from within the dispenser . however , it gives the owner the ability to unscrew the front panel 20 and replenish the business cards when necessary . the screws 24 can attach to the cradle 30 at the cradle attachment points 37 , depicted in fig3 . the front panel 20 has a place for a removable label 25 . the label 25 can be used to give instructions to a user of the dispenser . for example , the label 25 may state “ push here — take card .” the label 25 can be used to give any message to potential users of the dispenser . fig3 illustrates a cradle 30 . the cradle 30 is housed inside the shell 40 . the cradle 30 comprises a bottom plate 35 . business cards are placed on the bottom plate 35 . the dimensions of the bottom plate 35 are just large enough to hold a business card . the bottom plate 35 is not large enough to allow business cards to move in the x and y direction within the cradle 30 . the business cards are held in place in the z direction by a pressure plate 31 . the pressure plate has a hinge 34 that attaches to the body of the cradle 30 at the cradle hinge 34 . the hinges 34 allow the pressure plate 31 to always stay in contact with the top of the business card stack . as the stack gets smaller , the pressure plate 31 rotates downward . the pressure plate 31 maintains enough pressure on the top of the stack to keep the business cards tightly packed in the cradle 30 . this helps to ensure that only a single card is dispensed through the ejector slot 23 of the front panel 20 . also , the pressure plate 31 ensures that the business cards are properly aligned with the ejector slot 23 . the pressure plate 31 has fingers 36 that allow it to extend through the openings 33 at the back of the cradle 30 . the fingers 36 extend the length of the pressure plate 31 , so that a large stack of business cards may be used in the dispenser . as the pressure plate 31 rotates down , the fingers 36 fit through the openings 33 to allow the plate 31 to stay in contact with the stack of business cards . the hinges 34 are also used to attach the top of the front panel 20 to the top of the cradle 30 . flapper springs 38 are positioned at the front end of the pressure plate 31 . the flapper springs 38 prevent the cards at the top of the stack 61 from rotating upwards due to the force of the pressure plate 31 at the back of the cards . the cradle 30 locks into the proper position with the shell 40 by use of the tabs 32 . the tabs 32 are on the left and right side of the cradle . the tabs 32 should be aligned with the elongated slots 43 depicted in fig4 . the slots 43 lock the cradle 30 to its proper sliding position and motion . fig4 illustrates a shell 40 . the shell 40 is used to house the cradle 30 . the shell has a pair of stakes 42 , which hold compression springs 41 in place . the compression springs 41 are uncompressed in their normal position and rest on the stakes 42 against the back wall of the shell 40 . an ordinary person should be able to overcome the force of the springs 41 . the springs 41 should require enough force so that a business card is only dispensed based on a deliberate action by a person . the shell 40 has tracks 43 , which help to guide the motion of the cradle . fig5 illustrates how the front panel 20 , the cradle 30 and the shell 40 fit together . the front panel 20 attaches to the cradle 30 at the hinges 34 . the front panel 20 is also screwed into the cradle at the screw positions 24 and 37 . the cradle 30 sits inside the shell 40 . the back of the cradle 30 and back of shell 40 are separated by the compression springs 41 , which sit on the stakes 42 . the length of the springs 41 are long enough to allow the pressure plate 31 to rotate downward through the openings 34 . fig6 illustrates a cross section view of the dispenser 10 at a resting position . the stack of cards 61 is in the cradle . the pressure plate 31 is depicted in fig6 as being rotated by the hinge to be in an upward position . however , the stack 61 may be pressed downward by the pressure plate 31 . the pressure plate 31 can be rotated by the hinge 34 so that it is directly in contact with the stack 61 . the flapper spring 38 is positioned at the front end of the pressure plate 31 . when the pressure plate 31 is rotated downward towards the stack 61 , the springs 38 come in contact with the front end of the stack . this keeps the front of the stack from angling upwards due to the pressure from the pressure plate 31 . the compression spring 41 is in its normal , uncompressed position . the bottom of the stack 61 is directly aligned with the ejector slot 23 . also aligned with the stack 61 is a plunger 62 , more clearly depicted in fig6 a . the plunger 62 is stationary and is attached at the shell 40 . the plunger 62 is similar in length and height of a standard business card . the cradle 30 has a slot similar in size to the ejector slot 23 , aligned with the plunger 62 . the depth of the plunger 62 is similar to the length of the compression spring 41 and is sized so that the leading edge is captured in the back slot of the cradle 30 . the plunger is aligned with the bottom of the stack 61 and fits in the slot of the cradle 30 , and does not come in contact with the stack 61 while the dispenser 10 is in its normal position . the leading edge of the plunger 62 can be beveled . a person may push the front panel 20 in the direction 63 of the shell , thus compressing the springs 41 . fig7 illustrates the dispenser 10 once it has been compressed . ( note : there are no business cards visible in this depiction .) the spring 41 is compressed against the stake 42 . the ejector slot 23 remains aligned to the bottom of the cradle 30 . because the spring 41 has been compressed , the cradle 30 is closer in position to the shell 40 . however , the plunger 62 remains in its locked position , stationary relative to the shell 40 . therefore , the front end of the plunger is now inside the cradle 30 , through the slot at the back of the cradle . the small bevel at the leading edge of the plunger 62 helps prevent the penultimate card from interfering with the plunger 62 when the dispenser 10 is compressed . this motion of the cradle 30 coming towards the shell 40 allows the plunger 62 to push the bottommost card . the business card is pushed and ejected through the ejector slot 23 . the card is extended out of the front panel 20 so that it may be taken and picked up by a person . once pressure on the front panel 10 is released , the spring 41 uncompresses , the cradle 30 slides to its normal position and the plunger 62 is no longer in direct contact with a business card . due to gravity and the pressure plate 35 , the stack 61 is forced downward to the bottom plate 35 . the dispenser resumes the position depicted in fig6 . fig8 depicts the dispenser 10 in the open position . the front panel 20 is lifted upwards about the hinge 32 . this allows for easy access to the stack 61 , for replenishment or replacement . | 1 |
fig1 shows a view of a medical device 100 in accordance with an illustrative embodiment of the present invention . the medical retrieval device 100 includes a sheath 102 , an end - effector 104 ( in this case , a basket - type retrieval device ), disposed at a distal end 112 of the sheath 102 , and a handle 106 , disposed at a proximal end 114 of the sheath 102 . the handle 106 includes a bladder 108 , which is connected through the handle 106 to the sheath 102 so that it is in fluid communication with the sheath 102 . the bladder 108 and the sheath 102 are filled with a fluid , such as air , water , a saline solution , or other liquids , gels , or gasses . the end - effector 104 is connected to an inner hub 110 , which is disposed within the sheath 102 in a manner that permits it to slide between a proximal stop 118 and a distal stop 116 . preferably , a substantially effective seal is created between the inner hub 110 and the sheath 102 , inhibiting the escape of fluid from sheath the 102 past the inner hub 110 . pressure applied to the bladder 108 forces fluid out of the bladder 108 , and into the sheath 102 , causing positive fluid or air pressure in the sheath 102 , and pushing the inner hub 110 towards the distal end 112 of the sheath 102 . this extends the end - effector 104 , which is connected to the inner hub 110 , into an “ open ” position , thereby deploying the end - effector 104 . the movement of the inner hub 110 is limited by the distal stop 116 , which prevents the inner hub 110 from sliding distally any farther than the distal stop 116 . releasing pressure from the bladder 108 , fluid in the sheath 102 draws back into the bladder 108 , causing negative fluid pressure in the sheath 102 . this negative pressure pulls the inner hub 110 and the end - effector 104 towards the proximal end 114 of the sheath 102 , retracting the end - effector 104 into a “ closed ” position within the sheath 102 . the proximal movement of the inner hub 110 is limited by the proximal stop 118 , which prevents the inner hub 110 from sliding proximally farther than the proximal stop 118 . in fig1 , the medical device is shown with the end - effector 104 fully extended , and the inner hub 110 abutting the distal stop 116 . this is the configuration that the medical device would have if sufficient pressure were applied to the bladder 108 to completely extend the end - effector 104 . the sheath 102 , the end - effector 104 , the handle 106 , the bladder 108 , the inner hub 110 , the proximal stop 118 , and the distal stop 116 as illustrated in fig1 are not necessarily shown in their correct size or proportion to each other . preferably , the sheath 102 is dimensioned to fit the requirements of its application in the body . for example , for urological applications , the outside diameter of the sheath 102 is typically between 1 . 7 and 8 . 0 french , though some applications may call for larger or smaller sizes . the handle 106 is preferably sized to fit easily in an operator &# 39 ; s hand , and the bladder 108 is preferably sized and placed on the handle 106 in a position that permits an operator to use his or her thumb to depress the bladder 108 . in preferred embodiments of the invention , the handle 106 and the bladder 108 are ergonomically sized and placed , providing a medical device that is comfortable and easy to use . however , other sizes and shapes for the handle 106 are within the scope of the invention . additionally , excluding the handle 106 from the device entirely , so that the bladder 108 is directly connected to the sheath 102 is within the scope of the invention . similarly , alternative placements of the bladder 108 , including separating the bladder 108 from the handle 106 are also within the scope of the invention . advantageously , since the end - effector 104 of the medical device 100 is operated using fluid pressure , there is no need for a pull wire to be used to operate the end - effector 104 . since there is no pull wire , the flexibility of the medical device 100 is increased . additionally , fewer mechanical components are needed to construct the medical device 100 , potentially decreasing the manufacturing cost and likelihood of failure of the medical device 100 . a high degree of control is achieved by use of an operator - controlled fluid source , such as the bladder 108 . for example , in some embodiments , by compressing the bladder 108 to varying degrees , an operator may determine the degree to which the end - effector 104 extends from the distal end of the sheath 102 . in some embodiments , by releasing pressure from the bladder 108 , the operator may retract the end - effector 104 into the sheath 102 . in various embodiments , an operator - controlled fluid source , such as the bladder 108 , can control the rate or speed of deployment , the degree of deployment , the position , or other operational aspects of the medical device 100 and end - effector 104 . fig2 a and 2b show an embodiment of the invention in a closed and an open position , respectively . in fig2 a , the end - effector 104 is in the closed position , collapsed within the sheath 102 . as can be seen , the inner hub 110 is positioned near the proximal stop 118 . as shown in fig2 b , applying positive fluid pressure within the sheath 102 pushes the inner hub 110 into a position adjacent to the distal stop 116 , and pushes the end - effector 104 out of the end of the sheath 102 , into an open position . in the illustrative embodiment shown in fig2 a and 2b , the end - effector is a basket - type retrieval device , which expands into the form shown in fig2 b when extended out of the distal end of the sheath 102 . fig3 a and 3b illustrate the operation of an embodiment of the medical device of the invention . in fig3 a , an operator applies no pressure to the bladder 108 , so the end - effector ( not shown ) remains in the closed position , collapsed within the sheath 102 . in fig3 b . the operator depresses the bladder 108 , forcing fluid from the bladder 108 into the sheath 102 , causing positive fluid pressure in the sheath 102 . this positive pressure pushes the end - effector out of the distal end of the sheath 102 , into its open position . the operator may return the end - effector to the closed position by ceasing the application of pressure on the bladder 108 . this causes negative fluid pressure in the sheath 102 , which pulls the end - effector back into the closed position . the operator can extend the end - effector out of the distal end of the sheath 102 to varying degrees by varying the amount of pressure applied to the bladder 108 . referring now to fig4 a - 4b , another embodiment of the medical device of the invention is shown . in fig4 a , a medical device 400 , of which only a distal portion is shown , is in its closed position . as in previous embodiments , an end - effector 402 ( a basket - type retrieval device , in this embodiment ) connects to an internal hub 404 . the internal hub 404 slides within a sheath 406 , and preferably forms a seal with the sheath 406 . a proximal stop 408 and a distal stop 410 limit the range of movement of the internal hub 404 . as in previously discussed embodiments , application of positive fluid pressure pushes the internal hub 404 and the end - effector 402 in a distal direction , extending the end - effector 402 into its open position . the medical device 400 includes an elastic member , such as a spring 412 , which provides a positive closure mechanism for the medical device 400 . when the medical device 400 is in the closed position , with the end - effector 402 collapsed within the sheath 406 , and the internal hub 404 adjacent to the proximal stop 408 , the spring 412 is in an equilibrium position , and does not exert force on the internal hub 406 . as shown in fig4 b , when sufficient fluid pressure pushes the inner hub 404 towards the distal stop 410 , the end - effector 402 extends from the sheath 406 , into its open position . in the open position , the spring 412 is compressed , and exerts a force on the internal hub 404 to push the internal hub 404 towards the proximal stop 408 . the force exerted by the spring 412 assists in placing the medical device 400 into the closed position when the fluid pressure is released or becomes insufficient to compress the spring 412 . other elastic members , such as elastic materials may be used in place of the spring 412 . additionally , instead of compressing the elastic member , in some embodiments , extending the end - effector stretches the elastic member . when the elastic member is stretched in this manner , it exerts a force to assist in retracting the end - effector . as mentioned above , numerous types of end - effectors may be used in conjunction with the fluid pressure - actuated medical device of the present invention . for example , instead of using a basket - type retrieval device as the end - effector , a grasper retrieval device , cutting device or any other device previously deployed using a pull wire may be used . fig5 shows a biopsy device end - effector for use with an embodiment of a medical device in accordance with the principles of the invention . a biopsy device 500 includes a hub 502 , to which a stylet 504 is rigidly attached . an elastic member , such as a spring 506 surrounds a proximal portion of the stylet 504 , and connects at its proximal end to the hub 502 , and at its distal end to a cannula 508 . a latch 510 , which is preferably connected to a sheath 512 , holds the cannula 508 in place . the latch 510 holds the cannula 508 at a fixed position within the sheath 512 , while permitting the hub 502 and the stylet 504 to be pushed forward by fluid pressure . as the fluid pressure pushes the hub 502 forward , the stylet 504 extends out of the distal end of the sheath 512 , and the cannula 508 remains stationary , causing the spring 506 to compress . when the stylet 504 fully extends , the hub 502 causes the latch 510 to release , propelling the cannula 508 forward , to enclose the stylet 504 . the cannula 508 includes a sharp edge 514 , that cuts tissue when propelled forward , capturing a sample of the tissue within a notch formed in the stylet 504 . the biopsy device 500 fits within the sheath 512 . preferably , the hub 502 forms a substantially effective seal with the sheath 512 so that it can be propelled forward by positive fluid or air pressure in the sheath 512 . in the embodiment shown in fig5 , the latch 510 acts as a stop , preventing the hub 502 from being propelled past the latch 510 . in other embodiments , stops ( not shown ), such as the proximal and distal stops shown in previously embodiments may be used . fig6 a - 6c show the operation of the biopsy device 500 . in fig6 a , the biopsy device 500 is within the sheath 512 , with the spring 506 in an equilibrium position , and the cannula 508 held in place by the latch 510 . in fig6 b , an operator has started to apply pressure to a fluid filled bladder ( not shown ) in fluid communication with the sheath 512 , causing positive fluid pressure within the sheath 512 to propel the hub 502 towards the distal end of the sheath 512 , thereby extending the stylet 504 . because the hub 502 is being pushed towards the distal end of the sheath 512 , and the cannula 508 is being held in place , the spring 506 compresses . in fig6 b , the hub 502 has not yet caused the latch 510 to release the cannula 508 . in fig6 c , the latch 510 has been released , causing the spring 506 , which was compressed , to propel the cannula 508 forward over the stylet 504 . when the cannula 508 is propelled forward , it cuts tissue , capturing a tissue sample 602 within a slot formed in the stylet 504 . fig7 shows another embodiment of a biopsy device for use as an end - effector in a medical device according to the invention . in the embodiment shown in fig7 , no spring is needed to propel the cannula forward to cut tissue , as in the previous embodiment . instead , fluid pressure is used to propel both the stylet and the cannula . in fig7 , a biopsy device 700 is shown in a fully extended position , with a stylet 702 and a cannula 704 fully extended from the distal end of a sheath 706 . the stylet 702 attaches to a stylet hub 708 , and the cannula 704 attaches to a cannula hub 710 . preferably , the stylet hub 708 and the cannula hub 710 form seals with the sheath 706 . a stylet stop 712 limits the distal movement of the stylet hub 708 ( and , therefore , of the stylet 702 ). the stylet stop 712 prevents the stylet hub 708 from advancing in a distal direction past the stylet stop 712 . note that the stylet stop 712 may also prevent the cannula hub 710 from moving in a proximal direction past the stylet stop 712 . optionally , an additional proximal stop ( not shown ) may be included to limit the proximal movement of the stylet hub 708 . a cannula stop 714 limits the distal movement of the cannula hub 710 ( and the cannula 704 ). the cannula stop 714 , which may be integrated into a distal tip of the sheath 706 , prevents the cannula hub 710 from advancing in a distal direction past the cannula stop 714 . as noted above , the stylet stop 712 may limit the proximal movement of the cannula hub 710 . the stylet hub 708 includes a small hole 718 which permits a limited amount of fluid to pass through the stylet hub 708 into the area between the stylet hub 708 and the cannula hub 710 . in operation , positive fluid pressure first pushes the stylet hub 708 in a distal direction , extending the stylet 702 from the distal end of the sheath 706 . when the stylet 702 is fully extended , the stylet stop 708 prevents further distal movement of the stylet hub 708 . at this point , fluid forced through the hole 718 in the stylet hub 708 causes positive fluid pressure to push the cannula hub 710 ( and the cannula 704 ) in a distal direction , extending the cannula 704 out of the distal end of the sheath 706 . as the cannula 704 extends over the stylet 702 , a sharp edge 716 of the cannula 704 cuts tissue , capturing a tissue sample within a notch formed in the stylet 702 . when the cannula 704 is fully extended , the cannula stop 714 prevents further distal movement of the cannula hub 710 . fig8 a - b illustrate this process . in fig8 a , positive fluid pressure has propelled the stylet 702 out of the distal end of the sheath 706 . the stylet stop 712 is preventing the stylet hub 708 from further movement in a distal direction . the cannula hub 714 has not yet been pushed in a distal direction by a substantial amount , and the cannula 704 is still within the sheath 706 . in fig8 b , when the stylet hub 708 is prevented from further distal movement by the stylet stop 712 , fluid forced through the hole 718 in the stylet hub 708 propels the cannula 704 out of the distal end of the sheath 706 . in fig8 b , the cannula 704 is fully extended , and further distal movement of the cannula hub 710 is prevented by the cannula stop 714 . in some embodiments , the biopsy end - effectors described with reference to fig5 - 8 may be retracted by application of negative fluid pressure . in other embodiments , the end - effectors of fig5 - 8 may not require retraction . in addition , such biopsy devices may be operated through application of short bursts of fluid pressure , rather than through substantially continuous application of pressure to a fluid filled bladder in fluid communication with a sheath . other embodiments incorporating the concepts disclosed herein are within the spirit and scope of the invention . the described embodiments are illustrative of the invention and not restrictive . | 0 |
referring first to fig1 and 2 , a polymer - membrane 10 is shown overlying a roof 20 . the roof 20 may have a surrounding parapet 22 . in addition , a protrusion 30 may extend from the roof 20 . an opening 12 in the membrane 10 preferably allows the sides 32 , 34 of the protrusion 30 to extend through the membrane 10 . after the membrane 10 is in place on the roof 20 , a preferred embodiment of a fitment 40 may be installed to substantially prevent moisture from entering the roof 20 at a corner of the protrusion 30 . in one type of adjustable roof membrane system , fitments 40 may be joined by spanning strips 50 as shown in fig1 . each spanning strip 50 preferably has an upper portion 52 and a bottom portion 54 . the bottom portion 54 may be dielectrically welded , hot air bonded or otherwise sealed along its length to the membrane 10 , and the fitments 40 may be dielectrically welded , hot air bonded or otherwise sealed to the membrane 10 and the spanning strips 50 as shown at 60 , 62 , and 70 . although not shown in the figures , it should also be recognized that the fitments 40 may be positioned at the corners of a vertical protrusion such that they are overlapped by the spanning strips 50 . a fitment 40 preferably has a top membrane portion 80 and a base membrane portion 90 . as illustrated in fig4 , the top membrane portion 80 is preferably substantially rectangular and may be comprised of quadrants 81 , 82 , 83 , and 84 . the top membrane portion 80 has a cutout 86 . the cutout 86 preferably divides quadrant 83 from quadrant 84 , and it preferably extends from about the middle of side 85 to about the center portion 89 of the top membrane portion 80 . as shown in fig4 , the cutout 86 may have substantially parallel sides 87 , 88 . for one example of the cutout 86 , the sides 87 , 88 may be separated by about one - half inch . however , the cutout 86 may increase in width as the cutout 86 extends from the center portion 89 towards the side 85 . in addition to the embodiment shown in fig4 , the top membrane portion 80 may take the form of many different shapes . the shape of the top membrane portion 80 may vary depending on the application . for example , the top membrane portion 80 may have a different number of sides , it may have curved sides , or it may have sides of different lengths . for another example , the cutout 86 may extend from a portion of a side other than the middle , it may extend at an angle which is not perpendicular , or it may have a different shape , length , or width . referring back to fig1 , quadrants 81 , 82 of the top membrane portions 80 and upper portions 52 of the spanning strips 50 may be secured by an adhesive or other suitable means to the sides 32 , 34 of the protrusion 30 . a band 100 may be used to join the top edges of quadrants 81 , 82 and upper portions 52 . in addition , an adhesive , a bead of mastic , a bead of sealant , or any similar material may be used to form a tight seal between the band 100 and the sides 32 , 34 of the protrusion 30 . referring to fig3 a , the base membrane portion 90 is preferably comprised of a first generally triangular portion 91 , a second generally triangular portion 94 , and a tab 97 which has a hole 98 . sides 92 , 93 of the first generally triangular portion 91 are preferably joined at a radiused corner . in addition , sides 92 , 93 extend at an angle a which is greater than about 90 degrees . on the other hand , sides 95 , 96 of the second generally triangular portion 94 are connected by the tab 97 . the sides 95 , 96 extend at an angle b which is greater than about 90 degrees . by making the angles a , b greater than about 90 degrees , the fitment 40 is preferably adjustable . in other words , the angles a , b preferably help to substantially eliminate the need to fold or bunch the fitment 40 when the corner is not a right angle , when the protrusion 30 is not at a right angle to the roof 20 , or when there is some other irregularity in the protrusion 30 . however , the base membrane portion 90 is not limited to the configuration as described above . the base membrane portion 90 may have any other shape that is suitable and may have side tabs 99 a , which may have a hole 99 b , on the corner between side 92 and side 95 and / or the corner between side 93 and side 96 . referring now to fig3 b - 3d , in another embodiment the base membrane portion 90 ′ may be comprised of two separate triangular shaped portions 120 , 124 . the first triangular shaped portion 120 may preferably be comprised of three sides 95 ′, 92 ′, 122 , a tab 97 which may have a hole 98 , and a side tab 99 a which may have a hole 99 b . side 95 ′ and side 122 are preferably connected by a tab 97 , while side 95 ′ and side 92 ′ are preferably connected by a side tab 99 a . the second triangular shaped portion 124 may preferably be comprised of three sides 96 ′, 93 ′, 126 , a tab 97 which may have a hole 98 , and a side tab 99 a which may have a hole 99 b . side 96 ′ and side 126 are preferably connected by a tab 97 , while side 96 ′ and side 93 ′ are preferably connected by a side tab 99 a . in an exemplary embodiment , the first triangular shaped portion 120 and the second triangular shaped portion 124 are arranged to form a base membrane portion 90 ′. the base membrane portion 90 ′ may be substantially similar to base membrane portion 90 . however , base membrane portion 90 ′ has a middle adjustment feature 130 which allows the fitment 40 to be adjusted when sides 95 ′ and 96 ′ are sealed to the top membrane portion 80 . the middle adjustment feature 130 is preferably formed by the overlapping of side 122 on the first triangular shaped portion 120 and side 126 on the second triangular shaped portion 124 . fig5 a and 5b show examples of fitments 40 prior to installation . in an exemplary embodiment , preferably only one of the sides 95 , 96 may be completely sealed to the top membrane portion 80 prior to installation on the roof 20 . preferably , only a portion , if any at all , of the other side 95 , 96 may be sealed to the top membrane portion 80 prior to installation . this preferably enables the fitment 40 to be adjusted in the field to a corner that is not a right angle , a protrusion 30 that is not at a right angle to a roof 20 , and / or an irregularly - shaped protrusion 30 . in a fitment 40 that has a middle adjustment feature 130 , both sides 95 ′ and 96 ′ may be sealed to the top membrane portion 80 prior to installation . however , the middle adjustment feature 130 is not sealed prior to installation and enables the fitment 40 to be adjusted in the field to the corner or protrusion 30 on the roof 20 . it should be noted that after sealing , the base membrane portion 90 remains substantially flat . although it may be advantageous to leave one of the sides 95 or 96 unsealed or provide an adjustment feature 130 , these are not required . exemplary fitments may lack an adjustment feature 130 and may be completely sealed on both sides 95 and 96 . an exemplary device for making the fitments disclosed herein would be capable of manufacturing each type of sealing arrangements for the various fitments . during installation , after the fitment 40 is adjusted to the roof 20 and to the protrusion 30 in the field to substantially eliminate any folding or bunching , if there is an unsealed side , the unsealed side 95 and / or 96 may be sealed along its entire length to the top membrane portion 80 or the middle adjustment feature 130 may be sealed . fig6 shows an exemplary device 100 for making the various fitments described herein . an exemplary device may be comprised of a ram 103 , bolster plate 101 , and heating element 102 . fig7 provides another view of the bolster plate 101 and heating element 102 . the bolster plate 101 contains one or more securing mechanisms 111 along with one or more suction devices 110 ; both elements may be used to hold the top membrane portion 80 in position during the fabrication process . alternatively , only securing mechanisms or only suction devices may be used to secure the top membrane portion . the bolster plate 101 has three main surface areas . first area 183 accepts quadrant 83 of the top membrane portion 80 . second area 184 accepts quadrant 84 of the top membrane portion 80 . third area 180 accepts quadrants 82 and 81 of the top membrane portion 80 . fig8 provides a detailed view of the bottom surface of the ram 103 , which contains a first die 104 and a second die 105 . the first die 104 is actuated by the main ram actuator assembly 200 ( see fig1 b ) and the second die 105 is actuated by an auxiliary actuator assembly 201 ( see fig1 b ). the ram 103 may contain one or more suction devices 112 and pins 198 and 199 for securing the bottom membrane portion 90 during fabrication of the fitment . in alternative embodiments , only suction devices or only pins may be used . hole 98 in the bottom membrane portion corresponds to pin 198 in the ram while holes 99 b in the bottom membrane portion correspond with pins 199 in the ram . the first die 104 is utilized to create a seal along edge 95 and at least a portion of 96 . edge feature 109 is contained within the first die 104 and is used to create a seal along edge 95 . a portion of the first die 104 may comprise an insert 106 , so that the same die may be used to create both fitments where the entire edge 96 is sealed and also where only a portion of the edge 96 is sealed . by changing out the insert 106 , the points of contact between the first die 104 and the bolster plate 101 may be changed without having the change the entire die or use an entirely different machine . the second die 105 contains an edge feature 107 to further seal at least a portion of edge 96 . the second die 105 also contains a concave feature 108 which interfaces with third area 180 of the bolster plate 101 . the concave feature 108 is used to form the seal around radius 134 to create pucker 140 . fig9 is another view of the bottom surface of the ram 103 . suction devices 112 are again shown along with insert 106 . also shown is the second die 105 which contains the concave feature 108 and pin 198 . fig1 a and 10b show two embodiments for the heating element 102 . these embodiments may be utilized when hot air bonding is the chosen method for creating the seals between the base 90 and top 80 membrane portions . for the embodiment shown in fig1 a , air exhausts are located along edges 195 and 196 a , along with radius 234 . for the embodiment shown in fig1 b , air exhausts are located along edges 195 and 196 b , along with radius 234 . as can be observed , edge 196 b does not run the length of the heating element , where 196 a from fig1 a does . thus , the embodiment shown in fig1 b would be utilized when the entirety of edge 96 between the membranes is not required to be sealed . both embodiments may force hot air over the overlapping areas of edges 96 , 95 , and radius 134 . as shown below , the heating element 102 is sandwiched between the base 90 and top 80 membrane portions prior to contacting the portions with one another . thus , an exemplary device would force hot air in both the upward and downward directions in order to heat the overlapping edges of both the base 90 and top 80 portions simultaneously . an exemplary method for making a fitment may begin by placing the top membrane portion 80 on the bolster plate 101 and placing the base membrane portion 90 on the bottom surface of the ram 103 . the top membrane portion 80 may be secured in place by using one or more securing mechanisms 111 along with one or more suction devices 110 . the base membrane portion 90 may be secured in place by using one or more suction devices 112 and pins 198 and 199 . when securing the top membrane portion 80 to the bolster plate 101 , the quadrants of the membrane and bolster plate should preferably be aligned as described above . first area 183 accepts quadrant 83 of the top membrane portion 80 . second area 184 accepts quadrant 84 of the top membrane portion 80 . third area 180 accepts quadrants 82 and 81 of the top membrane portion 80 . third area 180 is a concave surface and when aligning the top membrane portion 80 , the quadrants 82 and 81 should follow the surface without substantial wrinkles or buckles . the edges 87 and 88 of the top membrane portion 80 should be aligned so that when the ram 103 lowers , these edges overlap edges 95 and 96 of the base membrane portion 90 . once the membrane portions are properly placed and secured , fig1 a shows what may be the next step in an exemplary process . the ram 103 is lowered so that the two membrane portions are in relatively close proximity to one another . the heating element 102 is placed between the two membrane portions and forces hot air along the seams which are to be sealed . preferably , the heating element forces hot air along the seam areas of both the top and base membrane portions 80 and 90 respectively . as noted above , a plurality of different heating elements 102 may be interchangeable with an exemplary device so that a single device is capable of making a plurality of different fitments . once the membrane portions are adequately heated , fig1 b shows what may be the next step in an exemplary process . the heating element 102 is removed and the ram 103 is further lowered so that the membrane portions are adjacent to one another . for sealing the desired edges , the ram 103 lowers the first 104 and second dies 105 so that pressure is created along the desired edges which were previously heated by the heating element 102 . in an exemplary embodiment , the pressure is created through two actuations . the first die 104 is actuated first by the main ram actuator assembly 200 and then the second die 105 is actuated by an auxiliary actuator assembly 201 . however , one continuous actuation may be used . in a preferred embodiment , the first die 104 is used to create the seal along edges 95 and 96 , while the second die 105 is used to create the seal near the radius 134 and possibly a portion of edges 95 or 96 . as noted above , the second die 105 contains a concave feature 108 which interfaces with third area 180 of the bolster plate 101 . the concave feature 108 is used to form the seal around radius 134 to create pucker 140 . as noted above , an insert 106 may be used so that a plurality of edge - seal orientations may be accomplished through the same machine . thus , both edges 95 and 96 may be sealed , only a portion of each edge may be sealed , edge 95 may be sealed while only a portion of edge 96 is sealed , edge 96 may be sealed while only a portion of edge 95 is sealed , or any other combination . thus , inserts may be used more places and with different geometry than the insert shown in fig8 and 9 . in exemplary embodiments , the fitment 40 may be made from thermoplastic olefin ( tpo ), polyvinyl chloride ( pvc ) and any other suitable material . tpo material is much less expensive than other roof membrane material , but has not been used in the roofing industry in the past because tpo is non - conductive material and therefore , cannot be dielectrically welded . material such as polyvinyl chloride ( pvc ) has been commonly used in the roofing industry since it can be easily dielectrically welded . however , pvc is much more expensive than tpo . tpo material may be used because it may be easily and efficiently hot air bonded to form a seal , as described above . additionally , using tpo material greatly reduces the cost associated with the adjustable fitments and roof membrane system . pvc material may be because it may easily be dielectrically welded or hot air bonded . accordingly , pvc and any other suitable material may be used in the method ( s ) of forming a fitment 40 that use dielectric welding or hot air bonding , while tpo and any other suitable material may be used in the method ( s ) of forming a fitment 40 that use hot air bonding . pvc , tpo and other suitable material may be used when the assembly of the component portions of the fitment 40 uses a mode for attachment other than hot air bonding and dielectric welding , such as caulking or adhesives . the preferred embodiments herein disclosed are not intended to be exhaustive or to unnecessarily limit the scope of the invention . the preferred embodiments were chosen and described in order to explain the principles of the present invention so that others skilled in the art may practice the invention . having shown and described preferred embodiments , those skilled in the art will realize that many variations and modifications may be made to affect the described invention . many of those variations and modifications will provide the same result and fall within the spirit of the claimed invention . it is the intention , therefore , to limit the invention only as indicated by the scope of the claims . | 4 |
a preferred embodiment of the fiber optic switch uses rotary motion to switch the connection between one pair of optical fibers and a selected pair of other optical fibers . this particular embodiment of the invention provides for connecting one computer terminal to either of two host computers . of course , more than two host computers could be accommodated and devices other than computers could be selectively interconnected using the invention . a clear understanding of the present invention is best achieved by careful consideration of the partial cross - sectional top view of the rotary optical switch illustrated in fig1 . the switch mechanism is enclosed in a plastic housing 25 which holds a front panel 4 and a rear panel 7 by means of grooves in the housing . all attachments are made to the bottom half of the housing so that the top half may be easily removed . the heart of this embodiment of the invention is the rotary optical switch itself . it is comprised principally of two pieces , the stator 5 , and the rotor 6 . stator 5 is mounted on the rear panel 7 which can be seen at the right side of fig1 . detailed views of stator 5 are shown in fig4 a , 4b and 4c . it can be seen that stator 5 contains four holes 44 through which four optical fibers coming from the two host computers ( not shown ) will pass . as can be seen in fig4 a , the four holes 44 are arranged in two pairs with each pair including two diametrically opposed holes . it can also be seen that lines joining each pair of holes 44 are spaced 60 apart . fig5 a and 5b show that rotor 6 includes two diametrically opposed holes 47 which can be rotated 30 ° clockwise or counter - clockwise from a center position so that the pair of holes 47 can be brought selectively into alignment with one or the other pair of holes 44 on stator 5 . four optical fibers ( not shown ) from the host computers enter stator 5 from the rear of the optical switch through four fiber optic couplings and pass through the four holes 44 in stator 5 and terminate flush with the mating surface in circular recess 41 in stator 5 . the circular recess 41 in stator 5 is shaped to receive rotor 6 which includes the two holes 47 through which two flexible optic fibers 26 , fig1 coming from the terminal ( not shown ) can pass . the two holes 47 in rotor 6 which accommodate these two fibers 26 are shown in fig5 a . it should be clear that rotor 6 can be rotated between two positions so that the pair of optical fibers 26 from the terminal are aligned with either one of the pairs of optical fibers from the host computers . in the preferred embodiment of the invention testing has shown that the sk series 1 . 0 mm fiber produced by mitsubishi corporation works best . one feature of the invention is the inclusion of coupling fluid in the coupling cavity 28 between the opposing faces of rotor 6 and stator 5 . this coupling fluid has optical properties substantially the same as that in the optical fibers so that a low loss optical connection is made between the opposing optical fibers . in the preferred embodiment of the invention , testing has shown that the best optical fluid for this fiber is formula code 5610 catalog no . 20130 , of r . p . cargille laboratories in new jersey . to assure that only authorized persons are able to utilize the fiber optic switch , the rotation of rotor 6 is controlled by a key operated lock tumbler in tumbler body 23 , fig1 . when the key is rotated to a 30 ° clockwise or counter - clockwise detent position , its rotation is transmitted through shaft 69 to rotor 6 and the desired optic fiber alignment is achieved . in order to indicate on front panel 4 which host computer is currently connected via the optical switch to the terminal , the rotation position of shaft 69 is shown by indicator wheels 3 , fig1 which show through viewing ports 9 on the front panel 4 . the rotation of shaft 69 causes the indicator wheels 3 to be turned by means of indicator levers 12 , fig1 . levers 12 are rotatably mounted in fulcrum plates 11 . when shaft 69 is rotated , its motion is communicated to levers 12 by means of radial slots 29 in index wheel 1 in which the rearward ends 60 of levers 12 ride . the forward ends 61 of levers 12 ride in radial slots 34 in indicator wheels 3 . when index wheel 1 turns with shaft 69 it pushes ends 60 of levers 12 . the ends 61 of levers 12 then push indicator wheels 3 to cause them to rotate . each indicator wheel 3 is colored red and black , so that when the key is rotated to its 30 . clockwise detent position , the right hand viewing port 9 shows red and the left hand viewing port 9 shows black . when the key is rotated to its 30 counter - clockwise detent position , the left hand port shows green and the right hand port shows black . as another safety feature , in addition to requiring a key to operate the optical switch , an electric switch 70 , fig1 and 7 , is arranged to temporarily remove power from the terminal whenever the key is in its center or off position . a more detailed description of the preferred embodiment will now be given . the stator 5 is secured to the rear panel by means of four externally threaded fiber optic couplings 24 , two of which can be seen in fig1 which fit through holes 49 , in the rear panel 7 , fig6 a , and screw into internally threaded holes 44 , fig4 in the back of the stator . the couplings 24 serve several purposes . they provide convenient terminations for the optical fibers at the rear of the switch , they secure the stator to the rear panel , and they compress the elastomer seal around the portion of optical fiber entrapped in the stator thus preventing the coupling fluid located in the coupling cavity 28 , fig1 from escaping by this path . the coupling fluid is further contained by the &# 34 ; o &# 34 ; rings 16 , 18 and 20 , fig1 . the &# 34 ; o &# 34 ; rings on the front face of the rotor are compressed by means of the rotor &# 34 ; o &# 34 ; ring compression plate 15 fig1 fig1 b , and fig1 c . the &# 34 ; o &# 34 ; ring in the rotor is contained within its own groove 48 , fig5 . the index mechanism shaft 69 passes through hole 67 , fig1 b , and the optical fibers pass through holes 68 . after the rotary optical switch is assembled , the coupling fluid is introduced into the threaded filling hole 43 , fig4 a and fig4 b , where it flows through the orifice 38 into the coupling cavity 28 . the fluid is then sealed in the coupling cavity by installing the sealing screw in the filling hole . the portion of optical fiber which is entrapped in the stator extends from the center of the optical fiber coupling through the hole in the stator where it terminates flush with the surface of the coupling cavity 28 . accurate alignment is maintained by the stator bushing 13 , fig1 . the outside diameter 63 , of the stator bushing , fig9 c and 9d , fits snugly into the cavity 40 , in stator 5 , fig4 and the inside diameter 64 , fig9 d , fits snugly over the index mechanism shaft 69 , fig1 of the three positions , 30 ° step , rotary switch index mechanism 19 , fig1 . studs are inserted into the mounting holes 39 , fig4 and attach the index mechanism stand - offs 14 , fig1 a , by means of the threaded holes 65 , fig1 a . the index plate 8 , fig1 is attached to the other ends of the four index mechanism stand - offs by means of screws through holes 51 , fig6 b . the plate supports the three position , 30 ° step , rotary switch index mechanism 19 , fig1 by a threaded shaft bushing in hole 53 , fig6 b . proper alignment of the index mechanism is assured by attaching the index mechanism to the plate with screws through holes 52 , fig6 b . the alignment of the index plate with the stator is established by the index mechanism stand offs . precision alignment is achieved by the adjustment lock 10 , fig1 . the hub 54 , fig8 a and fig8 b , of the lock is attached to the shaft of the index mechanism by a roll pin through hole 56 , fig8 b , and a corresponding hole through the shaft . the locking screw is inserted through slot 55 , fig8 a , hole 66 , fig1 b , into threaded hole 45 , fig5 a . it serves two purposes : it fixes the angular relationship of the index mechanism shaft 69 with the rotor , and it compresses &# 34 ; o &# 34 ; rings 16 and 20 , fig1 . the index mechanism is actuated by a key operated lock tumbler . the tumbler body 23 , fig1 and tumbler body bezel 22 are secured to the front panel by means of the tumbler body retaining nut 21 . rotation of the tumbler body within the front panel is prevented by the truncated circular hole 37 , fig3 c . the lock wheel 2 , fig1 is attached directly to the rear surface of the tumbler by screws through holes 33 , fig2 c . the tumbler is not directly attached to the index mechanism but rotary motion is transmitted through the rotary coupling screws which loosely engage the slots 32 , fig2 of the lock wheel . the rotary coupling screws are threaded through holes 30 , fig2 a , and fig2 b in the index wheel 1 , fig1 . the index wheel is secured to the shaft of the index mechanism by a set screw threaded into hole 31 , fig2 b , and tightened against a flat spot on the shaft 69 . the position of the fiber optic switch is displayed by means of a pair of indicator levers 12 and a pair of rotating wheels 3 . the indicator levers 12 , fig1 are mounted for rotation in fulcrum plates 11 . the indicator levers 12 , fig1 engage , in the region 61 , fig1 and fig9 a , the index wheel via loosely fitting slots 29 , fig2 a , and fig2 b . the fulcrum plates 11 , fig1 are attached to the bottom sides of the housing by screws which penetrate through holes 59 , fig8 c . the bottom corners of the plates are radiuses 58 , fig8 e , to fit against the inside of the housing and the indicator levers are loosely captured in the region 62 , fig9 a , by the full radius grooves 57 , fig8 d and fig8 e . the other ends of the levers in the region 60 , fig9 a , engage loosely fitting slots 34 , fig1 fig3 a , and fig3 b on the indicator wheels 3 , fig1 . the indicator wheels are attached to the front panel with screws which penetrate through holes 36 , fig3 c , and clearance holes 35 , fig3 a . the screws are terminated with self locking nuts which allow the indicator wheels to rotate freely . fluorescent colored markings located at appropriate places on the front surface of the indicator wheels provide an indication of the angular position of the wheels when observed through the indicator viewing ports 9 in front panel 4 , fig1 and 3c . the levers 12 maintain the angular relationship between the rotor and the indicator wheels . the fluorescent colors are arranged so that both parts show black whenever the key is in the center detent position . the center detent position represents the off position and none of the optical fibers are aligned in this position . it is also the only position where the key may be inserted or removed from the tumbler . whenever the key is rotated 30 to the clockwise detent position , the right hand port shows red and left hand port shows black . in this position the fibers in the rotor are aligned with one pair of fibers in the stator . whenever the key is rotated 30 ° to the counterclockwise detent position the left hand port shows green and the right hand port shows black . in this position the fibers in the rotor are aligned with the other pair of fibers in the stator . the transmit and receive optical fibers from one host computer are attached to a pair of diagonally opposed fiber optic couplers which connect the stator to the rear panel . the transmit and receive optical fibers from the second host computer are attached to the corresponding positions of the other pair of diagonally opposed fiber optic couplers which connect the stator to the rear panel . the transmit and receive optical fibers from the terminal connect to the fiber optic couplers which are installed in holes 50 in the rear panel , fig1 and fig6 a . the signals are carried to and from the rotor via flexible optical fibers 26 , fig1 and terminate at the fiber optic couplers on the rear panel with strain relief connectors 27 . an electrical switch 70 , fig1 and fig7 is installed so that its operating cam rides against the shaft 69 of the detent mechanism . it is de - activated whenever the key is in the center or off position . this is used to activate the timing circuit 71 , fig1 a and fig1 b , which removes power from the terminal for a period of time long enough to ensure that all volatile memory in the terminal is completely erased . a schematic diagram of the timing circuit 71 is shown in fig7 . although the circuit shown in the diagram is functional it is not in and of itself novel . any commercially available timer circuit may be used in this application . although the present invention has been described in the form of a particular specific embodiment , it will be appreciated by those skilled in the are that various alterations and rearrangements may be made in the design without departing from the spirit and scope of this invention . it is intended that the appended claims be interpreted to cover all such modifications which fall within the spirit and scope of this invention . | 6 |
the high elongation , high strength pitch - type carbon fiber and the method of manufacturing the fiber according to the present invention will be more fully understood from the following description of a preferred embodiment . in this specification , the characteristics of the carbon fiber were measured by the following methods . the orientation angle ( φ ), the stack height ( lc ) and the interlayer spacing ( d 002 ) are parameters which can be measured by x - ray diffraction methods and which shows the fine crystalline structure of the carbon fiber . the orientation angle ( φ ) shows the selective orientation of the crystallite with respect to the axis of the fiber . the more the angular degree becomes small , the more better the orientation becomes . the stack height ( lc ) shows the thickness of the apparent height of the stack of the ( 002 ) plane of the carbon fine crystallite . in general , the more the stack height ( lc ) becomes large , the more better the crystallinity becomes . the interlayer spacing ( d 002 ) shows the distance between layers of the ( 002 ) plane of the fine crystallite . it is considered that smaller value of the interlayer spacing ( d 002 ) suggests a higher degree of crystallinity . the measurement of the orientation angle ( φ ) can be performed by using a fiber sample holder in such a manner that diffraction angle 2θ ( about 26 °) is previously obtained at which the strength of the ( 002 ) diffraction ring becomes its maximum magnitude by scanning with a counter tube with the fiber bundle made positioned perpendicular to the surface scanned by the counter tube . then , the fiber sample holder is rotated by 360 ° with the position of the counter tube maintained so that the distribution of the strength of the ( 002 ) diffraction ring is measured . thus , let the half - width at the point at which the maximum strength becomes halved be the orientation angle ( φ ). the stack height ( lc ) and the interlayer spacing ( d 002 ) are measured and analyzed by pulverizing the fiber in a mortar in conformity with gakushinho &# 34 ; method of measuring the lattice constant of artificial graphite and the size of crystallite &# 34 ;, legistated in the 117th committee of the japan society for the promotion of science , from the following formulae : β : half - width of the ( 002 ) diffraction line obtained from a correction measurement of the surface oxygen content ( o 1s / c 1s ) by x - ray photoelectron spectrometry it is measured by using xsam - 800 manufactured by kratos . the fiber to be measured is cut into pieces so as to arrange them on a sample supporting metal holder before the pressure in the sample chamber is maintained at 1 × 10 - 8 torr or lower . as the x - ray source , mgkaα 1 , 2 is used . the surface oxygen content is obtained from the ratio between the peak area of o 1s at kinetic energy of 722 ev and the peak area of c 1s at kinetic energy of 970 ev . the term &# 34 ; surface of the fiber &# 34 ; used in this specification means an extremely thin layer of about 0 . 01 μm or less from the surface of the fiber to the central portion thereof . carbonaceous pitch containing an optically anisotropic phase ( ap ) by about 50 % was used as precursor pitch , which was then drawn out through an ap discharge port at a centrifugal force of 10000g in a cylindrical continuous centrifugal separator having a rotor the internal effective capacity of which was 200 ml with the temperature of the rotor maintained at 350 ° c . the obtained pitch contained the optically anisotropic phase by 98 % and the softening point of which was 276 ° c . the thus obtained optically anisotropic pitch was spun by a melt spinning apparatus having a nozzle the diameter of which was 0 . 3 mm . the spinning apparatus and the spinneret used in the spinning are illustrated in fig1 to 3 . the spinning apparatus 10 comprised a heating cylinder 12 into which molten pitch 11 was injected from a pitch pipe , a plunger 13 for applying pressure to the pitch injected into the heating cylinder 12 and a spinneret 14 fastened to the bottom of the heating cylinder 12 . the spinneret 14 had a spinning nozzle 15 bored therein and was detachably fastened to the lower surface of the heating cylinder 12 by bolts 17 and spinneret retainers 21 . the thus spun pitch fiber was wound to a winding bobbing 20 after it had passed through a spinning cylinder 19 . according to this example , the spinning nozzle 15 formed in the spinneret 14 comprised a nozzle introduction portion 15a having a relatively large diameter and a nozzle portion 15b having a relatively small diameter and formed so as to be connected to the nozzle introduction portion 15a . furthermore , a nozzle transition portion 15c in the form of a circular truncated cone was formed between the large - diameter nozzle introduction portion 15a and the small - diameter nozzle portion 15b . the spinneret 14 was made of stainless steel ( sus304 ). the thickness ( t ) of the spinning nozzle 15 was arranged to be 5 mm . furthermore , the length ( t 1 ) of the large - diameter nozzle introduction portion 15a and the length ( t 2 ) of the small - diameter nozzle portion 15b were arranged to be 4 mm and 0 . 65 mm , respectively . the length ( t 3 ) of the transition portion 15c of the spinning nozzle 15 was 0 . 35 mm . the diameter ( d 1 ) of the large - diameter nozzle introduction portion 15a and the diameter ( d 2 ) of the small - diameter nozzle portion 15b were arranged to be 1 mm and 0 . 3 mm , respectively . furthermore , an insertion member 16 having a thermal conductivity which was larger than that of the spinneret 14 and made of , according to this example , copper was provided for the large - diameter nozzle introduction portion 15a of the spinning nozzle 15 . the insertion member 16 was arranged to be in the form of an elongated rod shape having an end portion 16a which was proximated to the inlet of the small - diameter nozzle portion 15b and another end portion 16b which extended outwards from the inlet of the large - diameter nozzle introduction portion 15a . the overall length ( l ) of the insertion member 16 was arranged to be 20 mm and the diameter ( d ) of the same was arranged to be a diameter with which a gap between the large - diameter nozzle introduction portion 15a and the insertion member 16 became 1 / 100 to 5 / 100 mm so that the insertion member 16 was able to be smoothly inserted into the large - diameter nozzle introduction portion 15a and thereby held by the same . in order to introduce the molten pitch into the nozzle portion 15b , four grooves 18 having a circular - arc cross - section the radius ( r ) of each of which was 0 . 15 mm were formed in the surface of the insertion member 16 in the axial direction thereof . when the molten pitch was spun by the thus - structured spinning apparatus , the temperature drop of the molten pitch , which was taken place at the time when the molten pitch passed the spinning nozzle , was maintained below 3 ° c . the pitch fiber thus obtained was heated in an atmosphere of oxygen rich gas containing 60 % of oxygen from 180 ° c ., which is the starting temperature , to 310 ° c . at a temperature rise rate of 13 ° c ./ minute so that it was infusibilized in 10 minutes . after it had been infusibilized , the fiber was heated from 400 ° c . to 550 ° c . at a temperature rise rate of 50 ° c ./ minute in an atmosphere of nitrogen gas and then the same was further heated from 550 ° c . to 1100 ° c . at a temperature rise rate of 250 ° c ./ minute so that the fiber was carbonized . in this case , the time in which the temperature of 1100 ° c . was maintained was zero . the total carbonizing time was 5 . 2 minutes . in order to improve the angle of the orientation of crystallite of the fiber , a tension of 0 . 017 g was applied to each of the filaments at the above - described carbonization process . the thus carbonized carbon fiber was further maintained at 700 ° c . and was passed through an atmosphere of oxygen rich gas ( o 2 / n 2 = 60 / 40 ) in which the content of oxygen in nitrogen gas phase was 60 % for 30 seconds . the above - described carbon fiber was subjected to x - ray diffraction measurements , resulting that the orientation angle ( φ ) was 32 ° the stack height ( lc ) was 19 . 4 å and the interlayer spacing ( d 002 ) was 3 . 484 å . the diameter of filament of the fiber was 9 . 9 μm , the tensile strength was 2 . 8 gpa ( 280 kg / mm 2 ), the tensile elastic modulus was 110 gpa ( 11 ton / mm 2 ) and the elongation was 2 . 5 %. as is shown from these results , the fiber had high elongation and flexibility . the fiber thus manufactured was subjected to the x - ray photoelectron spectrometry so as to measure the oxygen content of the surface of the fiber , resulting that the atomic ratio ( o / c ) of oxygen to carbon on the surface of the fiber was 0 . 151 . the total oxygen content in the whole fiber obtained by elemental analysis was 0 . 1 wt . %. the interlayer shearing strength ( ilss ) of the thus obtained fiber was measured . as a result , satisfactory strength of 0 . 132 gpa ( 13 . 2 kg / mm 2 ) was obtained . the carbon fiber thus obtained was heated up to 2500 ° c . so that a graphite fiber was obtained . as a result , the graphite fiber showed satisfactory physical properties such that the diameter of a filament was 9 . 8 μm , the tensile strength was 4 . 1 gpa ( 410 kg / mm 2 ) and the tensile elastic modulus was 700 gpa ( 70 ton / mm 2 ). the infusibilized fiber and the carbon fiber were prepared by using the same method and the same material as those in example 1 . however , the oxidation of the carbon fiber was not conducted unlike example 1 . as a result of the x - ray diffraction measurements , the orientation angle ( φ ) was 32 °, the stack height ( lc ) was 19 . 5 å and the interlayer spacing ( d 002 ) was 3 . 485 å . the diameter of filament of the fiber was 10 μm , the tensile strength was 2 . 5 gpa ( 250 kg / mm 2 ), the tensile elastic modulus was 110 gpa ( 11 . 0 ton / mm 2 ) and the elongation was 2 . 3 %. the fiber thus manufactured was subjected to the x - ray photoelectron spectrometry so as to measure the oxygen content of the surface of the fiber , resulting that the atomic ratio ( o / c ) of oxygen to carbon on the surface of the fiber was 0 . 03 . the total oxygen content in the filament obtained by elemental analysis was 0 . 01 wt . % or less . the carbon fiber thus obtained was heated up to 2500 ° c . so that a graphite fiber was obtained . as a result , the graphite fiber showed satisfactory physical properties such that the diameter of a filament was 9 . 8 μm , the tensile strength was 3 . 5 gpa ( 350 kg / mm 2 ) and the tensile elastic modulus was 700 gpa ( 70 ton / mm 2 ). the infusibilized fiber was prepared by using the same method and the same material as those in example 1 . similarly to example 1 , the infusibilized fiber was carbonized so that the carbon fiber was manufactured except for the difference in that no tension was applied to the infusibilized fiber . the oxidation of the carbon fiber after the carbonization was not performed . as a result of the x - ray diffraction measurements of the thus obtained carbon fiber , the orientation angle ( φ ) was 41 °, the stack height ( lc ) was 19 . 5 å and the interlayer spacing ( d 002 ) was 3 . 497 å . the diameter of filament of the fiber was 10 μm , the tensile strength was 0 . 7 gpa ( 70 kg / mm 2 ), the tensile elastic modulus was 80 gpa ( 8 . 0 ton / mm 2 ) and the elongation was 0 . 9 %. the carbon fiber thus obtained was heated up to 2500 ° c . so that a graphite fiber was obtained . as a result , the graphite fiber showed that the filament diameter was 9 . 8 μm , the tensile strength was 2 . 8 gpa ( 280 kg / mm 2 ) and the tensile elastic modulus was 650 gpa ( 65 ton / mm 2 ). the infusibilized fiber was prepared by the same method and the same material as those in example 1 . similarly to example 1 , the infusibilized fiber was carbonized so that the carbon fiber was manufactured except for the difference in that a tension of 0 . 33 g per filament was applied to the infusibilized fiber . however , the oxidation of the carbon fiber after the carbonization was not performed . as a result of the x - ray diffraction measurements of the thus obtained carbon fiber , the orientation angle ( φ ) was 24 °, the stack height ( lc ) was 19 . 5 å and the interlayer spacing ( d 002 ) was 3 . 482 å . the diameter of filament of the fiber was 10 μm , the tensile strength was 1 . 3 gpa ( 130 kg / mm 2 ), the tensile elastic modulus was 140 gpa ( 14 ton / mm 2 ) and the elongation was 0 . 9 %. the carbon fiber thus obtained was heated up to 2500 ° c . so that a graphite fiber was obtained . as a result , the graphite fiber showed that the filament diameter was 9 . 8 μm , the tensile strength was 2 . 8 gpa ( 280 kg / mm 2 ) and the tensile elastic modulus was 750 gpa ( 75 ton / mm 2 ). the infusibilized fiber was prepared by using the same method and the same material as those in example 1 . similarly to example 1 , the infusibilized fiber was carbonized so that the carbon fiber was manufactured except for the difference in that the infusibilized fiber was heated from 400 ° c . to 1100 ° c . at a temperature rise rate of 5 ° c ./ minute in 140 minutes . however , the oxidation of the carbon fiber after the carbonization was not performed . as a result of the x - ray diffraction measurements of the thus obtained carbon fiber , the orientation angle ( φ ) was 41 °, the stack height ( lc ) was 19 . 6 å and the interlayer spacing ( d 002 ) was 3 . 495 å . the diameter of filament of the fiber was 10 μm , the tensile strength was 0 . 8 gpa ( 80 kg / mm 2 ), the tensile elastic modulus was 90 gpa ( 9 . 0 ton / mm 2 ) and the elongation was 0 . 9 %. the carbon fiber thus obtained was heated up to 2500 ° c . so that a graphite fiber was obtained . as a result , the graphite fiber showed that the diameter of filament was 9 . 8 μm , the tensile strength was 2 . 8 gpa ( 280 kg / mm 2 ) and the tensile elastic modulus was 650 gpa ( 65 ton / mm 2 ). the infusibilized fiber was prepared by the same method in which the same material was used . similarly to example 1 , the infusibilized fiber was carbonized so that the carbon fiber was manufactured except for the difference in that the infusibilized fiber was heated from 400 ° c . to 1100 ° c . at a temperature rise rate of 250 ° c ./ minute in about 3 minutes . in this case , a melting and adhesion took place in part at the time of the carbonization . as a result , no normal filament was obtained . the same pitch as that in example 1 was used so as to spin it at spinning temperature of 330 ° c . by using a spinneret having no insertion member . the thus obtained pitch fiber was heated from 180 ° c . up to 255 ° c . at a temperature rise rate of 0 . 3 ° c ./ minute in an atmosphere of air so that it was infusibilized . the thus obtained infusibilized fiber was heated from 400 ° c . to 1100 ° c . at a temperature rise rate of 5 ° c ./ minute in 140 minutes in an atmosphere of nitrogen gas without no tension so that it was carbonized . the maintaining time at 1100 ° c . was zero . the oxidation of the carbon fiber after the carbonization was not performed . as a result of the x - ray diffraction measurements o of the thus obtained carbon fiber , the orientation angle ( φ ) was 43 °, the stack height ( lc ) was 19 . 5 å and the interlayer spacing ( d 002 ) was 3 . 497 å . the diameter of filament of the fiber was 10 μm , the tensile strength was 0 . 6 gpa ( 60 kg / mm 2 ), the tensile elastic modulus was 75 gpa ( 7 . 5 ton / mm 2 ) and the elongation was 0 . 8 %. the carbon fiber thus obtained was heated up to 2500 ° c . so that a graphite fiber was obtained . as a result , the graphite fiber showed that the filament diameter was 9 . 9 μm , the tensile strength was 2 . 6 gpa ( 260 kg / mm 2 ) and the tensile elastic modulus was 650 gpa ( 65 ton / mm 2 ). the infusibilized fiber and the carbon fiber were prepared by using the same method and the same material as those in example 1 . the thus carbonized carbon fiber was further subjected to the oxidation process for 3 seconds in an atmosphere of oxygen rich gas ( o 2 / n 2 = 60 / 40 ) in which the content of oxygen was 60 % in nitrogen phase and the temperature of which was maintained at 700 ° c . the diameter of filament of the fiber was 9 . 9 μm , the tensile strength was 0 . 8 gpa , the tensile elastic modulus was 89 . 0 gpa and the elongation was 0 . 9 %. as is shown from these results , the tensile strength was excessively deteriorated . the fiber thus manufactured was subjected to the x - ray photoelectron spectrometry so as to measure the oxygen content of the surface of the fiber , resulting that the atomic ratio ( o / c ) of oxygen to carbon on the surface of the fiber was 0 . 42 . the total oxygen content in the whole fiber obtained by elemental analysis was 0 . 4 wt . %. the interlayer shearing strength ( ilss ) of the thus obtained fiber was measured , resulting 12 . 5 kg / mm 2 . the results of example 1 and comparative example 1 to 7 show that it is necessary for obtaining a carbon fiber according to the present invention having high elongation as well as satisfactory tensile strength and tensile elastic modulus to apply a predetermined tension to the infusibilized fiber at the time of the carbonizing process and further to quickly carbonize the fiber within a range in which the fiber is not melted and adhered . furthermore , the results show that the oxygen content of the surface of the fiber and the total oxygen content in the whole fiber must be limited to a predetermined range by quickly oxidizing the fiber at high temperature in an atmosphere of oxygen rich gas for a short time . in particular , the physical property of the fiber and the adhesive property of the fiber with the matrix resin can be improved and the interlayer shearing strength can be increased by quickly oxidizing the fiber at high temperature in the atmosphere of oxygen rich gas for a short time . as will be understood from the foregoing description , the pitch - type carbon fiber having a specific crystalline structure according to the present invention exhibits an excellent tensile strength and tensile elastic modulus as well as an excellent elongation exceeding 1 . 0 % or more . therefore , the knitting and weaving facility can be improved so that the carbon fiber can be significantly easily handled in the manufacturing process , causing the manufacturing efficiency thereof to be satisfactorily improved . consequently , the pitch - type carbon fiber according to the present invention can be extremely effectively used as reinforcing fibers for light - weight structural materials of various fields such as space development , automobile production and architecture and so forth . furthermore , a significantly high strength and high elastic modulus carbon fiber can be obtained by carbonizing the fiber by heating the fiber up to 2000 ° c . and further heating the same up to 3000 ° c . so as to graphitize it . moreover , the fiber according to the present invention exhibits an extremely excellent adhesive property with the matrix resin in the case where it is used as a reinforcing fiber for a composite material . as a result , an effect can be accomplished in that a superior carbon fiber reinforcing composite material can be obtained . although the invention has been described in its preferred form with a certain degree of particularly , it is understood that the present disclosure of the preferred form has been changed in the details of construction and the combination and arrangement of parts may be restored to without departing from the spirit and the scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed . | 3 |
the invention is embodied in a tdma network 100 of the type used in reader - transponder communications having an rf modulation / demodulation section 102 for modulating , demodulating and converting signals between an analog and digital format and a digital link controller 104 for decoding messages and providing a protocol structure to the reader - transponder communications as shown in fig1 . generally , a receive detector 106 and a transmit oscillator 108 of the rf modulation / demodulation section 102 cooperate with a protocol logic device 110 of the digital link controller 104 shown in fig2 to substantially simplify the process of identifying vehicles on a roadway and to eliminate restrictions on traffic flow . these advantages are achieved by obviating the requirement of a per - lane antenna which permits reducing network infrastructure . moreover , the protocol structure permits two - way communication between a reader 112 and a vehicle transponder 114 , eliminates destructive interference of simultaneous response signals , and exhibits improved flexibility for extending the message structure to additional applications . the invention includes a tdma radio network which enables two - way data communications between the reader 112 and at least one vehicle transponder 114 . as employed in the present invention , the reader 112 is usually a stationary transponder that can be positioned in any suitable location , for example , as part of the roadside infrastructure . however , the vehicle transponder 114 is usually mobile and passes within the range of the reader 112 to permit interrogation and identification of the vehicle transponder 114 . in the present invention , the term vehicle is intended to have wide application and can include , for example , a motorized unit such as an automobile , a truck , a ship or boat , a transported cargo container or the like . however , it is understood that many applications exist in which the reader 112 would be mobile and the transponder 114 would be stationary . an example of such an application is one in which the transponder 114 is housed in a container stored in a warehouse and the reader 112 is a mobile hand operated transponder . in this example , the interrogation and identification of the container and its contents is achieved by an individual carrying the reader 112 . in the instant application , it is presumed for convenience that the reader 112 is a stationary roadside transponder and the vehicle transponder 114 is housed within a mobile vehicle . in addition to the reader 112 and the vehicle transponder 114 , the tdma network includes a protocol that establishes the rules of communication . the protocol is designed for open road communication systems as opposed to single - lane communication systems . the advantage of open road communication systems is that a single roadside reader 112 can interrogate and identify vehicles in several traffic lanes without traffic restrictions , lane barriers , overhead structures and the like as has been the case in the past . therefore , the present invention is useful in many intelligent vehicle highway systems for applications such as electronic toll collection , route guidance ( display ), traveler information ( broadcast ), and commercial fleet tracking . a simplified block diagram of the tdma network 100 which discloses the reader 112 and the vehicle transponder 114 is shown in fig1 . the reader 112 and the vehicle transponder 114 each include a plurality of components which perform the same or similar functions . therefore , those components of the reader 112 and vehicle transponder 114 which perform the same or similar functions will be described only once with any distinguishing features observed . the vehicle transponder 114 includes an antenna 116 , the rf modulation / demodulation section 102 and the digital link controller 104 . an optional host computer 118 is also shown . the reader 112 includes an antenna 120 , an rf modulation / demodulation section 122 , a digital link controller 124 and host equipment 126 . the antenna 116 is integrally located within the transponder 114 and the antenna 120 is externally located to the reader 112 . further , each antenna 116 and 120 is utilized in a receive and transmit capacity . in the receive capacity , each antenna functions to receive and convert radiated energy to a first rf voltage signal . in the transmit capacity , each antenna serves to convert a second rf voltage signal to radiated energy . the rf modulation / demodulation sections 102 and 122 of the transponder 114 and the reader 112 , respectively , serve to demodulate the received ( e . g ., first ) rf voltage signal ( provided by the antennas 116 and 120 , respectively ) in the receive path as shown in fig1 . in the transmit path , the rf modulator / demodulator sections 102 and 122 serve to modulate the second rf voltage signal prior to being transmitted to the antennas 116 and 120 , respectively . the digital link controllers 104 and 124 , respectively , each include the protocol structure of the present invention and serve to execute the timing and decision making logic instructions . the optional host computer 118 of the vehicle transponder 114 serves several functions . the host computer 118 can provide computer support and / or digital memory storage capacity to the protocol logic device 110 as shown in fig2 . additionally , the host computer 118 can be employed to provide an interface to auxiliary devices ( not shown ) such as smart cards , digital displays or any data recording device . further , the computer 118 can function to communicate with other computer peripherals such as the host equipment 126 shown connected to the digital link controller 124 of the reader 112 in fig1 . in such an arrangement , the vehicle transponder 114 and the reader 112 serve as modems to complete the communication link . the operation of the vehicle transponder 114 will now be discussed with reference to fig2 . the radiated energy is received at the antenna 116 and converted to the first rf voltage signal . the first rf voltage signal is presented to a transmit / receive switch 130 located within the rf modulation / demodulation section 102 . in the receive mode , the switch 130 routes the first rf voltage signal to the receive detector 106 in the receive path 132 . the detector 106 demodulates the amplitude modulated carrier wave of the first rf voltage signal to provide a demodulated baseband ( manchester ) split - phase coded signal . the detector provides an analog - to - digital ( a / d ) conversion . if the magnitude of the first rf voltage signal exceeds a specified threshold , the output signal is a logical one . if the specified threshold is not exceeded , the output signal from the detector 106 is a logical zero . the detector 106 can be , for example , an envelope detector . the demodulated baseband coded signal is then directed to a receive decoder 134 which converts the baseband signal to binary data bits . further , the decoder 134 provides clock synchronization to the protocol logic device 110 . the binary data bits , which form a message received from the reader 112 , are then directed to the protocol logic device 110 . the protocol logic device 110 decodes the binary data bits and executes the protocol structure which controls the timing and decision making logic instructions of the digital link controller 104 . examples of the decision making logic instructions include timing , message slot selection , memory input / output and transmit / receive control . a detailed discussion of the protocol structure of the present invention appears below in conjunction with fig4 - 6 . the protocol logic device 110 is shown in two - way communication with the host computer 118 in fig2 . the host computer provides computer support and / or memory storage capacity to the protocol logic device 110 and serves as an interface to computer peripheral equipment . the protocol logic device 110 is also connected to a plurality of indicators 136 mounted on the vehicle transponder 114 . the purpose of the indicators 136 is to signal the operator of the vehicle transponder 114 to perform some function , for example , to direct the vehicle to the roadway weigh station . the physical embodiment of the indicators 136 can include light emitting diodes , audio tones and the like . also shown connected in two - way communication with the protocol logic device 110 is a memory 138 . the memory 138 is connected at the end of the receive path 132 within the digital link controller 104 . the memory 138 provides long term storage of standard data for identifying the vehicle transponder 114 upon interrogation of the reader 112 . examples of the data stored in the memory 138 can include the vehicle type , registration number , vehicle identification number , operator identification and license number , vehicle weight , maximum load weight capacity , cargo information such as the bill of lading , ports of entry and the like . in response to the message or interrogation from the reader 112 , data provided by the host computer 118 or the memory 138 is formatted in the protocol logic device 110 . the formatting procedure is in accordance with the protocol structure of the present invention . the protocol formatted digital data is then directed to the transmit oscillator 108 in the transmit path 140 . the formatted digital data is utilized to modulate a transmit oscillator carrier wave to convert the data from a digital - to - analog ( d / a ) format . the output signal of the transmit oscillator 108 is the second ( amplitude modulated ) rf voltage signal . the second rf voltage signal is then directed to a transmit power amplifier 142 which boosts the signal level thereof . the second rf voltage signal is then transmitted to the transmit / receive switch 130 . the transmit / receive switch 130 , which is controlled by the protocol structure , routes the second rf voltage signal to the antenna 116 . the antenna 116 then converts the second rf voltage signal to radiated energy which is thereafter transmitted to the reader 112 . the structural combination and operation of the reader 112 is very similar to that of the vehicle transponder 114 shown in fig2 . only a few minor variations exist between the reader 112 and the transponder 114 . those variations include the absence of the indicators 136 and the memory 138 in the reader 112 . the indicators 136 are not necessary since the reader 112 is not attended by an operator . further , since the reader 112 performs the interrogation function on the vehicle transponder 114 , a need for a depository of identification information in the reader 112 does not exist . the reader 112 is the functional equivalent to the vehicle transponder 114 except that the corresponding element for the protocol logic device 110 in the reader 112 executes the portion of the protocol structure associated with the reader 112 . in lieu of responding to interrogation as in the vehicle transponder 114 , the protocol structure of the reader 112 is directed to the interrogation and control functions . examples of the protocol structure of the reader 112 include generation of a reader control message each frame and assignment of message slots as will be discussed hereinbelow . the protocol structure associated with the protocol logic device 110 shown in fig2 will now be discussed . the network protocol employs a time division multiple access ( tdma ) scheme in which various users are assigned specific time intervals in which to communicate . by taking turns , many users can share a single frequency channel . the present invention eliminates the need to isolate users , either physically or by using separate frequency assignments , to keep their respective communications from interfering with one another . the protocol structure of the present invention is illustrated in fig3 - 6 . utilization of the tdma network schemes of the past has proved unsatisfactory . the pure slotted aloha scheme based upon random selection becomes undesirable when the traffic density increases . likewise , the fixed slot assignment scheme is very inefficient when slots are reserved for a large number of potentially infrequent users . a novel approach lies in the unique combination of slotted aloha and fixed slot protocols . the slotted aloha protocol provides random slots which are used as a means for vehicle transponders 114 to enter the tdma communication network 100 . the slotted aloha random slots are not used for communication of data . once an identification message from the vehicle transponder 114 is received and identified , the transponder 114 is assigned specific and unique time slots . thereafter , data communication occurs between the reader 112 and the vehicle transponder 114 in the assigned time slots . entry of a vehicle transponder 114 to the tdma network 100 is not permitted during the assigned time slots . this protocol rule eliminates interference between response signals of different vehicle transponders 114 and ensures a very high data communication success rate between the reader 112 and the transponders 114 . further , an increased number of transponders 114 can be accommodated by the tdma network 100 since message repeat time is minimized . this combination of time slots provides the best results for the following reasons . the random time slot selection is convenient for entry into the tdma network 100 but is a poor choice for uniquely communicating with a large number of vehicle transponders 114 . the assigned time slots are efficient for communicating among a known list of vehicle transponders 114 but entry into the tdma network 100 by vehicle transponders 114 is difficult . the protocol of the tdma network 100 is optimized for short range , high data rate burst communications . thus , the network 100 is optimized for non - continuous data communications within 100 &# 39 ; at a rate of , for example , 500 kbits / sec . time is divided into repetitive frames 150 with each frame 150 containing two types of slots used by all network participants ( e . g ., vehicle transponders 114 ) as shown in fig3 . a different method of assignment is used for each type of time slot and protocol discipline is maintained by the reader 112 . the first type of time slot is an activation slot 152 which is utilized by the vehicle transponders 114 to gain entry to the tdma network 100 . the vehicle transponders 114 select an activation time slot 152 at random and successfully contact the reader 112 if another vehicle transponder 114 does not select the same activation slot 152 . thereafter , the reader 112 assigns a message slot 154 to vehicle transponders 114 that have transmitted an identification message to the reader 112 and that identification message has been recognized . the message slots 154 are utilized for the transfer of data between the vehicle transponders 114 and the reader 112 . the protocol reserves the message slot time to the particular vehicle transponder 114 to which the message slot 154 was assigned . the reader 112 functions as a control unit and establishes the basic timing for the protocol . time is divided into ten millisecond ( 10 msec ) frames 150 which provides one - hundred frames per second . the protocol is represented by two adjacent frames 150 labeled n and n + 1 in fig3 . at the beginning of each frame 150 , the reader 112 transmits a reader control message 156 to the vehicle transponders 114 . the reader control message 156 shown in fig4 a contains information relating to the assignment of message time slots 154 to vehicle transponders 114 . the reader control message 156 also provides a timing reference from which all vehicle transponders 114 compute elapsed time . the remainder of the frame 150 is divided into the message slots 154 which are assigned to specific vehicle transponders 114 and activation slots 152 which can be employed by any vehicle transponder 114 attempting to gain entry to the tdma network 100 . in the preferred embodiment , there are four message slots 154 ( e . g ., 81 - 84 ) and sixteen activation slots 152 as shown in fig3 . each message slot 154 is bi - directional so that a message can be sent in either direction between the reader 112 and the vehicle transponder 114 . a small acknowledge message time slot 158 is located within each message slot 154 . the acknowledge message time slot 158 shown in fig4 d is utilized by the receiving transponder to signal the transmitting transponder of a successful reception of the message . therefore , link validation and positive acknowledgement of data transactions is provided . the two adjacent frames 150 labeled n and n + 1 in fig3 will now be utilized to describe the operation of the tdma protocol . a mobile vehicle transponder 114 comes within range ( e . g ., enters the field ) of the roadside reader 112 . the reader 112 transmits and the vehicle transponder 114 receives a 224 - bit reader control message 156 indicating the beginning of the frame 150 labeled n . at the end of the reader control message 156 in frame n , the vehicle transponder 114 waits a period of time equal to the time allocated to the four message slots 154 . thus , the frame 150 has advanced to the beginning of the activation time slots 152 . next , the vehicle transponder 114 randomly selects one of the sixteen activation time slots 152 and transmits a short transponder identification message 160 shown in fig4 b to the reader 112 . the transponder identification message 160 contains a unique identification number used to gain access to the tdma network 100 . the unique transponder identification number is stored in the memory 138 of the vehicle transponder shown in fig2 . the reader control message 156 of the next frame 150 labeled n + 1 is monitored by the vehicle transponder 114 . the purpose of the monitoring is to determine if the unique identification number of that transponder 114 appears among the identification numbers listed . if that unique identification number is listed in the reader control message 156 of frame n + 1 , then authorization is granted to use the corresponding message time slot 154 to transmit or receive a message . the vehicle transponder 114 is shown utilizing message slot 164 labeled 83 in fig3 . if the unique identification number of the vehicle transponder 114 is not listed in the next reader control message 156 , then the transponder 114 has not been assigned a message time slot 154 . examples of reasons why a message time slot 154 might not be assigned include the reader 112 did not receive the identification message 160 and identification number from the transponder 114 , another transponder user selected the same activation time slot 152 , a queue of more than four transponders 114 is awaiting the assignment of message slots 154 , or the reader control message 156 was not clearly received by the transponder 114 . under these conditions , the transponder 114 selects another random time slot in the next activation slot 152 , transmits another identification message 160 and repeats the procedure until a message slot 154 is assigned . when an assignment of a message slot 154 is received , an eight - bit command field 162 in the reader control message 156 shown in fig4 a indicates to the vehicle transponder 114 whether it will transmit or receive the message . either the reader 112 or the vehicle transponder 114 utilizes a slot tx / rx message 164 shown in fig4 c to communicate up to five - hundred twelve message bits of data . at the conclusion of the message shown in the slot tx / rx message 164 of fig4 c , the transponder receiving the message employs a positive acknowledge ( ack ) message 158 shown in fig4 d to signal a successful reception to the transmitting transponder . if the slot tx / rx message 164 is not received correctly , a negative acknowledge ( ack ) message is sent to the transmitting transponder . if the reader 112 does not receive an acknowledge message 158 following a transmission made to a vehicle transponder 114 , the reader 112 provides another opportunity to the transponder 114 . this is achieved by the reader 112 scheduling another message slot 154 for that transponder 114 . if a vehicle transponder 114 transmits a message to the reader 112 and fails to receive an acknowledge message 158 , the transponder 114 attempts to contact the reader 112 . initially , the transponder 114 seeks another message slot 154 to contact the reader 112 . if another message slot 154 is not available , the transponder 114 attempts to contact the reader 112 through the entry process by utilizing the activation slots 152 . message validity is provided by a cyclical redundancy code ( crc ) checksum known in the art which is part of each message type . the message types include the reader control message 156 , the transponder identification message 160 , the slot tx / rx / message 164 and the acknowledge message 158 . the checksum is computed using all the message fields except a header field 166 and a crc field 168 . in computing the checksum , a shift register with feedback taps ( not shown ) and an algorithm are used . an example of an algorithm suitable for use in data validity checks is a communications industry standard known as the crc - 16 algorithm . the last sixteen data bits clocked out of the shift register is the checksum . the checksum is then appended to the message by the transmitting transponder . the receiving transponder computes the checksum and compares it against the transmitted checksum . any bit errors will cause the checksums to disagree . this procedure provides a reliable means of detecting faulty messages . concern exists that message communications can be intercepted and copied and thereafter utilized after admission to the tdma network to avoid toll fares or to divert the automatic billing to another vehicle transponder 114 . therefore , integrity of the transmitted data in the slot tx / rx message 164 shown in fig4 c is enhanced by an anti - counterfeiting algorithm . a sixty - four bit seed field 170 is formed as part of the reader control message 156 shown in fig4 a . the reader 112 places a different value in the seed field 170 in each frame 150 . vehicle transponders 114 with slot assignments in that frame 150 will use the seed value in the seed field 170 as the starting point in the anti - counterfeiting algorithm . the algorithm is employed to compute a checksum using the message data . two examples of algorithms known in the art and suitable for use as the anti - counterfeiting algorithm include the data encryption standard ( des ) algorithm and the riest , shamir & amp ; adleman ( rsa ) algorithm . the checksum is included in a valid field 172 located in the slot tx / rx message 164 shown in fig4 c . the reader 112 can compute the checksum based upon the seed value in the seed field 170 and the received message data . the checksum computed by the reader 112 is then verified against the valid field 172 in the slot tx / rx message 164 . the crc algorithm utilized to verify error free transmission , does not offer anti - counterfeiting protection . since the value of the seed field 170 is changed each frame 150 , a message from a previous frame 150 will be detected and rejected by the anti - counterfeiting algorithm . this is the case since the seed value from a previous frame 150 will generate a different valid field 172 from that generated by the seed of the current frame 150 . additional message integrity schemes which disguise the actual message data through encryption are anticipated , particularly in the transmission of financial data . other bit fields shown in fig4 include a thirty - two bit identification field 161 which is illustrated in both the reader control message 156 of fig4 a and the transponder identification message 160 of fig4 b . the bit identification field 161 includes identification information transmitted from the vehicle transponder 114 to the reader 112 during interrogation of the transponder 114 . additionally , a four bit sleep field 163 and a four bit spare field 165 are each included as shown in fig4 a . an obvious application of the tdma network 100 of the present invention is electronic toll collection . however , the tdma protocol has been designed not to require new message types to support other applications beyond the specific example provided . at the beginning of every message is a type field 174 as shown in fig4 ( a - d ) and 5 . the type field 174 indicates both the reader type and the message type . referring to fig5 it is noted that the reader type and the message type each include four blocks . each slot is identified by a code letter . in identifying the reader type , each block includes either a &# 34 ; v &# 34 ; or an &# 34 ; r &# 34 ; code letter . if the numeral &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; appears in the &# 34 ; v &# 34 ; block , the protocol of the tdma network 100 is being utilized . the code letter &# 34 ; r &# 34 ; appearing in the remaining three bits are reserved for a numeral which indicates another reader type . in identifying the message type , two blocks include a &# 34 ; t &# 34 ; code letter and the two remaining blocks include &# 34 ; st &# 34 ; code letters . four binary combinations of &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ; and &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; can appear in the two bits labeled &# 34 ; t &# 34 ;. the combination &# 34 ; 00 &# 34 ; indicates that the message is a transponder identification message 160 and the combination &# 34 ; 01 &# 34 ; indicates that the message is a slot tx / rx message 164 . the combination &# 34 ; 10 &# 34 ; indicates an acknowledge message 158 and the combination &# 34 ; 11 &# 34 ; indicates a reader control message 156 . the remaining two bits which have the code letters &# 34 ; st &# 34 ; indicate a message type subcode which uses one of four character combinations . when an acknowledge message 158 is indicated by the combination &# 34 ; 10 &# 34 ;, the message type subcode &# 34 ; 01 &# 34 ; indicates a positive acknowledge message or &# 34 ; ack &# 34 ; while the subcode &# 34 ; 00 &# 34 ; indicates a negative acknowledge message or &# 34 ; nack &# 34 ;. when a transponder identification message 160 is indicated by the combination &# 34 ; 00 &# 34 ; , the message type subcode &# 34 ; x0 &# 34 ; indicates low transponder battery power while the subcode &# 34 ; x1 &# 34 ; indicates that the transponder battery power is not of concern ( e . g ., the &# 34 ; x &# 34 ; indicates a &# 34 ; don &# 39 ; t care &# 34 ;). the tdma network 100 normally employs a roadside reader 112 , however , other types of readers can be implemented . restrictions are not placed upon the implementation of other protocols in order to enjoy the advantages of the tdma structure of the present invention . the reader control message 156 will indicate the specific protocol employed and the initiation of the time of the frame 150 . vehicle transponders 114 can identify the exact protocol variation and participate in the communication , if desired . thus , the present invention can be utilized to support a variety of specific intelligent vehicle highway system applications while employing a common set of equipment comprising vehicle transponders 114 and a reader 112 . as a further example of flexibility , the command field 162 in the reader control message 156 can be expanded as shown in fig6 . the command field 162 includes eight bits identified by code letters . the reader 112 can instruct the vehicle transponder 114 to transmit or receive a message . thus , a &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; located in the &# 34 ; t &# 34 ; bit instructs the transponder 114 to transmit a message to the reader 112 while a &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ; in the &# 34 ; t &# 34 ; bit instructs the transponder 114 to receive a message from the reader 112 . further , the reader 112 can place the transponder 114 in a broadcast mode where the message is intended for all the vehicle transponders 114 . a &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; in the &# 34 ; b &# 34 ; bit of the command field 162 places all the transponders 114 in the broadcast receive mode where all four bits are used and an acknowledge message 158 is not required . a &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ; in the &# 34 ; b &# 34 ; bit indicates that the broadcast receive mode is not activated . a message having too many characters to fit into a single message slot 154 shown in fig3 can be transmitted in multiple slots . the use of multiple slots for a single message can be indicated by placing a &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ; in the &# 34 ; c &# 34 ; bit of the command field 162 as shown in fig6 . this code indicates that there is more message to follow . a specific vehicle transponder 114 can be assigned all four message slots 154 in a single frame 150 or be assigned message slots 154 in different frames . if a &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; is placed in the &# 34 ; c &# 34 ; bit , the indication is that this frame 150 is the last frame of the message , e . g ., the message is complete . finally , the message can be intended for internal use only , such as in reprogramming parameters in the vehicle transponder 114 . an internal memory message is indicated by placing a &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ; in the &# 34 ; m &# 34 ; bit of the command field 162 . however , the message can also be intended for external use such as when a vehicle transponder 114 passes a message to a human operator or a display screen used in a vehicle navigation system . under these conditions , a &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; is placed in the &# 34 ; m &# 34 ; bit of the command field 162 . the remainder of the bits in the command field 162 shown in fig6 are labeled &# 34 ; r &# 34 ; which indicates that those bits are reserved for other uses . the data rate is currently 500 kbits / sec . since the data rate , message length and frame rate are interdependent , the tdma protocol can be operated at any desired data rate and frame rate . further , the tdma protocol is not radio frequency or modulation dependent . the present invention employs a protocol structure within a tdma network 100 which permits two - way communication of one or more five - hundred twelve bit packages in each direction between a reader 112 and at least one vehicle transponder 114 . the invention simplifies the process of identifying vehicles on a roadway and permits every vehicle on the roadway to be identified by eliminating destructive interference of simultaneous response signals . these advantages are achieved by obviating the requirement of a per - lane antenna which reduces network infrastructure . moreover , the protocol structure is designed to operate efficiently with vehicles traveling at one - hundred mph and spaced as closely as ten feet apart . by removing speed and lane restrictions , the invention reduces the impact to traffic flow and improves the reliability of the network under conditions of lane straddling . two vehicles in a lane , such as motorcycles , can be reliably detected . the invention also exhibits improved flexibility for extending the message structure and protocol to additional applications such as read - only , read - write and broadcast modes . these additional applications can be implemented using the protocol of the present invention . thus , a single vehicle transponder 114 can be used in a wide range of applications from toll collection ( read - only ) to commercial debit transactions ( read - write ) to highway advisory announcements ( broadcast ). thus , the present invention has been described herein with reference to a particular embodiment for a particular application . those having ordinary skill in the art and access to the present teachings will recognize additional modifications , applications and embodiments within the scope thereof . although the detailed description is directed to a stationary reader and a mobile transponder , the present invention is equally applicable to other embodiments in which the reader is mobile and the transponder is stationary as where a mobile reader is utilized to identify containers stored in a warehouse . it is therefore intended by the appended claims to cover any and all such modifications , applications and embodiments within the scope of the present invention . | 7 |
one embodiment of the invention includes the synthesis of polyphosphazenes that are modified with pendant groups containing nitrogen heterocycles and their method of use for high temperature , non - hydrated pem fuel cells . fig4 details a generic chemical formula for these types of polymers . in one embodiment , the x - group represents a linker group which may be an aryl group or an alkoxy group . in another embodiment of the invention , the aryl group may be a phenyl , a fluorinated derivative thereof or an alkyl chain , such as but not limited to , a methyl or a fluorinated derivative thereof . in yet another embodiment of the invention , each of the r - groups may be defined as nitrogen containing heterocycles . examples of such nitrogen containing heterocycles include , but are not limited to , imidazoles , triazoles , and tetrazoles . in still another embodiment of the invention , the nitrogen containing heterocycles may be functionalized with various chemical moieties designated y at various positions such as , but not limited to , sulfonic acid groups . the r - groups may also be the same or different groups with differing functionalities along the length of the polymer chain . the n repeating unit of the polymer may be in the range from 1 to 2000 . in another embodiment of the invention , the polymer may be synthesized by varying substitutions of nitrogen heterocycles and sulfonic acid side groups along the length of the polymer chain . in one embodiment of the invention , each phosphorus atom of the polymer backbone may be substituted with two identical nitrogen heterocycles . in another embodiment of the invention , each phosphorus atom of the polymer backbone may be substituted with two different nitrogen heterocycles . in still yet another embodiment of the invention , each phosphorus atom of the polymer backbone may be substituted with a nitrogen heterocycle and a sulfonic acid group . these types of substitutions may result in either random copolymers or block copolymers . a general formula for these random copolymers and block copolymers are provided in fig5 . in this formula , a - e may be zero or a positive integer . in one embodiment of the invention , the s - group may represent a sulfonic acid group directly bound to the phosphorus atom of the polymer . in another embodiment of the invention , a linker x - group may be directly bound to the phosphorous atom of the polymer . in one embodiment of the invention , the linker x - group may be an aryl group such as , but not limited to , a phenyl or a fluorinated derivative thereof , or an alkoxy group . in another embodiment of the invention , the linker group may be an alkyl chain such as , but not limited to , a methyl derivative and a fluorinated derivative thereof . attached to the x - group is an r - group which may be defined as nitrogen containing heterocycles . examples of such nitrogen containing heterocycles include , but are not limited to , imidazoles , triazoles , and tetrazoles . the nitrogen containing heterocycles may be functionalized with various chemical moieties designated y at various positions such as , but not limited to , sulfonic acid groups . the r - groups may also be the same or different groups with differing functionalities along the length of the polymer chain . these polymers have been found to be thermally stable with decomposition temperatures up to 250 ° c . the following example illustrates the preparation of the n - heterocyclic functionalized polymers , in particular triazole functionalized polyphosphazenes , for use in pem fuel cells . unless otherwise indicated in the following examples and elsewhere in the specification and claims , all parts and percentages are by weight , and all temperatures are in degrees celsius . the starting material , 4 -( 1 , 2 , 4 - triazol - 1 - yl ) phenol ( 1 . 66 g , 10 . 30 mmol ) was added into a 150 - ml schlenk flask containing kh ( 0 . 41 g , 10 . 30 mmol ) and dry thf ( 70 ml ). the reaction mixture was stirred and heated to 50 ° c . under n 2 for 2 hours to give 4 -( 1 , 2 , 4 - triazol - 1 yl ) phenoxide salt . the solution containing ( npcl 2 ) n ( 0 . 50 g , 1 . 36 mmol of repeating unit ) and dry thf ( 30 ml ) was transferred into the flask containing 4 -( 1 , 2 , 4 - triazol - 1 yl ) phenoxide salt solution using a cannula transfer at room temperature . the mixture was stirred and refluxed under n 2 for at least for 120 hours . after filtration , the filtrate was evaporated to give brown powder . to remove salt , it was washed with deionized water . to further remove impurities including the starting material , it was then washed with hot dry thf and to yield poly [ bis ( 4 -( 1 , 2 , 4 - triazol - 1 - yl ) phenoxy ) polyphosphazene ] ( 1 . 13 g , 3 . 09 mmol , 71 %) as a dark brown powder . the general reaction for producing poly [ bis ( 4 -( 1 , 2 , 4 - triazol - 1 - yl ) phenoxy ) polyphosphazene ] is shown in fig6 . the starting material , 4 -( 1 , 2 , 4 - triazol - 1 - yl ) phenol ( 1 . 66 g , 10 . 30 mmol ) was added into a 150 - ml schlenk flask containing kh ( 0 . 41 g , 10 . 30 mmol ) and dry thf ( 70 ml ). the reaction mixture was stirred and heated to 50 ° c . under n 2 for 2 hours to give 4 -( 1 , 2 , 4 - triazol - 1 yl ) phenoxide salt . the solution containing ( npcl 2 ) n ( 0 . 50 g , 1 . 36 mmol of repeating unit ) and dry thf ( 30 ml ) was transferred into the flask containing 4 -( 1 , 2 , 4 - triazol - 1 yl ) phenoxide salt solution using a cannula transfer at room temperature . the mixture was stirred and refluxed under n 2 for at least for 120 hours . after filtration , the filtrate was evaporated to give brown powder . to remove salt , it was washed with deionized water . to further remove impurities including the starting material 1c , it was then washed with hot dry thf . the yield of the final product was 1 . 13 g , 3 . 09 mmol , 71 % as a dark brown powder . another embodiment of the invention includes the synthesis of phosphazenes trimers that are modified with pendant groups containing nitrogen heterocycles and their method of use for high temperature , non - hydrated pem fuel cells . these phosphazene trimers include n - heterocyclic functionalized phosphazene trimers . examples of such nitrogen containing heterocycles include , but are not limited to , imidazoles , triazoles , and tetrazoles . the following example illustrates the preparation of the n - heterocyclic functionalized polymers , in particular triazole functionalized polyphosphazene trimers , for use in pem fuel cells . unless otherwise indicated in the following examples and elsewhere in the specification and claims , all parts and percentages are by weight , and all temperatures are in degrees celsius . in a 150 - ml schlenk flask , ( npcl 2 ) 3 ( 1 . 20 g , 3 . 45 mmol ) was dissolved in 30 ml of dry thf . a solution of cnc 6 h 4 o − k + was prepared by adding 4 - cyanophenol ( 2 . 97 g , 24 . 93 mmol ) to a 150 - ml schlenk flask containing kh ( 1 . 00 g , 24 . 93 mmol ) and 70 ml of dry thf . the reaction mixture was heated to 50 ° c . for 2 hours . the solution of ( npcl 2 ) 3 was transferred into the flask containing cnc 6 h 4 o − k + solution using a cannula at room temperature . the mixture was stirred and then refluxed for 72 hours . filtration of the mixture yielded hexakis ( 4 - cyanophenoxy ) cyclotriphosphazene as a white precipitate . the white precipitate was washed with deionized water to remove salts and subsequently dried . yield : 2 . 1897 g , 2 . 59 mmol , 75 %. mp : & gt ; 230 ° c . in a 100 - ml schlenk flask , ( 4 - cyanophenoxy ) cyclotriphosphazene was dissolved in dmf ( 10 ml ) and nan 3 ( 0 . 51 g , 7 . 84 mmol ) and nh 4 cl ( 0 . 38 g , 7 . 10 mmol ) were added under n 2 . the mixture was heated at 120 ° c . for 48 hours . after cooling , the reaction mixture was acidified with 3n hcl . a white solid precipitate was filtered and then washed with deionized water and dried to give hexakis ( 4 - tetrazolylphenoxy ) cyclotriphosphazene ( 0 . 8331 g , 0 . 75 mmol , 64 %). mp : & gt ; 230 ° c . the starting material 4 -( 1 , 2 , 4 - triazol - 1 - yl ) phenol ( 1 . 50 g , 9 . 30 mmol ) was added into a 150 - ml schlenk flask containing kh ( 0 . 36 g , 9 . 30 mmol ) and dry thf ( 70 ml ). the reaction mixture was stirred and heated to 50 ° c . under n 2 for 2 hours to give potassium 4 -( 1 , 2 , 4 - triazol - 1 yl ) phenoxide salt . a solution containing ( npcl 2 ) 3 ( 0 . 45 g , 1 . 29 mmol ) in dry thf ( 30 ml ) was transferred into the flask containing the potassium 4 -( 1 , 2 , 4 - triazol - 1 yl ) phenoxide salt solution using a cannula at room temperature . the mixture was stirred and refluxed under n 2 for 72 hours . after filtration , the filtrate was evaporated to give an orange solid which was washed with deionized water . to further remove impurities including the starting material 1c , the material was washed with methanol and dried to give hexakis [ 4 -( 1 , 2 , 4 - triazol - 1 - yl ) phenoxy ] cyclotriphosphazene ( 1 . 14 g , 1 . 04 mmol , 74 %) as a light brown powder . mp : 229 ° c . a mixture of 4 -( imidazol - 1 - yl ) phenol ( id ) ( 1 . 00 g , 6 . 24 mmol ), kh ( 0 . 25 g , 6 . 24 mmol ) and dry thf ( 50 ml ) was stirred and heated to 50 ° c . under n 2 for 2 hours to give potassium 4 -( imidazol - 1 - yl ) phenoxide salt . a solution of ( npcl 2 ) 3 ( 0 . 30 g , 8 . 67 mmol ) in dry thf ( 20 ml ) was transferred by cannula into the flask containing potassium 4 -( imidazol - 1 - yl ) phenoxide salt . the mixture was then stirred and refluxed under n 2 for 72 hours . a brown precipitate was collected by filtration . the brown precipitate was washed with water to remove salts and dried to give the final product of hexakis [ 4 -( imidazol - 1 - yl ) phenoxy ] cyclotriphosphazene ( 0 . 64 g , 0 . 59 mmol , 67 %). mp : 225 ° c . a solution of cnc 6 h 4 o − k + was prepared by adding 1a ( 1 . 23 g , 10 . 32 mmol ) to a 150 - ml schlenk flask containing kh ( 0 . 415 g , 10 . 32 mmol ) and dry thf ( 50 ml ). the reaction mixture was heated to 50 ° c . for 2 hours . the solution containing ( npcl 2 ) n ( 0 . 5 g , 1 . 77 mmol of repeating unit ) and dry thf ( 30 ml ) was transferred into the 150 - ml schlenk flask containing cnc 6 h 4 o − k + solution using a cannular technique at room temperature . the mixture was stirred under n 2 and then refluxed for at least for 120 hours . evaporation of the reaction mixture gave a white solid . the white solid was then washed with thf again to remove all starting materials . to remove salts , the white solid was washed with deionized water and dried to give poly [ bis ( 4 - cyanophenoxy ) phosphazene ] as white powder . yield : 0 . 7308 g , 2 . 60 mmol , 60 %). the starting material 4 -( 1 , 2 , 4 - triazol - 1 - yl ) phenol ( 1 . 66 g , 10 . 30 mmol ) was added into a 150 - ml schlenk flask containing kh ( 0 . 41 g , 10 . 30 mmol ) and dry thf ( 70 ml ). the reaction mixture was stirred and heated to 50 ° c . under n 2 for 2 hours to give 4 -( 1 , 2 , 4 - triazol - 1 yl ) phenoxide salt . the solution containing ( npcl 2 ) n ( 0 . 50 g , 1 . 36 mmol of repeating unit ) and dry thf ( 30 ml ) was transferred into the flask containing 4 -( 1 , 2 , 4 - triazol - 1 yl ) phenoxide salt solution using a cannula transfer at room temperature . the mixture was stirred and refluxed under n 2 for at least for 120 hours . after filtration , the filtrate was evaporated to give brown powder . to remove salt , it was washed with deionized water . to further remove impurities including the starting material 1c , it was then washed with hot dry thf and to yield poly [ bis ( 4 -( 1 , 2 , 4 - triazol - 1 - yl ) phenoxy ) polyphosphazene ] ( 1 . 13 g , 3 . 09 mmol , 71 %) as a dark brown powder . 10 mmol of azole derivative was heated together with 10 mmol of 4 - hydroxybenzyl alcohol at 155 ° c . for 30 minutes . upon cooling the product was well crushed and washed with cold ethanol to remove unreacted starting materials . nah ( 0 . 2254 g ) was dissolved in 25 ml of dry thf and 4 -( 1h - 5 - methyltetrazol - 1 - ylmethyl ) phenol ( 1 . 000 g ) in 30 ml of thf was added . 0 . 2286 g of ( npcl 2 ) 3 dissolved in thf was also added . the reaction mixture was then refluxed for 3 . 5 days . upon cooling , and the reaction mixture was filtered and the solvent removed to afford a white colored product hexakis ( 4 -( 1h - 5 - methyltetrazol - 1 - ylmethyl ) phenoxy ) cyclo triphosphazene 4 -( 1h - 5 - methyltetrazol - 1 - ylmethyl ) phenol . synthesis of [ n 3 p 3 ( p - o — c 6 h 4 — ch 2 c 3 n 2 cl 2 ) 6 ] nah ( 0 . 08 g ) was dissolved in 25 ml of dry thf and in to it 4 , 5 - dichloroimidazolylphenol ( 0 . 5 g ) in 30 ml of thf was added . 0 . 0897 g of ( npcl 2 ) 3 dissolved in thf was also added . the reaction mixture was then refluxed for 3 . 5 days . upon cooling , it was filtered and the solvent removed to give a red colored product , n 3 p 3 ( p - o — c 6 h 4 — ch 2 c 3 n 2 cl 2 ) 6 . synthesis of [ n 3 p 3 ( p - o — c 6 h 4 — cho ) 6 ] nah ( 0 . 459 g ), me 4 n + br − ( 0 . 004 g ) and ( npcl 2 ) 3 ( 0 . 5 g ) were combined in a 3 - neck flask in that 50 ml of thf . 4 - hydroxybenzaldehyde dissolved in 12 . 5 ml of dry thf was then added . after 30 minutes , 1 ml of triethylamine was added in to the reaction mixture . the reaction was stirred at room temperature for additional 20 hours . after filtration , the filtrate was washed with thf ( 15 ml ). the volatiles were removed and 7 . 5 ml of water were added . the white solid formed by the addition of water was stirred for one more hour . the solid was filtered off and washed with 15 ml diethyl ether . synthesis of [ n 3 p 3 ( p - o — c 6 h 4 — ch 2 oh ) 6 ] n 3 p 3 ( p - o — c 6 h 4 — cho ) 6 ( 0 . 49 g ) was dissolved in 120 ml thf / meoh ( 1 : 1 ) mixture and nabh 4 ( 0 . 147 g ) was added and stirred for 20 hours at room temperature . the mixture was reduced to a small volume under reduced pressure . the white precipitate was treated with a small amount of water and stirred for one more hour . upon filtration the product , n 3 p 3 ( p - o — c 6 h 4 — ch 2 oh ) 6 , was washed with h 2 o and then with diethyl ether . synthesis of [ n 3 p 3 ( p - o — c 6 h 4 — ch 2 br ) 6 ] 1 . 75 ml of 48 % hbr and 0 . 5 ml of conc . h 2 so 4 were mixed together . the acid mixture was added to 0 . 5 g of n 3 p 3 ( p - o — c 6 h 4 — ch 2 oh ) 6 . the mixture was refluxed at 100 ° c . for 5 hours . after the filtration the precipitate was washed with a large amount of water to obtain the product n 3 p 3 ( p - o — c 6 h 4 — ch 2 br ) 6 . films for use as polymer electrolyte membrane materials may be prepared by imbedding the phenoxy - substituted polyphosphazenes functionalized with azoles and triazole functionalized phosphazene trimers along with either phenylphosphonic acid or phosphoric acid into a polyamide matrix . in one embodiment , a planetary centrifugal mixer may be employed to combine liquid polyamic acid and a triazole functionalized phosphazene trimer or polyphosphazene and acid into solution suitable for film casting . following casting , the material may be heated to produce the phosphazene imbedded polyimide film . in one embodiment , the polymer films are prepared through solution processing followed by melt processing . the solution is prepared filling a container that includes a solid media , which includes the polymer selected additives , mixed with a compatible organic solvent . the container containing the solution is then placed in a planetary centrifugal mixer which rotates the container about its symmetry axis while applying high gravitational forces on the container by applying rotation similar to an ultracentrifuge . an ultrasound assisted mixing device may also be used to assist in the deagglomeration of particles if they are present . after the polymer solution is prepared , it is then ready for casting . the casting of solutions is carried out using a commercial size casting apparatus . in one embodiment , the casting apparatus is about 33 ft long and solution is cast onto a carrier of choice using double doctor blade casting systems . the casting systems may include 3 , 6 , 12 , 24 ″ wide double doctor blade systems that facilitate the preparation of polymer films from narrow samples to very wide samples . this equipment is also equipped with an automatic solution delivery system , for example a 6 gallon capacity , to produce large quantities of films continuously . the solution is cast onto the carrier and transported into the heating chamber consisting of 4 separately controlled underbed heaters by a steel roll to roll device . in addition , the air above the film being carried may be simultaneously heated by hepa filtered preheated air from above . this facilitates controlled evaporation of the solvent to solidify the films at the end of the machine . the films produced include 60 % by wt . polyimide and 40 % secondary components with 6 : 1 doped phenylphosphonic acid to triazole functionalized phosphazene , 10 : 1 doped phenylphosphonic acid to triazole functionalized phosphazene , 6 : 1 doped phosphonic acid to triazole functionalized phosphazene and phosphonic acid doped triazole functionalized polyphosphazene . in one embodiment , the films may range from 40 to 80 microns in thickness . conductivity measurements were performed on phosphazene polymer electrolyte films produced by the methods described herein . as seen in fig7 , conductivity measurements were conducted on a triazole substituted phosphazene trimer , phenylphosphonic acid doped polyimide containing 60 % by weight polyimide , 40 % by weight of a secondary component ( 6 : 1 polyphosphazene : triazole trimer ) as a function of temperature and dry hydrogen gas at both the anode and cathode . as seen in fig8 , conductivity measurements were conducted on a triazole substituted phosphazene trimer , phenylphosphonic acid doped polyimide containing 60 % by weight polyimide , 40 % by weight of a secondary component ( 10 : 1 polyphosphazene : triazole trimer ) as a function of temperature and dry hydrogen gas at both the anode and cathode . as seen in fig9 , conductivity measurements were conducted on a 60 % polyimide , 40 % triazole trimer with phosphoric acid doped with one phosphoric acid per triazole as a function of temperature and dry hydrogen gas at both the anode and cathode . as seen in fig1 , conductivity measurements were conducted on a 60 - 70 % by weight polyimide , 30 - 40 % by weight triazole functionalized polyphosphazene doped with one phosphoric acid per triazole as a function of temperature and dry hydrogen gas at both the anode and cathode . the invention has been described with respect to several embodiments . this description is not intended as a limitation ; other modifications or variations in the specific form shown and described will be apparent to those skilled in the art and will fall within the spirit of the invention and the scope of the following claims . | 2 |
as described above , senders , receivers , and communication means ( routers ) for routing communications between the senders and the receivers in a network utilize reservation protocols in order to set up the necessary network state and to support communications and associated services between the senders and receivers . one example for such a reservation protocol is the resource reservation protocol ( rsvp ). the following embodiments are set forth with respect to the rsvp , however the underlying principle is suitable to improve other network reservation protocols , e . g . st - ii . in order to improve service quality negotiations between servers and clients communicating via a network utilizing the rsvp , the signaling messages of the rsvp , namely the path - messages and the resv - messages , are extended / modified to include further information being indicative of the actual status of the network and its network domains , respectively . this information is collected from all parts of the network used for communication between a server and a client . in addition to the information collected for all respective network domains , it is contemplated that this information also includes information being indicative of the actual status of a server and its client ( s ). on the basis of the collected information , the server , the client ( s ) and routers of the network and / or network domains are enabled to check the actual status of the network and / or its domains , to control the distribution of services provided via the network , to control the provisioning of network services ( e . g . links to a proxy or gateway ), to perform service quality negotiations between the server and its client ( s ), and to pre - reserve / pre - allocate communication resources of the network . such a procedure can be applied to both single - client and multi - client applications , wherein for the latter case multicasting and / or an aggregation of the collected information is an additional option . referring to a path - message of the rsvp , the traffic specification ( tspec ) thereof defining the traffic characteristics of a server is extended by information characterizing the actual traffic characteristic of the network , and in particular of the network domains between the server and its client ( s ) and their routers , respectively . further , the tspec can be extended by traffic characteristics information of the client . it has to be emphasised , that the tspec itself is not modified . the traffic characteristics information of the network and the client can be provided as information directly identifying the respective traffic characteristics . as an alternative , the traffic characteristic information of the network and the client can represent variations of the actual traffic characteristics of the network and the client with respect to previous traffic characteristics thereof . such variations can be caused by a variation of communications resources of the network or the client , wherein such resource variations include an increased and a decreased resource availability . in particular , these variations can relate to previous traffic characteristics of same network components ( e . g . network domains , routers , servers , clients , gateways , etc .) and / or to traffic characteristics of previous network components , i . e . network components located more upstream with respect to the direction of data communication . in general , messages of the rsvp are generated by each network component ( server , client , router ) on the basis of a received message for forwarding the information thereof . therefore , path - messages extended as explained above can include either above type of traffic characteristics information of the network and the client ( s ) depending on the network component ( server , router , client ) forwarding the respective path - message . further , adspec - information of the path - message can be extended by other communication characteristics , such as security , reliability , and jitter information . comparable to the above traffic characteristics information , such further communication characteristics information are added to the adspec - information of the server by the routers and the client ( s ). again , the adspec - information itself is not changed . in order to access the actual communications state of the network and the client ( s ), the traffic characteristics information collected while forwarding the path - message are added to the resv - message returned from the client ( s ) to the server . in particular , the collected traffic characteristics information is added to the resv - message according to the rsvp to extend the tspec thereof . an improved communication quality negotiation between the server and its client ( s ) can be achieved by further extending the tspec of the resv - message with information being indicative of the resulting end - to - end communication characteristics . receiving such an extended resv - message , the server obtains substantial information of the actual communications status and is enabled to adapt its communications ( distribution ) correspondingly , e . g . by modifying the distribution of provided services . since the client ( s ) is ( are ) also provided with information being indicative of the actual communications status of the network and , in addition , of the server , the respective resv - message can be generated considering the received communications status information . if , for example , a client determines that the over - all communication quality ( quality of service ) is not acceptable , the resv - message will not be returned and thus no resource allocation for the respective communication path between the client and the server is performed . further , a service reject by the client can include information indicative of reasons for the service reject . in response , the server can use such information for e . g . traffic engineering and / or network planning purposes . moreover , as a further option , the rspec - information and / or the filterspec - information of the resv - message communicated to the server can be extended by further information being indicative of the communication ( quality ) characteristics in a manner comparable to the adspec - information of the path - message . traffic characteristics information collection for a network domain serving a single client for the purpose of simplicity , the embodiment shown in fig5 utilizes rsvp - messages only including respective tspec - information . as shown in fig5 a communication path between a server and a client is routed via routers r 1 and r 2 constituing the network domain serving the client . the server generates a path - message according to the rsvp and transmits the same to the router r 1 . in order to indicate the type of mechanism , which is used or which is to be used , the path - message can be extended accordingly . in response thereto , the router r 1 processes the received path - message according to the rsvp . assuming this processing results in a validity for the received path - message , the router r 1 generates a conventional path - message including , according to the rsvp , the traffic characteristics provided by the server and updated routing information . here it is pointed out , that this conventional path - message does not include any information representing the actual traffic characteristics of the network , so far . further , the router r 1 generates information which represent its actual traffic characteristics . such information can include the maximal / average peak rate of flow , the available bandwidth , the actual delay , the actual jitter , the actual security level for data communications , actual allocated resources , available buffer space , and the like . this traffic characteristics information of the router r 1 is added to its conventional path - message such said a message path ′ is obtained . the path ′- message is transmitted to the router r 2 which generates , in response thereto , a message path ″ in a manner comparable to the generation of the path ′- message . the path ″- message transmitted from the router r 2 is received by the client . in case , the processing of the path ″- message by the client is indicative of a communication / service quality being not acceptable for client , the client generates no resv - message . in case , the path ″- message is indicative of a communications / service quality being acceptable for the client , the client generates a resv ′- message . the resv ′- message comprises a conventional resv - message according to the rsvp and , further , the collected traffic characteristics information . in addition , the resv * - message can include information representing the end - to - end characteristics calculated for the communications between the server and the client performed so far . as a further option , it is possible that the resv *′- message received by the router r 2 is extended by its actual traffic characteristics information and transferred as a resv *′- message to the router r 1 . comparable , the resv *′- message is extended by the router r 1 and transferred as a message resv *″- message to the server . on the basis of the received resv *″- message , the server is enabled to access the actual communications status of the network domain serving the client . it is pointed out that this collection of traffic characteristics information can be performed when a communications / service is to be provided to the client , or can be just used to collect such information without providing communications / services . in order to inform the routers r 1 , r 2 and / or the client whether the collection of traffic characteristics information is performed prior to the provision of communications / services or just for an assessment of the actual network status , the server can transmit a respective information , e . g . an indicator . in order to provide communications / services between one or several servers and several clients , the above described multicasting is used for the message distribution . for the collection of traffic characteristics information , the path - messages from the server ( s ) and the routers of the ( respective ) network domain ( s ) are extended as set forth above for the single client case . therefore , the respective extended path - messages from the server to the clients 1 , 2 , 3 and 4 are not shown in fig6 . as explained above , the resv - message received by a server for a conventional rsvp multicasting comprises aggregated resv - messages from the respective clients . this aggregation serves to merge multiple reservations from several clients for a multicast stream . in order to obtain a resv *- message ( i . e . a resv - message extended by traffic characteristics information ), an aggregation step is performed to provide the traffic characteristics information of the network domains serving the clients 1 , 2 , 3 and 4 and the resulting communications / service quality for each end - to - end ( server - client ) connection . assuming that the traffic characteristics of the connections ( networks ) between the router r 2 and the client 1 , and the router r 2 and the client 2 are the same , information being indicative of these traffic characteristics only need to be communicated to the server once . as a result , the resv * 1 , 2 ′- message communicated from the router r 2 to the router r 1 only contains traffic characteristics information of the client 1 provided by the resv * 1 - message , the traffic characteristics information of the client 2 provided by the resv 2 - message and , just once , traffic characteristics information related to the network domain comprising the router r 2 , and the clients 1 and 2 . in case the traffic characteristics of the networks between the router r 2 and the client 1 , and the router r 2 and the client 2 are not the same , or in case the clients 1 and 2 are not comprised by the same network domain , the router r 2 must determine the overlap of the respective traffic characteristics information and aggregate the traffic characteristics information accordingly . as an alternative , router r 2 can also just select e . g . the traffic characteristics which are received first . this aggregation step is accordingly performed with respect to the router r 3 and the router r 1 , respectively , wherein the transmitted resv *′ 3 , 4 - message and the resv *′ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 - message are extended by the respective traffic characteristics information of the network domains including routers r 1 and r 3 . as a result , the resv *″ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 - message received by the server can only comprise , beside the traffic characteristics information of the clients 1 , 2 , 3 and 4 and the routers r 1 , r 2 and r 3 , traffic characteristics information of three network domains . as an option compared to the above described network - wide aggregation for network domains , it is contemplated to perform a network domain related aggregation . here , aggregated traffic characteristic information per network domain is included in the messages transmitted in direction to the server . as a result , with reference to fig6 the server receives a message including the traffic characteristics information of the resv * 1 - and resv * 2 messages , of the resv * 3 - and resv * 4 - messages , and the resv * 1 , 2 - and resv * 3 , 4 - messages . as explained above , rsvp resource reservations for a network or network domains are obtained by transmitting a respective adspec - information comprised by a path - message . the adspec - information is received by the network or the network domains , and especially the routers thereof , to determine the level of resource reservation required for a desired server - client communication / service quality . for allocating the reserved resources , the routers utilize a resv - message transmitted from the client to allocate the necessary resources . in particular , rsvp - routers along the upstream path ( i . e . in a communication direction towards a server ) receiving resv - message ( s ) utilize an admission control to authenticate respective resource request and allocate necessary resources . if a router can not provide the requested resources ( e . g . due to a lack of resources or authorization failures ), the router returns an error message back to the client . if the resource request ( s ) can be satisfied , the respective router sends the respective resv - message ( s ) upstream to the next router . for example in the case of a multicasting rsvp system , the following procedure of pre - reserving resources prevents unnecessary resource reservations downstream from the server to the client and that e . g . a router close to the server can not provide the required resources for allocation resulting in error messages sent to the client . a particular effect decreasing the communication / service quality ( e . g . communication transmission time ) of such error messages sent back to the client is the release of allocated resources previously allocated by routers arranged between the error message sending router and the client . further , correct and proper processing of such error messages generated by different clients is complicated . the pre - reservation mechanism shown in fig7 is enabled by the modification of the rsvp as described above . beside the extension of the rsvp - messages transmitted from the server and the client , as detailed above , the path - message of the server is extended by a pre - reservation request . in fig7 this extension is indicated by the index “°”. the pre - reservation request of the server specifies a resource type and the extend thereof to be reserved . comparable thereto , the client extends the extended resv * message generated as explained above by a allocation request . here , the index “°” is indicative of the allocation request . referring to the example shown in fig7 the server requests 12 units of the specified resource type . upon receiving the path °- message , the router r 1 determines whether he can satisfy this request . since the router r 1 is able to provide the requested resources , the router r 1 pre - reserves 12 units . the router r 1 generates a path °′- message extended by the above traffic characteristics information and the pre - reservation request . although router r 2 can only provide 8 units , which are reserved , the path °″- message of router r 2 is generated and transmitted to the router r 3 . in contrast thereto , according to a conventional rsvp system , an error message would be returned to a client in response to a resv - message thereof to indicate that a resource request can not be satisfied . the router r 3 is able to provide 4 units of the requested resource and reserved the same . again , no error message is returned to the server , but a path °″- message is communicated to the client . therefore , the client gets a communication / service resource request which is agreed and confirmed by all routers r 1 , r 2 and r 3 between the server and the client . upon confirmation of the received resource request , the client generates a resv *°- message extended as the explained above and including an allocation request . since the received resource request indicates that 4 units of the requested resource type can be provided for the overall communications connection between the server and the client , the allocation request generated by the client indicates that four units of the requested resource type are needed and should be allocated by the routers r 1 , r 2 and r 3 . while transmitting the resv *°′-, resv *°″- and resv *°′″- messages , which include the above explained extensions by the routers r 1 , r 2 and r 3 and the allocation request of the client , each of the routers r 1 , r 2 and r 3 allocate 4 units of the requested resource type and release the previously reserved units actually not needed . further , messages transmitted upstream from the client and routers r 1 , r 2 , and r 3 ( e . g . resv *°′-, resv *°″-, and resv *°′″- messages ) can include information specifying that all pre - reserved and / or pre - allocated resources remain reserved and / or allocated , or that a maximum or minimum pre - reserved and / or pre - allocated resources remain reserved and / or allocated . this approach still results in an improved qos . the pre - reservation / pre - allocation mechanism can be used to ensure that clients and / or servers having a high ( er ) priority will be provided with required resources . additionally , it is contemplated that the server can extend his rsvp - message by information ( e . g . in form of an indicator ) representing an upper and / lower limit of resources to be re - reserved ( maximum / minimum resource reservation indicator ). since some of the pre - reserved resources in response to a path °- message may be released upon the reception of the respective resv *°- message , such resources could be partly used by an allocation request having a higher priority . as set forth above , an indicator in each router is used to specify whether a resource reservation is an actual resource allocation in response to a resv - message or a pre - reservation in response to a path - message . to specify the amount of pre - reserved resources which can be used to satisfy a higher priority resource allocation , the above minimum resource reservation indicator can be used . the amount of resources above the limit defined by this indicator can be optionally used to fulfill a higher priority resource allocation request related to a different path - request . as a result , a communication connection related to the higher priority resource allocation request can be setup faster since these resources have already been reserved and no separate reservation is required . comparable to the maximum / minimum indicators of the path °- message , the resv *°- message can specify a minimum and / or a maximum of resources ( types ) to be allocated . for example , the resv *°- message specifies said all routers should provide the same minimum bandwidth , such that all bandwidth related resources of the routers unnecessarily reserved are released . especially the utilization of minimum resource indicators for the path °- and resv *°- messages guaranties said servers and / or clients having a higher priority are provided the required resources , since related higher priority resource requests can be fulfilled and are not blocked by a reservation of resources . | 7 |
now a preferred embodiment of this invention will be described in detail by reference to the accompanying drawings . an airstream solid sorting apparatus according to this invention shown in fig1 and 2 is used for sorting slender objects from unslender objects resulting from the crushing of coils and electric wires in coils and other parts of such wastes as used household electric appliances and automobiles that are disassembled , crushed and sorted for recycling . the airstream solid sorting apparatus comprises an upwardly flaring sorting vessel 1 into which a mixture of slender and unslender objects to be sorted is supplied , a meshed screen 2 tilted in the bottom of the vessel 1 , and a slender objects collecting vessel 3 placed below the meshed screen 2 . the airstream sorting vessel 1 having an open top end and an upwardly flaring body decreases the flow speed of an airstream supplied from below the collecting vessel 3 and meshed screen 2 and ascending through the vessel 1 . the meshed screen 2 tilted in the bottom of the sorting vessel 1 may be made of a perforated plate or a framed grid of wire netting . the mesh size is large enough to pass the slender objects falling longitudinally in the direction in which gravity works and not large enough to pass other larger objects . a vibrator 4 to vibrate the meshed screen 2 to facilitate the motion of the unslender objects may be connected to the airstream sorting vessel 1 or meshed screen 2 . the slender objects collecting vessel 3 placed below the meshed screen 2 hold the slender objects sorted through the meshed screen 2 , whereas an airstream is supplied through the collecting vessel 3 and meshed screen 2 into the sorting vessel 1 . a recovery cylinder 6 having a space to temporarily hold the slender objects formed between two movable dampers 7 and 8 is connected to the lower end of the collecting vessel 3 through a flanged joint 5 . a slender objects discharge cylinder 10 is connected to the recovery cylinder 6 through a flanged joint 9 . the airstream sorting vessel 1 and slender objects collecting vessel 3 may be made of carbon steel , stainless steel , aluminum or other metal , plastics , or mixtures thereof . the slender objects collecting vessel 3 has a primary gas inlet 15 through which a primary gas supplied through a primary gas supply pipe 11 , a gas supply cylinder 12 and a branch cylinder 13 having a damper 14 is introduced . the damper 14 controls the volume of the primary gas supplied through the branch cylinder 13 . the slender objects collecting vessel 3 also has an inlet 18 at which a secondary gas supply pipe 16 ( see fig2 ) having a damper 17 opens . the supply pipe 16 intermittently supplies a secondary gas from a separately prepared blower through the inlet 18 by intermittently opening and closing the damper 17 be means of a drive unit 17a . the intermittently supplied gas forces the objects to be sorted to float and fall repeatedly . an unslender objects outlet 20 to discharge the sorted unslender objects from the airstream sorting vessel 1 opens at the lower end of the tilted meshed screen 2 in the airstream sorting vessel 1 to which the sorted unslender objects flow down . a discharge pipe 21 connects the outlet 20 to the gas supply cylinder 12 . the discharge pipe 21 has a compressed gas supply nozzle 22 to supply a laminar stream of compressed gas from a separately prepared compressor or other gas supply unit . the nozzle 22 is vertically slidable to adjust the amount of opening in the outlet 20 according to the size of the objects to be discharged from the airstream sorting vessel 1 . a vibrating feeder 23 which supplies a mixture of slender and unslender objects is disposed above the upper end of the meshed screen 2 tilted in the airstream sorting vessel 1 . the airstream sorting apparatus described here also has a unslender objects sorting apparatus 24 that is disposed alongside the airstream sorting vessel 1 and the slender objects collecting vessel 3 disposed therebelow . an accelerating cylinder 26 having a constricted interior is connected to above the point where the discharge pipe 21 is connected to the gas supply cylinder 12 through a flanged joint 25 . a cylinder 28 is disposed thereabove through a flanged joint 27 . the cylinder 28 has an integrally formed floating objects collecting cylinder 30 with a greater cross - sectional area that has a meshed screen 31 to cover the top thereof to prevent the scattering of floating objects and an annular channel 32 provided therearound to discharge the floating objects . a recovery cylinder 36 having a space to temporarily collect unslender objects formed between two vertically spaced movable dampers 37 and 38 is connected to below the joint between the gas supply cylinder 12 and gas supply pipe 11 through a flanged joint 35 . also , an unslender objects discharge cylinder 40 is connected to the recovery cylinder 36 through a flanged joint 39 . to perform sorting using the airstream sorting apparatus described above , a required amount of air is supplied from a separate blower to the primary gas supply pipe 11 , while a compressed gas supply nozzle 22 emits a laminar stream of compressed gas from the compressed gas supply unit to prevent the reversing of the primary gas into the discharge pipe 21 . the opening of the damper 14 is then adjusted to supply an appropriate amount of air for moving and sorting a mixture of slender and unslender objects in the airstream sorting vessel 1 from the gas supply cylinder 12 through the branch cylinder 13 and the slender objects collecting vessel 3 . at this time , the dampers 7 and 8 in the slender objects recovery cylinder 6 and the dampers 37 and 38 in the unslender objects recovery cylinder 36 are closed . in this state , the vibrating feeder 23 at the top of the airstream sorting vessel 1 supplies a mixture of slender and unslender objects to the higher end of the tilted meshed screen 2 . then , a turbulent air flow supplied from below the meshed screen 2 floats the mixture thereover in the airstream sorting vessel 1 . the volume of air supplied to the airstream sorting vessel 1 must be large enough to cause the mixture to repeat floating and stalling . although the mixture sometimes contains highly floatable objects , even such objects do not scatter away because the upwardly flaring airstream sorting vessel 1 greatly decreases the flow speed of the ascending airstream . the updraft floats the mixture of slender and unslender objects supplied to the higher end of the tilted meshed screen 2 on the left of the airstream sorting vessel 1 shown in fig1 . because the buoyancy of the updraft is relatively small , the objects stall and fall soon , and then float again , thus repeating the cycle . stalling slender objects have a tendency to fall longitudinally in the direction in which gravity works . slender objects falling in this way pass through the meshes of the meshed screen 2 into the slender objects collecting vessel 3 and collect on the damper 7 disposed therebelow . non - slender objects move downward ( to the right in fig1 ) over the tilted meshed screen 2 while repeating ascending and descending and finally reaches the unslender objects outlet 20 . the laminar stream of compressed air emitted from the compressed gas supply nozzle 22 carries the unslender objects to the gas supply cylinder 12 . if necessary , the airstream sorting vessel 1 or the meshed screen 2 may be vibrated to facilitate the travel of the unslender objects in the airstream sorting vessel 1 . the slender objects collecting on the damper 7 in the slender objects collecting vessel 3 are dropped onto the damper 8 by opening the damper 7 at appropriate intervals . after closing the damper 7 and opening the damper 8 , the slender objects are then discharged from the slender objects discharge cylinder 10 directly onto a discharge conveyor , feeder or hopper . thus , the slender objects are taken out without affecting the flow of the airstream in the slender objects collecting vessel 3 . when the unslender objects reach the gas supply cylinder 12 , less floatable objects stall and fall through the gas supply cylinder 12 onto the damper 37 , whereas more floatable objects are accelerated in the accelerating cylinder 26 and move up to the floating objects collecting cylinder 30 through the cylinder 28 . with the flow speed of the airstream greatly decreased in the cylinder 30 having a large cross - sectional area , the floating objects are discharged from the annular channel 32 . the floating objects thus discharged may be transferred directly onto a belt conveyor , feeder , hopper or chute . like the slender objects on the damper 7 , the less floatable objects collecting on the damper 37 are dropped onto the damper 38 by opening the damper 37 . by opening the damper 38 after closing the damper 37 , the less floatable objects may then be transferred directly onto a belt conveyor , feeder or hopper . the airstream sorting apparatus just described can intermittently supply a required amount of secondary gas by closing the damper 14 in the branch cylinder 13 , supplying a secondary gas from a separately prepared blower through the secondary gas supply pipe 16 , and intermittently opening the damper 17 . this intermittent supply of the secondary gas provides more efficient sorting by forcibly floating and dropping the objects to be sorted . | 1 |
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